Well....here we are....
Another year coming to a close....another year passing....another year of getting older....life being lived, films being made, ideas being shared, and more...
And here comes a new year coming this week! Believe it or not, a lot's lining up here in farm country for 2009!
IN THIS ISSUE:
PARK CITY 2009
THE X-RATED GRANDMA PROJECT
FESTIVAL UPDATES
OUR UPCOMING FIRST FEATURE FILM
PHONE SEX GRANDMA: THE INTERNET SERIES
ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORK UPDATES
OUR BLOGS
and more....
PARK CITY 2009:
Believe it or not....Opal and I are returning to Park City once again! This Mother and Son is ready to blow more minds in the snow!!!! We've got a lot lined up for Park City this time around....the Slamdance Film Festival and Indieroad have partnered with us for a major online event during Slamdance's festival, and we will be having a featured collection of shorts online during the entire festival, Jan. 15th-23rd! Along with this advanced preview for the world to see online during the fest, we'll also be promoting our new PHONE SEX GRANDMA internet series, while searching for cast and crew. If you've been to Park City, you know it's a great, unforgettable week of networking, fun, partying, great independent film, and more. Opal and I will also be promoting our first feature film that will be shot in 2009! More of that news coming up here in a few paragraphs...and every year, the two of us make the Park City trip as a road trip. Opal's afraid of planes. Nothing beats a great road trip. Fun times coming up!!!
THE X-RATED GRANDMA PROJECT:
This is major breaking news....THE X-RATED GRANDMA is our new project to be released in 2009!!! X-RATED GRANDMA is a compilation of 7 shorts of Opal over a 3 year period. With some films being documentary, some mockumentary, the audience is left to decide...which is real? Which is not? You be the judge. Nothing is as it seems...we will be self-distributing this compilation. No major studio system here. Screw Hollywood. One thing I have learned as an indie filmmaker is that sometimes, to get your true message out, you just have to do some things yourself. And with filming these short films of my Mother over a 3 year period here in farm country, I've found the best way to get these out as a collection to a worldwide audience is to distribute them ourselves online. News will be coming out very shortly on distribution details. In the meantime, it's great news that Slamdance and Indieroad will feature a selection of these shorts during the festival in January. Here's the Slamdance/Indieroad website:
http://www.indieroad.net/slamdance
Check it out. That's where films will be online during the festival for the whole world to see!
FESTIVAL UPDATES:
Our shorts are rockin' on the festival circuit! Between PHONE SEX GRANDMA, THE OUTHOUSE and THE ACCEPTABLE SIN, we've had over 60 festival screenings worldwide in 2009 alone. And more is coming. We've got a lot lined up for 2009. Our new short film JUNK just premiered at the Sundance/Project Direct short film competition. And now will begin the festival circuit as well. Plus, we've got some other new short films made that will be released in 2009....stay tuned....
OUR UPCOMING FIRST FEATURE FILM:
Here's some early breaking news....we will be making our first feature film in 2009! Speaking of our new short film JUNK....this will be our first feature film! JUNK is a film about a Mother and son who run a junk store in a small Southern ghost town. Imagine the TV series SANFORD AND SON combined with the film CLERKS; and you have a really good idea what our new feature film is going to be like. Based off our new Sundance/Project Direct short film, JUNK is scheduled to begin shooting early Spring. We're currently seeking crew, and lining up casting.
You can check out our new 3 minute short JUNK on our YouTube site at: http://www.youtube.com/dixiefilms
Stay tuned for updates on the feature film!
PHONE SEX GRANDMA: THE INTERNET SERIES
Have you seen our first film PHONE SEX GRANDMA? This little 9 minute short has taken the world by storm. Simply put, it's become a cult film. I don't know where my Mother comes up with these ideas for films. Opal is something else. Since this film premiered at Slamdance 3 years ago, it's played over 70 film festivals worldwide, is online with 4 distributors, has had over 400,000 free views on YouTube, and more. And now....we're making PHONE SEX GRANDMA an internet series!
This has been a long time in the making...but it's now a reality. We've already made a preview V-log online, and over the next few months, will have a preview series of V-logs of PHONE SEX GRANDMA. Then, after the V-logs, will come the series. Imagine THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW with a phone sex operator. That's what's coming up. You can watch the first V-log right now on our YouTube and Myspace sites. Stay tuned for more details and episodes!
ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING UPDATES:
To date, we've got over 50 online social networking sites. Along with the biggies (Myspace, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), there's a lot more out there. Opal and I have really been working hard these last 6 months trying to build an online community for my Mother, this X-RATED GRANDMA. I really want Opal to become known as the world's favorite, dirtiest Grandma; and personally, as a filmmaker, I want to become known as the next John Waters of film. That's my goal right now. And having my Mother Opal here as my subject and product, makes things very easy. This is just the beginning of what's to come. And the internet is a huge tool for the independent filmmaker to reach a worldwide audience without the big Hollywood industry machine. I've lived in Hollywood. Screw that. Screw the artificial life. It feels great to be real, making movies my own way, and getting my true independent messages out. And online, the 40-50 communities we're a part of are only a small fraction of what's out there. It's mind-boggling. Honestly, I need a staff of 6-7 people to be working these online social networks daily. But in the meantime, as a poor indie filmmaker, working the day job while making my movies, this is how it's going to have be for now. One site at a time. And building the network.
OUR BLOGS:
Speaking of our online websites and networks....
You can see the entire list of our social networking sites on our blogs. Opal and I each have a blog we try to write on as often as we can.
Opal's blog is: http://xratedgranny.blogspot.com
My filmmaking blog is: http://sonofastripper.blogspot.com
Check them out. See what we have to say, and what we're thinking. And visit our list of websites and networks there. We've got a lot we want to share!
As you can see, Opal and I have a lot going on here in farm country. Honestly, I don't know how we do it. It's maddening. It's hard to keep sane. Opal's brain is constantly working with ideas. And I'm trying to get those ideas out to the world as a filmmaker. I think we make a pretty good Mother/Son team. My job is making the movies, marketing, promoting, and distributing them to a worldwide audience. Even though right now, we're not making one dollar with these films. These first few years...are just a taste of what's to come. I can't wait to see what the new year brings.
This is proof that anyone can make a movie. Anywhere. With no money. Everyone has a story to tell. You just have to have the balls, courage and love to make your story and share it with the world. Declare your independence. Let your voice be heard. The world deserves it.
Have a great holiday season! Hope to see you in the snow in Park City!
Until next time...
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