I just read a fascinating article
on ABC news about 50-Cent’s role in his new movie, a semi-true-life
story about his rise from cocaine dealer to rapper. Ala Eminem’s 8 Mile, though Eminem wasn’t really a gangster.

The
best part of the article, though, is how it continues to discuss
mobster’s fascination with Hollywood over the years. These guys live
the drama, and then get excited about their characters being portrayed
on TV. There are some really interesting bits about Al Capone’s goons
visiting Scarface screenwriter Ben Hecht
and asking about how their boss was going to be portrayed — all the
way up to FBI wiretaps that have captured present-day mafiosos
discussing The Sopranos. Apparently James Gandolfini has also been getting tips from the real-thing on how to act the part…

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So I was cruising some of the film junk mail I get the other day and
came across something familiar. I had an email for a pitch session –
this is basically where somebody organizes a bunch of producers and
production companies in a hotel room, and you pay some money for the
priviledge of pitching your movie ideas to them in the hopes that
they’ll take interest. I’ve never been to one of these, and don’t
necessarily intend to, but as I was perusing the list of companies that
were to be in attendance, one of the names caught my eye.

Catchphrase
Productions. Hmm. Catchphrase Productions. Where had I heard that
before? The name totally rang a bell, and at first I thought it was
Robert Rodriguez’s company.

After a quick internet search, I
realized what I was seeing. When I was an intern at MGM Studios in
Orlando, I worked with a guy named Dean Shull. He was organizing a
fundraiser for an independent film called Waiting that a friend of his
had written and planned to direct. A girl I was dating at the time and
I even tried to go to the big fundraiser they had planned (Fall 99),
but we searched and searched and could never find the building
downtown. The name of their company was Catchphrase Productions. 

I’d
kept in very loose contact with Dean for a year or two, then lost his
contact info while we were in Japan. Last I had heard from Dean, they
had raised enough money and started shooting the movie. Once, every
couple months or so, I would scour the internet looking for any mention
of Waiting. The only thing I could find for a while was this imdb site,
and I looked through the forums every now and then to see how things
were coming along.

So imagine my complete and utter surprise to
stumble upon this website and trailer — the movie is coming out this
month! This might not be news to any of you who have seen the trailers
on TV, but I don’t watch TV, so it struck me out of the blue. Lion’s
Gate picked it up and it’s now playing in a theater near you. From the
looks of it, it’s Office Space with waiters instead of cubicle monkeys.
They even use the music from Office Space on the trailer.

Anyway,
check it out, and by all means, go out and see this movie. You may not
realize that it’s a picture-perfect example of a grass-roots
independent film that, after several years of screenings and
negotiations, has now hit the big time. Give director Rob McKittrick mad props and check out his blog.

I didn’t think things could get any more surreal, but they did. I visited St. Louis this weekend to be a
rockstar for an evening, playing in a band in a hoosier bar with some
old music fraternity buds. While we were there, we got in touch with
some old friends from college, and one of them is now a lawyer at a law
firm. She mentioned that one of the partners at the firm is the father
of James Gunn, the writer of the Scooby Doo movies and the Dawn of the Dead remake. Of course, I
recognized the name instantly, and mentioned that I liked him better as
the writer (and actor) for Tromeo & Juliet, Terror Firmer, and book of
Lloyd Kaufmann’s. She didn’t know what the hell I was talking about.
Unless you’re a Troma fan, I suppose you wouldn’t understand.

In fact, if you are a Troma fan, you may want to check out this movie, also called Waiting. There’s a picture of Lloyd Kaufmann there. This is getting too weird.

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The work is coming to an end, and so is our pre-release offer. As of November 1st, we will release and begin selling the Artists’ Essentials DVDs at full price. Soooo, get them while they’re hot! Pull out your credit card and head over to www.artistsessentials.com to snatch up a full set at a whole $30 off the retail price! The Pre-release orders have been flowing in.

You may still order the Set at the Pre-release Discount of $149.95 through October 31, 2005.  Beginning November 1, 2005 the price for the Set will be $159.95 plus shipping of $5.50 in the USA.  Single Volumes are $59.95 plus shipping.

Order through:

            www.artistsessentials.com

or mail checks with shipping address, phone and email address to:

            Artists’ Essentials / Donna Aldridge
            7503 West 54th Terrace
           Overland Park, KS  66202-1127

We’ve had wonderful feedback from those who have had previews of the rough cuts in September. Here is one comment we recently received.

After watching your new 3 DVD set I felt like it had covered essential information not covered in other artist videos I had seen. Instead of just showing us how to paint one or two paintings, it helps us with every piece of art that we will ever do again.

It does this by teaching us how to see better and really bring out the color in our subject better. The information about the different colors of cast shadows was very  informative. I have taught quite a few classes myself and I noticed the problems students were having continuously were the ones artists were taught to solve in the video.

I also appreciate the professional job of video-taping. Not once was I frustrated because I was unable to see the illustrations because the camera was not zoomed in enough to see well.

The way you explain things is a beautiful use of the English language. Your use of illustrations to help us understand what you mean is excellent. I have never heard these abstract concepts explained in such an easy to understand way. Good job Donna!! I will watch the videos over and over!!

         — Audrey Lechuga, Award-winning Fine Artist, Colorado, USA

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