If you have the National Geographic Channel on your cable package, tune in this Thursday, November 12th and watch the show: NAKED SCIENCE.  The episode is called “DIRTY BOMB ATTACK”.

     Action actor Mark Bedell art directed portions of the show.  He also effects coordinated the show with his team, and portrayed the “Bomb Expert” as well as one of the Bombers.

     Want to do Bedell a favor? He does not have the National Geographic Channel in his area and would love to see this show, so if it’s easy for you to record stuff from TV it would be great to get a copy. Contact him HERE.

Hello faithful readers! I hope everyone had a great Halloween! Sorry for the lack of updates, but last week I was flying solo at work (while my supervisor took some much-deserved time off) so I have had no time to write. To top it off there has been a bug going around the office that hit me hard on Friday and I have spent my Halloween weekend in bed with a fever – no fun.

However, I do have a great little giveaway going on starting this week where two lucky readers will win some free DVDs! They are both based on my friend and mentor, filmmaker Don Dohler. One is DEAD HUNT – the last horror movie he directed. The other is BLOOD, BOOBS, & BEAST – which is an award-winning documentary on Don and his life and films. Details on how to win the DVDs can be found HERE.

As usual the cost of running this non-profit site continues to put a strain on the ever-thinning wallet. If you like the content of this site and want to contribute to keep it running, there is a Paypal donation link found in the side bar. Thank you in advance!

Last weekend was the Mid Atlantic Actor/Models Expo held in Timonium, MD. It was extremely busy and well-attended. I – along with Leanna Chamish – was there to help out at Les Bradley’s table. Bradley is a seasoned veteran of video production and was there to promote his services for creating affordable, professional demo reels for actors. If you are an actor that needs a DVD or an uploadable file of your best work to show casting directors, Les is the man to go to. He can be contacted at the link below:

Now I was there to collect headshots and resumes. I have a few projects coming up that I am writing scripts for. Being that I am still very new to Maryland (I moved here from Los Angeles three years ago) I needed to find out what the talent pool is like in the three-state area. I had makeup artists, costume designers, voice over artists, and union and non-union actors stop by to chat and network. If I have one good piece of advice to all those people I met that visit the sit, it would be to read in detail the interviews I have posted from various performers and filmmakers. Why? Because they really get to the meat of what it takes to make it in the business, the mistakes they have made along the way, and sound advise on how to land that next production job or acting gig.

Besides demo reels by Les Bradly, if you need professional headshots taken, you can’t do much better than to go with one of these two sources. The first being Joe Ripple of Timewarp Films. Joe has been a professional photographer for a few years now and has taken some incredible pictures for people in the entertainment industry, and his rates are very fair. Samples of his work and contact information can be found HERE.

Frederick Bianco of the Mount Royal Printing Company (Baltimore) does up excellent headshot and comp cards for actors and models as well. Go to the Mount Royal Printing website to contact him about their reasonable rates.

Filmmaker Kevin Kangas (Hunting Humans, Fear of Clowns, Bounty) is going public with his blog diaries from his film shoots. Sometimes funny, sometimes sobering, but always intriguing – these journals offer a fascinating insight into life on a low budget production. They can be found HERE.

If you are in the Fargo, ND area during October 16 through the 18, go check out Valley Con 35. Filmmaker Edward L. Plumb of Hollywood will be doing a special showing of his anthology film THE BONEYARD COLLECTION. This humorous horror movie has a bevy of stars in it from George Kennedy to Ken Foree. Plus actress Leanna Chamish is a knock out as the leather-clad vampiress, and I play an overly ripe corpse on a table during a dinner feast. How can you miss? Details can be found HERE.

This past weekend was Horrorfind 2009. While a bit light on celebrities, it was big on fun! Good to get together with old friends and to meet up with new ones. The big event for myself was seeing the Timewarp Film’s movie SEALED FATES with a test audience. I wrote a short story for it called “Man’s Best Friend” that Mitch Klein turned into a superb screenplay. The audience reacted very well to the horror up on the screen, so I was most pleased. The movie is a anthology that stars Ryan Thomas, Tom Tansey, Aylor Wells, Leanna Chamish, Fred Cowie, Brian Dragonuk, Phil Amico, Karin Crighton, and Helenmary Ball. The movie is directed by Joe Ripple. I’ll keep folks updated as to a release date.

Veteran genre actor George Stover was at the Timewarp Films table, signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. Actress Leanna Chamish was found helping out Count Gore De Vol with his celebrity interviews. A special note about the Count is that his fantastic documentary (by C.W. Prather) played on Saturday. It’s called “Every Other Day Is Halloween” and has a ton of guest interviews in it, including Karlos Borloff. Filmmaker Kevin Kangas was on hand to promote his Fear of Clowns series, Hunting Humans, and his new thriller BOUNTY (starring Tom Proctor).

Also as of this writing I have nearly completed a new review in the “At the Movies” section. This is the first independent Western I have reviewed, and it is titled “Come Hell or High Water.” This is an awesome film by Wayne Shipley, and stars Mark Redfield, Mike Hagan, Richard Cutting, Jennifer Rouse, and Kelly Polchak. You can read about it HERE.

The upcoming horror movie SEALED FATES (Timewarp Films) will be showing at 11:30AM this Saturday at Horrorfind in Hunt Valley, Maryland. I’m somewhat attached to the film as filmmaker Mitch Klein wrote an excellent screenplay based on my short story “man’s best friend.” The movie is a horror anthology and includes my story, plus one called “collections” and one called “brick by brick.” The stories range from ghostly to grisly so there is something for everyone. I’ll be there Saturday so if anyone runs into me and wants to chat, please do so. I’ll be promoting my website Smash or Trash Independent Filmmaking. There will be a ton of horror celebs and a costume contest and a fantastic dealers room, so I hope to see you there. For more information on Horrorfind Weekend, go HERE.

I’m off to a video shoot for a few days, so I thought I would get a quick update up before I fly to the location. There will be a bigger update once I get back.

There are several independent movies and DVDs that I will be reviewing starting this September. Remember that this site is about more than independent horror and science fiction films. I will also be reviewing an idependently done western as well as some great documentaries. Stay tuned.

The trailer for “The Adventures of Louanna Lee” has been posted on Youtube. It stars Louanna Lee, George Stover, Leanna Chamish, and Victoria Lynn. The DVD of this pilot episode will be coming soon and will be loaded with extras. The first show has Wayne Shipley, Robert Long II, and Les Bradley as guest stars. Produced by Lee Doll, directed by Matt Berry. You can watch the trailer HERE.

And don’t forget to enter our “Scary Silver Screens Clown Contest!” Winners will be announced September 25th. Details can be found HERE.

A few years back Leanna Chamish and I interviewed filmmaker John Bowker in Los Angeles. Due to the the website taking awhile to get up to speed, I am only NOW getting it posted. My apologies to John as he has done a heck of a lot more since then – in fact his new movie PLATOON OF THE DEAD came out this year. It was a great interview with a very prolific writer and director on the lessons he has learned over the years of running a low-budget production company. Check it out – you won’t be dissapointed! Click on the animated banner below to go straight to it:

Long story short: there was a preference turned on that should NOT have been turned on – which basically made this site invisible to the web! It is a very strange feeling to be both completely relieved and totally ticked off at the same time when I found this out. So without further ado, welcome back to the site and have fun getting to know it again!

INTERVIEWS!

Stunt Performer Mark Bedell: Part One of a fantastic interview with professional stunt performer Mark Bedell is now up. He talks about his career as well as the DOs and the DON’Ts of stunts – regardless of what the budget of the movie is. Make sure to follow the updates for this in-depth interview.

Filmmaker Ted A. Bohus: Independent Filmmaker Ted A. Bohus has done several movie productions. In his expansive career behind the camera, he has had to deal with his fair share of distribution hell in order to get his films released. Here at Smash or Trash, Bohus has kindly let us into some of his insights on film distribution; things to prepare yourself for and things to watch out for. His sage advice can save the indie filmmaker a lot of heartache and give them a better chance at a successful release of their project. The interview can be found HERE.

Actress Leanna Chamish: Actress and Scream Queen Leanna Chamish gets interviewed about her illustrious career. Check out part one of the amazing in-depth article!

Filmmaker Don Dohler: Producer/Director Don Dohler’s 2005 interview is now up in the interview section of the site. Don had been a mentor to several people in the motion picture industry, and was an inspirational person to many, including myself. There will be more photos added to this interview as time allows. The link to the interview can be found here.

Filmmaker Donald F. Glut: My very first interview is up with legendary director Donald Glut. This gentleman inspired John Carpenter and also worked with George Lucas. This interview was so in-depth that I had to make a three-parter out of it. It makes for fascinating reading in the realm of low-budget movie-making.

Filmmaker Kevin Kangas: An interview with director/screenwriter Kevin Kangas has been posted. He goes into detail about his first two movies – HUNTING HUMANS and FEAR OF CLOWNS. An excellent read complete with photos so check it out!

Actress Lauren Pellegrino: A great in-depth interview that collaborator Leanna Chamish did with the talented actress/musician Lauren Pellegrino back in 2005 for my book. Among many national commercials and indie films, she is probably best known – acting wise – for her large supporting role in Kangas Kahn Films’ 2004 hit FEAR OF CLOWNS. This talented performer gives real insights on what she does to prepare and successfully land roles in top notch indie productions. To go to her interview click on the animated banner.

Filmmaker Edward L. Plumb: The charismatic Hollywood Producer Edward L. Plumb shares his secrets of how to produce an affordable independent movie – with big stars – in tinseltown! Click here for the first part of his interview.

Actress Jacky Reres: Smash or Trash contributor Leanna Chamish interviews the beautiful, talented star of the “Fear of Clowns” movie franchise about her career. If you are an aspiring actor or actress, you will want to pay close attention to her words of wisdom. You can get to it by clicking here.

Actor Daniel Ross: Leanna Chamish does a two part interview with actor Daniel Ross about his long and successful career (and this guy is still under 30!). Ross talks about how he broke into the business, what it takes to be a successful actor, and the prep work he does to get into character. Ross also discusses appearing in such movies as CRAWLER, MRS. AMSWORTH, VAMPIRE SISTERS, NINJAS VS ZOMBIES, and LADDER 49. He is also the voice of Starscream on the Transformers video game!!!! To check out part one of this superb interview click HERE.

Actor George Stover: Star of the small and large screen – veteran character actor George Stover – granted Smash or Trash an interview and we are happy to post in now complete with pics. Stover has appeared in countless movies (including ones for John Waters and Don Dohler), and gives a look into what it takes to become a successful actor. His interview can be found HERE.

Filmmaker Dan Zachary: The interview I did with Filmmaker Dan Zachary of Moviehouse Pictures. He goes into detail on some of the behind-the-scenes info, struggles, and antics he ran into when getting his indie slasher DARKEST HOUR off the ground and finished. He also gives the reader a glimpse into what is coming up next with his company. To check out the cool interview and photos go HERE.

Can it be? Has Robert gotten off of his butt and done another update? Yes it is! So what has been keeping me from the normal updates? The economy of course. Besides the day job I still have (thank God) I have been taking a lot of freelance work to supplement the ol’ income. CD, DVD, and book cover design have kept me plenty occupied, plus I worked on a music video and a proposed television series/feature titled “The Adventures of Louanna Lee.” I worked in front of the camera as well as behind the scenes on this Nancy Drew-like show. If I do say so myself, I make a pretty good bad guy! See the image below:

Also, I have a review up for Shockmarathons’ MONSTERS, MARRIAGE AND MURDER IN MANCHVEGAS (2009). This is by the same people that gave you FREAKY FARLEY (2007) and has to do with a group of twenty-somethings and the crazy, kooky encounters they run into trying to track down a local serial killer. Take one part Three Investigators, mix it with Pee Wee Herman, and add a dash a slasher film and you have this film. Click on the DVD cover below to read my review!