Yahoo News Knows The 'Dead Hooker' Blues

Slasher flicks aren't getting much respect from Canadian theatre chain Magic Lantern Cinemas, based on its decision not to screen three movies in Saskatoon, based on titles and posters alone.

"Dead Hooker in a Trunk," a satirical low-budget grindhouse film directed by identical Vancouver twins Jen and Sylvia Soska, had its April 22 screening, sponsored by the Dark Bridges Film Festival, cancelled by the Roxy Theatre.

This is the beginning of the article about the banning of our film in Saskatoon as reported by Yahoo News. When I first heard about a theater banning 'Dead Hooker in a Trunk', I thought the issue would be quickly remedied after the film was looked into or the backstory or the press the film has garnered or the filmmakers behind the film. But no. The banning decision by Tom Hutchinson of The Roxy Theater stands firm much to the surprise of.. well, free society.


It doesn't end there, as this seems like a situation where one bad decision now must be paired with more poor decisions. If only the man could be accountable for his error in judgment, but no, instead he is flapping like a chicken thrown into a river trying to stay afloat. What's next on Tom Hutchinson's tirade against freedom of expression through the arts?

Another critically acclaimed Canadian grindhouse film has apparently been caught in the crossfire, as the Roxy also cancelled a booking of "Hobo With a Shotgun," with the official explanation there wasn't enough public interest to bother with a second-run screening based on recent box office grosses from the Cineplex Odeon Centre Cinemas.

A reporter from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, who was suspicion of the timing, noted 90 people on Facebook expressed a desire to attend "Hobo With a Shotgun" at the Roxy.

By contrast, just two people attended a second-run Roxy matinee of "Black Swan."

This is beyond revolting. It's a very exciting time for Canadian cinema with all these new creative voices coming out and having their own brand of Canadian entertainment. Jason Eisener's HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN is a triumph in originality and storytelling. It is appropriate for everyone. No. But that's why the rating system is in place.

I am shocked that Tom Hutchinson is being allowed to do this. It's complete and utter horse shit. Click here to read the whole expository piece by Yahoo News.


What is being forgotten here is that Canada is not always known for its cinema. American made films seem to have almost a monopoly on what is made and what is released and what teams are being hired.

It is such a cool time to see Canadian-made films by Canadian teams that show that we can make good films too. We have unique voices too. It's so backwards that it is sickening that those grand accomplishments have been overlooked because they are not the things that are being focused on.


A very sad day for Canada indeed.

~Sylv

Canada's Best Kept Secret Weapon

'Some people are just so talented that it really isn't fair. CJ Wallis is one of those people. You probably haven't heard of him, but Wallis is an enormously gifted director, actor, cinematographer, producer, editor, writer and musician. And to top it all off, I have it on good authority from a certain female FanGirlTastic staffer that he's cute too. Totally not fair.'

Stole the words right out of my mouth, Mr. Neel. I am speaking in reference to the mother-fucking spectacular article written by Theron Neel of FanGirlTastic.

For those of you new to the bloggings - catch up on the gentleman that is Theron Neel here and check out FanGirlTastic - the site for the fangirl that has everything but a ... - for wonderful informative pieces on everything a horror nerd could ever want and more. The piece to which I am referring is 'CJ Wallis - Canada's Best Kept Secret'.



And Theron, as usual, hits it all on the nose with his wonderfully written article and you really get to know this man who is personally and professionally, one of the most important men in my life.

'When not tending goal for his team, Wallis and his dad spent hours playing an improvised game called Minis, which was "essentially a basement hockey equivalent of Pong," Wallis recalls. "The room was fairly small and the puck was often some unnecessarily overactive bouncy ball, which made for a very fast, challenging and competitive game."

But even as Wallis was developing his shooting skills, he was discovering another obsession. "Being competitive sorts, heated debates would often escalate. So, I grabbed the family video camera and created 'the Net Cam.' All debates were quickly erased by reviewing the footage frame by frame instantly," he says. "I started to notice more and more than I was becoming obsessed with where the camera should be put to better capture everything happening in the room . . . and suddenly my hockey marriage had an adulterous filmmaking mistress."'

Now I could pull genius quotes from the pitch perfect article all day, but it would take away from the fun and pleasure of actually reading the piece - which what I suggest you do because it's a inside look to our group that doesn't get explored all too often. Click here and read and love and share and repeat - like shampooing and conditioning. I could go on on how 'stupidly talented' this man is, but Theron in his entertaining and witty, informative writing has it mastered in his article.



Thank you so kindly to Theron and FanGirlTastic for getting the secret out about CJ Wallis and his career, skills, and contributions. I love this article to insane amounts. After I post this, I am re-reading it. No joke. It's that fucking rad.

~Sylv

Maude Michaud

"The first thing that comes to mind is Freud’s notion of the two basic conflicting human desires: eros (the life/sex drive) and thanatos (the death drive). Also, there’s a very fine line between sex and violence; sex itself can be very violent… There is also this whole idea of struggle for power over another person, both in sex and in violence, which is something horror films represent very well.

In French there is this expression “la petite mort” (the little death) that is a metaphor for orgasm; I think that is an interesting juxtaposition of the two ideas. This might be why it is so easy to intertwine them in horror films." ~ Maude Michaud

In many of our pieces you will hear that we met this wonderful woman at the Viscera Film Festival. But that just happens to be an undeniable truth. This particular woman is one that we were speaking with prior and just over joyed to learn would also be attending the festival. More accurately, we met at the sensational Heidi Martinuzzi's MISTRESSES OF HORROR GATHERING. She is a fellow Canadian whose supreme talent and provocative work fills me with Patriotic pride.

"My love for the horror genre began when I was a kid. I don’t know why, but I was always attracted to dark and creepy stories. Contrary to most kids my age, I was not scared by the content, I wanted more!" ~ Maude Michaud

She lists her personal likes as: 16 mm, acting, alfred hitchcock, alternative lifestyle, art, b-movies, bdsm, camera, cinema, corset, david lynch, directing, editing, fetish, film, film festivals, filmmaking, high heel shoes, horror films, kitsch, lipstick, media studies, movies, music, photography, producing, quentin tarantino, reading, retro, scriptwriting, sexploitation films, sinema, tim burton, underground films, weird films, and writing.

Allow me to introduce a woman who many of you know and respect, but many of you may be hearing of for the first time. Take my advice, buys and grrls, you'll want to make yourselves very familiar with the name...

I present to you, film maker, French Canadian, and an artist in every definition of the word...

MAUDE MICHAUD

Maude started writing and directing short films at the age of only 16.

Her shorts, Recessed and Complex(e)/Modèl(e) were showcased part of the Short Film Corner at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and the 2008 edition of the Wreck-Beach Film Festival.

Other of Maude's works that have screened in festivals include: Perceive (2004 YoungCuts Film Festival), Spirits (2002 International Teen Movie Festival), Finding Hope (2001 International Teen Movie Festival) and Mirage (selected for the 2004 edition of the Jeunes Cinéastes contest, winning the prize for Best Original Music).

Amazingly she has worked on over 15 short films and video projects, including 12 as a director, and was hired as a director of photography on the independent feature film, C.F.A.L. – Chance for Another Life, directed by Marc-Antoine Desjardins.

Here she is at the 2010 Viscera Film Festival with two of my favorite Women In Horror, Brenda and Elisabeth Fies. And, yes, that is a DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK behind them along with a poster for the Fies' brilliant BLEEDFEST.

And again with Elisabeth and yours trulys.

"I do like to keep the dialogue to a minimum in my projects. One of my film teachers used to say: “Remember the basic rule of film making: show, don’t tell. Cinema is a visual medium.” It influenced my way of thinking about films, so whenever I think of a story, I focus on how the story unfolds visually first, then worry about what needs to be said (or not) after." ~ Maude Michaud

This is her short film, RECESSED.

"The inspiration behind Recessed is a tad more complex. At the time, I was really into Japanese ghost films, especially how they use everyday moments and domestic spaces as a menace for the characters, so that inspired some of the creepy parts of the film. I also really like the idea of telling the story from the madman’s perspective and exploring the human psyche, which is what Recessed essentially is. I just love to leave things open-ended and let the audience decide how they want to interpret what it all means. Don’t get me wrong, I do have an explanation for what happens in Recessed, but I much prefer to know what people make of it as I’ve heard so many different interesting theories!" ~ Maude Michaud

Here is the trailer for her next film, RED.



Even though Maude is a huge horror fan, she beautifully explores a variety of genres in the films she directs, which results in an eclectic body of work including: horror dramas, slightly surreal quirky tales, and explorations of unconventional relationships. Appropriately, she has named her production company QUIRK PRODUCTIONS. She also works as a photographer.

Above is a photo taken behind the scenes of her short film, HOLLYWOOD SKIN. It was a stunning, stand out piece that played at the 2010 Viscera Film Festival. I'm so sorry that I couldn't find this shocking cinematic slice of brilliance online to share it with you. But don't pout just yet...

You can however donate to the Viscera Film Festival (a festival that doesn't even charge a submission fee which is a huge kindness to independent film makers) and purchase a DVD of all the 2010 Viscera Film Festival Selections here. You can also see Maude's official site HERE and purchase her complete works HERE.

Maude is an outstanding writer and keeps a wonderful online blog that is all kinds of amazing. You should treat yourself and check it out HERE.

And in closing, allow me to express my most sincere thanks to Maude for being such an incredible inspiration in my most terrible attempt at french...

Merci pour votre bel et unique voix dans l'horreur. Vous êtes absolument juste quand vous dites, « je me sens que les choses changent ». Vous êtes le type de changement je suis heureux de voir.

Merci pour non seulement l'être une grande inspiration à moi, mais nombreux d'autres.

Sanglant Mieux!
Jen

Melissa Stubbs

"I am what I do" - Melissa Stubbs

Talk about women in the world of stunts and it's only a matter of minutes before her name comes up. Talk about the men and her name still comes up within minutes. There are specific stunts only she can do. She was worked on over a hundred and fifty films and she started by busting her ass for free. That's right. At the age of 17, this Vancouver-born would show up to any and all productions filming in the city and volunteer her services. There is a lot of sacrifice if you want to break into this industry and it seems like she could have written the book on it.


It didn't matter whether it was pouring rain (you may have heard about the rain up here - it's all true), it didn't matter what the stunt was - or if she would just be helping the stunt team or working as an extra, it didn't matter that she had to work out and train extremely hard everyday - nothing stopped her. She knew what she wanted to do and she set out to work hard and get it. She is the one and only, Melissa Stubbs.


Kick boxing, running the Grouse Grind (for those of you not familiar with Vancouver, it is on Grouse Mountain, it is pretty much straight up the side of a very steep mountain - kind of like what the cenobites would recommend), horse back riding, motorcross, and jetskiing are how she rigorously trained to be the best. She spent everything on expensive equipment to train more - to be a stunt driver, to have the skills to pull off extreme stunts, and to put herself in the best possible shape and skill level to do what she loved. And it payed off. Her dedication and work ethic got noticed by BC pioneer stuntwoman, Betty Thomas. She would later give Melissa one of her first big stunt jobs - falling out of a top window of the Vancouver Art Gallery while doubling for Donna Mills.

”She was always turning up on set and I used to wonder, ‘isn’t this girl going to leave us alone?’ She had a mission and wasn’t going to give up no matter what. I admired her tenacity, and knew that she was going to succeed.” -Betty Thomas (on Melissa Stubbs)

The first stunt job she landed was doubling for Kelly Hu in FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 8 and that was just the start. It's her training, professionalism, and drive that kept her working. She has since worked on films like: KNIGHT MOVES, ALIVE, LOOK WHOSE TALKING NOW?, TIMECOP, LEGENDS OF THE FALL, ASSASSINS, JUMANJI, HAPPY GILMORE, BORDELLO OF BLOOD, ROMEO + JULIET, DANTE'S PEAK, BATMAN & ROBIN, DISTURBING BEHAVIOR, LAKE PLACID, DOUBLE JEOPARDY, FINAL DESTINATION, ROMEO MUST DIE, DUETS, THE SIXTH DAY, SAVING SILVERMAN, ALONG CAME A SPIDER, X2, BONES, FINAL DESTINATION 2, THE LAST SUMARI, NEW YORK MINUTE, SCOOBY DOO 2, RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE, ELEKTRA, MR & MRS. SMITH, LAND OF THE DEAD, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE, FIDO, FF2: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER, GOOD LUCK CHUCK, RUSH HOUR 3, WAR, X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, YOUTH IN REVOLT, 2012, INCEPTION, and SALT - just to name a few.


She has since teamed up with colleague and friend Mike “Mitch” Mitchell to form M&M Stunt Rentals and M&M Studio Services. Does that name sound familiar? Well, M&M Studios were kind enough to let us film parts of DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK at their location. If you have worked in Vancouver in film, you've at least heard of how instinctively and generously Melissa gives back to the film community. I have yet to meet this remarkable woman, but I have been on set in her home when she donated it as a location to a friend (our teacher who even came on to coordinate on DHIAT, the Lauro 'Lash' Chartrand) to film in. Badass and kind.

You can see her and her work making the coolest and best sequences in films. You also can check her out on her site - ACTIONGIRLFILMS.COM.


She is the queen of ass-kicking, taking hard knocks, doing the 'impossible', and creating memorable 'holy shit' sequences in films that you'll be rewinding to watch over and over again as a 2 Unit Director, Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer, and Stunt Performer. In closing, Melissa Stubbs rocks. Hard. Maybe the rewinding commence.

~Sylv

Jovanka Vuckovic

"My mother always says that I’ve loved monsters since before I could speak. When I could hold a crayon, I’d draw monsters. When it was my turn to choose a video on movie night, I’d run for the horror section of the video store. It’s just always been in my blood. I can’t explain it. When it comes to horror, I feel like Lt. Ripley in Alien 3 when she says, “You’ve been in my life for so long, I can’t remember anything else.” -Jovanka Vuckovic

For those of you with just a mild to moderate interest in horror may not recognize the woman being celebrated in this piece. For those of you in the know it's obvious - the flame red hair, the horror icons tattooed across her physique, the endless knowledge of everything and everything horror - because you have to when you're Editor-In-Chief of Rue Morgue, formerly. She's moved on to pursue writing and directing her first feature. And she is Jovanka Vuckovic.

"I admire every woman who’s contributing to the genre without selling herself out. But I’d love to see more women making movies. There are plenty writing horror fiction, but I’d like to see more ladies infiltrate the film business." -Jovanka Vuckovic

This ballsy Canuck is an award winning writer, Gemini Award winner for Best Visual Effects - she spent five years working for CBC Television as a digital effects artist - not to forget she studied forensic anthropology at McMaster University. So much knowledge of the dead - not just the fantastic we see on the screen or the page but also the harsh cold reality of the real dead.

"My career in horror began when I studied forensic anthropology in university and realized that there is a stark difference between what happens in real life and what happens on paper. Working with the dead gave me the perspective I needed to really appreciate living, which only made me appreciate my beloved horror films and literature that much more." -Jovanka Vuckovic

I feel so inspired by this woman. It's not only because she is a fellow Canadian, born in Toronto - although it gives me a huge swell of Canadian pride. I am excited as all holy (and unholy) fuck to see her first feature film - THE CAPTURED BIRD - which, from what I've seen online, looks so original and hauntingly beautiful. With Jovanka's extreme knowledge of horror and vast intellect, you just know we're all going to be in for a treat with this one.



Ok, I don't do this in the middle of writing usually - but you really should go to the film's official site and, fellow horror nerds, be prepared to be stoked. The style is incredible. It's not even finished and festivals around the world are requesting it. However, and this is a nifty piece of Canadian film makingness, the film is being funded by Bravo!FACT but they still need to raise another $60 000 to completely fund the feature. Are you a fan that wants in? This is the kind of movie you can proudly say you helped bring into existence. Go to the donation page here, learn a bit more about contributing, then feel radness wash over you as you help. It's rad.


I have never met or spoken to this astonishing woman, but my friends who have met her sing her praises. She's an incredible role model for any horror lover. She knows her horror and loves it enough to bring her own creepy visions to life for us. Can't wait to see the film and everything (and anything) this lady gets behind. Because if Jovanka Vuckovic is involved, it will be something phenomenal.

UPDATE: We met at TIFF and she is fucking awesome. I got to see THE CAPTURED BIRD and it was unreal.

~Sylv

Kick Ass Kontest from KillingBoxx!!

What do you get the horror buff who has it ALL this Holiday season? You can still be a little naughty in all that niceness...


Did you know that KillingBoxx, in addition to reviewing killer films and all the assorted radness, give away AWESOME FREE STUFF?? Yes. I said FREE. They have TONS of contests and here's a very special one.

As y'all know, we love to support fellow Canucks (aka Canadians). Allow us to introduce (and hopefully RE introduce) you to ZOMBIE DEAREST...

"Zombie Dearest is David Kemker's directorial debut. He also co-wrote and starred in the movie as Gus Lawton, a struggling comedy writer who pushes his wife Deborah (Shauna Black) too far and he finds himself chasing her across the country to the run down house of her childhood. The old place needs fixing and Gus tries to work his way back into Deborah's life by rennovating the house, staring with the septic tank. In a moment of desperation, he turns to the heavens and begs for help. Moments later, he digs up the one thing that he needs, a zombie (David Sparrow) who will do the heavy lifting while Gus gets back to writing comedy. Testing his jokes out on the zombie, Gus finds his voice and his audience, and plans his return to stand-up comedy. But the zombie has other plans..."

Now onto the FREE stuff and the contest...

You have the opportunity to win:

* Signed Zombie Dearest DVD

* Signed 4" x 6" Zombie Dearest Post Card

And all you have to do is sign up to win HERE.That's it. It's THAT easy. You're totally welcome. For what, you ask? The contest info, of course!

And this.... ;)

Now, go be good, boys and grrls. Well, good(ish).

XO,
Jen