Crossroads Seem to Come and Go

This blog post originally appeared, in a slightly different form, in my e-newsletter I WAS BIGFOOT'S SHEMP.  

It was a year ago today that my debut feature THE GIRL IN THE CRAWLSPACE hit WalMart and Family Video nationwide.  It was such a memorable day that has obviously been eclipsed by the smoldering dumpster fire that was just on the horizon.

Just the day before that, I had been driving back from Chicago for my day job and had decided to visit Family Videos along the way to introduce myself and ask if they were carrying the movie.  The people there were to a person very kind and excited for me.  I'm sorry to see Family Video go.  Even at the time, it seemed as if they were closing faster than they could stock my movie.  But it was always fun to find movies I wrote there--I once had four I had written in Family Video all at once--and it was especially a thrill to see one I directed there.

Since THE GIRL IN THE CRAWLSPACE had already hit streaming, I didn't think it popping up at WalMart would be that big a deal, but my social media went crazy that day with people from all over the country sharing photos that they had purchased it somewhere.  I'll never forget that.

It didn't hurt that my friend Henrique Couto, who DPd my movie, had his own effort OUIJA ROOM street the very same day at WalMart, with some of the same people in both.  Check it out, if you haven't.

And if you didn't catch mine yet, people are now sending me pictures of it at Dollar Tree, or if a dollar is too steep, you can see it for free on Amazon Prime and Tubi.  I'm glad it's still out there and still getting seen and reviewed--no less than Film Threat, a magazine I have read for many years, gave it a look recently.

I think I used to recommend a book every month in my newsletter, and I don't know if I am exactly starting back up again, but I've got one for January I just read:  it's Zero Zone by Scott O'Connor, which is the kind of book I like; it takes place in 70s LA, and is all about art and movies and sort of a doomsday cult.

I've been reading and also giving books away, after seeing an article about Little Free Libraries.  I found a map of them online, and now on weekends my wife and I have been driving all around Indiana and parts of Ohio seeking them out and leaving books.  

I've lost track, but I'm guessing we've visited more than 50; we had one long day we hit 15 and then the last time we went driving we hit 16.  It's something to go out and do safely that might help somebody else, and helps fight cabin fever--we were both sent home from work for a couple of weeks almost a year ago, and are still hanging in from home.  

Hope you all are safe and well, and thanks for reading along.  Talk soon.