I'm asked "What do you do for a living many many times and I don't know why this is ?? Maybe it's because I have weird "office hours" or because i'm always "in town" during "Business hours" I don't know why people seem to always lead with this question and the title of this blog is usually my scripted answer. By : Jamie Santamore Now if you took the time to read the above paragraph you probably are wondering why anyone would answer the "What do you do for a living?" question like that. The simple reason is because it's true and because it's an interesting way to tell people I'm a screenwriter.
My days when I'm not on set or working o promotional material for my latest project are spent watching horror movies and taking notes on cool kills that I can tweak and make my own. I was out with my wife yesterday and we were with a group of people when someone asked me what I do for work and without missing a beat I answered "I sit in my office and thing of creative ways to kill people." I'll tell you what that gets a lot of weird looks when you say it in a group of people. I think writing good, well thought out kills is a very important part of a horror movie, don't you? I think I'm going to start a note book just for writing out death scenes sort of like a data base to draw from when writing a project. I think that would be a very useful tool to have at my disposal. Keep in mind that thinking up cool, creative ways to kill people isn't the only think I do on a daily basis, I also run two websites, four twitter accounts, five Facebook pages and four e-mail accounts so I'm always working on something that's for sure. People seem to think that you have to be "crazy" or have a "screw loose" to write horror movies and I don't think that's the case at all, I'm just a very creative person who has the mental ability to take things that extra step further that many folks can't take because they don't like the stigma of being labelled a "weirdo", "freak" "Gore whore" what ever term you want to slap on there it's fine with me. i love creating scary stories with well thought out characters, plots, kills and a good motive for the killer to be dong the evil things he's doing to the seemingly innocent victims. One thing I also enjoy is the "basic horror tropes" that we all know, love and sometimes hate. These are the tings that horror was built on and while they are annoying to some of us I think deep down if they weren't in the movies we watch we would feel like something was missing from the viewing experience, I feel that way. So yes I do sit in my office and think of creative ways to kill people and I'm okay wit this because I get to lie my dream and work in m dream job which is something that I never thought would happen. We continue shooting "The Vengeful One" on November 4th and wrap shooting o November 12th. Details o a release date and were you can watch the movie will be forth coming, I'm still working on getting the details ironed out . Oh that gives me an idea for a cool kill ...... Stay Tuned folks ! Stay Humble, Stay Hungry My Friends :) It's no secret that I love the creative freedom that comes with writing and directing my own horror movies but on top of the writing and directing duties that I love I also have alot to do with the artwork that is associated with each project and I have to say I really get into creating promotional material for my projects because it's an important tool in peaking the audiences interest in a movie . I have made probably a hundred designs for 'The Vengeful One" Promo cards, posters and DD cover art and I love them all, I wanted to share the latest design with you and if you would like to send your thought in to me in the comment section or via e-mail I would love to hear from you both positive and negative reactions..... Two years ago when I started this website I had only planned to write and direct the Sins of Man trilogy and then focus strictly on writing and only directing once in awhile. In the last few months I've been turning out short film scripts way more frequently then feature length scripts and it's made me question which direction I should go in moving forward .... By : Jamie Santamore We have started shooting "The Vengeful One" and this will be the first short film under the Top Guy Productions banner of Wicked Carnival Productions . We still have Sins of Man II : Vengeance to get through post production and released. I was looking at the pile of completed scripts today and t's a mix of feature films and shot films that crosses many genres of film and it got me thinking about how often a director like myself should cross genres and if it will do more harm then good in the eyes of the fans. What I mean by that is when I started talking about he "Top Secret Project" I had fans from across the globe reach out to me and accuse me of "turning my back on the horror genre" and I don't look at it tat way at all. I love the horror genre and it's very special to me and it always will be but I feel that I can contribute to the other genre's of film and I fell that I should be allowed to try my hand t action, drama, comedy or whatever else I want to do. "The Vengeful One" is a short film that if you all like it will have a feature length sequel which I'm currently outlining. I have two additional horror short films in the works as well as a Science fiction feature and an action feature . On my Facebook page last week I wrote a status asking the question "How many times can you reinvent the wheel?" Most people thought it was a joke and gave it some LOL's the point of that post was How many times can you tell the same story in the same genre. I've written a ton of horror scripts and I find myself running into the same issues over and over again. I love writing horror but there comes a point where I want to write other stuff . I don't want to feel handcuffed to ONE genre because then all of this becomes work and I enjoy what I do because to me the writing part isn't the work, everything that comes after the writing is the work and I'm even starting to enjoy that part of the "job" . I don't ever want my fan base to think I'm turning my back on them or the horror genre, I'm simply taking a break to focus my energy on something different. There are so many weird, scary, confusing, action packed ideas in my brain that I feel compelled to get them all out and put on paper. So when you hear that Wicked Carnival Productions / Top Guy Productions is working on n action movie or a Science Fiction movie rest assured that we will return to the horror genre with a bloody good story for you all to enjoy ! I ant to take a moment and talk about a couple of the non horror movies we are working on. The Science Fiction script for example is something my business partner / Executive Producer Chris Fyfe and I have been talking about since the beginning of our partnership.
Chris is a HUGE Star Trek fans and I'm a HUGE Star Wars fan so we have a good idea on what we want our Sci - Fi movie to be about, I've written a cool script with some really neat characters and some interesting plot points to bring to you. I can't say too much right now but I wanted to let you all in a little bit. Now the "Top Secret" project I've been talking about on Facebook for a long time that is one that is very close to my heart, as many long time readers know I lost my brother in April 2016 and since the day I got that phone call I've been working on this idea to honor my brother in a way that will last forever. While I can't tell you everything about this project I can tell you that it's an action movie with some really cool story elements as well as some kick ass scenes that will excite you and make you ask "What's gonna happen next?" . this movie is going to be a defining moment in my career as far as in front of the camera as an actor as well as behind the camera as the writer of the screenplay. I have poured my heart and soul into the writing of this script. I have two horror / suspense short films already to go as well. I have to say I LOVE writing short films it's telling a 90 minute story in as short amount of time as you can. I was talking on set about the difference in writing features and short films to the cast. I find that when I write a feature length script I find myself struggling to write in the "filler" scenes and when you write a short there is very little filler material if any. I like writing the beginning, middle and end in quick fashion I think it comes with it's own set of challenges which I always want to challenge myself as writer which is another reason I want to branch out into other genres. I'll leave you with this, Chris and I were walking from one set piece to another while we were shooting "The Vengeful One" and he looked at the camera and said "All this time and we've got three minutes of film." and the firs thought was cool we only have 20 more minutes to shoot. it can take an hour to get a few minutes of footage you can use, keep that in mind . Stay Humble, Stay Hungry My Friends :) Shooting has finally begun on Top Guy Productions first short film "The Vengeful One" we had a rough time casting this project with several people accepting roles only to back out at the last minute. This is nothing new really it has happened before and I'm sure it will happen again. This blog will be your look behind the scenes of the first day of shooting. By : Jamie Santamore The day started out with a production meeting wit my Executive Producer / Cameraman Chris Fyfe. Which went well we talked about the locations and the way I wanted shots to e done for the first day of shooting. After the meeting over we went to the location and met with the cast ad discovered we were locked out of he location which is a bad thing hen shooting a movie, let me tell you. Chris took this opportunity to walk across the street and talk to a local shop owner and learned that she had worked in Hollywood for many years and she allowed us to shoot a scene for e movie in her shop. She will also e credited as the Shop owner in the credit of the movie. After setting that up Chris made a few calls and we were able to get into the building. we started working rigt away setting up the shots and the rooms the way we needed them set up. My favorite part of the sets has to be the Villain's workshop seen in this picture ...... (left) Brandy Clarke getting into character before one of the scenes. I have to tell you watching these actors get into character just before these scenes were shot and then watching them during the scenes gave me chills ... Brandy was able to go to a place within herself and cry real painful tears on command, this was very impressive to me. She made me feel scared that she was in real danger being chained to that chair wit a gag and hood over her head. Brandy was a wise casting choice and I'm very happy to have her on the team for this movie she works very well on screen with her costars. We talked alittle about what I wanted her to do in the scene and what i NEEDED her to do and she just ran with it. no complaining no whining and she was completely comfortable with the chains and basically being helpless during this scene. hI have to take a moment and talk about Nathan C. Sylvester who came on as an extra and turned into my Line Producer as he helped me figure out tings on set on the fly that would have taken up alot more time if Chris and I had to stop shooting to think about. Nathan also went from an extra to a having a speaking role when we had to shoot an establishing shot and he and the other two actors in the scene (Zephry Wright and Prachi Negada) came up with dialog out of the blue to sell the scene even more. I have to mention Tina Frick who Plays Sheriff Foster in the movie who is a blast to work with. She was recommended by Caitlynn McCauley who I've worked with in the past . Tina has a way about her self of set and when filming that is both scare and very much must see like you never know what she'll do next! Tina had a few issues with delivering her lines in her 2nd scene and even though she was frustrated she kept it light and she made it happen and got the lines out rather quickly which I was impressed by. Having people involved in this project that are just as passionate as I am is amazing I can't wait to see the finished project. (Above) Nathan C. Sylveter is making sure the sot is lined up to include everything that is needed in the shot. I want to talk about my villain which I will not reveal the name or who is playing this character until the movie is released. but this person came onto set and blew me away from the word go wit the way he plays this character.. He plays the character even scarier then I wrote him to be and I love it . (left) The Villain preparing to do this dirty work which is a scary, chilling thing to watch just a few short feet away. I have to say that this was the BEST first day / night of shooting in my short career I hope the rest of the shot is just as fun !! Everyone was fun, loose and easy to deal with I asked Holly Danger and Mary C. Ferarra to throw a scene together at the start of the day and they nailed it ! Mary even said "Playing bitch comes naturally to me." Which I laughed about. Tina who plays Sheriff Foster was a gem to find on short notice and really played er role well. I have to take a moment to talk about my leading lady Holly Danger, she's a little ball of fire and I can't wait to see her get into the meat of the story and watch her get lost in the character of Brandi Queen. I feel we have a great cast from top to bottom, not to toot my own horn but a really well written script (toot toot) I finally have a third person on the set that helps with any creative issues we may come across and that's a huge help. There isn't anyone on set that shouldn't there like we have had to deal with in the past because we have been forced to make concessions for cast members to stay on the project.
This project is going very well and I'm a happy film maker right now ! Chris and I are finally in a great place during a production without having a thousand "dumpster fires" to put out from the word go !! In closing I would like to say THANK YOU to the amazing cast and crew of The Vengeful One for making the first day of shooting flow so smoothly you all came prepared and ready to movie magic !! THANK YOU to the AMAZING Horror fan base world wide! I love reading your e-mails, Inbox messages, DM's and Interacting with you on social media, NEVER be afraid to reach out to me, I don't have a pres person or assistant if you reach out to me you get a reply from ME ! STAY HUMBLE, STAY HUNGRY MY FRIENDS :) NOTE : This blog contains my thoughts and opinions of the movie IT. The thoughts and opinions with in this blog do not reflect the thoughts and opinions of anyone else associated with Wicked Carnival Productions, Top Guy Productions or The Maine Morgue in any way. By : Jamie Santamore Before I talk about the movie I want to mention the fact that I actually went to the movie theater to see a movie is something to be noted, I rarely go to the movies to watch anything because as a film maker I tend to talk to myself while watching movies and that is a bad thing for obvious reasons in a public setting. I did end up making a few comments to my wife who was sitting next to me.
Note : I'm not opposed to going to movies to support my fellow film makers, actors, actresses etc. honestly it comes down to I don't like crowed places and Movies are just that crowded. We sat in the 21+ balcony section figuring we would be in the less crowded area boy were we wrong!! that place was packed and the seating below was damn near empty (My bad) I'm a huge fan of IT I want to get that out of the way right off the bat. The reason I wanted to start the blog off with that statement was because it usually comes as a shock to many fans that I would say that because I'm a "slasher" fan and IT is NOT a slasher movie. I love the 1990 mini series for many reasons, Tim Curry was amazing as Pennywise without question. I have watched this probably a few dozen times because I love it some much. I love the characters, the story, the villain is awesome. The cast was perfect in my opinion. I finally say the new adaptation of IT this past weekend and I'm not going to be like everyone else and split hairs about which was better or who I think was the better Pennywise because honestly I don't see the point. It's like comparing the Jokers from the Batman movies there have been three live action Jokers on the big screen and comparing them is difficult for any number of reason I try not to compare them because they each are different versions of the character I look at the Joker character who is very complicated and has different stories to tell the audience. Getting back to IT Overall I loved this movie I didn't find it as scary as everyone said it was (Maybe I'm just to used to horror) Sure there were a few moments that gave me a jolt I won't lie. They changed many things from the original adaptation which I'm on the fence about because some of the changes change what happens in IT : Chapter Two . I have to say my favorite scene was the Bathroom scene with Bev ! Amazing way to shoot it in my opinion. Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise in the opening scene was chilling. The voice, his mannerisms through out the movie were just creepy a brilliant performance indeed. Note : That is not to say that Tim Curry wasn't good because he was amazing as Pennywise. Some of the small things that bugged me about the movie are as follows . They didn't use many of the "losers" nicknames like Eddie Speghetti and Hayseed. They didn't use the phrase "Beep Beep Richie" as often as they did in the original and Pennywise is the only one that says it in the movie. They "killed" Henry Bowers so that automatically changes things moving forward to Chapter Two. I didn't like that Bev killed her father that was shocking to me (understandable based on the way he treated her) None of the things mentioned above are a deal breaker for me as the movie tells a complete story and leaves me wanting to see more.... After the finale of the film I have admit I'm very excited to see Chapter Two I can't wait to see who they cast as the adult losers and to see what they do with the movie. I've heard they are going to give more of Pennywise and origin in Chapter Two which I think is a cool way to go and I can't wait to see what they do to create the spider version of Pennywise. If I have to give this movie a rating I would say 4.75 out of 5 .Like I said overall I love the movie, the casting is awesome and Pennywise was as creepy as ever but there were a number of small things that take a way from the movie. My next film THE VENGEFUL ONE starts shooting this weekend !! STAY HUMBLE, STAY HUNGRY MY FRIENDS :) No one ever said being an indie film maker was going to be easy. We as artists face many challenges from finding the right project to take from script to screen to filling the cast it all falls on our shoulders. There are any number of false starts, hurdles and road blocks along the way, there is no way around that these things happen. Most of us make "passion projects" because we don't have the budget to make a big movie but I'll tell you something and this is from personal experience with little to no money you can create movie magic .... By : Jamie Santamore I have had many road blocks from the time this crazy ride started in 2014 I've never hid from that, not for a single moment. From the moment I started talking about making movie I was told by people close to me that this wouldn't happen. my three favorite thing I was told are as follows.
1. "You'll never make this happen." 2. "You don't have the skill set to make a movie. 3. How can you make a movie with out an education in film making? These three things only served a motivation for me to prove these people wrong. I've been a fighter since the day I was born. I was born seven weeks early and almost died twice so I literally have been fighting since birth. I have carried that chip on my shoulder for 39 years now and I don't think it will be going anywhere in the near future. I want to take a moment and touch on each of those statements . "You'll never make this happen." Someone saying this to me is probably the biggest motivator for me because I enjoy proving people wrong. "You don't have the skill set to make a movie." I often reply to this question with a sarcastic answer like "It's horror it's not rocket science." It's not like I'm trying to cure cancer or world hunger, it's horror, it's not that hard to write a horror movie. I've watched all the classic slasher movies and that right there is an education in itself of the do's and do not's of horror film making... Think about that for a moment, let it sink in. "How can you make a movie with no education in film making?" This one is simple to answer it's called on the job training. trial and error and believe me there was a ton of that happening on the set of Sins of Man : Rise of Mortis. You show me someone that knows EVERYTHING about film making and I'll show you a liar. Film making like anything else is a NEVER ENDING education. I was very blessed to meet Chris Fyfe who started out as an actor in Sins of Man : Rise of Mortis and over the course of pre production of that movie we became close friends and eventually business partners he's now the Executive Producer on my films, co director, camera man, editor really my Ace in the hole or Jack of all trades. Without him none of this would be possible. He taught me to believe in myself and no matter what happens to never quit. I've talked about some of the hurdles we encountered during the production of Sins of Man : Rise of Mortis and Sins of Man II : Vengeance and like I said these things will happen on every set and there really isn't much you can do about it other then be proactive and figure out a plan A, B, C, D etc. I've had sets (someone's house) burn down in the middle of shooting Sins of Man : Rise of Mortis. This forced me in front of the camera in a much larger role then my standard director cameo. I've had cast members not show up for shooting causing the rewrite of the entire final act of a movie on the fly on Sins of Man II : Vengeance. These things will happen. On my current project The Vengeful One the first film (short) film from the Top Guy Productions division of Wicked Carnival Productions which was originally supposed to be shot in July and released around Halloween of this year. We've had a run of cast members leaving the project. Less then 24 hours before shooting was supposed to start my lead actress backed out which shut down production. We regrouped and started the search for our Brandi Queen. Several other actors backed out after we announced the new shooting dates dues to scheduling conflicts with other projects (which is completely fine) So I filled out the cast a second time and now with 13 days til the start of production my lead actress leaves the project due to an undisclosed illness. I wish her a speedy recovery and hope to work with her in the future. This hit me hard as I was really excited about this actress being the lead. I'm determined to shoot this movie on time and under budget so I immediately started the search for a new lead as well as a few other roles that other people left over the weekend. As I was replying to the e-mail about the lead leaving the project I started to think that maybe this project just isn't meant to be and maybe I should pull the plug. I thought about it for a minute and decided that I can't quit now. The search is on for a new lead as I've already asked a few actresses I have on file about stepping in. I have been through the ringer on every project so far in my short career and to be honest with you I wouldn't change a thing because what these road blocks, speed bumps, hurdles have done is give me that education that many people think I need to be a film maker. I'm a smarter business man, writer, director, casting director because of all these things happening to me. With production starting in 13 days on The Vengeful One I'm focused on making this movie the best it can be and giving my fans the world over something they will be proud to have in their movie collection. I choose t stay positive through all the ups and downs on this wild, crazy road of film making because if you get to negative then you start to find reasons not to keep moving forward and eventually you find a reason to quit. Making movies is my dream job and I'm living the dream folks. Am I making millions ? No. Am I living in a big house, Nope! what I am is happy to be able to live my dream and make movies for fans just like me. STAY HUMBLE, STAY HUNGRY MY FRIENDS :) NOTE : I received an email today that threw me for a loop to start my day, I read the email that said and I quote "You're nothing but a horror guy and you should stick to what you know, don't try to reinvent yourself as an action writer or a sci-fi writer, stick to what you know best and be a gore whore." I decided to take a walk, take care of some business while i mulled over the e-mail and how to respond to it. Normally I don't respond to these types of e-mails but this one is from someone I considered a friend so this blog will serve as my response to that e-mail.. By : Jamie Santamore I want to start this off by saying that everyone is entitled to their opinion, that's what so great about our country! This person who sent me this e-mail I once considered a friend and for them to say these things really hit me hard. I was on my walk when I decided to write this blog and give my thoughts on this persons comments.
Am I just a "Horror guy" ? As of right now all I have released is Horror yes but that doesn't mean all I will ever write / direct / produce is horror movies. there are many crossover directors. John Carpenter, Wes Craven, James Wan just to name a few. I don't see why people feel they have the right to try to squeeze me into a box that I clearly don't fit in. I have many ideas outside of the horror genre. I wrote on my Facebook page yesterday that THREE of the FIVE scripts that are ready to go from Wicked Carnival Productions / Top Guy Productions happen to be Horror movies one is a Sci - Fi / Action movie the other is the TOP SECRET Project that I'm keeping very close to my chest until we start casting. People have told me that doing anything but horror is a waste of my time because I won't get distribution. I wrote, directed, starred in and did the makeup FX for Sins of Man : Rise of Mortis and have a consignment agreement with Bull Moose Music in Maine and New Hampshire (which I set up on my own) we've sold more then half of our stock. I feel in today's marketplace the term distribution is something that changed meaning recently, with the advent of the internet, and streaming services distribution is only a few clicks away. Call me old fashioned but I figure if a movie is well made, great story, amazing action scenes, good acting and has the right visual aides (cover art / promo material) behind it the movie has the power to stand on its own. So in this person's mind no matter how many ideas I have outside the horror genre I need to shelf them and continue to write horror movies because that is my place in the world? Why? what give you or anyone else the right to tell me I can only make horror movies for the rest of my career? I have said since day that this isn't about the money for me I know my movies need to make money for me to be able to continue to make them, I'm not an idiot but money hasn't ever been my main focus. I love to create and tell stories that is the main reason I make movies. I'm a fan of movies! I love to watch movies, talk about movies and write and direct movies. With all of that being said I want to make it a point to tell you that I will never walk away from the horror genre completely because Horror is my first love. it's a well know fact that John Carpenter's Halloween is my favorite movie of all time in any genre and it always will be. while I may write and/or director an action movie or a Sci - fi movie from time to time my heart will always be in the horror genre. I've found a new love of writing short films. I think it's very challenging to write an entire story in a few pages as possible. I enjoy the challenge and I have written three horror shorts that if you all enjoy them could be turned into feature length films. I have a sci - fi movie ready to go as well as the TOP SECRET Project that I'm really excited about. I plan to star in that movie and hand off the directing duties to Chris Fyfe. I'm in heavy training for this role and I look to be in top physical condition to play the role of a lifetime. In closing I want people to know that you shouldn't allow anyone to put you in a box, you can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it. I had people telling me I couldn't make a movie and now that I'm getting ready to start production on mt third it's funny to look back at all the negative people I had around me and see how far I have come as a creator and my team has come in creating thee movies for fans the world over to enjoy. I will keep expanding my box filling it with as many great ideas as I possibly can. STAY HUMBLE, STAY HUNGRY MY FRIENDS :) By : Jamie Santamore As all my long time readers know I'm a huge fan of horror movies and more specifically slasher movies. I have a large selection of horror movies, autographs and collectibles. Friday The 13th is my biggest collection by far. I have 29 autographs from the Friday The 13th series and a mess of Jason collectibles. Back in July I had a really cool conversation via Facebook with Deborah Voorhees who played Tina in Friday The 13th Part V : A New Beginning it was a very nice thing for her to take the time to talk to a big fan of the series. we also talked about the world of indie film making as we are both film makers. Today I had another very cool experience / conversation via Facebook with Melanie Kinnaman who played Pam in Friday The 13th Part V : A New Beginning. we talked alittle about the movie and her experiences on set. It was another Friday cast member taking the time to talk to a huge fan of the series . She confirmed that she didn't think she looked that good in the movie until they shot the scenes in the rain where she was running around the woods being stalked by Jason. She also confirmed that she feels Pam lived to tell the tale of what happened that night at Pinehurst . I've always thought Pam lived and went on to live a healthy, normal live after surviving Roy's bloodbath at Pinehurst. I'm really enjoying my fandom of Friday The 13th and I watch the series a couple times a year because lets face it folks they don't make movies like they used too. I want to write and direct an 1980's style slasher flick. Friday The 13th is a fan base and cast list that are very much linked through the use of social media. I say this because I've reached out to the cast members of other franchises with little to no success but the Friday family is always talking to fans and showing their love for us. I'm a huge collector of Friday stuff and have a signature on each of the DVD's in the series as well as several other items signed. I love my collection and will continue to add to it as often as I can . STAY HUMBLE, STAY HUNGRY MY FRIENDS :) By : Jamie Santamore Casting is complete for our first short film titled The Vengeful One . Her are the main cast of the film with many amazing actors playing extras in the film.
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AuthorHere is where I will post my thoughts on upcoming projects, ask you fans questions and just talk about about all things horror and Wicked Carnival Productions . Past Blogs
November 2018
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