*Master Blog
An Evening at Gunpoint.
I attended the “House of the Wolfman” premeire tonight at the Vista Theater in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd – which was fantastic! 
Around 11:15 I began the short walk down Sunset toward my car. I pulled out my cellphone and began looking thru emails to see what I had missed in the 2 hours I was at the premiere and I notice this guy walking toward me. It was a dark part of the sidewalk between street lights if you will and I noticed he was pulling the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head. I looked up and was going to say “Hey What’s up” as I have done hundreds of times walking down a side walk in LA. And the guy pulls a pistol out of the side of his sweatshirt and puts it right between my eyes and says “It’s your unlucky night mother f—er”. At this point I am completely stunned. I really don’t know what is happening much less what to do. I just stood there. Yes, for once in my life, I was speechless. lol. He began to ramble words, I didn’t really process what he was saying but I heard the words Mother F—er and empty your pockets. Again, I just stood there.
Then he begins to yell. I throw on the ground my cell phone, a handful of candy (i am diabetic – emergency stash in my pocket), my favorite pen (Dr. Grip), the receipt from the popcorn and soda at the movie, and my car keys. Why I thought he would be satisfied with this I really don’t know… at this point I was just thinking “this guy has a gun pointed at my face” While all these things are very important to me, they are of no value to a crackhead with a gun. He says “empty your pockets”, I said “I’ve got nothing else” and he says “I want to see the inside of your pockets” so I pulled them out and then I realized he wants my wallet, so I pulled out my wallet and threw it on the ground. He then says “I want to see the inside of your back pockets… I want everything you have”. He then turned me around. I could feel the barrel of the gun against the back of my head, and at that point I really realized what was happening. He started patting my butt to feel my pockets, then he yells “Walk Mother F—er” with my hands in the air I began to walk up the sidewalk back towards the theater and as I felt my head come clear of the gun, all I could think about was that I was about to get shot. He says “that’s right mother f—er, back the way you came”. I can see all the people standing outside the theater chatting as I am literally just a block away and I didn’t hear anything behind me.
I began to walk into the middle of the street to get into the light and then I processed – I have no keys, no wallet, no cell phone – I can’t call Karen, I am walking down the middle of a dark street with the whites of my jean pockets hanging out and I can’t do anything. All I could do was grunt – mostly obscenities…. but I could hardly speak. My body started shaking profusely. It was like a diabetic sugar level swing – but totally different. I was numb and my hands and legs were shaking. 10 – 15 more steps down the middle of the road and I darted over to the other sidewalk where I was met by a group of 3 people (2 males and a girl) walking in the direction I just came from. I stopped them and said not to proceed as I was just held at gunpoint.
The girl uses her cell to call 911 and as I am explaining what happened to the guys, I realized who the girl was. It was freaking Leslie Andrews from “Sick Girl” and I said “you’re Sick Girl” and the guys started laughing. (turns out they were from the online magazine NukeTheFridge)
Well, needless to say Leslie is nothing like her character in Sick Girl. She wasn’t covered in blood and wasn’t carrying a gun and she stayed by till the cops came and filed the report. She let me use her cell to call my wife, and we had a great conversation. We both then climbed into the back of the police car and they escorted us to our cars. (turns out the guy only took my wallet and phone and didn’t take my car, which was only a few steps from where we were standing) Completely random, yet a totally awesome surprise ending to what was an awful event.
You never know how you will react in a situation as this, well I now know. I did nothing heroic. My life didn’t flash in front of my eyes, nothing. I stood there and was speechless, I am really surprised I didn’t wet my pants. But thank God the punk didn’t pull the trigger. All is fine on this front. I think Karen was more freaked out by it than I was. Hey, at least I get to go get a new iPhone tomorrow. :0)
Crazy thing is… I have had dreams the last few nights about being held at gunpoint. Fate? or Coincidence? Regardless it is jacked up.
Poster Mockup #2
Here is another. First round of screenings went really well. Everyone is pleased! Starting on the score next week… This is happening fast.
Dreams
I have always been a dreamer. I have never really given up on dreams. Could be why I stay in so much trouble. I think that it is super important to not forget your dream. Not forget who we were made to be. At the same time we have to remember that sometimes, when we shoot for a goal, we are given a window or door to an opportunity that may not be the glamorous path to success we have envisioned. It may be the bottom of the barrel and then we have to take that mess that is the bottom and make it the best we can possibly make it. It is super important to not pass up opportunities that are staring us in the face. On the flip side of that, I think that it is just as detrimental to allow the reality, that we won’t be superstars at the beginning weigh us down and or more importantly keep us from ever starting. Meaning: Just because we may be forced to deal with the bottom of the barrel on a project or situation, we should NEVER just set out at the beginning aiming for the bottom of the barrel. We should shoot for the best, then take what is given or made available to us and do the very best we can possibly do.
Mediocrity is NEVER acceptable. If we don’t push for excellence in EVERYTHING that we do, we are failing ourselves and those around us. If we are put here to be a leader and we don’t give it everything that we have, we are failing those that were chosen to follow us. We are failing those that are destined to be changed by what we are doing. There is something to be said about the saying that if you aim for nothing you will hit it. But there is also something to be said about common sense and reality. I believe that success lies somewhere in the middle. I believe we pray for miracles, shoot for the top and then take what we get – and make it the absolute best we can do. And then maybe just maybe the miracle we are given is not success on a silver platter, but an ability and a drive to break the odds, push thru the crap and truly use that poop to create something so fantastic, that it changes someone’s life for the better.
Purge / Filth To Ashes – Score.
After 10 weeks of working on this feature, most of the 1st act has been cut. The footage looks great, I can’t wait to share. We have an award winning composer that just signed on to score the film – Ken Eberhard. Ken has won 2 Daytime Emmy Awards. From Providence and American Dreams to the Apprentice, Entourage and more, Ken’s music can be heard nearly every time you turn on your TV.
Still fighting with the powers that be to change the name to ‘Purge’ but for now, it is called ‘Filth to Ashes’
Our goal is to have the film ready to screen in November.
For now it is back to reality. Literally. Cutting the next 11 days on a show, then back to the film. Deadlines are loomin, and “Wailin’ Jones” is a comin 
It’s a wrap.
Just finished principal photography on my first feature I have to say it was an incredible experience. A lot of work no doubt, but a ton of fun. Statistics say that an indie filmmaker will only make 1 film in their career. I really don’t believe that is me. Thankfully on this project, I had producers to deal with the money, set, locations, crew, etc. etc. etc. So, I only had to deal with the creative side of making the film, which probably really helped my experience to be so positive.
Aside from an evening of mishaps where everything that could go wrong did go wrong, the process was really smooth. The crew were all super supportive and gave it their all. The cast absolutely rocked it, and we all have a butt load of stories to tell and laugh about.
Not really sure why indie filmmakers only make 1 film…. I guess they didn’t have the cast and crew I did. Can’t wait for the next one. For now, on to post production where I will really see if I screwed it up or not!
“I hope I’m right”
Making Movies with Nasby
We got product placement coming out the wazoo. Cases of water, beer, energy drinks and motor oil galore. Who would’ve thought we could find product placement on a no-budget horror film. Kinda random, yet completely rad. Thank you John Nasby.
9 HOURS TO TAKE-OFF.
9 hours to call time, 11 hours for cast and 12 and a half to camera roll… Directing my first feature. Am I nervous? No not really. Anxious yes, but not really nervous. Cast is solid, would have liked a bit more time to rehearse them, but they are solid. Crew is on top of it like none I have ever worked with and the set is absolutely gnarly. 1st day is rather light compared to the rest of the schedule. 1 fight scene, 3 babes shackled in the dungeon and a ton of blood. Nervous… nope. I actually feel prepared. I may be singing a different song tomorrow night?!?!? but right now, there is a definite calm before the storm. Should be an awesome ride.
It never hurts to ask….
Making a no-budget horror film has been an interesting process. Up till now, I have always had at least some money to put towards department crew and expenses. With this one, we are basically asking people to work for free. So, the logical thing is to think you will get a bunch of people that don’t know anything about their craft. Whether that is because they are just starting out or they are just stupid. That said. I am blown away at the caliber of cast and crew we have been able to wrangle for this film. Most of them are completely unpaid. We just asked. People that have done FX on Spiderman, Stunt guys from Transformers, and Set guys from Million Dollar Baby. Hopefully we will pull this off and can pay these guys on the next project!
lol.
My Acting Debut.
A few months back I was wrangled into giving a testimonial for an infomercial for a product that helps people start their own business. I was told that they were going to ask me some questions that had to do with being self-employed and the pros and cons of it…. I have been self-employed for nearly 10 years now and you would think that I would know what to say…. well, it turns out I can’t get a sentence out to save my life and of course, I was cut completely from the show! David Gomez cut together this outtake reel…. pretty funny.
Enjoy!
Paul does an infomercial from Paul Morrell on Vimeo.
Table Read – without a table
Home from the table read…. no there was no table. It was actually an insanely hot theater type room with about 15 seats in it, and I was on the dang stage. The lights were making it even hotter and I was sweating like sweaty pig. lol. It was awesome.
We lost one of our leads today, due to her agent being hard to deal with. I thought the agent’s job was to help you get work, not piss off production to the point no-one wants to work with you because your agent is so difficult. Oh well. such is life. The rest of the cast is absolutely stellar…. We will be recasting the role in the next few days.
rock it.
Rest, Moms and Birthdays
Counting down. 3 weeks from Monday we begin production on my first feature. This weekend, I am taking some time to relax. My mom flies in tomorrow am, and she and my youngest son share the same birthday (on Saturday)… We are going to just hang, eat some cake, and I am stoked. But come Monday, we will be working non-stop for the next 6-8 weeks. Here’s to relaxing and what I am taking as a 3 day weekend!
rock it.
Infomercial Fun
The infomercial shoot was a blast. hectic no doubt… but this mini flash light that i was hocking yesterday turned out to be pretty dang bright. We were prepared to have to “gag” it to get the light to show up on camera… but the thing was surprisingly bright and played really well thru the lens. Cast was incredible, crew worked their arses off and hopefully we got it all! Will be cutting it this week, then on to the feature!
If you read my previous blogs… you know that I am really wanting to stop trying to “do it all”.. I definitely learned my lesson last night. We had a revised script thrown at us a 1/2 hour after we starting shooting… and I was directing and breaking down the new script as we shot… hence things being hectic. So stoked I will have a dedicated AD for the next project…. This makes me happy!
rock it. paul
Casting a lo-budget horror
I am absolutely amazed at how many actors there are here in LA, that are willing to audition for a lo-budget horror film that will require 15 days of shooting for LITTLE TO NO PAY! We had almost 1500 actor submissions!
We have narrowed it down to about 100 and we will be seeing them all at least once some twice over the next 4 days. Super stoked! This is gonna rock.
still need a warehouse location, if anyone has access… preferably something gritty that we won’t have to dress… like a machine shop or abandoned car shop/large garage.
Pre-producing the control freak inside.
So anyone that has actually worked with me in production, you know that I am big on pre-production. There isn’t much that makes me more upset than walking onto a set not knowing what is going on. For years I have worked with one of my best friends Zan Passante co-directing projects. This relationship typically works really well. He handles most of the “producing roles” and I typically handle most of the AD roles (which is prepping for the technical sides of directing… scheduling, shot lists, etc.) Aside from the unfortunately common mis-communication spat, we work really well together. And there is no disputing, some of my best work has been with him by my side. More recently, Zan and I have been doing solo projects (as if we are rock stars!) I have been trying to handle all AD roles as well as directing: 1. because this is what I have always done and 2. to save money.
Well. That is stopping. It is too much to handle doing it all, and unfortunately when I am doing it all, the pre-production suffers, which slows the shoot down, which creates more work in post, which makes me even more mad at myself for trying to save a few hundred bucks not hiring help!
I am currently in pre-production on 3 projects all of which are shooting over the next 3 months, and I am sitting in LA traffic yesterday and this is all I can think about. Then it hit me. If any of you know me personally, you know that I am right the opposite with nearly everything else in my life. I don’t prep for anything. I am totally a fly by the seat of my pants kind of guy. So I started thinking why in world would I only apply this practice to my work and where in the world did this “planning” attitude even come from. The only thing I can really figure is that it is because I place soooo much value on my career. Am I a control freak? I guess so, at least in that particular area.
Which brought me to another thought. Control Freaks. I think I hate that more than the lack of pre-production. While being prepared can take you as close to perfection in executing a project, not letting go of control can demolish a project regardless of the amount of prep.
I think this attitude can really be applied to all aspects of our lives. Perhaps, I should take the rest of life more seriously. Prep more. Whether it be my kids, relationships, religion, whatever, be more cautious, careful. Perhaps this will save me years of heartache… who knows… Then I thought. aghhh…. I like being spontaneous. If we prep too much sometimes we would never make a decision to move forward, at some point you have to start the project. So I guess there needs to be balance. Too much of anything is bad. I see this more now than ever.
Take it or leave it. This is what’s in my head today!
New Projects /the rest of the year.
Well, as a lot of you have experienced, it has been a pretty rough 9 months around the Morrell household. From working 3 years straight with hardly a week or 2 off, to what we can only guess is due to the economy, strikes or maybe it was my striking looks?!?!? work has been stuttering in. Definitely not the landslide of jobs knocking on my door we had come so used to.
Not once was I ever really “not working” because I am truly a workaholic. But I was able to take the time to travel a bit with the family, camp, write, and actually relax.
Well. That drought and pseudo-free-time is officially over. From a documentary in July to a feature that I will be directing in August, to what looks like will be a steady stream of infomercials and reality TV post production. sumoJACK is going to be a busy fat man.
All this and we are contemplating a move back to Nashville or somewhere in the south closer to home.
Should be fun!
Oversold Distribution
Oversold was and still is a beast. I am officially getting tired of it. lol. I have spent the better part of the last 3 years on this project. What started as an idea with my buddy Dave Cowan turned into a feature film script which morphed into a short film script which turned into a short film starring a former porn-star which turned into a 4 week Bible Study featuring a short film that stars a former porn-star which turned into the 1st in what we hope to be a long running series titled “The Living Parallels”.
This wasn’t something we came up with immediately. This was derived after the last year and a half of being attacked by what felt like every Christian in this country. While we were stoked to have cast former porn-star now believer Crissy Moran in our spiritually based film, most other believers were not too excited about it. It was simply amazing to watch how fast fellow Christians turned on us and each other and started condemning. 99% of the time these people knew nothing about the project much less read the script. These were condemnations based solely on who I cast to play the lead. The irony of it all, is that this is what the story is about. People judging others by who they were or used to be. Making a decision on the quality of a person, based on their past. This is scary! This wrong! and This is HATE! Not the love Christ asked us to show.
The most common question we got from people was “how much nudity is in the film”!!!! Seriously! This is from people that know me. While my admittedly human desires love a nude body, there is no way I would put a nude scene in this Christ centered film, or any film for that matter. I mean come on, this question after I literally just told you it was a “church film”. After realizing this was becoming an issue, we really started skating around the issue – trying to avoid the “elephant in the room” if you will.
I recently had a conversation with the guy who did the Modern Day Parable Series. He told us that we needed to stop avoiding it… and to embrace the elephant. Then Dave came to me with this new idea for the series. We will no longer talk about Oversold as a Christian film with a former porn-star in it. It is a modern day Bible story, that along side the living testimony of a porn-star transformed by God’s Grace, Oversold becomes an insanely powerful tool to reach out and share God’s Grace. Love the unlovable.
I am excited to announce that we have found 2 distributors that are just busting at the seams excited to help us get Oversold out to the public. As of July 1, we will have worldwide distribution. Depending on which stores take the film and Bible Study (and book) we should be in most CBA retailers around the states, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and more. We also have broadcast licenses coming in from around the world. Networks wanting to show our film! And possibly even Netfilx. This is so freaking rad.
While I say that I am tired of Oversold… I really think it is more that I am just tired. While we close this chapter of “self distribution” and enter into a traditional distribution channel, I hope that this next chapter of the project takes us to new levels, and I pray that God will provide us a way to continue this series! Next up is an almost modern take on Jonah and the Whale, titled “Wailin’ Jones” lol. It is going to be incredible.
Thank you to everyone that helped out and supported the film. There is NO way we could have pulled off this project without you. And Thanks to Bank of America for allowing me to put it on my credit card. lol.
For those of you who haven’t seen the film or know nothing about it… you can check out: http://www.oversoldthemovie.com
rock it. paul
