2010: Mission Accomplished.

("Antithesis" Director Jon-Carlos Evans, Honolulu, April 2010)
FADE IN:
January
At about 12:07 AM January 1, 2010, I was cleaning up my cookies (both literally and figuratively) from the bathroom floor of Bibim Bar after a New Year's sake shot that was preceded by a bottle of champagne, red wine et. al. Next day: Massive Headache.

On January 9, 2010. I sat down to write the screenplay for "All Tomorrow's Children." Ten months later, the script is done (if there is ever such a thing) and production is on for November 2011 in St. Louis, MO (no excuses). Stay tuned for updates as that journey unfolds because it's going to happen more quickly than any of us expect.

Fast Forward. Pause.

April
Mansions and ghost stories. No sleep.

Fast forward. Pause.

"Antithesis" receives a Honolulu Accolade Award from the Honolulu Film Festival (now known as the Honolulu Film Awards.). I, however, did not receive my bags from DELTA AIRLINES. I flew from NYC to PHX, where I slept in the airport, and then the next to Honolulu. After twenty phone calls, I finally find out that my bags will never reach Hawaii before I leave. I accept my fate and buy a new black t-shirt, after spending every Hawaiian morning people watching in IHOP. Eventually, the sun heals all things and I make some new filmmaker friends over a night walk on the beach to a locals bar safe from tourists.

May
"Anithesis" receives the Silver Palm at the Mexico International Film festival. I miss the ceremony in Mexico, but spend an important weekend with mi madre in St. Louis. A few weeks later, "Antithesis" screens at the CUNY Asian-American Film Festival and wins Second Place for Narratives. I think this was the largest audience to date . . .

Jog forward.

Señor Ezequiel Sarudiansky (aka Zeke the Argentine) and I have the pleasure of meeting while he serves as the Editor and myself as the Assistant Editor on Luis Argueta's "abUSed: The Postville."(see below). While in the trenches of editing room chaos, I find out Zeke (like many filmmakers) is a musician and fronts an electronic group called Zurcidos Invisibles. I listen to the song "Aviador" and write a treatment while flying from NYC to Hawaii in April. Before Zeke is deported for smuggling Italian cats , I put together a small crew (a handful of old "Antithesis" players and photographer/toy friend/happy molester Pat Rivera. We shoot a really cool video on the Staten Island Ferry, Chinatown and the Upper West Side starring Zeke and Jean Goto for Zurcidos Invisbles. You won't see the video until the album comes out unfortunately, but here's a peek.

(CLICK THE IMAGES BELOW FOR A LINK TO A ZURCIDOS INVISIBLES PROMO)

Image credits: Jon-Carlos Evans (Left) & Pat Rivera (Right)

July
"Antithesis" strikes again at the 2010 Asian-American International Film Festival and plays at the Quad Cinema in NYC.

August
Newport, RI! Seaside mansions, a vineyard and a history of the American Gilded Age. I have a feeling I'll return here again.

September
Remember, if you work for a television show where animals are the subject, you will at some point get bitten. I'll forgive that chihuahua, but I won't forget. A size 11.5 is waiting for you, my friend. I swear that.

October
Three days weekend in paradise . . ..
My first experience as a professional at the New York Comic-Con was like seeing a perfect society - everyone in costume and everyone walking around with a fairly functional weapon (mostly samurai swords because genre fans are civilized people after all). We did a lot of promotion for "Antithesis" by giving out postcards, but the most interesting part was how even though JG was in costume as "A," she barely stood out. When a 5 foot tall man is dressed as Optimus Prime and break-dancing, then I guess a girl with red hair and tiger fur looks pretty tame.

Image Credit: Juan Loney

Valuable lesson learned from NYCC '10 : Your audience is often whoever you were ten years ago. (Think about it . . .)

Jog forward.

Halloween. Three new actresses, a Man With No Face and a bare bones crew came together for the first shoot in a series of pieces for a new project. Over the course of 2011, we should be able to finish the entire project.

Check out the teaser by clicking on any of the images below.









image credits: Jon-Carlos Evans (Left) & Ludgy Wu (Right)

November
Two years and three months after meeting filmmaker/friend/master samaurai Luis Argueta, we premiered "abUSed: The Postville Raid" at Symphony Space in NYC in the Leonard Nimoy Theatre to a crowd of about 450. Where did the time go???

Click below to check out the teaser for a documentary about the largest, most expensive immigration raid in U.S. history.


November 14. Nine months and five days later, I complete the first draft for "All Tomorrow's Children." Let the rewrites begin until . . . the film is done. So it goes . . .

December
Rum cake hangover . . . December 31. 11:59 PM. Shooting the Drive By Truckers at Terminal 5 with the iClips mob.

CUT TO:

TITLE CARD:

"2010"

FADE OUT.
THE END.

Exclusive New "Antithesis" Art for Fall 2010/Spring 2011 Tour

In honor of "Antithesis" closing out 2010 and moving into 2011 with a string of screenings and appearances, I've designed a few pieces art for the new posters and postcards. Expect to start seeing these in place of the original poster as we move into October (my favorite month of the year).

The new looks also go to celebrate the continued tour of "Antithesis." As of September of this year, "Antithesis" has been recognized with the following awards: 2010 Aloha Accolade Award at the Honululu Film Festival (now Honolulu Film Awards), 2010 Silver Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival and Runner-Up Best Fiction Film at the CUNY Asian-American Festival. We've also had the honor of screening at the Quad Cinema in NYC as selected by Cinevision's Asian-American International Film Festival.

Trying to get the film to Europe, Asian, South America Australia - EVERYWHERE. I want to come to your screen in your special corner of the globe.




This October is particularly special as the "Antithesis" team will be attending the this year's New York Comic-Con. (Hint: look for a girl with red hair and a tiger coat). We'll have "Antithesis" posters, postcards, t-shirts (!) and vouchers for the "Antithesis" special edition DVD. After 2011, "Antithesis" goes on the shelf, takes a nap and hibernates. Bad news, right? No.


The good news is that as soon as "Antithesis" completes it's touring/screening cycle, "All Tomorrow's Children" will be in late pre-production and/or production. Along the way, expect exclusive looks at locations, costumes and tons of behind-the-scenes insights into the creation of my first feature film.


What you see now are the pieces that will take "Antithesis" through 2010 and 2011.

Word. Finito.

jce

Satoshi Kon: Anime Revolutionary

I was about to post a blog about some news regarding my plans for Perfect Entropy in the fall. Just as I was typing my first word, I saw a link from my trusted hometown comic shop, Star Clipper, that anime director Satoshi Kon was dead. Needless to say, it's true and it's a definite loss. It's a sad irony that we cherish so much more that which we no longer possess. An unfortunate facet of human nature is to desire that which we do not have, but even more important just to desire to desire. Get it?

When I saw him Kon speak at a weekend-long retrospective of his work at Lincoln Center, I was in awe of someone who was able to speak so plainly about the complexities of distorted realities, persona shifts, and memories blending into dreams and waking. As an anime director, his work has only been allowed a certain audience due to the nature of the form, but those willing to experience something pure and cinematically mesmerizing will gladly find Kon's work more akin to the likes of William Gibson, Francis Bacon, David Cronenberg and a hints of Haruki Murakami.

In honor of Kon, I recommend the following films. If you're a fan of Christopher Nolan, David Lynch, Luis Buñuel or you're just a trippy kid with lots of ideas of parallel universes and time, I HIGHLY suggest discovering some of my favorites of Mr. Kon's work:

(More on Satoshi Kon can be found here: http://www.flicksnews.net/2010/08/influential-anime-director-satoshi-kon.html)


These are my personal favorites , but I suggest you see them all.


<-----"Perfect Blue" - I hear that there's a Hollywood remake being negotiated. Let us hope not . . Studying this film helped me structure "Julya" and explore the idea of "self" vs. "reflection." Highly recommended for the noir, horror and Takeshi Miike fans. The first time I saw the film at the Tivoli in St. Louis for a midnight screening (8-9 years ago?), I experienced the gut wrenching excitment and anxiety of watching a masterpiece take hold of your senses and let it guide you through its mad rabbit hole. I felt it while watching "Old Boy" and "The Proposition" and select others. In an age of celebrity idolatry, reality television and paranoia, "Perfect Blue" stands a prophet to what the world would and did become. "Paprika" - More reality and persona blending mania from
Kon. Here he masters the visualization and sensations of the "mass delusion" - the shared chaos/order of perception and reality.

I've always like how this film fits in the tradition of "Persona," "Inland Empire," and "Mulholland Drive." There's something very mysterious
about an actress losing her self. Highly recommended for fans of The Matrix film (just the one), Lynch, Bergman, Fellini, mushrooms, Inception, etc. You are in for a ride.


"Paranoia Agent" - Kon's only serialized work is a very unique anime that I remember seeing late at night on cable 10 years ago. It wasn't until I lived in New York, and found out about a Kon retrospective at Lincoln Center in the Summer of 2008. Seeing the series for the first time in context and its entirety is amazing.

Imagine walking into a dark room and being submersed to a words, colors, images and various mixed media in a nonlinear blender. Six hours later you walk out a little more conscious of the world around you . . .

Amazing series about the physical manifestation of the cummulative anxieties and paranoia of an interconnected community.

Great storytelling . Take a chance and check it out.


Take the time to see, study and be in the presence of your heroes, idols and mentors as much as possible. Time spent with inspiring company is an investment, so choose well.

{Another blog to follow with exclusive Perfect Entropy news, but I had to share this}.

jce

February Updates (Walking Through the Tree of Life)

The shortest month of the year always ends up being one of the busiest. At least we can see the light of spring making sparse cracks in the ice of our current days. What will you have blossoming when the spring comes?

Februrary 2010 News & Notes:

It's a busy time and a lot of good things are coming up. Here's a quick rundown, but make sure to pay special attention to the "Antithesis Worldwide Pledge Fund."

Antithesis has just been awarded an Aloha Accolade Award for Excellence in Filmmaking by the Honolulu International Film Festival. The ceremony will take place on April 25, 2010 in Honolulu.

This is the first award for the film to date. In order to make sure the film gets more exposure to end up in a theater near you, please pick up a pledge gift by going here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/perfectentropy/antithesis-worldwide

We only have 30 days to reach 100%, and currently we're holding at 9%. If we don't get 100% or more, then no one will be charged. The pledge will succeed only if we reach 100%.

In order to get the fires burning for our spring to the end of the pledge, all $10 level donations will receive an Official "Antithesis" poster. 500 people x 1 $10 poster each = Success.

Also, I'm designing the new DVD art for the Special Edition "Antithesis" release after the pledge, so I'll post samples up for people to vote on for the final cover. You have to pledge first though, cowboys and cowgirls.

Project Updates:

-All Tomorrow's Children:

About halfway through the screenplay now. The note cards turned out to be a great blueprint to craft the script, but even better as something to throw conflicting ideas against. I can't really give anything away about it, but for me the film will end up as a mixture of a Kandinsky painting, Donnie Darko, The Prodigy, The Bomb Squad & The Creatures. Darkly funny, violent and romantic stuff . . .

- Vesica Pisces

The following is the episode list of the first installment of the Vesica Pisces series.

(1) "She Is The Infinite"
(2) "And That Is Why She Has Names"
(3) "Both One and Many"
(4) "She Hides in the Night"
(5) "And Forgets Herself in the Daylight"
(6) "Everyday is a Dream"
(7) "When You Become Someone New"
(8) "Or Maybe We're Still Sleeping"

Together, the titles give an idea about the meaning of the entire series. More to come as the project develops, but American Psycho, Akira and 1984 are some of the more palpable influences here.

-Reverse Bullets
Casting. Designing. Coming soon. I promise.

Completely unrelated, but also of note.

Californication is brilliant. Weeds is close. Netflix's Watch Instantly function is the only thing that can keep me going at night.


Talk soon,
jce


UPDATE: Oh yeah, and WWW.PERFECTENTROPY.COM will be up and & running VERY, VERY soon.

"All Tomorrow's Children" - 011110 update

Stage one of the first Perfect Entropy feature film (or "how many holes can i make in my wall before the script is written?")

More to come . . .