Support a new organization

With the help of a knowledgeable friend, I have become a co-founder to an organization called "Z.E.D.", which stands for the Zombie Education and Defense organization. The details of the organization are still being worked out, but essentially, the organization hopes to cease or at least slow the discrimination of Zombies.

We feel that zombies have been unfairly portrayed in the media and would like to cease this abomination against justice and fair-treatment.

If you feel the same, come to the blog, drop a comment or two, and we can get you more information on the subject.

I thank you in advance for all the support,

-- Shannon

Starting from scratch...

... on Tuesday, October 27th, at some time around midnight, I was driving some friends home. I had made some detours, mostly because I was unfamiliar with the area I was driving in, but eventually found my way back to more familiar territory.

It was at this point that my memory becomes less clear... I remember lights in my eyes... a few loud shouts... a sudden loud bang, and my muscles tensing up. After awhile I probably got out of the car, though I don't remember how or when... the car was running after I got out, and I quickly (and repeatedly... very repeatedly) asked everyone if they were ok, rushing over to see the other car...

when I turned back to the place where it happened, there was nothing but car guts everywhere. There was a guy who looked as out of it as me, although if there is one thing I remember, it was that I probably set a new standard for freaking out.

It has been a few days since the accident. My memory is still not great... this is actually my first attempt at piecing everything together in detail, because for awhile, every time I made any attempt, all I could hear was the sound of metal and fiberglass crumpling against each other, all I could see were headlights in my face...

My car was totaled and though I am waiting for insurance to get back to me, it will most likely never drive again. I saw the car after the fact, but not since I have snapped out of the shock have I seen it. I'm not looking forward to seeing how close I came to being killed.

This whole experience has left me somewhat broken... which is ironic because I wanted to be scared for halloween-- I definitely got my wish. I never thought I could be so scared and confused.

I said, to a friend, that every time I am near a car of any sort, it feels like I am in a tiger's cage... away from them, I gain my composure, but when I drive in the passenger side, or when I walk near them, it is all I can see but imagining them crashing together, or slamming into me.

I feel like this whole experience has brought me back somehow, like... knocked me back to a younger age, because I do not feel like an adult at all, I feel like a scared teenager, still figuring everything out... that might not make a whole lot of sense, but for the moment, it does to me.

Maybe that's the nerves talking.

At any rate, I have a lot of work ahead of me to come back to where I was before the crash. A LOT. Financially speaking, but also... mentally speaking. And, to a lesser degree, physically speaking. Nobody was hurt, and I was the only person at the hospital... thank god. But, my muscles have become very sore, and I will be on painkillers for the next few days. I would have just not taken them, but the doctor said if I don't relax the muscles, I run a chance of developing pneumonia. I'm not sure exactly why that is... but... suffice to say that I don't want pneumonia.

This post has been the closest thing to normal thought I've expressed in public. I'm still on my way to being normal... I'm sure my demeanor in public freaks out people a little bit, since I walk very carefully, and sometimes just completely flashback, which leaves me staring off into space for a moment.

So, for those looking for news on the Monster Intern, I had to let the site go for now while I do updates... we're also working on a new production that should be interesting, but I cannot say more... except that even the marketing for it is fun and exciting, which is a far-cry from the "tedious and annoying" view I usually have on marketing.

Everything of course will be stalled while I recover from my accident. (For those who thought this post was a fictional story, I wish it was, but it is completely non-fiction). I have a lot of stuff to figure out, a lot of work to just make sure everything is settled in terms of paperwork-- I don't blame anyone for the crash, it was just a momentary mistake on everybody's part, but hey, you know, the bureaucrats need to put "at fault" in a little box in order to distribute funds, so... whatever). My mind is ironically not racing around all these things, but still left somewhere in the crash... so I'm waiting for that to come back to where it is supposed to be too.

To all those who have shown love and support, god bless you all. I have no idea how I made it out of there with only a sore rib and a twisted mind, but if all I have to do is take a few painkillers to avoid pneumonia, this whole experience could have been a different one altogether, so I'm happy to be alive, and happy that everyone else is alive.

For now, I'm just going to try to relax, celebrate halloween as best I can (especially considering the painkillers I will be on), and just... try to spread as much love and goodness as I can, and be very careful whenever I say that I "want" to be scared (I like fear when it is not directly related to anyone's actual harm, fictional fear... the safe stuff... give me that, thank you, not the real, dangerous, traumatic kind)...

As per our gracious fans... I love you all... but seriously... we won't be around for awhile. I'm going to rest. I'll let you know when it is cool to hunt us down looking for autographs again.


-- Shannon Stever

Zombieland Movie Review

The opening of Zombieland sets the tone nicely for the events to follow: a world of chaos, destruction, and... surprisingly... rules. We are introduced to this world in a desolated gas-stop, with our trusty narrator, "Columbus" (played by a delightfully dry and neurotic Jesse Eisenberg). This world, it seems, has certain rules of survival, and these rules play an integral role in the plot.

We see these rules play out in a variety of different scenarios. The attempts at integrating a non-fiction element into a fictional world has become surprisingly common in popular culture, probably due in part to the rise of cinema verite as a style (Cloverfield, Quarantine, Diary of the Dead, et alia). It is no small thanks to Max Brooks for paving the way here-- his Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z books certainly helped plow the marketing fields. How does Zombieland fare on its own, after having impeccable timing helped it take advantage of the current marketing trends?

Well, to be frankly honest, the movie fairs well. Surprisingly well, given that the film attempts to blend a lot of different tones into one package. The film is part buddy film-- at least once Columbus meets the delightfully disturbed Tallahassee (played by a vibrant and energetic Woody Harrelson); it is part romantic comedy, as the romance develops between Columbus and Wichita. The character of Wichita is played by an uneven Emma Stone. It is not that Miss Stone does not fit the role. It is perhaps that she fits it too superficially. The character of Wichita is a deceptive woman who plays on her appearance more than her actuality. The actress feels too much like she is playing this literally, and it makes for a performance that just feels a little too... well... performed.

However, Miss Stone is not without her strong moments. The chemistry between her and the protagonist (Jesse Eisenberg) is very powerful, and believable to say the least. Eisenberg does a wonderful job reacting to her deception with a believable and innocent naiveté. When she is reacting against this, Miss Stone's demeanor breaks in a believable fashion-- she stops "performing" and actually delivers at these times, and it is to the director's credit that this actually nullifies the previous complaint about her acting. She shines where it counts, and it comes just as you are starting to doubt whether she really can deliver.

And then... there is the last act. Where the previous acts were all about the performance and a little about the show, the last act really grabs you and does not let go. I read somewhere (the source escapes me) that the filmmakers wanted to make a roller coaster ride feel, with all the adrenaline and excitement, and the final act really delivers.

Of course, one might fault the film for being a bit too slow-paced. But considering how interesting the characters are, it is hard to fault the film for letting us spend so much time with them before the grand finale.

Is it a perfect film? No. Until the character arch changes, Emma Stone's performance, while suitably "bad-ass", feels flat sometimes, at least until the more chemical moments between her and the protagonist. Also, I felt that the film's major philosophy of "never take yourself seriously" shot itself in the foot, for the film seems to avoid having any substance. There is a very touching moment with the character Tallahassee, which the writer and director felt they could absolutely not linger on, which was a shame because Harrelson's performance was just... perfect for the moment. But then, the moment is cut short by an admittedly funny one-liner. Still, it would be interesting to see what would have happened if the filmmakers allowed more of a harmony between the sillier moments and the more emotional or thought-provoking.

All in all, though, the film is an exciting adventure, with believable romance, interesting and energetic (if not neurotic) characters, an unrelenting sense of humor.

Highly recommended, even with its flaws in mind.

Upcoming Short

So, I've finished early drafts of my short film (tentatively titled: Scoop). We're working on grabbing a potential for a score, then I have to add a few small audio clips, and wrap up with a credit sequence. The wonderful Morgue Ann has sent me a nice little title logo to work with, and hopefully we will get the artist we want for the scoring-- if so, everything should be tight in a short while.

The story? Well, it is a tale of brains and betrayal, of murder and mayhem and me in the shower. Because really, what's a short film without a topless me? So, the film has a little bit of everything-- a little bit of sex, a little bit of violence, and some brains flopping around. I'm pretty happy with the first cut (wrapped the video, and have a cleaned-up version of the main audio track).

At any rate, should be fun-- will update soon.

In a world... with ten thousand guns... one man... makes one hell of a blockbuster movie

Ok, so the title of this post is best read with the "movie guy's" voice-- you know, the movie guy whose voice you hear all the time? I do a mean movie guy impression, but that is a digression I have to pull back on.

The title of this post is meant to invoke the formulaic tendency of the movie trailer. As a writer, I constantly wonder about form, and worry about formula. The spelling of the two are similar for a reason (maybe hotforwords should investigate?) because form is what happens when you are a disciplined writer using the tools of your trade and you succeed, formula is when your method is revealed too openly, too easy to see the "how" of your writing.

It is a tricky thing to have good form, and not just mere formula. It is a very fine-line that exists in between the two, but I think for the most part, what separates the two-- and warning for those thinking this will help you out on your next paper or blog or whatever, it will be far too vague to do so-- is sincerity. Writers and artists in general that work from the heart will always create more powerful works than those who write for money, or to a more forgiving place, power. I write for power in the respect that I write for the power of my story, to increase the power of my storytelling. I've done a lot over the years in order to ensure that my writing is as strong as possible-- including learning about filmmaking in order to ensure that my storytelling was as audiovisual as possible.

But I got lost in the "how" and it wasn't until I started to do the thing I do best-- writing instinctively-- that I started to feel like a writer again, instead of like someone filling out business forms or something (name of character:____ Character's occupation: _____ character's turning point in act two: _____ ).

I have been on somewhat of a hiatus while I get things sorted out in my life-- and for that I apologize. I'm a pretty scattered person in general, but I am getting focused in my old age. There are, hopefully, more works to come in the film vein, as I am hard at work writing a script for a new horror movie. Sadly, due to lack of production support and lack of time on my part-- it is difficult to juggle everything my life is offering right now, and I'm finding that I do need help in the production department moreso than I previously admitted) "Z" will have to be put on hold-- so those who wish to audition for zombie extras will have to wait just a little longer at least.

But it will come-- I haven't forgotten about "Z" I've just put it in the "to do" pile, lest my brain explode like in Scanners ; oh us Canucks do think up some pretty morbid stuff from time to time, and Scanners is deeply embedded into some pretty early childhood memories. Probably helped shape me for the disturbed individual I am today, and to quote a famous fast-food franchise, I'm loving it.

So yeah, stay tuned and I will try to balance things out-- one of the things I'm working hard is compressing my duties to free up time to my proper passions, which ironically I'm trying to do by getting a job IN my field so that I can have time to ... work more in my field in a different way. Two birds with one stone if you will. A bit hard to explain, but when I have more news to report, I'll fill you in-- I'm a bit too superstitious to spit it out now :p

At any rate, stay tuned, more to come, and as always, be nice to each other. Or else.

Become Zombified

In the spirit of all things competitive (and zombie), we at Monster Intern have started to discuss a potential contest. The details of the contest are still being worked on, but essentially, it will be a draw to be featured in the upcoming television series "Z", written by me and Mark Holmes.

The contest will start by taking applications. The application details are still being worked on, but they may include a "why I want to be a zombie" essay, and we may ask for an optional headshot-- with everyone who commits to a headshot receiving a free "zombified" mod of their headshot created in our offices from the original.

This is just the beginning, we should have more news on the contest soon.

Distracted by random distractions...

Ugh... I hate distractions. Seriously, if I could be a fully automated robot so that I coud achieve the productivity levels I so desperately desire/need... le sigh...

Anywho, I've managed to update the web page a tad. Working on developing a more nifty image scroller, but that won't be until I learn at least a tiny smidgeon of flash. Also, designed a few items in a store which can be found at http:/zazzle.com/monsterintern for those interested in awesome items. Other than that, been doing some research for a new script about a haunted asylum and BEFORE you say "I've seen that before," please take into account a few things I want to do differently with this project. The first thing is that it isn't an asylum haunted by insane ghosts, its a fully populated asylum with live patients that is haunted. Who will believe these poor souls? Well... no one. Which leads me to the second thing I want to do with this script, which is to hopefully expose the sometimes lonely world of the mentally ill, while also giving them life and respect. It isn't something I'm taking lightly, and I really want to make a project that doesn't just exploit mental illnesses, but shows the sometimes scary, sometimes lonely, sometimes unstable, and sometimes loving world these people exist in. We all have neuroses, and that is another thing I want to do with this script-- to really truly destroy the distinction between "normal" and "abnormal" not to belittle the illness, but to humanize its victim.

Also hard at work planning promotional material for "Z" (previously known as "Diary of the End"), the tv series which seems destined to be financed out of pocket... which... considering my pocket, is not going to be easy! But I have high hopes. The plan is to have almost all-- if not all-- the scripts for the first season ready for shooting so we don't have to take breaks in between filming episodes.

Whatever crew I develop will hate me for that. Or love me, I don't know, we'll see.

Also starting playing with twitter (my that sounds dirty). While on twitter, I managed to find this:

Which, needless to say, looks... awesome.

The still is from a movie called "Zombieland"... its a typical zomacolypse flick, but it looks like it has lots of character and energy, which are always good things when it comes to the walking maggot-bags.

In fact, the current uprising of the horror genre-- from Sam Raimi's triumphant return with Drag Me to Hell, to this, to Tim Burton's return to weirdsville with the awesome-looking Alice in Wonderland, has made me make plans on developing a podcast giving my thoughts on movies in general, probably with a bias toward the horror genre. Because really... who doesn't love the creepy crawlies and the splattered red stuff?

Ok, maybe I'm just a special case and somewhat of a cynic, but the horror genre is like a sibling to me. Granted, a festering, smelly sibling... and probably more prone to try to make me uncomfortable than my real life sibling...

ANYWHO I'm on rantsville now, so I will part by saying these things that need to be said: the things still on the agenda are more physical versions of marketing my goods-- need to hawk stuff in order to pay for production-- and to all beautiful and rich ladies, if you are looking for an adorible and awesome guy to encourage, love, and throw yourself and your money at... I am single.

There... I do believe I've pimped myself out about as much as I can for the time being. Until next time.