State of affairs, state of mind (currently)

What the hell are we after?
success? the american dream? a car? $$$$? a house?
to each his own, and I of course do not speak for every person who is part of the digital work studios project(s), but truly there comes a time when consequences have to be accepted and just work your way out of a hole.

I dug myself (personally) into a huge hole.
We finished Ash Wednesday: Capitulo Unus in late January of 2007, and from there on, I have spent a lot of my personal earnings on that film that took close to a year to make.
In 2007, we spent it trying to find Ash Wednesday a distributor, and get our career going with part 2 of Ash...
Well, we went to live in L.A. and then we went to the film festival in NY, and while I was focusing all of our efforts, there was no income being generated... Not that I was blinded by the movie, but I knew that the opportunities that were coming, I HAD TO TAKE THEM...

So it was a risk. A risk that at the end doesn't even look right.
It's blurry.
Why? Was Ash Wednesday, the launching pad, that we would expect it would be?
Well, YES and NO.
Ash was not accepted into the major festivals and it didn't get the huge distribution deal that we expected, HOWEVER it earned us something more important than that.
First and foremost, we think we offer quality, and nothing else... and that many people respect what we make, and that we are honest and very hard-working.
Thanks to Ash, we have many new friends in all fields... that dig what we do, and are ready to help us, as well as we are there for them.

So what happened to Ash Wednesday and the aftermath?
Well I cannot get into much detail, but we are REALLY excited that in early 2008, Ash will be distributed nationwide in the United States. (more soon on that)
Also, another important question is:
What happened? Why was Ash not the big success we expected?
Well, that's not a very fair question right?
simply because you can't judge its' success or failure if it has not come out yet, right?
So I guess we would be ready to answer that in a couple of years...
In the meantime, we're just happy that we're not entirely broke and that this year has been a great year full of great memories, and I expect even more fun stuff in 2008.

Oh and on the big economic hole I dug myself into... jajajaja... I started, or I guess I have continued to do my local TV show in Eagle Pass, TX.
What? a TV show? jajajaja Back in 1998, I was young, newly married and jobless, my uncle let me do a TV show and all I needed to do was come up with advertisers, so we made a TV show.
That experience taught me how to shoot and edit, and how to communicate.
The show lasted until 2003 and NOW I am resuming the show... it's called EL ANTI-SHOW, and it's a really goofy program full of nothing but really nutty stuff...
I am now slowly crawling out of my financial abyss, and it permits me to stay creative, so it's all good.... jajajaja

However, movie-wise, I am in writing mode, and I have some really cool treatments... some are goofy and some are crime-related, but whatever we do next, it is going to be really cool... so stay tuned, we're still working hard!

Happy holidays to you all.
Thank you for keeping up to date with us, and let's make 2008 even better!
Let's kick some ass! jajajajajaja

Lt. Col. Frank Slade: Out of order, I show you out of order. You don't know what out of order is, Mr. Trask. I'd show you, but I'm too old, I'm too tired, I'm too fuckin' blind. If I were the man I was five years ago, I'd take a FLAMETHROWER to this place! Out of order? Who the hell do you think you're talkin' to? I've been around, you know? There was a time I could see. And I have seen. Boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off. But there isn't nothin' like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that. You think you're merely sending this splendid foot soldier back home to Oregon with his tail between his legs, but I say you are... executin' his soul! And why? Because he's not a Bairdman. Bairdmen. You hurt this boy, you're gonna be Baird bums, the lot of ya.
-Scent of a woman (1992)

Music Video- CAST YOUR VOTE!

Missing Women
Patricia Vonne
Directed by:
Ricardo Mendoza



It's been a while... jajajajaja
Happy Holidays from all of us...
While we are working hard we are a bit quiet, we're brewing ideas and other great stuff, so expect a lot of info in the upcoming months...
ANYWAYS, straight to the point of the title...
Our friend Patricia Vonne is up for the Viewer's choice BEST AUSTIN VIDEO AWARD from the 2007 ME-TV Viewer's choice awards!
The video was of course produced by us (DIGITAL WORK STUDIOS) HINT HINT!
So go now to this website and CAST YOUR VOTE!

Patricia, is also going to be in San Antonio LIVE with Del Castillo on December 29th at Sam's Burger Joint! So buy her new record, cast your vote and watch her perform live!
Best of luck to Patricia!

Oh, and when you vote, you'll be registered to win a huge flat screen TV, so if you win it, please invite us for a screening of ASH WEDNESDAY... jajajajaja

Cool!

Ash on TV (again)

Happy to report that the segment containing our interview with American Latino TV will re-run the first weekend of December... Check your local listings!
The show is nationwide (US) and covers the positive aspects that latinos are achieving in the United States and throughout the world.
Special thanks to Renzo and Wilton for covering the story.

When & Where to Watch:

San Antonio WOAI/ NBC 4 Saturday @ 12 Noon

New York WWOR/ My 9 Sundays @ 4:00 PM

Los Angeles KABC/ ABC 7 Late Night Saturdays @ 1 AM and Sundays @ 4 PM (please check local listings as well)

We are currently seeking distribution options for ASH WEDNESDAY: CAPITULO UNUS AND we are writing the script to our next project which will be something that will be risky but very challenging.
Stay tuned.

The Current State

________________________________
Ever since wrapping on Ash, I was terribly exhausted... excited, but very exhausted...
Through sacrifices we finished our movie... it was ambitious and very controversial, but somehow we managed to make it...
It took us from L.A. to N.Y. and we were finally taken seriously by the "industry".
It drained all of my resources... my money, my spirit, my sanity, etc... but it was damn well worth it...

Now, that we are on the verge of selling the rights to Ash to a distributor and throughout these past months of peddling Ash to anyone who would listen... Some people say, "move on... get on to the next project... don't get stuck... bla bla bla..." Well my response is, I would love to but I honestly didn't feel like making another movie... or just making a movie, for the sake of making a movie...

I have 3-4 treatments (future scripts) that I've been working on over these past 3 months (one is a comedy, the other a very personal drama, Capitulo Duos and one other nameless genre) and I have to say that none of these ideas really ignited my fire... I don't think it's because they are uninspired but because, I don't think they're challenging. I think I can do them pretty well, and to me that would be very boring to do...

HOWEVER, yesterday I had a flash of lightning inspiration... the kind of creativity that is sudden, the kind that you have to drop everything and write down...

Well, I wrote it down, and I am very excited about this... I can't give any details until I flesh it all out, but finally I've found what I've been looking for.... I doubt that I could do it, and that's whats' exciting about it...

Paul Haggis (director of Crash) said in an interview: "Only if I'm sure I'm going to fail at this, I'm gonna try it..." I agree very much... I honestly didn't think that Ash was going to turn out the way it did, but we did it, we pushed ourselves, and we were pleasantly surprised with the results... It was a scary script to make, but somehow we found a way... It wasn't easy, but it was very challenging...

If it were easy, everyone would be doing this... right?

NOW, this future script, sounds scary and very tough to make, but now we have more friends that can help us out, so who knows "what" or "where" we'll be in 2008, but it sure sounds like an adventure!

Anyone up for it?
:-D

PS: I've changed the look of the blog to make way for new projects...!

Writing and experiences

We've been quite busy writing and generating ideas...
On my part, I've got my own way of writing and it might be quite interesting for someone preparing to make a movie or is interested in penning a script.

First of all, there is no ONE way of writing a script, so that being said, I have discovered (over the years) my own way of writing.

I find it very difficult to write a script without support materials, I cannot just "write" from page one and go from there... instead... what I do, is gather a sh**tload of support material.

Support Material
This is the basis of my scripts, and that is what I am finishing up right now...
Of course that my strongest support material is my own experiences, and that is why it is so hard to write when you're inexperienced. Not young, just inexperienced. That's why you see a young and successful eminem hit the charts because he has a lot of "experience" in life and channels it through music, so really what counts here are your experiences in life that count.

Also, whenever I talk to people, or read the news, or whatever I'm always on the lookout on something that makes me "feel" something... for example, if someone tells me an incredible funny anecdote or joke, I will jot it down and put it in my notes, or if I see a very interesting newspiece that can be part of the script I jot it down and put it in my notes...

In my notes I gather a bunch of stuff, and somewhere in the process I define my characters in the script, and from there I blend my notes with my characters and try to come up with something incredibly interesting.

I have been doing this since writing Ash and Escape, and it has worked out really good... I think that our stories rely heavily on the plot twists and surprises, because that's what I like about my favorite movies...

Check out if this method of screenwriting works for you... but if you come up with something different just let me know in the comments... :-D

Oh and before I leave on my binge-indulging weekend I leave you with a plethora of quotes that for some reason I liked a LOT!

El Guapo: Would you say I have a plethora of piñatas?
Jefe: A what?
El Guapo: A *plethora*.
Jefe: Oh yes, you have a plethora.
El Guapo: Jefe, what is a plethora?
Jefe: Why, El Guapo?
El Guapo: Well, you told me I have a plethora. And I just would like to know if you know what a plethora is. I would not like to think that a person would tell someone he has a plethora, and then find out that that person has *no idea* what it means to have a plethora.
Jefe: Forgive me, El Guapo. I know that I, Jefe, do not have your superior intellect and education. But could it be that once again, you are angry at something else, and are looking to take it out on me?

jajajajaj here's the quotes:
"Dont try to be original, just try to be good" -Paul Rand

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life" -Confucius

"A product is perfected, NOT when you can add anything else to it, but when you can no longer take anything away." - Yvon Chouinard

The true un-hollywood story

Our vision for making our movies has been (boring for outsiders looking in, of course) a sh**load of fun for us, because we do what we love...
This past weekend they aired a special report about Ash Wednesday on national TV (thanks to Renz and Wilton and the crew at American Latino TV), and I really wanted to stop everything and thank everyone that has made what we love to do, even more lovable and fun...
First of all to all the actors and actresses... there's too many to mention... but you all know how much you guys mean to us...

Also to the people who have worked endlessly and unselfishly, to the producers and associate producers of ASH, the ones who make it happen... in no specific order: Paco, Chicken, Roger, Hector and Alonso... Because of these people, I don't even know if I make a film because I want to be with these guys or because of filmmaking itself... my family is also a huge contributor to all of our projects, so a HUGE thanks as well...

And to all the people who have helped us along the way (musicians, car dealers, restraunts, bars, temp crew, etc....)... again there's tooooooooooo many to mention but trust me, the list is on the credits of ASH and EL ESCAPE...

Thanks again to everyone!

PS: There are several scripts being written right now, so we hopefully plan to start shooting a new film in spring 2008 (?) ... Nothing is set in stone, but we are anxious to film. :-)

Torture scene

Well, I wasn't going to post this scene because of its controversial nature, but it's OUR movie!!
AND it is my favorite scene of all, and not because of the violence, but because, there's alot of things going on in the scene that aren't obvious unless you've seen the movie...

Delso , the rogue DEA agent finally gets revenge upon the killer of his partner (whom was tortured and murdered by the killer)... so his vengeance is merciless, HOWEVER he does it to get closer to the source of the evil crime gang, Ash Wednesday.

The music is incredible and the photography is cool too ;-D

A familiar EL ESCAPE face pops up here, and it is none other than Lic. Rolando Tamayo making a short but memorable cameo in Ash... But we are glad to report that he will be involved more in our next film which will hopefully begin shooting next year.

Tamayo (who plays Delso's ex-partner Nestor Pragas) was shot in the last days of winter in early 2007!!! It was frickin' cold and he was wearing nothing but his undies... but he withstood the climate and gave us a chilling scene... yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!

The music was made by piano-extraodinairre Rolando Garza Rodriguez... beautiful music!!!

DWS on American Latino TV

We've just been notified that Ash Wednesday: Capitulo Unus will be featured on the nationally syndicated TV show American Latino TV.

We were interviewed in December 2006, and the producers decided to sit on the report until any developments occurred with Ash... Sooooooo... the show will air across the US on the weekend of October 6 & 7...

I have no idea HOW they are going to present the story, but given our past experience, they did a hell of a job with an EL ESCAPE segment they did for their sister show LatinNation...

To view the TV listings go here:
http://aimtvgroup.com/altv/wheretowatch/

Here's a few cities and schedule:

San Antonio

WOAI

NBC

4

SAT 11:30 AM

New York

WWOR

MNT

9

SUN 4:00 PM

Las Vegas

KVCW

CW

33

SUN 1:00 PM

Austin

KEYE

CBS

42

SAT/1:00 AM

Houston

KTXH

MNT

20

SUN 10:30 AM

Here's the segment from EL ESCAPE:

One more scene soon + Get your music...

We have one more scene to post, but it won't be posted until next week... simply because we've been busy on other projects... but we are writing furiously, and so hopefully we can have something to shoot early next year...

On another note, Amazon has started a mp3 music store (legal of course) and it looks very cool and convenient (and cheap)...

Our friends Patricia Vonne and Chicote have their albums there and they are a bargain... of course, there's nothing better than to get your CD at the concert along with a T-shirt, but hey, I like to buy my mp3's because I don't have to ripe em' and the quality is top notch...
Here's the links:
13 songs of pure Chicote for 7 bucks! not bad at all!!!
Chicote album Historias del Rancho
AND
Patricia Vonne's last album guitars and castanets for 7 bucks too, hell take both of them!!!

Both albums are really cool, Patricia's song Soledad was included in the soundtrack for El Escape De Los Santos which you could also purchase on Amazon...
:-D

The story of Hector Mata

Releasing yet ANOTHER scene from ASH WEDNESDAY: CAPITULO UNUS,
this scene reveals a glimpse of how the myth of Ash Wednesday (played by the illustrious Ramiro Briones) begins.
It is essentially a flashback. The person telling the story is rogue DEA agent Delso Carrete.
Again, these scenes are not for the faint of heart, it contains graphic violence, so be warned!

ALSO, Happy Birthday to my lil' sister Diana Mendoza!
yay!

Happy Bday Hector!

Hector on top of the world at the Empire State Building (2007)

In New York, at the NYILFF with ME, Fred Cisneros and HH (July 2007)

It was only some years ago when Hector Hernandez came into this world and today he is celebrating his birth by beating up crooked politicians and mediocre filmmakers... jajajaja
Hector was last seen in our first movie EL ESCAPE, where he played a Border Patrol /Customs agent in the movie...
Yes, he's the donkey show addict! jaja...
yeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!
Happy Birthday my friend!

Scene #30

(1) Ramiro Briones as the ruthless Ash Wednesday


(2) Raul De La Cruz as the jail warden

Here's the links to view Scene #30:
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e06oPo6oBFc
High resolution glory: Scene 30 download

Scene #30 is one of the most contreversial moments in ASH WEDNESDAY: CAPITULO UNUS mainly because the main character (Ash Wednesday) murders in cold blood HIS own dog.
Obviously, this is just a part of the whole movie, but the concept is NOT based on shocking people for the mere reason to shock...

The motive of this scene, and of ALL the scenes in the movie is to tell the story in a meaningful way.

So, in this scene we have Ash intimidating this federal jail warden, and he's telling a story, in which his point is to scare this guy, so he can have several of his men/soldiers out of jail in a non-confrontational kind of way...
His goal is to convince the guy and appear majestically evil, and as he's doing this, his dog comes up and takes away a piece of meat he was cooking, AND Ash felt extremely embarrassed by the fact that a Dog, just took away his threatening demeanor... and so he just goes ahead and kills the dog.

This of course has several underlying connotations that are not really observed, and are beneath the layers of what you are seeing.

1. This is the scene where we really see and know Ash for the first time, so it has to be a scene where it sets the tone of the character.
   
2. Another important observation is that Ash kills what people know as "man's best friend". He just does it out of instinct without caring. The important connection here is his background, it tells the viewer that he was brought up in a situation where you don't think twice about your actions, it's kill or be killed.
3. This doesn't really pertain to the scene (or to the movie! jaja) but we wanted to tie-in an EL ESCAPE character somehow... so we thought that the jail warden was perfect for this movie, HOWEVER the same actor who was the jail warden in our first movie was unavailable to shoot, so we went with Raul De La Cruz, as an indirect tribute to our first film. :-D
   

This scene is hard to watch, but we wanted to put it out there because we want people to know what to expect when seeing Ash Wednesday.
People who have experienced the movie either LOVE it or totally HATE it... I haven't seen anyone indifferent.

ALSO we thought it was very important to add a behind the scenes sgment to demonstrate that absolutely NO DOGS, ANIMALS AND HUMANS were harmed in the production.

We are animal lovers, and this particular dog (Zelda) is owned by Roger De Los Santos and he is one of the producers of the film. Zelda and Roger currently live in Laredo, TX.

Many thanks to our cool vet Lalo Chapa who assisted with the anesthesia...

Fred's daughter with the prez!

On the right is none other than Fred Cisneros' (he played Gregorio Cazares) cool daughter. She posed with the actual president (not a dummy... well... nevermind... jaja)... This was taken during Bush's recent surprise trip to Iraq where she is stationed.

No matter what your side is on politics, govenr' Bush is still the president, and it's still kind of cool to see people you know (sort of) take a picture with him...

I mean there's people dying just to talk to him...

Fred's daughter even made it on CNN!

What is cool and kind of surprising is when I talk with soldiers, I think of them of having a lot opinions about everything that's going on, but surprisingly, their beliefs are upheld in a more intimate perspective... What's cool, is that to them, they are doing a job, and that job is not one which many would take... ( I know I sure wouldn't) and they put their politics aside and accomplish the job.

To me that's remarkable, and is seen as brave.
The friends that I have in Iraq are passionate about what they do and to know that we have people that are willing to die for what they believe in, is very commendable and also very remarkable.

Now if you want to know my own personal feelings on Iraq, the govenur' (I mean the president), politics, etc... that's going to cost you several beers... JA!

:-D

Here's a picture of Fred with the govenur' of DWS... jajajaja
yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!

Patricia Vonne's Missing Women

Click To Play

OR for a higher resolution video check here:
http://www.digitalworkstudios.com/patriciavonne/

This is our second music video that we've done, and of course, we are huge fans of Patricia since she graced EL ESCAPE DE LOS SANTOS with her cool song "Soledad"...

Patricia Vonne is an Austin singer/songwriter whom actually descends from San Antonio.
She has been quite succesful here in the US, but her biggest fan base lies in Europe, where she tours very frequently...

Her new CD FIREBIRD will be out Sept. 25 in the US and in the UK...
It will be available on iTunes as well...

We produced the video for her first single Missing Women, which you can hear at the Amnesty USA website.
It speaks about the tragic "feminicide" going on in Ciudad Juarez, MX... The official numbers from the "government" (I emphasize the quotation marks), are 400 +/- murdered, dismembered women... approx. 100 are still missing... the unofficial numbers vary from source to source and go as high as 600+ women killed.

Visit her website at:
http://www.patriciavonne.com/
or her myspace:
www.myspace.com/patriciavonne

Both of the videos we've done are very documentary style, and accomplish their messages well.

This particular video was filmed in HD 720p and on miniDV.
Patricia was filmed in Piedras Negras and she also took a trip into Juarez herself to shoot some stuff as well... She also met with some of the mothers of the women, and she came back with some incredible experiences... hats off...

Also please support www.mujeresdejuarez.org

We are very proud and we feel very accomplished in having participated in this video, we find ourselves extremely fortunate to make videos for artists that we admire and listen to...

I edited and directed.
Paco Flores produced and even had some camera work in there.
Patricia and Robert LaRoche also lent a hand in producing the video.
Camera: Me, Paco and Patricia herself...

Rolando Garza gets national recognition (finally)

Congratulations my friend!!!
"El pinche" lando Rolando Garza takes home a very distiguished honor bestowed upon him by none other than El Presidente de Mexico himself...
The honor is the Premio Nacional de la Juventud en Mexico, and is given for their longstanding trajectory in the arts and its representation of Mexico throughout the world.

Even though Rolando is an angry drunk and unable to control his sexual prowess (jajajajaja), we still respect and admire his work as a pianist and as an opera coach AND of course for his work on the score of ASH WEDNESDAY: CAPITULO UNUS.

He was one of the musicians that carried the bloody crime drama into its glory. His musical notes on the piano gave the movie a major uplifting, that no one else could...

Congrats again!
yeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhh...

Opening Sequence!

I am proud to present the opening sequence of ASH WEDNESDAY: CAPITULO UNUS which recently premiered at the New York International Latino Film Festival this July...



Enjoy and thanks to everyone for your support!
AND don't forget to rate the video!
rm

Clips coming soon!

Me with Gregorio Cazares (Fred Cisneros) and Hector Hernandez at the Fest in NYC.
This is after the second screening of ASH at the Florence Gould Auditorium.

In the spirit of the film's release at the NY festival we will be releasing 3 clips from ASH WEDNESDAY: CAPITULO UNUS.
We will be releasing a different scene each week for 3 weeks.
The first clip released will be on September 3rd.
The next on Sept. 10 and the last one on Sept 17.

After the festival screenings our main goal is to secure distribution for the film.
That goal is getting closer and closer to reality each day. Up to know more than half a dozen distributors have contacted us requesting a screener. AND, we still have the film submitted to other festivals as well, so hopefully we will have more exciting announcements very soon.

We are very excited on releasing these clips!!!!!
The trailer only touches on some of the coolest scenes, but because the trailer is made to be shown on TV and other places where children might be present, we kept it really light.
We figured that the scenes to be posted will be for more mature audiences, and people who have a keen interest in seeing Ash Wednesday, and not just the casual viewer, who might watch the trailer only...

We are seriously pondering which scenes to put, but trust that they will be really cool...!
The clips will be uploaded here on the blog and on our youtube page and our myspace page on the dates listed above!
:-D

Chicote Video (finally)

From Crackle: Echenme A Los Perros (CHICOTE)

The austere nature of this video was made as the ultimate Anti-video or goes against the stereotypical video... jajajaja
Aren't you tired of seeing half-naked women and shaking it for some mediocre performer singing about smoking crack and pimping ho's????
well, I'm not tired of that... jajajaja I don't even watch it...
Mostly because it reminds me that these half-assed "performers" permeate our society with catchy mediocre tunes that don't offer anything intelligent or clever...
I welcome mediocrity with open arms... It makes all of the talented clever artists look good!

Have you ever wondered why the most prolific artists with long-lasting careers are actually still around????

It's because they actually have something to say. Some are pissed, some are happy, some are depressed (the best!!), jajajaja
For example, the Beatles, eminem, bad religion, billy joel, nirvana, the doors...

Nirvana? their lyrics don't even make sense? They struck a chord with their generation because they were pissed and they did their own thing... They didn't follow the norm and people respected that. They could've cared less if they were a hit or not, they had a lot of passion, not ambition.

Also, weren't you tired of buying a CD that only had 1-2 good songs... I hate that... a real artist would dedicate themselves to the entire album and not just create 2 cool songs for the radio and the rest for filler... Bands like Metallica and Queen thrived on having great solid albums, not singles.

Well, let's segue back to Chicote...
Basi (who writes, sings and composes all of the music) is a friend of mine who has been having quite a chunk of success in his musical venture.
He's well known in Mexico, but especially in Monterrey where he lived for quite some time.
His first CD, Historias del Rancho (which includes Echenme A Los Perros, was distributed in Mexico as an EP by EMI Music in late 2006.
The second CD is still in production but will be released maybe by early next year.
Historias del Rancho is also available on the iTunes store in its original full-length album form.

Chicote for you and me...

(1) Cool wide shot on some ancient stones... (2) At the legendary La Bodega Bar, Basi and many of his friends (If you look closely Lic. Tamayao can be seen as well... fueeeeeeeeego...)

(3) Basi, screaming his lungs off... (4) Very cool lady that was having fun shooting the video. AND she does not sell pirated chicote CD's (jeje)

(5) Another nice wide shot (6) Basi with some dudes that were enjoying his music and lyrics...

It's been a while and we've been incredibly busy... Hence the no new postings on the blog...
:-D

We just finished our first music video (tear drop... ) and we will be posting it really soon...
In the meantime, I've posted some pics...

Chicote is a really cool band from Piedras Negras, Coah. (that's one of my hometowns...) and they are on the verge to becoming huge, huge stars...
Their songs not only stick like glue and catchy but have fun, clever and intelligent lyrics to go with everything...
This video for ECHENME A LOS PERROS was made as the antithesis of the stereotypical music video...
We filmed in Piedras Negras on several sites (the market, some deserted terrain, la bodega bar, salsalita's bar, and more)...
The shoot was fun and was shot approx. 3 months ago...
Since a lot of things have been going here at DWS, we finally got around to finish CHICOTE's video and we are very proud for it to be our first...
Thanks to everyone who helped make this video possible.
Paco and I produced the video, and was shot with 2 cameras documentary style.
For more info on chicote, here's the links:
www.chicote.com.mx
www.myspace.com/chicote2005

ALSO, we have just completed a video for the City of San Antonio's Public Works Dept. in association with APWA (I don't know what that means, but it's like the national conference for public works depts....)...
The video is a demonstration on how the city recycled old pavement to make a new street...
It is a new technology that will hopefully help the environment, and save time and $$ nationwide, so we were very proud to be a part that...


This is the cover of Patricia's new CD out September 25th.

AND last but not least we are in production of our second music video, and this time it is for another of our favorite artists PATRICIA VONNE.
Her new song MISSING WOMEN which will be included in her new CD Firebird, and can be heard at the Amnesty USA website, talks about the sad issue that has been foreshadowing Ciudad Juarez for over a decade, and that is the kidnapping and slaughtering of woman.

Her new CD and video will be released in the US and in the UK, and apparently she has been having a lot of success across Europe, where she constantly tours...
Her stuff is on her website:
www.patriciavonne.com
Expect her video anytime really soon...!!!

HAPPY B-DAY to PACO

Happy B-day to one of the producer's of AW:CU...
The Pax-Man... Long distant cousin to Bill Paxton and Bill Richardson...
jajajajaja

NYC Film Fest!

(1) Me and Fred Cisneros (Gregorio Cazares) (2) Me, Calixto Chinchilla & Liz Gardner (Founders/Executive Directors of the Festival), (3) Me& Gaby at the End of Fest Reception in Times Square.


(1) Beatiful view of Manhattan (2) End of Fest After Party (3) Me and Vic at Peter Dillon's


(1) Another cool pic of NY, (2) Vic, Alonso and me at the NY Public Library, (3) Producer Roger D.L.S. with... Roger? jajajajaja


(1) Roger, Vic, Alonso & Paco, (2) Roger, Me, Alonso and Paco (Both pics are from the HBO building at a cool reception after a screening of a documentary called "Recycled Life".


(1) Pax & Pax, (2) No iPod, No Problem! Barco putting on the tunes at Peter Dillon's, (3) Dama and Alonso Wheeler in NYC.

We are back from the BIG APPLE...
Man was that a trip!
We stayed from July 25 until the 30th, and it was a hell of a lot of fun...
Digital Work Studios was in full force and we did our share at seeing films at the New York International Latino Film Festival, as well as visiting the landmarks and the bars around Manhattan...
Our first screening (July 26 at 10:30pm) was not what we expected, as the attendance was low... HOWEVER, some industry people showed up, and liked the movie... so we'll see what happens with that... ;-)
Our 2nd screening (July 28 at 6:15pm) went a LOT better, people were gasping and yelling obscenities at the screen rooting for our heroes and bashing our villans... People who attended told us that you could feel the tension while watching the movie...
I witnessed a lady walk out, and she told the people at front and I quote: "If you want to watch a movie about drugs, rape and torture, go and see Ash Wednesday... It was too much for me..."
What a quote! jajajajaj Although not a positive reaction, but a reaction nonetheless... we already know that this film is not for everyone... you will either LIKE IT (a lot) or HATE IT!... there's no middle ground here... jajajajajajajaja

More industry folks attended the 2nd screening, and liked the film... some audience members even recognized Gregorio Cazares, and snapped up a picture with him...
Dama (who also attended the event) told me that someone told her that they thought that Dama was a real person, and wouldn't think it was an actress... JAJAJAJAJA... she got a kick out of that... she also explained her character to some audience members...

Above everything else the organizers of this festival clearly love movies, and is rooting for the independent, while still getting top-notch sponsors to help us indies find an audience for our movies... We all had a BLAST and I really would like to attend next year's fest, even if we don't have a film in the fest...

Calixto, the festival's founder and leader told me that they LOVED Ash Wednesday, and was really proud to have it at his festival...

There are a sh**load of more pictures that everyone else took, so more pics will be posted soon!

Special thanks to the festival, its organizers, members and volunteers and to the NY people that attended the screening, BUT special, special thanks to our friends who made the pilgrimage to New York in support of ASH:
(in no particular order)
-Chicken Rodriguez, Megan
-Gaby and Ricky M.
-Barbara Del Rio (Dama)
-Susana and Juanita Hernandez
-Adrian, Roger, Paco
-Victor Wheeler
-My Mom and my sistas' Luana and Diana
-Fred Cisneros (Gregorio Cazares)
-Hector Hernandez
-Sonia De Los Santos
-Julio Valdes

I love NY!
Here's a PARTIAL list of my favorite NY movies:

• Scent of a woman
• Ghostbusters
• Devil's advocate
• Unbreakable
• Night at the museum
• Die hard with a vengeance
• Hudson Hawk
• World trade center
• Sidewalks of New York
• Taxi Driver
• The Godfather I and II
  
• BIG
• Saturday Night Fever
• The Professional
• and much, much, more... Post a comment with your faves!
  

Inside DWS

Click To Play

OK here's the TV special we made for the local media in Eagle Pass Texas...
The show is in Español... It aired on TVAW channel 20 from July 16 - 27 at 4:30pm.

The show's main goal is to portray the behind the camera's process of the making and distribution of our two films EL ESCAPE DE LOS SANTOS and ASH WEDNESDAY: CAPITULO UNUS...

Special Thanks to our sponsors:

• Fort Duncan Home Health & Hospice Care
• IBC Bank
• ANCIRA Ford
• Rodee's Fried Chicken
• Foster & Associates
• Booty's Bar & Grill

Here's the direct link to the show:
http://dws.blip.tv/file/311431/

Thanks and enjoy!
rm

210sa Article

This picture was taken a while ago, I think like in February 2006... by Delicia Lopez in the West side of San Antonio...
The camera pictured was my ol' trusty DVX100. We filmed EL ESCAPE with it. It was Priceless. Not on eBay... It sold for $2500 (approx.) jajajajjaaj but I upgraded to a HD HVX200 which is much, much better...

I have been really bad about posting stuff that has been printed about us and our movie... But here's an interesting article fresh off the wires... jajajajaja

210sa is a new crazy news magazine that the San Antonio Express-News is putting out, and it just has been out for some months now, and it is a really interesting read, BUT this weeks' is especially exquisite and a joy to read because it talks about US!
jajajajajaja
How self-indulgent... jejejeje
Here's an excerpt:

Ricardo Mendoza drained his retirement account, worked side jobs and sold some of his belongings on eBay.

All in the name of independent filmmaking.

And now, Mendoza has been rewarded for his efforts, as his film, “Ash Wednesday: Capítulo Unus,” will make its world premiere at the New York International Latino Film Festival on Thursday, July 26. Mendoza, who was born in Piedras Negras, Mexico, and spent part of his childhood in San Antonio, shot the film in Eagle Pass from July 2006 to January 2007 on a budget of about $19,000.

Read the whole article here:
http://www.210sa.com/content/view/2488/

Conexion (which is ALSO a publication of the Express-News) also printed a cool article about ASH... I'll try to scan it and post it on our site...
AND Conexion is printing again (Check out July 25's Conexion), but this time it is more like a Q & A with myself...
Thanks to Melissa Renteria (Conexion) and Clint Hale (210sa) for supporting us and the film...!

Talking about media, TVAW (the local Eagle Pass TV station channel 20) is airing a special called INSIDE Digital Work Studios... it is really cool and it is in Español.... it airs at 4:30pm weekdays from today until July 27...

AND other updates have been printed on the Eagle Pass News Guide...

AND we are hoping to have something really cool show up on WOAI (in S.A.)... but we're still working on stuff so more to come really soon...

Getting ready for battle

Here's the invitations ready to be sent...
They will only be sent out to industry executives... sorry :-(
so don't feel excluded... you can see the invitation in it's full digital glory at digitalworkstudios.com/premiere
But I can give you an invitation if you see me... jajajajaja

Getting ready for battle!
Sorry about the war metaphors, but that's exactly what we are going to do... We are going into battle.

You must be thinking: The film is done, what is there to do?
AJAAHH! That's where you separate a mediocre artist from a red hot warrior...
We need to go in there and fight for our place...
We will be competing with about 80 films and we need the right people sitting at our screening.
We need distributors, agents, producers etc. to sit there and experience ASH WEDNESDAY with a shocked audience, so they can hear the gasps and the emotion...

I have been frequently asked for some strange reason, if I am nervous???
ummmm no... I don't believe any of us are nervous... The film is done, we had a whole year to make it, and correct it until we were satisfied, and we were.
And now, our mission is to get the right people at the screenings.

I have been swamped with stuff to do, that I barely have time to clean and bathe my puppies...
I made a Parks and Rec show for the City of San Antonio, designed and sent the invitations to print, so now I have to send them out... We also produced a 1 hour TV show (in español) for the local media that include clips from both our movies and other funny anecdotes... I am trying to figure out a way to post it online (because it's ONE hour!), so expect it really soon...

In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
For some, shyness might be their El Guapo.
For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo.
For us, El Guapo is a big, dangerous man who wants to kill us.
But as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santa Poco can conquer their own personal El Guapo, who also happens to be "the actual" El Guapo!
Three Amigos (1986)

Live free and work hard...

The New York Premiere is only days away...
If you are attending the event please purchase your tickets today...
These are Hector's Tickets! Please do not mess with these tickets because Gregorio Cazares will go after your arse....!!!!! jajajajajjaa
Get your own tickets here:
www.digitalworkstudios.com/premiere



From L to R: Paco, Alonso, Lic. Rolando Tamayo, Hector Hernandez and Fred Cisneros... this was shot in the freezing cold (Jan. 2007), thanks to Bass Auto Parts for the location...

We are working arduously to prepare evrything, and there is a million things to do...
aaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
jajajajajjaa

Back to work...

After a 4-day stay, I am back from Los Angeles and back to Eagle Pass...
And now it is time to prepare and concentrate all of our energies into our World Premiere Screening in New York...
We need to prepare the actual digital master for them to play in the theater, invitations, schedule interviews with media, posters and a myriad of other seemingly infinite things to do...
So let's bring it on, and I hope to see you there in NY!
All of the information for the World Premiere is posted here:
http://www.digitalworkstudios.com/premiere



Now I have come to the cross-roads in my life - and I knew, without exception, I knew - which path was the right one - but I never took it.
And do you know why? Because It was too damned hard.
Now here's Charlie, he's come to the cross-roads, and he has chosen a path. It's the right path. A path that is made of principle, which leads to character. Now that's the stuff leaders should be made of.
-Scent of a woman (1992)

A year has passed...

This was the very first thing we shot. Unfortunately, it's not in the film, because we needed a meaner looking dude, and my cousin David Cervantes (pictured here) is just too nice of a guy... jajajajaja
__________________________________
The very first day of shooting CAPITULO UNUS started July 1, 2006.
A year already... WOW...!
That whole month was crazy! And it looks like this month is no different...
The first 15 days of July we filmed a bunch of stuff that didn't even make it in the movie...
The scenes we were filming were mediocre, but we just kept filming until we knew we had what we wanted...
It's funny because I don't think that ANY of us [producers] are perfectionists, except when it comes to making a movie...
Nostalgia... jajajajajajjaja

Well now let's focus on the future...
We are making a special show for the local TV station about both our films and about us in general, it is going to be in Spanish and it will include clips from both films and their trailers along with a never before aired ESCAPE BLOOPERS... The show looks like it's going to be a lot of fun...
If you live in the Eagle Pass area, check it out!
The show will premiere July 16 at 4:30pm (before the local news)...
We'll also post it on our website shortly after...

ALSO, I am going back to L.A., hopefully I'll come back with a lot more better news than last time...

Canta, Mariachi, canta!!
-El Mariachi

So, I'm sitting there. And in walks the biggest Mexican I have ever seen. Big as shit. Just walks right in like he owns the place. And nobody knew quite what to make of him... or quite what to think.
-Pistolero

World Premiere Info:

The schedule and other info is up on the Festival's website.
Click here to go directly to links to ASH WEDNESDAY.

The screenings will take place at the following:

World Premiere Screening:
Thursday July 26
10:30pm at The Imaginasian Theater
239 East 59th Street (Between 3rd & 2nd Avenues)
BUY TICKETS HERE

AND
Saturday July 28
6:15pm at Tinker Auditorium
55 E. 59th St. (Between Park & Madison Avenues)
BUY TICKETS HERE

Check out the festival's myspace here:
www.myspace.com/NYILFF

Update on NY Premiere

Here's the TV spot for the festival
___________________________________
Tickets for the festival were supposed to be sold yesterday, but apparently the bad weather is not only hitting Texas, but NYC as well, as they are having power outages... so I will keep everyone posted on this, so you can get your tickets early...
Tickets: www.nylatinofilm.com

The roller coaster is still going, but it seems like it's going faster and scarier... but just like a roller coaster it's always a fun ride...
Yesterday, we got a "not interested" phone call from a shocked and appalled producer in Beverly Hills... He was very polite, but he seemed disturbed by what he experienced, he said, it didn't go with the "philosophy" of the company, but the doors remained open in case I wanted to submit anything else...
TWO positive things stood out:

1. The film's goal is to incite a reaction (which it did). A mediocre film will cause indifference. And that is worse reaction.
   
2. I was asked about a specific scene, that was so shocking I had to return the call to tell him that what he saw wasn't real, and it was all movie magic, fake, make-believe... This point attests that our film is so realistically and well produced that even a hollywood producer had no doubt that what he saw was real... I thought this was hilarious...

I also received several crucial emails for the continuation of DWS...

T : What are we then?
N : ...Consumers?...
T: Right. We are consumers. We are by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty. These things don't concern me. What concerns me, are celebrity magazines. Television with 500 channels. Some guy's name on my underwear. Rogain. Viagra. Olestra.
N: Martha Stewart.
T: F*ck Martha Stewart. Martha's polishing the brass on the Titanic. It's all goin' down, man. So F*ck off with your sofa units and string green stripe patterns. I say, never be complete. I say stop being perfect. I say let the...let's evolve. Chips fall where they may. But that's just me, I could be wrong, maybe it's a terrible tragedy.
N: No...it's just...just stuff.
T: Well you did lose a lot of versatile solutions to modern living.
N: F*ck you're right. ... My insurance is probably gonna cover it.
pause
What?
T: The things you own, end up owning you.

FIGHT CLUB (1999)

Everything starts...

Well,
this is a quick entry into my little journal to mark this day...
:-D
more to come tomorrow...

Back Home!

"HEY, PETER MAN... CHECK OUT CHANNEL 9..." Lawrence (Office Space) | The fridge


Opportunities come once in a lifetime... you better lose yourself... jajajajaja... Barco dropping off ASH DVD... Determination...


The lady at the library is a masterpice photograph... always be ready with a camera, you never know what memories you wish to treasure forever... | Barco and Leo at Manhattan Beach


Cruz Arellano, Roger, Luis Arellano, Paco and myself... L.I.S.
Special thanks to the Arellano's for giving us a place to stay, while we were escorted out of agencies, production companies, bars, beaches and gay pride parades... Thanks guys!

After three weeks out in the western part of the US, specifically in Los Angeles County, and after a long 24 hour drive, we are finally back in Texas...
The first thing we did was to go to Piedras Negras and buy 2 cases of Indio and get some of the best tacos in the world...
I'm tired, but we have to get ready for the World Premiere at the festival in New York...
more to come, this gets more interesting every day...

"Lumbergh represents everything that is soulless and wrong"
Peter to Joanne (Office Space)