The Bunnyman and Other Updates

We've reached the hour and thirty minute mark on The Bunnyman, meaning we've got pretty much 90 minutes of the movie completed and ready for your viewing pleasure. There are still a few scenes to edit; and we've decided to shoot a previously cut scene (trust me, it'll be worth it in the long run), so the Director's cut should come in somewhere in the neighborhood of two hours. We've taken a brief hiatus from editing so that Jason can work on another project, but should be back on track next week.

Our next project slated for production The Woods (working title) has been put on hold until we can find some more Native American women to audition. No experience is necessary, and we're considering actresses who are Asian, Latino, Mexican, Hispanic, just so long as they can pass for a Native American. So spread the word. More info can be found at http://www.dajavufilms.com/auditions.html

We have a few other projects that we are working on, but until the scripts are completed we're keeping it hush hush.

Rose Boy

Yes, film fans, it looks as though the evil paparazzi have for once done some good by capturing on film the newest member of the FSA (Future Stalkers' Association). The photo shows a pudgy teenage boy running toward Megan Fox (star of Transformers and my favorite episode of Two and a Half Men) shoving a thorny yellow rose in her face. Could this be considered a deadly weapon? Like Ms. Fox's breasts, it is capable of poking someone's eyes out.

Now, Ms. Fox has taken some nasty hits for this supposed snub; but let's face it, wouldn't you look the other way if you saw that kid running at you with a potentially harmful object? Hell, I'd run from that kid even if he wasn't holding a rose full of thorns.

All the sites reporting this incident say that Megan was just "horrified" about dissing the kid; well I for one think she should be more horrified about what this brat does late at night under his sheets while thinking of her. Uck and shiver my friends, cause I'm sure it ain't pretty.

Obviously this boy has not yet learned what his older, wiser, and reformed (or at least we pretend we are) compatriots discovered a long time ago: Beautiful women are like classic cars; nice to look at, but are a big pain in the ass.

So thank you members of the paparazzo, for alerting the world of this future stalker. And ladies, if you ever see this face




headed your way, run. Run far and run fast.

The Bunnyman Production Day 7: Lord of the Nipple Rings

Originally, Lynn (Debra Sussman)  had two children. Late last night we found out that the kid we cast as her youngest child, Dana, wasn't going to be able to make it to the set today. So I spent this morning cutting Dana out of the script. Where I could, I just gave the lines to Tommy, but these instances were very few. Most of the scenes I had to cut out completely, but these either just had Dana alone or only with Jayme or The Bunnyman. They were short scenes, so it wasn't a big deal to scrap them.  The pumpkin carving scene was a bit trickier. If we cut it we would loose too much of the running time and we needed some sort of lead in back into the house before Scott and Gordon arrive.  I had no choice but to rewrite it. I ended up writing a monologue for Kat about how the horror directors of the 40s - 50s were better than those of the 70s - 80s. I don't necessarily agree with this; I think a lot of those old movies are boring as hell, but it felt right for the character. We gave the new pages to Billie when she arrived and she was ready to go a while later when we got to that scene. She really nailed it. 

I was not looking forward to filming today. The majority of the film takes place on the house set, and we were filming it all in one day. Times like this I wish we had a budget over a few grand, or better yet, a studio backing us so we could take our time. 

We try to shoot in sequence as much as possible, but gave prioirty to the scenes with Tommy to ensure that child services wouldn't come knocking on our door. But can it really be considered child labor when said child will never see a dime for the work?

Debbie's mother was kind enough to drive into town to the local sub shop and pick up a load of sandwiches. So for the first time in DaJa Vu Films history, the cast was fed something other than water and coffee cake, and that was when they were lucky. We let most of the cast break for lunch while we filmed a few scenes of Jayme on the phone. Then she got to eat, while Jason and I plugged on with grumbling, empty stomaches. 

During the break we had James come down and suit up and went right into filming Gordon (Chris Iwan) and Scott's (Alfonzo Ramirez) death scenes.

In the script Gordon is supposed to go into the kitchen, lean into the fridge to get something to eat. When he closes the door, there stands The Bunnyman, who grabs Gordon's head and twists it off. We did not have the opportunity to do a head casting of Chris. And when he took his shirt off and we discovered he has nipple rings, we could not pass up the chance to exploit them. So Gordon now dies by electrocution, using his nipple rings as contact points. 

Usually on days when he's on set, James totally steals the show. But today, I'd have to say that Chris Iwan is my favorite actor of the day. This is Chris' first film. He came to the auditions with Billie and we talked him in to reading for some roles and he was awesome enough to agree to play Gordon. Today he was improvising like a pro, he knew all his lines, and his is one of the funniest death scenes in film history. We died laughing!

We called everyone back in to finish up, then sent everyone home except for Britteny and Alfonzo for the overly aggresive boyfriend scene. I was looking forward to this scene the least out of all the scenes in the entire movie. I've known Britteny for just over ten years and although she's grown up now, I could not help but see the lanky girl she was ten years ago, and had trouble directing a guy to grope and man handle her. We all got through it though, and ended a very long day.

Bunnyman Production Day 6 Bedroom Revisited

We finally got to finish the bedroom scenes today. This means production on The Bunnyman is back in full swing after over a month long hiatus while we searched for a Jayme. 

It was a short scene, so it didn't take very long. Britteny (our new Jayme) had not looked at the script until this morning as she memorized her lines on her way to the set. She came in and hit most every line correctly. I was so proud! 

The best thing about the day, though, was how well Britteny and Billie got along. They had never met before today; but in what little time they had to talk before we started and between set ups, they connected and were acting like they were long time friends. They formed a camaraderie just like Jayme and Kat should have and it really shows up on screen. You'd never guess they just met a few minutes before we called action.

Way to go ladies!

(there's something spooky going on in this bedroom, make sure to see The Bunnyman to find out what!)

On the cover of Rolling Stone…er…not quite, but close…sort of

So, I get a call from the manager of the company that publishes the magazine we're going to be in. He said he was calling on behalf of the company to see if it's ok if they make us their cover story. Are you kidding me? Of course it's ok if they put us on the cover! That is such a great step for us because the magazine is circulated throughout central Florida. People won't be able to turn around without seeing our ridiculously good looking mugs. Take that bitchy reporter! I take it this means the article is going to be all about us. Boo yah!

The Bunnyman Production Day 4: The Bunnyman Begins

David Scott presiding over the crime scene as Sheriff Sam Hooper

We had planned for a really rough day because we had several long, one take tracking shots; including one which moved from exterior to interior. It was also the day that a photographer was coming over from the magazine to take pictures.

The photographer, a slightly youngish looking man with a glint in his eyes and a rakish air, was the antithesis of the reporter we met with yesterday. The photographer arrived before any of our actors and proved to be a very amiable person. Not once during the five or six hours he was there did he get in the way or mess up a single shot. In fact, we forgot he was there. He even agreed to put on a Deputy shirt and can be seen as a crime scene photographer in the movie.

Sheriff Hooper (David Scott) discusses the murders with Coroner Michelson (Raven Gabbard) as Anthony Rao takes photos in the background.

While we waited for our cast and crew to show up, we posed for some photos and dressed the location. We started with scenes 4A, 4B and 5, which comprise the 2nd sequence of the film, and opens with GENE THOMPSON (Lee Matheny) reporting on the first murders enacted by The Bunnyman (James Koncyk).

Lee Matheny as roving reporter Gene Thompson

This was our major tracking shot and biggest worry because we move from Gene and news cameraman (Mike Rechis), who we had standing in the courtyard, up to the front door where Deputy 6 (Richard Madrid) is questioning Mrs Elaine Driscoll (Nesly LaTorre). Stephens (Trent Stover) enters and Mrs Driscoll repeats her story to him.

Trent Stover, Richard Madrid, and Scotty Schultz question Nesly LaTorre

Then we follow Stephens into the house where he bumps into Corman (Scotty Schultz) and Michaelson (Raven Gabbard), then we follow him into the living room where Hooper stands surveying the crime scene. A lot of ground and quite a bit of dialogue to cover in one take. Any number of things could have gone wrong. The main problem, however, ended up being the roar of automobiles as they passed by. We got it done, though, and moved on to scenes 1- 4, the opening sequence of the film and our first look at The Bunnyman.

The Bunnyman (James Koncyk) hands out candy to trick-or-treaters.

Since our schedule doesn't allow for a lot of rehearsals, we like to give our actors a few rehearsal takes (which we film). It helps to get them loosened up and get in character. It also helps us see if the shots are going to work or not. Which came in handy today since we had so many people on set and had the two long tracking shots. The rehearsal takes allowed us to work out placement for the extras and how to maneuver around with the steady cam and portable sound equipment. That way, by the time we're ready to film for real, we've worked out any technical kinks and the actors are comfortable with their line and the camera.

We got through nine scenes today in about seven hours. That includes setting up, rehearsals, filming and packing up.

Originally we weren't going to have The Bunnyman say anything other than one line at the beginning of the movie, "I just love Halloween, don't you?" But we decided on location to have James ad lib some stuff with the trick-or-treaters. Trent, who had been sitting upstairs with everyone else in our improvised holding room during The Bunnyman scenes, came up to me later and said that it's going to be hilarious if we have James continue delivering his lines the way he did today. Trent will be pleased, because we agree with him and plan to let The Bunnyman have many more lines.

Our First Interview: Pooch Screwed By The Press

We had our very first meeting with the press today. Ok, so it was just one reporter for a local magazine (but it is one of the biggest magazines in Central Florida) and it totally blowed (not the good kind either) but our name is going to be out there now and as someone once said, "There is no such thing as bad publicity."

It was arranged for us to meet the reporter at target. I used to work there, so I went around talking to some of the people I know who work there, but let's be honest, it was mainly to brag.

The first words out of the reporter's mouth were not hello or nice to meet you, but "I though you'd be older." My first thought was, "Fuck you, lady!" but being the gentleman that I am, I simply said, "Oh." I'm 26 and Jason is 23, so we're really not that young. I could see the light drain from her eyes and the eyes of her husband (who used to work crew on commercials and I have a sneaking suspicion he tagged along in hopes of getting a job. Yeah, right. Doesn't everyone know by now that we can't afford to pay anyone? Working on a DaJa Vu Films project is strictly volunteer.)

The entire interview lasted maybe twenty minutes. She didn't start taking notes until the interview was almost over. Her attitude was very condescending, she talked down to us, and she was using exaggerated facial expressions like people use when talking to babies. And we ain't no babies, baby. And insult upon insult, she decided on the spot during the interview that she wasn't even going to do the article completely about us (shouldn't that be the editor's decision?) but do an article about us and other local filmmakers because she wasn't going to have enough on us to fill out an article (ask more questions bitch!) First of all, we approached them with the story; secondly, we turned down two other magazines to give them an exclusive; thirdly, we were very open and ready to promote our company and movie. It's not our fault if her own prejudices against America's youth and horror films kept her from asking questions. She didn't even ask about The Bunnyman, which you can learn more about on our website The Bunnyman.

The photographer is coming to the location tomorrow while we film the opening scenes, hopefully he'll be better.

We've got a rough day tomorrow, so I'm off to bed.

David