FLATLINERS MOVIE REVIEW 1990 vs 2017 - Which one is best?

In this new web series VS Filmmakers Curt Wiser and Curtis Norton review/compare two movies that are related in some way.

This episode is on Flatliners 1990 and the 2017 remake.  Here it is, hope you enjoy it.  Feel free to share, subscribe and comment:

The original Flatliners from 1990 was Directed by Joel Schumacher only 3 years after he made The Lost Boys and 3 years before he directed the gritty Action/Drama Falling Down. The original film stars Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin and Oliver Platt.

The 2017 Remake stars Ellen Page (Hard Candy, Super, Inception) Diego Luna (Star Wars: Rogue One), Nina Dobrev, James Norton and Kiersey Clemons.  This new version was Directed by Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and was written by  Ben Ripley (Species III).

Curt and Curtis are not just film fans, the are filmmakers.  Their Suspense movie Cam-Girl is available on DVD and Amazon Video on Demand here: https://amzn.com/B01EMOQ81O

WHY YOU SHOULD NOT SHOOT A MOVIE ON YOUR I-PHONE

(Filmmaker Mark Duplass - SXSW Film Festival 2015)

     “The cavalry is not coming” those iconic words were spoken by Mark Duplass during his impactful speech at the SXSW film festival on March 15, 2015.  What he meant by that was as indie filmmakers we often hope to prove ourselves with a movie or two and then expect that Hollywood will come calling, well times have changed.  That was the old paradigm, before the digital camera revolution led to at least 10 times more features being made each year.  In 1998 just over 500 features were submitted to the Sundance film festival, in 2015 that number surged to 4,105. (1)  “That’s the bad news,” Duplass said, the good news is that “you are the cavalry.”  This poignant comment was met with applause, we recognized what he meant before he even finished his thought.  These days creatives need to make their own opportunities for themselves and not wait to be bankrolled by an angel investor that will never land.  This really is an important speech for any indie filmmaker to listen to at least once.  Here it is in its entirety:

     I could not agree more with everything Mark says here..... except for one part.  During the Q and A he exclaims just go out and make your movie, shoot it on your I-Phone, that's what we did.  With that point, Mark was referencing the 2015 Sundance hit Tangerine which writer/director Sean Baker chose to shoot entirely on an I-phone.  The movie made waves in the press and got a wide release which even included a theatrical push.  It sounds like an indie filmmakers dream, any first time filmmaker from off the street can just make a movie with their phone and become a Sundance darling. Right?  I think not, this article will explain why I feel that is not the case and why you should not make a feature on a cell phone.

The reasons break down like this:

- There is much more behind the scenes that helped to make Tangerine the success it is.

- Nothing to gain from shooting it that way.

- The press knows that this is old news now.

      Headlines say: A movie shot on an I-phone is a hit at Sundance.  Since then many articles and members of the media proudly boast that aspiring filmmakers can just make their movie on a cell phone.  But what the majority of these stories leave out are the technical details of the production of Tangerine and that these filmmakers were already successful from their prior features.

      Tangerine was reported to have been shot on an I-phone with important accessories including an anamorphic lens adapter made by Moondog labs.  This gave the movie a full scope widescreen aspect ratio.  They used a great app called Filmic Pro, which is a powerful pro video app that gives you fine tuned control over the video quality with simulated frame rate, exposure and focus settings to let you capture high end video on your phone.  In addition they used a Smoothee brand steadicam rig designed to get you smooth camera work on your cellphone.  Sean Baker has made it clear that they had professional sound gear and microphones to record the street-wise dialogue of Tangerine. That is expensive gear that requires a professional sound mixer.  If you want your audio to be of a professional quality, you cannot use the audio recorded on your phone.  The movie also had the standard amount of post-production work done to make the colors picture perfect and the audio crystal clear.  Again that would require a lot of time from dedicated people skilled in post-production.  So, when you look at it like that, it is not as easy as just “go on, make a movie with your phone.”

      How about the filmmakers behind Tangerine?  Among the executive producers of the movie we have Mark and Jay Duplass.  Up until that point the Duplass Brothers had produced around 30 shorts and feature films, many of which premiered at Sundance before Tangerine did in 2015.  Because of that that had Hollywood agents, lawyers and Managers on their side to help promote their projects including Tangerine.  It is clear that the Duplass Brothers had a good relationship with Sundance by the time Tangerine was was submitted for their consideration.  I am not saying this connection between the filmmakers and the festival is fowl play, but it goes without saying that this is a big advantage.  Sean Baker was no newbie either, he had directed four features before Tangerine including Starlet (2012) about a young single female pornstar trying to find her way.  Starlet stimulated quite a response at SXSW when it screened there, establishing Sean Baker as a filmmaker worth keeping an eye on.

      It is safe to say these filmmakers involved with Tangerine had a leg up compared to any unknown, first time filmmaker who might decide to shoot a feature on a cellphone.  As a first time filmmaker trying to break in today you need this debut film to act as your calling card, it must be as good as it can be.  It has become increasingly difficult for indie films to garner attention while the competition gets more crowded each year.  You may have seen The Puffy Chair (2005), the debut film that put the Duplass Brothers on the map.  It was a small, micro budget road trip comedy that really set them on a path for the rest of their careers.  Well guess what, this was the debut feature, but it was not their first.  In 1996 Jay and Mark Duplass produced a feature length, black and white exploitation flick called Connect 5.  That movie remained unseen for about a decade.  Jay Duplass has discredited this movie in interviews saying “I made a feature called Connect 5, which only about 17 people have seen.  It was not very good.” (2)  So even they made a movie that was a disappointment for them.  The Duplass Bothers and many other successful indie filmmakers have one thing in common, they persevere despite countless rejections and miss-steps.

     My next point is that you have nothing to gain from shooting your movie on a cellphone.  While apps like Filmic pro will enable you to get top quality 4K video out of your cellphone, it is all simulated.  Having a camera with a real lens on it makes a difference, it gives you real focal depth and will also teach you more about the art of camera operation then moving a settings dial on a cell phone app.  If you use a set of lenses to make your movie, a wide angle lens will give you a totally different dramatic feel than other shots through a long lens.  A cellphone does not give you that option.  The small size of a cellphone is handy, but a DSLR camera that can shoot 4K like the Nikon D500 is about the same size and can get you the same flexibility in tight spaces.  But wait, the price of shooting on a cellphone set up is better right?  Only marginally.  Let's break it down using what they had on the set of Tangerine as an example:

(Newest model of the I-phone for this example)

• Apple I-phone 7 plus $669.99
• Moondog lab lens $175
• Smoothee steadicam (w/mount) $200
• Filmic Pro App. $20

     TOTAL: $1,059.99

     You can buy a brand new 4K DSLR camera with a lens for around $1,800 - $2,000.  So the cost really should not be a factor.  But look at all the publicity Tangerine got for being shot on an I-phone.  That could happen for my movie right?  Sorry true believers, I think not and that brings us to the last point I hope to make on this topic.

     Members of the media do not care about an unknown filmmaker who shot a movie on an I-phone.  Yes, Sean Baker got a lot of press with Tangerine and the focus of most of this revolved around shooting it on a cellphone.  But remember that these filmmakers had established careers already and the movie premiered at Sundance.  The odds of getting into Sundance are bleak, and should never be something an indie filmmaker should expect as part of their marketing plan.  Sean Baker is quick to point out that Tangerine was not the first feature to be shot on an I-phone.  In an interview I heard Baker mention this and the filmmaker’s name…. but he blanked on the title of the movie and so would anyone else, because that movie got no attention.  You might say, “I’m seeing all these articles about Unsane, the new movie Steven Soderbergh shot entirely on an I-Phone, so that story still has interest Curt, ya big dummy.” While I appreciate your Sanford and Son reference I have to remind everyone that Soderbergh is a HUGE name in the filmmaking world.  Not just with his indie hits like Sex Lies and Videotape (1989) but also his blockbuster studio movies like Traffic (2000) and Ocean’s Eleven (2001).  Soderbergh at this point could shoot a movie on one of those worthless Game Boy 8-bit cameras and the press would write about it (see below).

                                            Game Boy 8-Bit Camera

    In closing I must say there are exceptions to this.  Red is about to release their Hydrogen cellphone in early 2018.  The Hydrogen will not only give you top quality 4K video capture but you can attach real proprietary lenses to it.  This phone is also said to have a holographic display that will not require wearing 3-D glasses.  This is not a phone, this is a high end pocket camera that can also make phone calls.  Maybe the first feature shot on the Hydrogen will make headlines, I would not be surprised.  While I do not recommend you shoot an entire feature on a cellphone, I do see it as a valuable option for filmmakers.  Shoot a web series on your I-Phone.  Use it to do quick camera tests on technical scouts for your feature.  Why not shoot insert shots on your phone during post production if you do not have any other option.  Further proof of this is Sean Baker's latest feature The Florida Project, which was shot on an Arri Alexa Mini camera.  He did choose to shoot one scene of the movie on an I-Phone, they have not said why they shot one scene that way, maybe time will tell. The heart of everything Mark Duplass said in his landmark 2015 speech is correct, as creatives you MUST create and not make excuses for yourself.  You need a body of work, not just talking about how this project was almost produced or how so and so was interested in that script.  By all means go out and create, but please be as prepared as possible before production and be smart about it.    

- Curt Wiser is the Writer/Director of the suspense movie Cam-Girl.  He also works in Visual Effects and is a published author.  

(SOURCES:) 
1- Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film.  By Emanuel Levy NYU Press 2001. 
2- Directing on a Dime: Puffy Chairs, Cyrus and the Film School Question.  Moviemaker.com Andy Young 2011.  

       

DAVE BULLIS PODCAST #168 - Curt Wiser (Writer/Director of Cam-Girl)

     Please play the Dave Bullis Podcast above and read my notes that elaborate on what is being said.  The run time is listed that corresponds with each entry.  For more reference please give our movie Cam-Girl a watch on DVD or Amazon Video here and if you can leave a review it would be most appreciated.  


4:55  -  The interview starts.  If it sounds like this starts mid conversation that is because it did.  This is a good editing choice because all that was really cut out was us greeting each other and then I said "Hello from sunny Florida", which led to the rest of the conversation as you hear it now.

6:20  -  There is a thriving Independent Film Community here in Florida.  A few production companies would include: And You Films, Adrenaline Films, Sanborn Productions, Omni Productions and Fusion Studios.  There are dozens of Post-Production houses, Filmmaking Groups such as Orlando Filmmakers Coalition and Film Florida also major Film Festivals such as the Academy Award Qualifying Florida Film Festival.

10:10  -  The book I am referring to is "Night of the Living Dead: Behind the Scenes of the Most Terrifying Zombie Movie Ever" By Joe Kane and Phantom of the Movies. Here is the Amazon Link.

11:57  -  Dave brings up this new George Romero movie Road of the Dead.  Here is an IMDB link.

16:25  -  Many filmmakers have started with a horror film and then moved into other genres.  We mention Sam Raimi (from Evil Dead to Spider-Man and Oz: the Great and the Powerful).  Other examples include James Wan (From Saw to Death Sentence and Furious 7), most recently Edgar Wright (Shawn of the Dead to Baby Driver.)

22:50  -  I have to admit this question Dave asked caught me off guard, which is why it was a great question.  That first directing credit was a 1 minute long animated short called Power Grab.  Here it is on YouTube.

26:16  -  I mention how getting credits on IMDB is an important first step.  The way I got listed on it back in the day was sending a link to them in their new title submission form that proved that Power Grab played a film festival.  Another way is to submit your short or feature to a major festival through Withoutabox.com.  Withoutabox has a partnership with IMDB so their submission feeds are connected.

30:37  -  Jim Uhls, the screenwriter of Fight Club can be heard giving this same advice I repeat here in this Indie Film Hustle Podcast.

33:46  -  Part of my research for writing Cam-Girl included reading Candy Girl by Diablo Cody.  Here is an Amazon link to this tremendous read.  

51:30  -  I talk about one of our Executive Producers Jay Aubrey working with famed indie producer Roger Corman, here is an IMDB link to that movie.  Jay Aubrey's father James T. Aubrey was President of the CBS television network from 1959-1965, here is his bio.

1:03:58  -  Buried has an interesting story behind it.  Here is screenwriter Chris Sparling talking about it on the Selling Your Screenplay Podcast.

1:06:07  -  There are a few more stories I could tell about what went on behind the scenes of Cam-Girl, I chose to leave it at these two.  To add to the story of the clothes washer that filled up and just stopped working:  That soapy water stayed in there for several days because we were very busy on set.  At one point people were saying what's that smell, so the first day off we got we had to carry the washer outside and drain the water out.

1:08:53  -  Like Dave is saying here, I have worked crew on shorts (these are NOT listed on my IMDB) and on those sets I saw that crew and even actors never showed up or were very late.  These shorts did not pay their cast and crew, I highly recommend that you pay people a fair day rate, especially on a feature.

1:09:40  -  Dave talks about movies that are set in a rented house.  Here are some other examples of contained movies set in a house that I recommend:  The Invitation, Extremities, Shallow Grave, The Anniversary Party, Sanctuary; Quite a Conundrum, The Big Chill and It's a Disaster.

1:14:50  -  Primer is a great example of a low budget Science Fiction concept that worked.  Here are a few others: Circle, Cube, Timer, The One I Love, Sleep Dialer.

1:23:15  -  I mentioned 102 Blockbuster stores in the U.S.  This was true when I looked it up a few years ago.  As this March 2016 Consumerist.com article reports, they are down to 50 Blockbuster retail stores now.  Sadly, most of the brick and mortar video stores have been replaced by Redbox style kiosks.  Independent video stores still exist but are more rare than ever.

1:23:20  -  As legend has it, before Quentin Tarantino broke out with Reservoir Dogs, he worked at Video Archives, an independent video store that was located in Manhattan Beach, CA.  Many aspiring filmmakers started to work at video stores pointing to how Quentin has said that he treated his job there like it was a film school.  

1:25:16  -  The movie Dave is talking about, on the story of a woman searching for the money shown in Fargo is called Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014).  

1:27:00  -  Some more quick final thoughts: Watch great movies and read great screenplays.  Most of the free screenplays you will find online are shooting scripts which is a totally different form than spec scripts.  They sell major motion picture screenplays in e-book and paperback form.  You only need to read a handful to get the idea.  I have read screenplays for Alien, The Usual Suspects, Network, Hard Candy and Inception. 

If you really want to succeed, the one thing everyone working in entertainment has in common is..... They never gave up.   

For Directors: try your hand at writing, or become good friends with a screenwriter.  Get to know people who own production gear and know how to use it properly.   

For Actors: Work can lead to more work, try Stage work or web series, commercials, anything you are comfortable with.  Attend Film Festivals and any other networking opportunities.  


THANK YOU FOR LISTENING and BIG THANKS TO DAVE BULLIS for taking me on as a guest.  




   

WHY WONDER WOMAN CRUSHED THE MUMMY AT THE BOX OFFICE

   

      The weekend tallies are in, Wonder Woman earned over $57 Million while The Mummy (2017) wound up placing second making only $32,246,120 domestic on its opening weekend.  It is even more impressive to note that a week prior, Wonder Woman made over $103 Million domestic for its opening weekend.  It is even more embarrassing that The Mummy was sandwiched in between Wonder Woman and the family film Captain Underpants. And yes, the point of that sentence was because it allowed my to type the title Captain Underpants.

     So why did Wonder Woman emerge victorious?  There are a lot of contributing factors we will look at. Lastly, I hope to show that part of the reason was not the content of these screenplays but also the business decisions that went behind the development of these scripts.

     Full disclosure here, like most of America I did not see this reboot of The Mummy but I did plunk down the cash to see Wonder Woman on this pivotal weekend.  Given that, I will not comment on the stories of either of these movies but rather explore the differences in how they were developed and released.  My goal in writing this is not to ridicule any poorly performing movie, but to show how the film industry can get back on track, make their money while also fostering great storytelling.  I am a filmmaker myself, I want to see more quality movies in our cineplexes.

Here are the things I feel contributed to these box office results:

1. Critical Reviews/Word of Mouth
2. Marketing Approach/Public Perception
3. Process of developing and writing the screenplay.

     We live in a world of non-stop news and information access.  Because of this and trusted review sites like Rotten Tomatoes, moviegoers can and often will for an opinion about a movie before it is even released. As of 6/12/2017 The Mummy had the stale Rotten Tomatoes critic score of 16 percent, while Wonder Woman was standing tall at 93 percent.  These numbers were about the same leading up to the release of The Mummy, which did not help consumer confidence at all.  My friends and I were talking about how bad we expected this movie would be, we would overhear strangers saying the same thing.  Word of mouth can make or break any product or service.  People are more apt to take their friends word for something than listen to what a multi-million dollar ad campaign has to say.  The daily breakdown between these two movies speaks volumes:

• Wonder Woman -

6/9/17 $15.7 Million

6/10/17 $24 Million

6/11/17 $18.8 Million

• The Mummy -

6/9/17 $12 Million

6/10/17 $11.5 Million

6/11/17 $8.1 Million

     As you can see word of mouth quickly caught up with The Mummy after Friday night, no matter how fast Tom Cruise was running.  Wonder Woman made more on Saturday and Sunday than that Friday while The Mummy did the opposite.  It just goes to show you how much power we really have as a mass of consumers.  The Film industry does all they can to resist that, the deals Hollywood makes with the movie theater chains is structured so the studios make the highest percentage of profit on the opening weekend.  No wonder why they often spend upwards of 100 Million to advertise these prospective blockbusters leading up to their release.

     That brings us to how these movies were marketed and how that could effect public opinion.  For over a month and especially on the week of the release they pushed The Mummy HARD.  According to a Variety article, Universal Studios spent much more than their competition on television ads to promote The Mummy.  Based on estimates generated from 5/29 – 6/4, The Mummy spent $7.83 Million that week while Wonder Woman accounted for $3.64 Million in TV ads.  I can tell you that during the week of The Mummy's release, they not only filed an ample amount of commercial time slots, but on Universal/Comcast owned networks such as NBC and NBC sports net were littered with pop up advertisements for The Mummy during regular programming.  Spike TV played The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001) back to back all day broken up with extended promotional spots featuring the cast of The Mummy (2017) talking about the movie.  When people see something advertised this much it can make the wrong kind of impression.  It is like the boy at prom who is trying too hard... all the girls would say “he is acting strangely, there must be something wrong with him,” and then he ends up going home alone.

     Our final factor is what I find to be the most interesting and problematic about the industry since I am a screenwriter.  First it requires understanding of the WGA arbitration process, If you already know all about this feel free to skip this paragraph.  The Writers' Guild of America has the arduous task of deciding who gets writing credits on Studio level features if there is any dispute among the screenwriters. Writers work diligently on writing an arbitration letter to the guild that supports their claim that most of what ended up on the screen started on their pages. The reason this is so important is not just to have your name on the poster, it is because screen credit entitles the writer to residual money based on its success.  The Guild has set a standard of not crediting any more than three screenwriters for any type of writing credit.  What this means is there could have been 20 writers who contributed to a film, but the public will never know as most will stay uncredited.

     A few things can happen when many writers are writing their draft of the same movie, it can cause the story, character and theme to get real muddy.  It also means that most of the writers are trying to change as much of any of the earlier drafts as they can, because if the majority of the final shooting script is theirs, they are in the best position for screen credit and that extra cash.  This is like a battle with words.  The Mummy (2017) had about as many writing credits as the WGA would allow.  The credits are as follows:

(Screenplay) – David Koepp and Christopher McQuarrie And Dylan Kussman 

 (screen Story By) – Jon Spaihts and Alex Kurtzman & Jenny Lumet

     These are some of the best writers the business has to offer..... when their work is their own. David Koepp penned Spider-Man (2002) [The good one] and Christopher McQuarrie wrote one of the best crime films ever made The Usual Suspects (1995), but they wrote those on their own.  It stands to reason that if you want the best chances for a solid story with a cohesive tone and vision, you should try to have as few screenwriters involved as possible.  The studio executives these days tend to hire a bunch of writers to rewrite one script because it shows they are doing all they can to make the script better, at least that is what the theory is anyway.  This is mealy speculation, but when you see three screenwriters listed on a movie it can often mean that there were plenty of other writers involved that are now uncredited.  This must-read article from Den of Geek reveals that The Flintstones (1994) had 35 screenwriters hired to work on the screenplay, leaving the WGA to say Yabba Dabba WHO? Catwoman (2004) notoriously had 28 writers working on it, and all that clawing did not save it from wining a Razzie Award for worst picture that year.  Both Catwoman and The Flintstones had, you guessed it, three screenwriters each with screenplay credit.  Well there you have it, I think we can close the case on this one. Thank you for reading.

- Curt Wiser is the Writer/Director of the suspense movie Cam-Girl, which is now available on DVD, Amazon Video and other outlets.

DIY FILMMAKERS: HOW TO MAKE ANY TRIPOD WORK WITH YOUR CELL PHONE

In this episode we show you how to make any tripod work with your cellphone to create steady camera movement.  

DIY Filmmakers is a series dedicated to helping this new generation of filmmakers produce professional work on a slim budget.

Here is the video.  If you have any questions feel free to EMAIL us or leave a comment.

As the video mentioned, Tangerine (2015) was shot entirely on an I-phone and became a hit at the Sundance Film Festival.  The movie's Director/Writer Sean Baker has been open about what tools were used to get the most out of this pocket camera.  Here are the details:

Filmic Pro:  This is a video APP they used to get high quality video and multiple image controls for the production. www.filmicpro.com

MoodDog Labs Lends Adapter:  This was a small adapter that went over the tiny I Phone lends to shoot in a wide, scope 2.35 : 1 aspect ratio.  Official web site.  

 Smoothee Steadicam:  a small stabilizing rig was used to achieve all those shots but without the shakes and bumps.  Smoothee Official site 

Lastly, they recorded the dialogue on set using the same professional microphones and recording equipment you would see on other indie film sets.

   

Your hosts: Curt Wiser (Writer/Director/Camera Operator) and Curtis Norton (Editor) have many credits which include, Cam-Girl, a suspense movie now available on DVD and Amazon Video On Demand. 

Here is our trailer for Cam-Girl.  It has over 59,000 views, can that many people be wrong?  - Wait, don't answer that.  

THE BELKO EXPERIMENT (NO SPOILER REVIEW)

     When I first saw the trailer for The Belko Experiment, complete with the tag line "Battle Royal [meets] Office Space", they had my twelve dollars... SOLD.  This is a movie with a strong concept, it reminds you of a real life representation of that question they asked you in ethics class, you know, about the sinking ship and who would you save because you can only save a few. 

In case you have not seen the teaser trailer, here it is:

     That being said, I am a fan of both Battle Royal and Office Space and after seeing this movie, that comparison is a stretch.  If you expect the level of observational humor found in Office Space, The Belko Experiment will disappoint you.  It did not disappoint me however, I feel The Belko Experiment is a bold, well crafted Horror film with moments of dark comedy.  Some reviewers have said that the movie was not funny at all, I feel they missed some things, or just do not enjoy dark humor. For a non-spoiler example, the ironic upbeat music choices throughout the movie, such as the Spanish language version of the song “I will Survive” at the opening of the movie.  There are other subtle bits of comedy involving the water supply or visuals that are funny given they are juxtaposed with this dire situation.  What may also be giving people false expectations is that the script was written by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Super and Tromeo and Juliet.)  This is a departure from James Gunn's earlier work and isn't that allowed?  The way Kevin Smith did with Red State, or Richard Linklater did with Before Sunrise and its two sequels.  If I had to pick a movie to compare this one to... (Gun to my head).... Severance (2006) feels like a good fit.

     If you are looking for a gritty, strange movie that realistically portrays how different walks of life would behave when pushed to their limit, look no further.  The writing is solid, things are set up that are later payed off in ways you probably will not expect.  The logistics of the movie hold up, these people are trapped in a building in the middle of nowhere in the capitol city of Columbia.  What is truly frightening is knowing that these overseas companies that work with the United States Government pay people so much money Americans do put themselves in very vulnerable positions and agree to do things they normally would not.  The behavior of these characters are consistent with who they are and their actions are not always cut and dry.  You can tell the characters in The Belko Experiment are grappling with the ethics and hard choices that are forced upon them.

     John C. McGinley (SCRUBS) delivers in his role, a kind of hopeless romantic-sociopath.  It could be said that a bit more time could have been devoted to character development, that way we could know what these people are made of and care about them before all the bloodshed.  There was definitely some character work in the beginning and given the attention span these days it may have been enough.  It is worth noting that there was room to add more character bits because the movie had a total run time of 88 minutes, which is short for a studio feature.  When all the smoke clears, I can say I enjoyed The Belko Experiment and recommend it for Horror fans or people that find the concept of the film intriguing because it without a doubt, delivers on the premise.

     For all you independent screenwriters and filmmakers out there, take a close look at contained movies like The Belko Experiment, because that gives you a marketable film on a lower budget.  There are many low budget, independent movies that have a similar kill or be killed story, Circle (2015), The KillingRoom (2009) and Breathing Room (2008), to name a few.  At the risk of enraging the rest of the office, I would go as far to say The Belko Experiment is Lord of the Flies for the Twitter generation.

This review was written by Curt Wiser, Writer-Director of the movie Cam-Girl now available on DVD and Amazon Video.

SCAMBUSTERS: DO YOU NEED TO CHANGE BOTH HEADLIGHTS?

     Hello everyone.  Here is the first episode of our band new web series Scambusters.  It is a parody of the hit Discovery Channel show Mythbusters but it is also meant to help prove or disprove common scams or life questions you may have. 

     It has been said that if you have to change one headlight, you should change them both because the new one will be brighter than the other.  The Scambusters crew found the answer, and here are the results:

     Do you have a possible scam or burning question you want the Scambusters to solve?  

Please email us at scambusterstv@gmail.com   

Thank you for watching, please share and comment!  We'll see you next time.

Scambusters is a parody meant for entertainment and educational purposes.   This show is NOT licensed or affiliated with Kari Byron, Grant Imahara, Tony Belleci, Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman or anyone associated with Mythbusters or the Discovery Channel.