Well, I made the master today, I checked it for errors, and I threw in the towel. The movie is finished. The master played without a hitch, it looked and sounded as good as it ever has, and tomorrow I'm going to mail it to Austin and try my best to forget about it. There's still a lot of work to do on the publicity side, but the filmmaking side has shut down. Come back later, we're closed.

Kevin, Chris, and I are all trying to figure out ways to get the movie into as many hands as possible. We all agree that giving out free DVDs is a good start, so keep checking in to find out how to get your free copy of the movie in April. We want to eliminate the hurdles that most film fans have to jump through in order to see small movies. There's no reason in 2006 why anyone should have to wait more than 3 days (about the time it takes to mail a DVD) to see a movie they are curious about. They should be able to aquire it through legal or illegal means ASAP. That's our motto for LOL. If you can't get your hands on the movie in 3 days or less, we are doing something wrong. DVDs will be for sale on the website, we will be actively screenign the movie at Universities, and we will be inviting people to throw screening parties of the movie in living rooms across the country.

In addition to the DVDs, we will be giving out free copies of the soundtrack at SXSW and other Festivals, and free posters to people who want them. Free things galore!

Kevin just finished up the LOL postcards. I'm really excited about getting postcards for this movie. Half the fun of making a movie is getting to have postcards for it. Seriously.

The back of the card has this great little spot on the computer where we can write message to people, put stickers with the showtime of the movie, or put people's address if we want to mail them off. Rock.

Everything for LOL is now finished, I just have to get to HD master made for SXSW, which is going to be nervewracking, because i won't get to look at it or listen to it until it actually shows at the Festival. I'm sending it to this place in Austin, and they are going to make the HD master from a DVCAM tape, so it's out of my hands. I hate things being out of my hands.

SXSW announced the schedule, and we now have a page on their site. Check it out!

We're making 1,000 copies of the LOL Soundtrack to give away at SXSW and other Festivals. Kevin wrote a lot of amazing music for the film, and we figured it would be pretty cool to give people a full length CD for free if they come to see our movie. Just our way of saying thank you. Those should be ready just in time for the Festival.

Chris is working on the press kit, Kevin is working on a new podcast, and I'm putting the finishing touches on the end credits. Kevin also launched a MySpace advertising blitz tonight, posting comments on all of his friends' pages directing them to the website and some of his songs, which are all available for free if you click here.

I found a really nice guy, Brian Crane, from Brain Case Music, who is going to mix and master the sound for LOL. I'm meeting with him today to go over the film once and give him my notes. Then he's going to work on it, and I'm going to watch it with him once more when he's finished, just to do any last tweaks.

SXSW wants the film by Feb. 20th, and I'm confident I can make that date. It'll be good to have the thing finished and out of my hair for the time being. I'm starting up a new project for Nerve.com called YOUNG AMERICAN BODIES, which is going to take up the rest of February and all of March, so I need to have LOL squared away as quickly as possible.

Kevin's working on the final version of the soundtrack that we are going to be giving away in Austin. It's going to be a full length CD with a lot of new material that didn't make it into the film. Kind of like when you see "music inspired by the motion picture..." stuff. We're making 1,000 copies. Along with the CDs, we're also printing copies of the poster that you see here.

2006 SXSW Feature Film Lineup

The films look great and we're super honored to be a part of this year's Festival. March 10th can't get here soon enough.

In other news...

German director Werner Herzog was shot by a crazed fan during a recent interview with the BBC.

The 63-year-old was chatting with movie journalist Mark Kermode about his new film, documentary Grizzly Man, when a sniper opened fire with an air rifle.

Kermode explains, "I thought a firecracker had gone off.

"Herzog, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, said, 'Oh, someone is shooting at us. We must go.'

"He had a bruise the size of a snooker ball, with a hole in. He just carried on with the interview while bleeding quietly in his boxer shorts."

An unrepentant Herzog insisted, "It was not a significant bullet. I am not afraid."

Via Yahoo! News

Could Herzog be any more of a bad ass?