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About Me

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I live for movies. I know that sounds dramatic, but they're one of the most important things in the world to me. And besides watching, reading, and studying them... I make them. Since starting Parallactic Pictures (formerly Kinky Mule Films) with my friend and co-writer/director, Kevin Kölsch, we've made a documentary on best-selling author Chuck Palahniuk entitled 'Postcards From The Future'.

We then turned our aims to directing our first feature film, called 'Our Lady Of Sorrow.' This became a trial by fire in the woes and frustrations of independent financing. Kevin and I spent about three years marketing ourselves and the script for 'Our Lady Of Sorrow.' For all intents and purposes, we were making this film no matter what. So we even spent a year doing auditions. We spent another year building a website, a marketing package, even business cards. We started the LLC. We tried to get an agent. We even went out and shot an investment trailer for the movie. Looking back now, I don't see any of that time spent as a waste. It was sort of like our graduate courses for film school. The things they don't teach you about how to market yourself. What you need to get in the right doors. And most importantly, what a project needs to get funding.

And so, three years later, we hit the wall and had our moment of clarity. Rather then trying to raise a specific amount of money that the script for 'Our Lady Of Sorrow' was dictating, we instead looked at the amount of money we already had raised through online sales of the Chuck Palahniuk documentary. And with that money, we wrote a new script, based around an already existing budget. This was 'Absence.'

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Production on 'Absence' began in mid July 2005 and wrapped in early August. The movie was shot on 24P digital video, Super 8mm, 35mm film, and various still photos, which were implemented throughout key scenes. So calling this movie a collage of formats is an understatement. Weeks after the shoot wrapped, we dove into editing the movie. This lasted the fall of 2005 and into the winter of 2006. At that point, we walked away with a glorified rough cut of the film, that neither Kevin or I was that happy with.

As things so often go in the world of independent film, it would take two years before Kevin and I would get a chance to get back into a lab and re-edit 'Absence' to our liking. This finally happened in March 2008, and we are now proud and happy to say that 'Absence' is a strong movie. With a shooting budget of $25,000, and a big storyline focusing on three lead characters, we pulled off more than most people might have. With this new found confidence in the project, 'Absence' will now be heading to Amazon.com, where it will be available for sale soon!

If you would like to learn more about the movie, as well as check out a gallery, interviews, a synopsis, trailer, and investment info, be sure to visit us online.

With 'Absence' completed, Kevin and I are still raising awareness for 'Our Lady Of Sorrow' as possibly our next feature film. This is a project I've been developing for a long time. Even bestselling author Chuck Palahniuk has been a part of the process, once commenting that the script was: "A magnificent first. It will send people out into the world very frightened". Most recently, Jerry Chandler from Synapse Films called 'Our Lady of Sorrow' one of the top ten scripts he's ever read.

Seeking funding for this project has been a long-term process. We started off by going strictly with the independent investor route. Lately though, we are focusing on building up our resume and working on more shorts, with the goal of winning and placing in some key film festivals, in which to attract a representation and attach a producer to some of our projects.

We have an investment trailer we shot for 'Our Lady of Sorrow' above, but you can also check out online here for a synopsis, bio, marketing book and a higher quality trailer.

'Shed' is the newest screenplay written by Kevin and I. The script was the first time we co-wrote something long-distance. Meaning I was in LA and Kevin was in NY. Up until then, we had always written our scripts in the same room. And being that 'Shed' has already won two screenplay competitions (2007 Eerie Horror Film Festival & 2007 Great Lakes Film Festival) and has gotten us the most phonecalls and interest among producers and agents... looks like the formula may be working. Most recently "Shed" placed as a finalist of Screamfest and made it to the quarterfinals of the 2008 Scriptapalooza competition and The International PAGE Awards Screenwriting Fest.

The story is of a young couple who discover a kidnap victim in the shed of the cabin they’re staying in. As gritty and visceral a horror movie as you can get, 'Shed' goes deeper than most of the standard fare these days, drawing upon elements from the new wave of European horror, as well as the character dynamics we saw in the heyday of the 1970s. We are strongly looking for a producer to attach to this project. So if you are looking for material like this, you can contact us at info@parallacticpictures.com to request a script.

Most recently, we polished off a new draft of "...And Hell Came With Him". This is a rip-roaring revisionist Spaghetti Western mixed with a Horror film. Probably the most insane script we've ever written, and possibly our favorite. Big story. Big characters. And big revenge. This script is also available, so please contact us if interested.

Some movies: Aliens, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Once Upon A Time In The West, Gallipoli, Jaws, Notorious, Blade Runner, Last of the Mohicans, Cobra, Alien, Manhattan, The Empire Strikes Back, The Outsiders, The Exorcist, The 'burbs, Memento, The Prestige, Adaptation, Boogie Nights, Goodfellas, Point Break, The Shining, Buffalo '66, Roadhouse, Night Train Murders, Torso, Stray Dog, Control, Pick Up On South Street, The Fountain, Benny's Video, Black Rain, The Lord of The Rings, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Dancer In The Dark, Old Boy, Se7en, True Romance, Taxi Driver, Dead Poet's Society, Heat, Bottle Rocket, Happiness, Masters And Commander, No Country For Old Men, Blow Out, The Untouchables, All The President's Men, Network, The Verdict, The Stepford Wives, Road To Perdition, LA Confidential, Syriana, Deadbeat At Dawn, Sid & Nancy, Sword of Doom, 2046, Kinjite, 10 To Midnight, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Proposition, Casino Royale, The Sweet Smell of Success, Leave Her To Heaven, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Day of the Dead, Enter The Dragon, Wolf Creek...

Some directors: Michael Haneke, Peter Weir, Michael Mann, Takashi Miike, The Coen Brothers, Woody Allen, Alex de la Iglesia, Lars von Triers, David Fincher, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Quentin Tarantino, Sergio Martino, Sergio Leone, Anthony Mann, J. Lee Thompson, Alfred Hitchcock, Sam Fuller, Nicholas Ray, Akira Kurosawa, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, Sidney Lumet, Brian De Palma, Alan J. Pakula...

Some actors: Charles Bronson, Jimmy Stewart, Edwige Feneche, Clint Eastwood, Franco Nero, Guy Pierce

General: Foreign Cinema, Spaghetti Westerns, Giallo Movies, Noir Films, James Bond Movies