Gary Post Office

One of the additional locales we will be filming at in Gary, IN. The city is a wonderful backlot and we continue to find great locales to film in. I shall return here for "Fall Away" in January and "F*CKLOAD"

Gary Church Interior

Completed survey of Gary, IN and all is in order. Ben Clement at the Film Office is a fellow filmmaker and a good egg. We found a nuber of outstanding locales. Here's a sample of the final look of the film.

Lakeside

Here's another look at the world we start creating next month.

Cranberry Lakes

Just completed two days intensive scouting and pinned down all locales at the Cranberry Lakes Resort. We shoot more than half the film here and it's a wonderful locale eerie in the right light. got hit by shrapnel during our explosives test (more about that later) but here's an advance look at the world - and style - of "The Defiled."

"The Road" vs. "The Defiled"

I have watched the HORRIBLE trailer from Dimension (a division of Mirimax) and observed the following:

1. They are in color with obvious CG and a talky-action driven plot. Charlize Theron dies a 1/3 of the way through and I'm not impressed with the work on the trailer at all. It's a color, end-of-the-world action film at first blush and it seems contrived as hell.

2. We are B/W, non verbal, wide-screen and full of poetical allegories that they do not cover. Our relationship is closer to the works of Jodorowsky, Lynch and the work of European art cinema. We have one line of dialogue in the entire film and atonal and non-traditional music throughout.

We are not a MOVIE. We are a FILM.

We are a story complete with moments of grotesque beauty and savage love that the studios dare not touch. Until Derek wrote to me today, I knew nothing of this project.

In short, they ain't got nothing on us.

Julian

PS - It freaked me out for a half-hour or so though when I heard about it. I tried reading "Blood Meridian" by the same author and couldn't make heads nor tails of it. Maybe I'm too dumb? Oprah named the book one of her picks in 2008 and it won a friggin' Pulitzer - and yet, I knew nothing of this book. I am stating it publicly now so it can NEVER come into question.

As "The Road" is a ecological-shocker and we are a bio-shocker and keeping the infection a mystery, I believe we are in a darker place that this release from Dimension. It comes out in October - I will be deep in editing at that point - and I can do is pray that the film gods keep us in their good graces. They have so far.

Welcome Cirque du Face!

Cirque du Face FX have taken on the core on-set VFX makeup for us on "The Defiled." Ms. Crystal Portillo is an industry veteran with multiple credits on stage and screen. We're thrilled to have her on board and the rest of the Cirque family. Find out more about them at www.cirquefx.com

Detaied Baby Pix for "The Defiled"

Rob Kurtzman at P13 is sculpting the baby for the film based on the CGI creation as above. What an honor to have a master craftsman like RK working with us.

SPFX Props and Elements for "The Defiled"

F*CKED UP STUFF - FOTS! (Friends of the ShoW!)

Welcome the kind artists at F*KDUP STUFF www.fuckdupstuff.com and Bob Anfuso as they join "The Defiled" and provide some truly disgusting stuff for us. I can't post it here as it is truly out-of-this-world sick - but you're gonna love it. Many thanks, Bob.

Ali Goodman joins Cast of "The Defiled"

Chicago native Ali Goodman joins the cast of "The Defiled" as one of the woman captured and savaged by BITER and STABBER - the two flesh eating ghouls that appear in the film. Ali is a great actor that I had the opportunity to teach at Act One Studios here in Chicago. Welcome Ali!!

Family Rehearsal

Had a great rehearsal here at my studio this weekend as 'The Family" got together for the first time. Before long everyone was rolling on the ground, biting, scratching and howling at each other. Slapping, hugging and much scalp picking ensued - much to my joy (and the cast's courage). What a wonderful cast. How willing and trusting. I am very lucky to have such strong performers willing to growl, wail and scratch at each other. Locations are coming together as I get closer to starting with the Cranberry Lakes area designated our primary home. Swapping out some crew members here and there as schedules solidify and we get ready to begin. First AD Derek is on V4 on the boards and we're in good hands as he plots our forward path.