The Next Phase

With the new DVD "Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric" finally released and the new video game ready for purchase it's time to start looking to the future. I'll be selling the DVD at Cons and online from the TG website and soon you'll be able to rent it online from Netflix. I'll also be looking for distribution from independent companies that are looking for product, but it may be a hard sell. The movie has a little bit of T&A but not enough to qualify for an R rating or a "bonerfied" soft-core. It's a superhero film but it doesn't have a lot of flying or fight scenes. It's more of a comedy with a lot of ass lasers and gay references, courtesy of TG's gay sidekick BoxerBrief Boy. And at 110 minutes it's quite epic for an indie film. It's really more of a Troma Film without the puking and shitting; it's sort of my homage to one of my film heroes, Lloyd Kaufman, who makes a cameo appearance. It's got two musical numbers and lots of hot chicks.
I'm also really excited about my new venture. I've teamed up with comic book artist Gaylord Tause, who's created a new comic book series called Thong Girl vs. Xolta From Outer Space (I added the Outer Space part). He's written and illustrated a new series based on a story he's created about a really hot alien chick who comes to Earth and battles Thong Girl. At first they're adversaries but then they team up to defeat another weird alien dude with a pointy blue head. I've been talking with b-movie legend Jim O'Rear about playing this part. I'm going to turn these into webisodes that you'll be able to stream or download for purchase on YouTube. There will be a fifteen minute pilot episode followed by weekly three-minute vignettes. This will broaden our fan base and hopefully extend worldwide to include the Asian market that I've always wanted to target.
In the next few months I'll be casting and building sets for this new project and I hope to have it out by Spring of next year. I've included a cover from one of the new comic books so you can get an idea of what the real life characters will look like. My hope is that I can finally start to see some return for all of the money that I've invested in this franchise. The last movie pretty much broke me so, of course, I'll also be vigorously seeking distribution.
I'm also writing songs for my pet project "Thong Girl: The Musical" and I hope to get with Martin Brady (Dweeble) soon and start fleshing them out and composing a score.
You can keep up with all the new merchandise and the DVD and video game on the website and I'll try and post more blogs this winter.

Thong Girl Is Back!

It seems like it's been forever since I've updated my blog. There is so much to tell you, but I'll just touch on a few of the great things that have happened since my last update.
I guess the biggest thing is the film premiere of Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric. The new feature film will be screening at the fabulous Belcourt Theater on Thursday, April 7th at 7pm. I have been working on this movie for almost three years and I haven't had time for anything else. It's been a truly rewarding experience and I've learned SO much, especially in the post-production phase. I've learned a lot of editing techniques that will help me in my future endeavors - specifically my move to Los Angeles! I will be moving in a little over a year; as soon as I can sell my house and line up a job out there. Obviously, with the economy sucking and the housing market at an all-time low, I'll be waiting until things improve a bit. But I feel like I can't really do the things I love while living in Nashville. I moved here for music but that's just not where my interests lie anymore. I feel a really strong desire to work in the film industry, in just about any capacity that is available.
The new movie will be premiering about the same time as the release of the new Thong Girl video game. A trailer is online now and the game will be ready to play the night of the premiere. It's turned out super-cool and fun and it was a big hit at the Con Nooga Comic Convention that we attended on Feb. 18-20th.
We also introduced our new Thong Girl, Maxxine Ransdell at Con Nooga (see photo) and we will be enbarking on a new film and comic book adventure called Thong Girl Vs. Xolta. I've become involved with a new comic book artist from Atlanta named Gaylord Tause and there will be a lot of his artwork in the new movie. He has created an alien female space vixen named Xolta and we will be turning the comic book into a live-action webisode adventure series starring Maxxine and an as yet-to-be announced actress who will play Xolta. The webisodes will be available for purchase and download sometime in the Fall of 2011. This is very exciting stuff and it's our way of taking TG into the realm of the internet where everything seems to be heading. It has gotten so costly to make feature films without investors that I just don't think I'll be able to continue making bigger and better movies on my own dime. This will be a way to cut back on the budget without sacrificing quality.
Please try and make it to the premiere of Thong Girl 4: The Body Electricon April 7th at the Belcourt Theater and watch for our new webisodes coming this Fall.

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!
Please visit my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/Thong-Girl-Films/298896868453?ref=ts
And my Myspace page: www.myspace.com/trumpetlipps

April Update

     Spring is finally here and we're well into our second month of shooting TG4.  We've shot five or six scenes so far and we've got a very busy April and May.  Here is a picture of our laboratory set that we started building back in November of last year.  We'll be on the set for the entire month of May and then we'll do all of our outdoor location shooting in June and July, followed by a month of "green screen" shooting and then we should wrap by the end of the summer.  Then it's on to post-production which will include bigger and better special effects, music and a very special "secret" that I'm not at liberty to discuss... aw, hell, everybody knows I can't keep a secret. We're going to try and shoot the grand finale dance/throw-down fight scene in 3D!!!  James Houk, our Director of Photography is working out the details and, as far as we know, this will be the first local feature film to utilize 3D and 3D glasses.  Very exciting!

     I'm also looking forward to filming a flashback dream sequence at the end of the month with one of my personal heroes, Lloyd Kaufman.  Lloyd will be making a cameo appearance as Doctor Thomas Edison from the 1920s.  Lloyd is the founder of New York based film company Troma Films, home of the well-known Toxic Avenger series.

     Since we're shooting mostly weekends it's taking a lot longer than most indie films to shoot, but we're getting some really great footage and I think you'll see the end result will be well worth the wait.

     Keep checking back with me and also check out our revamped website for some behind-the-scenes photos.  And remember:  If You Do Wrong, You'll Answer To The Thong!

     

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!

Nashville Comic & Horror Convention

I know this is kind of short notice but we will be appearing at the Nashville Comic & Horror Convention at the State Fairgrounds this weekend (Oct. 18 & 19) here in Nashville. Admission is $10 and there will be all kinds of creepy creatures and comic book stars there along with actress and model Alex del Monaco as Thong Girl!!! Alex will be representing Thong Girl Films and donning The Thong this weekend and signing autographs and selling her merchandise as well as ours. While Alex is here she'll also be auditioning for the role of Thong Girl for the upcoming feature film "Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric" which will begin filming in just a few short weeks.
Please come out and meet Alex and support Thong Girl Films and buy some cool TG merchandise including dvds, tee shirts, comic books and autographed 8X10s of the lovely Alex del Monaco. For more info about the Con please go to http://comiccitytn.com/hfest08_home.html
I'll have more about the new film in the coming weeks. This film will be bigger and badder than the last one and will feature more cool special effects and even a big dance number!!! Hope to see you this weekend.

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. 

Two more weeks!!!

Hey Everybody, Can you believe it? Just two more weeks until the premiere of Thong Girl 3: Revenge Of The Dark Widow. Mark Allen, the Music Composer and I are busy adding the finishing touches to the score and the sound design. We're determined to have the movie completed one week before the premiere, which will give the people authoring the dvds just enough time to put the dvd package together so they'll be available at the premiere.
The new updated website is also up and running, thanks to some great work by our webmaster (or is that web mistress?) Robin Grandin. You'll find all kinds of cool stuff, including the new TG3 trailer and the infamous Jay Leno clip. There is also some new merchandise on the Store page.
I'll be sending out a mass email in a few days to invite everyone to the premiere on June 9th & 10th and we've also added a special screening at The Ranch in Gallatin... just one block from the Palace Theater. That's right, the same theater that BANNED the movie, for some unknown reason! The Ranch has a big screen tv and a projector system and the entire town of Gallatin is invited to see for themselves what all the fuss was about. I've spoken with former Mayor Don Wright and he has graciously accepted my invitation to come to the screening. This is one event you won't want to miss. Admission to both the Nashville premiere and the Gallatin screening is $5 (free for cast and crew).
Well, that's all for now. I'll be sending out one more blog before the premiere. I hope you'll all come out and support local filmmaking at it's cheesiest. And don't forget: "If You Do Wrong, You'll Answer To The Thong!"