Eyes in the Dark

[Voorheeszilla]

Okay, this is a film that is being written by your's truly, and is being made by a new upcoming production company called Peerlezz Productions. At the end of December we'll be having a meeting with sponsors (it's also a party of sorts) where we'll be trying to get as many companies as possible to back the movie and give us the funds.

The story as it is now and will be on film centers around two brothers who are serial killers, and the older brother, Glen Thomas, is searching for his younger brother, but why he's searching for him I'll leave unknown.

The story will also involve the male lead character, Jared Clay, searching for his longtime friend and ex-girlfriend whom went missing, and around Amanda Waller, a young girl who will meet Jared Clay and develop a relationship of sorts with him.

As far as the serial killers go, my main inspirations for them were Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Kane (from WWE).

The oldest brother, Glen Thomas, develops a fixation with murder at a young age, and when he's discovered to be a murderer at age 15, he's sentenced to a sanitarium where he escapes two years later, and is unheard of for a decade. I guess the main similarity between him & Michael Myers would be that of the fact we don't know why he's killing, exactly, he just does. I never plan to explain why he loves murder as much as he does, it'll be left up to you guys to speculate that.

The younger brother, Derek Thomas, was forced to watch his mother's raping & murder at a young age, and his face was horribly burned during the incident. He was then taken in by his estranged aunt whom teaches him to murder, so it's almost a passing of the baton. With this, it kind of implies that she's a murderer too, seeing as she teaches him the tricks of the trade, so to speak.

There are going to be a lot of twists and turns, most of which I'm hoping none of you suspect, and I also hope that the movie will entertain all horror fans. It'll hopefully be something new as both of these serial killers speak throughout the film, which was done to differentiate them from Jason & Michael. They are shown as thinking creatures, and I hope they come off as intelligent to the audience, and not just your run of the mill slashers.

Currently, I'm still working on the script, so it's not done, and as I said, we're still working on the budget, but we're trying to film in 2010, and have it out by early to mid 2011. I am still trying to get actors on board. I talked to Derek Mears who declined because he said he's accepting studio projects, and I'm trying to get Tyler Mane on board, who has neither accepted nor declined, so it could swing either way. I'm also trying to get Danielle Harris, so we'll see where it goes, but I'll keep you all updated, no doubt.

I'm hoping we'll get to release this in theaters nationwide, but that all falls back on the budget. I guess you could say I'm one of the producers since I'm helping to raise the funds for the movie, so more likely than not I'll be on set during filming throwing in input and working with everyone.

Anyone who wants more information, feel free to ask in this thread, and I'll do my best to answer in full detail.

[Jason's Storm]

Okay, this is a film that is being written by your's truly, and is being made by a new upcoming production company called Peerlezz Productions. At the end of December we'll be having a meeting with sponsors (it's also a party of sorts) where we'll be trying to get as many companies as possible to back the movie and give us the funds.

The story as it is now and will be on film centers around two brothers who are serial killers, and the older brother, Glen Thomas, is searching for his younger brother, but why he's searching for him I'll leave unknown.

The story will also involve the male lead character, Jared Clay, searching for his longtime friend and ex-girlfriend whom went missing, and around Amanda Waller, a young girl who will meet Jared Clay and develop a relationship of sorts with him.

As far as the serial killers go, my main inspirations for them were Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Kane (from WWE).

The oldest brother, Glen Thomas, develops a fixation with murder at a young age, and when he's discovered to be a murderer at age 15, he's sentenced to a sanitarium where he escapes two years later, and is unheard of for a decade. I guess the main similarity between him & Michael Myers would be that of the fact we don't know why he's killing, exactly, he just does. I never plan to explain why he loves murder as much as he does, it'll be left up to you guys to speculate that.

The younger brother, Derek Thomas, was forced to watch his mother's raping & murder at a young age, and his face was horribly burned during the incident. He was then taken in by his estranged aunt whom teaches him to murder, so it's almost a passing of the baton. With this, it kind of implies that she's a murderer too, seeing as she teaches him the tricks of the trade, so to speak.

There are going to be a lot of twists and turns, most of which I'm hoping none of you suspect, and I also hope that the movie will entertain all horror fans. It'll hopefully be something new as both of these serial killers speak throughout the film, which was done to differentiate them from Jason & Michael. They are shown as thinking creatures, and I hope they come off as intelligent to the audience, and not just your run of the mill slashers.

Currently, I'm still working on the script, so it's not done, and as I said, we're still working on the budget, but we're trying to film in 2010, and have it out by early to mid 2011. I am still trying to get actors on board. I talked to Derek Mears who declined because he said he's accepting studio projects, and I'm trying to get Tyler Mane on board, who has neither accepted nor declined, so it could swing either way. I'm also trying to get Danielle Harris, so we'll see where it goes, but I'll keep you all updated, no doubt.

I'm hoping we'll get to release this in theaters nationwide, but that all falls back on the budget. I guess you could say I'm one of the producers since I'm helping to raise the funds for the movie, so more likely than not I'll be on set during filming throwing in input and working with everyone.

Anyone who wants more information, feel free to ask in this thread, and I'll do my best to answer in full detail.

Some of the main things i will have to say about this, though I know this is only a plot summary, play. You have more of the same, when it comes to horror films. You need an original plot point or plot twist, to make it interesting. Also you have some plot holes, just in your plot summary. You will also need a major financal back, so you can have at least $400,000. Lastly, if you think you are going to get even minor league actors, you will need a major studio to back the picture. Because they usually command (someone correct me if I'm wrong) about $200K salary, per picture. Best to get some friends and do it for about $20K. If you're lucky, you will get a DTV that Blockbuster will carry. There is someone here, that I know was able to accomplish it. So best of luck.

~JS

[Voorheeszilla]

Well, yes, I know there are some run of the mill slasher-esque elements, but I'm still working on the script, so I'm basically working out the kinks. I'm adding in things regular slashers don't. For instance, I plan to go through the script and edit the kills so most of them will follow the "it's what you don't see that's frightening" method as did the original Halloween.

Now, you're totally right about the actors part, but if I can't get them, then we'll hold auditions and get whoever is best for the role. As for it going DTV, as my brother put it to me (he's the co-owner of this company), as well as my agent (the other co-owner), we don't want to put out a basement film, which means we don't want it to go DTV. I don't think we need a super huge budget to get it done, but I am hopeful it'll be in theaters, and maybe if it picks up, we can release it in more theaters overtime.

But, my heart really is in this project, and I'm looking much more forward to making as good a film as possible as opposed to how much money we can get. Obviously we want to make our money back & more, but I'm more focused on the quality of the picture. I want to give horror fans in general something they can talk about for more than a few hours or few days....something they really like that isn't lame, or tired out.

[Grizzlyman]

Speaking as someone with a few years experience working in the film industry, let me say this first Voorheeszilla as a word of advice. Never post your idea, unless your expression of the idea (on script) is copyrighted. Copyright law will not protect generalized ideas, only their expression, thus if you are still working on this script, and it is not completed and filed with the copyright office, anyone can come on here and steal your idea freely. I am not trying to be discouraging, but just for advice. ;)

My area of expertise in film production is in generalized areas of business management and financing, so maybe I can give you some advice in that area with relation to your movie. I am not sure how much experience you, or your brother or the agent jointly involved in the production company, but I would strongly recommend bringing in someone that does have experience in basic fundamentals of entertainment business management to help you implement this part of the plan with raising funds. I say this, because I started a sole proprietorship production company five years ago, and just recently, my partners in Los Angeles completed converting the company into a corporation through the filings of incorporation with the State, so it is good to know the requirements of raising money.

Bringing in several companies can make it very complex, but it is doable. Over the last four years, I have financed a few ultra low-budget productions in the U.S. and Canada. These are extremely low-risk investments, but usually established as a co-production agreement. For example, one semi-major low-budget production with a little over $100,000 was shot in Indonesia, recruited me for 'gap financing' which typically only used for pre-sale agreements, but similarily the same, however a majority of this production was financed through the International Film Festival of Rotterdam, putting up 80% of the total budget, with the producers putting up 10% and me with another 10%, plus 5% in profit participation for distribution in countries in Europe and Asia.

So these agreements with bringing aboard several production companies to finance one film can certainly be done. If you are wanting to offer stock or equity in this company, Peerlezz Productions, you can do that as well. This is in exchange for investors to have ownership in the company, so whatever money they put into the company to produce the film, they will be entitled receive their investment back, being the negative cost, plus usually 25% of proceeds. Every investment works differently, every investor is flexiable. I would recommend staying away from negative pickup financing, because that involves a lender, a distributor and a completion bond guarantor, which can sometimes be a very messy situation.

One word of caution however, whether it is private investors or trying to obtain funds from different companies is (1) have a detailed business plan in place; (2) have an experienced attorney draw up a prospectus or a private placement memorandum (PPM). This provides ultimate protection to the producers of the film from State and Federal Securities Violations. Even the slightest mistatement of facts, or failure to disclose all facts concerning the production, or misuse of an investor's funds will be subjectable to criminal liability and thus you will be forced to repay the investor in its entirely, or have the investor repossess assets subsitutable if no cash requirements are available.

When you take other people's money, it is classifed as 'Securities ' and you will be watched by the Securities and Exchange and State regulators, trust me. But with having a PPM in place, this discloses all the risks involved in financing something, whether its a movie, a business, a construction project, etc. As long as all of the material facts are disclosed properly and the risks identified, then the producers are not required to repay the investor back, in the event of a default during production. If the film makes money, you pay the investors back the negative cost, plus interest; if the film makes no money, then you are not liable to pay them back.

I would also recommend looking into some of the State and Federal Securities Requirements if you are raising money privately, or publicly. The certain provisions of the Securities Act, Rules 504, 505 and 506, will give you some excellent perspectives in raising money up to certain limits, depending on the exact plan of the company.

I am not sure if Peerezz Productions is an LLC or a C or S corporation, or just a general partnership, but their are exemptions from raising certain amounts of financing for the company, or for the film. Typically, an LLC is the best way to form a company because of the flexibility with liability protection from any money damages, etc.. The company that my associates and myself run is an S corporation, thus we are restricted by law from raising money publicly, and it has to be done privately will a limited number of shareholders, 75 to be exact. C corporations, on the other hand, are public, and you can solicite funds through advertising or holding public meetings, but you must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission to perform a public offering.

Because your projected budget, if I read correctly or maybe Jason's Storm indicated this, is anticipated to be about $400,000, it offers a better possibility of getting a good Return on Investment. The lower the cost of the film, the better. If you work with interns or kids just getting out of a film school or technical school or those that are even self-trained, and will work for a deferrable payment, that helps with cutting the budget down. This works out great for individuals in areas such as post-production for example that will dedicate their time to get things done for free, or may even work of a flat fee. Actors, being an above the line cost in the budget, most likely if you want someone like Derek Mears or Tyler Mane, you will have to become a SAG signatory production and pay SAG fees, and depending on their asking salaries, etc.

In terms of the script, always get a clearence search completed, just in the event of any issues arising during the shooting and ultimately into distribution. Distribution itself is VERY, VERY complex. Thankfully however, Lionsgate in particular, has been very generous to purchase horror films, for example, but over 70% of these usually go DTV or Direct to DVD. Unfortunately, DVD sales have been down this fiscal year, and I realize you want to get a nationwide release for this film, which I hope you understand that this is going to be a very daunting and expensive task.

My advice to you, and this has been done, and in fact, I am working on doing this with a few of our films, is start with a platform release or work with an exhibitor that is not a theatrical chain. A majority of the smaller independent distribution firms here in Hollywood, work with these smaller exhibitors to try and get word of mouth to spread, and if the film makes enough money in one theater, it will allow the film to expand into additional markets, with money to also spend for advertising.

Other independent distributors such as Summit Entertainment, Overture Films and Rogue Pictures, typically do not pick up films for distribution. They have resorted to more in house produced films, instead of acquisitions or work with well established production companies with bankable actors. New Line Cinema has since become an operating genre subsidiary distribution company of Warner Bros, specializing in horror films, but they produce their own product and only release about 6 films a year now, entirely studio financed.

More smaller distributors such as Freestyle Releasing, Shadow Pictures, Apparition or Yari Film Group, might give you a better chance at obtaining distribution. This is because these companies work with producers that have money for P&A expense already in place, and the producer himself can control the advertising and print cost, thus the producer does not have to wait with a typical distributor to get reimbursed for P&A expense, plus a 25% to 35% distribution fee. All of the income goes directly to the producer. I know Freestyle completes these services based on a flat service charge, but these companies work with just about every single exhibitor in the domestic territory, the only catch being is that the producer needs to have the P&A money.

There are several things to consider here Voorheeszilla, and it can get very complicated real fast, but try not to let that deter you from wanting to get this project done. A script is sort of like your kid in a way, if you love it that much, you have to take care of it. I'm only 23 years old by the way, and I have had the opportunity to work with some great people in the industry, and most aspiring filmmakers, writers and directors could really care less about the business side of the entertainment industry. It is however absolutely essential and necessary to know and not be ignorant about, because several younger filmmakers I have worked with either ones I was just consultanting with, or others I worked with on productions shared some of their previous experiences with raising financing and got caught up in doing things too fast and too rapidly, and were stuck with paying off debts to their investors due to over ambitions.

That's my advice and experience to you Voorheeszilla. Best of luck to you in your film! Let me know if you need any advice.

[Voorheeszilla]

Thanks for the informative post, and I try to post the same synopsis from site to site. I don't give too much away, or if I post parts of the script, it's not for long. It'll maybe be up for a few days for people to read and respond to, but not any longer. I definitely get what you're saying, and I don't think that anyone here would steal from me (I hope not), but there may be lurkers who would do so.

In any case, Tyler Mane actually did ask if this was a SAG project, and my agent & I didn't know much about SAG, but he read over it for a little while and said he was going to take care of it and get it done, so I'm sure he's working on that.

Also, what you listed about putting it in a few theaters is what we were planning to do. It'll be in a few theaters around Michigan, in Iowa, & in another city/state I'm forgetting at the moment. The thing is, we're trying to do something big, but not get ahead of ourselves. The plan is to just let word of mouth spread, which is why I feel I absolutely have to nail this script, and get it as good or great as possible.

One thing in the way of word of mouth I want to do is maybe get a website like BloodyDisgusting to put up a trailer when the time comes, which would help a lot if we can do that, and also put the word out on every site I can. If we can make the trailer look appealing and draw people in, and then they see the movie and love it, then we're great. If not, then we're screwed, but I'm just hoping it's a success.

I'm keeping my head up and thinking positive, and it's nice to read informative posts such as the one above. It's really appreciated, no doubt about it.

Lastly, I did have a question for you:

Let's say for the movie (not the overall company, just the movie) we get somewhere around $5-10 million, and we only take out $300,000-$400,000 for the movie, and we are able to finish without going over that amount; do you think the rest would be a good amount for getting it in theaters across the country? I know a budget in the millions isn't guaranteed, but my agent did mention once that the budget could be around $1 million or so, and Paranormal Activity had a $12,000 budget, and it's done huge business.

I only ask this because I want to get it out there as much as possible. I don't want it to seem like my perrogative is to make more money than other horror movies. My real perrogative is to make a good, scary film that will hopefully be regarded as a classic someday.

[Grizzlyman]

Also, what you listed about putting it in a few theaters is what we were planning to do. It'll be in a few theaters around Michigan, in Iowa, & in another city/state I'm forgetting at the moment. The thing is, we're trying to do something big, but not get ahead of ourselves. The plan is to just let word of mouth spread, which is why I feel I absolutely have to nail this script, and get it as good or great as possible.

One thing in the way of word of mouth I want to do is maybe get a website like BloodyDisgusting to put up a trailer when the time comes, which would help a lot if we can do that, and also put the word out on every site I can. If we can make the trailer look appealing and draw people in, and then they see the movie and love it, then we're great. If not, then we're screwed, but I'm just hoping it's a success.

I'm keeping my head up and thinking positive, and it's nice to read informative posts such as the one above. It's really appreciated, no doubt about it.

Lastly, I did have a question for you:

Let's say for the movie (not the overall company, just the movie) we get somewhere around $5-10 million, and we only take out $300,000-$400,000 for the movie, and we are able to finish without going over that amount; do you think the rest would be a good amount for getting it in theaters across the country? I know a budget in the millions isn't guaranteed, but my agent did mention once that the budget could be around $1 million or so, and Paranormal Activity had a $12,000 budget, and it's done huge business.

I only ask this because I want to get it out there as much as possible. I don't want it to seem like my perrogative is to make more money than other horror movies. My real perrogative is to make a good, scary film that will hopefully be regarded as a classic someday.

Yes, take advantage of all free advertising. You Tube, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, are excellent avenues to get support through trafficing and word of mouth to build. This comes back to the situation with Paranormal Activity, which actually relied heavily on free advertising through Twitter and a few other promotional websites. They were able to accomplish this, before they ever had an original theatrical trailer put in place.

The story for Paranormal Activity, however came when it was screened at Slamdance, and Dreamworks SKG bought it when it was still classified as a division of Paramount, and Steven Spielberg was still an active partner, before it became Dreamworks Pictures. Apparently, Spielberg liked the film enough that they decided to go ahead and just release the film, instead of doing an initial 're-shooting' of the entire film, with Dreamworks putting the financial backing behind it to get it into theaters. This is an excellent example of having a good marketing campaign, but again, dreams like this do not happen overnight, especially with Spielberg involved.

In terms of your question, if you raise between $5-$10 million, but using only $300,000 to $400,000 for the film itself, then yes, you could utilize the remaining funds for marketing and promotional purposes. It all depends on how authentic and creative you get into actually making the film. Today, most low-budget independent films are in the realm of $10-$20 million. Your project would be on the ultra low budget scale, which is fine, if you can get away with producing the film for that amount of money. Just be honest and upfront with the cast and crew on how expenses are to be made, this way they will not ask questions for higher salaries or something to that effect, if they know there is $5-10 million associated with the film.

Then again, it also might give them some breather room to understand that this money is to be used for marketing purposes, and therefore, greatly increasing the chances of a company picking it up for distribution.

In relation to the P&A expense alone, if you were to get distribution through a company like Freestyle Releasing, they will take a service fee, and see how much you have for P&A expense, and they will traffic that money to purchase ad buys in specific areas and trailers to promote the film, some ad buys are between $3,000 to $5,000 and prints usually cost about $2,750 per print. Typically, for that amount of money, you can probably get a good 'regional' release, meaning it will play region to region throughout the country, but not a national release, were it plays in every single theater. In short, how much money you have for promotion and print cost, and working with a distributor that can book the film into theaters, will determine how wide of a release it can achieve, and start in areas where the target audience is fresh and familiar with such a genre. If each theater makes roughly about $5,000 per screen, you will be in good shape, because keep in mind the theater will take 50% of that, and pay the rest to the distributor, who will then pay you as the producer.

[Voorheeszilla]

Ah, I see, very informative, once again. And one thing I wanted to elaborate on that you replied to is that I don't expect it to be released in every theater nationwide, I'd be totally content with something along the lines of 500-1,000 theaters. Hopefully, if word of mouth is good, people will be like; "Hey, I saw Eyes in the Dark, you want to come with me and see it again?"

We're looking for a 2011 release, and filming around 2010. The plan is to screen the movie, see what works and what doesn't work, and then work on it more so that it's ready by 2011.

I totally plan to take advantage of free advertising through Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

I'm not sure if a multi million dollar budget is possible, but my goal budget would be $15 million. I won't tell them that during the investment party, but that's the most I'd want, because F13 was made for that amount (albeit four million more) and I know we could do it with that amount.

At this point all we really need is a distributor. We have production designers, my agent will have actors ready for auditions, and we'll be able to buy the materials needed, so I pray it all works out.

And I wanted to ask: for a movie that will be done in the vein of the original Halloween film where there's not really a lot of special effects required, is $300,000-$400,000 enough? My agent says he has a special effects company if I feel I need it, but it'll only be needed for one or two quick sequences, which I would think wouldn't be too costly.

[Grizzlyman]

The special effects part of the production, really depends on the script. The script itself is the 'roadmap' of everything you're going to be accomplishing in the script, and that will dictate all of the costs itself. If your script calls for loads of gore, you're definately going to want to increase your account for special effects in the overal budget. If it calls for less gore, then of course that will substantially much lower. I would recommend after you have your first draft completed, try to do a preliminary budget on Excel, or if you have access to any of the film computer software programs such as Gorilla, Movie Magic or Entertainment Partners. They cost around $300, but those can certainly be beneficial to any production.

May I ask though, why do you want to have a goal for at least $15 million for the budget, even though the cost for the special effects are most likely going to be low? It also does not seem that the film is going to have CGI/Animation either. Are you wanting a higher budget as a goal for marketing purposes, or for major actors to pay their salaries, key locations, etc. I only ask, because if you know your script is going to certainly be low-budget, stick with that, and try to budget everything as much as possible to ensure it does not grow into an astronominical amount and increase the company's risks either.

Another company you may wish to look into is After Dark Films, which of course does their 8 Films to Die For release every year. I've been in touch with them a few times in the past on a horror production in the UK starring David Hess, which I am co-producing jointly through my company. They may wish to take a look at what you have either in the script format, or after the film is completed, and screen it for possible distribution.

Screeners, by the way are good, as you pointed out, especially for a 'test' to get audience input, especially in the college circuit or in film schools.

[Voorheeszilla]

The special effects part of the production, really depends on the script. The script itself is the 'roadmap' of everything you're going to be accomplishing in the script, and that will dictate all of the costs itself. If your script calls for loads of gore, you're definately going to want to increase your account for special effects in the overal budget. If it calls for less gore, then of course that will substantially much lower. I would recommend after you have your first draft completed, try to do a preliminary budget on Excel, or if you have access to any of the film computer software programs such as Gorilla, Movie Magic or Entertainment Partners. They cost around $300, but those can certainly be beneficial to any production.

I did the first draft, let my agent read it, but he didn't have the time (he's got a hell of a lot on his plate so it's understandable) and he had other people read it. At the time I sent it to him, I thought I was finished with it, but I thought it was going to end up being too much of a generic movie, so now I'm going back and editing it as heavily as possible, and taking out gore where I feel it's not needed. I'm not taking out the gore so much as to avoid going deeper into the budget, I just want the film not to be one of those films that people are like "yeah, it had soooo many kills it was awesome, but that's it" whereas I'd want people to talk about the entire film and not how much gore it had. I feel that a better product can be made when there's less gore.

May I ask though, why do you want to have a goal for at least $15 million for the budget, even though the cost for the special effects are most likely going to be low? It also does not seem that the film is going to have CGI/Animation either. Are you wanting a higher budget as a goal for marketing purposes, or for major actors to pay their salaries, key locations, etc. I only ask, because if you know your script is going to certainly be low-budget, stick with that, and try to budget everything as much as possible to ensure it does not grow into an astronominical amount and increase the company's risks either.

You hit the nail on the head, so to speak, but it's a combination of what you asked. I want that type of budget for marketing purposes, and in the event we can get a few major actors to sign on. But I'd be content with a smaller budget if we got one, as long as in the long run there's enough money for marketing and what not. I know I'll likely be handling a lot of marketing through the websites we talked about earlier, especially Myspace,

Another company you may wish to look into is After Dark Films, which of course does their 8 Films to Die For release every year. I've been in touch with them a few times in the past on a horror production in the UK starring David Hess, which I am co-producing jointly through my company. They may wish to take a look at what you have either in the script format, or after the film is completed, and screen it for possible distribution.

Screeners, by the way are good, as you pointed out, especially for a 'test' to get audience input, especially in the college circuit or in film schools.

Cool, thanks for that. If they want to take a look at the script, I can talk to my agent about it and have them look at it after it's all done. I'd do it now, but I know the script isn't done yet because I have a lot more edits to make. I have to make it longer, for one, and there are scenes and dialogue I want to change. But, just so I know, how would I get into contact with them and make it a sure thing they'll read the script?

The one thing I'll admit I'm a little nervous about is getting people to be in these roles that can deliver it as I would want. The main reason I wanted Tyler [Mane] is because of the fact that I've seen practically all of his work and I think he's a good actor, and he could expand on his talent even further if given a speaking role. But, who knows? Maybe when auditions are held I'll find the right people? You never know.

[Voorheeszilla]

I was also wondering what people think of the idea of having both serial killer's talking throughout the movie?

And on second thought, even though I want Derek's childhood to be shown, I think Glen's will be more mysterious, in a way. I'm going to take out certain information about him purposely.

[Grizzlyman]

I was also wondering what people think of the idea of having both serial killer's talking throughout the movie?

And on second thought, even though I want Derek's childhood to be shown, I think Glen's will be more mysterious, in a way. I'm going to take out certain information about him purposely.

Are you wanting both serial killers interacting and discussing things with eachother, or individually? I really see no harm in having serial killers talking in a film, although you may want to tweak the film a little bit so that the audience can immediately relate and embrace theirselves into the killer's thinking. Showing a serial killer's history, such as childhood can also give the audience a good understanding of why he became what he is today, and can hold keys to answer questions such as: was he tormented growing up? abused or neglected by his parents? etc.

Suspense films, such as "Silence of the Lambs" and "Psycho" you can see were the killer was talking, and to some audiences, they enjoy that, because one can start to learn about their way of thinking, mind control, manipulation, what triggers their thoughts, etc. I'd recommend picking up a good book that deals with screenwriting that may have some hints on writing a screenplay involving a serial killer and what would be the smart move of seeing the killer talk during the film.

[Voorheeszilla]

Are you wanting both serial killers interacting and discussing things with eachother, or individually? I really see no harm in having serial killers talking in a film, although you may want to tweak the film a little bit so that the audience can immediately relate and embrace theirselves into the killer's thinking. Showing a serial killer's history, such as childhood can also give the audience a good understanding of why he became what he is today, and can hold keys to answer questions such as: was he tormented growing up? abused or neglected by his parents? etc.

Well, not that I want to spill the beans, so to speak, but the opening sequence is a hybrid sequence that shows Glen as a teenager, and Derek as a child. They didn't grow up together, and lived almost completely different lives and have different reasons for becoming the way they are. Glen was just a few apples short of a full pie from the beginning, and Derek was burned & lost his mother. I get what you mean, though, and my goal is to have everyone empathize with Derek, and despise Glen.

Btw, something I want to clarify is that even though Derek's mother gets raped during the opening scene, it'll only be implied, and not dwelled on. I'm not a fan of rape, and I try not to incorporate it if I can help it, but I wanted to scar Derek enough to where it'd really mess up his head. Basically what you'll get is Derek fading out of conscious for a few minutes and while he's fading out, she's screaming, but you don't see it. I feel there's no need to actually show it.

Suspense films, such as "Silence of the Lambs" and "Psycho" you can see were the killer was talking, and to some audiences, they enjoy that, because one can start to learn about their way of thinking, mind control, manipulation, what triggers their thoughts, etc. I'd recommend picking up a good book that deals with screenwriting that may have some hints on writing a screenplay involving a serial killer and what would be the smart move of seeing the killer talk during the film.

I do actually have an idea of how I want my serial killer to talk and all, I just don't want to demystify him too much. I want to keep the talking because I feel there's no other way to do it and it'll be something that's a bit fresh. After 22 movies between Myers & Voorhees respectively, I feel that it's time to introduce speaking villains.

With Glen's dialogue, it's something that's a work in progress, but I know what I want from it. I know what I want to project into the character. He has a bit of arrogance with himself, he likes to be a smartass, at times, and yet he's this surreal monster that will not stop coming to kill you.

Glen really goes through the ringer on this. I've literally put him through as much damage as I could think of.

[Voorheeszilla]

Well, people, I'm just 28 days away from giving the presentation, and I've got a pretty good grasp on how I'll present the idea and what I'll talk about, and I'm still nervous about it, but I want to get this film done so badly that any nervous feelings I have will be automatically brushed to the side when the day comes.

Concerning the script, I'm still editing it, and I've actually changed a lot, especially character wise. I've made Glen talk more than before, and the way he talks is somewhat articulate, and yet he has this sinister way of talking to his victims at times that I would hope will give the audience an uneasy feeling.

I also changed up his dialogue to spruce up the fact that there's more to him than what you may think. I don't want to give too much away, but one thing I'll say is that he doesn't particularly view himself as a human, nor does his father. There's a reason behind that, which won't even be revealed in the movie, but all in due time. I think once people see the movie, they may sort of get what I'm talking about.

I still have a lot of work to do on the script. I've been told the dialogue is pretty good and intelligent, but I'll probably still edit it to make it even better. The main goal is to get it finished before it's time to do the presentation, because after that is when we'll really be trying to get things underway.

It's pretty tough, right now, because I'm trying to make it longer without adding in filler and pointless scenes. There was a scene I wanted to add in so badly, but it just didn't fit, so I took it out, and I haven't done that a lot, thankfully. I'm pretty happy with what I've written, so I'm at a point now where I'm spicing it up, so to speak. I've taken out a lot of background information on Glen, so you're not really going to know a lot about him. He'll have more of a mystique to him than previously.

I've also added in a hell of a lot of nods to actors, other horror characters, and there's a scene in the movie that is a little homage to the original Halloween.

Some of the main references are that Glen Thomas is actually named after WWE wrestler Kane, whose first and middle name is Glen Thomas. Jared Clay is named after Jared Padalecki and his character Clay Miller, Glen's doctor, Dr. Winchester, has the same last name as Sam & Dean from Supernatural, and Glen's father's first name is Dean, which is another nod to Supernatural. And last but not least, Derek is named after Derek Mears. I really had to add in something for him because his interpretation of Jason in the new F13 is what got the ball rolling for what this project has ultimately become.

[Grizzlyman]

http://www.makingthemovie.info/2007/03/free-film-budget-template.html

Voorheeszilla, above is a film production template for budgeting out your film. I recommend the Excel version, on that site, and it is free, and very similar to the model templates I design for my own productions. You can automatically save it to your computer, and type in projected numbers for the budget items and it will automatically calculate it for you. You can put in the actual numbers against the budgeted numbers to give you a perspective in seeing where you may be saving money, going over budget, cutting costs, etc. when you are actually in physical production. A good production controller and production manager can help you significantly with this area.

When your script is completed, you can start budgeting it out to give you an idea on the overall cost projection. Another thing you will want to do is go through your entire script to find key items that will need a clearance on such as names, products, trademarks, etc., anything that might trigger a law-suit after the film is completed. If you need help with budgeting or going through the script to find clearances, feel free to contact me, as I am experienced in this area and will be more than happy to assist you in doing so.

[Voorheeszilla]

Thanks, I'll definitely check out the website soon.

And as far as I know the movie is still happening, but we're likely going to hit up a few film festivals before releasing it.