The Dark Side of the Earth: August 21st, 2006

The Journal is dead! Long live the Journal! Soul Searchers [sic] is on the shelf in HMV Oxford Street. Woohoo!
Leo Delauncey, the storyboard artist, has done jack. And he won’t answer my messages. Such a familiar story. (On the subject of Jack, why do all US TV shows call their stubbly lead character Jack? 24, Lost, A Town Called Eureka, The District… Despite the fact that, in real life, the name is only common amongst old men. Is it just so they can do cheap “You don’t know Jack” gags in the trailers? I think I’ve answered my own question.) So I’ve brought three more boarders on… er, board.

The Dark Side of the Earth: August 21st, 2006

Soul Searcher: August 14th 2006

“It could mean that that point in time inherently contains some kind of cosmic significance, almost as if it were the temporal junction point for the entire time-space continuum. On the other hand, it could just be an amazing coincidence.”

Soul Searcher is now available in all good DVD stores. In theory. I couldn’t find it in any of the good DVD stores I went into today, and neither could anyone else I know. The Curse must do its final work, and so the disc is absent from the shelves… for now. The good news is that play.com says the film is temporarily out of stock, which must mean it’s sold out. (Perhaps unsurprising, if people can’t get it from the fecking shops.)

Wysiwyg are now running a Guess the Budget Competition. Part of the prize is a Soul Searcher poster signed by some of the cast and crew. Don’t ask me what the rest of it is.

Prize letter of the week:

i dont like your trailer voice on your trailer, i wanted him to shut his f***ing bastard mouth however, i like the trailer! and i think you should maybe consider some coca-cola mate! or dr pepper perhaps. it tastes like swamp dust!

Thomas Chamberlain

Well anyway, enjoy the DVD, have fun finding the easter eggs, and thanks for tuning in, for here I must leave you, my virtual friends. The story of Soul Searcher is over. You can follow my continuing adventures at Dark Side of the Earth.

So many classic moments there have been over the last four-and-a-half years: James’ nipple-shaped biscuit; that weird guy who hangs around Hereford with the long hair and the shorts (no matter what the weather) turning up to audition; the poncho debate; the e-mail from Mum’s Curtains about the impossibility of recording an orchestral score on a microbudget; my dream about Lara being a murderer; the druids on Dinedoor Hill; David Dukes almost getting knifed on his visit to Hairy Ford; mixing Rick O’Shays (ricochets) and Kurt Russells (coat rustles) at Neil’s studio; the glorious weekend of The Guardian article and the sell-out screenings; the chocolate ice cream lunches in Cannes… I could go on.

The question is: was it all worth it?

We’ll let fate be the judge.

Soul Searcher: August 14th 2006

The Dark Side of the Earth: August 13th, 2006

Soul Searcher is available from tomorrow in all good DVD stores. Described by The Guardian as “a fantasy action movie in the grand style”, the story of an ordinary guy who gets trained to be the new Grim Reaper is accompanied by a bumper set of extras, including the hilarious behind-the-scenes documentary Going To Hell.
I’ve edited the Jif Lemon action and it actually works pretty well. I’ll try to get around to shooting the rest of it soon.
No movement lately on the financing interest, what with the key players being off on their summer hols.

The Dark Side of the Earth: August 13th, 2006

Soul Searcher: August 8th 2006

Less than a week to go. The cast and crew copies finally showed up on my doorstep this morning, all pristine and cellophane-wrapped. (Sorry about the cellophane. Personally, I hate the stuff, and one day intend to track down the inventor and invoice him for all the time I’ve wasted during my life trying to rip the stuff off things.)

The DVD is now available to order from a number of other websites besides Play, including: Virgin Megastore, HMV, Tesco (you can also rent it from there), Woolworths, CD Wow, Amazon UK (also rental), Screen Select (rental only), WHSmith and Asda, but I’ll warn you that they’re all more expensive than Play. I’m told that Blockbuster will also be stocking it.

I’m extending an open invitation for anyone so inclined to join me for coffee at the cafe in Virgin Megastore, Oxford Street, London, England, Europe, The World, The Solar System, The Galaxy, The Universe, at 11am on Monday. If you can’t find me, it’s because a security guard mistook my box of cast and crew copies for a bunch of pirate DVDs and is interrogating me in the back room behind the pantry. “Oh, directed it, did you, sir? A very likely story.”

Soul Searcher: August 8th 2006