Wow – it’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since THIS happened. Every year is so different from the next, I feel like I’ve lived a couple dozen lives by now. And TRIPPIN’ continues to have its own lives, too. Who’d’ve thunk it way back when as we traipsed through the woods with buckets of gore for two weeks and no budget to speak of?

Yes, it’s been quite a journey over the years with the filmmaking, festivals, travels and other assorted adventures. But I think it’s time to bring this blog to its rightful end rather than just leave it sitting here neglected, wondering if any more’s to come.

Luckily we get to end on a high note. TRIPPIN’s now available on HULU! Check it out if you’re so inclined. Hell, you can even watch it on your phone – we won’t stop you (though the drug trip puppet scene’s far more fun on the big screen.)

Our little movie’s had quite the life and we hope you’ve enjoyed the zany ride as much as we have. Thanks for following our adventures. FYI, many of the original Deviants are still collaborating on some upcoming projects – some just for fun like our web series MARTINI MOM & DEVIL SPAWN, others of a larger scale with actual budgets (which likely won’t go public for another year or two – bigger projects take more time.)

Meanwhile, I’m not very public myself these days, but suffice it to say I’m trying desperately to curb my gypsy travel habits for a spell (oh, but I’m so in love with Barcelona — the puppets! — no, no, no – aback you evil gypsy mind curse!) so I can focus on my latest passion – fiction writing (I’m being published next month!) — and gearing up for our next, most ambitious film and transmedia project yet.

News on all of that is forthcoming, but not right away and likely not here. As such, this blog bids you adieu and thanks you for following us and being a part of this super fun journey!

Cheers, Devi

Season’s Greetings, One and All!

We here at Deviant Pictures haven’t been super public of late as we’re embroiled in  a daunting load of projects (as a team and individually) which hasn’t afforded us much time to stop and write about it. While most won’t be available for public consumption for another 2 years—they’re  rather bigger than past efforts and subsequently take more time—we have, in the interim, thrown together a wacky little web series just to keep the family together and remember our roots – sort of like a ‘family vacation’, only fun (well it is for us anyway, we hope you agree.)

Check out our latest Episode 7 of MARTINI MOM & DEVIL SPAWN – “The Screaming of the Hams” – as well as episodes 1-6 right HERE.

Happy New Year!

cheers,

Devi & Co-Conspirators

Drink up, Folks!  MARTINI MOM & DEVIL SPAWN has officially launched. Here’s what early critics are saying:

“…hilarious, sharp and sardonic”  ~Theron Neel, PlanetFury.com

“…a gonzo horror comedy series which mixes smart dialogue, blood splatter and its own wicked sense of humour.” ~Keri O’Shea, BrutalasHell.com

So pop over to: http://martinimomanddevilspawn.com/episodes-and-videos/ and check out episode 1:  “The Motherlode” in which our absolutely fabulous heroine unexpectedly births the spawn of Satan mid-martini (don’t you just hate it when that happens?)  Also, while you’re there, check out our new youtube channel and if you really want to be a pal, maybe even subscribe.  Thanks for your support!

I’m just back from the truly wonderful NEW ZEALAND with 13 hours to spare before the next trip.  Our overseas shoot was a blast and we should be airing it by late June.  Other trip highlights include my first taste of abalone (pictured right – sublime!) and a new-found raging flat-white addiction – just what I need, another vice – d’oh!  Hopefully I’ll have time to blog about the full experience, but it’s been hard to find the time anymore.  The three-ring-circus that is my life gets crazier by the day…I’ve come home to discover a lovely 3-page layout of the story of Deviant Pictures and TRIPPIN’ in the April issue of FANGORIA (written by yours truly!)  Find out the truth about trippin’s digital penis and other fun Deviant trivia (available at newsstands now!)

Next up, the always fun GASPARILLA FILM FEST in Tampa where DOLORES will screen, followed by a return to Michiana where I’m to give lectures at Notre Dame and the Riverbend Film Fest, plus shoot part of a new episode of MARTINI MOM & DEVIL SPAWN (the series launches in mid-April with our DVD release -  if all goes according to plan…) as well as our new documentary (1 of 2 in the works currently)  Midwesterners can also catch DOLORES at the super awesome Chicago Horror Society’s Fearfest.

Perhaps most exciting is the official launch of pre-production on our next narrative feature.  It’s not the one I expected, which is half the fun.  I do so love surprises (nice ones anyway).  We’re still riding some other development rollercoasters with various projects, but this one just became official.  Updates soon….

As always, my apologies for sucking on the communication front.  I actually had to take an indefinite sabbatical from teaching at the Academy to accommodate the rather intense writing, filming and travel schedule I’m juggling over the next few months.  Things should, in theory, calm down for a spell come late June. Perhaps a personal life and communication skills will return then.  Or not.  To quote Wally the Bartender, “one must never be wed to one outcome.”  Words to live by for sure.  Ah, the theme from XANADU just came on my iTUNES – so, now it’s time we dance!  More soon…

Congrats, Team!  DOLORES is going out with a bang in the final months of her fest tour.   Catch her at the super awesome Megacon in Orlando (details HERE).   She’s also making appearances at the wonderful Taos and Durango Fests later this month and back in Florida at the Gasparilla Festival in April.   Hope to see you there!

I’ve another fun film to share.  Check out the delightful animated “Slimtime” HERE.

People had told me Berlin is magic.  Now I understand.  As I see the old, the new, the saved, and the mostly destroyed, I gain ever more insight into things I’d only previously read about.   The impact’s far greater than I ever could have imagined.   I daresay Berlin has already changed my life.  Who could have guessed?

On Day 2, Berlin-Greeter, this fabulous (and free!) service, set me up with a wonderful local hostess who gave me and new fest buddy, Abel, a 3-hour walking tour of the city.  I am in awe.  History is alive and all around us. I’ve found answers to questions I didn’t even realize I had.  And I’ve formed new questions for which I suspect there are no answers.  Above all, I understand the value of freedom like never before.   It is our most precious blessing.

Admittedly, I am getting to know mostly foreigners and Ex-Pats.  It’s such a wonderfully international city.  New friends from Turkey, France, Portugal, Norway and Italy regale me with stories and ideas that have my inner gypsy all aflutter.  Disney got it wrong.  It’s not such a small world after all, only sometimes we try to make it that way.

Above all, I have learned two valuable truths:  1)  I must come back and live here at some point.  2) I indeed want to make our next films in Europe.   There is a freedom here that I fear the U.S. filmmaking industry has misplaced.   Film is still a revered artform – not merely a business.  There seems to be less fear, less concern about tried-and-true formulas and marketing packages.    Interesting faces and original visions are valued above “safety”.  It’s liberating…and a relief.

But enough waxing philosophical.  There’s a festival on which to report…  I am increasingly humbled as I see the other films screened.  Where have these filmmakers been all my life?  Before coming here, I was beginning to feel like I’d seen it all.  After a hundred or so fests the past few years, it was becoming increasingly rare to find a truly original story told in a truly unique fashion.  Is there a point when there are simply no new ideas?  I now believe the answer is a resounding, “No!”  Phew!

We’ve had our first 2 screenings and I daresay we’ve never screened in a more impressive block of genre shorts.  There was not a cliché in the bunch.  To the contrary, they were some of the most original horror shorts I have ever seen.  The block is aptly named “Nightmares and Dark Tales.”  The nightmare imagery is stunning.  It’s a relief to go to brand new places.  Perhaps I’m too jaded for porn, but lately it’s felt like horror should go for a stroll on the beach with its mother and ask about that “not-so fresh feeling”, if you know what I mean.

There is simply no need for horror clichés.  I now have proof.  I hope these fine directors go on to make features as inspired as their shorts.  Our beloved  genre needs them.  It’s time to raise the bar.  For movie descriptions and links, click HERE.

The other shorts in various genres have also been remarkable.  I’m pleased to find Germans seem partial to dark comedy if the  films I’ve seen are any indication.  Some favorites have included:  Water Lilies in Bloom (a wonderful fairytale by the “Norwegian Paul Bartel” inspired by his time as the only man at a “fat camp.”) And  Out of Erasers which somehow reminded me of “classic noir meets Godard’s Alphaville meets A-ha’s TAKE ON ME video.”

There are too many more to mention at present.  It’s actually Day 5 already and my intention to blog daily proves to have been delusional.  There is simply no time.  However, I will try to recap some of the highlights tomorrow.  Last night I experienced one of the most delightfully weird and wonderful experiences yet and it has resulted in a new filmmaking goal for which I may just need some help from twisted kindred spirits.  But now, some underground bunkers beckon….

I’d like to offer a big thanks to R. O’Donnell and Static Media for their delightful Deviant Write-Up: http://staticmultimedia.com/movies/features-interviews-movies/award-winning-horror-director-devi-snively-interview

Also, congrats Team Dolores - we will be following Death’s footsteps to the magical wonderland that is the Anchorage Film Festival!

Happy almost-Halloween, Folks!  Providence, Rhode Island is the PERFECT place to celebrate the season we are finding at the super awesome RI Horror Film fest, where I’m pleased to share DOLORES (and I ) were awarded with the “Grand Prize for Directorial Discovery”!  I am truly honored (especially because the trophy itself – right – is so very awesome.)  Providence is amazing and you can easily see where Lovecraft got his inspiration.  The architecture’s stunning and the seafood sublime (evidenced by some super tasty tentacles seen left.)

There have been some truly great films – my faves so far  include:  HATCH, CABINE OF THE DEAD and INCUBATOR. Shortly we’re off on a Lovecraft walking tour sponsored by the Providence Historical Society.  The attention to detail in everything here is so inspiring.  To the right is our hotel’s lobby, and below is the ceiling at our new favorite bar – the Dorrance ( a 100-year-old former bank turned upscale cocktail bar and restaurant).  Sadly, RI has just received huge cuts in their film tax incentives, but I still foresee coming back here to shoot.  The people are so wonderful, the sights offer ready-made production design, and the crisp air is invigorating (how I love a proper autumn)  Thanks to the wonderful folks at RI Horror Fest for such a wonderful experience and super fun time!

Congrats, Team and thanks to the kind folks at the Madison Horror Film Festival where DOLORES just won awards for Best Short Film and Best Director!

This weekend catch her in Santa Fe and Fargo!

It’s the season of Berlin!  Last month we saw the 80s band perform live at the Hollywood Bowl (Terri Nunn is hotter than ever – you go, Girl!) and now I’ve learned DOLORES and I have been invited out to one of Germany’s biggest fests, The Interfilm Festival  – another first for the Deviant oeuvre!  Yes, we will go to THE Berlin – you know the one in Germany that used to be divided by the wall?  I am beside myself with joy.  I’ve long wanted to visit this city I’ve fantasized about for years (ah, sweet visions of teenage me dancing in my bedroom to “Dancing in Berlin” …East, such a mystery / West, open history…”

Meanwhile, DOLORES continues to rake in the festivals:  Fargo Fantastic, Mike Snoonian’s awesome Shudderfest in Boston (along with other Deviant shorts), two fests in Santa Fe, and another in East Lansing.  I will also follow her out to the Rhode Island Festival at month’s end (they boast a Lovecraft walking tour about which I’m particularly excited – the perfect way to welcome Halloween!)

Phew!  I don’t know if she can keep this up (or if we can.)  It might just be time to shoot another film.  In fact it just so happens… well, more news on that shortly.  In the meantime, congrats, Team – our baby’s making her way in the world.  You all rock!