Saturday, December 19, 2009

KARL E. DeVOS 1972-2009


Karl DeVos, my cameraman for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, died on December 12, 2009. He was 37.

Words fail. I'm still absorbing the shock of the news.

When we embarked on the adventure of Jekyll and Hyde earlier this century, digital filmmaking was an iffy proposition. Festivals and distributors weren't embracing them. Karl's background was in commercials and industrials as a shooter and an editor. He embraced the mad notion of doing a period feature film, and gave it everything he had. He created beautiful images on a tight schedule and budget. One of the greatest compliments I ever heard regarding the look of the film came from filmmaker and artist Frank Dietz, who saw the film projected at the State Theater in Modesto, California. After the screening Frank wondered if the film was shot on 35mm film.

Karl researched and plotted the light design carefully. He studied classical American film composition of the 1940's based on my design notes. Karl fought with the primitive composite software that was available to us to create images, designed the main titles and edited the montage sequences for the film. Karl was responsible for researching and assembling our first edit suite at the studio. His contributions were enormous and invaluable.

I enjoyed every moment of our collaboration. We worked on other feature projects together, as well as a few industrials and informational films for other clients. Karl loved old movies. He collected vintage cameras. He loved my mother's fried chicken.

Watching this trailer on a computer doesn't do his work justice or show it in the proper "light', but I put it here as homage and thanks. Because words fail.

Friday, December 18, 2009

CARTOONARAMA: "FIN AND THE BOYS"

"FIN AND THE BOYS" (2009) by Mark Redfield. Acrylic on canvas. 18x24.

This cartoon of comic actor James Finlayson, flanked by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, was a recent commissioned piece.

Monday, December 14, 2009

THE EAST COAST PREMIERE of JEFFREY COMBS in "NEVERMORE, AN EVENING WITH EDGAR ALLAN POE"





THE EDGAR ALLAN POE HOUSE AND MUSEUM IN BALTIMORE

Proudly Presents

THE EAST COAST PREMIERE of

JEFFREY COMBS in

NEVERMORE, AN EVENING WITH EDGAR ALLAN POE

Written by Dennis PAOLI Directed by Stuart GORDON

East Coast Premiere Produced by Jeff JEROME and Mark REDFIELD

TWO PERFORMANCES ONLY! ORDER YOUR TICKETS BEFORE WE SELL OUT!

WHEN: SATURDAY, JANUARY 23rd, 2010 at 7pm (doors open to the public at 6pm)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 24th, 2010 AT 4:30pm (doors open to the public at 3:30pm)

The performance is 90 minutes without intermission. Children under 9 years not allowed.

WHERE: WESTMINSTER HALL (the burial place of Edgar Allan Poe) 519 West Fayette Street (corner Fayette and Greene), Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Tickets are $35.00 (Order your tickets HERE). Tickets are transferable, but not refundable.

Celebrate Poe’s birthday with us this January as we go beyond the bicentennial and present this astounding tour de force! You’ve heard about this remarkable one-man show and your friends who have seen it agree with the LA Times, calling Jeffrey Combs work “a landmark performance”!

Stay after the performance for our famous Birthday toast to Poe, and an after-show discussion with star Jeffrey Combs and director Stuart Gordon, moderated by Mark Redfield.

About the play, NEVERMORE, An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe

The Poe House and Museum is proud to present the East Coast premiere of this exciting work which debuted in Los Angeles at the Steve Allen Theater on July, 2009. Sold-out houses and multiple extensions brought the run in Los Angeles to a close on December 19, 2009. Hundreds of fans have seen the show and raved about Jeffrey Combs portrayal of Edgar Allan Poe.

NEVERMORE, An Evening With Edgar Allan Poe recreates the public recitals that Poe presented during the last few years of his life. This is Poe in his own words. The text is taken from his letters and essays.

“A landmark performance” –LA Times

ABOUT JEFFREY COMBS : Combs has appeared in over 75 stage productions during his long and successful career. He has performed at numerous theaters including the Old Globe, the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts and the Arizona Theatre Company.

He has starred in over 50 films and is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Herbert West in the cult classic RE-ANIMATOR. He also starred in FROM BEYOND, LOVE & A .45, the recent remake of HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and Peter Jackson’s THE FRIGHTENERS among many others.

Over the span of his career, Jeffrey has also guest starred on many TV series including THE 4400, COLD CASE, and CSI. He appeared in almost 50 episodes as three different recurring roles within the STAR TREK franchise. He has also portrayed Poe on film in Stuart Gordon’s THE BLACK CAT, a highly acclaimed episode of Showtime’s MASTERS OF HORROR series.

“A must-see” - Metromix

ABOUT DENNIS PAOLI (playwright): Paoli has written screenplays and plays, many of them adaptations of the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe (RE-ANIMATOR, THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM) many of them collaborations with many other writers (BEACH BUMS, BODYSNATCHERS), most of those with Stuart Gordon (DREAMS IN THE WITCH-HOUSE, THE BLACK CAT, FROM BEYOND). He teaches Gothic fiction (among other literature) and academic writing at Hunter College in New York City, and is Director of the Heidi Paoli Fund, to support cancer patients.

“Beautifully directed” – LA Weekly

ABOUT STUART GORDON (director): Gordon has been collaborating with writer Dennis Paoli since their high school comedy group called The Human Race hit the boards nearly 50 years ago and with actor Jeffrey Combs since they joined forces on the cult film RE-ANIMATOR almost 25 years ago. In 1969 Gordon and his wife Carolyn founded Chicago’s Organic Theater Company, where as artistic director he produced and directed over 35 original plays. These included the science fiction trilogy WARP which was performed on Broadway, the world premiere of David Mamet’s SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO, and POE, his first exploration of the life and works of the tormented writer.

Stuart Gordon is also known for his film adaptations of the works of H.P. Lovecraft which include FROM BEYOND and DAGON; as the co-creator of Disney’s HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS and as the director of EDMOND, the film adaptation of David Mamet’s play.

Order your tickets NOW at www.poebicentennial.com

Thursday, December 3, 2009

THE GAME COMES HOME now on SNAGfilms


From filmmaker Jeff Herberger:

Dear Friends,

The Documentary Film “THE GAME COMES HOME –THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL IN WASHINGTON DC”, a film that Willy Meaux & myself, Jeff Herberger, started almost 4 year ago is finally going to get to be seen by a larger audience other than the local Washington Film Fests its been in.

Washington Capitols owner Ted Leonsis has personally screened our film, and now Longthrow Multimedia Int. has signed an Internet Distribution Contract with his Documentary Showcase Website SNAG FILMS.

Check out the terrific Narration by Mark Redfield.

Check it out http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/the_game_comes_home/

Never thought Id see this day…

Jeff