Greater Than Gravity

So I was fortunate enough to get a call from these guys...They want to join us on this film as stunties!!!!! Check them out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtpfXbYMvb4

Crew Meetings Begining

Today I am meeting with Melissa Hill, Christen Kimbell, and Mr. Jay Jaacks! Some of the fine folks who are interested in crewing up on Dex Dixon.

I am so blessed to have so many folks wanting to lend their incredible talents and time into this adventure.

In addition we have had an enormous amount of response for martial artists and dancers who would like to help out as dancing/fighting Werewolves and Zombies and Vampires...OH MY!

As time ticks away we have to get organized and these fine folks will be key to that happening. Thank you all so much!

Photo Shoot, SFX, and More

Well we keep on plugging away at Mr. Dixon's universe. Last Friday I went to visit Mr. Galvin Collins who was excited to help us shoot a few Noir shots to promote Dex Dixon.

They turned out great. On the side panel you can find a slide show with some of the pictures.

Carl Jameson and I had a meeting with a local Special Effects Make-up artist as well to discuss the requirements of this shoot. There is so much planning that goes into a shoot like this...it can become a bit overwhelming at times. But also exciting.

We are receiving a lot of response from some ads we placed looking for martial artists and dancers to play the denizens of our world as well. I am excited by the enthusiastic response so far.

On the web site look for the "Contact Dex" link for Dex's direct phone line. Give him a call sometime. Especially if you have a case that needs solving.

We are still working on locations scouting as well...and we need a few key crew members. If you know anyone with a film background looking for a fun project...have them contact us at info@lazyeyefilms.net.

Assembling the Pieces

As the script has come together it has become clear that this project will require such an assemblage of talent in so many areas. Of course there is the actors. Need them, of course. I think I have assembled some of the best people for this adventure. Some are people I have worked with before, some whom I have wanted to work with, and some who have never done this sort of thing before.

As for crewing up; well a lot of it is in the air. I can say that Harold Phillips and Jerry Buxbaum have joined up and will be helping to create the fights and stunts of the Dexiverse. I am very excited to work with both of these fellas on this project. (They are both acting in it as well).

I am chatting with several people in regard to SFX....I hope we can find the perfect fit for us.

Look for original music by Ken Webster and Quintin Rice as well.

Many great people are stepping up to help out on this thing and it will benefit from such a great array of talent, experience, and enthusiasm.

Here is a list of acting talent attached so far:
Mercedes Rose, Harold Phillips, Marcella Laasch, John San Nicolas, Illya Torres, Dennis Adkins, Michael Benson, Bianca Benson, Jerry Buxbalm, Terri Lodge, and introducing Mary Jane.

As I said some great people...and I am assembling a cast of thousands to play Zombies, Vamps and Werewolves. I can not wait to start shooting!

Dex on the Web

So Dex Dixon now has a web presence. A Facebook Page and a New Web site have been created.

Web Site can be found at www.dexdixon.com

Facebook Page can be accessed from the main web site as well. Check it out and become a friend or fan.

We have also added a video feature here on our blog that showcases some of my earlier films and student films. You can watch a few here or click on the You Tube Link to see more on our You Tube Account.

Dex Gets Up and Runnin'

We had not intended to film Dex Dixon so quickly. In fact we were working on another project slated to begin production in the Summer of 2010. However circumstances came up that made the prospect of filming Dex sooner much more appealing.

Those circumstances have since gone away....but Dex plugs onward. We are planning to shoot in November with a budget of Zero! Yeah!!!!

I love starting a project with no money....as we continue money will be spent, but in the interim we go forward as if we will have none. I find this helps me to be much more creative as a filmmaker and we solve problems not bury them in cash to make them go away.

Being Steve Coker; writer, producer, director and sometimes actor, I had sort of written the character of Dex to play myself (Shit. Like Orson Welles I guess)...but that left a problem. I had an auteur attitude toward the project since it was so unique and was really based in my own sensibilities as a comedy writer...so how could I star in it and direct it as well. I couldn't! So I had to make a tough decision act or direct.

If I acted it, I was trusting someone else with my vision....scary. And if I directed it, there was a chance Dex wouldn't work as well as I knew the character could as I would be distracted with the technical aspects of the work and unable to really hone in on the character with an actor who had there own ideas and needs as a performer. I really was too selfish to let either of these things happen (Shit. Like Orson Welles I guess).

I eventually opted to direct it...but of course those who knew me were like, "Dude, who's gonna be Dex? It's totally you, man"

I decided to act it. But my wife was like, "Dude, are you seriously gonna be able to trust someone else with your vision?" AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

But then Carl Jameson and I had a meeting. He read Dex and liked it enough to sign on to the project as a CO-Director recognising that I had a vision for the piece, and being willing to work with me on maintaining that while focusing his attention on Cinematography and direction from behind the camera. He also came with a ton of experience in webisodic film making....an area Dex would fit into nicely in it's episodic format. Carl was the creator of the web series "The Bicyclist" and the feature film "The Bicyclists" based on that popular series.

I am so relieved that Carl has come on board...now I am sure that Dex will turn out as good as I see it in my own head....if not better!

We are slowly but surely assembling our cast as well...more on that to come!

The Birth of an Idea. Breach Style!

So where does a story like Dex Dixon come from?

Flashback to 2006...we were working on a 48hr Film. We had selected "Silent Film" as our mystery category and we were having a blast with it. As a director I loved the immediacy of the direction. Since there was no sound, I could shout out suggestions while rolling and the reactions of the actors was so spontaneous that I was instantly in love with the whole silent film process.

I had also been a long time opposed to student Zombie Films...I felt that everyone wanted to make one and that it is rarely done with originality...though I do love Shaun of the Dead....and the remake of Dawn of the Dead is rockin...Okay I love Zombie films! But my point was originality. After the silent film, I envisioned a silent Zombie movie with Buster Keaton acting coupled with true-gore effects...sick and twisted shit, ya know?

I had also been toying around with the thought of doing a Noir film...but again every Tom, Dick, and Film Student made one of those every twenty minutes in America. I wanted to make these types of films...but I didn't want to make a cliche' of any of them....

I had also had an epiphany one evening while watching a film in the beautifully restored Columbia Theatre in Saint Helens...I wondered what had happened to the cool cliff hanger serials they once played prior to the Saturday matinee? Why did they ever go out of style? I even asked the owner of the theatre if he would play a serial like that if they still were being made. He said he would love to and I was all....hummmmmmmmm.

The final piece of the puzzle came together one evening while I was referencing The Next Generation's Captain Picard's fictional detective Dixon Hill...I mistakenly referred to him as Dex Dixon...oops! A slip of the tongue, but it made me laugh and I quickly added the moniker; Paranormal Dick. Which made me laugh even more. What a great character name!

So here I was left with a character name for a detective, a desire to make a monster movie, and an itch to make a gritty film noir piece, and the mission to revive the 10 minute cliff hanger serials of old...Well the answer was simple. Combine the Genre...Play up the Cliche' elements...Add some musical numbers...And make it an Episodic Comedy/Horror/Noir Cliffhanger Serial.

That's right; Dick Tracy meets Scooby-Doo meets Abbot and Costello meets The Wolfman! Place all the elements in an episodic cliffhanger serial and let 'er rip!

Why the hell not? And that is how the idea was born.

Dex Dixon Investigations now open for business.

Hello, I am writer, producer, director and sometimes actor, Steve Coker. You can see me here to the left...am I not pretentious looking?
It's all a front.

I am the creator of the Dex Dixon Universe...or Dexiverse as it has been coined by my pal, Harold Phillips.

Welcome to our blog.

The goal of this blog will be to catalog the progress of creating a new web based serial adventure series from conception to completion.

We will follow our team of filmmakers as they battle the lack of budgetary funds and never ending obstacles that continuously face our intrepid band!
We will revel the secrets of the truly indie filmmaker and how they finagle and beg their way into having truly top-notch performers, crew and support staff work on their picture for spec and deferment.

Come WITNESS the frustration of scheduling a 10 episode adventure with thirteen characters who all have differing schedule conflicts.

SEE the awesome spectacle of costuming a period piece with a budget of Zero!

THRILL as we sing and dance our way into your film loving hearts.

I give you....Dex Dixon: Paranormal Dick!