Archives: What’s Happening in HTG Town

Have a happy holiday season!

I was lucky to be able to sit down with HTG producer-studio head Marlowe of Miracle Pictures and discuss with him his upcoming film.

B: Hey.
M: Hey.

B: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me.
M: (shrugs)

B: Where did you come up with the inspiration for your next movie, Cruisified?
M: I was inspired by numerous conversations in HTG Chat. Sometimes movies just write themselves. The conversations were just begging to be put into a movie, so I obliged.

B: What exactly does Cruisified mean?
M: It means a number of things, all of them words that are kind and caring. To be Cruisified is, well, you’ll have to check out the movie and see.

B: Why did you choose the talents involved?
M: I do my best to match each character with the proper actor. It’s something I strive at doing. I believe that Wilmer, John and Ethan best portray the characters that they are playing, based on past performances. And, of course, casting Tom as himself was a given.

B: Okay, I have to ask. Is Tom crazy?
M: Yes. Crazy like an action hero.

B: How do you think Cruisified will be received?
M: I think that the viewers will appreciate the natural flow of the interaction between the characters. Either that, or they’ll not like it. What can I say, haha.

B: Do you have any holiday plans?
M: On Christmas Day I plan on sleeping late, watching TV, eating, checking up on things online, watching more TV, eating, more Internet, then sleeping.

B: How do you feel about operators of news sites promoting their own product?
M: I think it’s tacky. You’d never catch me doing that.

B: Do you have a favorite HTG movie?
M: Not really. I moderately enjoy many of them.

B: Any peeves?
M: People who don’t know the difference between “your” and “you’re”.

B: Any closing words?
M: I like pie.

B: Thanks!
M: Sure, any time.

Cruisified enters the HTG theatre on Friday, December 29.

Golly, another HTG news source. One of these days we’ll have so many places to pick up HTG info that we might actually see real stories on a regular basis.

UFI’s proposed Spider-Man movie will be huge. It already starts off big with an unbelievable +5 buzz vote bonus. It’s bound to be the highest buzzed movie in HTG’s 2+ year history.

Man, that’s a lot of money being used up in the auctions. The value of items that can add value to a film’s advertising will be even greater if the proposed ad budget increase starts in 2007.

Message board signatures are fun. Some people take other sigs too seriously.

The 2-week break from television will be a welcome breather. Producing a show each and every week is hard work. Running a network must be fun fun fun as well.

Is there really a Slacker Mafia? Or is it just a ruse to sell more Slacker Mafia T-shirts and coffee mugs?

The two-week break coming for HTG TV will be a load off of the work schedule for those involved in churning out weekly product.

Will a serious non-Mike Roulette movie (two of ‘em, actually) return one producer back to the top?

Is another HTG night hangout in the works?

Casting rumors…

Daniel Day Lewis and Nichole Kidman might have top four roles in Flip Brother’s summer tentpole release of Warcraft. Another actor that is one of producer Aaron Rowland’s best buddies might just be in the film also.

One wily producer paid for his entire movie cast using vouchers! In fact, the whole production seems to have been financed using awards, items and such. Did anyone tell him that he had to pay for those things anyway? Hehe.

I just spoke with an HTG res who has a casting agency up in the northwest quarter of the city. He told me that he went in to work one day and found that an extra talent voucher had made its way onto his shelf. And before the day was out, two actresses walked in and asked if he could find them a job. And he did, by day’s end. Go figure. Maybe there’s something to this casting agency thing after all.

Actor Rip Torn in Dead Heat publicity photo

As reported by various entertainment media, actor Rip Torn has been arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) in North Salem, New York. Torn, who has starred in numerous films including Men In Black and Dodgeball, and is currently a periodic guest star on the HTG TV series Dead Heat, was arrested after his car was involved in an accident and police were called. The 75-year-old allegedly refused to cooperate with authorities and would not submit to a blood-alcohol test. In January, 2004, the actor was arrested in New York City after crashing his car into a taxi and charged with DWI. After being taken into custody, he launched into a tirade at police headquarters, but was later found not guilty.

“This incident has nothing to do with Mr. Torn’s absence from the season finale of Dead Heat,” explained producer Marlowe at a press conference Monday evening. “The filming was completed some time ago. We do, however, have John Hurt and Lance Henriksen returning for this last episode.”

When asked about the longevity of the show, Marlowe smiled. “I was more than pleased to have the network pick it up. I had only planned on having it for one season, but former network head Mark Broderick asked to have it return for 10 episodes on Season 2, so I figured what the heck. Looking back, I guess having 23 episodes in a row of a one-hour show was a lot of work, but I enjoyed doing it.”

Dead Heat’s season finale will air at 10:00 Tuesday night on Channel One. The show stars Ron Livingston and Steve Zahn, two LAPD detectives killed in the line of duty and brought back to life through a secret resurrection machine. The show also features actresses Kimberly Williams and Christina Applegate.