Liars and Lunatics :: Film Blog

After…let’s see…almost a month, we’ve completed the trailer for Liars and Lunatics. Yep! That’s right. We put it up on YouTube. Here it is…

Hmmm. Now all we have to do is finish the final edits on the movie. (Working on the color correction and all that jazz…)

P.S. Let us know what you think of the trailer!

Well, we’ve started work on a film trailer for Liars and Lunatics… That’s right, soon you’ll be able to view a 2-minute sneak-peak of all our hard work…

We’re trying a few different things… some voice-overs and different music.  We’re considering putting in some huge explosions… Maybe a car chase or two… Also looking at including some cool aliens landing on the roof of the courthouse… (Then again, that might be a bit misleading. Guess we should stick with our own footage!)

We’ll post the trailer… hopefully sooner rather than later. We’ll see when it’s ready. Stay tuned…

P.S. Some trailer trivia :: The word “trailer” apparently comes from the fact that movie theatres would show these advertisements at the end of a movie. However, this changed when it became obvious that the audiences tended to leave the theatre as soon as the featured film ended. Still, the name stuck. Now when we go to the movies, we have to sit through 30 minutes of trailers…

No kidding… Today is actually Tell an Old Joke Day! Don’t believe us: check this out…

Okay, so in honor of the day, here goes… Ye olde light bulb joke! Enjoy…

Q: How many Actors does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: 100. One to do it and ninety-nine to say, “I could’ve done that!”

Q: How many Production Designers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Does it have to be a light bulb? I’ve got this neat candle holder…

Q: How many Editors does it take to change a light bulb?
A: If we change the light bulb, we’ll have to change everything.

Q: How many Screenwriters does it take to change a light bulb?
A: The bulb’s IN and it’s staying IN!

(For all you jokers out there, check out more light bulb jokes… at www.rclabaugh.com/jokes.html)

{{ Photo :: An actual light on the set of Liars and Lunatics. }}

It’s hard to think that there once was a time when we Moon Brothers were not familiar with the proper look of a screenplay. Kind of like the fact that you can’t remember what it was like not to know how to ride a bike…

Well, it’s been over a year ago since we first turned to screenwriting guru, Syd Field. We picked up a copy of his book “Screenplay” (considered by many to be The Handbook on the topic. Not that we only used Syd’s advice. We also checked a few other books on the topic…)

These are some of the basics he outlines in his book. Pay attention all you aspiring screenwriters!

• New characters are always capitalized.
• The character speaking is always capitalized and placed in the center of the page.
• Stage directions for the actor are written in brackets under the name. Always single-spaced. Only use when necessary.
• Dialogue is placed in the center of the page. Always single-spaced.
• Sound effects or music effects are always capitalized. Don’t overdo effects.

For our film Liars and Lunatics, we used (and still do, incidentally) software called Final Draft. It does most of the work for you, so you don’t have to really remember all the rules.

For those of you who have ever wondered what a screenplay should look like, here’s a section from the Liars and Lunatics script:

INT. FROLICK’S OFFICE — MORNING

The door opens. We see Frolick from the front. She recoils at what she sees: JAMES JAMISIN, a man in his mid-30s.

ANGLE ON JAMES

Seated, wearing a straitjacket, smiling.

          FROLICK
    (alarmed)
James, what are you doing in here? And where did you get that jacket–

          JAMES
We have a session, Doc.

          FROLICK
James, you can’t just let yourself into my office without–

          JAMES
–You didn’t tell Dubious about the breakout, did you?

          FROLICK
Dubious? You mean
    (uncertain)
Dr. Donovin?

          JAMES
That’s what I said: Dr. Dubious.

          FROLICK
James, how did you get in here?
    (searching her desk)
I keep confidential files in here.
    (impatiently)
Where’s my name tag?

          JAMES
I just came by a little early to try the jacket on. You know, to see what it feels like, for when I really do need it.

          FROLICK
Why am I not seeing any improvement in you?
    (still searching)
Did you do something with my ID?

          JAMES
You know, Doc, you’re putting yourself under way too much pressure.
    (upbeat)
Buckle me up at the back?

Frolick hesitates.

          FROLICK
How do you expect to lead a mass exodus with that on?

P.S. While some of us Moon Brothers are still finishing up the Liars and Lunatics project, some of us other brothers are pecking away at several new ideas for our next project. So this blog is actually a nice refresher course for those of us who are working on the new screenplays.

Hey all you Liars and Lunatics fans out there in the blogosphere! (Or anyone with an artistic eye for that matter) We need your help to pick a poster, any poster. Okay, so not just any poster, but one of the following posters…

All you need to do is view each poster (so you don’t have to strain your eyes, just click on the poster for a larger version)

Then…that’s right…

vote for your favorite!

Voting Deadline :: July 31, 2007
You have until the end of July to make your voice heard. We’ll let you know sometime later which poster gets the honors of being chosen as the official “Liars and Lunatics” poster.

note on how to vote

Click on a poster. If that’s the poster you choose, you must then click on the word “vote”. You will be taken to a webpage to confirm your choice. If you don’t click on the “submit” button, your vote will not end up in our hands…

Ever seen those products in the grocery store?… Packages which shout “These potatoes are absolutely fat free!” Or “This watermelon contains no MSG!”

Wow! Fat-free potatoes! We gotta buy some of those…

Wait a minute? Since when do potatoes have fat in them?

But hey, maybe we can learn something from this marketing approach in our distribution strategy for Liars and Lunatics. How about putting something on the label for when our film comes out on DVD? That’s right, something like:

“This motion picture contains absolutely no fat, no trans fat, no cholesterol, no MSG! Disclaimer: Eat at your own risk…”

{{ photo :: Yukon Gold potatoes! No Cholesterol. No Fat. }}

Benjamin Franklin once said:

“Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.” 

This could easily be one of our mottos. We are very careful with how we spend our money… which seems kinda counter-intuitive considering that we’re in showbiz (which is synonymous with the spending-money-like-water mentality).

Actually, we’re usually over-careful with how we spend our money. But we also wanted our film Liars and Lunatics to look like it cost a million bucks. So in order to keep costs down, we scrounged around for costumes and props, frequenting thrift shops, tag sales, our own homes, etc. For example: the brown curtains in Frolick’s office came from the home of our production designer.  

And all those candles? We originally found them lying in a drawer in the church where we were filming. They were already half-used, so we asked if we could use them, promising to buy the church some new ones. Well, we burned those candles down on the very first day of shooting.

We had the church secretary order some new candles; a box for the church and a box for us (as we thought we might  need to do some more shots with the candles… which we did). Well, when we got the bill, it was a little higher than we expected. (How much could candles cost?!)

Well, apparently these candles were of the top-notch variety! With a top-notch price tag… In fact, it turned out that of all the props we purchased, those candles were the most expensive prop we used.

We’re glad to say that they actually made it into the movie…

As opposed to the cutting-room floor!

Good ole Ben was right: little expenses do begin to pile up. Especially, on things that you never really intended to buy in the first place.

{{ photo :: The ballerina surrounded by those expensive candles. }}

The following joke is in honor of all those people on their summer vacations, celebrating the 4th of July (or the 1st for all you Canucks), and for everyone who’s ever had to fill up a tank of gas in recent months:

A married couple were sitting in a movie theatre watching an action flick. There was a spectacular scene where the bad guy blows up a gas station. “Wow!” said the husband. The wife was about to acknowledge the pretty impressive explosion when he continued: “Honey, did you see the price of regular? Only $1.96 a gallon!”

Ahhh, those were the days…

So, what does this have to do our feature film Liars and Lunatics? Well, let’s see… There’s not a whole lot of driving in the movie. No car chases. No gas stations get blown up.

Wait a minute. There are some cars parked out in front of the mental institute. We see one of the doctors get out of a minivan. There are people walking. We never see Dr. Donovin drive anything. (Then again, we never see him leave the institute. Hmmm, maybe he sleeps there?)

Dr. Frolick seems pretty aware of alternative methods of travel… Which is probably why she takes her blue bike everywhere.

You think we might get nominated for an academy award based on the ecological elements in the film?

Have you ever wondered about the Moon Brothers? Well, here are some little-known facts that you may (or may not) wish to know…

Top Ten Little-Known Facts about the Moon Brothers

10. Testified before the U.S. Congress on behalf of the Coalition for the Recognition of the Day of the Full Moon as a Bank Holiday. (Unfortunately, the bill didn’t pass.)

9. Are currently the owners of the copyright of the moon (and were paid $100 by Spielberg for the use of the image of the moon in the movie E.T.)

8. Wrote the original version of the story Goodnight Moon. (Unfortunately, the words were changed).

7. Briefly held positions at NASA.

6. Once had a disconcerting experience with a computer named HAL.

5. Received three consecutive speeding tickets in Area 51.

4. Were consultants on the original three Star Wars movies.

3. Were script doctors on the movie Apollo 13 (but couldn’t convince Ron Howard to put in a massive explosion at the end of the movie; he insisted on the crew making it safely back to earth).

2. Wrote an unknown number of storylines which were then stolen by Gene Roddenberry for Star Trek.

1. Are members of the brotherhood which include the Man in the Moon (and the Rabbit in the Moon, depending on what country you’re from).

David Letterman would be proud…