Foxxy Madonna is now on the IMDB!  Still working on getting the page updated with a poster and trailer and whatnot, but stop by and check it out! (Side note: DVD is VERY close to being finished)

Foxxy IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0990430/

Thanks for the support! Till next time...

posted by Jake

So I suppose its due that I post about my recent excursion to Albuquerque, NM for Filmapalooza 2007. Since my flick, Foxxy Madonna vs The Black Death, was a top 15 finalist in the National Film Challenge and was being screened in competition there, I thought perhaps I should represent the flick

Overall the trip was a blast. I started off recovering from a recent onset of the flu, which made flying fun, to say the least. But by Friday I was more or less in full swing.

Sam Adams sponsored the event and felt it relevant to provide all of us with free suds for the entire weekend. This was definately taken advantage of by everyone. Thanks guys!

Thursday night I registered and hit up the Fall Shootout screening where I got to see a handful of entertaining little shorts that had the option to incorporate Sam Adams beer. After that it was off to The District Bar and Grill for free grub, suds and karaoke, the latter of which I avoided so as to hang out with some of the filmmakers... that and because I can't sing.

Friday morning kicked off with a series of workshops. I sat in on the Special Effects on a Budget session - fun and informative. Then it was over to the HD Showdown screening, where teams were each given a Panasonic HVX200 HD camera and had to make a short under the same constraints as the other 48 Hour Film projects. Damn that camera is sexy... the image quality is gorgeous on a big screen. Later I watched the first set of the city winners from the 48 Hour Film Competition. Some REALLY good stuff in there (some bad too). My favorite of which came from Paris, France. I missed the second set because Sam Adams paid me $75 to sit down for an hour and a half, drink Sam Adams, watch commercials of theirs and offer feedback. Wonder if that can become a 9-5 position? After that I went back to the theater where Alexander Payne was the keynote speaker. Really entertaining - the guy's thoughts on cinema and the fimmaking process were poignant and entertaining, I thought. Next it was off to the Windchime Gallery where everyone attending got to drink and socialize amongst one another. By this point we had all had a chance to see a lot of each others' films and had more to talk about. I spent a lot of time talking to the French team and got to know the director, Jean Christophe Louis - have to plug his flick, it's great! Check it out at www.dailymotion.com/jclouis. I stayed until the place was closing and followed a few of the guys I met over to a local bar for a short while, then trailed back to the hotel for an event that was offered every night but I opted to forgo Thursday - milk and cookies in the hospitality suite. But when I got there I saw no milk. Just more beer. Cookies and beer (Sam Adams went all out).

Saturday morning I downed a few cups of coffee and sat in on a smaller group panel discussion with Alexander Payne. Then I went to the HD Workflow workshop where a guy from Panasonic described the process of shooting and editing with the P2 card and the HVX200 camera (I want one ). After that I headed over to the filmmaker's lounge, a room they had setup where you could screen anything you wanted for 20 minutes. I showed a trailer for Mime, Shade of Grey and the Film Challenge cut of Foxxy Madonna vs The Black Death. They seemed to get a generally positive response. After that I participated in the Filmmaker Olympics, which was a series of quirky little competitions outside. I lost and got over it pretty quickly.

Next it was the National Film Challenge screening, where the top 15 finalists were shown (including Foxxy Madonna!). Afterwards they asked the teams present to come up and share a funny story from the shoot. I talked about Jomar's (The Black Death) run in with a case of racial profiling and how he and David (Chalkboard) were hungover and we periodically had to break for puking and/or general recuperation. Later it was off to Sauce (a club) for the awards ceremony. Lots of awards went to flicks I thought should've.

And WHOOHOO!!!! Foxxy Madonna vs The Black Death snagged BEST USE OF "SPY" GENRE!

Then we went next door to club RAW for the after party (and more Sam Adams). This was a blast as well. I cut out around 11pm to go back to the room and get room service with my wife.

I got to meet a lot of great filmmakers and see a lot of great shorts. Granted, I saw some lackluster flicks too, but it's all relative. Hell of a great time and I hope to make another project that will take me there again! In the meantime you can all look forward to the revamped director's cut of Foxxy Madonna (coming VERY soon!) and the release of the final cut of Mime (which is complete and now being submitted to festivals). And of course, the big kahuna - Shade of Grey, which is progressing well in post-production.

So till next time.....
-Jake

posted by Jake

Today I did an interview on IMC in Indianapolis for Foxxy Madonna vs The Black Death (channel 65/cable 99 in Indy). Sat down alongside The Black Death himself - Jomar "Dez" Banks (who set up the interview) - and talked shop about the flick. Not sure when it's going to air, but I'm told soon. I'll post when I find out, and hopefully I'll get to put the clip online. It went pretty well, although I really wanted to also have Foxxy Madonna herself (Monica Barajas) present for the interview. Originally I thought I'd get to have both my lead actors sit in, but when we arrived I was informed only 2 could be in on the interview, which I wasn't too happy about. I take the blame for this as being a case of miscommunication. Jomar and I plugged the flick rather shamelessly (as well as others involved in the project... though when calling names I quickly realized I needed to also thank Scott Ganyo for his participation and effort - so Scott, a belated and sincere thank you). We had a great time doing this spot. IMC also is airing an edited-for-TV clip of the movie in the segment. So WHOOHOO!

posted by Jake

2007 is shaping up to be an ambitious year for Cinephreak Pictures™, with 2006 holding a decent share of highlights.

First off, I have to give a muchly overdue and greatly deserved thanks to Brandon Smith of VideoSmith Productions for the assisted updating and revamping of www.cinephreakpictures.com. Brandon created the Foxxy Madonna page and the Shade of Grey page, as well as various other updates. Viel Dank to my cinematic brother.

Foxxy Madonna vs the Black Death made it to the top 15 in the National Film Challenge. March 8-11 is Filmapalooza in Albuquerque, NM and perhaps it shall snag some awards (fingers crossed)... The director's cut is shaping up nicely and is slated to premiere at the fest. Edward Hatfield of Tao Films and I have reworked the whole flick from scratch. The color scheme has been completely augmented and we've included a few visual FX to bump up the production value. The biggest achievement here though is the sound - all the FX and dialogue have been restructured from ground zero. We forged through the ADR process and the thing is sounding GOOD. Look for it online soon.

Shade of Grey is about half-way rough cut. With Foxxy wrapping post-production the focus is back to this dramatic little tale. So far, I'm pleased to say it's shaping up to look rather powerful.

Also wrapping up is the new and improved director's cut of Mime. Re-edited from the original master tapes, one of Cinephreak Pictures'™ most requested flicks is about to be available in a much better version.

We're looking to get Foxxy Madonna, Mime and eventually Shade of Grey running some festival circuits - more details to come on that.

Also slated for 2007 are some more Cream of the Crop music videos, as well as a few other surprises. Keep checking back here and www.cinephreakpictures.com for updates.

Till next time...

posted by Jake