Post by Chad Taylor on Nov 3, 2022 14:01:29 GMT -7
On this day five years ago, Last Resort Films opened its doors for the first time! Over 700 films later and with much more to come, I wanted to make a celebratory post to mark this monumental milestone for the studios. I asked you all a couple of general questions and I have compiled them together here. Thank you for those who participated!
With the first question, I wanted to give an opportunity to reflect on the journey that we all have taken as writers for the studio. For some of us, it has been five years of our lives where this game has been a part of it. So I asked...It has been 5 years since LRF first opened its doors. What has LRF meant to you over that time?
Dwight Gallo: It has been a nice creative outlet for me since I don't have a lot of other chances for creativity in other areas.
H.G. Hansen: Honestly, it's helped me as a writer & person. It's helped me learn my flaws and how to fix them.
Wyatt Allen: A great place to be creative and inspired by the ideas of other people
Jacob Jones: My continued growth as a writer over the years. The improvements made and everything I’ve done to ensure them.
John Malone: It's been an awesome way to tell and realize stories I've wanted to see.
Alex Conn: LRF for me has meant to me creative freedom to take whatever crazy direction I want to go with a certain film. I have turned ideas that come from childhood like The Vegan Movie which was a story that I came up with when I was 14. LRF has let me direct movies which is something I love doing.
Roy Horne: It's been a fun outlet to play around with different ideas.
Mo Buck: LRF has meant a whole lot to me. I've been dealing with some tough personal problems over the years and I found LRF at a time where I wasn't at my best. It gave me a way to escape my daily life and just create stories for other people to enjoy. I took an extensive break from LRF back when I was at my absolute lowest. I've had some friends over the years that I used to write here with, but something really bad happened between us and I'm not talking to any of them anymore. Coming back to LRF after this break signaled to me that I was ready to get over them and move on with my life. I really missed the daily blog posts and to reading all your movies. LRF is a great escape for me and it allows my creativity to shine, as it doesn't happen at all in my day-to-day life. I'm really thankful this community exists, as I've been looking for one for a while before I stumbled into a blog post advertising LRF. I'm thankful to Phil for running this and it really means a lot to me, so thank you.
Given the amount of films some of us have written, I was curious: What film of yours would you say you are most proud of? It's clear for most that it was hard to pick just one!
Allen: Whaling or Shoe Dog
Horne: Excalibur or Poison Ivy (or Poison Ivy: Mind Games)
Jones: Accordion de Chanson, Time Passages, Princess Natalie, Oh Deer and E.P.
Buck: I think it took a lot of courage for me to write Letter to Myself, back in Season 10. Looking back to it, my semi-autobiographical is in dire need of an update, so that may be a future project, as a lot has changed since then. I think on a emotional note Letter to Myself is the film I'm the most proud of, because I remember it wasn't easy to write at all. If I think more about accolades, I'd have to say I'm really proud of Cape Torment, Don't Hang Up and Runaway, although I'm not sure if they've aged well. I'm really hard on myself, so I'm highly critical of my work. As some of you may know or have noticed, English is not my first language, so every time I read back one of my movies, I only notice the mistakes I make. Hopefully there's less and less, but it was pretty bad at some point. Hopefully I'm better now!
Malone: My personal favorite still has to be Death Dream even after all these seasons.
Gallo: Ypsilanti or The Punisher.
Conn: Hard question but probably Haunted. It's the most personal I've ever gone with my films. I usually have a little of myself in every film but not to the levels of Haunted. It's a film that was very emotional to write and John Malone who is my mentor helped me sculpt it into something that would resonate with an audience.
Hansen: I would say either Dark Places or Maximum Ride. Dark Places was proof to me that any story can work if written & edited right. Maximum Ride because ever since first reading the books, I've always planned on making them into a trilogy of fun films. I'm happy people see the fun I had reading the books
A question I often liked to ask in the Inside the Writer's Studio days was: Who is an actor or actress that you have never worked with at LRF that you would like to? For some, that list has gotten smaller and smaller over the years.
Gallo: That's a tough question since generally I will craft a project specifically to work with the actors I want to. Some I haven't done that for yet are Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon or Jason Momoa
Jones: Margot Robbie. I’ve tried a couple of times but it never panned out.
Conn: Liam Neeson.
Hansen: Amber Heard....just kidding, I wouldn't for all of King Midas' silver... Anywho, Brad Pitt would be my choice as I always like him in everything he's in.
Allen: Andre Benjamin
Horne:Tom Cruise, Chris Pine, Emma Stone
Malone: I've checked so many names off that list in recent seasons, that I'm honestly not sure who is left. Maybe Robert Downey Jr.?
This next one is a question that I was particularly excited to ask: What would you say is your favorite memory at LRF? (A certain moment, writing a certain project, the release of a certain film, etc.)
Horne: Excalibur taking home Best Picture (my only Best Picture trophy to date).
Gallo: The Season 18 Golden Reel Awards when I had Cocaine Cowboys and The Punisher fighting for awards (and losing the big ones to Caesar).
Allen: Of course my own movie releases are always exciting for me but when someone else's movie releases and you just get blown away by it, is even more exciting.
Malone: Convincing the studio to let me tackle Superman and James Bond.
Conn: Honestly the release of Life Of A Champion which was my first film at LRF. Seeing the reviews and the box office spurred me to get better and better and make better films. I've had my share of bad reviews but it's all a learning experience.
Hansen: I would say my first film Dark Places as it showed me if I worked hard and let my creativity fly, I could make a film to be proud of. Firestorm's release was impactful too because it showed me how badly I lost the plot and motivated me to rebuild.
Jones: So many to choose from, let me list a couple.
1. E.P. becoming my highest rated film.
2. Writing Whammy.
3. Ending the animated film curse with Oh Deer.
4. Finding success with Princess Natalie.
5. Being the highest profiting animated film for a spell with Khumba the Flying Zebra.
And finally, are there any projects of yours that have you excited about the future of LRF?
Buck: I don't know when this will come out, but I have a series due for release next round and I'm really forward to it, especially if I get the privilege to tell the whole story with multiple seasons (fingers crossed!). I've also pitched four movies since I came back and I'm really excited for all of them. All of them can fit in the same genre, but I think they're all very different in their own way. I don't think there's a more exciting feeling in LRF than the anticipation before one of your film gets released and I'm slowly getting there! The anticipation is killing me!
Jones: All of them but these in particular: The Young Heiress, Kazaria: Burns of the Lavita, Mimsley and Me, The Saints, Tara’s Web, Idlewood Ranch, Watergate, Victims, Madeline
Malone:My upcoming slate is going to be very sequel heavy (Bond, Namor, Superman, Caesar), but after all that I'm hoping to have some more original stories ready for the studio.
Hansen: Well I've signed on to make two Marvel movies for LRF's MCU. I won't say what they are but just know I'm hard at work editing & revising to get them to top form. After that, I'm gonna focus on the last film in the Maximum Ride series (long time coming tbh) and then work on something original as a palate cleanser. Maybe I'll do a mini-series or LRF NOW series. I also just teamed up w/ my old writing partner, Jimmy Ellis, to make a sequel to one of his movies. So I'm gonna be staying busy for awhile.
Allen: Nothing finished yet, but probably Batman Beyond II
Conn: Free The Chicago 7 and Malik my next two projects after Once Upon A Time In Greenwich Village. With Malik I'm working with the dream team. David Fincher is directing and great actors like Julia Roberts, Stanley Tucci and Billy Crudup and it's a thriller and I enjoy writing thrillers when i get to write them. Free The Chicago 7! is my dream project. I've been fascinated with the case since I heard about it. When i read about the trial i became fascinated with the characters and I immediately read Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman and started becoming interested in 60s culture. I didn't feel the Sorkin film while getting some great performances I didn't feel it captured the humor and great characters that I read about while researching the story. Thanks to John Malone who suggested that I could make a film with a different spin and Admin who greenlit the project I was able to write my dream project which is really what LRF is about. Making your dream projects a reality.
Gallo: I have a sequel to The Punisher out in Season 25 and a return to the western genre in Season 26.
Horne: I have taken the dive into writing superhero films recently with three due out over the next few seasons, so that should be exciting.
Once again, thank you to all those that participated and happy anniversary LRF! What a wonderful ride it has been.
With the first question, I wanted to give an opportunity to reflect on the journey that we all have taken as writers for the studio. For some of us, it has been five years of our lives where this game has been a part of it. So I asked...It has been 5 years since LRF first opened its doors. What has LRF meant to you over that time?
Dwight Gallo: It has been a nice creative outlet for me since I don't have a lot of other chances for creativity in other areas.
H.G. Hansen: Honestly, it's helped me as a writer & person. It's helped me learn my flaws and how to fix them.
Wyatt Allen: A great place to be creative and inspired by the ideas of other people
Jacob Jones: My continued growth as a writer over the years. The improvements made and everything I’ve done to ensure them.
John Malone: It's been an awesome way to tell and realize stories I've wanted to see.
Alex Conn: LRF for me has meant to me creative freedom to take whatever crazy direction I want to go with a certain film. I have turned ideas that come from childhood like The Vegan Movie which was a story that I came up with when I was 14. LRF has let me direct movies which is something I love doing.
Roy Horne: It's been a fun outlet to play around with different ideas.
Mo Buck: LRF has meant a whole lot to me. I've been dealing with some tough personal problems over the years and I found LRF at a time where I wasn't at my best. It gave me a way to escape my daily life and just create stories for other people to enjoy. I took an extensive break from LRF back when I was at my absolute lowest. I've had some friends over the years that I used to write here with, but something really bad happened between us and I'm not talking to any of them anymore. Coming back to LRF after this break signaled to me that I was ready to get over them and move on with my life. I really missed the daily blog posts and to reading all your movies. LRF is a great escape for me and it allows my creativity to shine, as it doesn't happen at all in my day-to-day life. I'm really thankful this community exists, as I've been looking for one for a while before I stumbled into a blog post advertising LRF. I'm thankful to Phil for running this and it really means a lot to me, so thank you.
Given the amount of films some of us have written, I was curious: What film of yours would you say you are most proud of? It's clear for most that it was hard to pick just one!
Allen: Whaling or Shoe Dog
Horne: Excalibur or Poison Ivy (or Poison Ivy: Mind Games)
Jones: Accordion de Chanson, Time Passages, Princess Natalie, Oh Deer and E.P.
Buck: I think it took a lot of courage for me to write Letter to Myself, back in Season 10. Looking back to it, my semi-autobiographical is in dire need of an update, so that may be a future project, as a lot has changed since then. I think on a emotional note Letter to Myself is the film I'm the most proud of, because I remember it wasn't easy to write at all. If I think more about accolades, I'd have to say I'm really proud of Cape Torment, Don't Hang Up and Runaway, although I'm not sure if they've aged well. I'm really hard on myself, so I'm highly critical of my work. As some of you may know or have noticed, English is not my first language, so every time I read back one of my movies, I only notice the mistakes I make. Hopefully there's less and less, but it was pretty bad at some point. Hopefully I'm better now!
Malone: My personal favorite still has to be Death Dream even after all these seasons.
Gallo: Ypsilanti or The Punisher.
Conn: Hard question but probably Haunted. It's the most personal I've ever gone with my films. I usually have a little of myself in every film but not to the levels of Haunted. It's a film that was very emotional to write and John Malone who is my mentor helped me sculpt it into something that would resonate with an audience.
Hansen: I would say either Dark Places or Maximum Ride. Dark Places was proof to me that any story can work if written & edited right. Maximum Ride because ever since first reading the books, I've always planned on making them into a trilogy of fun films. I'm happy people see the fun I had reading the books
A question I often liked to ask in the Inside the Writer's Studio days was: Who is an actor or actress that you have never worked with at LRF that you would like to? For some, that list has gotten smaller and smaller over the years.
Gallo: That's a tough question since generally I will craft a project specifically to work with the actors I want to. Some I haven't done that for yet are Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon or Jason Momoa
Jones: Margot Robbie. I’ve tried a couple of times but it never panned out.
Conn: Liam Neeson.
Hansen: Amber Heard....just kidding, I wouldn't for all of King Midas' silver... Anywho, Brad Pitt would be my choice as I always like him in everything he's in.
Allen: Andre Benjamin
Horne:Tom Cruise, Chris Pine, Emma Stone
Malone: I've checked so many names off that list in recent seasons, that I'm honestly not sure who is left. Maybe Robert Downey Jr.?
This next one is a question that I was particularly excited to ask: What would you say is your favorite memory at LRF? (A certain moment, writing a certain project, the release of a certain film, etc.)
Horne: Excalibur taking home Best Picture (my only Best Picture trophy to date).
Gallo: The Season 18 Golden Reel Awards when I had Cocaine Cowboys and The Punisher fighting for awards (and losing the big ones to Caesar).
Allen: Of course my own movie releases are always exciting for me but when someone else's movie releases and you just get blown away by it, is even more exciting.
Malone: Convincing the studio to let me tackle Superman and James Bond.
Conn: Honestly the release of Life Of A Champion which was my first film at LRF. Seeing the reviews and the box office spurred me to get better and better and make better films. I've had my share of bad reviews but it's all a learning experience.
Hansen: I would say my first film Dark Places as it showed me if I worked hard and let my creativity fly, I could make a film to be proud of. Firestorm's release was impactful too because it showed me how badly I lost the plot and motivated me to rebuild.
Jones: So many to choose from, let me list a couple.
1. E.P. becoming my highest rated film.
2. Writing Whammy.
3. Ending the animated film curse with Oh Deer.
4. Finding success with Princess Natalie.
5. Being the highest profiting animated film for a spell with Khumba the Flying Zebra.
And finally, are there any projects of yours that have you excited about the future of LRF?
Buck: I don't know when this will come out, but I have a series due for release next round and I'm really forward to it, especially if I get the privilege to tell the whole story with multiple seasons (fingers crossed!). I've also pitched four movies since I came back and I'm really excited for all of them. All of them can fit in the same genre, but I think they're all very different in their own way. I don't think there's a more exciting feeling in LRF than the anticipation before one of your film gets released and I'm slowly getting there! The anticipation is killing me!
Jones: All of them but these in particular: The Young Heiress, Kazaria: Burns of the Lavita, Mimsley and Me, The Saints, Tara’s Web, Idlewood Ranch, Watergate, Victims, Madeline
Malone:My upcoming slate is going to be very sequel heavy (Bond, Namor, Superman, Caesar), but after all that I'm hoping to have some more original stories ready for the studio.
Hansen: Well I've signed on to make two Marvel movies for LRF's MCU. I won't say what they are but just know I'm hard at work editing & revising to get them to top form. After that, I'm gonna focus on the last film in the Maximum Ride series (long time coming tbh) and then work on something original as a palate cleanser. Maybe I'll do a mini-series or LRF NOW series. I also just teamed up w/ my old writing partner, Jimmy Ellis, to make a sequel to one of his movies. So I'm gonna be staying busy for awhile.
Allen: Nothing finished yet, but probably Batman Beyond II
Conn: Free The Chicago 7 and Malik my next two projects after Once Upon A Time In Greenwich Village. With Malik I'm working with the dream team. David Fincher is directing and great actors like Julia Roberts, Stanley Tucci and Billy Crudup and it's a thriller and I enjoy writing thrillers when i get to write them. Free The Chicago 7! is my dream project. I've been fascinated with the case since I heard about it. When i read about the trial i became fascinated with the characters and I immediately read Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman and started becoming interested in 60s culture. I didn't feel the Sorkin film while getting some great performances I didn't feel it captured the humor and great characters that I read about while researching the story. Thanks to John Malone who suggested that I could make a film with a different spin and Admin who greenlit the project I was able to write my dream project which is really what LRF is about. Making your dream projects a reality.
Gallo: I have a sequel to The Punisher out in Season 25 and a return to the western genre in Season 26.
Horne: I have taken the dive into writing superhero films recently with three due out over the next few seasons, so that should be exciting.
Once again, thank you to all those that participated and happy anniversary LRF! What a wonderful ride it has been.