Okay, NOW It's A Wrap!

I'll bet you thought it would never happen, but the moment has arrived - it's a wrap! We started building the first set back in the summer of 2008 and we've just finished shooting the Big Finale scene. That's almost two years... and that's not counting the six months it took me to write the script or the six months it's going to take me to edit and score this thing. Why, you ask has it taken so long? Good question. My only logical answer to this is lack of money. If I'd had a realistic budget I would have shot this like a real movie - cast and crew sequestered for eight weeks of seven-day work weeks with construction crew diligently building sets in anticipation of our relocation. But when you try to do a movie of this magnitude with little or no money you kind of have to spread it out over a long period of time. Another obstacle was having a lead actor who is out of the country on business 75% of the year. This makes for a logistical nightmare when trying to schedule shoots with him in the scenes.
But enough bitching and moaning. IT'S A WRAP!!! Well, I still have a few pick-up shots and I still have to take my much-anticipated trip to new Orleans to shoot some exteriors. And then there's post-production which involves getting some of the actors back for ADR (dialogue re-recording) and editing and special effects and music scoring. Now you see why only about 1% of all indie feature films ever make it to fruition from conception - it ain't easy, folks. But you know that old saying... "If it were easy, everybody would be doing it".
Now, about the finale: What an amazing experience! I won't bore you with all of the details but since it's my blog and if you are reading this then you must care somewhat about the details of my filmmaking experience, I'll tell you what it was like. It also helps me to purge my soul of it's burdens by writing this.
First things first; I had to find a suitable location. If you go to my Facebook page you'll see photos of the Neuhoff site. This is a former livery stable - yeah, where they used to slaughter the cows to make beef for your disgusting hamburgers and steaks (I recently went semi-vegetarian). The stables look like a parking garage with three levels. The lower level looks like something out of Blade Runner - subterranean and spooky - and I knew that if we smoked it up and threw a ton of white and purple lights up and we shot at night it would look cool as hell; I was right (see photos). The problem was we were shooting in the dead of winter and it had open sides and no electricity. Long story short, everyone made frequent trips to the heated make-up trailer and froze their asses off while on the set. The make-up trailer was an expensive proposition but a godsend because it made for a comfy staging area for the thirty-plus cast and crew when not on the set.
Through some fortuitous unexplained phenomenon I came upon a twenty year-old choreographer named Tessa Mendoza. Tessa was recently back from California and was restless to do something different with her time and talents. We both had the same vision and she proceeded to knock out a spectacular dance number using students from her dance school (see pictures) who were more than enthusiastic and rocked the place. We used the music from a band from California called Archer and after three months of preparation and a big-ass grip truck with a plethora of lights provided by my good buddy Jeff Steinborn we staged an elaborate throw-down dance sequence that would rival Michael Jackson's "Thiller" minus the budget.
This was easily the most ambitious project I've ever attempted; even more ambitious than my very first film which included live horses, 1800s period costumes and muskets and Civil War re-enactors. This was like a real music video shoot with crew all over the place and me shouting through a megaphone. Unfortunately, I forgot the walkie-talkies, but in retrospect walkie-talkies are a little self-indulgent, don't you think?
Anyhow, everything went off beautifully and I am going to start by putting out a new teaser-trailer music video using the footage we shot for the finale. I won't be blogging much during post-production, because it's a boring and tedious process, although it is actually my favorite part of the filmmaking experience. I guess that's because you don't have to rely on a huge cast of characters as you do in the production phase. I like to edit and do a lot of my own post stuff, so I get to hole up in my studio and put it all together without having to explain or answer to anyone.
I hope to premiere the film in late Spring/early summer, but I'll be putting out at least two more trailers before the movie is finished.
That's about it for now. This has been an incredible journey and I have a very clear vision for what happens in the next three years that I will tell you about in later posts. Now it's time to edit!
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And my Myspace page: www.myspace.com/trumpetlipps

Progress Report

     Hey Everybody, Here's the latest on our progress:  We just wrapped up shooting on our laboratory set last weekend.  After three months of shooting mostly weekends we got everything we needed, including a FANTASTIC shoot with my hero, Lloyd Kaufman in a cameo appearance as Dr. Thomas Edison.  Jim O'Rear also made an appearance as Igor, Edison's hunchbacked assistant (see photo).  Lloyd brought his unique sense of humor along with the promise of droves of Troma fans. Lloyd also said he would like to attend the premiere of TG4, schedule permitting.

     We have a very busy summer ahead of us with lots of location shooting, including a scene at the Brass Stables on Printer's Alley this Sunday (May 31st).  We need about thirty extras to whoop and holler as Stacey Dixon, alias stripper Candy Slice, aka DynoWoman does her lasso dance onstage.  Shooting is from 11am to 2pm and there will be free food and non-alcoholic beverages courtesy of the Brass Stables.  For more info email me: glenhweiss@comcast.net

     We are also planning on attending the Fright Night Film Festival in Kentucky in August with TG4 stars Alex del Monacco, Tony Domenico (BoxerBrief Boy) and Will Jones (Electar). We are putting together a trailer that will screen multiple times throughout the festival to promote the new movie.

     Also, the new Thong Girl video game is nearing completion.  My DeVry University gameboys are hoping to have a test version ready by early summer with a completion date in September.

How cool is that?

     We are planning to attend several festivals and ComiCons this year and  next to promote the new film so look for us in a city near you.

     Thanks for your continued support and please check out our newly renovated website at thonggirlfilms.com

Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric

Winter is upon us and that usually means hibernation for me, but there's just too much work to do this year.  First, let me tell you about our new Thong Girl, Alex del Monacco.  As I mentioned in the last blog, I met Alex online and we discovered that we had a mutual connection through the Nashville Comic and Horror Convention.  I wasn't going to do the Con this year because we didn't have any new product and Audra Lynn had just dropped out due to health issues.  Frankly, I was feeling a little forlorn at the task of having to search for another Thong Girl.  And then along came Alex! Alex is a beautiful, sexy actress/model from Carterville, Illinois with loads of modeling experience and some film experience.  She heard about the Thong Girl project and was interested in taking on the challenge of a crimefighting superhero who just happens to look hot in a thong bikini.  She, like Audra, had not done many starring roles and was anxious to use her acting skills for the good of humankind and comic book and film fans alike (huh?)  Anyhow, she contacted me and we decided to join forces at the Nashville Con and it turned out GREAT!  You can see some of the Con pics on the TG MySpace page at this link:  http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewAlbums&friendID=64204205
In the next few months we'll be preparing our new set located at the Devil's Dungeon Haunted House in Nashville and scouting locations for the rest of the film. We plan to start shooting on the new set just after the New Year. We will also be looking for extras for several scenes, so if you'd like to be in the new movie please contact me through my email or the TG website. I'll be posting a new blog every couple of weeks to keep you updated on our progress and keep checking the website at www.thonggirlfilms.com for more TG info. And never forget: IF YOU DO WRONG, YOU'LL ANSWER TO THE THONG!

Thong Girl where have you gone?

It seems like forever since I've posted a Thong Girl blog and I apologize profusely.  The fact of the matter is, not much has been happening.  Things are starting to pick up again and I'll start with the good news/bad news portion of the blog.

The good news:  We'll be doing the Nashville Comic and Horror Convention on Oct. 18th & 19th.

The bad news:  Audra Lynn will not be there.  Unfortunately, Audra has opted out of the Thong Girl project due to health issues and personal reasons which I can't go into.  The last I heard she had moved from Los Angeles back to Minnesota and is living with her parents during this period of transition.  I wish her well and I totally enjoyed the few months that we worked together.  But the good news is we've teamed up with actress/model Alex del Monaco for the Nashville Con and Alex will be wearing The Thong and appearing as Thong Girl for the two-day convention.  While she's here she'll also be doing a screen test for the movie and we'll discuss the possibility of her assuming the role for the next film "Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric". Alex brings a ton of modeling experience and also some film experience along with a really solid fan base and we're all excited about the possibility of her becoming the next Thong Girl. I'll be posting more info in the next few weeks concerning the Nashville Comic and Horror Festival.

We've also been working diligently on the set for the new movie.  The story is based on historical events concerning Thomas Edison and the electricity patent wars between he and George Westinghouse in the 1920's.  The set will resemble the funky old Frankenstein laboratory where the monster was created.  Thanks to the artistic talents of my buddy Pablo Scruggs we've been able to replicate a lot of the old laboratory ambiance and what better location for the set than a haunted house?  The folks at the Devil's Dungeon (www.devilsdungeon.net) have graciously donated a room for us to film the laboratory scenes.  They will be using our set during the Halloween season and as soon as they close we'll move in and start filming.  I wanted a place where we wouldn't have to move everything around everytime we wanted to shoot.  The laboratory scenes will take the longest amount of time to film, so I wanted a place where we could stay set up for a month or two.  Filming will begin in late November.  Look for a mystery celebrity in a cameo appearance as Thomas Edison!  

Also, the Thong Girl video game is coming along right on schedule and my guys from DeVry University are hard at work putting that together for a 2009 release.  

That's about it for now.  I'll be busy casting the new film and tightening up the script for the next few weeks.  Thanks to those of you who have inquired about the new movie and I hope to see you all in October at the Con.