I planned on updating this blog once a week and it looks like it's been eight days since the last update. Nice. I'm already off schedule!
I blame the Thanksgiving holidays. Which were nice. Family time and food. But you didn't come here to read about how much turkey I ate, so ...
... I'm doing this blog update for the first time on my new computer! I've been using the good old reliable 12" PowerBook G4 for the last eight years. It was a warhorse that served me well through many a screenplay, but I've been thinking about getting a new laptop for months and really needed to buy one before the end of the year so that I can write it off since I had a good earning year. I'm always hesitant to spend money on myself, but it's a work expense, right? So I took advantage of Apple's (admittedly weak) Black Friday discount and bought a 13" MacBook Pro ... and HOLY CRAP, it's like night and day! My computer keyboard lights up! The screen is so clear (and bigger - that one inch difference is massive in my eyes)! I can FaceTime and Skype with this built-in camera! And the speed ... good Lord, the speed ...
Not a TON of project news to report at the moment, but I've always got something up my sleeve ...
I wrote a screenplay many years ago that was shot in Lawrence, Kansas at the beginning of 2010 by director C.M. Downs and Dripping Dead Films. It stars Ashlynn Yennie, whom you may know of as the ass-end of THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE. It was called FETCH. Now it's called AMERICAN MANIACS. And it got picked up for distribution from Automatic Entertainment. That's about all that I know at the moment (no release date has been set as far as I can tell, but I'm assuming early 2012). But there's a new poster and trailer for it and they're both pretty cool as far as I'm concerned. Dig on em:
RIght now, I've got no less than three projects that I wrote in various stages of prep - the SyFy movie (I just saw some amazing creature designs for the film, but unfortunately can't share them with you ... still, I was pretty excited to see them), the Lifetime movie, and another one that I can't report on just yet. So that means I should have a lot to share in the coming months. But right now I've got to get some research done for this bio-movie that I signed on to write.
I promise to keep updating and I've got some pretty interesting things going up here shortly. I'll see you again in less than seven days ...
I'm sure that some of this stuff was pointed out on my old Facebook page. But it's a new, bloggier era, so it's time to do a re-cap of what the heck's been going on in my world work-wise ... Get your reading glasses out!
CHOP - My directorial debut comes out on DVD and VOD in a little over a month (December 27th, to be exact) from the fine folks at Bloody Disgusting Selects. It was exactly two years ago to the day that we were running around Los Angeles shooting this little project, so the turnaround from shoot to release is actually pretty impressive. Especially since we premiered the film less than a year after shooting it. Now that the festival run has ended (and, wow, did we play some spectacular festivals in some amazing countries - 16 festivals in all and I wanna thank each and every one of them), it's time to prepare for the North American DVD release. So ...
Here's the official DVD artwork:
Bloody Disgusting cut a new trailer for the release, which looks like this:
And it's available for pre-order on Amazon.com, so go ahead and add it to your Christmas lists now!
What's important to me right now is that I direct another movie in 2012 ... there are things happening in this arena already. I've got the script that I want to shoot and have a few pieces of talent attached, and I just got some of the investment commitment that I need, so you'll be hearing more about my next film in the coming months if all goes well ...
Where the Dead Go To Die - I did character voice work for a really bizarre and twisted animated film called Where the Dead Go to Die, directed by Jimmy ScreamerKlaus. It's going to be coming out in February on DVD and Blu-Ray from Unearthed Films and it's one strange and disturbing project that I'm tickled pink to be involved in. But don't just take my word for it. Check out this creepy trailer:
JESSICKA RABID - My old compatriots at Troma are finally releasing this film that I shot in Tucson back in 2007. I'm fond of this gritty little throwback-style film (though, admittedly, it won't be to everyone's taste), so it's nice to see that it's finally getting out there. Troma releases it on December 13th. Here's the box art:
KILLJOY'S REVENGE - Redbox picked up Killjoy 3 and re-titled it Killjoy's Revenge. Apparently there are like a billion copies of it out there and the movie's doing really well ... does this mean that there will be a Killjoy 4? Only time will tell. In the meantime, here's the (slightly) new box art:
Okay, that just about catches us up with movies that are coming out soon ... but that's nowhere NEAR all of the news to report. Because I'm always out there, pounding the pavement, trying to get more projects off the ground.
So what ELSE have I been up to?
A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of acting in the new short film directed by John Skipp and Andrew Kasch (and written by Cody Goodfellow) entitled STAY AT HOME DAD. I had a great time doing this and got to work with some awesome people. Andrew directed the Nightmare on Elm Street documentary Never Sleep Again and John Skipp ... well, I've been reading his novels since high school and he's one of the progenitors of the whole Splatterpunk movement, so needless to say I was thrilled to work with him. Not only that, but the guy who played my Dad in the short was none other than the amazing character actor Ricky Grove (you may know him best as "Henry the Red" in Army of Darkness).
I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished product. Here's a shot of Skipp and myself on set:
Primarily these days, though, I've been making my living as a screenwriter. I know that I've kind of dropped some hints and things in the previous months, but as a special thanks to the few of you who have followed me from Facebook, I'm gonna let go of some info that hasn't been released anywhere ...
I wrote a SyFy Channel original movie this year. I haven't been able to say anything about it, but I went to the American FIlm Market last week and happened to see a giant sales board with the title, director, and even a small synopsis on it ... so I'm gonna assume that it's cool to post this photo:
I wrote the one called HEEBIE JEEBIES. From what I understand, it's going to start shooting in February. That's all I can tell you for now, but I'll post more info here as it becomes available!
But wait. There's more exclusive Trent Haaga Blog news that's never been on Facebook. HEEBIE JEEBIES wasn't my only television movie script this year. I also recently wrote a film for ... get ready for it ... the Lifetime Network.
Yeah, that's right. I know that it sounds kind of crazy that the guy who wrote The Toxic Avenger 4 and DEADGIRL is now writing for Lifetime ... but you know what? I really love the material (it's quite twisted stuff based on a true crime story) and Lifetime is awesome to work with - they're smart and really cool and they pay well ... but that is seriously all I can say about this project at the moment. As usual, more will come when I'm allowed to talk about it ...
... And I just signed up to write yet another really interesting script based on another true story ... these "based on true story" scripts (Poor Things, the Lifetime movie, this one) really seem to be the direction that I've been moving in as a screenwriter and I couldn't be happier ...
There are even MORE projects to report about in the near future, but I'm waiting for the okay to talk about some of them ... others I'm just saving for a slow news week ... regardless, I plan on updating this blog at LEAST once a week, more when there are things to announce. It's gonna be good times over here in my tiny corner of the internet!
My god, that's a lot of stuff ... Do you know how many tweets I'd have to write to put out this much information?
And that's why blogging is the new future of the internet (again) as far as I'm concerned.
Thanks for reading. Leave me some comments, whydontcha?
Why haven't I updated this damned blog in MONTHS? It's not like I don't have things to chat about ...
I got a message from a friend on Facebook not too long ago asking this question. And now, a week later, I'm just getting around to answering it ... It's because of Facebook. It's just too easy to pop on there and shit out a small thought and then leave again. So that's what I've been doing. And it's kind of stupid, really. I'm not a huge fan of Facebook. And don't get me started on Twitter. Facebook is a useful tool, but I feel that it's totally feeding into the 21st century "short attention span theater" mindset ... not only that, but it's kind of like some weird popularity contest or something: How many friends do YOU have? And Twitter? Twitter is like standing in a crowded room full of people and yelling non-sequiturs at the top of your lungs in the hopes that someone else will hear them.
But I, like everyone else on the planet have a Facebook page and a Twitter account (to be fair, my Twitter account is mostly ignored - it just happens to mirror updates on the CHOP - The Movie Facebook page). I think that it's time to change that.
I started this blog back in the day, long before the social networking thing really took off. To me, it was a way to remain personable with friends and family and the occasional fan that happened to come by. It took some time and effort to write something worth reading and it took some level of effort for you to come and check it out - I mean, damn, having to type trenthaaga.com into the nav bar and then having to read a statement over 140 characters long ... when was this? The 20th Century?
I dunno, call me an old fogey. Call me old fashioned. Perhaps you could call me revolutionary. But I'm ready to return to the days of yore.
That's right. I'm gonna de-activate my Facebook account.
This isn't something that I'm doing in response to anything in particular. It's something I've been contemplating for some time. I understand that Facebook is a good marketing tool to some extent ... but instead of shouting out the release of CHOP on DVD to 2,500 people (only of which a fraction will go out and buy or rent it), why not laser-target the people that really, genuinely WILL buy it? The very same people that will type my URL into their nav bars and stop for a second to read a blog entry and then maybe even leave a comment for me here (or, better yet, contact me at my actual trenthaaga@gmail.com email addy)?
What I'm saying here, I guess, is that if you're coming here and reading this, then you're the kind of friend that I really want ... the kind that took the time and trouble to find out what I'm really up to, not the kind who peripherally find out because you're scrolling through your news feed.
I'm just a dude trying to make a living working in the film industry. I'm not trying to be famous. Just happy, successful, working and visited by a smaller group of people that want to interact old school style with me. I'll make the extra effort to write about my thoughts and accomplishments here if you make the extra effort to come and visit me, okay?
That said, I'm finished for the time being. But look for a "what's been going on in Haagaland" update in the coming days.
I sincerely mean it when I say thanks for visiting my blog.
