NEW VIDEO: Cornerboy P Trademark & Dee Low - Fade Away

Cornerboy P, Trademark & Dee Low - "Fade Away"
Edited, Photographed & Directed by CJ Wallis, @fortyfps
released via Jet Life Recordings
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Find more information on this project and others at our official website, fortyfps.com
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NEW VIDEO: Fiend ft Smoke DZA - Take A Pull

Fiend ft Smoke DZA - "Take A Pull"
Edited, Photographed & Directed by CJ Wallis, @fortyfps
released via Jet Life Recordings
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Find more information on this project and others at our official website, fortyfps.com
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Indie ShortCuts Reviews Editing, Circumference

Indie ShortCuts founder/host Anthony Aguiar alerted us via Twitter that he had reviewed our Crazy8s short film Circumference in an episode that featured editing techniques.

Anthony assures you that Indie Shortcuts will "showcase online indie short/ feature films that I feel are important and entertaining as well as spotlighting the talented filmmakers who made them."

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Find more information on this project and others at our official website, fortyfps.com
Follow us on Facebook & Twitter for exclusive content & updates. 

American Mary Scalpel Themed Investor Booklet

During the investment stages of American Mary's development, we designed and produced a scalpel-themed, hard cover 10 page booklet which featured concept art, storyboarded sequences, cast members and other secret things. A few of the pages have been uploaded and can be seen by clicking any of the thumbnails below.

 

IFC Releases Dead Hooker In A Trunk Trailer

Here is the first official trailer released by IFC Films for Dead Hooker In A Trunk. It is the first bit of marketing that has not been produced by us, which is a very strange thing to see after spending a lifetime with this film. Let us know your thoughts on our Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #deadhookerinatrunk.

Amazon & IFC Films Rent Dead Hookers For $3.99

 

Amazon and IFC Films have recently begun offering HD rentals of Dead Hooker In A Trunk for $3.99. The film is available to you streaming, for download or in a letterboxed format on your TivoBox. Their rules:

This is a 48-hour rental. You will have 30 days to complete watching this rental online or to download it. If you choose to watch this rental online, you can watch on a PC, Mac or compatible device. If you choose to download this rental, you can download it to one TiVo or one Windows PC and you will have 30 days from the date of purchase to begin watching your rental. Once you start to watch online or begin a download you cannot change your viewing choice. Rentals can't be transferred to a portable device or downloaded to a Mac.

There you have it. So, for about 2% of the film's total budget, you can watch the finished product. Let us know your thoughts on our Facebook or Twitter pages with the hashtag #deadhookerinatrunk. Perhaps you will end up on a future one of these from the Twisted Twins.

Goody Scolded On Dead Hooker DVD For Language

 

Twitter-er @vee_eff posted these two photos on her account of the Region 2 DVD release of Dead Hooker In A Trunk. Apparently the UK ratings board is cool with an exposed, forked penis and suggested sex but took exception to Goody's monologue in the middle of the film. This is a delight. Click the images to see larger versions.

Scarlet Ending Kickstarter DVD Artwork Uploaded

All 8 menus from last year's exclusive Scarlet Ending Kickstarter donation DVD we designed have made their way up onto our Flickr account. Click any of the thumbnails below to view the full sized images.

Nokia 'Direct & Project' Gala Screening Photos

Last year, Nokia found us to create a 1 minute short film using their brand-new HD cel-phone which eventually became Runaway featuring Connor Stanhope and Sierra Pitkin. A decent chunk of photos from the gala screening, at the Vancouver Art Gallery, have made their way onto our Flickr account. Click the photo above or right here to view them all.

Trust Fall - Curren$y Breaks Foot In California

Trust Fall - Curren$y @ Rock The Bells 2011
Edited & Photographed by CJ Wallis, @fortyfps
released via Jet Life Recordings

Just a few weeks away from a 60 day North American Tour, Curren$y breaks his ankle at 'Rock The Bells' festival in San Bernandino, CA. This event was the first time CJ Wallis had been hired to work with Curren$y & Jetlife.

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Find more information on this project and others at our official website, fortyfps.com
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'Please Subscribe' YouTube Film To Be Released Soon

Fresh off of the recent announcement that Dead Hooker In A Trunk had been sold to IFC, we can also announce that our YouTube documentary Please Subscribe, another co-production with the Twisted Twins, is nearly through it's final polish and now has distribution deals in place upon delivery of the film and, of course, after our 4 friends finally get to watch it. Here are a few stills in advance:

Please Subscribe follows four of the original four Youtube celebrities (David Choi, Daxflame, Tay Zonday & Happyslip) whose home made, lo-fi videos went viral and made them household names on the same level as any Hollywood star. The film explores “Celebrity 2.0” and the perks and darkness surrounding the effects of net success on their lives and the entertainment industry overall.

The film features music by Sean Hayes, The Belle Game, Tay Zonday, David Choi and the film's signature track called 'Half As Much' written and performed by Kaleena Goldsworthy of The Scarlet Ending.

Elliott Smith's Birthday Today, Photos From 2008

Today is the former birthday of Elliott Smith whose discography is only shortly behind food and water on a list of what my body requires to function. As some of you may know, quoted from DailySwarm:

Shortly after Elliott Smith’s suicide was announced in 2003, the singer’s Los Angeles fans began to gather at Solutions, an electronics store in Silver Lake on Sunset Boulevard where Smith had once posed for the cover of his 2000 album Figure 8. The mural became a makeshift memorial, with many people writing notes, poems, and rememberances on top of the black and red painting. Ever since, the store has become a L.A. fixture, with thousands adding to the ever-changing collection of thoughts and tributes added to what became known around the world as the Elliott Smith Memorial Wall.

But [in the summer of 2007], the wall was defaced with a large graffiti tag. While many local residents were horrified by the vandalism, the tag remained a part of the Silver Lake scenery. Recently, the wall was hit yet again, with an even larger bubble-letter tag covering most of the memorial.

This latest affront to the wall inspired some local artists and Elliott Smith fans – who had already set-up a MySpace page devoted to restoring the wall – into action, and earlier this week the original mural was restored to its pristine state. The thousands of memorial tributes are gone, though the blank canvas is sure to be covered with words of love for Smith and his music again soon.

We happened to be in Los Angeles with the Twisted Twins shortly after the recreation and we stopped by Solutions to briefly look at the new wall (which has been vandalized a few times since, once famously by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.)

If you have not seen this Elliott Smith book by Autumn De Wilde, longtime friend of Elliotts and the photographer who took the original cover photo, it is an absolute required purchase and one of our favorite things easily.

The book contains hundreds of photos and candid conversations with those around him. Stories like this from the dress rehearsal the day of the Oscars broadcast where Elliott was nominated for his original song.

LARGO OWNER MARK FLANAGAN AND AUTUMN DE WILDE, FROM THE BOOK "ELLIOTT SMITH"

After confessing to Mark that he was terrified people would "call him out," Elliott stumbled out of Largo at 5am and re-surfaced later that night in a white suit on the Oscars singing Miss Misery.

Dead Hooker Is Better Than Evil Dead & Dead Alive

It still hasn't fully kicked in that having Dead Hooker In A Trunk released on VOD means thanow anyone at any time could be watching or posting their thoughts on the film. Some have come to our attention via the #deadhookerinatrunk hash tag that have been circulating around Twitter.

As with Assly, we will re-post reviews of the film that catch our attention. Most recently, co-host of the podcast I Hate/Love Remakes, Noel Thingvall/@NoelCT - a self-described 'Minnesotan who collects copious amounts of books, films, comics, and screenplays,' - posted an extremely impressive, thorough/thoughtful review of the film.

At one point, Noel goes on to compare Dead Hooker In A Trunk contextually to the impact and cult statuses of like-spirited films Evil Dead (1981) and Peter Jackson's Dead Alive (1992). Noel feels we have taken it one step farther and, when partially taken out of context, it makes a hell of a quote and keyword laced, Google-friendly headline!

'Assly' Lectures Us To Feed Birds, Is A Thing That Exists

If working on Dead Hooker In A Trunk the last 4 years has taught us nothing else, it is the value of a title. Kristian Hanson's horror website Craptastic Horror - Where Horror Fans Go To Get Nutty is clearly no exception. Kristian is a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan and for those of you unfamiliar with the Cubs, here are the opening lines of the team's Wiki page:

...The Cubs have not won the World Series in 102 years, a championship drought longer than that of any other major North American professional sports team, and are often referred to as "The Loveable Losers" because of this distinction.

We mention this only to perhaps offer context or explain why Kristian hides his face during his horror reviews and records them with an endearingly foul-mouthed, condescending puppet sidekick named Assly. After hunting down a region-free DVD player and a copy of DHIAT on DVD, the horror version of the Odd Couple posted their review which - to explain it further - would only cheapen it and the Blackhawks championship banner is doing a good enough job at that #weareallcanucks

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Find more information on this project and others at our official website, fortyfps.com

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The Scarlet Ending Perform Epiphany From "Ghosts"

We proudly present the final performance we shot with The Scarlet Ending during their time here last year. The song is called Epiphany and has rarely been heard in it's entirety, as the song is only featured on their album Ghosts as a single verse/chorus. Here the two sisters, Kayleigh & Kaleena Goldsworthy, along with guitarist Jon Tedd perform flawless 3-part harmonies on the spot, without rehearsal and amplification free.

This clip was initially only available as a special feature on the Kickstarter Reward DVD we designed to give to the people who funded these videos. Viewers could use their DVD remotes to switch between the two available camera angles to edit their own version of the track. Now a select group of you can judge the job we did on ours!

Patchwork Parade Pitch Perfect For Promise Project

MUSICAL SWISS ARMY KNIFE, THE YAMAHA PSR-E413

Earlier, we released the details and an early tracklisting for a new soundtracking project called "Cleaning To The Cloudbursts" that was taking place in the background the last while on an independent film shot in Los Angeles called Goodbye Promise. Like our Scarlet Ending videos, the film was funded via Kickstarter donations and director David Branin updated the investors on the project's progress. In part, regarding our involvement:

Our composer CJ Wallis really has done a masterful job with our original score. Many of these songs stand out on their own. Just writing these words, I had to open up one of CJ’s tracks and I am now listening as I write. We have laid most of CJ’s work onto the timeline.   

Is it okay to say that we are just as excited for you to hear CJ’s music as we are for you to see the film? If you missed the last update, here is a sneak preview (http://bit.ly/k6sVNn) of one of CJ’s original tracks entitled “Patchwork Parade.”

You can check out David's entire update here. Another advanced track may surface in the near future, but for now here is the aforementioned "Section 13: Patchwork Parade."
 

The Sisters Of Mercy Teaser Poster Released

CLICK HERE FOR HIGHER RESOLUTIONS

"The Animals Are Planning An Intervention is performed to a gorgeous string quartet by composer Sarah Slean. Lucy Rupert uses expressive animal imagery to explore the evolution contained within us. It is a beautifully conceived show, rich in set, lighting and video details. Her theme is loss and recovery, and she actually makes her lyrical body look angled and distorted."

In the film adaptation, written and directed by CJ Wallis, Rupert plays the lead role of a mother named Marie who is unknowingly hand-delivered to a government institution by her three sons after a house-fire, that Marie escaped, claimed the life of her 9 year old daughter. The Sarah Slean arrangements commissioned for Animals will be featured and used throughout the film. Announcements will continue to spill out leading towards production set for Fall 2011.

IFC Releases Dead Hooker In A Trunk Theatrically, VOD

We have finally been allowed to let the cat out of the bag. Our first feature film, Dead Hooker in a Trunk, will be theatrically released by IFC in limited midnight screenings across North America. Included in this announcement is the film will also be available on VOD on August 3rd of this year. The DVD release date is still being confirmed and will be announced soon.

Dailies From New Columbia Video "The Time"

 

Click the thumbnails to view the full high definition 1080p resolution images.

Documented Documenting David Choi For Please Subscribe

Earlier this year, David Choi was in town during his second North American tour and we met up with him and BFF Shakalohana Sam at a Costco near their hotel - a location he tweeted in advance to his fans. After a two-hour performance and an additional three hour meet-and-greet, we returned the weary travellers to their lodging shortly after a necessary 2am Burger King pitstop.

Research for the final spitshine on Please Subscribe lead us to finding the above-embedded video way too late that David put up from his time here. Their (very kind) documentary features us hanging around and filming additional footage - making this, both, a behind-the-scenes and alternate look at some of the moments that will be featured in our film.

The Sisters Of Mercy New Promotional Posters

Yesterday, we received several wonderful photos taken by Melanie Gordon from the original performance of "Animals Are Planning An Intervention," choreographed and performed by Lucy Rupert. Naturally, these quickly became two new promotional posters playing off of our tagline "When The Mind Gets Distorted...The Body Must Follow." Click the thumbnails below to see the full versions.

The Sisters Of Mercy also has a new project page on our website where everything along the way will collect and gather. And yes, that is the Joey Greco listed as the 4th lead. More details and other familiar faces to be announced soon.

Finally, at our most recent Celluloid Social Club visit, we met Meeshelle Neal. Meeshelle, also Leo nominated for her performance in the short film Therapy, mentioned that she really enjoyed The Rose and went on to write a very kind post about her evening out.

Sisters Of Mercy Film Mused By Morleysaurus, LittleSlean

Shortly after we announced the initial details surrounding our third collaboration with Lucy Rupert, a feature film called The Sisters Of Mercy, a few people who have been very kind to us in the past took the time to help spread the word. Jennifer Cooper's way-more-popular-than-your-blog Musings Of A Morleysaurus was the first. In part:

C.J. Wallis is one helluva talented young man. Not only is he an absolute darling within the independent horror industry, he is also an award winning music video director! His video for the absolutely gorgeous song The Rose, by Sarah Slean got him Best Music Video of the Year at the 2011 Leo Awards. I'm sure you will agree, this is impressive work but an impressive man who Heidi Honeycutt once also described as Canada's Best Kept Secret Weapon!

You can check out the entire article here and shortly there will be another article featuring the lurvly Ms. Cooper herself surfacing here which will have an interesting twist. Cameron over at littleslean also wrote up an article on the film (which included an additional Elective plug!).

Video Shoot For New Acoustic Columbia Track

Kevin Schallie and I went to the same small-town elementary school from kindergarden through Grade 6, but never really interacted much. The peripheral existence continued into high school and throughout the lifespans of our post-grad musical acts that each no longer exist (Kevin's being the much more popular Straitpipe.)

For the last couple years Kevin, along with Straitpipe co-creator Richard Jacquard, have continued forward as the re-branded Columbia and have rapidly exploded - headlining venues across North America including The Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

In September of 2009, the band had their biggest show to date playing to a sold-out crowd at The Venue in Vancouver. Kevin wanted to add live keyboards and strings to embellish two of their tracks and reached out to me, which was instantly agreed to. A collaboration 20 or so years in the making, it seems.

Naturally, the video hustle talk began and I tricked them into complying to my demands and, a year or two later, it is The Time. Which is both an obnoxious pun and the title of the band's new acoustic track we'll be shooting a video for that will be surfacing sooner rather than later.