Posted 12:08 AM by Blah blah

Starting today, I'm eliminating the comments section of this blog. If you have something to say, please email me or put it in the "tagboard" in the left column.

Mark's Latest Film: Claustrophobia

I know writer/director Mark Kines from junior high and high school. Wrote about him here. Here's the latest news from him and the movie production company he started last year, Cassava Films. Mark quit his job as art director at Paramount Pictures to do this. Here's his blog about his latest movie, Claustrophobia.

Please read his production info section! I laughed out loud and learned much reading his horror stories of making this movie. Says Mark: "This subsection will tell you everything you need to know about the making of the film Claustrophobia, from its original inception (based on a bad dream I had as a teenager) to the process of writing the script; hiring cast and crew; preparing for a tight, low-budget shoot; the rigors of production; what happens when the cameras stop rolling and whatever comes after the movie is finished. See those little text links above the photo to the left? Click on them and plunge into the sordid world of independent filmmaking."

Claustrophobia costars Melanie Lynskey, who also starred with a budding Kate Winslet in Heavenly Creatures, directed by---guess whom?---Peter Jackson, now famous for directing Lord of the Rings!

Mark's first film was Foreign Correspondents, which came out on HBO and is selling here on Amazon.com. This movie also stars Melanie Lynskey and Wil Wheaton, whose blog I am sure you know.
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Now you can take part in the independent filmmaking process the best way possible: without spending a penny or lugging heavy film equipment around! I've designed 6 different posters for my upcoming film Claustrophobia and I want to know which one You The Public like the most. So I've set up an online user poll. I'm serious---whichever poster gets the most votes, that's the one I'm going with.

PLEASE VOTE HERE.

Please tell all your friends and colleagues, too. I really need people to know about this. Thanks.

*** EDITING FINISHED! ***
On January 25 my editor and I finished a final visual cut of Claustrophobia and it's looking great, very scary and funny and the performances are fantastic. Now it's time for sound editing. If all goes well, the film will be completed in April.

*** ALL THE POOP IS ON THE SITE ***
Last November I put up a huge section about the making of Claustrophobia and you're welcome to peruse. It's racy, gossipy, even educational.

I also just got back from Sundance [Film Festival] and have reviews and reports on the site as well. By the way, a big HELLO to all the friendly people I hung out with in Park City.

*** HTML GURUS? ***
I do all the programming on my site and for some reason the top navigation bar shifts left and right from page to page. It's driving me crazy. If any of you have tips on how to fix this, please share.

*** WHERE'S THE INVESTOR DUDE IN PENNSYLVANIA? ***
A while back somebody wrote me curious about investing in Claustrophobia once I had a rough cut. I somehow lost his email address. If you're out there, man, give me a shout. I have a tape to send you.

*** FINALLY ***
As usual, for those of you who want a personal email from me, just reply and I will write back. Also, there's a lot of you who I haven't heard from in eons. Drop me a line! This means YOU Gino, Rob, Shannon, Blaire, Pam, Maureen, Andrew, Yau, Chi, Jenny, Jon, Alenka, Emjay, Mark, T2, etc.

Thanks again for your time and attention. I hope life is treating you all well.

Mark Tapio Kines
writer/director/producer/whatever
Cassava Films