HORRORHOUND WEEKEND INDIANAPOLIS

I've been to HorrorHound Weekend Indianapolis quite a few times now. In 2007, my good friend, Drew, and I attended the first HHWI. It was at that very con where I began talking with a (hunk of a) man by the name of Aaron "AC" Christensen. In the following weeks, AC and I reunited at Flashback Weekend in Chicago, where I was promoting my first film, Better Off Undead. After that, there was no stopping us, the bromance was set in stone. Little did I know, that first brief and nerdy conversation with AC at HHWI would not only establish a relationship with an incredibly close and dear friend, but four years later, AC would don a beard and a hard-nosed facade to play the role of Thomas in Dead Weight.

It was on the convention floor and during late-night lobby shenanigans at a few HHWs that producer Dan Kiggins and I continued to bond over our love of horror, comics, and punk rock.

Backtrack one and a half years ago to the last HHWI, March 2011 to be exact. AC, Dan, and I were there together, just a mere few weeks before production began on Dead Weight. AC's beard was underway, Dan and I kept breaking down the script and talking logistics, and I anxiously, albeit slightly nervous, began planting the seed in the brains of my peers about this film we were about to start.

Lastly, and by no means least, it was at last year's HHWI that Nancy Cremer, who I had plenty of communications with over emails, and I met for the first time in person. Shortly after, Nancy came into the Dead Weight family as one of our executive producers.

To summarize, HHWI has played quite a role, even if indirectly, in bringing Dead Weight to the screen. Perhaps it goes without saying, but on a personal note, I am beyond thrilled to return to HorrorHound Weekend Indianapolis next week (September 7-9) with Adam, AC, and Dan, on behalf of the Dead Weight family, and so many other friends I only see once or twice a year, to screen the film on Friday night.

Indianapolis, I hope you are ready to feel the weight, because I am more than ready for you to.

HAUNTED HEADS MUSIC VIDEO

You just never know where Dead Weight will pop up...

Oshkosh's very own, Haunted Heads, just released a video for the opening track on their self-titled record, "36 Sharpened Saws." Fun facts time!

1. Their song, "No Sleep", can be heard playing in the background of the scene where Charlie, Samantha, and Alex have dinner.
2. Eric Van Thiel, guitarist/singer, played Samantha's co-worker, Doug.
3. EVT wears a nifty shirt in the video.

No matter where you are, support your local scene and check out the video!

MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL FEELS THE WEIGHT!

We can hardly believe the time has come to make this official announcement. This is, without a doubt, one of the most humbling pieces of news the Dead Weight family has been honored with receiving. We could not be more proud of our work together, and this achievement.

Dead Weight has been selected to screen at the Milwaukee Film Festival.

Many have been asking for a Milwaukee screening, here it is. This screening will sell out. Tons of Dead Weight cast & crew members will be there. It's going to be a once in a lifetime evening for us and, we hope, all who share it with us. Please, do whatever you can to attend. Stay tuned to Milwaukee Film for updates and schedule. We've spent months traveling around the US to take DW everywhere we can. In September, we bring it back home.

Official announcement can be found here.

September 29th. 7pm. Oriental Theater. Be there.

WALKING DEAD FAN CLUB INTERVIEW

Jim and Bernie of The Walking Dead News Feed pulled Adam and I aside at Chicago Comic Con this past weekend to let us talk a little about Dead Weight, something we love to do.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR...

Chicago Comic Con is just a day away! Holy smokes, and they even extended Thursday to be a full day instead of a preview night. Adam, John, Joe and crew member (The Great) Lance Ford will be representing the Dead Weight family all weekend in Artist Alley, booth #3217. We'll be located smack dab in the middle of Brian Defferding of Deftoons Comics and the fantastic Jim Boyle, who was our table neighbor from Philly Comic Con.

Don't be a stranger. Stop by the awesome section of Artist Alley (that's where we'll be) and say hi. We love high fives!

WORLD PREMIERE RECAP

At this very moment co-writer/co-director John Pata and lead actor Joe Belknap are at Days Of The Dead in Indianapolis, IN, where we have a vendor table to promote Dead Weight. Since poor ol’ me can’t make it to as many of these events as I’d like to I decided I should get around to something both John and I have been terribly neglectful of.

At the end of March we held the public premiere of Dead Weight at the Time Community Theater in downtown Oshkosh. We must apologize for the lack of a formal post recapping that unbelievable weekend. And when I say unbelievable, I mean it in the truest, most sincere terms. Those screenings were—without a doubt—two of the best evenings of our lives. After two and a half years of work, worry, and stress, we were finally able to show you what we were so proud of.

Thank you. If you were there, if you interviewed us leading up to the film, or if you reviewed it afterwards, then we are deeply grateful to you for your support. Even if you weren’t able to make it to the screenings, but still supported us on our journey, thank you. The premiere was an unbelievable release of energy that had been building up for two and a half years. A day we sometimes thought would never actually come. During production we almost reached this point where we stopped even just thinking about the premiere, because the road ahead and the work to do was so terribly daunting. Thoughts of completion would only result in awful anxiety attacks.

The entire weekend back in March could be summarized as simply overwhelming. There was too much to fully take in and absorb. I wish I could’ve recorded every conversation I had that night, every handshake or hug that took place, so I could relive it all the way it was. Thankfully we had Mary Manchester, our still photographer, along on Friday night taking photos of cast and crew, and our friend Dave Wasinger on Saturday to do the same. If I’ve been able to just once overcome my awful memory and chisel a single permanent lesson into my brain, it’s that I will inevitably forget the magical moments of a special occasion. I should do anything possible to make sure there is documentation to call back upon. There have been more than a few crap days made better by revisiting those premiere weekend photos.

Beyond my own emotional reaction to the weekend, it was also a huge success for everyone involved. We sold out both Friday and Saturday screenings, 408 seats each night. That is huge, and we are still in disbelief that it went so well. That is the first time in 15 or 20 years that a film has sold out the old Theater in downtown Oshkosh. We could not have been happier to see everyone there to support what is truly a Wisconsin grown independent film.

Although the premiere marked the end of one enormous step in the process, and saw the Dead Weight family finally able to share their work, it also marks the beginning of a new phase. Promotion. As I mentioned, John and Joe are at one convention this weekend. We’ve also taken part in the Philly Comic Con, Fright Night Film Fest in Louisville, KY, and Art All Night Film Festival in Trenton, NJ. We have some other conventions and film fests to announce in the very near future, please stay tuned for updates on those.

We’ve also seen a flood of incredible reviews come through from websites and magazines worldwide. The feedback has been incredible, beyond anything we had hoped for. If you haven’t read some of the reviews, please check out a few of the links below. Just beware of spoilers if you have not seen the film yet.

Cinemart Online (UK): http://cinemart-online.co.uk/2012/07/02/new-review-dead-weight/

Kicking The Seat: http://www.kickseat.com/now-showing/2012/4/1/dead-weight-2012.html#disqus_thread

Down Right Creepy: http://www.downrightcreepy.com/reviews/review_dead_weight.html

Killer Reviews: http://www.killerreviews.com/staff_review.php?movieid=21121

HorrorMovies.ca: http://www.horror-movies.ca/2012/01/dead-weight-2012-review/

We think you’ll enjoy some photos from the weekend, whether or not you were with us for the premiere. The happiness felt by so many members of the Dead Weight family should be apparent below. We hope you enjoy them, because you can be certain we enjoyed every moment they captured.

Thank you, endlessly and most sincerely. Thank you for helping us see this production through to completion. We’re just getting started.

Click the "read more" link below in order to view a bunch of fun photos.

ART ALL NIGHT FILM FEST SELECTION

We are quite honored to take part in the first annual Art All Night Film Festival this weekend in Trenton, NJ. The AANFF is a 24-hour marathon of films from the New Jersey area and elsewhere. Dead Weight will be screening Saturday, June 16 at 10:15pm.