Hmph.

I haven't posted an entry in a few days. I wish I could offer a good excuse, but the only one I have is that I've been excessively bored.

It's been cold, windy, rainy, and snowy these last few days. Add to that that there's really nowhere to go around here that really interests me and I'm sure you'll get the picture that I'm already going a bit stir crazy. And it's not even November yet.

As I've said, I don't like the cold months all that much, but I am looking forward to November for two specific reasons:

1. The concert trip up to St Catharines
2. The end of the increasingly annoying political ads on TV

I'm still keeping myself really busy writing. I've written the next installment of Ask the Reading Monkey, I finished a poem for a friend, and I'm working out some ideas for possible film projects.

Along with all that, I'm also re-working my script. I was given some brilliant and very helpful advice from Rachel, who voiced Batgirl in Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face.
I took a few days off between drafts (as Larry advised) and like magic, I felt the creative spark. A tweak here, a minor change there, and I can already see some drastic improvements. It's always nice to have friends who know their stuff. Thanks, guys.

In the spirit of Halloween, I'll leave you with something kinda scary. Check out this creepy (and seemingly pointless) commercial for the upcoming Playstation 3.

Losers and Monkeys and Bats. Oh My.

After one week on iFilm, the films are doing pretty well. The Losers Have a Junkyard has chalked up 18,471 views so far at the moment I'm typing this, while Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face has been viewed 8,833 times and is currently the #1 most viewed animation in the past 7 days. A cool little bonus is that still hanging in at #3 is Nintendo: OldSchool Revolution, which is currently up to a total of 411,171 views. Thanks to everyone who's been watching!

I think Revolution spoiled me. In its first week online, it racked up over 200,000 views. I've been finding myself disappointed with Batman's numbers, thinking "Okay...only 8,000? What's the problem here?" Then I remind myself that a year ago I would have freaked at the thought of eight hundred people seeing my work would have freaked me out. No matter what the numbers, I'm extremely proud of Batman.

Another cool note, Batman and Losers are both officially listed on the Internet Movie Database! You can view the pages here and here.

I'm still plugging away at that script of mine. It's taking longer than I'd have liked, but I'd rather take a bit longer and get it right as opposed to rushing it at the cost of quality. Wow, with all this talk, this thing better not suck.

I watched Sin City again tonight and it's got me feeling the creative flow, not only because it's an awesome movie that was amazingly executed, but because, cheesy as it might sound, Robert Rodriguez inspires me.
I mean, the guy started out by basically being a guinea pig at a drug testing facility to make enough money to shoot his first feature. He worked his way up to where he is now because he loves doing what he does.
He's such a hands-on filmmaker, doing everything he can do himself to keep the films as close to his vision as possible. That's how I want to do things. It'd be torture for me to film a whole movie and then just pass it off to somebody else to edit.
His movies just get me pumped to make movies. Can you tell?

I'll end this post with something I have recently finished, the second installment of Ask the Reading Monkey! Enjoy!

The Big 2-4 and Other Tidbits

It's now the early hours of my birthday. Some time around 4:30 AM, I'll officially be 24. Mom and I are leaving in the morning and heading up to Niagara Falls for a few days, that'll be a nice little getaway.

I've still been keeping myself busy and creative. The script is moving along slowly, but I really do love how nicely it's coming together.
Jeff and I got together tonight and shot the 2nd episode of Ask the Reading Monkey. I'll cut that together and get it online after I get back from the Falls.

iFilm said Batman and Losers would go online on Monday. As in last Monday. It's been a week, but no films yet.
If you're waiting for them, I suggest you go and check out the shorts at How it Should Have Ended in the meantime. These guys are great, you'll see.

Well, if I don't post again before I leave, I'll be back Thursday. Y'all be good now.

Ask the Reading Monkey!

Well, I've now officially ventured into the world of YouTube. With the help of my hilarious (and possibly insane) cousin, Jeff, jacobdrake.com proudly presents the first of what may be the first episode of an ongoing series...Ask the Reading Monkey!