OC Screenwriters Association

Our good friend, attorney James Hirsen, will be moderating a forum on November 19th at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills

The panel will feature top entertainment executives, lawyers and technology experts.

THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA
NOVEMBER 19TH, 2009
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
6PM-8pm • Cost : $50.00*
Call to reserve your space :
(310) 317-7014

Featured Topics Include:

* Sales and distribution models and how they affect revenue
* Technology methods to limit piracy
* Piracy legislation via lobbying
* Effectiveness of anti-piracy advertising
* Copyright law and its limitations in respect to illegal downloading

For tickets call (310) 317-7014 - - 50% discount for members of OC Screenwriters

"HARVEY the Monster Racist"
Make it Reel Script Contest Winner
 

LINK to TRAILER - Full movie to be premiered on December 5th Event.

Produced by Lennexe Productions
Written by Brandon Tyra
Directed by Eric Hensman
Produced by Eric Hensman
Mark Sevi, and Itai Levin

    DP - Greg Nolan
Edited by Eric Hensman
    1st AD - Rylie Potter
    2nd AD - Charlie Barragan
    Sound Rec - Alex Monroe
    Sound Mixer - Noah Mendel-Kern
    Grip/Gaffer - Eric Dove

Key Make Up Artist - Allison Bryan
Make Up Artist - David Mendez
Make Up Artist - Elise Brown
Script Supervisor - Aaron Conway
Production Assistants - Ty Draper

Cast:
Rob Kent - Harvey
Victor Phan - Kenny
Charlie Chen - Dennis
Larry Porchelli - Mr. Kelin
Jeff Micheals - Frankenstein
Al Medina - Joe the Bum
Anna Huang - Vampira
Ty Draper - Co-worker

TRT 8min - Canon 5D - 1080p

Behind the Scenes - HVX-200 720p 

Saturday, December 5th, 2009 
Regency South Coast Village Theater _{(click on theater name for google map)}
     1561 W Sunflower Ave
      Santa Ana, CA 92704-7436
10:00am-12:00pm(ish)
 

Signed print of an original drawing of Sorbo as Hercules available - details HERE.

This is a FREE EVENT - all are welcome!

 I'm surprised that Halloween has survived in the age of nutrition. Parents who scream at non-diet sodas being allowed in schools turn a blind eye to the kids dressing up for a night of unbridled, instant diabetes. For once, I took a stand against the Nestles and Hersheys. I wasn't about to let their profits soar at the expense of our local O.C. youths' health. Since I live in a small, mostly adult, complex, I realized there would be few trick or treaters coming to my door. I decided to give each child a single cigarette. Initially, I gave them a choice of Marlboro or Newport, until the Newports quickly ran out.

I know what you're thinking...horrible corrupter of our children! Not so. Follow me on this. What started me smoking in my late teens wasn't a single cigarette, but the repetition of smoking many times in one fell swoop. Truth be known, my first cigarette actually made me nauseous. If only some kind stranger had put a single cigarette in my pumpkin when I was eight, I wouldn't have built up the tolerance necessary to continue the habit. Not to mention I would still have most of my own teeth, and not need a designated runner in softball.

Unfortunately, I ran out of cigarettes with about an hour to go. I was lucky that the few remaining kids who came by were very young, and therefore, easily fooled. I would open the door with a wide, albeit gap-toothed grin (see paragraph above), and put what appeared to be a fist of candy deep into their little bags. As they watched my hand, my magician's training paid off. In one motion I would act as if I were throwing candy into a bag, and give a gentle kick of the bag from underneath, to simulate the force of my wonderful candy hitting their piles. The diversion worked like a charm. Each child gave me a polite "thank you" and sauntered off to the next residence.

I also did not have a mountain of extra candy left over the next day. However, I did have to make a one a.m. cigarette run. God, I hate Halloween!

BTW: If you haven't seen the new ABC comedy "Modern Family", treat yourself. It's different, edgy, and a welcome to see Ed O'Neill (Married With Children) back on TV. I really believe it's the best new comedy on TV.

POLANSKI: The Unauthorized Biography
As timely as today's headlines
At the Regency South Coast Theater

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3th 7:00pm
Q&A with director Chapa to follow the screening.
 

Tickets on sale at the Regency Theater Online or Box Office
Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 7:00pm

DAMIAN CHAPA “BLOOD IN, BLOOD OUT” STAR COMES TO OC AND WILL SPEAK AT SCREENING.

Damian Chapa, noted Mexican-American actor, director and producer, who’s starring role of “Blood In, Blood Out” (aka “Bound By Honor”), was one of the first by a Mexican-American actor, will appear at the Regency South Coast Village Theatre, on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 7:00 PM and present a screening of his latest film, “POLANSKI unauthorized”.

Chapa will also do a Q & A after the screening with OCSWA president Mark Sevi to discuss the film, his career, and how a young Latino got a chance in the movies.

“POLANSKI unauthorized” is the story of the turbulent and controversial life of film director and Academy Award winner, Roman Polanski, and Chapa plays Polanski in the film, for which Chapa is also the director, screenwriter, and producer.

Chapa’s first film was “Under Seige”, with Steven Seagal, and the producers of “Blood In, Blood Out” noticed his presence and immediately signed him to star in “Blood In, Blood Out”, which when released also gave Benjamin Bratt his first starring role, as well as Jesse Borrego, the television star of “Fame”.

The film was a controversial look at the prison system in California and the supposed creation of a Mexican Mafia within prison walls. It also was controversial for becoming one of the first films to have Latino stars in all major roles, and has remained popular for many years

In recent years, Chapa has directed, in addition to starring in, his own films including Kill You Twice, The Lonely Life of Downey Hall, Man of Faith, 2004's Shade of Pale, El Padrino, I.R.A.: King of Nothing, The Bad Game Bobby Fischer Live, Mexican Gangster, Fuego, Chicano Blood, and Mexican American.

The Regency South Coast Village Theatre:
1561 W. Sunflower Avenue
Santa Ana, CA 92704 (directly across the street from South Coast Plaza)

Tickets can be purchased at the box office and online at www.regencymovies.com. For further information, please call (714) 557-5703.
 

The Orange County Screenwriters Association, in association with Lennexe Productions, saw the culmination of a process started this past summer when we (OCSWA) ran a short script contest and Lennexe agreed to film the winner's script.

These are some stills from the set of "Harvey, the Monster Racist" yesterday.  link to photos

We had a blast working on this and the finished product will be screened (hopefully) this coming Saturday (October 31st) at our Halloween event. The project was filmed at breakneck speed over 10+ hours - quite an accomplishment for the producer/director Eric Hensman.

There will be more information on the ocscreenwriters.com website soon.
 

A special thanks to Colin Tanji at Abracadabra Presentation Graphics for allowing us to use his excellent production facilities.  We simply could not have done it without his gracious generosity (that's his butt on the ladder in one of the photos.)  I think I got his best side.  ;-) 

 Film Production in Orange County
October 20, 2009

For Immediate Release:

Sunday, October 25th, will mark the beginning of the end of a film production process started in May 2009 when Eric Hensman of Lennexe Productions (www.lennexe.com) approached the Orange County Screenwriters Association (OCSWA) (www.ocscreenwriters.com) after their inaugural event and said “You write it, we’ll film it.” 

Hensman’s idea: OCSWA would run a short script contest (The Make it Reel Scriptwriting Contest) and the winner of that contest would have their entry filmed by his production company - in other words, a true Hollywood professional experience that most writers would have to work years for. The winner, Brandon Tyra, is a local film student whose script "Harvey, The Chicken Racist" garnered the highest awarded points among hundreds of entries.

On Sunday, October 25th, the winning script will be shot (location TBD) with the goal of screening the finished film at the OCSWA meeting on Saturday, October 31st (10:00am) at the Regency South Coast Village Theater along with OCSWA’s Q&A panel with horror professionals from Hollywood.

Details are available on the OCSWA website and or by contacting Lennexe at (888) 690-VIDEO - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..



 

Los Angeles based production company is looking for a script for a project with the budget of $1M or less. It should be very contained - not too many locations, small cast, limited vfx, etc. Seeking a family film with the story centered around a child and an animal like "Black Beauty" or "Lassie Come Home".

Send your logline to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. (Please no attachments.)  Requests for a one-page synopsis to follow as selections are narrowed down.

Lennexe Productions, an O.C. based Film Production Company
is shooting a Halloween Comedy Short Film this Sunday, Oct. 25th.
 
The comedy film is about Classic Hollywood Monsters
working in an Office setting.

The Film will be screened at The Regency South Cost Theater
on Halloween day by The O.C. Screenwriter's Association (OCSWA).

We are currently accepting head shots for the following:

1. Lead male, Harvey, Corporate Office Employee, 30-40
2. Lead Werewolf, working at Office- male, 30-40
3. Attractive Female Corporate Employee, 21-31
4. Bride of Frankenstein, 25-35
5. Boss, Female or male, 50-65
6. Dracula, male, 30-50
7. Bride of Frankenstein, 25-35

Please e-mail your contact info with a head shoot attached to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This is a non paying gig and it requires your availability for a full day this coming Sunday. Please only contact us if you are able to commit. Shoot for one day and see yourself on the big screen 6 days later. Copy, Credit, and Food Provided.

Looking forward to work with you!

 

On September 19,2009 Producer Steve Eccelsine provided our membership with insight both sobering and joyous about the business of Hollywood.  Steve read one of my favorite essays from his excellent book "So You Want To Be A Producer" called "All That Glitters."  It shows a producer passionate and heartfelt but with an eye cocked askance on this silly business of making movies.

He has generously allowed us to post it here.  

A video reading by Steve is also available on the website for the book here 

ALL THAT GLITTERS
 
 

A lot of people choose to travel in life s slow lane. They tow the line, chugging along doing the speed limit, trying to get through the day without rocking the boat or being noticed. At every fork in the road, they take the path of least resistance and glide along under the radar. They never raise their voices or toot their own horns. Somewhere along the line they have, “Go along to get along” tattooed on their souls.
 
And then there are people in Showbiz. We have chosen to tromp on the accelerator looking to discover how fast this baby can go! This is a lifetime quest to determine how high is up? What’s next after we climb this mountain? Contrary to certain religious beliefs, this may be the one and only E-ticket we’re ever going to get so we better damn well enjoy each spin of the globe.
 
It is a study in opposites attracting. Everyone reading People magazine or watching through the fishbowl filter of Entertainment Tonight or Extra, Extra must think a busload of ADD kids has overturned and are running wild in the candy store. Looks like we’re hardly working while being paid a king’s ransom and having way too much fun! At least this is the image presented to those traveling in the slow lane. The truth of the matter is far less glamorous. Most of us inside the fishbowl are dedicated, hard working pros who hope to be proud of the work we do when we're lucky enough to find it. This is the part that they don’t see. Must never see.
 
There really is no advantage in shattering the illusion. If they ever knew how hard it is pursuing this dream, they’d be laughing at us instead of dreaming about being amongst us. What we want is their stability but we just aren’t willing to have the mind-numbing tedious life to get it. We are hell-bent on winning life's Trifecta: to work on projects we want to, with people we want to, and get paid what we ought to.
 
We voluntarily got suckered into this vortex, seduced by the lights, the glamour, and the pr omises. Nobody put a gun in our ribs and said, “Stick around, you won't believe what happens next!” We have missed numerous exit signs that would have taken us back to the real world. Nobody really prepared us for the slow roasting over the spit. Hah! It was in the fine print on page 27. Forgot to read the manual? Tough luck – there is no manual.
 
The twists and turns that our career takes often feels like trying to pick up that elusive bar of soap in the shower. We look terribly foolish doing it and we’re certainly in the right position for our daily bout with our opponent. One big problem is that we love pirouetting on thin ice, waiting for it to crack beneath us to see if we still have enough speed to reach safety without drowning or getting wet. Can’t really help ourselves because we're simply action junkies looking for our next fix.
 
Anybody who hasn’t written at least one acceptance speech while cradling that imaginary gold statue can now leave the building. I wonder what deceased funnyman Sam Kinn ison might’ve said at that moment? ………It would’ve been worth the price of admission.