Hello... Is the anybody in there?

Hey,

I know we haven’t posted in a while, but we’ve been really busy with a lot of projects as of late. We’ll elaborate soon on this, but I have some quick business to attend to at the moment.

KREJ, with the aid of our good friends in Ogden Media Group are participating in the 24 Hour Film Race this year. We will be writing, shooting and editing a 4-minute short within a 24 hour period. It’s a daunting task, but we’re confident we’ll do a great job on our short. If you wanna be in this or help out, we’d love to have you.

At the moment, we’re just trying to put together a large pool of crew/actors/extras to select from once we know who and what we need, so you may or may not be used, there’s no promises. We mostly need actresses of all types, and a good sound person to record on-set sound/dialogue more than anything really, but we’re willing to add others to our pool of potentials.

It’s from 10pm on Friday April 29th til 10pm on Saturday the 30th, but we will most likely need crew/actors/extras between the hours of midnight and around 5 or 6pm (probably not for the entire time though, unless you are available for that).
There’s no pay, but we’ll try to feed everyone who is working on it.

We are also searching for visually interesting/stimulating locations of all kinds, and musicians who can allow us to use good quality recordings of their band’s or their own personal music. We would love music of all kinds as long as the music’s original writer can give us permission to use it and sign a release.

So, if you’re interested just let me know what hours would be best for you, or if you’re not interested, but know someone who might be, feel free to send them my way. Email me at jeffg@krej.tv to inquire.

Oh, and be sure to check out myself, Trent and Stevzie’s improv group, LaughTrack: The Improvised Sitcom 8pm followed by Revis & Zeiss (Craig Zeiss! From ORAM), every Wednesday night at Relapse Theatre in Atlanta.

Busy, busy. Gotta get back to work.

Lates,
-Grantzy

So Here’s What Happened...

I know it’s been awhile since you’ve heard from us, but I assure you KREJ Productions is not dead. Quite the contrary, in fact. We’ve been keeping pretty busy as of late. So, I decided to look back at our last blog posts, see where we left off with you guys, and catch you all up on what has been going on in the world of KREJ.

First up, as Kaminski noted in his last blog, Steven, Trent, and I have finished our Improv classes at Relapse Theatre and we’ve graduated. We did three shows total as a class and now we are all moving on to new separate groups and projects within the company. Speaking of new projects, Steven and I are in a new improv show called LaughTrack, with Melissa Owens and Jan Lefrancios-Gijzen, both of whom you hopefully soon recognize from “Of Rats and Men” and Jesse Cramer, another of our former classmates. LaughTrack is a completely improvised sit-com that we perform based on the title of a made up sitcom that the audience suggests. We had our first show the Saturday before last, where we opened up for IMPROV! the Musical, one of Jackpie’s Featured Productions. The show went extremely well. We have another show this coming Thursday January 27th, and after that we will be performing monthly at Relapse. We hope to see at one of our shows in the future. Oh, and did I mention that Relapse has a full bar now? Now do you wanna come see our show?

Steven’s dad, Jack, recorded the show for us, so I might look into posting it up on the site, if the rest of the in the group don’t mind. I also wanted to mention, while we’re on the subject of improv, that Kaminski has started his classes at Relapse, and we all wish him luck, and we hope he has as much fun working with Jackpie as we did.

Next up on the agenda is the topic of editing. From what I hear, Jerry is back to work on the editing process of “Of Rats and Men,” after almost a month of delays, including his being snowed in in Tennessee. We hope to announce some dates for a screening soon, so as always check back here for updates.

But Jerry hasn’t been the only person editing around here. I’ve been wanted to try my hand at editing for a while now, and finally broke down and bought me some Adobe Premiere Elements, and have been tinkering around with it for about a week or so. The end result of the aforementioned tinkering session is our brand spanking new KREJ Productions Demo Reel. It features footage from all of our previous films, including “Tim and Katie,” “Of Rats and Men,” and the unreleased short that I directed, “Bored.” Take a look:



My next editing assignment is gonna be “Bored” which is a short, Grindhouse-like trailer, which I also wrote and directed.

As always, Kaminski and I are still putting pen to paper and get some good old fashion writing done. We’ve been working on a bunch of things, separately and on our own, like scripts for shorts, comics, and a few feature films and all kinds of good stuff, and I’ve heard tale that the young sir Trenton has been writing a thing or… ok just a thing, but still, good on him. There’s been a little talk about getting together with some of our fellow improvisers and shooting a few sketches sometime soon. I hope we do that. Sketches are a lot of fun to do, and we haven’t made any sketches in a long long time. Before KREJ I wanna say.

There has been some early talk of us shooting a music video for Atlanta based metal band Eyes of Torment. The video will be for the song “Sledgehammer’s Don’t Need Reloading,” which was influenced in part by the band’s bassist Josh Thompson’s experience playing Kevin in “Tim and Katie.” I’ve seen Eyes of Torment play numerous times before and the song “Sledgehammers…” kicks all kinds of ass. The band will hopefully be going into the studio soon to record the track, and after that we’ll see about actually shooting the video. The thing I’m excited about the most with this project, is we are definitely gonna be working with zombies again. If you’re not doing anything tonight, come check out Eyes of Torment tear the stage a new asshole at The Masquerade at 7:00.

And lastly I want to announce that KREJ has recently taken a meeting with our good friend Ron Ogden and his brother and our new good friend Reid regarded some upcoming collaborations between our company and their company Ogden Media Group (OMG!). The first project that we are working on is a short film that the Ogden brothers are developing right now, and that we are planning on shooting next month. I don’t wanna give away too much, but the short will star Ron and will be directed by Reid. There has also been talk about developing some features with the two companies. It’s all very exciting and we can’t wait to work with these talented guys. I have a feeling we’re gonna do great things together. In the meantime, please check out the Ogden Media Group’s Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ogden-Media-Group/157343300968655?v=wall#!/pages/Ogden-Media-Group/157343300968655

Anywhoozle, that’s pretty much what’s been going on around KREJ HQ. Out of curiosity, I rented Piranha (unfortunately the none 3D version) and I think it’s about time I get around to killing that cat. What say you?

Cheers,
-Grantzy

Seasons Bleezings!

The title says it all, from the Krej Krew we hope all of you (yes all two of you) have a happy holidays!

OK enough of that. So what's been up with Krej you ask? At first glance not much. In actuality a lot under the surface has happened.

Steven, Trent and Grantzy just finished their improv classes at the Relapse Theater. A big congrats goes out to them for sticking with the 8 month class. As has been stated before we are making some strong connections with the good people at Relapse.

In other news, the painstakingly slow editing of "Of Rats and Men" has grinded to a complete stop. The plan was to have a "damn close to final cut" done by Christmas. Do to recent events it looks like we might finish sometime in the later part of this decade. I wouldn't advise you on holding your breath.

As for me, my plan this winter is to alienate myself from everyone so I can get some writing done. When not doing that I will follow suit with my Krej Kompatriots and be taking improv classes. I can only hope this proves to be a huge embarrassing failure.

Speaking of huge embarrassing failures I just recently took a trip to Salt Lake City and attempted to ski. Let me take this moment to rant about how much I now loathe that sport. I am almost died twice. It didn't help that me and my friend Keegan accidentally got on the wrong lift and ended up on the advanced mountain.

There was however a moment of joy whilst my body was falling down the mountain (I say that because what I was doing would never be considered skiing). It was euphoric for a brief moment, but then I crashed and the reality of my plight was restored. The bar there was pretty nice though, had a nice cup of chili while I waited for feeling to return to my extremities and nursed my aching body.

We continue to truck a long here at Krej. 2010 was a good year for networking. With some hard work we might be able to use that to have a very fruitful 2011.

Like last year I will be doing a Top 10 Movies of the year. With a bit of luck I will have that done sooner then later.

Well I can't think anything else to type that any of you would really care about, so peace!

Jeff K

Zombie Attack! Week 2 recap

Well folks, today's Thursday! So here's a recap of this week's Zombie Attack! shorts, part 3 and 4. 

Zombie Attack! Part 3 : "Proposal"

Zombie Attack! Part 4 : "House Hunters"

Enjoy & share with your friends!

The Dollar Movie Critic: "Going The Distance"

So, I’ve been sitting around doing some thinking lately about the blog. Ways to keep it interesting around this joint. I looked back over some our previous blogs to see what worked and what didn’t (Douchebag of the Month for example), and I came across a movie review for “Avatar” written by Kaminski from months and months ago. So, I gots to thinkin. We make movies. We watch movies. Why not talk about the movies that we see when they come out. Only problem is, I’m broke as hell. Always. I can’t always afford to go see movies right when they come out. So, I now introduce to you to the very first installment of “The Dollar Movie Critic.”

I managed to get off work early tonight (as in not 2am) and took a little trip to my local dollar theater to see “Going The Distance,” the romantic comedy starring Justin Long and Drew Barrymore about a couple trying to make a long distance relationship work while he lives in New York and she lives in San Francisco. I have been looking forward to seeing this movie for a while, since I watched the trailer online. I’m a big fan of Justin Long in his comedy roles (just look at “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and “The Sasquatch Gang for a couple of my favorite performances of his). Dude knows how to be funny and improvise like a beast. It seemed to me that this movie was going for the same audience that “500 Days of Summer” was going for, evenly aimed at the guys in the audience just as much as the chicks. I really enjoyed that movie, so I had high hopes for this one as well.

When I watched the trailer, two things stuck out. First, I saw that the movie was rated R, which, unfortunately, is not the norm for romantic comedies. It looked to me that they were going for something a little more along the lines of a Judd Apatow helmed romantic comedy, as opposed to the typical Kate Hudson crap that we’re all used to. The second thing I noticed was that Charlie Day (as in Charlie from “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”) was in the flick. Seeing as how I (along with everyone else in KREJ) am a die-hard Sunny fan, it should go without saying that this movie immediately became a huge priority on my “movies to see” list.

And boy, Charlie did not disappoint in the role of Long’s roommate/friend. He killed it, in my opinion. He was my favorite part of the whole movie. He was in the movie way more than I thought he would be. There were at least 6 or 7 parts in the movie where he really got to shine. I was really happy to see that, in a movie where a handful of really funny and talented people (like Rob Riggle and Kristen Schaal) were severely under-used. Jason Sudeikis did an okay job as Long’s other friend and coworker, but I felt like there wasn’t much more to his character than a funny moustache for the majority of the film (There was a running gag about him having a moustache to attract older ladies, who are reminiscent of the 70’s, where the moustache was king). There was, however, a nice piece of business involving moustaches later on in the movie, that I thought was a nice pay-off to the gag, but it really didn’t really involve Sudeikis’s character that much. Jim Gaffigan could’ve been used a little bit more, but he was still very funny in the role of Barrymore’s brother-in-law.

As far as the leads go, I thought they did what all good leads in a romantic comedy should do, sell the relationship aspect, and be funny. Both of them had several really funny parts. The relationship was believable, but they actually dated, so that part kinda doesn’t even count if you think about it. The one person that surprised me the most was Christina Applegate. I knew she could do comedy, but I’ve never seen her go quite so blue before. She cracked me up several times, and the relationship between her character and Gaffigan’s was a definitely a different one than I’ve seen before in this genre.

I do have to say that I was actually surprised by the writing in this movie. There were several scenes where I felt like the dialogue was pretty genuine. I have to say I’m a big fan of the “that’s how people really talk” writing style that some of my favorite writers like Kevin Smith employ, and I think they succeeded as far as believable dialogue goes. I was a bit surprised that I found scenes between just the female characters just as funny and dirty as some of the scenes with just the guys. I felt the dialogue was pretty evenly balanced in that respect. I also appreciated how the writer approached certain things that most rom-coms would overlook, such as the question of “how the hell do these two have enough money to travel back and forth so often?” Surprisingly, this is writer Geoff LaTulippe’s first produced script. I look forward to seeing what else he does in the future.

As far as the film’s direction goes, there were a few shots in the movie that I liked quite a bit. One scene in particular, during the point of the film where the couple is getting to know each other, is shot in a style very similar to a documentary (all of the director, Nanette Burstein’s previous works are documentaries). The thing I liked the least about the movie was whenever a character flew from one side of the country to the other, a large map comes up on screen with line and a little animated plane to show us how a person can get into a plane and fly from one place to another (which actually happens quite a lot in a movie about two people flying back and forth to see each other). I’d say this technique is highly overused in films, and we the audience know how air travel works. They could have found a different, more unique way of showing their travels.

But that’s a small complaint. I thought the film was pretty enjoyable overall. If you’re into movies like “500 Days of Summer” or any of the raunchier Judd Apatow produced rom-coms like “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and the likes, you’d probably enjoy this movie. If you’re as big a fan of “It’s Always Sunny” as I am, than this might be worth checking out with the appearance of Charlie Day alone. This is like the first widely released movie that he’s even been in since “Sunny” first premiered, and he’s pretty heavily featured, where as the other guys from the show, Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney, have been in a few things, but didn’t really get to do much, let alone something right in the range of what we get to see them do on “It’s Always Sunny.” But I should also add that this film should appeal to the typical audience of your average romantic comedies as well, as long as things like crude, sexual language doesn’t turn you away.

Aaaaaaaannnndddd, that’s my first review. I’ve been wanting to try and make a conscience effort to go see more movies, and maybe the movie review parts of this blog can get me to do that more. But I ain’t paying more than $2 a ticket until some millionare decides to start funding our movies. Sooo, millionaires get on that.

Peace,
-Grantzy

Howdy howdy howdy!

Well it's been a while, but it's time for another installment of Jerry's Scuttlebutt.

Let me start off by saying that the last few months have been more hectic than the rest of the year combined. Both personally speaking and KREJ-wise. Ever since Of Rats And Men wrapped it has been one thing after another here. The good news is this has entailed all sorts of wonderful opportunities for KREJ. We've been consistently meeting new and wonderful people to work with, and have been having a blast doing so. And as previously mentioned by Grantzy, we had the privilege to shoot a plethora of short films for Relapse Theatre! Even better, the first two are online and ready for you to go watch them! So after you finish reading this most-important of blog posts, speaking modestly of course, you should totes go watch them both, and then pass them on to your friends. 

In other news, Of Rats And Men is currently in the process of being edited by none other than yours truly. We are planning to have a rough cut done by Halloween, and then we can begin fine tuning it for mass-viewing by you, our wonderful fans. But as far as a date for when the final version will be done? Well, stay tuned on that.. (honestly I don't know, there are way too many factors involved right now).

Rewinding to 2009, some of you maybe remember a little flick we did called Tim & Katie (A Nice Little Love Story, With Zombies). Well I've got great news for those of you who are clueless right now! We are going to be posting this movie, in its entirety, in the near future. Now for those of you who already saw it, there's even better news, this version will be shorter, tighter, and look a lot mo-bettah. Plus, I mean, it'll be online.. so.. you know, you can watch it as many times you want, whenever, and wherever!

Also, begin mentally preparing yourself for KREJ Productions to enter the realm of podcasting. It's been said before, sure, but this time, we really mean it (I think?).

Anyways, without further ado, I present to you the Zombie Attack shorts (more will be appended and/or posted as they are uploaded every Tues. & Thurs.)!

Love, Matthew (Jerry)


 Zombie Attack Part 1: "Birthday Party"
 


Zombie Attack! Part 2 :  "Good Samaritan"

Jeff Grantz Rantz: Our First Improv Show

So, I still don't have internet, otherwise, I would have posted sooner with the tellings from this past weekend. Currently, I am sitting in my buddy Johnny's driveway borrowing some internets. It's cool though, because he knows I am doing it. It would be a dick move to steal someone's internets and them not know you are doing it.
Some guy I made up: "Martha, why is it taking so long to download Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3?"
Martha (whom I also made up): "I don't know. By the way, who's that creepy guy sitting in our driveway?"
First Guy: "I'm not sure. Hey, be a dear, and hand me that gun."

Anyways, this past Saturday was our (Steven, Trent and myself) first improv show. We were a little nervous, I know I was at least. Doing improv with an audience is interesting, because there is NOTHING planned. At least in plays or stuff there is a script to go off of, so as long as you know your shit, you can at least blame the material if it sucks. We managed to pull our shit together right as we were getting introduced (by our new friend Ron, who was in "Zombie Attack!" and will be returning later in this story) and we took the stage.

See, the thing about the format that we were doing, the Harold, is that it is normally done with 6 to 8 performers. Well, we have 11 in our class. That makes it pretty hard to keep 11 people all on the same page. Luckily, we managed to work together and we actually pulled off a pretty good first show. We had alot of people there in the audience, so that was pretty cool. It gave me a little more confidence in myself as a performer to know that I didn't just freeze up under pressure. Not that I ever really thought that might be the case, but it's always good to know for sure.

Like I said though, it is hard to do a Harold with 11 people, so some people got a little more play than others, but everybody got to do stuff. Out of the three of us, Steven was definitely onstage the most, in a hilarious scene with Craig Zeiss (whom you will soon know as Ron from "Of Rats and Men") and Kelley Roark (due some unfortunate incident, was cut from ORAM). I gotta say (even though it fills me with udder hate) Steven was getting a lot of laughs. Homeboy was killing it. It is really hard to explain an imrov scene, it's kind of like a "You had to be there..." story, but the best part about his scenes, were him slipping in and out of a gay accent as he was trying to hide the fact that he is gay from his mom... and Craig played his boyfriend... Need I say more... OK... I will... It was AWESOME!!!

So, after our show, we definitely stuck around. If you haven't been to Relapse Theatre, for shame. That's a bunch of really funny people who know how to have a good time. After us, there was like 6 or 7 other teams playing, including the aforementioned Craig Zeiss and our current improv teacher, Jay Revis and their brand new show, "The Condition." Hysterical, that's all I can say.

After a night filled with funny shows and hanging out with Ron and some people from our class, we headed back to KREJ HQ, with Ron in tow. And proceeded to throw down. We hung out til around 4:30 drinking and talking shop, future projects and whatnot. Definitely a very fun night. Ron is an extremely hilarious dude. Check out his YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/drmagoo18 Dude was in an official adult swim commercial.

Now to another potentially fun thing. We're currently working on added stuff to our website. "Zombie Attack!" is gonna be going up soon (on the blog first, then to the video section of the site), we (Kaminski and I at least) are trying to make a conscious effort to blog more (hard, in my current broke ass state), we're talking new features, and there might even be some "Tim and Katie" action coming soon. Another thing we're working on is podcasts. We've been talking about a KREJ podcast for a while, and once we get a shedule down, it's coming, but the podcast that me and Trent have been working on with our friend Luke Brayden might be out sooner. We don't have a name yet, but we're working on it. Make sure to check in for that very soon.

And I mentioned "Zombie Attack!" earlier, and tomorrow is the day. At some point tomorrow, the first part of the 7 part series will go up. So, check back here every five minutes tomorrow until it goes up, then watch it 30 or 40 times, in a row, and then post links to them on your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Blogspot, Myspace, Xanga, Gaia, and every other social networking site in existence (if you don't have some of these, create an account) and tell all of your friends and/or break into their house and write it on their calenders. And you'll have to do that every Tuesday and Wednesday for the next 3 weeks. Have fun kids.

2,
-Grantzy

P.S. Oh, and my cousin Josh (from Tim and Katie) was this close* to getting a tattoo of Homestar Runner on his ass. But the tattoo gun stopped working. Shitty.

*I'm holding my index finger and thumb roughly a centimeter and a half apart.