| **News and Updates** Firstly, I just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!! Apparently,
I should be wishing a happy 2009 & 2010, as it's been ages since
my last news update. It seems that I may be attending the Dam Short Film Festival in Boulder City, NV in the middle of February. Hopefully we get some more great feedback over there, as well.
I just wanted to make some quick production notes about the progress of "The Future Life of Jake". Almost all locations have been locked down, and we'll be ready to shoot come August 15th. We've been extremely fortunate, and have some of the top crew currently attached to the project. As for cast, we held a couple of casting sessions in mid-July, and we're quite pleased with the turnout of actors. We're currently waiting on the DVD of auditions from Toronto, before any final casting decisions can be made. We hope that by mid week, we'll have the cast locked, and be scheduling a table read. The acting industry in Montreal seems to have completely shut down. I haven’t spoken to one actor in 2008 that can honestly tell me that they are working. In April, my agent left the industry for personal reasons. It’s unfortunate that I won’t be able to work with him anymore, but I wish Michael all the best! I am currently agent-less, but with such sparse work in Montreal, I haven’t found it in my best interest to pursue a new agent. “Book of Wisdom” recently won 2nd place for Best Short at a festival in Tupelo, Mississippi. We are now awaiting word to see if we got into festivals in Savannah, GA & Austin, TX. They both take place at the end of October, so I may have a lot of traveling ahead of me. Also in the works, is a new pilot entitled “The Future Life
of Jake”. We plan to shoot this in mid-August, and then show
it to a couple of U.S. networks that have shown interest. We’re
also trying to secure financing for a horror feature entitled “Reality
X”. We currently have 50% of the budget in place, and are
just looking to finish it off. There are a few investors that have
shown serious interest, and it’s just a matter of selecting
the right group of people to work with. Hopefully the next few months
will flourish. Things have been very busy on my end. With the new puppy, a new business opportunity, and 3 films in development, things are very hectic. Vegas is now 5 months old, and just got spayed this past Friday. She’s doing very well. For those of you that are unaware of the new business in development, I’m in the process of bringing an interactive ‘Murder Mystery’ dinner to Montreal. Details & website will be available shortly, along with show dates. Two of my recent films are in the process of being sold, and are
on the festival circuit. “Going Up” has been sold to
MTV Italia and will be airing in the near future. I will post up
the details as I find out more. “Book of Wisdom” is
complete, and will be screening on May 16th, at the Tupelo Film
Festival in Mississippi. We’re awaiting word in the next couple
of weeks to see if we got into a festival in Toronto, Ontario &
Edinburgh, Scotland. We’re keeping our fingers crossed! It’s been over 6 months since my last update, so I think I’m a little overdue. I’m currently in the midst of planning a trip for middle of October. Sonia & I will be heading to Los Angeles for a few days, and then sailing off on a 7 day cruise to the Mexican Riviera. On the acting side of things, I’ve been working pretty regularly. It’s amazing what a new agent can do. Over the last couple of months, I’ve managed to land roles on 2 commercials, a TV series and 2 feature films. Some big American feature films are currently in the city and coming to town before the fall. Over the next 4 months, Montreal will be the primary shooting location for “The Mummy 3” with Brendan Fraser, “Deathrace 3000” with Jason Statham, “Punisher 2” with Ray Stevenson, “Mr. Nobody” with Jared Leto and “Pink Panther 2” with Steve Martin. On the producing side of things, it’s been insane!! Here is the news on my 3 most recent projects..... - “Reality Check” was completed almost a year ago, but it's still getting talked about. That being said, I’ve decided to send it out to a few more festivals. - “Going Up” was just submitted to a few festivals last month, but the notification date isn’t for a few weeks, so we’re waiting on that. As for distribution, I’m in talks with a few networks, and they seem very pleased with the final product. I’m confident that things will work out nicely, as the film in general has gotten rave reviews. - “Book Of Wisdom” is currently in the post-production stage. I’ve seen the footage, and it looks great!! Upon speaking with the editor yesterday, he thinks a rough cut should be ready by next week. We then plan to get a trailer cut for all to see. I hope to have that posted up on the site shortly. After some delays, "Reality Check" is now complete. We've gotten some great feedback, and considering the total budget of $61, we really can't complain about the final product. In May, the screenings will begin at selected festivals. Please keep an eye out for the Tupelo Film Festival, Manhattan Short Film Festival, Raindance Short Film Festival & Miami Short Film Festival. "Going Up" is the next little short film that I'm producing from scratch. Everyone has been very receptive to the script, and I'm excited to start shooting come March. July 5th, 2006From July 14-16 I’ll be heading off to New York for a little trip. A friend of mine won a weekend vacation package with work, and it seems that I’ll be benefiting from it. We’ll be going on a nice little helicopter ride to the Hamptons for lunch, so that should be fun…how romantic! The producing side of things hit a snag last month, but it’s picking up once again. Everyone always “talks” about how they have funding, but you really need to take each of those comments with a grain of salt. To get 10 cents is a hassle. Things look good now, and we should be well under way in the next few weeks. Pre-production is just over the horizon. We just need to finalize a few details. Acting in Montreal seems to be really picking up, but for whatever reason, I don’t seem to be getting into the audition room enough. Maybe I’m not as good looking as my mother always told me. In my free time, I’ve decided to write up a little 3 minute scene with the goal to do a test shot with it. Basically, I’ll be making a short film with the little scene that I wrote up. I just need to find the right location and actor, and I’m set. And of course I need to find the time for myself and a crew to get together and shoot this. Hopefully this little side project gets done sooner rather than later. There is much more to talk about, but as I need to be somewhere in 10 minutes, I should be long gone. Until next time!! I haven’t had all that much time for an update these days, but since I was informed my site was getting updated tonight, I figured I’d write up a quick note. If you haven’t seen the updated video section, please check out the new commercials. Before I head out tonight (Saturday), I’m finishing up the casting breakdowns for a feature film I’m producing. The film is called “Looking for you Lady”. As it looks right now, there’s a strong chance that we’ll be shooting here in Montreal, as well as Tennessee. As we’re currently in talks with two “named value” actors, it’s really exciting, because if all goes well, it will really upgrade the value of the production. On the acting side of things, I’m currently on the short list for a lead role in a film to shoot in the U.S. I’m awaiting word by the end of this month and I’ll keep everyone posted.
Due to several e-mails that I update my site more frequently, I’ve finally gotten
around to getting some new stuff on here. It’s always difficult to find a web
designer to help out, but I found one nice enough to help out for a few small things.
So what have I been up to since the spring of last year?? Well,
as there has been slim to no work in Montreal, I’ve had to take
it upon myself to get involved in other projects and help produce
them. As anything else though, some projects work out while others
fall through. I recently finished producing a short film for Bravo
called “The Piano Lesson”. It was a great cast, crew & set, and
I’m excited to see it when it airs in the next couple of months.
I’m also involved with a documentary revolving around the world
of “streaking”. The film was shot in Madrid & Liverpool during the
month of November and it’s currently being completed for distribution.
You can actually check out their official site at TakeoverFilms.com
and see the 6 minute short film that inspired the full length documentary.
Currently, I’m working on producing 2 features to shoot on approximately $5
million each. One is a thriller to shoot in Vancouver, while the other is a
romantic drama to shoot in North Carolina. As both films are still in the
development stage, I don’t want to provide too many details and have them change.
I can say however that both scripts are remarkably well done, and everything seems
to be progressing nicely.
On a personal level, on October 10th, 2005 I finally went on my poker trip to the
beautiful island of Curaçao. The evening before my 6am flight I lost my wallet
with all my ID, credit cards, ATM card & $500 cash left inside. That being said,
the trip was still one of the best experiences of my life, and I managed to come
home with a couple of thousand dollars more than I left with...which was nothing!!
You can see my results (JKIMSWIM) & more information about the trip at
JetSetPoker.com. That’s all for now, so until next time, I’m out!
As the new season approaches, my BBQ starts its summer workout and the film industry slowly starts to pick up. The slow season of January-March is winding down, and the American feature films slowly begin to flow into Montreal. We’re only in April, and already there are 3 features that are booked for the next 2 months.
Over the past little while I’ve been asked, “Since there are 3 movies casting in the city, you’re bound to get a role”. Let me briefly explain how far off this statement actually is. Out of the three feature films, there is usually one that casts almost entirely in LA. No opportunity here. The 2nd film always happens to be a time piece where they want older men with beards. No opportunity there either. The 3rd and final film is the one that I may have a shot at. Now once you sift through the breakdowns, you’ll see the following: “20-25 male, less than 5 foot 8”, “22 male, Asian” & “20’s male, MUST be heavily overweight”. Now upon reviewing these breakdowns, I really don’t fit any of them accurately. There are usually 1 or 2 roles that suit my look well, but because work is so sparse in the city, you have every other actor in the city auditioning for the same role as me. Hey, nobody ever said the industry was easy.
As I mentioned in my last update, I’ve been working
on a film called “Devil’s Rose”. The editing,
sound & music were recently completed within the last 2 weeks. We
are currently set to screen the film on May 6th. Next, the submissions
begin for the various film festivals. As it’s not an easy
task to get accepted in the first place, the actual location of
each festival is still to be determined. From there, the editing
of the “special features” will begin, as we would like
that included on the final DVD copy. I will keep everyone posted,
and I hope to be able to put the film up in the videos
section shortly. It has been quite some time since I made my last news update. With
the lack of free time between my webmaster & myself, it’s
been tough to make the appropriate updates. Not to worry, more videos
(actual recent ones) are on the way. Also, a few small additions
have been made to the site, including “web polls”. I’m currently in the process of producing a short film called
Devils’ Rose. I’m actually taking a back seat to being
in front of the camera on this production. Even though I still have
a small cameo in the film, it was not my primary goal. The behind
the camera stuff is all new to me, and I hadn’t realized the
work that needed to be put in. It’s quite a job to set up
shooting locations, street permits & craft services. That being
said, I enjoyed it, and would do it again. For those of you that never saw my
about josh
section, you may not know that I’m an avid poker player. In
the past month I have won two trips. On October 28th, I won a 28
player tournament where the winner got a free one week all inclusive
trip for 2 to Cuba. A little over 48 hours later, I won again! This
time it was a 255 player online tournament on JetsetPoker.com.
With my win, I get a free one week all inclusive trip for 2 to St.
Kitts in the Caribbean. Along with my free trip I also get a free
buy-in into their live tournaments, including one where the prize
pool will be $250,000. I thought I’d mention that this entire
trip cost me a total of $2.75. On a final note, it seems as if the franchise of the Montreal Expos
has officially come to an end. The season finale was quite depressing,
and I’m really not looking forward to a baseball-less summer
of 2005. I’m sorry, but the Washington Nationals/Monuments/Senators
will never be my team. Well, it's been a couple of months since my last post. Nothing has really changed in the Montreal scene. There is still very little work in the city. Usually, at this point in the summer, there are half a dozen feature films lined up. Unfortunately, this year there is all but one or two films for July August.
Regardless of the low work flow, I have still managed to keep myself busy with other things going on. As the English spokesperson for Encore Baseball Montreal, I have had several media related appearances. I recently had an interview with Global TV in Montreal, and TVAsahi in Japan. I hope to get parts of those interviews up on the site shortly. Be sure to check the
videos
section for updates. As with all films, there have been delays on the post-production of "Last Rehearsal". I am confident that the film will be complete in the next few months, and from what I have seen, it will look great. As "The Day After Tomorrow" is currently out in theatres, you can feel free to check out my appearance in it. Many people have congratulated me on my "role" in the film, but I assure you, my appearance was no more than a "glorified extra".
Currently, I have two potential projects in the works. They are slated to shoot in Connecticut & Ohio. As they are both currently in pre-production, I can't give any official information on the details as of yet. However, when I get confirmation from the production(s), I will keep you updated. I hope to have another news update by the middle of the summer. I wrapped on the "Last Rehearsal" last week. It went quite well, and I'm looking forward to the finished product. Next week I need to go in for some "ADR" (Additional Dialogue Recording) to help fix up some sound glitches. The film should be completed by mid-June. That will be just in time for the submission deadline for the Montreal Film Festival. That also means that I hope to have some new video clips up by the summer. Check back regularly for updates.
The Expos season has officially kicked off. It's about time because I honestly can't remember the last time I was so excited about the baseball season. The team looks great this year, and I am ecstatic for the home opener on April 23rd . Maybe it's the fact that I am hoping to see people change their opinion of the team. I obviously oppose the belief that "baseball in Montreal is hopeless". Recently I was offered a position to work as the English Media Spokesperson for an organization working with the Montreal Expos. I deal with all the T.V., radio and newspaper relations to promote the organization. Considering my love for the team & the industry I have chosen, I would have to be an idiot to turn down that opportunity.
There is supposed to be a lot of work coming in before June. A couple of productions have dropped out of coming to Montreal due to the high Canadian dollar, but nonetheless, there are a few US projects in the works. Only time will tell. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Well, I arrived back from my cruise last week. What a blast!! I had the opportunity to swim with the dolphins in Mexico, snorkel in Grand Cayman, and walk up the waterfalls in Jamaica. The weather in the Carribbean was great, and the shows on the cruise were funny as hell. I think the preperation for next year will begin....now!! A Hawaiin cruise, maybe?? On a positive note, I did manage to land a lead role on a 20 minute short film, which will start shooting at the end of March. I will be playing the role of a schizophrenic. Once the film is complete, I will hopefully be able to post up a clip or two in my
videos section. Next time I post, filming should be complete, and the Montreal Expos season should just be getting under way. First off, I want to wish everyone a success filled & healthy 2004. My mother and my good friend Danny are both starting off the year with health issues. I want to wish them both a safe surgery and a speedy recovery.
This year started off very cold. Tonight it's supposed to hit -40 Celsius. You have to love that Canadian weather. At least I don't have to go out for auditions in this bitter weather. Auditions in Montreal are very slow at this time of year. That's the essence of the business. August is very busy, and January is very dead.
At the beginning of February I am taking a trip out of the country. I will be taking a nice little cruise to the Caribbean. I am planning on taking my video camera to document the entire trip. I want to shoot everything from my departure in Montreal, to my dolphin swim in Mexico. For some reason, I feel the need to make everyone jealous of my trip. Actually, I think that seeing nice scenery and warm weather will take most people's minds off this horrendous cold.
I will try to put a new posting up at least once a month. If anyone has any other ideas for the site or for the news section in general, please send a
comment to the email provided in the contact section. If the webmaster & I both feel it is a fitting idea, it will be included on the site shortly afterwards. See everyone next time! I am very excited for the launching of my new website, and I trust that all you newcomers will go and sign my
guestbook |
| © Copyright 2004 Josh Kimmel Online. All rights reserved. |