What's next?

It's been a quiet month on the movie front. Our family is moving to Northern Virginia, and between that and a busy work schedule, Standards of Ethical Conduct has become the forgotten child in our family, starving and shivering in the corner.

Yes, we're moving from the bright lights of the city to quiet suburbia. I have often bemoaned the soul-crushing stripmallization that is typical surburbia, but after having a baby, I can't wait to have some extra room and a backyard. And I love the new menu at Applebee's! Come by and you'll see me mowing the lawn in my black socks and sandals.

As for the next viewing of Standards of Ethical Conduct, I'm not sure. It's been submitted to several film festivals, but I worry that its length is going to make it difficult to program. Festivals usually like their shorts under 20 minutes and their features over 60, and at 45 minutes, Standards of Ethical Conduct might be the gawky teenager that no one invites to the party.

I'm also working on getting it online, but I have some updates to my website I want to get done beforehand. Stay tuned.

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Check out my groundbreaking IM interview with Radar Redux. Yes, the interview was done completely via instant message. I just sat there in my boxers on the couch, typing while working away on a wheel of cheese. You'll be moved.

Packed House!!

The Denver premiere of "Standards of Ethical Conduct" went well, with so many people showing up that the Bug Theatre had to pull out the folding chairs to add seating.

Chuck Roy kicked off the evening with an impromptu roast of yours truly, mostly due to the fact that it took four years to go from shooting to screening. "The movie was originally intended to go straight to VHS. However, four or five technologies have emerged since the shooting of the film."

It was a raucous crowd, cheering loudly throughout the credits. And yes, the same scene got the loudest laugh in Denver like it did in Baltimore. The elephant.

Thanks to everyone who helped out, including Alice, Poo and Joni, who jointly managed the door. Thanks to Jenny and Brian for the pics.

Pictures are posted on Facebook. Below is one of the cast and crew at the pre-party. And yes, we did a post-party as well, which ended by seeing the zoo that is the Denver Diner at 3 am. Nice work Damon, who ordered shots of Jamison at 2 am, and than was ruled too drunk to take it by his girlfriend, who took it herself.

TV, Print and Web Oh My!

I woke up giddy this morning, which for those who know me, is a rare thing. I ran down to a local coffee shop to get the Denver Post, excited to see what was in store. And there Chuck Roy was, on the cover of the Entertainment section, right next to a piece about "Land of the Lost". Click here for a larger, more readable, picture.

The teaser directed readers to the Denver Post's Get Real Denver blog, which did an interview with me and put up a nice post, including the trailer. Thank you John Wenzel, Lisa Kennedy and the Denver Post! Way to support the local artists.

And if that wasn't enough, The Donnybrook Writing Academy reviewed the film, and had the great idea to do a contest for free tickets to the premiere and a t-shirt. Go here and come up with new FCT positions for hire. The winner not only gets to go to the show, but the winning position will go on the next FCT flyer. The ones on the current flyer are Senior Douchebag, Conference Call Security Officer (which was submitted by blog reader Fluffhead), Executive Cropduster, Whorish Marketing Gal and Expense Abusing Salesperson.

"Standards of Ethical Conduct" also made its first TV appearance, on NBC Channel 9 in Denver. Go here to watch the E-Block, the movie bit is after the David Carradine coverage. I can't believe Bill is dead.

Also, I forgot to put a note on the blog that earlier this week a bunch of film stills were posted to the Facebook page. Become a fan and you'll be the first to see stuff like that in the future. Here's one of them.


I hope everyone is ready for the big show tomorrow night! We are about 20 tickets away from being sold out! Buy your tickets at http://www.standardsofethicalconduct.com/.

Finding Chuck Roy

The role of Binger was the hardest to cast in "Standards of Ethical Conduct". Unlike some of the roles, where I just wanted a believable reading of the lines, in Binger, I wanted an actor to take the lines and run with them. He is the funny guy of the film. Plus, I wanted someone with a different look who would stand out from the other actors.

I had at least a dozen actors read for the role, and none of them brought the personality and comedic timing I was looking for. Some people just have the same sense of humor as you do, and some don't. I can make a "Major League" or "Seinfeld" reference and some people will find it hilarious while others will think I'm an idiot. Several of the actors who read were funny, but with a different style of humor, so their timing was off. Either you get the jokes or you don't, it's hard to coach someone in that regard.

Plus, it was obvious that a couple of the actors were guessing at what being stoned was like, rather than relying on experience. Yes, some actors aren't rampant drug abusers. It surprised me as well.

I kept bringing in more actors, with no luck. We were days from shooting, with the entire cast set, except for Binger. I was getting desperate, so I went to Comedy Works, the local stand-up joint, to see if they could help me. Wendy Curtis, the owner of Comedy Works, told me that Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald would be the man to contact. I called Dr. Fitzgerald. He quietly listened as I described the role, and then immediately recommended Chuck Roy as my man.

Chuck showed up at a reading and I knew we had one thing...a different look. Chuck is a tall, big guy, with a face-full of fur. He was at least 6 inches taller than the other actors in his scenes. The basketball scenes between Jason Coviello and him took on a whole new life with Jason standing 5'7" and Chuck at about 6'3".

As for understanding pot, in Chuck Roy, I didn't have to worry about someone unfamiliar with the effects of the sweet cheeba. He, after all, is the creator of the Crop Report.



A lot of the actors that read for Binger did the stereotypical stoner: slow, bleary eyed, raspy voice, etc. To me, that's been done over and over and wasn't all that interesting. I was looking for Binger to be the philosophical stoner, who gets into "enlightened mode" when stoned and likes to share his wisdom. Some of his philosophy was wise, but he was also a lazy stoner, so maybe all his facts weren't spot on.

Chuck's reading went great, he immediately understood the jokes, added his own twist, and voila, here's Binger.



You can get your own taste of Chuck by going to his site ChuckRoy.com.

The Denver Examiner Reviews "Standards of Ethical Conduct"

Erik Buckman just reviewed "Standards of Ethical Conduct" for the Denver Examiner. Read the review.

It looks like Erik has spent his share of time in a cube and has the same romantic memories as the rest of us.

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If you're planning on attending the Denver premiere, I encourage you to buy tickets beforehand here. It's a small theater and the cast & crew will eat up half the seats.

Silly Marketing Tactic #27 - Muddy Buddy

My good friend Brian Dutton (aka The Executive Douchebag) had the great idea of promoting "Standards of Ethical Conduct" while participating in Muddy Buddy several weeks ago. Muddy Buddy is a run/bike race that you do in a team of two, with the end of the race being an army crawl through a gigantic mud pit.

Brian thought it would be a good idea to sport the "FCT - an URBM Company" t-shirts while participating in the race, to help spread the word about the film. Of course he meant the ladies version of the t-shirt (ie in pink), two sizes too small.

How did we do? Squarely in the middle of the pack in terms of time, but in the top 10 in terms of flamboyant spirit.

Enjoy the pictures below, more are posted on Facebook here.

Do you have any other silly marketing ideas? As I've proven time and time again, I'm not afraid to make a spectacle of myself. Shout them out in the comments.

Are you intrigued by our skin-tight pink t-shirts? Want your own? Stay tuned to the blog, they'll be available soon. Gut is not included, you have to bring your own.

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Buy Denver Premiere Tickets for Standards of Ethical Conduct

Denver Premiere! June 6th at the Bug Theatre

Mark your calendars! June 6th, 8 pm, at the Bug Theatre.

It's been a long road from the production of the film in April 2005 to finally being able to show the cast and crew the fruits of their labor. Plus, Chuck Roy is going to host the event, which should provide some surprises.

For our actors, this will be an opportunity to see how much they've aged in four years. I noticed that I had quite a bit more hair back then.

I'm sure it's both exciting and nerve-wracking for an actor to see himself or herself on screen, watching their performance for the first time in front of a room full of people. I personally think they'll be thrilled, as I've heard a lot of compliments so far on the acting in this movie.

I'll be working on some press over the coming weeks. Pam (ie Marge the HR Lady) and I already have an radio interview setup for the Friday morning before the premiere. Thanks Pam!

The Bug Theatre is fairly small, and given the large number of cast and crew attending, I'd recommend buying tickets early if you want to come. Click the link below to buy.

Tickets are $10 - Buy Tickets

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If you're on Facebook, go to the Event page, and let me know if you're coming. Click "Invite Others" on the right-hand side and tell your friends.