Way Too Indiecast 43: Favorite Ghostly Horror Movies With 'I Am A Ghost' Director H.P. Mendoza /
For Halloween, I join C.J. Prince and Bernard Boo of Way Too Indie for episode 43 of their podcast to talk about my favorite ghost films, my OWN ghost film, and I even contribute to their "Indie Picks of the Week".
Click HERE to go to their website and listen to our conversation!
The Last Territory (or The Importance of Rating) /
After seeing that we made #1 in Japan, Mark said to me, "Hey, you can finally say that you're big in Japan." (Screenshot from Hiro Fujii, Horror Shox)
This month we released in Japan!
Since the last post on this blog, I Am a Ghost has rolled out in France, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, Belgium and finally Japan – and we're super happy with the response we've been getting for our little low-budget affair. The distribution of this film has been a long, slow rollout since its festival premiere in 2012, and its U.S. release in 2013.
Yesterday, Mark and I found out that we were the #1 ranked horror film on iTunes in Japan! (Thanks, Hiro!) And this morning, Jason Coffman put us on his list of "100 Favorite Horror Films 2000-2014" on Letterboxd. And as I go through the blog, I feel such pride in the laurels, reviews and lists we've had the good fortune to be given.
And I think about Jennifer Phang, whose beautiful film Advantageous is now on Netflix and all Digital HD platforms, and a statement she made at her Q&A in San Francisco really stuck with me: "This is an important time to rate our film. If you like the film, please rate it because while there are people who love our film, the people who hate films are always louder." And after hearing those words, I loaded IMDb on my phone and realized I hadn't rated Advantageous ANYWHERE. Rectified.
With that said, I will say that ever since we got on Hulu, we've watched our rating drop on IMDb from 8.1 to 5.9 – make of that what you will. (Yes, I'm aware that we have a 4 star consensus on Apple - different platform) And I gave in, thinking that it was the end of the rollout anyway. But the truth is, that over this slow roll out, every rating counts either for the future of I Am a Ghost or the future of Ersatz Film!
So I ask you all, if you like the film, please give it a star rating on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes. Because, as a tiny DIY outfit, we don't have the marketing machine behind us to ensure that people come to check out our film. All we have are the tools that we've had the whole time: existing movie databases, social media, and you - our longstanding supporters, who we are eternally thankful for.
Rate I Am a Ghost on IMDb
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2076862/combined
Rate I Am a Ghost on Rotten Tomatoes:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_am_a_ghost/
Thank you all so much for being with us through this long and exciting journey. It's been a real education for us in terms of navigating the new independent film landscape and it's certainly been arming us with tools for the next few films (which I'm happy to say that we're embarking on as I type). We're grateful and happy to keep working on this relationship we have with all of you for as long as you'll have us. :)
XOXO
H.P.
Happy Halloween! /
Happy Halloween, everybody! Are you going Trick-or-Treating tonight? Or staying out of the rain and watching a good scary movie? If you want recommendations, I have two lists that have been published this week:
H.P. Mendoza's Top 5 Halloween Movies on Xfinity
If you're an Xfinity subscriber, these are the movies I recommend you see. (Someone accused me of being too irreverent with this list, but c'mon, it's Halloween!)
APA: Top Ten Underwatched Horror Films
Some of these horror films are movies that I expect everyone to have seen, but only recently have I discovered that a LOT of people who claim to be horror fans have never even heard of! Just as reverent as my Top 5 list, this list should settle your appetite for horror for at least one night. :)
Adventure Time / I Am a Ghost Mashup
Anna Ishida posted on my wall that she had just finished watching the Emmy nominated episode of Adventure Time, "Thank You" and that it reminded her of I Am a Ghost. So, I tested that theory, and here is the result. :)
And here's a piece of I Am a Ghost fanart from Renee Woo! (I'm starting to think I should just make a Fan Art section on the site...)
In preparation for Halloween... /
Halloween is coming! We have an upcoming screening at the Sacramento Asian Film Festival and we're still featured in the New and Noteworthy section on iTunes. There might even be more screenings of I Am a Ghost coming up in the days leading up to Halloween. And in preparation, we want to share some great media sent to us from supporters all over the world (one of them being a video PARODY!)
Nick Reiner, director of All Dark Places, possessed by "Emily"
Artist/designer Diego Medina, going eyeless for Emily
Emily poses with iconic geek superstar Tentáculo Púrpura (LucasArts Day of the Tentacle)
Omar Parra of Terror Weekend re-enacts a scene from I Am a Ghost in which Emily meets Emily.
And THIS parody sent to us by Maria Abad.
Keep the fan art and photos coming and we'll post our favorites on this blog by Halloween! Thank you all so much for all of the support! We've definitely felt the love throughout this journey. :)
H.P.
More fan art /
Wow, it's been a busier week than normal for I Am a Ghost fan art! I'm just floored to have made a film that inspired people to even MAKE fan art! (Well, there is that one piece of Colma: The Musical erotic fan fiction out there, but that was a single case and from a really long time ago...)
From
Monigotorium
in Spain. (And thank you for the great review!)
"Boo",
Super Mario
meets
I Am a Ghost
, by Joon Park
Emily meets Sadako and Kayako,
Monigotorium
Will.I.Am a Ghost, by Joon Park
I Am a Ghost, alternate movie poster by Salvador Anguiano
Check out his awesome process, HERE.
Shia Le Ghost, by Frank Lee
I Am a Ghostface Killah, by Joon Park
And for my foodie friends, I AM GJETOST!
Our first fan art! /
I AM A GHOST, Alternate movie poster by Salvador Anguiano
Much like Jerry Ma did with the poster for the other film I wrote in 2011, Yes, We're Open, artist Salvador Anguiano has created an alternate movie poster for I Am a Ghost and it's gorgeous. I love how he took the Romek Marber styled original poster and took it into the modern era, complete with Gotham Nexa titling. (ed. Salvador Anguiano, for the correction! Font nerds, FTW!) If you place the original poster and Anguiano's poster side by side, you'd think you're looking at two editions of a novel published by Penguin Books!
The original 1973 paperback next to the 2014 re-issue. :)
Salvador Anguiano chronicled his process for you to see, HERE. After you read that post, check out his other alternate movie posters. Hell, just check out all of his art. It's all wonderful.