A big round of thanks  to Martini Mom‘s champion R. O’Donnell over at Static MultiMedia for his piece about all things Spawn. You can read the full story HERE. And catch up on episodes of our wacky new web series  1-7 HERE. Up next Episode 8 p where we visit the set of THE HOBBIT to find out what happened…

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

We are fine, albeit headed upstate New York for a few days as the Swiss Family Robinson routine—though fun at first—has worn thin. We’ve been out of power since Monday evening and they don’t expect it back until next Monday.

No doubt you’ve seen images and heard about the devastation in NYC and NJ. It’s no exaggeration. My heart goes out to all of those who’ve suffered loss and damage. We’ve been incredibly lucky—cozy in front of the fire, sipping wine, reading Tolstoy and ghost stories aloud, and getting lots of writing done (by candlelight when it gets dark, with a fountain pen no less! Sort of sexy really.)

But it’s starting to get chilly and Agustin’s giving a talk up North, so I’m tagging along (hotel has a gym, indoor pool and Jacuzzi – nice!)

My cell phone still has no signal and I’m currently online at the ‘think tank’ on campus (I shall be slow to catch up on all of the messages – my apologies – but thanks for the concern and good wishes). It’s surreal to see trees co-mingling with power lines and the gorgeous autumn leaves all fallen in one fell swoop.

But to balance all the devastation and suffering you are no doubt hearing about, and which I certainly don’t mean to underestimate in any way (I repeat, we have been very lucky), I wanted to share some little ray of good that has come out of the situation…

In the days preceding the storm there was this incredible sense of shared community I don’t think I’ve felt since the 70s/80s. We were all in this together, shopping for batteries and canned goods and sharing our thoughts. It seems we have so few broad-scale shared experiences anymore. Things are far more niche-oriented these days. In a weird way – there was almost something nice about it —a bonding experience, not to mention a nice reminder of how lucky and safe we exist most of the time.

Experiencing the storm itself was also remarkable. From afar, having read about and seen footage of so many tragedies around the world the past few decades—the Tsunami, Katrina, 9/11—not to mention the endless wars and acts of terrorism spanning the globe—I think I’d forgotten what firsthand impending dread feels like. Our worlds can become so myopic if we let them. Many friends back in L.A. are expressing feelings of guilt going about their business on just another sunny day. But why should they? They didn’t wish this on the East Coast. Still, I know where they’re coming from. I’ve felt very removed from the “world” in my own happy cocoon more and more of late. It’s a nice luxury indeed.

But having been a participant observer in this storm has been enlightening. The images I’m only just seeing now back on the grid are merely supporting a fraction of what I’d feared as Sandy’s wrath blew around our townhouse with terrifying ferocity. It was remarkably humbling to witness Nature in such wild form with my own awed eyes. Agustin peered out the window repeatedly, concerned for a family of squirrels in a nest high up a tree out back – their survival seemed impossible. But huddled in their nest as we huddled in ours all came out, I suspect, stronger for having weathered the experience— so to speak. It was devastating no doubt but, mercifully, not the end of the world.

The aftermath is far from over, for some more than others, and it continues to impress and unite. Neighbors stand in groups on street corners sharing their experiences, tales of selflessness and bravery, of workers struggling to put two states and additional cities back together. It’s truly moving and inspiring and has offered some valuable personal insights as well…

Again not meant to undermine those in traumatic situations but, for us, being cut off from the world has been sort of special—for a while. No electricity, no Internet, no connection to the outside world. It made us see how much we still have in our lives beyond these superficial things—more than I think I ever realized. In a way we bonded with our ancestors who knew how to cope outside a ready-made world with every modern convenience at our fingertips.

Not being able to look things up on Google was sort of genius– we turned to creativity with far more fun results. Not being interrupted by other people made it truly all about us. No interruptions, no escape – two people in front of a fire alone with their minds in the dark is illuminating. I’ve filled several pads of paper with thoughts, ideas, fiction and other inspirations.

Nonetheless, I’m ready to return to the world. We head out in a few hours to rejoin the grid. I can only imagine the things we’ll see and experience on our road trip and as we re-adapt to the outside world discovering all that we missed.

It’s been a valuable experience with many lessons learned. Oh and speaking of which, to the nay-sayers who think this “global warming myth” is all just some “crunchy granola liberal conspiracy”—you might want to reconsider…. Also, let’s hold on to FEMA, shall we?

The nice thing about having made so many horror films by now is that our home is practically a prop and costume shop:  banana costumes, torture implements, body parts (mostly fake), and other such fun items abound.

In episode three of our new web series MARTINI MOM & DEVIL SPAWN,  you may recognize a familiar face. In fact, it’s a whole head — that of Commander Stevens from our very early short CONFEDERATE ZOMBIE MASSACRE!

Incidentally, you can find that film and all of our other early work (through LAST SEEN ON DOLORES STREET) on our new compilation DVD just released by Camp Motion Pictures.  Find it HERE.

Episode 3 of our new web series is up HERE.  I’d like to thank friend and editor extraordinaire Lauren Schweitzer for putting a bee in my bonnet for part of its inspiration.  She thought it would be fun to make a short horror film based on the old farmer’s daughter joke — you know the one, right?  Where the farmer tells the traveling salesman, “You can stay in the barn, but stay away from my daughter!”…  I agreed.

So Lauren, the quirky re-envisioning of this iconic joke featured in episode 3 is dedicated to you — like it or not (hope you like it…)

Incidentally, you can read more farmer’s daughters jokes at this LINK or you can see another re-imagining in the Seinfeld episode “The Bottle Deposit”.  Also within this episode, look for bonus nods to Stephen King, Monty Python and the Wizard of Oz.  Enjoy!

So we’re in early pre-production for our next feature and I’m blessed to be doing some script tweaking here in the always inspiring Gibraltar at the legendary Rock Hotel (overlooking the Mediterranean AND Atlantic Seas and the coasts of both Africa and Spain. Mark Twain would come here to write – it’s heaven on Earth.)

This morning I get inspired in the shower as I so often do, so I run to grab a pen and pad the instant I’m out, crawl onto the bed and jot down some notes.  Suddenly, I hear a rustle and look up to find myself staring into the eyes of a sub-adult male macaque who has just crawled in through our window!

I squeal out of surprise more than anything then, realizing I have just stared into the eyes of the most aggressive demographic (teenage boys) AND unwittingly bared my teeth (a threat), I tell Agustin, “Deal with him, will you?  I’m hiding in the bathroom.”

Insert some Batman theme music, sound fx and titles “BLAMMO!”, “KAPOW!”, “THWANK!” here.  I heard no such sounds myself, but it adds to the comic effect don’t you think?

Actually, all that really transpired is that the monkey came in, stole a packet of cookies from the tea tray on the dresser and required quite a bit of coaxing to leave.  Sadly, we couldn’t grab the camera while he was still in the room.  After several minutes had passed, Agustin finally announced,”Okay, he’s gone” and I re-emerged.

Agustin was positively beaming.  I shook my head and declared,  “I  really wish you wouldn’t bring your work home with you.”  Ah, life in Gibraltar.  Now back to writing…

Congrats, Team – I think you’ll be particularly pleased by TRIPPIN’s  latest review.  Thanks to blogger Matthew Scott Baker for his kind words found HERE:  http://matthewscottbaker.com Nice!

How fun!  I just discovered that somebody left a review for TRIPPIN’ on Amazon.  Check it out HERE.  I feel so grown up.  Nifty.  Thanks, Kind Stranger!  Meanwhile, we’ve gotten some more promising reviews for MARTINI MOM & DEVIL SPAWN.  Check them out here: anythinghorror.com and http://www.allhorror.net/.  Yippee!   Go, Team!

So, early reviews of MARTINI MOM & DEVIL SPAWN have come in and so far so good.  Thanks to Scott Shoyer of ANYTHING HORROR (http://anythinghorror.com/2012/04/18/indie-horror-filmmaker-devi-snively-is-back-with-the-new-web-series-martini-mom-devil-spawn/) and Theron Neel of PLANET FURY (http://www.planetfury.com/content/martini-mom-devil-spawn-2012) for their kind words and continued support.  Check out the pilot at: http://martinimomanddevilspawn.com/episodes-and-videos/

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!