Happy friggin' New Year...
A look back on 20 years of doin' things
the hard way.
Well, 2005 is here at last. And although I've been
somewhat quiet on the subject of late, it's sort of a landmark year for me.
August will mark the 20th anniversary since I embarked on my first
feature-length film, THE DEAD NEXT DOOR. (Ironically, it's also the month Anchor
Bay has chose to release the swanky Special Edition DVD I've been hard at work
on.)
20 years! And that's just counting
the so-called "professional" endeavors, never mind all the Super-8mm short films
that came before that.
Of course,
everyone knows that the first 4 years were consumed largely on DEAD (unless you
count the first version of BASIC HOW-TO HALLOWEEN MAKEUPS in 1987...but I
digress). But I guess it could be said that I made up for that in the remaining
16 years! The remarkable thing is, here I am still pimping these old movies, now
on DVD. We just announced the POLYMORPH Special Edition which arrives on Feb.
22, leaving only a handful of early flicks yet to be given the digital makeover.
I'm already knee-deep in putting together THE SANDMAN Special Edition as well as
writing the next two installments of BAD MOVIE POLICE which will skewer MAXIMUM
IMPACT and ZOMBIE COP. That just leaves ROBOT NINJA and KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE,
and come hell or high water, my mission is to get all of this stuff onto a shiny
plastic disc by year's end so I can start 2006 with a clean
slate.
But before I toss out the old in
favor of the new, I thought this might be a good chance to take a little trip
through the last 20 years and pin some Important Dates In Tempe History...so
journey back with me now, if you
dare...
July,
1985: I
drop out of college at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, only a couple weeks into
my second year. The final straw is my apartment being robbed, but clearly higher
education wasn't for me...so I decide (as always) to do things the hard way and
attend the School of Hard
Knocks.
August,
1985: On a whim I call up A Really Big
Cult Director™ known only as "The Master Cylinder" with the hopes of being
a grunt on his rumored sequel to his debut effort. I am fortunate enough to
drive to Ferndale, Michigan and meet with him in person, and before I know it
he's convincing me to go out and make my
own
film. In record time, a script and investment package is presented to
him.
September,
1985: The first check is cut for THE
DEAD NEXT DOOR. Originally the plan is to shoot on VHS for a mere $8,000. Amsco
Studios, the production company named I used through most of my short films, is
born.
April,
1986: After a long winter, THE DEAD
NEXT DOOR begins to roll. The shoot is stalled after the first 2 weeks because
the footage comes back dark (the camera is broken). We regroup and wind up
shooting through the summer of
1986.
September,
1987: During one of many long dry
spells on DEAD, I get the hare-brained scheme to create a how-to makeup video
for Halloween. It's shot and edited quick and cheap and finally only a week
before Halloween, Amsco Video Distribution unveils BASIC HOW-TO HALLOWEEN
MAKEUPS. It's a bit of a disaster because I have no clue of what I'm
doing.
Winter,
1988: After many delays and setbacks,
THE DEAD NEXT DOOR has the final picture online work. Having done things the
hard way, I abandon Amsco and decide to start fresh with The Suburban Tempe
Company...and thus Tempe is
born.
Spring,
1989: During a trip to Los Angeles
just to visit, the final sound mix for THE DEAD NEXT DOOR is launched and within
2 months the film is finally completed. During this time I convince Cinema Home
Video to finance a new film, ROBOT NINJA. It's the start of a rather bleak
period in Tempe
history.
Summer,
1989: As ROBOT NINJA is being edited,
a new deal is made for two films — SKINNED ALIVE and GHOUL SCHOOL. These
will be my first projects strictly as a producer, which is a valuable learning
experience.
Winter,
1989: I bow out of producing GHOUL
SCHOOL over creative differences with the script while completing
post-production on SKINNED ALIVE. ROBOT NINJA is released and it proves to be
the biggest disappointment of my life. I come back into the GHOUL SCHOOL fold
but it's the first film that's not truly a Tempe
production.
Spring,
1990: With no new productions on the
horizon, I relocate to Los Angeles, California to finish post-production on
GHOUL SCHOOL.
Summer,
1991: Discouraged by nothing happening
in Los Angeles, it's back to Akron, Ohio and thus begins a 7-month odyssey
producing 6 shot-on-video features for Cinema Home Video. They are shot in pairs
of two...KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE and ZOMBIE COP, CHICKBOXER and MAXIMUM IMPACT,
GALAXY OF THE DINOSAURS and HUMANOIDS FROM ATLANTIS. It's one of the lowest
points in Tempe history, for
sure.
Fall,
1991: As the dreadful for-hire
shot-on-video flicks rage on, Tempe Video is born with the release of an updated
version of BASIC HOW-TO HALLOWEEN MAKEUPS VOL. ONE. Soon after a new BASIC
HOW-TO HALLOWEEN MAKEUPS VOL. TWO is produced & released. Tempe takes it on
the road for its first fan convention, Horrorthon (which would become Chiller
Theatre the following spring). The B's Nest newsletter is born to offer videos
by mail to our
customers.
Spring,
1992: By the time HUMANOIDS FROM
ATLANTIS is in the can, I am giving my first serious thought to quitting.
Instead, some old crew from THE DEAD NEXT DOOR surface with an interesting
little script called
OZONE.
Summer,
1992: OZONE is shot over the later
part of the summer, and Tempe Video takes over the distribution reins on THE
DEAD NEXT DOOR as well as a small slate of other non-Tempe
productions.
Fall, 1992:
Tempe takes a detour from OZONE to
produce John Russo's MIDNIGHT 2: SEX, DEATH & VIDEOTAPE as well as NIGHT OF
THE LIVING DEAD 25TH ANNIVERSARY
DOCUMENTARY.
Summer, 1993:
OZONE is finally completed in time for
a screening in Pittsburgh at the Zombie Jamboree convention. It's met with quite
a positive reaction and the future of Tempe begins to look
brighter.
Winter,
1993-1994: After entertaining offers
from other distributors, Tempe Video debuts OZONE in January, 1994 and it's a
modest success. To complement the release, The B's Nest newsletter is put to
rest and a full-fledged quarterly magazine called Alternative Cinema is
born.
Fall, 1994:
With the distribution and publishing
efforts growing steadily, a new production called THE SANDMAN is launched. It
proves to be a grueling experience and an expensive one which trips up Tempe for
a bit.
January,
1995: J.R. Bookwalter meets Ariauna
Albright at a FANGORIA convention in New York City and an unholy alliance is
formed. Within the next few months, a relationship is
forged.
Fall,
1995: After many trials and
tribulations, THE SANDMAN is completed and a new distribution partnership is
forged with E.I. Independent Cinema, who also begins taking over the publishing
reins on Alternative Cinema with Tempe retaining the editorial content. Tempe
Video cuts ties with its acquired product to focus strictly on its own original
productions.
Spring, 1996:
The relationship with Ariauna falters
but the working relationship continues with
POLYMORPH.
Fall,
1996: POLYMORPH is released and Tempe
forges into the next production, BLOODLETTING, with writer/director Matthew
Jason Walsh at the
helm.
Spring,
1997: Not satisfied with the E.I.
distribution arrangement, BLOODLETTING goes to Dead Alive Productions which
marks the first release in several years that wasn't through Tempe. The decision
is made to relocate back to Los Angeles, California. Alternative Cinema is sold
outright to E.I., thus ending another chapter in Tempe
history.
Summer,
1997: The Suburban Tempe Company name
is laid to rest and reconfigured as simply Tempe Entertainment. The official
website Tempevideo.com is
born.
Fall,
1997: Enter Full Moon. I'm offered the
opportunity to edit and mix a 35mm anamorphic creature flick called SHRIEKER,
followed shortly thereafter by CURSE OF THE PUPPET
MASTER.
Summer,
1998: After assembling a small team of
colleagues to help with the burgeoning post-production work for Full Moon, the
group relocates to 8th floor offices at Hollywood & Vine. I'm upgraded to
post-production supervisor and eventually the team grows to 20 people, which we
affectionately dub "Fat Cat Post." To lure me into this arrangement, I'm
promised a directing gig on THE MUMMY REBORN! which makes it through script
development but is never
filmed.
Spring,
1999: The urge to keep Tempe alive is
fostered by the acquisition of SKINNED ALIVE and GHOUL SCHOOL, which join all of
the other Cinema Home Video releases (except ROBOT NINJA). Remastering work on
SKINNED is started and a 16mm cult drama called EDDIE PRESLEY becomes the first
non-Tempe acquisition for the new Tempe DVD label. Another directing opportunity
is extended in the form of
FEAR.COM.
Fall,
1999: Post work at Full Moon stumbles
when the company can no longer afford to keep the staff. The business is sent
back to my North Hollywood digs and we continue to do most of the post work on
the key features.
Winter,
2000: Charlie Band brings me into
discuss directing FEAR.COM and somehow the conversation turns to WITCHOUSE 2:
BLOOD COVEN. I'm shuttled off to Romania for a month and this becomes my first
35mm feature.
Summer,
2000: WITCHOUSE 2: BLOOD COVEN marks
the first Tempe production to feature an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer and 5.1
surround sound. Once delivered, a new partnership with Full Moon is formed to
produce a series of $50,000 DVCAM features starting with FEAR.COM, which is
rechristened HORRORVISION. At the eleventh hour I decide not to direct the film
and enlist newcomer Danny Draven to take the
reins.
Fall-Winter,
2000: One of the busiest periods in
Tempe history as we leap from HORRORVISION to STITCHES to THE VAULT and finally
to GROOM LAKE, an unforgiving disaster directed by and co-starring William
Shatner. It nearly bankrupts Full Moon and the future begins to look
bleak.
Spring,
2001: Basically on a dare, I agree to
make WITCHOUSE 3: DEMON FIRE for Full Moon on a new rock-bottom budget of
$26,000. This is starting to feel like Cinema Home Video all over again, where
the budgets get slashed as time goes on. But WITCHOUSE 3 is a great experience
and it receives a lot of great
press.
Summer,
2001: Through a weird deal, I acquire
limited DVD rights to VENGEANCE OF THE DEAD Lunar Edition, which becomes the
first unofficial Tempe DVD release. It's fitting because this film was
ultimately responsible for me getting hired to edit & mix SHRIEKER in 1997
which launched the whole Full Moon
era.
Fall,
2001: On the heels of completing
WITCHOUSE 3, Full Moon commissions three more features — KILLJOY 2, HELL
ASYLUM and DEAD & ROTTING. I'm now less interested than ever to be a
producer so I bring on line producers and opt to share the executive producer
credit with Charlie Band. Danny Draven returns to direct HELL ASYLUM and my old
school friend (and makeup FX guru) David P. Barton is enlisted to co-write and
direct DEAD & ROTTING, which is shot back in Akron, Ohio with several Tempe
alumni from the early days (Tom Hoover and Barbara
Katz-Norrod).
Winter,
2001-2002: I decide to walk away from
producing more films from Full Moon. The torch is passed on to Danny Draven, but
after only two films he decides enough is enough. As part of a debt settlement
from GROOM LAKE, Tempe takes the DVD rights to WITCHOUSE 3, HELL ASYLUM and DEAD
& ROTTING. WITCHOUSE 3 is put together as a full Special Edition release for
Fred Olen Ray's Retromedia label. Limited Edition releases of HELL ASYLUM and
DEAD & ROTTING follow a few months later as experiments for Tempe DVD. I'm
the poster boy for the cover of Femme
Fatales magazine with an exhaustive
article on my so-called career
history.
Spring,
2002: Despite my best efforts to
escape the clutches of Full Moon after DEAD & ROTTING, I'm enlisted to
produce two more features when Danny Draven passes. JIGSAW is basically jobbed
out lock, stock and barrel to Three AM Films and isn't much of a Tempe
production at all since it was shot in Wisconsin; BLEED is something I prefer to
remain completely anonymous from and yet another reminder of why Tempe has to go
its separate way. SKINNED ALIVE finally makes its debut as a Special Edition DVD
in conjunction with Retromedia, but the sales are not
good.
Summer,
2002: A Special Edition DVD of TOWNIES
is released, but the distribution experiments are largely unsuccessful. It's
time to take a break and refocus my energies. Jason Paul Collum convinces me to
forge ahead with a documentary on B-movie actresses called SOMETHING TO SCREAM
ABOUT.
Fall,
2002: Netflix restores some faith to
Tempe DVD by signing us as a vendor. Against my better judgment, I agree to
produce and direct DEADLY STINGERS, our first 24p HDCAM feature which in theory
is slated to be released from Fox Home Video. It's a bit of an unmitigated
disaster and the final straw in 5 years of dealing with Charlie Band. (The film
remains unreleased to this very day, for which I am thankful.) HORRORVISION and
WITCHOUSE 2: BLOOD COVEN debut on Sci-Fi Channel as part of a failed creature
feature show hosted by William
Shatner.
Winter,
2002-2003: One more Charlie Band
tie...SKINNED ALIVE and OZONE are offered as bare-bones discs to Blockbuster and
Hollywood Video by Full Moon's Wizard Video label. OZONE is rechristened as
STREET ZOMBIES for this release. Though financially successful, we don't see all
of the money we're owed. But it's a sweet victory as STREET ZOMBIES is released
at the same time as GROOM LAKE and our little $3500 movie outsells the Shatner
non-epic. SKINNED ALIVE also debuts on pay-per-view which is another Tempe first
(but a sour victory since we're stiffed out of the money by Charlie
Band).
Spring,
2003: Tempe DVD signs a new
distribution deal with Ventura and a slate of new releases are announced. The
first three segments for the BAD MOVIE POLICE are shot. GROOM LAKE debuts on
Sci-Fi Channel to little
acclaim.
Summer,
2003: The Splatter Rampage label is
born with a Double Feature DVD of Chris Seaver's MULVA: ZOMBIE ASS KICKER! and
FILTHY McNASTY. The disc proves to be a steady seller despite initially low
sales. (MULVA and FILTHY were originally acquired as extras on the Limited
Edition discs for HELL ASYLUM and DEAD &
ROTTING.)
Fall,
2003: HELL ASYLUM and DEAD &
ROTTING are re-released as official Special Edition DVDs as a budget-priced
experiment. They eventually fare well for a mere $5.99 each at Best Buy. By the
time the first two BAD MOVIE POLICE discs are released, it's apparent that
Ventura isn't going to be a viable outlet with the restrictive nature of their
exclusive agreement. The Special Edition DVD of OZONE is bumped to early 2004
but the situation gets no better. SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT is
completed.
Spring,
2004: The writing is on the wall for
the Ventura-Tempe deal. SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT is heavily promoted for its
March release but sales are slow. Our first 2-disc Special Edition for EDDIE
PRESLEY sells good, but not to expectations. Anchor Bay licenses the DVD rights
to THE DEAD NEXT DOOR and extensive remastering is
started.
Summer, 2004:
Beginning with MIDNIGHT SKATER, the
Splatter Rampage label is broken away from the Ventura deal. By the release of
THE BONESETTER in August, a new business model is launched (lower manufacturing
& marketing costs, which helps the titles get into profit faster). Ventura
is gone and KC Sales steps in to fill their shoes. Tempe hires Chris Seaver to
make FILTHY McNASTY 3 and MULVA 2: KILL TEEN APE! exclusively for
them.
Fall,
2004: GHOUL SCHOOL and the third BAD
MOVIE POLICE disc are finally released on DVD. Jason Paul Collum shoots OCTOBER
MOON which will launch the B+Boy label in
mid-2005.
Winter,
2005: After many delays, the Special
Edition DVD of POLYMORPH is finally released. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 25TH
ANNIVERSARY DOCUMENTARY is purchased outright for 15 years by another
company...it's remastered and rechristened as REFLECTION ON THE LIVING DEAD.
SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT becomes the first Tempe production to hit Showtime
Beyond. Now THE SANDMAN is being prepped for Special Edition DVD release. And
finally, I make a commitment to release the remaining original Tempe films by
the end of 2005 as well as laying the groundwork for some new shows to be shot
in HD (High Definition) video...
So
there you have it! What the rest of the year holds is anyone's guess, but my
plans are to wind down the year with less acquisitions and more original Tempe
productions, both from myself and other
filmmakers.
I gotta say, it's been a
helluva ride over the last 2 decades. It's got me in a seriously introspective
frame of mind, looking back at what worked and what didn't work and formulating
a plan for the future. I would have never guessed how the first 20 years went
down back in 1985, so it should be interesting to see what the next decade and
beyond holds. Hopefully you'll stick with us to find
out...
Stay sick! -
JRB
Posted: Fri - January 14, 2005 at 11:30 PM