An Afternoon with Monsters

The Wolf Man gets no respect, especially when he’s paired with Frankenstein, the Mummy, Dracula, and the very seductive Bride of Frankenstein. Yesterday I spent the day with all of them on the set of the new Reggie and the Full Effect video shoot for J train, the first single off their new album Last Stop: Crappytown. I was shooting some still photographs and B-roll video for some old friends: John Carlucci (director) who has been around Hollywood via New Jersey working with the likes of Kevin Smith and Ridley Scott and Atom Rothlein (producer/director) who has been producing music videos and commercials for over 10 years.

The makeup process alone took a number of hours for the shoot and after it was complete I found myself in the surreal predicament of photographing Frankenstein (aka Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance) in an alley having a cigarette with the Mummy (aka James Dewees). The band looked so good in makeup that I though it would be crazy not to introduce them to the townspeople in the small village of Babylon, NY for some fun while the crew was filming the Mummy’s scene. After stopping by a local skate shop, politely harassing some strangers on the street like when Frankenstein momentarily stole a women’s pizza running down the street, and stopping in the meat market for some blood the monsters were helped across the street by a friendly old crossing guard as onlookers gawked. Good times were had and a few children are now permanently scarred but all in the name of hardcore rock.

The video shoot was as always a memorable one like the last time I worked with John and Adam we were thrown out of K-rock with Limp Bizket after Fred Durst cursed out the DJ and it should be coming out soon as a world premiere on Fuse- look for it, it’s a good one I promise.

Reggie and the Full Effect

Today I worked on the new video for Reggie and the Full Effect and I can't wait to see how it comes out. There's a cameo by Frankie from My Chemical Romance and the production value was the highest I've seen on any video I've worked on. The new single is pretty sweet too, I like the more intense Reggie sound- check out J Train.

Happy Birthday to Me

I haven't always dealt with birthdays well, but this year I think I'm handling it pretty well...

Coney Island Mermaid Parade 2008

Indecisive skies had threatened the urban mermaids that surface once a year on Surf Avenue in Coney Island, NY but the procession went on as skies cleared and the parade brought forth the weird, the wild, and the many. It felt like a John Waters dream on the surface of the sun- well worth it and not to be forgotten.

Get Smarter

Get Smart is an entertaining film that is built of cheap but effective humor. As a huge fan of the original series by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry my expectations were not lofty but the film did a pretty good job and had the audience laughing consistently. The script seems to borrow a good deal from fellow “spymedy” Austin Powers and alludes to the original series occasionally but the cast comes through in giving the film a distinctive flavor. Overall the film was definitely watchable and has a future as one of the fluffy, think-free films that lives on for years in cable re-runs.

In terms of acting Steve Carell doesn’t quite live up to Don Adams shoes but brings his reoccurring dopey character to the part with success and Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson actually impressed me (possibly because I had any expectations at all). The rest of the cast falls in suit- Anne Hathaway looks pretty and shiny in stylish clothes (exactly what you’d expect from her role) and Masi Oka paired with Nate Torrence bring some geek charm. The star of the film is really Alan Arkin whose offbeat comedic performance makes the film along with a great collection of short appearances by well known comics and actors- Bill Murray and James Caan are especially notable as an agent in a tree and a imbecilic president.

It’s not high in content but farts are funny so if you need a laugh check it out.

IF: Horde

I know a little about hording...

Goodbye City Nights

This week I had a small painting, "City Nights", stolen from a gallery down in Port Jefferson. It was hanging in my kitchen forever but I guess wonderlust got the best of it and it's out there in the world now. You just have to let paintings live their own life sometimes...