Kevin Kangas does it again! The thriller GARDEN OF HEDON will premiere on April 26th in Baltimore, Maryland. Co-written and co-produced by Keving Kangas , this taut giallo based in the House of Hedonism stars Richard Cutting and Danielle Lozeau. Check out the cool trailer on Vimeo HERE!

It is with sincere regret that I pass along the unfortunate news of Tom Schneider’s passing.  I got the message from producer Lee Doll last night that Tom had passed after his battle with cancer. He was 60 years old. Mostly known for his stage work, Tom appeared in the Louanna Lee movie “Little Bit of Love” as the butler of a gothic mansion. Many of us at Smash or Trash worked on this production with Tom, and remember him as a funny, friendly man and a superb actor. Our sympathies go out to his family at this time.

Our resident reviewer Judy Furlow Grannas has done it again with another movie review for us. This time she tells us about I SOLD MY SOUL TO SATAN, a documentary about some of those wild and wacky people in Hollywood that will make a pact with the Devil in order to get fame and fortune.  The film is released by Chemical Burn Entertainment. To read her review, click HERE.

Wow! I have so much updating to do this week. Sorry it has been a while but between work, charity work and working on Don Dohler’s Crawler I have had no time. So this week I am doing some updating. To wet the appetite here are some samples of things to come.

Okay, you see this cool photo? This is courtesy of John Dods – filmmaker and special makeup effects wizard times 10. John and I are Facebook friends and he recently posted a TON of never before seen photos from the 1st (1979) Nightbeast shoot. Talk about a walk down memory lane. The thin handsome gent seen above is Don Dohler, the Godfather of Do ItYourself Indie Filmmaking.  This was taken on location back in 1979. Thanks for sharing John!

Okay, now these cool people? They are Ali Lukowski, Erik Kristopher Myers, and Laura Myers. They are attending the Hot Media Awards  ceremony where their film – ROULETTE – walked away with a BOATLOAD of awards! Congrats! Many thanks to Leanna Chamish for use of this photo.

Now, this dapper gent is Jon Cross – the host of a fantastic podcast I listen to called THE AFTER MOVIE DINER.  I urge anyone that needs a smile and a laugh for the day to check out this entertaining show. Jon is a big supporter of Smash or Trash and has become a huge fan of Don Dohler’s movies. He interviewed George Stover on the podcast and is sporting the very spiffy George Stover T-shirt now available through Smash or Trash. More on that later.

Now George Stover here? This guy is a great actor, and has worked for people like John Waters, Don Dohler and a bevy of other talented directors. Well he was at this Hot Media Awards Ceremony and was taken by COMPLETE surprise to find out that he won the Lifetime Achievement Award in Independent Film! He also just won the prestigious Rondo Award and was inducted into the Monster Kid Hall of Fame. He is holding a beautiful collage presented to him from designer Carl Porter. Congratulations to George! Thanks to Les Bradley and Leanna Chamish for the photo.

As I may have stated – I am doing some work where part of the proceeds are going to charity. Above is an in-progress shot of a t-shirt design based on Don Dohler. Don passed away from two forms of cancer, so when the shirts and other merchandise become available, part of the money is going to go towards the fight against cancer. I’ll post updates as I get closer to being finished with it. A must for any Don Dohler fan.

We have a new cafe press store where you can buy Smash or Trash t-shirts, mouse pads, shot glasses, beer steins, and tons of others items that make great gifts for the indie filmmaker in your life. the link to the new store is HERE. Remember, if you buy items from our actor George Stover selection, part of those proceeds are going to go towards the Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center. Get your gear today!

Wow! Going into the fourth year of Smash or Trash. What can be said? Well, I’m incredibly lucky for being involved with such a great bunch of people worldwide. Leanna Chamish and I set out to do a book many years ago, but saw that the web was the way to go to keep things current. Mitch Klein came on board as an incredible supporter, and now we have Judith Furlow and Les Bradley on the team as well. My friend producer Frank Lama  has moved to Toronto Canada, but we still consider him an honorary member around these parts.

Independent filmmaking is a lot like life; incredibly passionate, difficult, and insane. Why do we do it? Because it is a drug in our system. Because we are both smart and very stupid at the same time. Because we have something inside of us that won’t quit, no matter how much we crave sanity.  For better or for worse, we are wed to the camera.

I’m not going to get into a big speech here. I would just like to say that there is room for improvement at the site. Little by little we are getting there. We hope to also do another Smash or Trash episode, and maybe get a podcast going. I want to sincerely thank everyone behind the scenes for their incredible love and support of the site. It would be nothing without you. I want to thank the viewers for increasing in number and for the positive feedback they give us. A very special thank you to the After Movie Diner podcast for all their support from the great city of New York.

And a very big shout out to legendary actor George Stover because he is awesome and we all love him to pieces here at Smash or Trash. May you rock on for many more years in the movies George!

So keep coming back. I hope to get a lot more cool interviews, reviews, and how to’s up on the site soon.

Thank you.

Robert Long II

Smash or Trash Independent FIlmmaking Creator

6 years in the making, THE BONEYARD COLLECTION is finally available to the public! Edward L. Plumb and L.J. Dopp wrote, produced and directed this horror comedy in the mid 2000s, and is being released through ITN Distribution.

IRENA BELLE FILMS presents

Check out the stars of this movie!

 Candy Clarke (American Graffiti), Brad Dourif (Child’s Play), Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead), Tippi Hedren (The Birds), George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke), Robert Loggia (Sopranos), Kevin McCarthy (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), Ronn Moss (Bold and the Beautiful), William Smith (Every Which Way But Loose), Barbara Steele (Black Sunday), Brinke Stevens (Body Double), Susan Tyrrell (Cry Baby)

Hosted by Forrest J Ackerman and a bevy of beautiful ghosts, the movie takes the viewer through four tales of terror. The first is called HER MORBID DESIRES, which follows the story of a young actress Freddi (Erica Hanson) in tinseltown that is shooting a vampire movie. The big problem is that someone is killing the starlets on the set! Can Freddi solve the mystery behind these Hollywood murders before she becomes the next victim?

Next up is a trailer for BOOGIE WITH THE UNDEAD, which is the tale of a popular all girl band that gets booked into a gig in a town overrun by zombies!

CRY OF THE MUMMY is the comedic adventures of a mummy that can no longer find work in Hollywood. Failing at star tours and paper routes, he hires an agent and tries his hand at stand up comedy and commercials – but he really wants to direct!

THE DEVIL’S DUE AT MIDNIGHT rounds out the movie about the a coven of witches are being hunted by Ken Foree and George Kennedy. Can they stop this horde of female vixens before they can summon up Satan (Brad Dourif)?

This DVD will come loaded with extras, and sports beautiful production values, tons of Academy Award winners, and surprises galore!

BUY IT AT CD UNIVERSE!

Indie Filmmaker Joe Ripple (Timewarp Films) is also the founder of a great charity SCARES THAT CARE. March 31, 2012 he is helping to host a great dinner party with Kane Hodder, Cerina Vincent, and Ernie Hudson – while helping those people in need. Click HERE or the image above to get the details!

 Reviewer Judy Furlow is back with a new review! Check out her take on the out-in-left field indie short ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Guest reviewer Joseph Henson (The Hysteria Continues) gives us the lowdown on the fourth outing of the ADVENTURES OF LOUANNA LEE. This time it is an old manor whodunit!

Eric Thornett of PIRANHA PICTURES is premiering a new movie on February 18th. It is called A SWEET AND VICIOUS BEAUTY and is a period piece horror movie. The premiere will be held in Gaithersburg, MD and one of the stars is Sara Cole (DEAD HUNT). This flick looks fantastic and I urge anyone that can make the premiere to do so. Click HERE or on the image above to learn the details. The film starts at 6PM.

Philip J Cook has posted the 5th episode of MALICE and the story is really getting good! Jesse (Leanna Chamish) has disappeared and the paranormal activity is starting to hit the family’s house hot and heavy. The battle lines have been drawn as they gear up against the spirits that infest their home. Click HERE or the image above to go to the latest episode!

Jon Cross and THE AFTER MOVIE DINER are back with another Don Dohler filled podcast. This time Jon’s very special guest is the legendary George Stover. Plus they go into an in depth review of GALAXY INVADER and ALIEN RAMPAGE. Click on the image above or HERE to go to this great site!

Filmmaker Kevin Kangas of Kangas Kahn Films has updated his movie blogs for GARDEN OF HEDON and BOUNTY. If you haven’t visited his blog page you are REALLY missing out. He is always very honest and detailed on the hells he has gone through on the sets of his independent films. These are a must read for filmmakers. Click HERE or on the image above to go to the blogs.

Indie filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers has been busy putting the final touches to his award-winning movie ROULETTE, which will have another gala showing at the HOT MEDIA INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARDING event in Silver Spring, MD on March 31st.  He has also been busy finishing up THE DEVIL’S PLAYTHINGS as well as getting at least two other films underway. Definitely he is a human dynamo! You can get more information HERE.

Actress Darla Albornoz sent us a link to an East Coast Screenwriting Class. Need to learn how to write better scripts? This is the seminar for you – and you get to walk away with a lot of useful materials! It takes place on March 10th.  For all the details – time, location, instructor, etc – click HERE. Thanks for the link Darla!

POT LUCK is a show about the entertainment community. In a recent installment, the host had filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers and actress Ali Lukowski on. They were there to talk about ROULETTE, the independent Baltimore thriller that was shot a few years back. Click on the image above to go to the video of this interview or click HERE.

Smash or Trasher Leanna Chamish has been busy reprising her role as Boo dePest for another season of SPOOKY MOVIE TELEVISION.  This is a hilarious show of two wacky people – Dr. Sarcofiguy (John Dimes) and his stalker/fan Boo dePest (Leanna Chamish) introducing new independent horror movies, with funny skits put in at strategic points of the show. The fantastic news is that the show’s producer – Curtis Prather – will be bringing the episodes to DVD very soon! For more information check out their facebook page HERE.