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July Johnson and the Rememberies

Let’s take a moment to interrupt our July broadcast to deliver a message from modern day. Couple nights ago, I see the digital camera sitting on the desk, I grab it, hit record and toss it on top of the printer. I forget about it. Music’s playing and Patrick and I have a deadline which I’m pounding away to meet. Later the mem card finally fills up and the camera beeps. I ignore it and keep writing.
Tonight I notice the camera sitting there and download the vid. While I can’t share it all, when a certain couple of songs played back to back it made me smile so that much I can share.
Please ignore the oddly goofy way my head bobs and weaves. I do not know what that is about and wish it could be nuked. But alas.

Now back to your previously scheduled trip back to July:
July 1st, Jake, the manager, calls. He tells me DeLuca now has Fright Night. I tell him been there done that. I fill him in, catch him up. Told him the job went to Kring. He calls back later, he’d spoken to someone at DeLuca’s office. Kring didn’t get the job either. Job is still open. Crazy business.
We catch world that DeLuca sent Drive Angry to Norm Golightly, who read, loved and gave to Nic Cage to read. Exciting but you try to keep that sort of excitement in check.
July 2nd, Patrick and I join Ludon on a call to Singapore to speak about possible Korean content funding. It’s similar to Canadian Content except it is not as good a deal and unproven. We leave the phone call with less confidence than when we entered.
July 3rd. Agent hits us with an email. An offer came in via Relativity for Drive Angry. Agent left it in office. Well call us Monday morning.
…sigh. Assumption is…the offer blows and no one wants to tell us that going into the weekend.
July 5th I get a last minute request to do a Horror House interview for Scott Sigler talking about Messengers II and Raimi. Ends up being easy. They shoot me some questions, I boot up the mac and let it film my answers. I shoot them a hi-def file and tell them to edit, cut, work their magic as they please.
July 6th Patrick informs Zach and Josh that Paradise 3D heads to location on the 20th. If they and Relativity want to meet them then the meeting needs to happen before the 20th.
Later that day we remind the agents, “Hullo? Offer came in Friday? Uh…it’s Monday? Hullo?”
Conference call with agents and lawyer. Offer is dismal.
Within two hours we counter via our lawdog extraordinaire, Jeff Frankel.
July 7th Ludon has been arranging meeting for Tom Jane and I for Comicon. Meetings with investors and meetings with different vendors and producers. Tom’s also published graphic novels of Alien Pig Farm as well as Bad Planet. Wolfbane, Devil’s Commandos…this promises to be our busiest Con to date.
July 8th, I suggest Ludon and his investors take a look at Patrick and Joel’s Condition Dead 3D. Patrick shoots me the latest draft. I read again then send to Ludon. He calls me fast. Wants to meet with Joel.
Why do I do this journal again? I do it because I have been rode hard and hung up wet. I do it because I’m stretched thin like butter over too much bread. I do it because I have kilt braincells that I shouldn’t have kilt. I do it to remember. I’m not here to blow smoke. I’m not here to make it sound pertier than it is. So, here’s the ugly…
The lowball offer from Relativity was a gutshot. A nutcracker. A demeaning girlslap like Kurt Russell bitchslapping Chubby Billy Bob in Tombstone. We have done so much work. Not only did we not get Fright Night…we not getted it twice. We took The Fly right up to the door of the big meeting at which point the big suits locked the door and didn’t even want to hear our take because we weren’t either visionary Zack Snyder or Chris Nolan. Haunting in Tennessee, Ghost Rider 2. Passes. We write a spec that everyone seems to love but that no one wants to buy because they’re too busy laying off their work force. Even our big win with MBV wasn’t a win. The studio made 93m on a 16m investment and no return business. Hollywood. High highs. Low lows.
This was a low.
We asked our agents to call Matt at Weinsteins’ and see if that outline gig was still available.
At the end of the day we hear that Nic read Drive Angry and LOVED it. Wants to do it pending a meeting with Patrick.
Like I said. High highs. Low lows.
This was a high.
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July 9th we get the reply from Matt. “Maybe.” Then he sends a script to consider rewriting and a book to consider adapting. Patrick reads the script immediately. I read slow. We all have our crosses to bear. Patrick digs the script, alot. It reminds him of another movie and was likely written to capitalize on that other movie but we eventually come up with a take that keeps everything that’s so cool while not ripping anyone else off. We get back to Matt with interest and tell him we’ll work up a pitch.
July 13th. We get our second offer from Relativity. Nic’s interest does nothing to raise their interest in us. In fact, their offer comes down. In a move I’ve never seen before, they actually came down on their already insulting offer. Nic has a deal with Relativity so none of this made much sense. We assumed they were simply calling our bluff. Bottom feeding. Figured no one was buying, they’d grab it up for pennies.
DeLuca jumps on the phone with them. Do you want this or not? He warns them that we are about to walk. We’d rather have nothing as what they’re offering. They assure him they are interested. Excited even. So we jump on the phone with agents and lawyer and come up with another counter.
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Sanity. There’s a reason Hollywood types are so freaking weird. Others are otherworldly insane. It’s due to this never ending, crazy roller coaster of evil that we willingly ride day in and day out. I try to get off the coaster from time to time. It’s how I keep any semblance of sanity. And it’s a part of my story.
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I only mention this because I got a semi-snotty email recently commenting on all my daughter pics. Tell you what, numbnut. You got two choices. One, if you don’t like it you can go read someone else’s blog. Or two, we can meet up in LA, face off, bow and then I’ll punch you in the forehead.
July 20th it is recommended that we put the Weinstein stuff on hold and see how Bastards and H2 does.
We also learn later in the day that Nic’s agents sent Drive Angry to Millennium, who Nic also had a deal with. Not only had a deal but the deal’s deadline was approaching. Millennium had a couple of project they wanted Nic to do but he wanted to do ours.
Many things happen very fast.
One, Millennium wants to know if this can be done without DeLuca. We say, “No.” We gonna go home with the one what brung us.
Two, Millennium wants to meet us on Tuesday before Comicon. We scramble to make this happen.
Three, we catch word that Nic is toying with the idea of playing the villain in Green Hornet in the fall. Millennium wanted to shoot in the fall. This would push us to February.
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The Millennium meeting was confirmed for July 21st at 11:30am. I was booked to fly to San Diego on the 22nd. In typical fashion, the airline would not let me change the flight so late. So, not wishing to leave the girls without a car, I borrow Allen’s car and drive. I arrive at Patrick’s at 9:30am. I park Allen’s ride, pile in with Patrick and he drives us to meet DeLuca, Zach and Josh and as a team we head in to meet Joe, Danny and Boaz of the team Millennium/Nu Image.
Meeting goes…well…goes very very well. The LOVED the script. Loved the 3D concept. Suddenly the roller coaster has picked up speed again.
July 21 word hits that Rob Zombie is remaking Season of the Witch H3. Interesting.
Why is this interesting? Well, although I’m writing all of this as if I were still living in July…fact is…it’s late September and the beans have spilled. A month or so back, Weinstein Co started talking to us about a number of their projects. We ended up pitching four of them. One of those pitches was Halloween 3D. Not the Season of the Witch 3 but a sequel to Rob’s two films…but in 3D. While told they loved all four pitches…we never heard really got a yes or a no to any of them. Thus hearing that Zombie was doing Season of the Witch was, in fact, interesting.
July 22, I hear that Raimi will be directing World of Warcraft. I drool. He’s perfect. I’m happy and jealous.
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Melanie, in an attempt to keep me sane, will send me multiple daily pics of Izzie.
July 23, We give Millennium the numbers we initially gave to Relativity.
Comicon 09!
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Let’s sum up.
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Tom self published Bad Planet and Alien Pig Farm trade paperbacks. They move like mad.
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Ludon introduces us to guys with money. Possible investors in our two companies.
Wolfbane teaser is a big hit.
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We do the annual dinner with Darabont. I’ve never taken pictures at the party, at least I never publish them…because it seems too…intrusive. But this shot of Tom and Frank afterward was cool.
One highlight at the party was when the talk turned to Cameron and Avatar’s 3D. I mentioned that Cameron had recently called my latest a giant step backwards in the 3D movement. Gale Ann was quick to jump in saying how much she loved MBV. Wasn’t until later I remembered that she and Cameron were married at one point. I always think of her with Hensleigh…as it should be.
Ran into Jaime King who had spoken with Kevin about Monkey’s Paw. She loved the script. Tom walked up and I noted that I had actually written it with both of them in mind. She and Tom bantered about the script.
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Tom takes us to the True Blood party. Nelsan sits with us. I’m giddy as a school girl. The whole cast is there. It’s Anna’s birthday.
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There’s cake. And blood.
Business-wise it was a great weekend. Personally it was the worst. Egos clashed and I left early Sunday.
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July 27, Patrick passes on recutting Wolfman as we wait to see what happens with Drive Angry.
On the 28 we send Alex our outline for Parasite as we feel it would make a great Hammer film. Could even plug one of their old titles into it. 3D 15m budget. Slam dunk. We do this in prep for our thursday meeting.
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July 30 with Alex Brunner and Tobin Armbrust re: Silo, Golden Vamp and Parasite. It’s a good meeting. They loved Parasite and sent it to the UK for approval. We pitched a rewrite for Silo and gave them a teaser opening pitch for Golden Vampires.
July 31 we learn there are issues with rights between Virgin and Cradel & All. Must be dealt with before we can continue.
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July 31, I have a Long Island for the road and tool home. I arrive with gifts for Izzie and even grabbed a gift for Mark Wheaton’s daughter (as of late September I still haven’t put it in the mail cuz I suck).
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And thus we reach the end of July at which point we can do the math and learn that 56 days later Rona still has not paid us for Delivery of ISWYD.

4 replies on “July Johnson and the Rememberies”

As soon as I heard Patrick was attached to Halloween 3D I wondered if you were in on it. Figured it would’ve been you or Soisson.
I like Nic Cage but Drive Angry sounds like something you would be doing with Tom Jane. I know he’s a busy guy but was it ever discussed?

Tom’s name never came up. But it wouldn’t have mattered. Tom will be shooting HUNG while we’re shooting DA.

You’re the hardest working bald man in show business. Keep it up with the Izzie pictures, she’s adorable. And some day she’ll be able to read all the high highs and low lows Daddy went through to keep her in shirts and sneakers.

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