YDKS Updates, Bags and Boards Stills and More

Hey everyone.

So there hasn’t been an update on here for over a week. I have to apologize for that. Right now, I’m sitting upstairs in my grandparents’ condo in Destin, Florida. I’ve been down here on vacation for Spring Break since Saturday. Everyone else (my friends Caleb, Amy, Guy and Katherine) is downstairs watching The Wire. I recognize that The Wire is a great show but, for some reason or another, I just cannot get myself into it. I think it is because it tends to be so cold in nature. I kind of relate it to the whole Stanley Kubrick problem I have. I love Kubrick’s films and I believe he was an amazing director. However, they have such a coldness to them that I cannot ever watch many of them over and over again (aside from 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining). So, because they’re getting their Wire fix, I decided it would be a good time to finally get YDKS Movies back online.  

You may be asking yourself: where have the YDKS Movies writers been? Well, unfortunately, I cannot speak for Jason (my co-founder) and Austin. They’re both up at Mississippi State University right now (with Jason in graduate school) and, as far as I know, they’ve been pretty busy. I myself have been insanely busy lately. With school finally winding down for Spring Break this week, all my teachers have been pounding me with work. The last week of school before the break was pretty terrible due to all the things I had to take care of. I’ve had mid terms, English portfolios and art projects to deal with.

Another thing that has been keeping me away is the fact that I have been hard at work on my latest film project. It is called Bags and Boards and, if everything works out okay, it will be web series that I will be working on for the next year or so. I just finished (pretty much) filming the first episode, which I plan on debuting at my college’s upcoming film festival. It’s been surprisingly difficult to edit (and honestly has been making me rethink my entire film career… or at least, my ongoing film career) and has really eaten up a lot of my time and energy this past week.

As far as plot goes, it focuses on a couple of guys who run and work at a comic book store, the strange customers they encounter and just the fun times they have while running the place. We are filming the show at Heroes and Dreams comics and most of the guys that work there are apart of the show. The first episode is very Kevin Smith-like, but I plan on changing the tone and feel a little bit as the show goes on (mostly, I see the first episode as something to integrate a wide audience to the show). You can see some stills from the first episode above and below. I plan on launching a separate site just for the show and may do a trailer for it. I’ll be sure to keep all of you updated on that as it continues to come to fruition.

The other thing that kept me away from the site this past week was because I had to practice for a rock and roll benefit show that I became apart of. The show was formed to help raise money for my friend Thomas Webb to help him go on a mission trip this Spring Break to the Dominican Republic. The show featured my friends’ bands Generico and The Klams along with Mississippi rapper Shivaz and Trey Malone. I ended up playing a fictional heavy metal singer from the 1980’s named Ziggy Calamity. I basically made an ass of myself for two hours, acting drunk and harassing people, before going on stage and performing a song I wrote called “Rock Monster.” Overall, it was an incredibly fun night and a pretty life changing experience. I’ve always been painfully shy so to do something like this and enjoy it is huge for me. I feel like I’ve beaten a lot of my social anxiety this past semester and that’s something I’m really proud of.  Another great thing about the night is that we all managed to raise 460 something dollars for Thomas and the goal was 350. So, overall, it was a great night. You can see a picture of me performing (in Ziggy’s costume) below.

So, as you can see, I’ve been pretty busy. Once I finally got out for Spring Break, I got in the car to come to Destin. I’ve been spending some down time with my friends since then (deservedly so, I believe). So, I’m sorry I haven’t been able to update this place. But I’m not going to let it die. Just stick with me and I’ll get it all back to normal again.

In the coming days, expect a long delayed Watchmen review, a delayed Speech of the Week and other surprises.

It’s good to be back. Thanks for your patience.