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September 30, 2007

Clearing up any confusion

Yes, I am back in Santa Ana. Have been since Wednesday afternoon.

But been sick and busy. Fever seems to be subsiding - cover story due to turn in tomorrow. So no time for play.

Posted by LYT at 2:48 PM | Comments (0)

September 29, 2007

pre-order "NAKED BENEATH THE WATER" now!!!

This nifty indie horror flick directed by and starring Sean Cain is a must for readers of this site. Not just because it features notable cameos by me and Jesse Hlubik, but because it defies all expectations of what indie horror can be, and will blow your mind at the extent Cain is willing to go for his own art.

Go get it NOWWWW!!!!

Posted by LYT at 1:19 AM | Comments (1)

September 27, 2007

I got a fever, and cowbell ain't helping.

First: yes, indeed there are places in the U.S. without Internet or cell phone signals. Make more horror movies in Ruidoso. Second: Cold sweats, achy joints, sore throat. All of which preclude me from doing anything beyond what MUST be done, namely work obligations. Smell ya later.

Posted by LYT at 9:46 AM | Comments (2)

September 22, 2007

Getting ready for the real lake

I'm all out of pictures for you at the moment. But there will be more.

Tomorrow, we leave El Paso, where we've been filming mostly interiors, and head to Ruidoso, New Mexico, for the real lake and the woods, to do exteriors. This means night shoots, which should be interesting. And cold. The latter factor being worse for our girls who have to outdoor nude scenes. I may not have Internet there, so if the blog goes silent for a bit, you'll know why.

Technically, we're almost doing two features at once. The behind-the-scenes doc, directed by Lucky McKee, is growing into its own thing altogether. He's not just shooting what's happening, but creating things that utilize our talents in unlikely ways. You'll see. I reckon it'll be as good as the "real" film.

It's interesting to see how differently various actors prepare. Marc goes into complete seclusion and total immersion into the head of this other person. Will is basically Will, with the volume turned up slightly. Justin seems like he tries to shake the character between takes, but that it haunts and possesses him in a way that can't be easily shaken.

For a character as off the wall as mine, the costume and make-up gets me 90% there. Once they paint stuff on the teeth, spit flows naturally, which is where the character's drool comes from (I wanted him to have brown, tobacco-tinted drool, but we couldn't make it happen). And then knowing he has a stammer is the rest of it. Some roles you play, and you want to know the guy's whole story so that his inner life comes through in his eyes. Not this guy. He has no inner life and very little on his mind, so it's best to try to keep my thoughts as vacant as possible.

I went to the mall with our four female leads yesterday, which was fun -- when they got pedicures, I took the time to go to the stores I figured they'd have no interest in -- fye and KB toys. But color me surprised -- they went into those stores afterwards anyway! Carlee and Eve were hoping to find a Ouija board in the games section, but no such luck. This is Texas, after all.

After doing the scene the other day that involves my character's ultimate fate, it occurred to me that the closest analogy to this movie would be a Takashi Miike film -- it's fast, gory, funny, features very extreme characters, has an oddly surreal atmosphere, and will almost certainly have a kickin' soundtrack. It's as over-the-top as the first HOSTEL in some ways, and yet mellower. I think it will have a hardcore fan base, whatever else.

Posted by LYT at 3:58 PM | Comments (0)

September 21, 2007

Back to the Wicked Lake pics

Justin and Mike in their actor chairs

Lucky McKee is one snappy dresser

It's the Easter Lion!

Morning clouds

Crew truck

Wardrobe...if you know what to look for, there's a fair bit given away here.

Chillin' between shots

One of the interior sets...but I'll say no more than that

Posted by LYT at 9:41 PM | Comments (0)

Meanwhile, at my other job...

You probably weren't clamoring for a review of SYDNEY WHITE, but I did you one anyway:

When you get to see enough of these types of movies, from John Tucker Must Die to whatever fresh cinematic hell Hilary Duff has managed to foist upon us this year, you become thankful for small mercies. Or, as our president might put it, you start to develop the soft bigotry of low expectations. Keep this in mind as we proceed. Bynes is an appealing screen presence—it’s been a while since we’ve seen an actress with a similarly effective tomboy-cutie shtick—but she tends to choose crappy projects. It’s telling—and sad—that her most entertaining movie to date was Big Fat Liar.

Posted by LYT at 4:15 PM | Comments (0)

LYT Drools

It all clicked for me yesterday.

Most of you probably know me as a writer, critic, or whatnot. I was an actor first, as were most of us as kids.

Conjuring up elaborate scenarios with Star Wars toys, the child is writer, actor, and director. As adults, we are forced to prioritize one over the other two.

At USC cinema school, though, the technical classes were severely un-fun -- I usually got the most enjoyment out of being the test subject for lighting, sound, etc. -- and the program itself...let's just say they don't prepare you for the fact that you have to make the right friends and ape the right kind of cinema to have a lot of success with it.

I got the most out of my acting classes, especially improv and acting for the camera. If I had it to do again, maybe I'd like to major in theater, although I might not have been accepted on that basis at the time. I never did get into the North Carolina governor's school summer program for drama.

On the other hand, I was part of an ensemble cast that won the regional one-act competition and went to state.

And yesterday, covered in fake blood and charcoal, I summoned tears on command. All method an' shit. The hard thing then was to be taken out of the scene for an hour as the camera shot my POV, then reinserted.

For the past few years, I've assembled several movie credits. In many, I have felt, and sometimes been "made" to feel," that I was merely a writer or critic playing at being an actor. This was the wrong thing to think.

Acting IS playing. "Playing" at being an actor IS acting.

And when undeniable talents like Angela Bettis or Sarah Lassez say in all sincerity that I've done a good job, well then...I should probably stop being in denial.

I am an actor. Ain't no doubt in my mind now. I proved it to myself yesterday, but really, I've been proving it all along.

And without any representation whatsoever, I've made it into 11 movies imdb recognizes, and at least 3 they don't.

If you are reading this and have industry connections...Imagine how far I could get WITH representation. Help me find it.

lyt-at-lytrules-dot-com

Posted by LYT at 10:38 AM | Comments (4)

September 20, 2007

Fango shows off our girls...

Check it here...

Posted by LYT at 1:05 AM | Comments (0)

September 19, 2007

I Get Wicked Lake

here are your new pictures:

This is part of a crazy late-night photoshoot by Kevin Ford that I'll show you in full someday, if there's any demand.

This is some kind of pneumatic gun used for gore FX

On MAD COWGIRL, craft services would often be McDonalds. On pricier shoots, there are times when the A.D. craves McDonalds.

Everyone loves an iBook

Eryn, close-up

Stone does the Diet Dew

Producer Carl went to Mexico and wanted an authentic Lucha Libre shirt. Not knowing his wrestlers, he wound up with a bootleg WWE Rey Mysterio tee.

Zach's sister, Tess Passero

I'm not going to spoil the major kills...but I gotta give you horror fans something you like...

Posted by LYT at 8:32 PM | Comments (0)

September 18, 2007

Wicked Lake in tha hizzy

And by "hizzy" I mean "HoJo"... (ironically cheaper to stay here than to live in my Santa Ana apartment!)


Craft services


Official crew T-shirt


James Brown, who plays my brother in the movie


Will Keenan briefly considers hurling his lemonade at director Zach Passero


editor Kevin Ford

Posted by LYT at 6:03 PM | Comments (0)

Your Wicked Lake pics today

I know, I know, I'm late with these. But enjoy.

Angela Bettis shoots some behind-the-scenes stuff


It's hard out here for a crew dude


This is a key interior location...too bad you can't see much of it!


Rear view from key location


Mixing up some fake vomit from the ingredients provided (note: for THE WOODS, it was dyed oatmeal. This is better)


In the background, Marc Senter prepares


Knives rule


Self-portrait in mirror

Posted by LYT at 12:45 AM | Comments (1)

September 16, 2007

Your images for today...

Frank Birney gets ready to become "Sir Jim"


Shooting was briefly interrupted on day 5 by the second coming of Jesus


And you thought my hair looked fucked up BEFORE...


The entirety of my scene today consisted of staring at Eve's breasts and drooling. Life is hard.


Definitive proof that even gorgeously thin people have to eat sometime...


Justin Stone and Will Keenan prepare


That's all you get today, folks. More tomorrow!
Meanwhile, see if you can spot my handiwork in today's ( 9-16-07 ) Lucky McKee post.

Posted by LYT at 2:18 PM | Comments (1)

September 15, 2007

Forgot to mention...

Lucky McKee is directing the behind-the-scenes doc for WICKED LAKE -- be sure to check out HIS SITE for daily updates -- sometimes movie-related, sometimes not -- that often feature Quicktime movies of cast and/or crew gettin' goofy. There are several good ones up already, so if you haven't been keeping up, check out his archives.

Posted by LYT at 3:32 PM | Comments (0)

Lake-a-palooza

Those of you who are long time readers know the drill -- I save all the truly spoilerish set photos until the movie's release date. But in the meantime, there are some things I can share.

I was cagey with certain cast info at first, but after checking around online I realized that there's a lot of information out there already. So here are the basics:

WICKED LAKE involves four beautiful young ladies who vacation at a lakeside cabin, where they encounter some danger, but it turns out they're much better equipped to deal with the danger than anyone could have suspected.

Playing the girls are Robyn Sydney (THE LOST), Eryn Joslyn, Eve Mauro, and Carlee Baker, all of whom I expect you'll be seeing a lot of in the years to come. Some of their foes include Will Keenan (star of TROMEO AND JULIET and TERROR FIRMER), our good friend Justin Stone, Marc Senter (THE LOST), Mike McKee (Lucky's dad), James Brown (no, not that one), Frank Birney, and yours truly. Tim Thomerson (TRANCERS) plays a cop, and there are cameos by Angela Bettis and Ministry's Al Jourgensen, who is also doing the soundtrack.

Here are some pictures:

This is what happens to the raw vegetables from catering when nobody eats them:


Here's Mike McKee clipping his fingernails:



'Scuse me while I kiss the sky:


Eve and Carlee:


Justin is perplexed by an unusual sign:

Posted by LYT at 3:10 PM | Comments (0)

Dragon Wars

My review of this new release is at the bottom of this page.

Posted by LYT at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

September 14, 2007

We have a poster...

Posted by LYT at 9:57 AM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2007

Lucky McKee directs LYT

Check out this li'l Quicktime short we made the other night.

Posted by LYT at 8:08 PM | Comments (0)

September 11, 2007

Teaser image of LYT in WICKED LAKE

Posted by LYT at 1:17 PM | Comments (2)

The clouds by day! Are big and gay!

The clouds out here, in Texas and nearby New Mexico, are so fucking beautiful, I could take pictures of them all day, Layers upon layers of different kinds of clouds, all at once. If they were like this in a movie, you'd swear the CGI guy got a little overzealous and unrealistic.

Posted by LYT at 12:59 PM | Comments (1)

My pictures...

Don't know if any of you have been reading my SoCal Independent Film Fest coverage at the OC Weekly blog, but you should totally check out the slideshow of photos I took.

Posted by LYT at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)

September 10, 2007

My Grandfather's Column

(Editorial note: I'd be VERRRY interested to see what my mother and uncles think of this column in particular)



Points of View

On Sunday mornings on Radio 4, just after the Act of Worship, there is usually a ten minute programme called "A Point of View". I find it invariably interesting and am always sorry if I miss it. The essence of a free democratic society is that we have freedom of speech and freedom to listen to any and every point of view. One of the great ideas stemming from the Reformation was that there is not or ever has been an infallible Church (or an infallible anything else either). Both religious people and the scientifically minded need constantly to remember that although we must seek for truth we can never know whether or not we have arrived at it. The idea propounded by our justice system that we can tell "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" is rubbish; though of course we need to aim for that.

It is for this reason that many Christians dislike the recitation of any of the Creeds. I can say that to the best of my belief these statements of faith come near enough to what I currently hold to be true but I can only recite them because they represent a wide Christian consensus rather than what I whole-heartedly believe myself.

The best exponents of all the great world religions believe that tolerance of the views of others is part of their basic outlook. That is why I feel a deep sense of shame that so many of my Christian brethren are in fact intolerant not just of other faiths but even of the variety of theological opinions within their own ranks. I am sure that many Muslims are equally ashamed of the murderous intolerance of those who kill and maim in the name of Islam.

As it was well put by the philosopher Karl Popper, the one view we should never tolerate is intolerance. The only sphere in which we can confidently affirm that something is proven is mathematics. The Christian, especially if he be an archbishop, who declines to have fellowship with his Christian neighbour over differeing views of biblical interpretation or sexual orientation is behaving abominably. Long may we live with difference.

-Peter Graham

Posted by LYT at 4:01 PM | Comments (3)

September 8, 2007

Get "Naked" January 29th

Sean Cain's NAKED BENEATH THE WATER -- a film that contains a notable (and very noticeable) cameo by yours truly in full rainbow-haired glory, will be released on DVD January 29th. A low-budget flick about a twisted reality show, it may occasionally look cheap but delivers the goods, and Sean's lead performance is utterly fearless and insane. Be sure to pick it up when you can.

Posted by LYT at 12:34 AM | Comments (3)

September 6, 2007

Big piece by me in the new LA Weekly

Shortly after I saw CAPTIVITY and enjoyed it, fed up of the self-righteous gloating over its failure by those who go on and on about "torture porn," I decided to work myself up into some righteous indignation of my own, defending the horror films I was enjoying while no-one else with a forum would admit to it.

What began as a simple blog post became an epic thing. I sent it to my editors to see what they thought. With a little help from Scott Foundas, the final piece appears in today's paper.

Here's a sample:

Pony up about 70 bucks, find the right Web site or adult bookstore, and you can get yourself a video of a professional dominatrix beating someone up. There are people who watch — and make — these videos for sexual thrills. Torture and porn: Not my preferred combo, but it’s out there.

What torture porn is not is mainstream horror movies like Saw or Hostel. But critics who can damn sure tell the difference between Basic Instinct and actual pornography seem unable to make the distinction between fantasy and reality when it comes to some of the best contemporary horror films.

Read the rest HERE, and if you like it, fire off an email to the Weekly letting them know.

Posted by LYT at 12:01 AM | Comments (5)

September 5, 2007

LYT, Justin Stone get "Wicked"

I am very pleased and proud to announce that I have been cast in the horror film WICKED LAKE, directed by Zach Passero (THE BIG WEIRD NORMAL, MOTEL GLIMPSE) and co-scripted by Chris Sivertson (director of I KNOW WHO KILLED ME and THE LOST). The role will be my largest onscreen part to date, and without giving anything away, let's just say it's closer to Robby the Redneck than Jasper Boring. The movie itself is an unapologetic, balls-to-the-wall horror flick that should please fans who're tired of PG-13 junk.

Also cast in the movie is my homie and regular commenter Justin Stone. This whole gang has made plenty of magic together in the past -- I first met Zach, Justin, and Chris when our mutual friend Shelli Merrill asked me to be in a zombie movie back in college. My film classes were full of people who wanted to make pretentious junk, so the idea of doing a zombie movie as a student project seemed amazing. Justin and Chris were the codirectors, Shelli was the star, and Zach did the makeup. I was a zombie, and soon became fast friends with all.

Zach also directed the short "Forking" that's linked on this site's film page, which stars me, Chris, and Justin, among others.

Other familiar names associated with this project include Marc Senter, Mike McKee, and Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen. More to be announced.

Shooting begins next week in El Paso, Texas. Do I have any regular readers there?

Posted by LYT at 4:26 PM | Comments (0)

September 4, 2007

Stonehenge

Not too bad for a photo taken from within a moving minivan. The zoom on my new camera kicks all sorts of ass, it seems.

Posted by LYT at 5:58 PM | Comments (4)