MOVING TO MYSPACE

Hello everyone,

I'm switching my blogging over to www.myspace.com/bloodshedmovie

Check it out there!

Thanks,

Jim

New Review from Andre Manseau at Arrow in the Head!

I mean, DAMN! This one is good! I PROMISE you that I did not pay Andrew for this review! Check it out at Arrow in the Head.com

Anthem sells 8,000 units to Hollywood Video!!!!!

Hello everyone,

Just a little note to let you all know that Chuck Adelman over at Anthem just confirmed that Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery picked up 8,000 units for in-store rentals!!!!!! Keep up the great work, Chuck!

On a side note, please take a look at the new film blog I'm writing, all about producing a new feature drama entitled "Ciao."

www.ciaodallas.blogspot.com


Thanks!

Jim

Anthem Pictures to DistributeBloodshed in the U.S.

Holy crap it's been a while since I last posted! Sorry for that, hopefully there are a few of you out there who still keep up with this. In my experience, if a blogger doesn't keep up a near-constant stream of communication, they won't be read. Damn.

The most exciting news of all is that we've just signed a deal for domestic distribution!!! Anthem Pictures will be releasing the pic on DVD and PPV starting in November (actual street date pending). It's been a looooooong road, but slowly but surely everything's coming together. BIG UPS to my producer's rep Lawrence Silverstein over at Strategic Film Partners for setting this up!

Spotlight Pictures, my foreign sales company, has sold 2 territories at this time: UK (Third Millennium) and Germany (Atomik Films). We're hoping for more action in the foreign markets once the DVD hits the shelves domestically.

We also have a few new reviews:
Lee Bailes at Rumour Machine
Staci Wilson at About.com
(Check out all Bloodshed reviews by following the sidebar links)

Once we have access to the official domestic DVD packaging, I'll send out a copy to everyone who worked on the film, and I'll definitely keep you all posted as we find out release dates for the domestic and foreign territories.

As always, thanks for everyone's help!

Jim

SPOTLIGHT PICTURES to sell BLOODSHED!

Now that the contracts have been signed, I'm happy to announce that Matt McCombs over at Spotlight Pictures has signed on to represent Bloodshed in all Foreign Territories. (Check out their link on the sidebar to the right!) Only around 1/4 of their films slated for Berlin are horror films, so I think we'll rise from the pack at this market. My hopes are extremely high, as horror is consistently a winning genre at the markets. Which, looking back on this, was the entire point of Bloodshed.

Back in March, 2002, when Michael Roy and I were writing the script, we knew it had to be Horror. Neither of us had ever been so wholeheartedly invested in a film on this scale before, and I knew there was a good chance we'd screw it up just due to inexperience! We knew that Horror has that bounce-back ability to transcend naive filmmaking. (Well, MOST of the time.) Luckily for us, the shoot went well and the performances were great overall, and the end product is actually quite good.

So, now, thanks to Lawrence, we have a great company repping us at our first major market: The European Film Market in Berlin. It's kinda like Cannes meets AFM, except bigger than AFM and not quite as artsy as Cannes. Well, I might be wrong about all of this, but that's my impression of it after speaking with a few knowledgeable people.

Oh, Spotlight made a poster and trailer! I think what they've done is going to be very successful at the market, and that's what it's all about right now. The trailer in particular is good, maybe a little derivative, but that's what the buyers are looking for. It puts it in their comfort zone, without making them watch the entire film. Hey, if I had a hundred films to go through, this trailer would make me want to see more! I think Matt has done a swell job so far with making things happen.

I mean shit, I just signed the contracts four days ago and they already have the trailer and artwork up on the site? Nice one!

Thanks for the support everyone, I'll definitely keep you posted...

Jim

OH, PS: Would you PLEASE click on the IMDb link to the right? Each hit makes my site climb, and I want to be as high as possible for the Berlin market! Thanks, and please tell your friends! -Jim

Update for January 2006

Happy new Year to everyone, may it be the best yet!

Here’s what’s happening in regard to Bloodshed, in a nutshell. After signing with Lawrence in December, he has just gotten us a foreign sales rep, who is paying for the final sound mix and all of the promotional materials. DOPE! So, we’re planning to do the sound mix this month and they’re taking it to the European Film Market (Berlin, Germany) in early February. We should see some interest at that market, which will give us a view of what things will look like on the foreign distribution front overall. Then, off to Cannes! BTW, is anyone going to Sundance? I'm thinking of going just for the weekend after next...

Cheers and thanks for the support!

Lawrence Silverstein of Strategic Film Partners signs on as Producer's Representative!

Hello everyone!

Finally! Some frickin progress! Last Thursday, I signed with Lawrence Silverstein of Strategic Film Partners to represent me and my film "Bloodshed" for worldwide sales. He will be handling selling the film to both domestic and foreign distributors, negotiating deals much more effectively that I ever could have. My goal is to have "Bloodshed" on the shelves by the end of the year! We'll see.

The screening in Dallas last month was a great success! Thanks to everyone who came to the show. I'm trying to scrounge money together for an LA screening in late January.

Thanks everyone, I'll keep ya posted!

Cheers!

-Jim

BLOODSHED SCREENING - DALLAS, TX

BLOODSHED SCREENING
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd
10PM - FREE
Studio Movie Grill (Addison)
5405 Beltline Rd, Dallas, TX 75248
For more info please call (213) 819-5787

Please, we're trying to sell this thing out, so tell your friends and bring your lovers. The Studio Movie Grill offers booze and food, which, if you ask me, enhances the experience.

See you there!

Sincerely,

Jim

It's a roller-coaster, folks!

Alright! There have been several updates to give you all.

I just got back from the American Film Market, where I met virtually every sales agent and distributor I knew of, and also a few more I didn't! It was very eye-opening, and very very successful. We now have some serious interest with Bloodshed, and also with another film I'm trying to sell, entitled Deadroom. (Check the link to your right for more info)

We're going to have an official screening for Bloodshed on November 22nd in Dallas, TX. Please let me know if you want to go. It's free, and they'll be serving alcohol! Who doesn't like that?

Planning to have an LA premiere sometime in early December. No firm date yet, but I'll definitely give you all plenty of notice!

Now that things are happening again, I'll try to write more frequently.

Thanks for the support!

-Jim

Where Do I Begin?

Ack! Well, we're again on the search for a Sales Agent. Things fell apart at the last minute, but I've been told that this is very common, so I'm trying to keep my spirits up!

On a side note, I have started a new job at an ad agency called Stun Creative, and should have enough dough saved up to have an official theatrical screening here in LA. Fingers crossed for a December screening?

Still waiting on a response from James over at the Deep Ellum Film Fest in Dallas, Tx. Hoping to have our domestic premiere at that fest, as so many of our cast and crew are from Texas!

Preview of Review on Fishcomcollective.com

Hello everyone! Well, we're still going through the process of working out the Sales Agent deal. It has been so long at this point that I've actually been able to not constantly freak-out about it. That said, it appears as though the whole sha-bang is about to get settled, so I hope to have more news by the end of this week! In the meantime, here's a fresh new review, written by Kristopher Upjohn, that is about to be posted on the film/music/art site called FishComCollective.net:

Despite some rather horrific elements, "Bloodshed" really ends up being a horror film that functions less on gore and visuals and more on what you don't see. Much like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there's a lot of brutal and mutilatory (is that a word?) stuff afoot but much of it is offscreen. You get to see just enough of the grue to get the mind reeling.

I'm not going to dive too heavily into the story because there's more than one way I could launch a spoiler rocket. But the story involves some town kids and a couple of brothers that live out in a house out of town. The older brother is a bit of a pariah in town and suffers the flying-about of all sorts of ugly rumors about his family (most notably, his mother or grandma - I don't remember which). His brother is adult as well, but isn't all there. His older brother has spent his whole life taking care of him and is very protective.

Needless to say, creepy shit starts happening and the truth is immediately apparent. Twists and secrets don't really wait until the end of the movie but they aren't expositioned out for you right off the bat either.

Good acting and an attempt to differentiate one youngster from another that is moderately better than the Friday the 13th's group-of-partying-stereotypes-get-offed mode of populating a horror film. The movie also strives to deal with brutal, ugly material but in a way that doesn't rely on its graphic visual presentation to move things forward.

"Bloodshed" - again, much like Texas Chainsaw Massacre - is a very respectable effort and is mostly a success, even if it is a tad slow. (I realize now that millions of pissed off TCM fans are going to do bad, painful things to my body. I at least hope they film it.)

Review by Matthew Rowan-Maw of DerangedPictures.com

"We hit the bar for doubles and a couple of tequilas before heading back to the auditorium for the premier screening of Jim McMahon's BLOODSHED. McMahon's movie opens up like every other teen horror movie: two teens larking around in the woods playing pranks on the local sheriff and getting electric shocks for their troubles - this caused a laugh with the audience. Then there are the compulsory teen girls who work in the local coffee shop, one of whom drops her clothes with more regularity than a tube train to Kings Cross. But things begin to look up as we are introduced to two brothers, Frankie and Donnie - who live out of town in seclusion at the edge of the forest - who are both harbouring a family secret. Frankie looks after his remedial brother and together they keep away from the community unless they are selling jam or having their chainsaw fixed. Events really start to take a turn when Donnie is caught watching the teen couple having sex in their car. The macho teen freaks out, despite being okay about his mate watching the free sex show, and beats Donnie to a pulp leaving him screaming out for his older brother whilst lying bleeding on the floor. Older brother Frankie comes to his aid - axe in hand. They have to protect their secret, even if it means despatching a teen or two.

Jim McMahon sites The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as an influence and it shows. It also has a touch of The Last House On The Left to it. Filmed in a timeless town and remote cabin locations, he creates a raw grizzly movie that descends into a blood soaked frenzy by the end of its 81-minute running time. With fantastic performances by both the David Hess like Edward Ice Mrozek and Christopher Childs and a slap in the face ending, it's sure to gain cult status and deserves to be tracked down and seen. A Q&A follows the movie and we learn of the difficulties of shooting an independent horror movie on a severely limited budget. The DERANGED crew really liked Jim, his cast, crew and his movie, and we wish them well and every success in the future."

Matt and his rowdy gang run the site www.derangedpictures.com, where you can read all about the Dead by Dawn Horror Film Festival, as well as other rants, reviews and news of kick-ass independent horror projects!

Updates from A Scotsman

So, things are still going through the lawyer stage with the Domestic Distributor. I feel a bit like a third wheel now, but I guess that's how it's done. Hoping to have things finished up here this week, but the last time I said that... well, here we are, still! Basically, now that I've found a great, wonderful person to rep my film domestically, I now have to trudge through the very unpleasant task of working out the contract with our lawyers. It's not fun. (Oh, hey, I recently got my first lawyer!)

On to fun things! I just received a letter from a buddy of mine in Edinburgh. He was one of the bartenders at the Filmhouse who poured my brain into and out of a pint glass more than twice! (Hmmmm, along with Katherine, probably five or seven times. Wait, how many days were we there? It's all a blur...) On several occasions, we found ourselves staggering around the city at 5am, desperately trying to find somewhere that would let us drink. As luck would have it, there's ALWAYS a place to drink in Edinburgh! Anyway, he sent this great email, immediately after the G8 summit:

Hey Man,

Scotland has just experienced quite a lot recently - the shit hit the fan a few times in Edinburgh with the G8.  Anarcists got beaten with truncheons, but they kind of deserved it: if your gona carry machettes, metal poles, bats and throw rocks, you're gonna get a beaten.  We also had the best fuckin concert and demonstration for the end of poverty in Africa in the world at Murrayfield, however it has all been over-shadowed, but hopefully not forgotten, by these terrorist attacks in London? Man shit is happening over here.

So we still going to Amsterdam? let me know my man and tell me your news!

Steve

Yes, Steve, don't worry, I'm hooked into Amsterdam. Now, the only question is WHEN?

Well everyone, thanks for your support, and keep it tuned here. I'm trying to keep things interesting, and have been better about updating the page. Again, feel free to post comments, preferrably when inappropriate. See ya!

-Jim

Domestic Sales Happenings... Finally!

Good news! I am currently in talks with a Producer's Representative that has seen Bloodshed and wants to represent me! Unfortunately, they're only interested in handling the Domestic territory, but it's for everything: Video/DVD Rentals, Pay-Per-View/Video-On-Demand, Premium Cable and Standard Cable! At this point, we're negotiating a contract, which is extremely nerve-racking because it's an all-or-nothing scenario. Ultimately, once I sign, it's a 1-3 year commitment, which is a bit disturbing, but it's the final step in this long process.

Still looking for a Foreign Sales Rep, but I'll let everyone in on the name of the Domestic company once the contracts are signed and the deal is done, probably by the end of this week!

Trying not to think about the 12 festival entries we have out, 6 of them in Europe, Canada and Australia. I'm going to try and update this blog about once a week, both with current events regarding Bloodshed's distribution progress, and also with past production notes. I figure this is a good way to log all of the events that have transpired, then I'll put it all together for the DVD.

Feel free to post comments!

Cheers!

-Jim

PS: And a wonderful Happy Birthday to Shana Klisanin, the heroine of Bloodshed and a fucking rad woman! Prost!

Reviewed by Pete Murfet at Horror View

Hello everyone, here's an excerpt from our first review, written by Pete "Suspiriorum" Murfet of Horror View

"As if having one feature debut by a McMahon wasn’t enough, the final film on Friday was the world premiere of American Jim McMahon’s “Bloodshed” – although he is no relation to the “Dead Meat” director. This could well have been the big discovery of the fest (like last years’ “Shallow Ground”), but this slightly uneven film doesn’t quite climb that high. Having said that, there is still much to recommend this sometimes impressive & brutal indie flick. The unevenness can probably be laid at a fairly hastily written script, with a great location suddenly being made available but only for a very limited time. With a Bava-esque 11 day filming schedule (including a frankly heroic 22-hour marathon to get it finished in time), that the result film is this good is no small achievement, & means that both McMahon’s are names to keep an eye on in the future. The director & practically the entire cast & crew came on stage for a Q&A after the film, before the crowd went down to the bar to drink until 3am."

Read Pete Murfet's entire review of the Dead by Dawn Horror Film Festival at the Horror View website: http://www.horrorview.com/DEADDAWN2005.htm

Bloodshed Premieres at Dead by Dawn Horror Film Festival

Hello All!

We just recently premiered Bloodshed at the Dead by Dawn Horror Film Festival in Edinburgh Scotland last Friday (4/22/05). The 300-seat screening was sold-out and the crowd was EXTREMELY pleased with the 81-minute film! They laughed at the comedic relief, they cringed at the intensity. I was very pleased. There were even a few cheers at the particularly gruesome parts! Afterward, we had a Q&A that lasted 45 MINUTES. It was without a doubt the best reception I could have hoped for, as this was exactly the audience at which I was aiming. They weren't crazies dressed up in rubber and blood, they're just film fans.

Thank you everyone for your support. Expect to hear quite a bit more about the progress as things go forward.

FYI: Check out the updated IMDb listing of Bloodshed.

Sincerely,

Jim

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Jim McMahon
Producer . Director : BLOODSHED
www.bloodshedmovie.com
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Synopsis of Bloodshed

Isolated deep in the mountains outside a small American town, brothers Frankie and Donnie have a family history they'd rather not revisit. But when the local hooligans antagonize Donnie, the elder Frankie must defend him violently. Days later, the brothers are deep into a murder spree, desperately covering their tracks with deceit and bloodshed.