September 2002

             So I've spent the last few days in the dank, dark, dungeon that is the basement of the old wilson's building. - Themed this year as: Freak Factory - all your freak are belong to us.

Totally moved around the scares & the spooks & added some really kewl new stuff too.

Then we went down last night to film the portion of the film that takes place in the Haunted House. It's such great fun to see everyone made up in their halloween worst. Great cameo from Jeanie as the walking wounded!

anyway, just wanted to let you folks know what's going on... We're practically finished! A little wormwood in the car on Monday night & we're 99.9% done! Adam returns to his native NZ on Wednesday, he's been a great leading man, assistant director, thrifty shopper, & roomate. Thanks a hell of a lot man!

While searching for haunted props I found The World's Most Evil Kitten.

And on Friday night we went to Nashville's Terror on the Square - Really good stuff - It'll make ya laugh, it'll make ya scream, it'll make ya laugh & scream!

Now - to plan the wrap party!

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             hi everyone. Some time off for most of us - ah, the luxury - whilst our art dept gets the Freak Factory ready. And in that time,as well as sleeping, watching films, and playing with Fruity Loops, I've decided to create our own special awards. And so, without futher ado, here are the winners....

BEST ASS IN A CAMEO ROLE: J.M.McCaleb as "Pick-up Redneck #2"

BEST STUNT DRIVING: Ree Mitchell, for managing to do a U-Turn in the 66 Belle at 45mph in central Cookeville. While delivering dialogue.

BEST STUNT DRIVING(runner-up): Chris Vandling as "Pick-up Redneck #1" How he managed to avoid crashing the pick-up into the Belle, or the bridge, or both, is a mystery to me.

BEST DEBUT PERFORMANCE: Quinton, as "Robert Clyde". On his first day on a film set EVER, Q had a fight scene, dialogue, and was bound, gagged, wrapped in a blanket, and dumped in the back of a truck. In 98 degree heat. Q, you rock.

BEST DEBUT (runner up): the green fairy at the party. Little Bunny Foo-foo never sounded so good.

BEST DANCING BY AN EXTRA: A close run thing, this. we had some hot bootilicious dancing going on in our party scene, but the winner must be Miriam McCaleb, also one of our caterers. And I swear the fact that She's the producers wife had nothing to do with her winning!!!

BEST ON-SET MACK DADDY: its that Chris "I did some modelling once, you know" Vandling again. He really makes the most of his time putting makeup on those girls...

BEST "GRACE UNDER PRESSURE": Debbie Rochon. Her attitude and charm made us proud.

BEST BEAT-UP BLONDE: Andrea Collins as "Carleen". She had that horrible cowering posture thing down. And Her Skunkape speech was FRRRRREEEEEEEEEAAAAKYYYYY!!!!!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A T SHIRT: Carleen's "Blondes Have More Fun" shirt. Even when they're being beaten by their husbands, Carleen?

BEST HUMOURED CREW MEMBER: Kevin, AKA Infiniphonic. The sound recordist to the stars, big Kev is always ready with a quip and a smile, especially when tempers are frayed. A guy like this is a must on a shoot like this.

BEST BEHAVED FAIRY: Elly Freeman. Her performance on shoot day one (oh, so long ago) was chilling in it's simplicity. She also managed to restrain herself from playing with the funny flamingoes and interesting film equipment. Not easy when you're only 6 years old.

BEST NON-SPEAKING ACTOR: the guy who got dealt to in the Kitchen of the Top Hat Bar. I'm sorry I don't remember your name, dude, but the terror in your eyes as Eric came at you with that knife was truly horrific.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN INANIMATE OBJECT: Tommy's - or is it Crazy George's?- wallet. Once you see the film, you'll know what I mean.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN INANIMATE OBJECT (runner up): Adam Brookfield as "Tommy Nash". So much screen time, so little to do...

BEST LENDING OF HANDS WHEN MOST NEEDED: Matt Griffey. The guy has a regular job but has a habit of just showing up when you need him the most. It's almost spooky.

BEST STARING VACANTLY INTO SPACE: George 'Monkey' Furman, when on those pesky dinner breaks. Maybe it's "getting in the zone", maybe it's some kind of meditation, I dunno. But it seems to work for him, so, hey, what do I know...

BEST FEEDER OF THE MASSES: A three way tie, between the aforementioned Mim, Michelle amd Ashley. I'm going home at least 5 pounds heavier.

BEST FLAVA-FLAV IMPRESSION: Dee Prince as "The Mad Hatter". With the clock around his neck and that funky-ass dance action, Dee is a star just waiting to explode. B+B entertainment rock the house!!!

BEST DOUBLING UP BY AN ACTOR: Ree Mitchell again. Not only did she do a fantastic job as "Pearl", but eagle eyed viewers may spot her as Pearls sister, Ruby, at Bonnies party.


Well, that's all we've got time for. Please keep acceptance speeches nice and short, and tears to a minimum. There may be a final wrap up before I fly home next week...

Peace.

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             With all our down time, it's nice to wake up & find something so beautiful just outside my window. ... and to know that if i want I can viciously murder sheep on my computer.

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             I've posted a new photo page for week 5 here.

Thanks to everyone for continuing to visit our page, & support our site.

You can vote for our Freak Factory site by going to the Freak Factory page & clicking on the Absolute Terror link at the bottom.

Do it now!

It's probably a good time to remind you to sign our Guestbook!

Debbie cut her hand pretty bad on the set Monday. Everyone is greatly concerned, and I'm asking for your thoughts and prayers for Debbie as she is having surgery on Thursday.

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             I have very nearly come to the end of me.

I'm considering a trip into the wilderness with a bottle of bourbon & a long-barreled shotgun. (maybe I'll take along a copy of Jackson Browne's "Pretender")

Debbie Rochon gave sweat, blood, & tears.

She is a beautiful person, and a very talented actress.

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             I am in the eye of the storm. The room is calm; the bed in the bedroom, the couch in the living room. Order.
Last night we shot the party scene and Debbie Rochon blew me away with her performance. The nicest people can me the best villains. It was a good evening, a calm evening were everything went well. Calm. And Charles Long who plays the meanest motherfucker ever to kill a man on the Upper Cumberland made Adam Brookfield laugh. That’s. lets see: Take one, laugh, take two: laugh. Oh, I lost track. Calm happy moments.
So the night ends and I’m writing this note. I’m getting ready to steal a few shorts moments to use my couch, finally back in the living room – Oh, the sweet forgotten living room. The plan is to watch the helicopter attack scene from Apocalypse Now – because it brings me courage. What a fucking great movie.
Then it occurs to me, sitting there watching the blue screen on my TV- getting ready.
In researching the Legend of Crazy George. I may have learned too much, looked to hard at the Legends surrounding Crazy George. There may have been something true here. I may have looked two hard at horror, too hard at fear, searched to long to understand evil. In the darkest corner of the Legend of Crazy George there is a glimpse of Hell. If the part of the legend I put in the movie is true. Then anyone seeing this film will loose sleep because I’m losing sleep thinking about it. Wondering.

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             A major day in U.S. history. One can only take so many TV re-runs of exploding buildings and tearful remembrances, so we immersed ourselves in the soft pink underbelly of American culture: large men in tights.

That's I.W.F. wrestling.

The fist shot of the night: a wide angle of our tag-team wrestling match with a pumped up crowd in full swing. The boys in tights had been warned: Take it easy in this wide shot, fella's, because we're gonna need a few different angles on this one, but there's no first gear with these guys, it was straight into fifth, with nitrus Oxide injection. In fact, our crowd of extras baying for blood had them so riled up the 3 minute choreographed fight turned into an epic 10 minute encounter- McCaleb, Monkey and I exchanging amazed (and amused) looks as the IWF team kept it going, even Ken Gumm couldn't help himself: Adrenalin and testosterone transformed him from a mild mannered Shakespearean thespian into Demon Wrestler Knox, pile-driving and body slamming the Torture King (who wrestled his way into immortality in all of our minds) like he'd been at it for years.

The bout finally reached it's climax, with TK driven into the canvas with a sickening crash, how that guy has escaped serious spinal injury is nothing short of miraculous.

All four of them look exhausted, totally spent.

Monkey looks stoked: "and CUT! Bloody awesome guys! Now we need that 6 more times...."

Special mentions to Ken Gumm, for performance above and beyond the call, and to the Torture King himself, Rich Rodriguez, who not only risked hospitalization in the name of Art, but also took the title of "Most Tattooed" from the previous holder, Q (aka Robert Clyde).

Incidentally, most tasteful Sept 11th commemoration goes to "LIFE" magazine, for their sensitive and in depth book: One Nation. Buy a copy if you want some help explaining things to the grandkids.

Love, Light and Peace.
Out.

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             floss and brush my teeth
now i can try to explain
our saturday night.

pensil rocked the house.
even when he was silent
we swayed in go-go's.

i would pay to see
those strangely groovy mutant
moves - shake it, dee prince.

joyful dancing and
deluxe driveway manouvres:
witnessed, happily.

marie liked the drink.
brew more coffee, more, and more;
independent clocks.

look around, and smile -
my brother in tennessee,
and girls to dance with.

finally: describe
how effortlessly debbie
made the hard stuff fine.



good night. that wore me out.

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             After an intense week of shooting my memory is a blur. I do recall this:
Take one: in a moving pick up truck - balance the camera in one hand, read Q-lines in the other, hold a light between my legs, avoid crossing the mic lines with the power lines and … CUT.

Take two: The same as take one, now receive the cigarette put it down, maintain focus and the car seat is on fire.

Take Three: Same as take two – put down the cigarette and now my sock is on fire.
Take Four: bought it.

I’d also like to announce that Kevin L has mastered the “Classic Method” of recording sound. Adam Brookfield is more than an actor – he’s a lighting expert, a DP and a grip. McCaleb is more than a producer he’s a writer Director. After watching Charles Long play the villain I believe nice guys play the best bad guys. Sean Cunningham is the best redneck a man could ever hope to spit with. The boys in the house of Pain are some badass wrestling monster. Ken Gum our actor leaned hard and fast how to fight from the Torture King – a man who can take the pain. And after living through the summer’s heat I believe that the Universe is really a toaster oven – end the end you always get baked.

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             Last night we did our worst at the House of Pain. There was a small crowd of avid supporters, and we smothered them in fog to create the illusion of a larger crowd. Big thanks to the IWF support group that came out. The people who came had a great time & the wrestlers put on a tremendous show. Go out & see these guys if you get the chance, they're hardcore!

Righteous props for Torture King, Robert Mullingan, & Talon!

A bit of a nightmare with the arrival/departure of Debbie Rochon. We had to change the flight times and purchase new tickets & I booked one to send her to Islip (Long Island) instead of Newark, NJ. "Islip?" said Debbie, "where's Islip" (I thought it was close) "It's a three hour train ride!"
So, I'll get to sort that out tomorrow. I almost forgot! Here's Adam, chillin' on the way to the shoot.

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             The White Stripes new look: Punk Rock Kittens

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             No cowering in fear here, gentle readers, but rather a celebration of things American. Extreme Southern Wrestling & Thrash Metal music by Haggis at the House of Pain.

Last night we shot some close ups & planned our shoot for tonight. We are going to have more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

In other news... our Ralph's Donuts shoot occured on the day of their 40 year anniversary. Next Saturday, they will be celebrating their feat with a proper PARTY!.

12:00 Noon until everyone goes home or the police get us!!!!!!!!!!!!

Prizes will be given out every hour

There will be plenty of free food: Hot Dogs, Drinks, Donuts, etc.

Music, Music, Music oh boy will there be music. Can you slam dance?

We pick up Debbie Rochon on Friday the 13th. (I think that's a good omen) Her website has had a makeover - check it out.

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             'Welcome to Cecil's Redneck Safari' he said.

The rest is history.

Week 4 Photos are here

This evening & tomorrow (yes tomorrow) we shoot at the House of Pain courtesy of the IWF

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             What's he DOING in there?

What's he BUILDING in there?

Maybe it's a surprise for the haunted house. Maybe it's a special device for the House of Pain. Who knows?

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             Because we had a date to make-up, and since it was Ree's birthday, we returned to the scene of the crime to finish what we started!. Quenton Dyer has made quite an impression on the whole crew with his inspired performance & Ree gave it all on camera today. Great stuff!!

My personal moment of the week was when I got pulled over by the cops! I was pulling in to buy beer, my turn signals haven't worked for months, and I never saw them coming cause I was on a mission to get back to the set. Mim had called & thought there might be a prowler at the house, so I had raced home to do a search & ensure her safety. "All clear, lock the doors, love ya." & raced back to the set stopping to buy a case of beer (because my cell phone rang on set during filming & that means I'm buying) They completely freaked me out! "Get back in the truck!" & I'm like, "Fuck me" & they had their flashlights poised like weapons & I was completely caught off guard. So I'm putting both hands on the side of the truck like an idiot, & they were like "GET BACK IN THE TRUCK!" So I got back in & it was "CLOSE THE DOOR!" Jeez!

So the policewoman who came to my door was the same person that I had met when I went to the police station initially to warn of our nefarious activities on Cedar St. with the flamingoes & such. & I just blurted out the history of the last 6 minutes, & she told me to slow down. "Whew."

God Bless the Police. - and thank goodness I'd taken that coffin out of the back of the truck.

God Bless the Monkey. His dad's going through some tough times.

God Bless our film crew. The high today was 100 degrees!

More pictures?

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             broccoli cornbread
spinach salad with pecans
happy birthday ree

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             Whilst the rest of America was resting in their beds over Labour weekend (or should that be "Labor"-please excuse my Euro-centric spelling!), our intrepid crew were in a filthy Barn, filming all sorts of nefarious activities...anal probes, torture, beatings, and not least, animal antics. PETA people please note we had a fully qualified Vet at hand, making sure our beefy girl was OK. Some concern at 4.30am though, when the stubborn old girl didn't want to leave at the end of shooting, so McCaleb and the Monkey sat with her till 7am, when she decided enough revenge had been taken and she stopped toying with us. She was last sighted heading off into the misty morning, mooing, chewing cud, and doing all those things that cows are meant to do.

So we can truly say that no animals (or Skunkapes) were harmed in the making of this picture.

I'll let you all know how we go with the Rats...

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             Ok here is the archive page I have made for the site! Mike i can add a link at a later time if you want one? The link is http://www.thinkingmonkeythinking.com/films/archive.shtml Then you will click on what month you want! Greetzz and congratz!

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             It would appear that the monkey has been hard at work taking pictures

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             For anyone who doesn't know, this page is a weblog for the feature-length film, "The Legend of Crazy George."

We live in Cookeville, TN and this is our first feature-length film. We have put on the haunted house here for the past 3 years, and will be doing so again this year.

We just finished our second week of shooting, and you can look at behind the scenes pictures of our shoot here. Don't worry, we won't be showing anything that will 'spoil' the movie for you, just enough to keep you curious about what the hell we are really doing.

Filmmaking is hard and in Tennessee in the summer it's hot. So I'd like to remind everyone who's working on our project just how much we appreciate your dedication. We have filmed some magnificent footage, and the next couple of weeks should be filled with more of the same.

Thank you for your time and attention, enjoy the show.

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             Another factor that we have all had to deal with is the real-life horror of the 'West Nile Virus'. This is potentially fatal and carried by mosquitos.

Compulsory spray down every day for all, lest death walk among us...

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