Theme Parks and Videos

So I submitted a vlog to be on Geek & Sundry Vlogs. How fucking cool would that be? If you haven't checked out Geek & Sundry I would be very very surprised. Go subscribe to both the Geek & Sundry and the G&S Vlog channels now!

UPDATE!!! Use this link to watch:

http://geekandsundry.com/vlogger/sean-leonard

Then vote, give feedback, and share!
It all goes live this morning (20th) @ 10am PST

Here is the video I submitted -





and here is some bonus material -

Rough of new commercial

Orange County's Credit Union



Music by the brilliant Josh Woodward.

www.joshwoodward.com

Escape From Tomorrow

I haven't been obsessed with something for a little while... but a few hours ago I found out about Escape From Tomorrow.

My first thought about it was: sonofabitch that was my idea.
The second though was: It can be done. Nice job, man.
The third: I need to see this.

The idea was to shoot a narrative movie inside the Disney Parks. A movie that looks like a "real" movie. Without permission and totally guerrilla style. Well, Randy Moore did it!

It is a story about a family on a vacation to Disney World. Dad gets a phone call during which he gets fired from his job. Then he has to deal with "Most Magical Place On Earth". It is (from what I've read) a black and white, surrealist, Lynch-ian, dark, comedic, gem, with lingering imagery, interesting characters, and some uncomfortable moments. That's just what I get from the guys who have seen it though. If you want to read about the film try the LA times write up on it or this article from chud.com. Both were really good and have other links too. And here's and interview with Moore and the lead actor Abramsohn. I don't have much to say about what's on screen cause, unfortunately, I haven't see it. Which brings me to the point of my little blog post.



Dear Randy Moore,

Let me say again, nice job, man. Everything I've seen so far, down to the title (a Witch Mountain reference if I'm not mistaken) looks brilliant and tells me that you were the right guy to do this. Thanks for making the movie, good luck in all that follows, and congrats on the reception. Now down to business... I need to see this movie. I am stoked that this movie even exists and I know that that is enough for you (which I applaud you for), but since I didn't make it, for me that is not enough. I need to see it.

I have had the idea to shoot a movie guerrilla style inside Disneyland for a long time and whenever I told anyone about it they told me it was impossible. I knew it could be done though. I just lacked the funds and equipment to do it. You, sir, have proven me right. You have realized one of my dreams. You rock.

Now, I wholeheartedly hope that somebody has the balls to distribute Escape From Tomorrow. I really do. And one of my favorite tweets about the movie was "Disney should go balls out and pick up Escape From Tomorrow" from @kristapley. BUT, if it gets tied up... if nobody has the balls out there. You need to do it! "Leak it" online. Make VHS or DVD copies and send them to random people. Have underground showings across the US. Hell, project it onto the walls of Space Mountain. I don't care how. Just get it out there, please!  Oh, and give me a heads up on how and where its going to be.

If that these methods don't work for you. Or heck, if you're feeling particularly giddy from the whole experience at Sundance, you can always send me a copy. I will totally be your best friend. If you need me to be quiet about it. I will. And I'll keep it to myself if you want. Promise. I'll take an oath on the Bible, or on an Amazing Fantasy #15, or even on the Sword In The Stone sword in Fantasyland if need be. I just need to see it.

Sincerely,
The guy who had the same idea, but is not quite as quick on the draw.

P.S. I am now officially obsessed.



Here is the only clip online so far...

Missile Toes

A little seasonal playlist.

An audio adventure.

Hit play. 

Minimize window.

Go about your internetting.

...and all through the house

Here is a little vid to go with the pics.

'Twas the month before christmas...

Visited a place called Tehachapi for my Mom's birthday where we had a Thanksgiving dinner in a house decorated for Christmas. It was a wonderland of sorts... I took pictures.

Pixar and Story

This was so cool I had to share...

Pixar's 22 Rules For Storytelling.

By

Emma Coats  
@lawnrocket

Graphic made @ PBJ Publishing.
Go download a free hq JPG of it!

OR you can buy a print and make your wall much more awesome!

Giving Thanks

Today I am thankful for:

Friends (new and old, future and forgotten).
Family.
Life.
A place to live.
Food.
Water.
Dipping sauce.
Dance.
Movies.
The new golden age of TV.
Old TV.
Cheers.
Black & White.
Boston.
Earth.
Disneyland.
Pizza.
Memories.
My hair.
Health.
Clothes.
Coitus.
Video Games.
Apple.
My camera.
My future.
My past.
My present.
Presents.
Empathy.
Generosity.
Coconut water.
The five senses.
Motivation.
Happy.
Fun.
Vaginae.
My Penis.
Sunscreen.
Boots.
Underwear.
Intuition.
Muppets.
Joss Whedon.
Music.
Monkeys.
Ukulele.
Pizza.
Novels.
Storytelling.
Air.
Hope.
Faith.
Wine.
Weed.
Magic.
The Unknown.
Ampersands.
Randomness.
NaNoWriMo.
Sports.
Invention.
Modern Medicine.
Eastern Medicine.
Alternative Medicine.
The Moment.
Electricity.
Love.
Like.
Like Like.
The Obscure.
Women.
Computers.
Compassion.
The Rain forest.
Forest Gump.
Bigfoot.
Ghosts.
Destiny.
The Force.
Haunted Theme Parks.
Sunglasses.
Really Cool Jackets.
The Bottom of the Ninth.
The Lakers.
The Dodgers.
Stop Motion Animation.
Traditional Animation.
Computer-ie Animation.
Teeth.
Functioning Body.
Pizza.
Creativity.
Opportunity.
Pistils
Stamens.
Honey Bees.
Documentaries.
Rain.
Sun.
The Earth.
The Universe.
The Multiverse.
Sheldon Cooper.
The Princess Bride.
A Christmas Story.
Danny Kaye.
Steve Martin.
Bill Cosby.
Consciousness.
Art.
Comedy.
Headphones.
Fantasy.
Science Fiction.
Jean Shepherd.
Blankets.
Imagineering.
Writing.
Calvin and Hobbes.
Socks.
Spirit.
Books.
Farscape.
Bargain Theatres.
Chance.
No. 2 Pencils.
Zeal.
Built in Bookmarks.
Beginnings.
Satisfaction.
All Body Parts (inside and out).
Neil Gaiman.
Ray Bradbury.
Writers.
Dogs.
Soul.
Rock N Roll.
Possibility.
Good People.
Nature.
T-Shirts.
Jeans.
Dreams.
Shoes.
Duct Tape.
Soap.
Trees.
Used Bookstores.
New Bookstores.
Publishers.
Editors.
Toilets.
Showers.
Plumbing.
Headache Medicine.
Windows.
Doors.
Nubbs.
Filmmakers.
The Little Guy.
The Underdog.
Ability.
Luck.
Obi Wan Kenobi.
Chefs.
Money.
The Moops.
Brains.
No Zombies.
Buffy.
Ballads.
Billiards.
Baking.
The Letter B.
All the other letters.
Cats.
The Beach
Pachinko Machines.
Pinball.
Poetry.
Backpacks.
Laptops.
Pizza.
Other.



...andtomorrowi'llbethankfulformore

Truth & Fiction

Epiphany & Sunscreen

Another bit of NaNoWriMo inspiration fodder:

I had an epiphany. It came at an odd time, as epiphanies love to do. It came when I was answering a question. The person who I was talking to was worried about being original. To be honest, originality has always been very important to me, so I'm not entirely sure where this came from, but I said, "Don't try to be original. Just be honest." Like all epiphanies it wasn't original, but it was the truth...

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it." 
-C. S. Lewis

And now we have an oldie but goodie! (great... a cliche after my originality and honesty epiphany.. well two steps forward ones step back.. Damn! I did it again!)

If you have never heard the Sunscreen Song, which actually started out as a commencement speech, you should definitely check this out..

Gaiman and Palmer

I am doing NaNoWriMo this year. We are 4 days in so far, so there is still chance to get in on the action if you have the metaphorical balls. If you don't know what it is then check out their website here. Or type www.nanowrimo.org into your address bar and hit return. Basically what it is is this. Write a novel in one month. 50,000 words in 30 days.

But instead of doing it on your own the site provides a forums for support, tips for completing and other helpful tidbits. They have Write-Ins where you can go and write with other WriMos. And my favorite: a little stats thing that tells you how much you have written, what your average word count is per day, when you will finish based on what you've written so far, etc. Wait, I take it back, my favorite is when they send pep talks from successful writers. Every once and a while you get a piece of writerly-nano-advice from somebody in your nano mailbox. Last one was from Kate DiCamillo. I wouldn't mind if they did this daily. #hinthint

Well, it is tough to do something as big as a novel without some encouragement. Some inspiration. Some laughs. And there are a couple of things I wanted to share since they provided me with all these things and more. I found them at different times although they go very well together... almost as if they were meant to. Or as if the two who created them were married or something. They are commencement speeches given by Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer. Collectively they clock in at under 30 minutes and no matter who you are I think there is something in it for you. In fact I think they should each do a TED talk. Thank you Neil Gaiman. Thank you Amanda Palmer.

Anyway, here are the links to the speeches:


Amanda Fucking Palmer Commencement Speech
Neil Gaiman Commencement Speech


Oooo. Another thing I really want to mention is Mur Lafferty. I usually listen to Writing Excuses (which comes out today). If you are into writing, if that's your bag, check out www.murverse.com. Especially her podcast I Should Be Writing (ISBW). It is a great parallel to Writing Excuses. Where as they usually focus on technique, Mur has a more emotional approach to her podcast. She has nice meaty interviews with writers and does a feedback show where she answers your emails. She also has some good insight into depression and writers. Check out ISBW located in Podcast System of the Murverse. Also available on iTunes.



PS I have a little word ticker at the top of my page here to show my up to date word count for this National Novel Writing Month.

......................................................................................................

Happy Halloween...

...now run.

All Hallow's Read

I am a big Halloween fan. Always have been. I spent many years creating scary worlds in my bedroom as a kid and on my porch and lawn when I was in college. All in celebration of the Pumpkin Holiday. But I also love books. And now thanks to Neil Gaiman we can celebrate them as one.

Gaiman has invented a new holiday tradition. And its simple. Give a scary book to a loved one on Halloween Night. I thoroughly and sincerely endorse this book giving holiday.

And if you don't want to stop there, I think Joe Hill's idea of an out-loud reading a scary story on Halloween Night is a great addition.

So go out and get a scary book.
Give it to someone.
Then trudge into the Pumpkin Patch... and read.
Then tell the Great Pumpkin I say 'whatup' when you see him.

Here are a few of my recommendations for this year's of
ALL HALLOWS READ.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Cell by Stephen King

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark written by Alvin Schwarts Illustrated by Stephen Gammell

Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill art by Gabriel Rodriguez

At The Mountains Of Madness H.P. Lovecraft





They are all scary treats I promise, no tricks here.

Jacuzzi + Toilet

The newest commercial I wrote and directed.

3 different cuts.


Flushdance v.1





Flushdance v.2





Flushdance v.3