Our New Short Film: Coulrophobia

Please check out our new short horror film, Coulrophobia.

It is Halloween and Sleepy Ridge's most infamous reporter, Marcus Micklewhite, struggles to overcome his fear of clowns in order to finish his latest article, The Creepy Clown Menace, before his midnight deadline. His writer's block is also in the way of him meeting with his girlfriend, Luanne, who is ready to break up with him because Mark keeps making excuses to get out of meeting her friends.

Of course, this being Sleepy Ridge, something strange is a foot and on top of his personal problems, Mark finds himself terrorized by an actual creepy clown. To survive this harrowing Halloween night, Mark must overcome his coulrophobia and confront the menacing clown.

#WCW

Our #wcw Lilith Mistress of Mayhem, the host of our film The Bunnyman The Sleepy Ridge Murders! Get your  Bunnyman DVD here: http://amzn.com/B003NE666M

How We Spend Our Days Off

First day off we've had from working on our film all month I Love You Because, so went to see someone else's:The Hobbit Battle of Five Armies.

We enjoyed it; what did you think of it? 

Our D.P. Jason on set today at Kahana's Stunt & Film School. Photo credit: Sandra Kahana

Thank You!

One of the biggest frustrations involved with producing an independent film is money: specifically, a lack of money. Since we first discovered we would have the opportunity to adapt Tom Kline's play and produce it as a film, there was a certain item Jason and I knew we would need to ensure that the film could hold its own as a professionally produced film in a highly competitive market. This item usually costs from a few thousand dollars to $10,000 or more, so there was no way we would be able to afford it and would just have to do the best we could without it. Then in mid December, we found this item selling significantly cheaper than we had seen before. We're talking a few hundred dollars; and it looked just as good as the ones selling for $10,000. Now, however, we were faced with another dilemma: where would we get the money to pay for it. Jason and I still have props, set supplies and costumes to purchase for the film. But just when the standard low budget film producers' disappointment set in, two different friends gave us money for Christmas and told us to put it towards I Love You Because. Their combined gifts were just enough to cover the cost of this particular item.

So, we are sending out a big thank you to these friends, and our sincere gratitude. Your support has enriched the production value of I Love You Because, and it will be a better film for it.  

I Love You Because Cast!

We are thrilled to announce the cast for our film I love You Because:

Natalie Duvall: Sarah J Mckenney
Kevin Murphy: David Brown
Sean: Travis Johnson
Paddy: Leon Jones 
Ian: Kenny Forthun
Kristen Fairfax: Megan J. Moore
Dr Howard: Thomas John Kline 
Vera Duvall: Sandra Kahana 
Amy: Frances Rodriguez
Trimble: Danger Bob Mullins
Clark: Brendon Rogers 
Thelma: Jan Sheldon 
Lois: Debra Sussman 

And rounding out the cast are: Sami Rankin, Brianna Leone, Rebecca Donovan, Alana Johnson, Samuel Johns, Bjorn Jiskoot Jr, Tonya Tufts Denmark, Cody L Dubson, Samantha K Dubson, Jomarie Elmoulakate - Actress/Model, Ashlyn Anderson, Daniel E. LaBrie, Andre Provencher, James Canavan, Scotty Schultz

DaJa Vu Films Update

We had an awesome time last weekend discussing film making with Hollywood legend, Kim Kahana and his wife. His family are like the Barrymores of stunt performing. It was great having the opportunity to hang out with someone who has contributed so much to the film industry.

We would like to thank our most recent contributors to I Love You Because:

Emily Powers
Scotty and Doris Schultz
Roshinie Ojha

who join our previous sponsors:

Tom Kline
Jan Sheldon
Hope North
Necia Ratliff
Sonny Dyon
Owen Higdon
James and Julie Koncyk
Mya and Hector Negroni
Bob Hay

Thanks to everyone who has supported us by contributing, sharing and liking the page, and for helping us get the word out!

We've posted a 9 minute version of a film we made, BMK, featuring Debra Sussman, Sarai Goley and David Brown. We made it for a budget of zero dollars, so just imagine what we can do on our next film with your contributions. Please check it out here BMK, and let us know what you think.

Also, start working on your monologues because very soon we will be announcing auditions for I Love You Because.

Bring Home The Bunnyman on DVD for Halloween!

This Halloween, don't go trick-or-treating with Michael. Don't go camping with Jason. Don't fall asleep with Freddy. Instead, take a walk down the bunny trail with Cotton Peters.

DaJa Vu Films presents, just in time for Halloween, The Bunnyman on DVD, available exclusively at Amazon.com!
  
     The Bunnyman combines the thrills of classic slasher films such as Halloween, and the horror film satire of Scream, and the campiness of TROMA movies, for one horrifyingly hilarious film.
      It is based on the true story of a man who killed his family on Halloween night then went on a killing rampage for six months.
      The notorious serial killer, Cotton Peters, has escaped from the mental institution he has been imprisoned in for seventeen years after brutally slaughtering his family and others on Halloween night.
      Now he has returned to finish the job. Enter Jayme Myers, who is unaware of her deadly connection to Peters. As the killer stalks Jayme, she and her friends gather together, but those who survive, will never be the same again.

Please Help Us Raise Money for Our New Film

The fabulous film making siblings David and Jason Brown of DaJa Vu Films are at it again. We are currently raising money to make our 8th film, I LOVE YOU BECAUSE, based upon the play 9 MONTHS by Thomas J. Kline.

We need your help to get this film made. We've got some really cool perks to thank you for donations, from a DVD of the completed film to a walk on role and a VIP dinner with the cast and crew!

If everyone who sees this donates just $5.00, it'll go a long way to help us getting this great film

produced. Most people spend $10 or more just to go see a movie, but, for as little as $5, you can tell all your friends that you helped make a film. If you are unable to contribute financially, you can still help us out by forwarding this on to your friends and checking out our page on indiegogo and leaving a comment so people know there is support for the film and it will help us get a higher ranking.

So please, head over to http://igg.me/p/223688?a=1192860 and show your support of independent filmmaking in any way you can!

Thank You!

David and Jason Brown

Coming Soon from DaJa Vu Films

The script for our upcoming film,  I Love You Because, which is based upon the play 9 Months by T. J. Kline, has been locked for production. We'll be posting more information soon as we near the end of pre-production and begin the casting process. So be sure to check back here often for audition information!

The Mars Perspective

We are currently in pre-production on our next project which we are very excited about. Finally you can get relationship advice from a man's viewpoint in the upcoming web series The Mars Perspective. Join host Mike Butler as he boldly goes where few have gone before and reveals the truth about what men really think.

Want to know what your man is really thinking? Need advice on what to do with your boyfriend after an argument? Is that guy just being friendly or is he interested? Does playing hard to get really work? Send us your questions and Mike will answer them on the show!

Guys, don't feel left out. Mike has plenty of advice for you too, from how to approach women to the what not to do on a first date.

We hope to be premiering the pilot episode on February 14th, and will post a link to the video as soon as it's up.

Be sure to add the show on Facebook and Myspace.


This is your chance to interact with us, so send those questions in to mars@dajavufilms.com, and be sure to add the all important line "I give you permission to use my letter" 

This is going to be a very exciting project and we hope you'll join us in this venture!

Isreal, who is playing Manny in The Bunnyman came out today to go over his scene. It's always nice when actors take an initiative and request to come take a look at the set and go over what they're going to do before we start filming. 

Unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to do this as often as I would have liked to. Only really got to rehearse with the sheriff crew and Old Man Roberts & Dick Solomon. The rest of the major actors we didn't have cast until after we went into production anyway, so rehearsals wouldn't have been very productive. Oh, well, there's always next time, right?

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

Fun With Liquid Rubber

Debra Sussman (Lynn Hendricks) came out to the DaJa Vu Films office space today so that we could do a torso casting of her for when her character gets killed in The Bunnyman. Debbie is currently involved in a big project which we are unable to talk about. I think she's working for the CIA or something, but she swore us to secrecy so we can't say a word. Anyway, she called me this weekend because she was telling her make up guy on the huge project that we were doing a casting of her and he didn't want to have to work on her if her skin was all messed up, even though the appliances he's put on her have caused Debbie to break out in blisters. Oh, what little faith she has in us. But I assured her that we're not using any cheap stuff. We're using a liquid rubber (we did a test of my arm using alginate, which is what most make up books say to use, but trust us, save your money, cause alginate sucks ass) that's made by the same company that produces the material the new bat suit for Batman Begins was made out of.

We made sure to feed her first. Generally, our rule is not to feed our actors. Food costs money and we have better things to spend our money on than something you basically only rent anyway. But when you're going to have actors in an uncomfortable position for four to five hours, its best to feed them so they don't get cranky.
After lunch, I put on Wild Hogs so Debbie would have something to watch so she wouldn't just be standing there for hours doing nothing. Jason and I set to work.

Things didn't go exactly as planned. We had latex gloves to put on the release cream, that worked out just fine. It was the liquid rubber that proved to be the problem. No where did it say that you need to use a thinner for the first coat except on the instructional DVD that we had to buy. We thought we could do the casting without it. We thought wrong. The liquid rubber began to dry almost as soon as Jason could mix it and it clumped up on the bristles of the paint brushes we were using. Same thing for the latex gloves, so we asked Debbie if it was okay if we did it without the gloves. Trooper that she is, Debbie said, "Go for it." So we stripped off the gloves and got down and dirty. Reason number one why it's a good idea to use friends as guinea pigs instead of complete strangers. Friends are less likely to slap you when you are "forced" to grope and man handle them.

We put on two coats of the liquid rubber and filled in the gaps. Wild Hogs had ended so I put on Heartbreakers and we started putting on the plaster strips. These are purchased in rolls of gauze with dried plaster, which are cut into the desired lengths. When cut, the strips are dipped in warm water and applied. They form a support and shell for the mold. We had to wait for everything to dry before we could go any further, so we took a break and enjoyed the movie. Once the mold and plaster were dry, we removed the shell. Then Jason had to cut a strip down the back of the mold so it could be removed.

I had put some of the rubber below where we'd put the release cream, so Jason had to cut some of the rubber from Debbie's skin, accidentally leaving a gash (and they say I'm clumsy). Which is reason number two why it's a good idea to use friends as guinea pigs instead of complete strangers. Friends are much less likely to sue when injured.

And we now have a perfect casting of Debbie's torso, replicas of which will soon be available on our website. Hey, we've got to finance this movie somehow, right?  

Editor Note: The last paragraph is an example of David's poor sense of humor. Replicas of the torso will not be sold on our website.