Barely Living The Dream

Lance "Fever" Myers has been a professional animator for over twenty years. His work can be seen in the feature films SPACE JAM, ANASTASIA, and Richard Linklater's A SCANNER DARKLY; as well as in over twenty-five successful video game titles, including Turok Evolution, NBA Jam, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Myers has written and directed twelve animated shorts, many of which have shown on HBO, MTV, Adult Swim, PBS, and Canada's Movieola. His "labor of love", BOXER STORY, is slated from completion in 2017. Mel speaks with Lance (who he first encountered as the frontman for Austin ska sensation Gals Panic) about his influences and journey through a career in animation...where his first major gig was drawing Bugs Bunny.

Gals Panic Page: https://www.facebook.com/Gals-Panic-260823048021/?fref=ts

Boxer Story Kickstarter (over, but follow for updates): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1101984741/boxer-story-the-animated-short-film

Ariel, Lance's daughter (she's awesome): http://www.arielabshire.com/

@upstartfilm

http://www.upstartfilmworks.net

In which Mel discusses how Las Vegas, one of its most prominent magicians, rock supergroups, a Wayans brother, and horror genre illuminati have all recently been a huge part of his filmmaking landscape. It's basically a quick little update episode to let you all know what's going on in Upstart Filmworks Cinema-land! There's a reason while we've been on a bit of a podcast hiatus. Fear not, for there will be a deluge of content on the other side! For now, here's what's keeping us busy. No, Mel has not met up with Randall Flagg yet. (That he knows of, at least).

@upstartfilm

http://www.upstartfilmworks.net

Mel welcomes guest (and recent on-set collaborator) Graham Skipper to the podcast. Graham is probably best known for essaying the role of Herbert West in REANIMATOR: THE MUSICAL…however, he's steadily been making a name for himself on the independent horror circuit with acclaimed turns in features like ALMOST HUMAN, BEYOND THE GATES, and THE MIND'S EYE, among many others. Most recently, Graham has wrapped principal photography on his first(ish) feature, SEQUENCE BREAK (which, incidentally, Mel was the 1st A.D. on).

Mel talks with Graham about his particular journey, from stage to screen to setting up shots, and why he owes a great debt to Norm from "Cheers". It all culminates in a special one-on-one edition of "Greenlit Or Bullshit".

This is also our inaugural installment as part of the B&E Podcast Network! Be sure to check out some of our sister shows!

@upstartfilm

http://www.upstartfilmworks.net

http://www.grahamskipper.com

http://www.bmoviesandebooks.com/benetwork/

Mel rolls solo on this one again, pulling back the curtain even further on how he's managed to "barely live the dream" for the last couple years. Lots of candid talk regarding movie gigs, pre-production gigs, side gigs, part time jobs, being bi-coastal (or perhaps just bi-coastally curious), and how they all ultimately affect the bottom line. Additionally, we present our first "audience participation" installment of "Greenlit or Bullshit?"

@upstartfilm

http://www.upstartfilmworks.net

Big thanks to Cipher Escape Rooms: http://www.breakthecipher.com

Standardized Patient info:

https://www.bcm.edu/education/schools/medical-school/programs/standardized-patient-program/

https://med.uth.edu/oep/clinical-surgical-skills-center/standardized-patient-program/

This summer (technically spring/summer), Mel landed to back-to-back gigs on California-lensed genre features. Both were in the A.D. department…and if you're a fan of the podcast you might know that Mel has had some recent "issues" with that type of work. As such, it was definitely poised to be an interesting several weeks. He thought it might be a good idea to keep an audio diary during the shoot. Here are the ones pertaining to the first shoot - Graham Skipper's SEQUENCE BREAK. (Hopefully, Graham himself will be on the podcast soon to discuss things as well).

Thanks to Jeff Gameface for the lyrical inspiration for the title. Oddly enough, that song also quotes some Texas Is The Reason lyrics…from Mel's favorite TITR song, actually. We think that's some nice synchronicity. (On that note…you'll hear more of Jeff in our world soon, stay tuned).

Info on SEQUENCE BREAK can be found here: http://www.blumhouse.com/2016/06/10/graham-skippers-directorial-debut-sequence-break-begins-production/

Mel, Chris, and Brittany are all in the same room once again, and this episode basically is a "debriefing" of the past couple months of production work in California. Which essentially means that Brittany ends up being our cinematic sin-eater. The upside is that, for once, Chris is WAY more frustrated and angry than Mel. The student truly has surpassed the teacher. On a more positive note, this episode sees the return of "Greenlit or Bullshit?"

@upstartfilm

@cwarr54

@moviemonsterhouston

Tim Wrobel, script supervisor and one-time star of the longest running direct-to-video horror franchise ever, drops by and gives us some sage advice from the scripty side of the monitor. What does a Script Supervisor do? Do we really need one on set? Should you listen to them because you're paying them to do a job and back you up? The answers to all this (and more) lie within. Enjoy the first episode in our "Filmmaking Summer in Los Angeles Series".

@TimmyRobes

@upstartfilm

Things get serious as we speak with our guest, actress Melanie Donihoo (Mel's wife) about performance anxiety, stage fright, and what to do when you hate doing something that you're really good at. Lately, Mel has found himself in that situation amidst a bunch of Assistant Director gig offers, so we all ponder what to do in light of Mel either 1) losing his mind or 2) committing mass murder. Or maybe it will be both? Meanwhile, Brittany calls in en route from her gig on The Leftovers set (where she assures us the A.D. was also having a rough go of it). And then of course, another installment of "Greenlit or Bullshit?".

Melanie on IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1655670/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

@upstartfilm

upstartfilmworks.net

Lisa Wilcox returns in this installment (much like she did in the Nightmare series) to discuss the impact and usage of social media in today's independent filmmaking landscape. We also get to do a bit of "Viewer Mail" from folks that checked out the previous episode with Lisa.

Lisa Wilcox on the web: http://lisaewilcox.com/

Scream Magazine: http://www.screamhorrormag.com/

Lisa Wilcox from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4 & 5 joins us on this episode to talk about her particular journey in the industry...from General Hospital to Springwood to the Enterprise to raising a family and back again. Mel tries not to sound like a 12 year old fanboy. We also debut a new recurring feature: "Greenlit or Bulls**t?"

Lisa's website: http://lisaewilcox.com

Lisa on Twitter: @LisaWilcox1

Lisa on IG: thelisawilcox

Lisa on FB: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.e.wilcox.3/

Look for Lisa on the cover of issue 36 of Scream Horror Magazine, and check out her feature story inside! http://www.screamhorrormag.com/