A couple of weeks out of the blog, which is just as well. Gotta have time to do things in order to have things to write about!

My big news is that I finally have Final Cut Pro and thus I finally have the ability to edit my own films when I like as I like. I've been able to spend lots of time with my new film, FEED ME, in order to get it just the way I like it. I enjoy experimenting and it's tough to ask my editors to do this and that just to see if it will work. It's easier if it's just me and my film. I'm also planning on going into THE iDOL and reviewing the entire project in order to make sure that it too is "just the way I like it." I love editing. I like exhausting all the endless possibilities until I figure out what I feel is the correct sequence of shots.

The photo for this blog entry is a frame from FEED ME. Cool, no?

Next month I'm participating in an event in Tokyo being held to honor the memory of Forrest J. Ackerman. As everyone knows, Forry was the creator of Famous Monsters of Filmland, the magazine instrumental in deviating many boys in the 60s and 70s from what would have been a normal life. And for some reason those of us who were deviated by his publication are eternally grateful for that.

One of the men heading the event is Saki Hijiri, founder of Uchusen Magazine, which is kind of comparable to Famous Monsters. Also on hand will be Hajime Ishida, who ran the Japanese version of Fangoria in the 90s and has the distinction of being the only Japanese to have had his photo run in Famous Monsters with that classic caption: "Wanted, More Readers like." I used to meet Hajime now and then back in Osaka when I lived there, and wrote for the Japanese Fangoria before moving to the REAL Fango back in the US. Haven't seen Hajime in about ten years. The two "guests of honor" at the show are Chris Walas, who did FX and makeup for films such as The Fly, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Gremlins. The other guest is…me. Also on hand will be my friend Kumi, who is a lovely singer and one of the most beautiful women I have ever met.

One of the things I'll be doing is talking about Forry to give the US point of view on the man and his influence. Other than just being able to buy FM on the stands, I'll talk about the trips I took to his home back in the 90s. Those were great times and listening to Forry's tales was a total blast and are memories I cherish.

I've also officially begun production on my new film, a short called "IT'S ALL GOOD." Because of a conflict in staff / cast schedules I had to cancel my original shoot back in January. I'm now gearing up for a late April / early May shoot. More news on this when it becomes official.

Also, I just completed the subtitles for the movie "G," an amateur kaiju film made by my friend Kiyotaka Taguchi. It's playing next week at the Yubari Film Festival. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to write "international" in the title. That might be because when I was a guest there last year I saw exactly 7 non-Japanese, myself included. 7 out of 9,000 people hardly makes it "international." But Japanese like the "international" label… Whatever…

Taguchi's "G" film is, despite the low budget, a pretty good film. Mostly because the FXs are a real stand out. Taguchi is an FX artist by trade. He did some of the FXs in The iDol too. In the past I've acted in his films. In one I played a gangster, and in another – get this – I played the Prime Minster of Japan. I was assassinated… Why do I always die in movies?

That's all for now.