Conan – The Frost Giant’s Daughter

Since some of you seem to be interested, I am posting my version of The Frost Giant’s Daughter. I wrote this as practice for the Conan script, to see if I could get in the mood, so to speak. So let me be clear – this was NOT commissioned, is NOT for profit and is simply to be considered fan material.  It has nothing to do with the script we were hired to write. That said, it is short, little more than a quick adaptation that would produce maybe a 5-6 minute film.  I hope you all like it. (And if you don’t, don’t panic about the script itself. What’s below is just a first draft, written very quickly. The script itself has been combed through. I really like it.

Click on each page to open it in new tab.  I hope.

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3Page 4

Now wouldn’t that be fun?

EXCHANGING CRAPPY BLUE RAY COPIES FOR GOOD ONES

HELLO YE FAITHFUL.   I received the following info about exchanging the frightful blue ray copies you got screwed with.

This is exactly the info I got:

“Consumers should contact Dione Baxter at Alliance Films in Canada: dione.baxter@alliancefilms.com, and they will be happy to exchange the discs for a new copy.”

LMK if anyone follows this path and how it works.

Thanks!

Email

OUTLANDER 6/1/09 – NEW INFO ON THE BLUE RAY RELEASE

Well for those of you out there who got their hands on the Canadian Blue Ray release only to find out it was a piece of crap, your voices have been. For those of you who don’t know, there was another fantastic screwup, and the wrong files were delivered/sent/who knows? to create the blue ray, so instead of the letterbox presentation everyone was expecting, well, let me quote Dave Dodson, the editor,

“What we have is a full 16×9 presentation. Not letterboxed. Not 2.35. And not even properly pan&scanned for 16×9. Most shots simply use the entire Super35 3-perf image area, thereby allowing all the extra headroom and lower space that was never intended to be seen. Careful widescreen compositions are thrown out the window. Shots that were composed for intensity or any other particular, professional use of the 2.35 frame are now just ordinary.

But it gets worse. Since many of the CGI shots were only finished out to 2.35 and not to the full 1.78 frame, many VFX shots are cropped on the sides in order to accommodate the 16×9 frame. For example, the Moorwen’s first rampage out of the trap truly needs the full 2.35 frame to be legible. But instead all we have is a 16×9 center-cut. As a result, the sequence feels cramped and hard to read.

Said it much better than I could. Anyway, the upshot of this is that TWC was evidently furious at the screwup and intends to fix the problem. Now this is not official – I just heard it today – but I gather the plan is to offer a rebate to anyone who bought the crappy blue ray and an opportunity to purchase a new one with the correct format.

I also gather that they are quite pleased with its rental and sales performance. Who knows? Maybe there’s a sequel to be had someday.

Outlander – 5/29/09

Well I’m heartened to see a nice response regarding Outlander.  The feedback on Amazon is nice – average 4.5 stars, and the feedback on itunes is good also, averaging 3.5 stars. So if you liked it and haven’t left a rating yet, please do so!  (And if you didn’t like it, well do as your mama said, and keep that to yourselves.)

What’s so nice is that these are from actual people, not critics. What I’ve painfully learned recently is that critics often have their head so far up their ass they can watch their own heart beat

And on that cheery visual, good night!

OUTLANDER UPDATE 5/28/09

My oh my, it’s been a long time since I wrote anything about Outlander. Well I guess I was a little stung by the absolute dump that TWC perpetrated on the movie. I don’t know if I mentioned in any of the previous posts but to my knowledge, there were no posters for the movie available on opening weekend. Spectacular, no? Ah well. So anyway, it’s now out there on DVD, complete with commentary, deleted scenes, concept art and some very cool animatics. I hope everyone who has been following this gets a chance to rent it. (But even on this I have to bitch – what the fuck is with that cover they designed? You can’t even tell it’s a creature movie.) Hopefully it’ll do well out there – as you can perhaps see from the pic up top, as of this writing, it was the number 3 rental on itunes, and that without the slightest bit of promotion.

Well, after all is said and done, we have a movie we can be proud of. Is it the finest movie in the world? No. Does it have merit? I think so. Plenty of mistakes made all around, and for those of you wondering about certain budget issues, yes, we lost $10,000,000 not long before shooting and simply had to make do with what we had. It meant moving the production from New Zealand to Canada, and the FX from WETA to Spin. It meant limited extras and just 50 shooting days. It meant not being able to recover from some catastrophically bad 2nd unit days. It meant not being able to even shoot the opening sequence as written, which was a battle between the hero and the creature inside the falling space ship, not just an exterior shot of its crash. It meant Howard, the producer and myself paying for the underwater sequences because we ran out of money. It meant 2 or 3 takes, not ‘do it until it’s right’. It meant limited coverage so some scenes couldn’t be edited properlY.

And for those wondering about the running time, we were told we could not run a single frame over the contractual running time, which is where it stands now. I mean that literally. Not a single frame. As a result, we had to cut out some scenes dear to my heart . (No big; all scenes are dear to the writer’s heart). But it also meant we couldn’t edit certain things properly because we couldn’t spare the frames. And, if you’ll notice, the credits roll by extra fast. This is because we needed the time.

Funny business, no?

In the end, I have a good movie, some terrific memories of great people and a lawsuit that’s still going on

OUTLANDERRRRRRR!!!!!

OUTLANDER THEATERS FOR FEBRUARY 13 AND 20

Well the folks at TWC have sent me not only the theaters for today, but have also included a few that they managed to book for next weekend. I think I’ve finally figured out the release strategy. We’re in the middle of a teaser campaign which is going to culminate in us opening wide against Watchmen. You goin’ down, Zack.

Enough merriment. So our first theater is…

Merrick Funeral Parlor, Brownsville, TX

Ooops. No, here they are.

FEBRUARY 1

1 Carmike 10 Newnan, GA
2 Bellevue 8 Nashville, TN
3 Carmike Wynnsong 10-Madison Madison, TN
4 Bell Forge 10 Antioch, TN
5 Carmike Johnson City 14 Johnson City, TN
6 Greenwood 10 Bowling Green, KY
7 Grand 16 Pier Park Theatre Panama City, FL
8 Carolina Pavilion 22 Charlotte, NC
9 Concord Mills 24 Concord Mills, NC
10 Grand Four Seasons 18 Greensboro, NC
11 Carmike 20 Edinburg, TX
12 Sikes 10 Wichita Falls, TX
13 Premiere 18 Theatre El Paso, TX
14 Cocowalk 16 Theatres Coconut Grove, FL
15 Indian River 24 Vero Beach, FL
16 Regency 24 – Jacksonville Jacksonville, FL
17 Merchants Crossing 16 North Ft. Myers, FL
18 Tallahassee Mall 20 Tallahassee, FL
19 Spring Hill 8 Cinemas Spring Hill, FL
20 Las Vegas 5 Drive-In North Las Vegas, NV
21 Horizon Stadium Cinema 9 Laughlin, NV
22 Fiesta Square 16 Fayetteville, AR
23 Carmike 14 Fort Smith, AR
24 Sugar Creek Bella Vista, AR
25 Nova Cinemas the AMP Theatre Oxford, MS
26 Palace Theatre 16 – Westbank Harvey, LA
27 Carmike 10 Lafayette, LA
28 Crossroads Mall 16 Oklahoma City, OK
29 Southroads 20 Tulsa, OK
30 De Anza Four Drive In Tucson, AZ
31 Frontier Village 10 Prescott, AZ
32 Glendale 9 Drive-In Theatre Glendale, AZ
33 Odyssey Theatre Twin Falls, ID
34 St. Charles 18 St. Charles, MO

FEBRUARY 20

1 De Anza Starlight D/I Theatre 6 Atlanta, GA
2 Royal Palm 20 Bradenton, FL
3 Galaxy Theatre – Cary Cary, NC
4 Cinema 10-Huntsville Huntsville, TX
5 Colonial Mall 12 Myrtle Beach, SC
6 20 Grand Omaha, NE
7 Village Pointe Cinema Omaha, NE
8 Cinemark Movies 10 Sandusky, OH

NEW OUTLANDER THEATERS FOR FEBRUARY 6, 2009

With a song in my heart, I give you the following cities and theaters for this weekend’s Outlander extravaganza. I’m sorry it’s so last minute, but I just got it in from TWC. They must only have solidified it today. Oh wait… the bottom of the document is dated February 2. But if they knew the theaters Monday, why did they only send it out to me now? Ah, the impenetrable mysteries of the universe. I hope those of you who voted get your chance to see the flick. Enjoy!

Boston
Salisbury 9/ Salisbury

Atlanta
Carmike 10/Newnan

Raleigh-Durham
Carmike 12 Fayetteville

Cincinnati
AMC Newport on the Leve/ Newport
West Chester 18/West Chester

Columbus, OH
Easton Towne Center 30/Columbus
Lennox 24/Columbus
Pickerington/Pickerington
Polaris 18/Columbus

Las Vegas
Century 18 Sam’s Town/Las Vegas

Syracuse
Auburn Movieplex 10 Auburn

Savannah
Carmike 10/Savannah

At the beginning, when anything was possible...

OUTLANDER WINS THE WEEK !!!!

No, I’m not crazy. Obviously I don’t mean the week at the box office. Considering the way TWC threw us out there we never had a chance. Cold comfort to be joined in the dumping by Killshot, directed by John Madden, who also directed the Academy Award winning Shakespeare in Love for the Weinsteins. There’s a short memory for you. At least he got the premium TWC releasing label as opposed to that kiss of death, Third Rail Releasing. Ah well, the world teems with cautionary tales, no?

To what do I refer, then? Drumroll please….

OUTLANDER WAS THE NUMBER ONE STOLEN MOVIE OF THE WEEK ON BIT TORRENT!

Bit Torrent

I find myself welling with tears. To paraphrase Sally Field. ” You like to steal from me! You really like to steal from me!”

I just want to say thank you for your support to all those out there who have no compunction about stealing the work of others. I find myself warmed to think that I am not alone in my love of film – there are so many out there who share that love, and are willing to help kill the art form just to show it. It means a lot to us and to our families that you are willing to spend your hard-earned two minutes to download the sweat of years.

OUTLANDER THEATERS FOR JANUARY 30, 2009

After voting, (which hundreds have, thank you!) take a look at the following theaters where Outlander will be showing this weekend. Hopefully your request has been fulfilled. There are a few holdovers in the list. Feel free to post this anywhere. Sorry I couldn’t get it out sooner, but I just got this list this morning. So go, bring your friends, sneak in outside food, get raucous, yell at the screen. Have fun.

1. AMC Barrett Commons 24 Theatres Kennesaw, GA

2. CARMKE Wynnsong 16 Knoxville, TN

3. CARMKE Carmike 12 Dothan, AL

4. IND-US Madison Square 12 Huntsville, AL

5. IND-US Madison Theatre 7 Albany, NY

6. INDTB Carousel Greensboro, NC

7. AMC Woodfield 20 Schaumburg, IL

8. CINMRK Valley View 24 Valley View, OH

9. COOPOH Atlas Diamond Centre Cinemas 12 Mentor, OH

10. FLORIN Tower City 11 Cleveland, OH

11. AMC Grapevine 30 Theatres Grapevine, TX

12. AMC Huebner Oaks 24 San Antonio, TX

13. AMC Mesquite 30 Theatres Mesquite, TX

14. CINMRK Legacy 24 Plano, TX

15. AMC Star Southfield 20 Southfield, MI

16. MUVICO Hialeah 14 Hialeah, FL

17. MUVICO Paradise 24 Davie, FL

18. MUVICO Centro Ybor 20 Tampa, FL

19. MUVICO Baywalk 20 St. Petersburg, FL

20. BRENDN Brenden Palms 14 + Imax Las Vegas, NV

21. CINMRK Century 18 Sam’s Town Las Vegas, NV

22. GALAXY Neonopolis 11 Las Vegas, NV

23. GALAXY Galaxy Cannery Casino 16 North Las Vegas, NV

24. CARMKE Carmike 14 Mobile, AL

25. CARMKE Carmike 10 Pensacola, FL

26. WALLCE Stadium 18 Mobile, AL

27. AMC Mission Valley 20 San Diego, CA

28. BRENDN Brenden Modesto 18 Modesto, CA

29 BRENDN Brenden Pittsburg 16 Pittsburg, CA

30. CINMRK Century 16 Theatre – Laguna Elk Grove, CA

31. CINMRK San Francisco Centre 9 San Francisco, CA

32. THBKGS 3rd Street Cinema 6 Santa Rosa, CA

33. MUVICO Egyptian 24 Hanover, MD

OUTLANDER POLL – SHOULD THE WEINSTEINS RELEASE THE MOVIE MORE WIDELY?

So give us a hand here – if you’ve heard about this movie and want to see it near you, tell The Weinstein Company. Make your voice heard. Maybe we can make it happen.

I had a bit of trouble with making the poll, so if you want to see it in a city other than NY or LA, hit the bottom button and WRITE IT IN. You CAN put in multiple answers (yes to release plus yes to NY, LA and another city, for example.)

Also – LET OTHER PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS POLL!

THANKS!!!!