A GORILLA! has its Martini Shot:Director's Blog

THANKS FOR DROPPING BY! 

Update: October 2013 

If you're visiting us here, you probably received one of our super cool business cards. You'll find lots of archived info below such as news releases, online articles from the likes of Bloody Disgusting, news videos, pictures, and other cool stuff chronicling the beginning of production of "Attack of the GORILLA!", but from now on, we'll be concentrating on updating all Gorilla info on  Belial Productions' new website, so please, bookmark us there:  

http://belialproductions.weebly.com

GO! GO! GORILLA! 

The Martini Shot is a Hollywood term refering to the last shot of the day, meaning the cast and crew can then relax and, in theory, have a martini. Well, no one had a martini on our last day of shooting, but every one had fun wrapping "Late Night Classics presents Attack of the GORILLA!" While I could go into a whole spiel about the many, many adventures we had shooting this 50's style epic, I'd rather take the opportunity to thank everyone involved in the production. Without all of them, this would still be an idea landing on several sheets of script paper and rolling around inside my head, so, here goes...

THE STARS: Carrying an entire movie on your shoulders is no easy task, but SARA DUPLANCIC and FRANCIS FISK were up for it and provided the story with the heart and centre it required. Sara was cast after I saw her performance in a play and she continues to do theatre. I hope she remembers us when she gets her first Tony Award.

Francis was not an actor before now, but when I was writing the script, the character voice in my head was his. Decision time: Do I cast an "actor" and get him to play Francis or go for the genuine article. I went with the latter and he did an excellent job, including some stuntwork where he literally "rang the bell"

THE MVP: Gotta share this one, because these two people added far more to GORILLA! than the comedy and pathos that was on the page. STEWART GRENZOWSKI was the behind the scenes Jack of all Trades every movie should be lucky enough to have, but few are lucky enough to get. His list of on-screen credits from acting to providing amazing catering to tireless "booming" will be insane.

When PENU CHALYKOFF stepped into that gorilla suit, he added so many big laughs that, I'll admit, the focus of the film changed considerably. He really is one of the funniest men/apes I have ever had the fortune to have worked with. That is not to forget...

THE COMEDY SECRET WEAPON: PAUL WASHER was probably the most experienced actor aboard our cinematic ship and we were damn lucky to get him. He displayed a tremendous talent for taking otherwise bland expository scenes and turning them into tour de forces of funny as the befuddled Officer Landis (what's a B-Movie now-a-days without at least one movie geek tribute name?) Paul brought to life long, expository paragraphs that would have knocked more trepidatious actors on their behinds.

THE SUPPORTIVE PARENT: Poor SHERRY THURIG. She not only had to remember some utterly inane dialogue, and deliver it like she meant it, but had to spend a great deal of time feigning attraction to her leading man (guilty as charged). Thanks, Sherry, for giving us "The Full Margot Channing" (and if you don't know what that means, then you know nothing about intentional over-acting).

THE SHOOTER GIRL: Thank you to whatever exists above for delivering unto us our DOP JULIANNE CAMERON. Without her dedication and ability to put up with an occasionally frantic director- while still delivering beautifully shot images- we'd be filming this thing well into 2013. Full disclosure: Still one scene left to shoot in January 2012 where-in Julianne puts on her actress garb to help send up the noir classic Touch of Evil. She'll make a great Dietrich.

THE KING OF THE CASTLE: In addition to acting as DOP, PA and wearing enough hats to crush a Lorax, STEVE LAFLAMME allowed us to use his house as the film's primary location. I know a lot of people say "I couldn't have done it without such and such a person" but I mean it with 100% gratitude when I say "I couldn't have done it without Steve."

THE DAY PEOPLE: When you`ve got a killer gorilla on your tail, you have no choice but to scream and in this case, ham it up. Thanks to those who only came in for a day or two and brought the funny. Edward Swan, Jenne Hicks, Mike Kelly, Irish O`Brien (the actress so nice we cast her twice), Colin O`Brien, Trudi Shaw, Leah Cheyne, Jes Lacasse, Anik Rompre, Jessica Anderson, Jennifer Heale, Fletch Shaw, Evelyn Shaw, Tina Prudhomme, Kiersten Hanly, Lauren Kearley, Stewart Grenzowki (yes, again) and Steve Laflamme (also again).

There are also our myriad of EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS all of whom contributed financially to making the film a reality...but that`s a whole other Thank You posting.

SPECIAL THANKS TO everyone at OTTAWA LITTLE THEATRE including John Muggleton, Lynn McGuigan, Mark Ryder, Glynis Ellens and the fantastic Peggy Laverty.

AND LAST BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY my Co-Producer and the film`s Editor and Post-Production Supervisor JULIAN ADDERLEY. This poor man now has hours of footage to sift through and hopefully we`ve given him something coherent. Thank you for believing in dreams, pally.

Thank you all and watch this space for more as we enter Post-Production!

DAVE SHAW
Director, Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!

Dread Central takes on a GORILLA!

Another excellent piece on "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!" from the folks over at Dread Central. Thanks to Foywonder. And we will see ya on the big screen, pally!

http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/49029/monochrome-monsters-attack-gorilla-and-tentacle’s-claw

undead brainspasm: Exclusive: The Late Night Gorilla Lives!

undead brainspasm: Exclusive: The Late Night Gorilla Lives!

At the link above, another excellent online piece about "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!"

First Photos from Set of Late Night Classics Presents GORILLA!

Anna (Sara Duplancic) puts her best Ellen Ripley impression to work.

"More damn rewrites!"

Officer Landis (Paul Washer) thinks things through...but not too clearly.

Jenne Hicks, playing Kristen AKA Trudi AKA....well, you'll have to see the movie.

Dave Shaw directs Late Night Classics presents GORILLA! in the laziest way humanly possible.

Jenn Hicks (actor) , Sara Duplancic (actor) and Julianne Cameron (Cinematographer) double role it by playing dead.

A very big thanks to Edward Swan for the pictures!

Ottawa Horror: There is an Executive Producer on the loose! And i...

Ottawa Horror: There is an Executive Producer on the loose! And i...: "I crossed paths last week with Ottawa director Dave Shaw. It was about a week after he tuned me onto his recent project, one that grabs a pl..."

John Landis: Coolest Man Alive

If you went to the movies at all during the 80's, then you know who John Landis is. Though he denies it, he and "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels pretty much invented a new style of comedy "back in the day" that changed TV and movies and created the playing field that led us into the Apatow dominated double noughts.

I could go on and on about how Landis influenced me and my sense of humour and this film in particular (the fact that there's a character in the movie called Officer Landis is not a coincidence) and blah, blah, blah. Or I could show you this video where I more or less geeked out on the man and he accepted a "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!" mug with grace and humour...

Late Night Classics presents Gorilla! (Promotional Featurette)

Write up on ARROW IN THE HEAD (AKA: JoBlo )

Here is an excellent write-up and showing of our new promo reel on ARROW IN THE HEAD, a popular site specializing in horror flicks!

SHOOTING A GORILLA: Director's Diary #1

Sorry it's been awhile for those of you kind enough to be following progress on "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!". Since we actually started shooting it (as opposed to pre-pimping it) time has been at a premium. We have recently wrapped our fourth day of filming. As director/supporting actor, I wanted to shoot the few scenes I'm in first, and as the owner of a fully functional Tiki Bar in my basement, we decided to start there. Here's the report:

DAY ONE

Anna (Sara Duplancic) and Stephen (Francis Fisk) show up at the Tiki Bar to convince Riggs Deardon (This cat right here) that it would be awesome for him to step up and help take down the evil beast that has been terrorizing the city. Preferring to sit around the bar reading comic books and drinking gin out of a pineapple, I decline. But then, who wouldn't? An excellent day, not even necessitating sitting around home later that night, reading comic books and drinking gin out of a pineapple. I do it anyway.

DAY TWO

More Tiki Bar fun. We re-shoot a few bits and pieces from the previous day. Nothing major, just stuff, I, being a tyrannical bastard of a director who sees actors as little more than "meat props" insists on for the sake of utter perfectionism.

My production partner Julian Adderley, who is visiting from Toronto, amuses everyone between takes with an astonishing number of cool iPhone aps.

DAY THREE

We move to another location so I may fight the beast himself. Paul Washer playing Officer Landis, a Frank Drebinish cop, joins us in front of the house to prepare for the big punch-up. 9PM. Ready to go. Some dick down the street starts to mow his lawn. OK. Half an hour later we are set, focused and our camera team, Steve LaFlamme, Julianne Cameron, Stewart Grenzowski and tonight's guest slate person, my amazing daughter Trudi Shaw, are ready to rock. Dude pulls out his edger. I immediately, and with no hesitation or thought for any other potential nominees, loudly announce him as winner of the "Bastard Most F***ing Up My Attempt To Shoot A Movie Tonight" Award. He neglects to show up to obtain his "award", a tree leaf hastily scribbled upon in crayon. Finally, mercifully, it ends. Shooting begins and...we have an excellent night, culminating in Sara going all Clint Eastwood on the beast. Julianne becomes the evening's heroine by going out to buy bug spray for our beleaguered armless garment wearing leading ladies.

DAY FOUR

I fight Penu Chalykoff, our "Stunt Gorilla" and am stupid enough to direct him to "really throw me". He does. I forget he's throwing me out of a door onto a wet deck. Not the dry deck we had rehearsed on the previous week. I slip and rather than landing on a bench on my butt, I land on my lower back. "Motherf****r!" I yell wittily, agony akin to sitting through "Knight and Day" coursing through my lower back. Manlyly, I recover enough to direct Sara, Francis and Paul through their first of many "discovering a corpse" scenes. It goes off beautifully and I am excited about the road we're going down, confident in my excellent cast and crew.

Keep watching this space! More, as they say, as things develop...

Dave Shaw
Director,
"Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!"

OTTAWA CITIZEN: FIRST DAY OF SHOOTING VIDEO!!!

The Ottawa Citizen dropped by to take some video footage on our first day of "GORILLA!" shooting! Have a look here!:

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER SLOTS STILL OPEN FOR "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!"

Thanks to articles appearing in the Ottawa Sun, 24 and EMC News in the past few weeks, "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!" has been lucky enough to add several new Executive Producers to our burgeoning ranks. Welcome aboard Debbie Fein-Goldbach, Janet Uren, Mark and Lisa Ryder and Brian W.Joint. Also thanks to The Real Darren Stevens for lending a hand with promotions, publicity, pizza and beer (what more could any movie ask for, really?)

Remember: YOU TOO CAN STILL BE AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER! A donation of $20 or more gets screen credit and a place in the hearts of our cast, crew and at least one jungle beast. Donations can be made through Pay Pal at dshaw900@gmail.com, or feel free to contact me at that address for further details. (The gentleman to the left was one of the Executive Producers of "Romancing the Stone". SEE- It IS all showbiz glamor!)

We start shooting May 15! Will update as we go.

Thanks,
Dave Shaw
Director, "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!"

GORILLA! goes for The Cheapest Thrill

A way cool band, The Cheapest Thrill, have agreed to work on some music for the "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!" soundtrack. Check 'em out!

http://www.myspace.com/cheapestthrill

OTTAWA SUN article

(Click article to enlarge)

If the GORILLA! shirt fits...

Please enjoy this early look at the fashion craze to be. It'll hit Paris, London, Milan- all the places where people wear clothes not to protect their bodies, but to gloat at how much cooler and wealthier they look than other people, soon (meaning long before it trickles down to us mere mortals)... the first official "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!" T-shirt, as modelled by GORILLA! Executive Producer Omar Carbunkle (AKA former world champion competitive waffle-maker/1987 archery-sensation, Rage Steroid AKA Mr. Stewart Grenzowski).

Seriously though, Stewart has been a tremendous help with the pre-production phase of GORILLA! by making things such as the T-shirt to your left and devoting tremendous energy and enthusiasm to the project. He has also been delving into intensive preparation for his role of a Criswell-like psychic (see any Ed Wood movie, or the 1994 Tim Burton movie Ed Wood). His first prediction? Someday, we will have "Television of color". You heard it here first, folks.

Secondly, our campaign to give Executive Producer credits to those who are kind enough to donate more than $20 to the production continues to bear bananas. Thank you, and welcome aboard Jessica Blitt, Dale Windle of Aventus Film, Neil Schaler, Matthew Sendel, Adam Nash, Derek North, Melanie Burns, Nadia Zwierzchowska and Marie Hogg. More to come in the weeks ahead as we approach May 15, our first day of shooting.

Interview in 24 HRS.

There's a bigger piece in today's 24H, the commuter paper, which also includes a picture and a poster. Pretty cool!

pg. 4: http://eedition.ottawa.24hrs.ca/epaper/viewer.aspx

Thanks,
Dave

My GORILLA! interview in the Ottawa Sun!

See the "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!" article by Denis Armstrong on Page 37 of today's OTTAWA SUN- "Wanna Be a Film Producer?" As soon as it goes up online, links will follow!

Thanks!
Dave

All Dressed Up and Ready to GORILLA!

It has been an excellent couple of days in "GORILLA!" world, starting with Paul Washer (left), who plays Office Landis in the film, joining our ever expanding ranks of Executive Producers. A few other cool events

Cast member and one of our Executive Producers, Stewart Grenzowski showed up today wearing a home made "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!" T-shirt. Let's take 'em to the street this summer.

The wonderful Peggy Laverty, who is one of the Wardrobers at Ottawa Little Theatre, was then kind enough to donate that most important of objects: A Gorilla suit, to the production. I don't think she knows that the movie's finale involves filling said suit with newspaper and animal gizzards and dropping it off a four story building but hey- not all actors are stuntmen.

Lastly, Denis Armstrong of the OTTAWA SUN newspaper interviewed me today about the production and our unusual way of attracting production funding by offering Executive Producer credits to anyone who pops in $20 or more. Denis first question to me: "Is this a joke?"

Fair enough Denis, fair enough. But, no.

Anyway, keep an eye on Denis' blog, as well as the pages of the Ottawa Sun. Don't worry...I promise to, self-aggrandizing sort that I am, let you all know where to find it.

Thanks!
Dave Shaw
Director, "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!"

A Cast Fit for a "GORILLA!"

"Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!" had its first primary cast read through this weekend. Luckily, everything went gangbusters. If you're making a comedy, the rule is always cast funny people. We've got that covered.
SARA DUPLANCIC, stars as Anna, a young woman with a bizarre connection to the Gorilla in question. Sara joins "GORILLA!" straight from her successful leading role in Ottawa Little Theatre's production of "Trying" (left).

FRANCIS FISK, puts his degree in philosophy to good use as Stephen, Anna's boyfriend whose quest for a logical solution to the "gorilla problem" is constantly thwarted.

PAUL WASHER is Officer Landis, the greying cop who remembers the first time a gorilla attacked the city. Problem is, he doesn't remember much of anything else! Paul's credits include "Shoot 'Em Up" and "16 Blocks".

 SHERRY THURIG is Mimsy, the only woman who can convince her Rat Pack era obsessed ex, now a drunk in a dinner jacket, to take down the evil beast as he once did before. Sherry has done a whole mess of theater and film, including  the Brett Kelly directed horror classic "The Bonesetter".

Thanks!
Dave Shaw, Director "Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!"

The "GORILLA!" Executive Producer Handbook

"Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!" was lucky enough to land four more Executive Producers this past weekend, so please join me in welcoming the amazing and awesome Susan Brannigan Rampp, Steven Laflamme, Brenda MacFayden and "Mr.Alan Smithee" to our ranks. Join them now. $20 gets screen credit (Via Pay Pal: dshaw900@gmail.com) and a chance to be part of the, well, fun.

Lucky for them, and for all of us, our first Executive Producer Stewart Grenzowski has some advice for them:

“THE YOU TOO CAN BECOME AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER HANDBOOK”

Learn how to - project the look, maintain the image, live the lifestyle, handle fame, handle the press, handle your handlers, make the right connections, convincingly fake your past, insure the necessary drug connections, get the most out of rehab, get discounts on the best ‘As Seen on TV’ lawyers, pimp yourself and others for profit, fake upcoming projects, create false sympathy with the most up-to-date diseases and phobias, use religion to intimidate and instil guilt . Newly updated with Red Carpet Tips, casting couch no no’s, and much, much more.

First project guaranteed or (someone else’s) money back! I can personally attest that I’m fairly certain that at least one career has been launched by applying the principles outlined in this book. Read it, digest it – then get the #@*% out of here and live it , damn you!

Stewart Grenzowski
Executive Producer,
"Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!"

A Message from the Ghost of Frank Sinatra

SO. I hear some Kooky Canucks are making some gonzo flick about a killer gorilla or some nutso thing like that. Even worse, there are characters in this lump that seem to be obsessed with the golden days when my pallies and I ruled Vegas. Vegas bein' the whole stinkin' planet, baby.
What the hell makes you think you can get off talking about me like some kinda Clyde? Especially that broad. Yeah, I'm talkin to you, Mimsy. What happened to chicks with class? With charm? Who knew when to shut the ol' martini hole? Wha? Excuse me a second...

What's up Sammy? How's your bird? You need some water? Turned to wine? Naw, that's the other kid's gig. Y'know, the one who dresses in them flowing white robes and has a beard like some hippie freak...What's that?...Naw, Sam. Don't apologize. Don't cry your eye out, hah, hah. You were right to come to me first. But yeah, that's the kid. He'll do it. And Sam, don't forget to duke the kid, OK? ...Yeah, it doesn't hurt to be in with his Pop...By the way, where's Dag?...Again, huh?...Yeah, I fucking hate golf too.

Anyway batty chick, you think I'm gonna just sit still and let you kick me in the nest for a smile? No way is that goin' down around here, lady. No dice. Not even when I'm comin to ya from the Big Casino in the Sky. You want a movie? Here's one that'll get the attention of those bozos who hand out the gold guys. Here goes dynamite: The new "Ocean's 11"? That Clooney kid's allright. There you go chickie chick. Print that. And remember: Be a good little doll. It's Frank's Universe. He just lets you live in it.