BLACK CAB PRODUCTIONS –– TEAM U.K.!

I wanted to introduce to everyone –– and also give a very special thanks to –– three people who were instrumental in helping me make my latest book, SUICIDE THE HARD WAY, a reality.

First –– Many thanks to longtime friend, Lee Bailes (Brighton, UK/Stockholm, Sweden), who contributed an excellent Foreword to the book as well as his humorous and insightful production diary from the time he flew from England to help me shoot my third short film. I hope all will get a chance to read his piece, titled: "THE MAKING OF HNM –– Or How An Englishman Spent His Summer In An L.A. Basement".

Second –– I would like to thank Judith Herdman (Durham, UK), who was my first wave Beta-Reader, captiously looking for misspellings, grammar issues, and just problems in general. Previously, Judith also worked closely with me on deadline, beta-reading as I wrote, to finish my story NOTE-TO-SELF for Terry Terry M. West's JOURNALS OF HORROR.

Third –– I am so very grateful to Matthew Sanderson (South Yorkshire, UK), who was the second wave Beta-Reader exposing all the tiniest imperfections in the book, as well as contributing an outstanding essay that dissects and expounds my three short films. Please read his amazing piece: "MADNESS AND MEANING".

Thanks to all three of you, so much. SUICIDE THE HARD WAY would not be the class act it is without your diligence, perspective, and tireless efforts. BCP – TEAM U.K., you rule!

http://tinyurl.com/nzjabmf 

So sad when I heard late yesterday that horror master Wes Craven had succumb to brain cancer. :'(

I was always a fan of Nightmare On Elm Street and all the sequels. The scares dwindled with each film, but I watched them because I liked the stories. I've always cared more about story and character than jumps and quick shocks. There's a lot of Freddy Krueger in my character Puzzleman. RIP Mr. Wes Craven. And thank you for everything you gave us.

Wes Craven dies: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wes-craven-horror-maestro-dies-818806

TONIGHT @ 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific!

FREE BOOKS, CHAT, and Q&A with author/filmmaker CHRISTOPHER ALAN BROADSTONE!

 

C.A.B. will be taking over the MYSTIC MOON PARAGASMIC PHENOMENON (MMPP) FACEBOOK page for 1 hour.

So please drop in right here (http://tinyurl.com/q72l66d) and say hello, ask questions, chat, and win some Kindle/ePub books and stories written by –– you guessed it –– CHRISTOPHER ALAN BROADSTONE!

 

Hope to see you here.

 

MYSTIC MOON PARAGASMIC PHENOMENON:http://tinyurl.com/q72l66d

Wow! How I used to love going to the record store. Really looking forward to this new documentary, directed by Colin Hanks (Tom Hanks' son), although it's likely to bring a tear to my eye.  

Tower Records Documentary: ALL THINGS MUST PASS
Tower Records was once a retail powerhouse with two hundred stores, in thirty countries, on five continents. From humble beginnings in a small-town drugstore, see how Tower Records became the heart and soul of the music world, and how it all crumbled away -- in theaters 10/16!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiWDQrhrYfo

I finally broke down and watched ALMOST MERCY last night and looooved it!

Directed by Tom DeNucci, ALMOST MERCY is a great, "very" indie flick about teen angst turned-down dark, introspective, funny, and bloody, in a small town as twisted behind closed doors as the worst of them. Very well written, shot, and acted –– especially by up and coming actress Danielle Guldin. She is my new movie-girl bloody-baby-doll crush! Yeah, she floats my boat –– must be that aquiline nose mixed with her alt-girl in dark T-and-jeans, I-really-do-care but-everything-can-burn-anyway vibe. ALMOST MERCY isn't thematically brand new, but it's done with a beautifully hip, depressed style and perverse vigor –– the latter spiced with the performances of horror staples, actors Bill Moseley and Kane Hodder. ALMOST MERCY might sound like it drags you down into the deep and dirty trenches of middle American morbidity –– and it does –– but I think you'll find yourself having too much fun by the time the credits roll. Currently streaming on Netflix.

Check out the trailer, which makes the film seem like a vampire flick –– trust me, it isn't. Nonetheless, the main characters are struggling with the psychological vampirism that many kids are too often subjected to by less than adequate parents/adults.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owLgpFo9ZVs

TODAY'S CONTEST (Thurs. 27th, August):

GIVEAWAY TIME from author/filmmaker Christopher Alan Broadstone!

Catch him on the MMPP page on August 30th @ 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific.

https://www.facebook.com/events/403358646455575/426433677481405/

TODAY'S CONTEST (Thurs. 27th, August):

The first 5 people to SUBSCRIBE to my BLOG and COMMENT on my THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. review post below, will win a Kindle or eReader version of my short story SMILEYS' GRAVE –– from my SINGLE-SHOT TO THE HEAD SHORT-STORY SERIES currently available on Amazon, from my new book SUICIDE THE HARD WAY: And Other Tales From The Innerzone.

I saw THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. yesterday morning at the cheap show (my fav screening time 3:) ). Will this movie change your life? No. Will it entertain in a hip, old-school-cool 1960s espionage-comic-bookish (yet intelligent) –– a la Bond's GOLDFINGER-era-slick –– kind of way? Yes!!! I was ready "not" to be all too pleased with this new film from director by Guy Ritchie (which is based on the 60s TV show by the same name), but was pleasantly surprised.  When it hits, the actions is fun and fast, the way Ritchie does it best –– although it's not his calling-card, over-the-top style.  In U.N.C.L.E. he seems more willing to blend into the fabric of the film and story.  But what I think I enjoyed most was how well many of the scenes made me feel like I was actually watching a British-Italian spy flick from the 1960s.  Regarding this, the music played a tremendous part.  There are the well-placed period pop songs, but mostly the retro-vibe kicked in when Daniel Pemberton's spot-on score was in play –– very smooth, hip, slick, and quirky-cool.  Bottom line is, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. is a fun popcorn movie and a neat little trip down memory lane for anyone old enough to remember the spoofy spy flicks from the 60s.  Check it out when you're in that have-a-martini, shaken-not-stirred sort-of mood.

(And I will now accept the Writers Guild Award for Most-Hyphenates-Used-In-One-Paragraph. ...I thank the Guild.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kMAYU5lII4

NEW BLU-RAY!

I'm no vampire fanatic by a long shot, although I do love NOSFERATU (1922), DRACULA (1931), the Christopher Lee films, and BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA (Coppola –– in spite of Keanu Reeves).  But one of my all-time favs is a top notch, modern classic from way back in 1983, THE HUNGER.  Directed by Tony Scott –– and starring David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, and Catherine Deneuve –– this one is smart, creepy, beautiful, and dark.  Just the way I love my horror.  So happy it has finally been released on Blu-ray.  Check it out!  Especially if you think you aren't a fan of vampire films.

http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Blu-ray-Catherine-Deneuve/dp/B0131TP18W/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1440520946&sr=1-1&keywords=the+hunger

Just revisited LORD OF WAR two nights ago. Great flick! If you haven't ever seen it...DO IT! 3:) Currently streaming on Netflix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej83QvHuiNI

BUY BOTH AND SAVE!

Get SUICIDE THE HARD WAY + PUZZLEMAN for only $22.00 (that’s $7.90 off retail)!

PLUS! –– 2 BOOKS can be shipped for the SAME COST as buying only 1 BOOK!

Also, get both AUTOGRAPHED when buying in the BLACK CAB PRODUCTIONS Store @ http://blackcabproductions.com/STORE.html

Praise For C.A. Broadstone's SUICIDE in writing and films:

"Christopher Alan Broadstone's work is always a highly crafted effort of dark art. I know he will take me places where I may not want to go, but I have to. Plain and simple: he is one of my favorite contemporary authors/filmmakers. His work haunts and is the stuff of nightmares." –– Terry M. West, author of "What Price Gory?" and "Dreg"

"Christopher Alan Broadstone’s short films are a dark, surreal exploration into the human psyche, evoking as much horror and fear in the viewer as contemplative thought." –– Michael Laimo, Bram Stoker Nominated author of "Deep In The Darkness" and "Dead Souls"

Praise for PUZZLEMAN: http://tinyurl.com/obt5qoq

Please visit and "Like" the Amazon Author Page for Christopher Alan Broadstone: http://tinyurl.com/l64uzlm

Please visit, "Like", and enjoy the C.A. Broadstone –– Author and Filmmaker Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/mhwptls

NEW! SCREAM FOR ME Trailer in True HD 1080p!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FefUgMhvFUc

Please give it a watch and enjoy! And be sure to set your YouTube viewer to 720p or 1080p for HD. (Instructions of YouTube Trailer Page in INFO).

What's new:

This version of the trailer is recut in true 1080p HD from the D5 HD telecine transfer from the 16mm 24fsp Interpositive print and encoded as a ProRes 422(HQ) digital file. There are new end title cards for Actors, Director, Production Company, and ©Copyright with new sound design. The text throughout is upresed from the original standard definition trailer and newly degraded and stylized.  The entire trailer is re-color-graded in Final Cut Pro.

Woohoo! At long last the SCREAM FOR ME HD ProRes-422(HQ) true 1080p digital file is in the Black CAB Productions house!!!! The pics below are not color-corrected yet, being that the HD telecine was made from the 16mm Interpositive print, but work will begin on that soon. File is backed up on 5 hard drives, so let's hope all will be safe and well.

A lot of good advice here.  If, as a writer, you can ever get far enough along in your career that it will be relevant to your existence. lol :D Worth reading anyway, though.  What I got most out of it and have always believed is "be original" and don't stop working on a project until it's right, no matter how long it takes.  With the ease of self-publishing these days, too many writers do neither.  And those folks drown all of us who are really trying.

https://medium.com/art-science/a-warning-for-our-next-great-screenwriters-4af580c2e0b7

Saw the THE GIFT this morning, starring Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall (very sexy in this one), and Joel Edgerton, who also wrote and directed the film. Really liked it! With a title like THE GIFT, it should be a romantic, chick flick, date movie, right? Well, it isn't by a long shot. Having said that –– that it isn't a chick flick –– would also be a lie, because this film is very much focused on the female lead and what, I expect, might go through the minds of many women. Writer/director/actor Joel Edgerton did a great job of building a slow burn (with some good jumps) into a very psychological thriller of injustice and justice served cold. Check it out if you can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3IiZU9JBuE&feature=youtu.be

The film YES MAN is one of my all time fav comedies and one of my fav Jim Carrey movies.  It not only focuses on and exploits his crazy antics, but transcends them with great wit and heartfelt insight into life.  I've thought more than once, I am his character in this film.  Afraid of too much, too scarred to say yes to too many things (although I've risked much).  Too much built up fear and anger.  Which brings me to the point of my introspective (some might consider very negative) week.  As I previously mentioned with the film MR. HOLMES, some folks go see shrinks, but I go see movies.  This is why.

Regarding art –– dreams –– Zooey Deschanel's character in the film, says:

"I know our music isn't that mainstream; I love doing it.  It's like my photography; I know there isn't that much demand for blurry photographs taken while running, but –– ya know, who cares? The world is a playground.  You know that when you're a kid.  But somewhere along the way everyone forgets it."

And the older I've gotten, it's also been harder and harder for me to remember that.

But the only time I feel ok in this world is when I'm deep in a project and I'm working (12, 14, sometimes 16 hour days).  It's then that everything goes away.  The real life horrors, so I can focus on the surreal ones.  It's only then, when I'm lost in the creative work I am happy.  It's just that my increasing fear is...well...that will have to go away, because the real world will demand it.  It get's harder and harder to step back from that ledge.  Enjoy the clip.  I have to remember it's ok to commit a little SUICIDE.

https://youtu.be/sGjxPXekFEs

Saw MR. HOLMES this morning, partly because I was wanting to see it, but mostly because I was in dire need to watch a film in the theater with popcorn and a Coke-0. Some folks go see a shrink, I go to the movies when feeling at odds with myself and/or the world. That being said, Sherlock Holmes in this film is also questioning his life and his failings and wondering not only where he went so wrong, but how can he come to be at peace with his errors and with himself. This was the perfect film for me today and I really liked it. Ian McKellen was outstanding as always. Very much a 93 year old Holmes, stern and deductive, but also very human and still learning compassion –– which has, in all truth, overcome his expected deductive, cool demeanor. I thought it was a lovely touch that when he goes to see a Hollywood style Sherlock Holmes film, the actor playing Holmes is none other than Nicholas Rowe, who portrayed the same character in another of my fav films YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES. The film is pleasant and intriguing, if not an edge-of-your-seat whodunnit. Worth checking out.

https://youtu.be/0G1lIBgk4PA

LOOK WHAT THE LITTLE MONSTERS DRAGGED IN!

Now Available In TRADE PAPERBACK –– SUICIDE THE HARD WAY: And Other Tales From The Innerzone!

3-WAYS TO BRING THE MONSTERS HOME!

1) Get an AUTOGRAPHED copy in the BLACK CAB PRODUCTIONS Store, just $11.99 (plus shipping): http://blackcabproductions.com/STORE.html

2) Get 15% Off retail in the CREATE SPACE Store: https://www.createspace.com/5541053 Upon checkout use Discount Code: VE9692BX

3) On Amazon US: http://tinyurl.com/o765wad or Amazon UK: http://tinyurl.com/ptl7gjc

Praise For C.A. Broadstone's SUICIDE in writing and films:

"Christopher Alan Broadstone's work is always a highly crafted effort of dark art. I know he will take me places where I may not want to go, but I have to. Plain and simple: he is one of my favorite contemporary authors/filmmakers. His work haunts and is the stuff of nightmares." –– Terry M. West, author of "What Price Gory?" and "Dreg"

"Christopher Alan Broadstone’s short films are a dark, surreal exploration into the human psyche, evoking as much horror and fear in the viewer as contemplative thought." –– Michael Laimo, Bram Stoker Nominated author of "Deep In The Darkness" and "Dead Souls"

Please visit and "Like" the Amazon Author Page for Christopher Alan Broadstone: http://tinyurl.com/l64uzlm

Please visit, "Like", and enjoy the C.A. Broadstone –– Author and Filmmaker Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/mhwptls