justincristelli

Wolverine! Little Shop! Repo!

Mon, 04 May 2009 05:05:36 GMT

Well, Lindsay and I had fun this weekend.

On Friday, we read comic books with lunch and headed off to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It was good. It was a little better than I feared it would be. It was a step up from X-Men: The Last Stand.

On Saturday, we went to the monthly showing of Fantasmo over at the Chesapeake Central Library. This month was a excellent one. First up was LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. I saw this back when it came out and Lindsay had not, so it was cool watching her react to it. Great movie.

The second movie at Fantasmo was REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA. neat little film. It's a horror/rock/opera or sorts. Good movie, but there is that Paris Hilton thing. I can't look past this huge error of casting on the part of the filmmakers. Despite that, it is definitely worth seeing.

My Youtube page

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:56:45 GMT

For those of you who doesn't know, I've got a Youtube page where I review films, comic books, and Mst3k. Here's the link.
http://www.youtube.com/user/therealmanos

Caprice Film Update Part One

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 05:21:34 GMT

Once there was a young girl named, Caprice. She started out as just a simple character that I had created for a short story. Now, she has become my teacher.

To prepare myself to write a horror novel, I decided to try penning a simple short horror story to see if I could do such a thing. I was fairly happy with the results. I took what I learned and moved on to Divita.

Something odd has occurred since I finished the novel. Caprice has come back into my life to teach me some more tricks. A few months back, I ran into a local filmmaker, Travis Jones at Elliot's Fairgrounds. I noticed him talking to a writer concerning a project as I was typing out a chapter of the book.

I never do this, but I struck my nose in his business once the other writer had left the meeting. After chatting about our work for a few minutes, I mentioned that I had a short horror story that he might be able to shoot with very little trouble. I soon sent him Caprice. I wasn't sure if he would even like, but he fucking loved it.

All of a sudden, I agreed to write a first draft of a screenplay for it. I had never written a screenplay before. I always wanted to, I just never had the chance. Now, Caprice was going to show me the way. We had discussed changes to the basic setting and some other details. Travis was pleased that I wasn't fighting with him about any of this. My feeling was that this was going to be learning experience.

I was eager to see one of my stories get adapted into another art form. Instead of fighting the changes, I was curious to see how it would turn out. Are you listening Alan Moore?

Travis wrote me back to say how much he liked it, however...

I'm pretty used to "However..." or "But...", so I felt this little film class was over. It was my surprise when he suggested that a director from Richmond might be a better a choice to bring this life. The director was Jack Bennett. Travis asked if I minded if Jack took a shot at a second draft.

I said, yes. I was very interested what another writer would make of my creation. Without giving too much away, he improved on it. He didn't change a thing, he simply developed the themes even farther than my original short story. His take on the same material was exciting to read.

I'll be honest, I worried if this script went too far. I wondered if it was too violent. It unsettled me. After a few days, I thought that maybe that was a good thing. I reread it and I finally got to talk with Jack personally over the phone. I was convinced that we had a lot of the same outlook on horror and how characters are treated in such works. I'm very proud of this script and I look forward to discussing more it with you during the next few months.

To be continued...

I'm not dead, I'm just on myspace.

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:05:30 GMT

For all two of you who may read my blogs here, I'd thought I'd update you on what I'm doing. I've been a lot on Myspace, Youtube, and lately...my new Facebook page. I still don't see the big deal with facebook. Everyone goes on and on about how kick ass it is and how much better it is than Myspace. To me, it's just another site.

I keep forgetting about this page. I think about dumping this page from time to time, but it's a decent second (or 3rd) spot to write unimportant shit about me.

ELECTION 08 Part 1 of 3

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:37:09 GMT

ELECTION 08: THE EARLY YEARS
Back in 2004, while John Kerry was off and running to unseat George Bush from the White House. I realized that something was going to happen...something wonderful!

One morning as I was getting dressed for work, I had CNN on in the background and they were interviewing a little known state senator from Illinois who was running for U.S. Senate. After listening to him speak for few minutes, I looked up to this young good looking black fellow. Instead of talking shit about the GOP, he was talking about working together. What he was saying was fairly obvious to me, but he sounded so different than other politicians. He was speaking to the viewers as if they were adults. That is something I was not used to hearing from Washington D.C. or the media.

He had me at Hello.

I went to work that day and told anyone who would listen to me that I just saw the first black President of the United States and his name was Barack Obama. I shit you not. This is what I said. Now to be fair, I figured he would be running in about 10 to 15 years later, little did I know how right I was.

Well, Kerry lost. I became depressed as hell for a few weeks after that. However, Obama won that senate seat and it gave me....something...what's that word again?

Hope.

McCain/Frankenstein "08

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:11:05 GMT

Friday was a very bad day for the McCain campaign.

First, Governor Palin was found guilty of abuse of power. This confirms my fears about her in that she is just like Bush in the way she bends the law to further her own personal goals.

Second, Obama has jumped 11 points ahead of him in the polls.

And third....that campaign rally!

I have NEVER seen a campaign rally like that before! McCain gets booed by his own supporters for saying that Obama is a decent man and that no one has anything to fear if he takes the White House. I almost felt sorry for him. The reason I don't is because how his campaign has conducted this racist attack on Obama over "His terrorist pal".

Over this week, I have seen supporters shout "Terrorist!" "Kill him!" while McCain and Palin continue on with their speeches. Finally! Enough was enough for McCain at Friday's rally. I could see in his face that he felt he needed to put a lid on this shit.

That is what happens when you use fear and racism. It's not something that one can control. It's not some machine that you can simply switch on and off. It's a monster that's the bastard child of fear and anger.

I spend a lot of time writing about vampires and werewolves and such, but as I watch those crowds I can say without a doubt....

...it may be the monster that kills us all.

Thank you Monsterfest!

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:44:17 GMT

Well, that was fun!

This year's Monsterfest was my debut of sorts of not only my novel, but me as a "Pro". I can't tell how exciting it was to sell my work for the first time at a show. I also wanted this con to be a training ground for me to see how well (Or bad) I was at selling my ideas.

The results?

I did ok.

I hosted a panel with fellow writer, Micheal McGowen (The Shadowlands) about what it was like writing that first novel. It was fun, I only hope I did not come off as too amateurish. I feared that no one would show up, but we had a heathy turnout! There was a professional author in attendance that gave some good advice about seeking an agent. However, from his attitude, I believe that he thought that I was a total idiot.

I just want to thank everyone that bought a copy of the Divita: Monsterfest Edition. People seemed pretty receptive to the story and I got some good feedback. I also wanted to thank Rob, Jim, and Craig for their support. Most of all, I wanted to thank Lindsay. She provided the kickass cover art and the entire layout of the book. I could not have done any of this without her. I am very very lucky writer to have her in my corner.

I realize that there will other cons, but I'll always remember my first.

Thank you

MONSTERFEST 2008 PREVIEW!

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:09:58 GMT

Hey there! Here is a video showing off what Lindsay and I have in store for this year's MONSTERFEST.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUvCvJHRyqE

MST3K: SEASON THREE STINGERS

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 12:19:35 GMT

One of my favorite bits from Mystery Science Theater 3000 is the stingers. That one last jab at the movie using the oddest moments from these films at the end titles of the show. Here are the stingers from Season Three.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exQ-DOdng44

Sad really.

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 05:08:43 GMT

For the second time, I had to inform a co-worker that Iraq had no connection to Al-Qaeda. Nick mentioned that Saddam shouldn't have been working with them. That was when I told him that the story had been proven wrong by none other than the C.I.A. and the Pentagon. He looked at me totally dumbfounded.

I've said it before, I'll say it again...

The more you know, the less Republican you are.

Preorder Divita: Monsterfest Edition

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:45:19 GMT

I've been posting bulletins from my Divita myspace page, but I'll also mention it here. I dropped the copies at the printer yesterday. It should be ready by the first of the week. So, I'm taking preorders for the book just in case people can't make it to Monsterfest. It will be $3 dollars for the first four chapters plus cover art by Lindsay Mays. If anyone here wants to see it, just contact me here and it's yours.

Why does Sarah Palin scare the shit out of me?

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:36:46 GMT

It's because she reminds me of George Bush the more I hear her speak. She is a popular Jesus-freak Governor that has zero knowledge of the outside world. Will this country ever learn?

Well, the Caprice movie is back on...maybe.

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:06:41 GMT

I swear! Guess who emailed me two days after my last post about the Caprice short film being done? Travis Jones!! I have no idea if he read that post or it was just one of those things. He wrote to say he was sorry about taking so long to get back with me and that he'll contact me later on details.

I'm really happy that I don't everything on this.

Well, the Caprice movie is toast.

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 05:32:57 GMT

Travis pulled out of the project due to a lack of decent equipment...I think that was the reason. Anyway, I did learn how to write a screenplay that I may still use. What's important now is the Divita Monsterfest Edition. Lindsay is doing the cover art for it. She is taking this chance to use watercolor and it looks great! I can't wait to see the whole thing put together.

Speaking of Divita, I think I'm finished with the touch ups on the novel. I'm sure I'll have to go back a third time to fix shit, but as far as I can tell...It's done!

Today's fortune cookie

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:53:31 GMT

"Love is in the air."

That's it? Love is in the air?

ONE MONTH UNTIL MONSTERFEST!

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:59:53 GMT

One month from today will be Monsterfest! I'll be there with copies of the Divita:Monsterfest Edition. It's a little preview zine featuring the first four chapters with cover art by the amazing Lindsay! I'll also be hosting a discussion panel on what's it like to write a horror novel.

The other day at MacArthur Mall...

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:32:29 GMT

I was walking to Barnes And Noble during my lunch break when I happened by a fashion show hosted by a local radio station. The host introduced the next model this way...

"Some would call our next model disabled, but let me say that I strongly disagree! I DISAGREE! I DISAGREE! I DISAGREE!! I DISAGREE!! I DISAGREE!! I DISAGREE!!! SHE IS DIFFERENTLY-ABLED!"

Half the crowd cheers.

Doesn't she mean "Differently-agree"?

I agree with George Carlin. Changing the name doesn't change the problem. Wasn't disabled coined because it was supposed to be more sensitive than handicapped? Wasn't handicapped coined because it was better than crippled?

I wonder what the next term will be?

WHICH DISNEY PRINCESS IS LUCIA DIVITA?

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:53:32 GMT

I enjoy posting Myspace surveys as the characters from Divita. It's fun and I also think it helps me get into the characters a little deeper. This is one I've been wanting to do for a while now. Lucia Divita fills out the Disney Princess Survey. Just to bring you up to speed, Lucia Divita is a Gypsy from Rome, Italy that now owns a disco in New York and oh yeah!...She is a vampire.

Cinderella:
[Yes ] One of your parents is dead
[ No.] You are expected to do a lot of chores
[ Yes] You love to dress up
[Yes ] You love animals
[No! ] You are waiting patiently for your Prince Charming
[No ] Your mom is really strict
[No, I don't have sisters.] You have sisters who seem kind of jealous of you
[Fuck no! ] You’re afraid to speak your mind sometimes
[No ] You have left your shoes at a friend’s house before
[No ] You have blonde hair

TOTAL: 3 (I wouldn't have lasted long in that house.
I either would have poisoned their food or slit their throats if they had given me any lip!)

Belle:
[Yes ] You’ve kissed someone your friends didn’t like
[Yes ] You’ve been lost in the forest
[Yes ] You love to read
[Yes ] You are not shy at all, and not afraid to speak your mind
[Yeah! ] One of your family members is a bit weird
[No ] You have done volunteer work
[Yes ] You have a wild imagination
[No ] You love to take care of people in need
[Of course! ]You’ve had guys like you only because they think you’re pretty
[Yes, and I have left them in a pool of blood.
] You’ve rejected at least one person when they’ve asked you out

TOTAL: 8 (I'm a beauty AND a beast! HA!)

Jasmine:
[ No.] Your dad is very rich/important
[ Yes] You are very clever
[Yes ] You’ve been with someone way different from you
[That's right! ] You’re unique and different from everyone else
[I have already have.] You’d never marry someone just because they were rich
[ Yes] You have set a lot of goals for yourself
[That's right! ] You don’t have a lot of friends
[Yes ]You’re independent
[Yes ] You are wealthy
[No. They're dead.
]Your parents try to control your life

TOTAL: 8 (I'm happy that we have much in common. She is easily the hottest.)

Ariel
[No.] Your parents expect a lot from you
[No, I don't really try.
] You really try to follow the rules, but it’s hard for you
[Yes ]You’re a bit of a trouble maker
[Yes ] You’re the youngest in your family or in the last 2
[No ] You have a lot of sisters (3 or more)
[Corpses! ]you collect something
[Yes! ]You have/had long, hair
[No.] You have/had a pet fish
[Yes ] You’re extremely curious
[No! ] You believe everything people tell you/you’re a bit gullible

TOTAL: 5 (Yuck! I imagine she tastes like fish!)

Snow White;
[Yes ] You know that you’re beautiful
[No ] Sometimes it seems like your mom is jealous of you
[Yes ] You’ve almost been killed
[No.]You have at least seven good friends
[I've eaten at Jack in the Box ] You’ve had food poisoning
[No ] You have/had short hair
[Ha! No.] You get along with almost everyone
[No.] All of your friends are different
[Yes! ] You love to have a good time
[No.] You’re happier when you’re out of the house than in

TOTAL: 4 (I really fucking doubt I have anything in common with Snow White!)

Mulan;
[No. ] You can be a tomboy sometimes.
[Those people are known as "Dead people"! ] People wish you could be a bit more girly
[Why the hell would I want to do that? ]You’ve pretended to be someone you’re not
[Yes! ] You’ve had a physical fight with someone
[Yes.] You have/had considered running away from home
[No.] Your parents try to plan your life out
[Yes.] a lot of your friends are boys
[Yes.] You sometimes find yourself in bad situations
[Yes.] You love your family so much that you’d do anything to protect them

TOTAL: 6 (I respect Mulan. She is the only Disney Princess with a body count.)

Aurora;
[Yes.] You live/have lived with someone other than your parents
[Yes.] You almost died at a very young age
[No, no, and no.] You are gentle, loving, and/or thoughtful
[I HAVE A GREAT SINGING VOICE! ]You have a decent singing voice
[Yes.] You like to sleep in late on the weekends
[Not really.]You spend most of your time outside [try to]
[Yes.] You’re adopted
[No.] You’re very romantic
[No.] Pink is one of your favorite colors

TOTAL: 5 (I'd rather be the villain in that film.)

Pocahontas;
[Yes.] You love to walk around and explore big cities
[No! ] You are more spiritual than religious
[Yes.] You’ve been in an interracial relationship
[Yes.] One of your family members is dead (mum, dad, sister, brother, grandma, grandpa)
[She used to be.] Your parents are very protective of you
[Yes, me.] Someone you know has been in war
[Yes.)You love nature
[Yes.] You have/had black hair
[What is better than New York? ] You would love to move somewhere exotic and beautiful
[Yes.] You’re very adventurous

TOTAL: 8 (I wouldn't be as trusting. John Smith didn't want peace, he wanted a PIECE of thirteen year old ass! Little girls need to learn not to trust white people.)

As far as this survey says, I'd be a Pocahontas, a Belle, or a Jasmine. Despite the fact that I have a wonderful singing voice, I'm not sure if I have what it takes to be a Disney Princess. I don't let men fight my battles, I don't take shit from anyone, I'm a big girl, and I drink human blood.

Random shit II

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:10:06 GMT

Not much is going on right now.

Travis Jones is backing out of the Caprice film. He tells me that he can't do it at this time. He has submitted the script to another director friend of his. I believe his name is Tim something. Anyway, Travis says that Tim really dug it and will be emailing me soon.

I'm not holding my breath. Anywhoo! If this doesn't go anywhere, at least I have written a screenplay. It was pretty easy and it makes me think I can do more. If Tim doesn't contact me, it's fine with me. This was always a side project to me. If it gets made, "great!", if it doesn't, whatever.

I watched Anderson Cooper rip the shit out of LIVING LOHAN. This man is now my hero. I caught it on THE SOUP, but it's also on Youtube. If you haven't seen, it's worth seeing. Every point he makes is right on the money.

Everyone at work comes up to me to talk about THE DARK KNIGHT. That is part of being the store nerd. It's fun listening to co-workers say that they don't know anything about Batman or the Joker, but were blown away by the whole thing. It makes me happy to hear those words.

I haven't seen Lindsay for a few days. I'm going over her house tonight to hang out. I don't have any cash, so we may putter around Barnes and Noble for a couple of hours or watch TV. I look forward to watching THE VENTURE BROTHERS with her. It's currently "Our show".

Over on the Divita Myspace page, I posted Lucia Disney Princess quiz. I don't think she'll be one anytime soon. I may repost it here. It was fun to write. It's great to write a character that doesn't give a fuck about what people think of them. I'm currently going back to Divita and fixing bits and pieces for the second draft. There is a scene I'm thinking of adding, but I'm not sure where to put it. I have a lovely scene explaining how Morgan and Zoe fell in love, with only a small window of chapters I can place it in. I could expand it into a short story, but I perfer it have it in the novel.

Elsewhere, I researching the protests at Tiananmen Square for a little back story on Sebastian. It won't be a major part of the book, but I feel it's needed for some emotional grounding for the love story.

Well, that's what I'm up to today.

The best conversaton ever!!

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:01:01 GMT

Tuesday was a slow day at Nordstrom. However, sometimes when you least expect something cool happens. I was helping a nice Mother and Daughter find some boots and flip flops. The Daughter liked these Steve Madden brown suede boots. She asked her Mother about them and Mom suggested that they reminded her of Elf boots. The Daughter pipes up that they looked nothing like (I can't remember the name of the Liv Tyler character from LOTR!) whats-her-name's boots. The Mother explained that she thinking of any general elf not her.

They looked at me and apologized for being so silly. I laughed and told them that this was the best conversation I ever heard at work.

So they went on the compare them to Pirate boots. They decided on Elf because as the Mother noted, "I usually think Elves are cleaner than Pirate!" The Daughter agreed. I asked them if they ever heard of Ann Bonny. They didn't, I went into the history of the She-Devil of the sea. They thought she sounded like the coolest woman ever. The Daughter even asked me to write down the name so that she could look up later, which I gladly did.

Sometimes work doesn't suck so bad.

MEET THE CAST: DOMINIC DIVITA

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 13:25:23 GMT

On my Divita page, I'm writing little character intros for the leads. Just for fun, I've been writing them as other characters. I figure that these people know each other better than I do.
Here is the first one I posted, it's Dominic's write up by his loving wife, Lucia.

DOMINIC DIVITA
By LUCIA DIVITA
My husband is either the bravest man in the world or a slave to obligation. I sometimes think he loves a little too unwisely. He'll think nothing of himself before me or before the children. I'll be honest, with all my doubts of his true feelings, I really don't care. I wouldn't want to lose a man so virile, so loyal. He is truly the only man that is strong enough to put up with my craziness.
Dominic was raised in a fairly upscale household in Rome. His family owned a popular restaurant that never seemed to poorly except maybe during World War II. His Father would have given him the family business if not for me being a Gypsy. His parents hated me and threatened to disown him if we stayed together. Dominic choose me over a life that was all set for him. Sometimes I want to melt at the thought of it, but then the guilt sets in.
Even since being cast out of his family, he never seems to let go of his beliefs. He claimed to never be a strong Catholic, but I could tell that it remained a part of him. After becoming a vampire, he began to feel as if he lost something. He tries so hard to hold on to some connection with Jesus. He can't pray. He can't touch or even look at a cross.
I curse the day he was introduced to the Strigori religion. Strigori is a vampire belief that Jesus Christ himself was a vampire. I personally think this is bullshit. It's just a way for vampires to pray without the pain. I should give up trying to convince him of this, but he remains on the fence concerning the whole matter.
There will come a day when he'll need to decide for himself.

Writing is scary!

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:54:55 GMT

I admit it.

I never thought I could do it. Writing short stories or scripts to comics or plays was one thing, but writing a whole novel??? It looked impossible. During the 90's when the X-Files were releasing books based on the series, I made a couple of attempts to write one of my own to submit to the publisher. However, I never got more than ten pages.

I figured I'd make my mark as a comic book writer. The problem with that is,, no one hires just a writer. No publisher would look at Red Knight or Character Actor without an artist on the projects. You ever try to get a artist to commit to a ongoing series or even a mini that they didn't create?

I felt all alone in the world. A handful of great ideas, but no artist. There was no way around it....I would have to write my next story as a novel. Divita was a comic ongoing series that I had been working out in my head for about a year until I decided it would be a novel.

How could I write a novel? I did poorly in English in High School. I would struggle with every sentence. I never could figure out how much to describe a character or a scene. Forget about measuring up with Poe, Rice, or Shelly! I felt lower than Zane or Jackie Collins!

How did I do this? One page, one chapter at a time. Plotting out the story and each chapter helps a great deal. Having an ending is a must. Looking back also helps. After I reached chapter three, I printed it out and was shocked to see how much I had done. Thirty pages! That was more than I had ever done in previous attempts.

I then realized I could do it. It would take time, but I could finish it. It's amazing what one can do when they set their mind to it.

Caprice: The Movie!

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:57:36 GMT

Wow...I still can't believe it. One my short stories is going to be adapted into a ten minute short film! It was just dumb luck when I ran into a local director over at fairgrounds. I poked my nose into his conversation and discovered that he was looking for a horror story to film.

Lucky, I had one to pitch. It's called Caprice. It's a simple little horror story that I wrote to get ready for Divita. Little did I know that it would find it's way to live action. The director's name is Travis Jones. He was impressed by the story and asked me to write the screenplay.

Here is the story located on my Bebo page.

http://www.bebo.com/CAPRICESTORIES

I have a lot of shit going on right now. I have Queen of Spades, the Divita second draft and the Monsterfest special. Now I have this thing going!

This has been a kooky year!

Comics vs Novels

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:47:31 GMT

Well, here I go again...naturally.

I'm thirty pages into my latest graphic novel. It's funny. It took me forever to hit thirty on Divita, but I've done it in half the time on Queen of Spades. The main problem being is that I'm a pretty lazy writer. I need plenty of time during a writing day and I still have to kick my own ass to get going.

Maybe next time, I'm slacking off, I should remember that "Hail Macarthur" song they were singing at work this past weekend. The faster I write, the sooner I can get out of this hell hole.

Anyway, I just finished Alex Robinson's TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN. I picked it up at Heroescon and he even signed it for me. It's a great book. I hope my work can be at that level.

HA! HA! HA.....KILL ME!!

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:34:45 GMT

July 18th the first day of our Anniversary Sale over at work. It's the biggest sale we do all year, so there is a lot of prep time for it. The worst part of the whole thing is the Anniversary pep rally the store every year. Yesterday, we all had to be there at 7:30am for the big 2 hour meeting. What you get when you walk in is a group of department managers screaming at you at the top of their lungs as they wave flags and pomp pomps like fucking cheer leaders.

It's just like a fucking pep rally back in high school. All that really needs to be done is to tell us what the goals of the sale are and that could be handled in a simple five minute meeting, but NNNNNOOOOOOO!!!

I kid you not, a group of managers sang a song to the tune of the HAIL TO THE REDSKINS song that went something like this...

HAIL TO MACARTHUR
HAIL VICTORY
SELL ALOT FOR MACARTHUR
WIN AT ANNIVERSARY

CALL THEM, SELL THEM, THEY WILL SPEND
DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW UP WITH THEM

TOUCHDOWN-LET THE SALES SOAR
DRIVE YOUR BUSINESS, SELL YOUR FLOOR

MUSCLES OF MACARTHUR - RAH! RAH! RAH!

I need to get published, yesterday!!