Happy Days are Here Again

Zoje Stage, the writer/director of "Happy Walter", has recently
updated the HW production blog, check it out:

Masterbuilder films blog

Quite a nail biter of an entry there, but all (so far) ends well.
Computers have made some tasks much easier and cheaper then before, film/video work being a perfect example. It's amazing to me the amount of control and power a computer gives one when it comes to
creating a movie and once you have the essential equipment and software, your major financial costs are covered and then it's just a matter of coming up with the idea and finding some actors (both tasks
easier said then done). Zoje just got a taste of the other side of technology, when computers go bad and all the ones and zeroes spill all over the floor, it's a shocking reminder of just how dependent we have all become on those glorified toasters. Unfortunately, we got the wolf by the ears now and it's hard to go back, but when the power goes off, what will we do without our Google?

OK HW
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August Hiking Report

...and so, what can I say? August was not a good month for hiking for
me. The combination of the heat, the move and the inertia of my
sloth-like tendencies got the better of me, so I only managed to
squeak out a measly 19 miles. Bah I say, BAH. So, I have my work cut
out for me the rest of the year, but that's alright, adds an element
of drama. Onward.

OK HW

Swinging the Hammer

Tangled up in blue? Why am I blue? Hammer, please don't hurt'em. Wha?

So why am I blue and swinging a hammer. That's me acting in a indie feature called "Cold Readings" IMDB listing that premiered at the Virginia Film Festival back in 2004. Doug Bari wrote, directed and starred in this satirical look at the world of commercial psychics. I had a very small part as a murderous drifter named Bickerman, who (in a flashback, hence the tinting) kills an old man with, you guessed it, a hammer. I also got to do a little voice over work and run the camera a couple of times. It was a fun experience that delivered my first IMDB credit Unfortunately I missed the mentioned premiere as I was living in Ireland at the time and after that I heard nothing else about the project. Recently I contacted actor/writer/director Doug Bari to see what was going on and ask for a copy of the film as I still had not had a chance to see it. A few days later, I had a freshly burned copy spinning in the DVD player. So how is it? Not bad, in fact, much better then many direct to DVD efforts that I have paid to rent or buy. The story is interesting, entertaining with decent photography and generally very fine acting. "Cold Readings" breaks many of the no-budget rules, featuring a large cast and many locations. I wish I could link you to it's Netflix listing so you could check it out for yourself, but as far as I know, "Cold Readings" isn't available, in fact hasn't even been screened again publicly since 2004. And that is a damn shame as it is worthy of a bowl of popcorn. Maybe one day.

OK HW

The Happy Update

The Happy log is rolling along. Talked with Zoje Stage, the writer/director of "Happy Walter" and she was heading off to Pittsburgh to shot the last few feet of Happy tape. Zoje is on a tight, high pressure deadline to get the thing finished so it will be ready for entry into a well-known film festival. Can't say which one, as this is, as I have to remind myself often, her "baby" and so have to respect which and what news to divulge. At any rate, she has updated the Master Builder web site with some cast shots, check it out:

Master Builder's Happy Walter page

Also, some of you are wondering what old Happy Walter is all about, so I've copied the synopsis from Zoje's site for you to read here:

Happy Walter is an artist renowned for making temporary sculptures out of toilet paper and art films featuring unmoving images. Though he is revered in the art world, the thirteen children who bear his name have rarely spoken with him. Wanting a father - and an explanation for his inexplicable success - Happy Walter, Jr. conceives of a documentary that gives her not only access to her father, but to his self-declared experts as well. The results: a hilarious look at a man who unintentionally spins straw into gold, and the eccentric array of people who don't - and do - see him as a naked emperor.

Lots of stuff to chew on for sure.

To the future-

OK HW