Screw Valentine's Day.

I hate Valentine's Day.  Lame ass holiday.  An excuse for single people to feel bad and attached people to feel obligated to buy something.

I was gonna watch a giallo or two on Valentine's Night.  Or maybe Human Centipede 2.  But now I have to work that night.

I hope chocolates get recalled on the 15th for something that causes debilitating diarrhea.

I hope some Cabin Fever-infested hobo molests all the lingerie at Victoria's Secret.

I did have a joke about hoping birth control failed, too.  But it ended too dark.  Even for me.

Anyhow, at least Valentine's Day will be the day my first Film Series is due for 70's class.

My professor expected me to do gialli.  And I delivered.  But of course my stupid ass decided to challenge myself.

I'm doing gialli that criticize the Catholic church.

Don't Torture a Duckling, House with the Laughing Windows, Alice Sweet Alice (I call it an American giallo), and Killer Nun.

I barely see why Killer Nun has been classified as a giallo.  But its giallo elements are almost an afterthought.  And Anita Ekberg needed to really get naked.  Paola Morra was hot, but her browned teeth ruined it for me.  I mean, I have a jacked up grill, but if I had any brown on my teeth, I'd take out another student loan to fix that shit.

Rewatching Don't Torture a Duckling, I forgot how well crafted a film it really is.


On another note, I keep remembering old stories and treatments that I had ages ago.  You know, that went in the fire of 2000 with my computer.

Latest rediscovery is a treatment I had called Noir.  It was very Suspiria-Phenomena-batshit crazy like.  I might have to revisit it sometime soon.

Okay.  Gonna fart around and drink my smoothie while waiting for my 3:00 class.  We're watching Black Caesar.

Later.
-Justin

5 lbs

Halfway to my first goal.

I've lost five pounds so far, according to my scale at home.

Of course, I am still getting Four Flies on Grey Velvet on Shameless Blu Ray.  Dario Blu Rays are non-negotiable exceptions.  Other exceptions: Birthday Money and if my family does anything for Valentine's.

Though I will ask a question.

I have a shitload of coins saved up that I plan on cashing in for amazon.com gift cards.  Can I use any of them on gialli?  I'll ask your permission.

Okay.  Off to bed.

Later.
-Justin

Orchid Revisions

I keep on telling myself I'm gonna work on Orchid.  Then I end up going to work.  Or falling asleep in my comfy comfy bed.  Or cataloging my giallo collection.

Now I have a chunk of time where if I really wanted to, I could work on it.  But I'm not.

Ah, Procrastination.  Everybody's favorite vacation nation.

Anyhow, my new plan involves adding a character.  But I'm trying to figure out how to introduce this character.  Once he's introduced, I pretty much know the rest of the trajectory and how he fits into the picture.  I'm just stuck on how to introduce him.

I'm sure I'll figure something out.

BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH...

Later.
-Justin

My current catalog

Here it is.  A list of every giallo I own.  The shelf is alphabetized, but by the title on the spine of the case.  I'm gonna write the English title whenever possible.  Because I want to.

2 Gatti a Nove Code e Mezzi ad Amsterdam

2 Masks for Alexa

AAA Massagiatrice, Bella, Presenza Offresi

All the Colors of the Dark

Amer

Bird with the Crystal Plumage

Black Belly of the Tarantula

Black Sabbath

Blood and Black Lace

Bloodbath in the House of Knives

Sweets for a Stranger

The Card Player

Cat O'Nine Tails

Clap You're Dead

Death Carries a Cane

Death Laid an Egg

Death Occurred Last Night

Deep Red

Delitti Privati

Do You Like Hitchcock?

Don't Torture A Duckling

Door Into Darkness

The Double

A Dragonfly For Each Corpse

Night Evelyn Came Out of Her Grave  (Emilio P. Miraglia box set)

Red Queen Kills Seven Times  (Emilio P. Miraglia box set)

Eyeball

Phantom of Death (in 2-pack w/Eyeball)

Eyes Behind the Wall

Eyes of Crystal

Fashion Crimes

Flower with the Petals of Steel

Footprints

Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion

Formula for a Murder

Four Flies on Gray Velvet

Giallo

Who Saw Her Die (Giallo Collection)

Short Night of the Glass Dolls (Giallo Collection)

The Bloodstained Shadow (Giallo Collection)

The Case of the Bloody Iris (Giallo Collection)

Erotic Games in a Respectable Family

The Girl Next Door

House with the Yellow Carpet

Human Cobras

Snapshot of a Crime

Interrabang

Kill the Fatted Calf

The Killer is One of Thirteen

The Killer Reserved Nine Seats

Libido

Love Me Strangely

Mia Moglie, Un Corpo por L'Amore

Nothing Underneath

Suspected Death of a Minor

Eye in the Labyrinth

Opera

Perfume of the Lady in Black

Phenomena

Plot of Fear

Police Grope Around in the Dark

Puzzle

The Pyjama Girl Case

Qui?

The Room Next Door

Rorret

The Seducers

The Vanity Serum

The Skin Under The Claws

Sleepless

Spirits of Death

Stagefright

The Stendhal Syndrome

The Strange Story of Olga O

Tattoo (I counted it)

Tenebrae

Too Beautiful To Die

Torso

Trauma

The Weapon, The Hour, The Motive

Without Trace (Calling All Police Cars)

And coming soon, courtesy of an awesome sale at Christmas time, New York Ripper (Blu Ray) and Strip Nude For Your Killer (Blu Ray preorder).  Along with the Shameless Blu Ray of Four Flies on Gray Velvet.


WHEW!  That's an awful lot of black gloves...

So, what do you think?  Impressed?  Creeped out?  You'd totally do me?

Later.
-Justin

Re-alphabetized...

First day of school.  Tired as crap.  Up at 6 am, class at 9.  Home by 12.  Needed to do something to stay awake.

So I finally did what I've been meaning to do for months: Re-alphabetize my DVD collection.

Because since moving into this house, I've purchased quite a lot of DVDs and haven't taken the time to put them in their place.

I also learned something:

I have completely filled my bookshelf.  And had to put the last bit in a separate DVD storage thingy my Mom got for me 6 years ago.

Yep, I'm a collector.

Once I figure out how to post some pics from my new smartphone, I'll show you my masterwork.

"That and Misery's Child.  Those are the only two divine things EVER in this world."

Later.
-Justin

Check it out.

The fruit of my labor, the series my TV Production class worked on, is on Vimeo. Here are some links: http://vimeo.com/33731559 Episode 1 http://vimeo.com/33746929 Episode 2 http://vimeo.com/34670826 Episode 3, the episode I wrote http://vimeo.com/34670961 Episode 4, the one I edited http://vimeo.com/34670961 Episode 5, the thrilling conclusion.

New Year!

Happy New Year, y'all!

This has been a Winter Break without the Break.

Once school ended, I got thrust into work and the Christmas holiday.  Luckily most of the customers were relatively cool this year.  The idiocy didn't come around until after Christmas day.

Then I got offered the head writing job for the ODU Film Society project we're doing next semester.  So my non-work time got spent on working on that.  I finished the treatment on New Year's Eve.  With one half hour to spare of 2011...

Thus explaining my lack of giallo watching.  And giallo posting.  And working on Orchid.

I've only watched one giallo this break.  Death Carries a Cane.  Had its moments, but I couldn't stay 100% invested in it.

My giallo buying might change as well.

I was going to spend my Christmas money on gialli, but only bought three: New York Ripper, and preorders of Strip Nude For Your Killer on Blu Ray and the Shameless Blu Ray of Four Flies on Gray Velvet.  The rest, I spent on workout clothing.  At one point I had lost 65 pounds.  I gained 50 back over the past year and a half.

So I am going to go back to the gym.  That, plus craploads of gift certificates for Tropical Smoothie and Subway, and I am going to lose this weight again.

And it's not a resolution.  Those things break.

Anyhow, my cousin came up with a great idea.  I can come up with a series of weight loss goals.  And every time I hit a goal, I can buy a giallo to reward myself.  Unlike past rewards, which usually involved food.

I like this idea.  Of course, if any Dario Argento movies come out on Blu Ray, or if Case of the Bloody Iris comes to Blu Ray, I'll buy those anyway.  Non negotiable.  But anything else, only if I lose this poundage.

I'm thinking maybe every ten pounds.  What do you think?

Later.
-Justin

This semester is officially OVER!

Holy crap.  This was a tough one.

I say that every semester.  But this time, I mean it.  Two film series (one I may post on here), an eight-page research paper completed over the course of three days from conception to completion, 40+ shop hours, learning all about lighting a film, and the production of a web series.  All while working in retail and not murdering anybody.

I got my last grade today.  Let's see...

Lighting for Stage and Film: B
Introduction to Production Technology: B
TV Production: A-
American Film History: A

Dunno how TV Production constitutes an A-, since I got a 94%.  But whatever.  It's not keeping me from graduation.  And every time I think of mentioning it to the professor, I think of that scene in Welcome to the Dollhouse where Dawn has to face the class and talk about "grade-grubbing."


All in all, a 3.425!  My lowest GPA since starting at ODU, but it's still pretty damn good.  Especially considering how hard this semester was.

In the next couple days, I'm gonna take a day to do nothing but watch gialli.  Death Carries a Cane and the Blu Ray of Torso are sitting next to my player.

Christmas is six days away.  Got your shopping done?  I do!

Just hoping I got a giallo or two in my stocking.  Or a gift certificate to www.cinema-de-bizarre.com.  Or money.

Okay.  Gonna relax a bit for the night.

Later.
-Justin

Light at the end of the tunnel...

Spending all day tomorrow working on my two (?) final projects for Lighting class.  Then there's also a test for that class on Thursday.

Then Friday, it'll be the American Film History final.

Then I'll be DONE FOR THE SEMESTER!

I say this every semester, but this is the most demanding semester I have ever had.  But it has also been the most fun.  I've managed to come out of my shell and have made a lot of cool friends.  It makes me look forward to next semester.


BTW, I had an ultrasound on my leg last week.  I didn't tear anything.  I do have a couple of blood clots underneath the skin, but they're not in the veins, so they won't travel to my lungs or my brain or anything.

And the big honking knot?  Just a big ass bruise.  I got lucky.


Half tempted to unwind with a giallo tonight.  After all, I gotta work my ass off tomorrow.  If so, what'll it be?

Later.
-Justin

My Christmas Watch List

This is one tough-ass semester.  Everything's piling up.

I have a 2500-word research paper due Friday that I haven't even started.  A final edit for my TV Production episode due Tuesday.  Another short film for Lighting that I haven't even started yet, and a light plot for the same class.  And a painting for Production Tech.

Hence the lack of giallo-watching.

Then on top of it, on Black Friday, I fell through a floorboard on my deck and royally fucked up my leg.  Nothing's broken, but the hospital didn't have an MRI.  So I dunno if I tore anything.  I think I did, because the side of my knee is hard as a rock and it still hurts.  Missed a crap ton of work, too.

So I WAS planning on going to the gym during break.  But with this new development, I doubt that'll be possible.  Unless I grab a personal trainer and find out some things I can do that won't bother my leg.

Anyhow, I think on my days off I'll probably spend them catching up on my "purchased but unwatched" collection.  You know, those movies I bought but haven't had time to see.

I just piled a whole bunch on my book shelf for the occasion.  Here's what I have:

Taxi Driver (not a giallo, but I'm still mad at myself for never having seen it)
Death Carries a Cane
Human Cobras
Erotic Games in a Respectable Family
The Seducers
Love Me Strangely
Spirits of Death
Amer (watched first 40 minutes, loved it, but had to get some sleep)
Phantom of Death
The Girl From Cortina
Bloodbath in the House of Knives
Torso (Blu Ray)

I doubt I'll watch all of them.  I will still have to work.  And I can't really spend all Christmas day holed up in my room...or can I?

Anyhow, I'm gonna fart around a bit before getting ready for work.  Hopefully I can stand/walk for the whole shift...

Later.
-Justin

Dang...

I dunno why, but I was bored for a brief second.

Why?  It's not like I have plenty to do or anything...editing, writing a paper for Production Tech, working on other films for other classes, No Shave November...

So I decided to count how many gialli are in my movie collection.

And my grand total?

81.

I own 81 gialli.

And that is not counting multiple editions of the same film.  Otherwise I would probably be at 90.

Holy crap.

If I watched one every day, that's almost three months worth of movies.

Again, Holy crap.

And I have, like, 5 or 6 in my Christmas wish list from Amazon.com.


Sometimes I think I am truly going to die a virgin.


Later.
-Justin

Batting around ideas...

I wanna start writing another script.  Something to take my mind off Orchid for a while before restructuring it.

In the summer, I'm gonna be doing an independent study with my Screenwriting professor where I write another script over the course of a semester.  Debating over what I want to work on with him.

Just stole my friend's tactic and wrote all my ideas onto one page.

Over the winter break, I wanna write a synopsis/treatment.  I've narrowed it down to two, but I think I know which one I wanna go with after talking with my friend.  It's a totally crazed out Suspiria bat shit crazy script.  And it's gonna rock while breaking your heart at the same time.

Okay.  Shoot in an hour.

Later.
-Justin

Passing time pre-shoot...

About to go to my shoot in an hour for the TV Production class.  This is lots of fun, but we're gonna be shooting outside.  In 37 degree weather.

So I'm all bundled up.  Bought an extra pair of sweatpants, too.  I needed them, anyway.

I'm pretty much finished watching all the movies of my American Neo-Giallo series.  Here's what I ended up with:

Basic Instinct
Color of Night
Blink
Jennifer 8 (though this one might not make the paper)
and Sliver.

Some observations while watching these movies:

Sharon Stone shaves.

Bruce Willis is circumsized.

Madeleine Stowe used to be hot.

Uma Thurman didn't always look like an alien.

I fully understand why Demi Moore was pissed after watching Color of Night.

William Baldwin needs to wax his ass.

Thrillers from the '90's were too blandly slick looking.

I wanna see Clash of the Titans to see if Jane March is still hot.

While the music is good in these films, none of these scores can hold a candle to Ennio, Bruno, Stelvio, or Goblin.

David Cronenberg should've directed Basic Instinct 2.

If you're gonna throw in a subplot about a girl getting touched in a no-no spot by her stepdad, don't tack it on at the end.

For Neo-Gialli, there were very few actual murder set pieces.

My next script idea is very similar to Blink.  I might still go through with it, but make it look like Blink if Dario got a hold of it with a red marker.

Sharon Stone would be way hotter if she weren't so delusional and stuck up.

I actually bought the theme song to Color of Night off iTunes.  "The Color of the Night" by Lauren Christy.  My new guilty pleasure.  It was nominated for both the Golden Globe for Best Song and the Razzie for Worst Song.

What happened to Tom Berenger?  And Madeleine Stowe for that matter...

Okay.  I'm off.  Crew call is in an hour.  When I finish the Film Series, I'll post it on here.  Unless the grade sucks.

Later.
-Justin

Happy Halloween!

Yep.  It's that wonderful time of year.  Where there's free candy and chicks dressed up like sexy cats.

Seriously, on Saturday night I counted three sexy kittens in two minutes on campus.  Mmm...three sexy kittens who lost their mittens...something something pie...

But I digress.

Anyhow, Happy Halloween!

Random Bits and Pieces

Film Series 2 is underway for my Film History class.  I'm doing American attempts at giallo.  I watched Basic Instinct.  And plan on watching Alice Sweet Alice and Color of Night.  Debating on adding either Jennifer 8, Blink, or Sliver.

I got a copy of Bloodbath in the House of Knives.  Talked to the director a couple of times.  Seems like a cool guy.  When class stuff is over, I'm gonna give this one a spin.

My giallo-rific ideas for my TV Production class ended up with mixed results.  I got assigned a different episode after writing the murder scene (the prof did that on purpose, so we'd be challenged or something).  The killer still has a fedora, and she's still stabbed, but we don't see the actual murder.  Damn.

Instead, I got assigned episode 3 to write.  The one with the big chase scene that nobody wanted to write.  I guess I did a good job, because the final product ended up almost exactly like I wrote it.  The professor even kept the gay joke I put in during the phone conversation.  Winning.

I wanna work on Orchid.  Is it Christmas yet?

I wonder if I could get Orchid into Dario's hands.

I'm gonna head to class.

Later.
-Justin

150!

150th post!

Woo-hoo!

Now if only I had something to update with.

In a couple months, I'll be back to my old self...

Till then,

Keep rockin...or something...

Later.
-Justin

An actual update?

Hmm...Let's see...

Still no word from Screamfest regarding Orchid.  I think they don't announce until after the fest is actually over.

But...I do have some other stuff.

My Screenwriting professor asked me last week how Orchid was doing in the contests, and when I told him it wasn't going well, he offered to read my latest draft.  Well, I asked him and he said "I'm not reading much right now..."  I kinda volunteered it for him.  But I would have taken "No" for an answer if he were busy.

On Monday, he walked up to me before class (he's my American Film History professor) with a printed copy.  He actually printed it out and made notes.

Some very good feedback, this time.

Since turning Orchid into the contest, I've felt that Gia was a bit too passive.  He picked up on that, and came up with some good ideas regarding how to make her more active in her destiny.

He also pointed something out that I didn't notice.  After the first two murder scenes, which are spectacular set pieces, the next few death scenes are more low key.  Heck, one is literally bloodless.  The death scenes should be getting grander in scale as they progress.  And he made some really cool suggestions regarding the final confrontation.  All involving more violence.  Hey, any advice that involves ADDING gore is always good.

He also said my visual motif is very strong in the beginning, regarding flowers and velvet popping up everywhere, but by the end, it fades away.  He's totally right.  Probably stems from the fact that I wrote the last 56 pages in 4 days.  So busy moving the plot forward that nuances kinda take a backseat.

So I've taken these all into account and think I know how to improve things.  Too bad I got so much crap on my plate this semester.  When class lets out, I'll spend my non-working-in-retail time revisiting my baby.

Cool thing is, with this feedback, I think I FINALLY know how to nail my ending down the way I want it.

I oughta take some notes down so when I get a chance to go back, I'll know what to do without having to search too hard in my warped little mind.  Because by then, I'll be fatigued from looking for TVs and keeping my hands off idiot customers.


Also, in semi-giallo related news, I think I know what my next assignment will be in American Film History class.

We have to do two "Film Series."  Where we watch 3-5 movies of a certain type and analyze them.  I am working on the first one right now: American Silent Horrors, which I notice tend to revolve around an "outsider," a freak who doesn't get the girl and dies tragically.

I think my second series will be American attempts at the giallo.  The late 80's-mid 90's are full of these: Basic Instinct, Sliver, Final Analysis, Color of Night, Sea of Love, Knight Moves, Jennifer 8...Plus, lotsa nudity.  That should keep me awake.  I might throw in Basic Instinct 2 just for a good laugh.


Okay.  I'm about to head to class.  I have a Quiz in Production Technology.  Then we're watching The Thin Man in Film History.  I hope it's good.  I contemplated going home and going back to bed after the quiz, but I need the 11 points for showing up to this screening.

Later.
-Justin

Ah, Fall Semester...

Always fun.

This semester is shaping up to be pretty busy.

At least we're making a Film Noir for our TV production class.  When I submitted my script, I added my own little giallo twist, of course.  Needless to say, I didn't get chosen to write that episode...

So things will be tight regarding movie time.

The only movies I have time to watch are for class assignments.  And I can only watch American movies.  Like right now, I gotta watch Hunchback of Notre Dame, Phantom of the Opera, The Unknown, and The Man Who Laughs for a film series.

Maybe my second film series will be American attempts at gialli: Basic Instinct, just about any Brian de Palma movie, Color of Night, etc.

I also wanna go through my collection and write down exactly how many gialli I have.  That'll be fun.

Okay.

So, if you'll excuse me, I have a set strike to attend.

Later.
-Justin

Well...um...

Orchid didn't make it into the New Orleans Horror Film Festival.

Stinks.  But maybe it just isn't ready yet.

Next big amount of $$ I get I'll probably get some coverage or something.  I've been so embroiled in the script that it's probably hard for me to see the flaws.  It's my little giallo baby and as its mommy I think it's perfect. :)

Well, onward and upward.

Later.
-Justin

No Way!

They made a sequel to Nothing Underneath!  And I didn't know anything about it.

No, not Too Beautiful To Die.  I know the story behind that.

This one is called Sotto il Vestito Ninente, L'ultima Sfilata (Nothing Under The Dress: The Last Parade).

Apparently it came out in Italy earlier this year and is by the same dude who directed the original: Carlo Vanzina.

The DVD is coming out in Italy this Wednesday, but, alas, it's Italian only.  That really really sucks, considering my knowledge of the language is limited to giallo titles and the menu at the Olive Garden.

I saw the trailer on Youtube and it looks pretty freakin' sweet!  Someone needs to subtitle this and send it my way.

Okay.  I gotta head to work.

Later.
-Justin