Last night was the French premiere of DEAD SHADOWS (a film I acted in) at the L’Etrange Festival in Paris. I was there to support the screening and I loved the experience. After introducing the film (SEE THE VIDEO BELOW) to an enthusiastic and packed crowd (screening was sold out) with my brothers in tentacles (producer Julien Dunand, actors Fabian Wolfrom and Rurik Sallé, screenwriter Vincent Jule and director/producer David Cholewa), the flick finally kicked in and from my end it went swell. Peeps laughed at all the right spots (lots of my improvised lines got some giggles), clapped at some of the kills and the crowd stayed till the end and even clapped at the end of the final credits. After the screening lots of the audience members came up to me to shake my hand and tell me they dug my shit. So for me, yeah, that was a very positive screening.

What did I personally think of the film? Well I was on set, I lived it, was part of it, so I can’t be objective AT ALL. The flick was quite the battle to pull off. So fucking ambitious, so little money, so little time. With that, it came out better than I thought it would and it’s pretty much as good as it’s gonna get. It is flawed but I find the film’s lack of pretension and what it pulled off with so little time and coin very charming. It’s a B Movie akin to the ones we got in the 80’s. Where it lacked in means it made up in heart.  On a personal level, I liked my performance in it (which is always good) and dug the chemistry I had with the young lead (Fabian Wolfrom) and the bad guy (Rurik Sallé). So all in all am proud of the film. All I need.

In closing even though it’s the beginning for the movie (as it hits more festivals like Sitges in October and locks its impending worldwide DVD distribution) for me this screening acted as a semi ending. I will of course still report on the movie and keep tabs on it. But the screening gave me closure. A big thank you to the whole cast and crew for their hard work! And a special gracias to director David Cholewa and Producer Julien Dunand for hiring me and involving me in their crazy adventure. I loved working in French, adored Paris and I hope Dead Shadows will be the first of many. And of course thank you to L’Etrange Festival for giving the film such a lavish showing. I had a freaking blast! Onward and forward!

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