If I were Superstitious I Wouldn't even Mention This...

Haven't had a truly positive update in a while.  Thought I'd drop in and let folks know...

Despite all manner of delays, some which could have been avoided with a bit more foresight and some which could not be avoided on our small budget, we have had a few things fall in place this past week and it's looking good for the last few pieces of post-production.

The last work could be done as early as Hallowe'en... but a safer estimate would be a week or so further along.  In any case, there are few issues which could hold us back now.  The finish line is so close that if it were olfactorily sensible, I could smell it!

Whew!

Interview on Skeptically Speaking

Just a quick note to direct any of you who check in here with any regularity that I was interviewed on Skeptically Speaking this past week about the film and some other stuff...

Oh and for the record, despite what I said, David Nykl is NOT at DragonCon. He called me last night - the night the show aired - asking if I wanted to go see Inglourious Basterds. I am nowhere near Atlanta right now (indeed I've been watching parts of SkepTrack at DragonCon on-line; therefore David is neither (or he expected one heck of a commute) and is NOT at DragonCon.

Sometimes I'm a dumbass.

A Quick Cry for Help!

I'm going to be a guest on Skeptically Speaking this week, but due to a bunch of factors (they're having technical issues in the studio & the host is going to DragonCon) they aren't doing the interview as one of their normal call-in shows.

We are pre-recording the interview without any random listener questions. We're doing that on Monday evening (Aug 31st).

It would be cool if we had some email questions though...

Here's the preview of the show:"Kennedy Goodkey, one of the actors in the new independent movie The Beast of Bottomless Lake will discuss Ogopogo, being a skeptic in the not-so-skeptical acting community,and what it’s like to shoot a movie in a town where the tourism industry is built on the perpetuation of a myth."

If anyone can come up with a question, go to their home page and email it in to the show.

http://skepticallyspeaking.com/episodes/23-the-skeptical-actor

Thanks in advance!

Toronto Announces Film Schedule - Sorry Folks this isn't a "Great News!" post.

So, what more is there to say after that post-title?

TIFF has announced their films for this year.

"Beast..." is not one of them. We've actually know this for a few days but haven't made much noise about it until the official announcement.

Am I disappointed? Well, yeah. Kind of.
But honestly I'm a bit relieved too.

We were unable to provide TIFF with a completed version of the film. It was a work in progress. That is never the best situation, but it's not the end of the world.

If we had been accepted... well we STILL aren't quite done. We are very close, but the stress of that impending deadline (plus all the additional work that being in the third biggest film festival in the world) would entail... I'm a bit relieved we don't have to deal with that.

As I've told a number of people - getting into Toronto would have been a huge deal, but not getting into Toronto is not a huge deal. There are plenty of other festivals - a number of which are on the immediate horizon. Not getting into Toronto does not mark being a failure.

Now we can finish the film at our pace - which ironically doesn't add much time to the schedule, but it takes off the pressure to finish hell or high-water and we can roll with complications rather than panic over them.

New Cryptozoology Podcast

It's only two episodes in – the latest was posted yesterday – but there is a new podcast about cryptozoology which I've started listening to.

It's called Monster Talk and is available through iTunes.

The show itself looks at cryptozoological studies from a position of strict adherence to the scientific method – though not without a sense of humour about it. So you know you will never hear about incontrovertible proof of the Ogopogo (or Nessie, Sasquatch or the Chupacabra) unless one day they are actually found, like say – the megamouth shark or the coelacanth... which they tell us are themselves probable future topics.

Cryptozoology is funny that way. It is a valid science in a sense (sullied by far too many credulous 'amateur scientists') yet when something new is found it leaps from being cryptozoology to zoology. A true cryptozoologist is really a zoologist who is looking for a creature that is expected to exist based upon empirical evidence.

The hosts of the show are Blake Smith, Dr. Karen Stollznow and Ben Radford. Each of them a skeptical celebrity in their own right. Ben Radford, specifically, co-wrote "Lake Monster Mysteries" with Joe Nickell – which I previously mentioned was a significant research text for "Beast of Bottomless Lake."

Drop by the forums. I'm one of the more active members – with only two episodes complete, there aren't many of us! My forum name is "Jedischooldropout" just about anywhere including on Monster Talk.

Thinking About the Okanagan

There are so many people involved in the film who are from the Okanagan Valley. It's hard to imagine that someone involved in the film wasn't at the very least severely inconvenienced this past weekend while a new fire scoured parts of the region.

It's hard for us to be able to keep tabs on everyone. If perhaps any of you are reading this and were caused trouble, our hearts are going out to you. Keep in touch and let us know you are alright.

Toronto Film Festival – Keep Holding Your Breath

Just in case anyone is keeping tabs...

Yes. TIFF announced a whole raft of films yesterday and NO we were not on the list.

BUT...

The Canadian Films are announced on August 4^th... so keep your fingers crossed