Halfway Through The 730: 2013 Year In Review

This time last year I made a blog called "The Next 730 Days". It was about how I felt the 730 days from 1/1/13 to 12/31/14 will set the tone for the rest of my life. Feel free to read the link below to read it.

http://jasonwschaver.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-next-730-daysplus-video-clip.html

Are you back?  You didn't read it, but that's okay.

So here's my 2013 year in review & an update of how the first 365 days of that 730 have been going.

MARCH 2013- My film, Wingmen Incorporated, was finished 3/1/13. It was also brought to my attention shortly after that that my former partner (Ken) had went behind my back and edited out large chunks of my commentary. This was the final straw in a long string of shady behavior by him. I decided to cut ties with him because of this.  Somewhere along the way we went from me casting him in what would later be The Truth About Average Guys to us being 50/50 partners (which was fine with me) to him thinking I worked for him (without pay). He'd deny that, but that's what it felt like towards the end. Proof of that is him editing out my commentary without my knowledge. I wasn't given the chance to approve his commentary, which I wouldn't have because he said several things in it that weren't true. Oh well, I re-did my commentary and set the record straight on the things he said.

CLICK HERE To purchase a DVD that has the new commentary on it ($6.99) shirt ($9.99) shirt and DVD $14.99)

Sure, we did some good things, but I won't miss him telling me what to put in my blog, him telling me to lie to our fans, him telling me telling me who I can and can't have on my commentary, him casting people he's sleeping with in all our films, him editing out large chunks of my commentary, him telling me that we need to raise our prices b/c the reason people aren't buying it is b/c it's too cheap and they don't respect it, him telling me a Kickstarter campaign was stupid and it won't work (not helping at all on it) then when it worked him telling me what "we" should spend "our" money on b/c I only got it b/c I was under the "Adjusted Gratuity" banner. (WTF?)   Him giving me permission to film my own sketches that I wrote myself and use the money that I raised myself. (that was 10 Minute Abs)

(And I'm not even mentioning the shadiest thing he did in 2010 while we were shooting S.O.L. that violated my trust in the first place.)

Jason/Ken 2006-2013 R.I.P. 


APRIL 2013 - My lovely girlfriend Kate moved from Chicago to Fulton. We also started co-writing a book called Why She Left which is a book of quotes that I've actually said to her. I say some pretty fucked up stuff, luckily for me she thinks most of it is pretty funny. She's actually the one that suggested we start writing them all down.

MAY 2013 - got a letter from our landlord at the time that they were selling the building. The new landlord wanted to double the rent and wouldn't allow pets.  That first month or two was very stressful for us. There was just nothing jobs-wise out here for her.

JUNE 2013 - moved into our new apartment. It's not the best place, but it the rent is very reasonable, we live in a good neighborhood.  I also bought some editing software and taught myself how to edit. After parting ways with Ken I realized I would be the only one promoting the film and if I was going to be the only one submitting the film to festivals I wanted to submit a version that I was happy with. I cut out about 5 minutes of the film. Mostly boring stuff that slowed down the pacing. Really boring stuff. Felt like it was trying to be too cute and clever, and not working at all.

JULY 2013 - Helped my lovely girlfriend Kate start her business. She's doing really well and all her clients just adore her.   Also did a Indiegogo campaign for my short film No Regrets.  Raised $2202 from 51 donors from all over the world. Wanted to shoot that in the fall but life got in the way and before we knew it it was really cold outside. So we're thinking May of next year. I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

AUGUST THROUGH PRESENT - Submitted Wingmen Incorporated to nearly 50 film festivals.  Will have spent nearly $1750 when all is said and done.  We're 7 for 17 (.412%) with 34 festivals left to hear back from over the coming months (all the way up until October of 2014).  We've won 3 awards & been nominated for 5 others. We're just getting started though. I submitted to a lot of earlybird deadlines, so I'll start hearing back from lots of festivals in 2014.

NOVEMBER 2013 - won best feature at the 2013 East Lansing Film Festival.  Also, Kate and I started writing our next project, the feature comedy I Don't Recall. I came up with the idea nearly a year ago. Wrote a couple scenes back in January but then got busy with life. We started writing again back in early November and now have about 60 pages written. We're trying for 100, so we are 60% done with the first draft. It's turning out to be really good. Kate is a much better writer than I thought she was going to be. She really brings depth to our female characters. She also has no agenda. (No writing parts for whomever she's fucking or making secondary characters act a certain way so her character can be the hero. She isn't even remotely interested in acting in the film. If anything, her only agenda is writing an amazing screenplay).  This has been the most pleasant co-writing experience I've ever had and I look forward to writing many more screenplays with Kate after this.

DECEMBER 2013 - Well, it's not over yet, but so far so good. I have been battling a cold for the past couple weeks, but I seem to be on the mend.  Haven't started my Christmas shopping yet, but will start Thursday (pay day).  Mainly just looking forward to next year.

So what is in store for 2014?

1.  Finish first draft of I Don't Recall.
2. continue to submit and hear back from film festivals regarding Wingmen Incorporated
3. Send I Don't Recall to script consultant to help with final draft & submit it to contests
4. seek out investors to shoot I Don't Recall ourselves. I would like to shoot it for $50k and use some of that money to seek out name talent to play a few smaller roles (1 day shoots). 
5.  Start diet 1/1/14.  Get down to 180 by May when I shoot my short/drama No Regrets
6. Get No Regrets done and submit it to larger festivals.
7. save up my weekly incentive money (from work) to go towards I Don't Recall budget. Want to start filming in spring of 2015. 

All in all 2013 wasn't too bad. If my former partner hadn't bailed on Wingmen Incorporated (in lame ass attempt to con his way into a SAG card) more might have happened this year with it. But like I said above, I have submitted to over 50 festivals that I think will lead to bigger and better things for the film.  Since parting ways with my former partner, I feel like a huge weight as been lifted off my shoulders. I feel like I finally have control over my career. No bumping heads. No agendas. No shady behavior. I am very much enjoying the writing process again. Writing with Kate has been a breath of fresh air. She's even found some great music for the film. Writing with her has been so easy. And if the writing part has been easy, I can't wait to see how much better the filming part will be!

I think for 2014, the thing I am looking forward to the most is getting I Don't Recall done, getting a team together, raising the funds, and getting it ready to shoot. I think this will be a major step above my previous work.

That's all I got for now,

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment
www.mopedjones.com

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

I am very pleased to announce that my film, Wingmen Incorporated, took home "Best Feature" at the 2013 East Lansing Film Festival as part of the Lake Michigan Film Competition.  This is the second time in the past 5 years that one of my films has won the competition as The Truth About Average Guys won it back in 2009 (S.O.L. was submitted to East Lansing in 2011, but was not selected).   I was very pleased with this since after viewing the competition I expected us to get 2nd. There was a very well shot drama (with name talent) that I thought was going to win. Their trailer looked fantastic. The story was a little boring, but I'm not really into dramas so I didn't know if it was boring b/c it was boring or boring b/c I am just not into that genre.  Either way, I was very pleased with our unexpected win.

In other news, I've had a few more articles published by Yahoo! Please feel free to give them a read if you are interested.

http://voices.yahoo.com/i-hate-remakes-but-wish-hollywood-would-remake-better-12390457.html?cat=9

This is called "I Hate Remakes, but I Wish Hollywood Would Remake Better Films" and it's about the string of horrible remakes Hollywood has been redoing lately. I offer a few suggestions for movies I wouldn't mind seeing remade.


http://voices.yahoo.com/can-bears-survive-rash-key-injuries-12386794.html?cat=14

This one is about the Chicago Bears. So if you are a fan feel free to read it.


http://voices.yahoo.com/a-guys-perspective-whats-wrong-dating-profile-12380492.html?cat=9

If you are a lady and are on a dating website, this is a must read for you. As a guy that's viewed many profiles over the years, I can tell you exactly what is wrong with your profile. (to date, this is my most read article with nearly 400 reads in just under two weeks)


http://voices.yahoo.com/reason-optimism-u-mens-hoops-team-12380431.html?cat=14

This one is about the University of Illinois men's basketball team. I discuss why this years team, despite losing 75% of it's scoring, might actually be better this year.  Addition by subtraction. Feel free to check it out if you are a Fighting Illini fan!


What else is going on?

I had a fundraising screening in Clinton for Wingmen Incorporated on Wednesday, November 6th. About 60 people showed up. I was disappointed with the turn out. Mainly because I advertised with the local radio station (MAC FM, 94.7) and I don't think they played the commercial as many times as they were supposed to AND I don't think they played it during the time of day they said they would.  Needless to day I will not advertise with them anymore. I had more people turn out for the S.O.L. Clinton screening back in January of 2011 with NO ADVERTISING than I did this time around. Such a waste of money.   On the bright side, the film was very well received. This is the first time I actually watched my cut of the film with an audience. I was very happy with their reaction.

Things have stalled a bit on the new screenplay (I Don't Recall). However, I feel that Kate and I will be getting back in the groove shortly. Wingmen Incorporated is playing at a festival up in Wisconsin this weekend. Hopefully it does well and I can call my next blog "Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner Part 2".

Got some really good deals on DVD's and shirts. 

Wingmen Incorporated DVD (my cut) - $6.99

DVD includes... 
*NEW 76 minute film
 sober commentary - Ken Gayton/Beth Carol
*NEW Drunkenly Honest Commentary - Jason W. Schaver & Kate Johnson (b/c someone felt the need to edit out our previous commentary, so we made a new one)
7+ minutes of bloopers
8+ minutes of outtakes
*NEW Larry's Tattoo Story
*NEW Pictures From Set
(I also redesigned the menu b/c the other version looked like a 4th grader did it)

Wingmen Incorporated Black T- Shirt - $9.99

Get a shirt & a DVD for $15

The Truth About Average Guys DVD - $7.99
Buy TTAAG, WINC for $15 and get a copy of S.O.L. for FREE! 

Click the link below for details!  

(shipping is US only, if you aren't in the US shoot me an email at info@mopedjones.com and we'll figure something out)

http://www.mopedjones.com/store.html

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment
www.mopedjones.com

Started a New Little Hobby....

Hello,

To get back into screenwriting I recently signed up to be a writer for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. It's a pretty cool way to get back in the habit of writing. You can pick assignments from Yahoo! or you can just write your own based off your own interests. Sometimes they get published for all the world to see, sometimes they don't.

It's been a while since I started a new feature length script, and when I say a while I mean over a decade. I wrote The Truth About Average Guys and S.O.L. back in 2001 (there were some rewrites since then, but the hardest draft by far is the 1st draft).  I also co-wrote Wingmen Incorporated in 2010-11, but most of what I wrote for that was previously written from a partial script I had lying around. So I really haven't started from scratch on a script (and had that need in finish) since 2001.  Did some stuff inbetween, but never really had that need/want to finish it.  But this new one MUST get finished because I think when all is said and done this one will have the potential to be the best thing I've done (so far) by far.  I feel with every script/film I'm improving as a writer, an actor, and as a filmmaker.

Anyway, back to my little side hobby, writing for Yahoo!

Thus far I've written three articles. Two have been published, and one is currently being reviewed. So technically I'm 2 for 2. I'm not sure how easy it is to get published, but I am going to pretend that it's incredibly difficult and very few people get their first two articles published.  Yes, I like to pretend that I'm that good.

Here are the two articles that I've published so far. Hopefully you find them interesting enough to click the links below (it actually helps me if you click the link, obviously I'd love for you to read the articles, but clicking the link is a pretty good compromise. You clicked THIS link to read my blog. So I know you care a little bit. ;)

http://voices.yahoo.com/why-hate-media-sometimes-12374483.html?cat=9

That one is called "Why I Hate The Media (Sometimes)" and it's about how the media has distorted an incident that happened over the weekend.


http://voices.yahoo.com/why-cubs-2013-season-wasnt-as-awful-as-seemed-12362001.html?cat=14

This one was my very first article published. It's called "Why The Cubs 2013 Season Wasn't As Awful As It Seemed" and well, it's about exactly what the title says it's about. There is more reason for optimism on the North Side than you'd think. 2013 was an awful season, but not as awful as it seemed.

http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1791802/jason_w_schaver.html

That link is my contributor profile link. This has links to all my articles. So if you enjoy my writing please be sure to add me as add me to your favorites or subscribe to my articles. Don't worry, it's free.

Anything else going on?

Kate and I have been hard at work on the new screenplay and it's coming along pretty well. We got sidetracked with life the past several months but have really rolled up our sleeves this past couple weeks and have the first 20 pages of the script done. I really like what we have so far. If we can keep up the same level of quality/humor from the first 20 pages I think we'll have something pretty special on our hands. I'd like for this to be about 100 pages long.  And would love to make a movie that is actually 90 minutes long for once. That's usually what I've aimed for, but they usually end up between 76-82 minutes long.

Anyway, since you were so good earlier reading my Yahoo! articles, I will leave you with this...

The first 7 pages of our new screenplay, I Don't Recall.

LOGLINE: After an accident, a mild mannered pushover fakes amnesia to avoid returning to his unappreciative family.

LOGLINE #2: A man in his early 30's, unhappy with his life, gets into an accident. Upon waking from a short coma he pretends to have amnesia in an attempt to live a different life.

(yeah, I posted both loglines b/c I'm not sure which one I like better)
 http://howa5gota9.angelfire.com/IDR_first_7_pages.txt

Thank you so much for reading, hope you like it!

Jason W. Schaver

Why The Flint Film Festival Blows...

Howdy All!

Long time no blog.  As you can tell by the heading I am not pleased with the Flint Film Festival. I debated long and hard about posting this, but in the end I just felt like sharing. I don't mean to ruffle any feathers, but I feel like if people do a bad job they need to have their feathers ruffled from time to time just to keep them hungry and honest.

And without further adieu, here's why the Flint Film Festival blows...

1. They never told us that our film, Wingmen Incorporated, got in. I found out just a couple days before the festival that we got in because on a whim I went to their website and saw we were screening on the Friday night time slot (7:30, which is a great time slot, too bad no one told us).  

On the Tuesday before the festival I emailed the director (Dave) and said "I see that we got in. I never received notification from you. I know it may be too late, but is there anything you need from me? Stills? Posters? Let me know and I'll get it to you ASAP."

So that brings us to #2...

2.  I emailed them and they ignored it. How do you ignore someone that got into the festival? I understand festivals are bombarded with emails from filmmakers that don't get in, but you have to acknowledge the filmmakers that DO GET IN!

Despite being ignored, I decided to keep my mouth shut just in case this was a mistake and I didn't want to rock the boat in case we won an award. I figured our chances were good since in every interview the festival gave they gushed about our film. It was always the first (and usually the only) feature film they talked about when doing interviews with the local newspapers and TV stations.

Here's some of the interviews...

http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/flint/index.ssf/2013/10/flint_film_festival_to_showcas_1.html

Thomas said two films that have garnered the most phone calls, emails and Facebook messages for interested viewers are "Flint's Best Rock" and "Wingmen Incorporated."

"Wingmen Incorporated," directed by Jason Schaver, is about a jaded psychologist who forms a company to teach desperate men how to pick up women. "Flint's Best Rock," a 1988 film by Jim Baadeln, is about the history of WWCK 105 FM, "Flint's Best Rock," the top rock station in the country during the 1970s and most of the 1980s.

Here's one from the local ABC affiliate.  There is an article + a video of the local news. In the video, be sure to watch 0:58 to 1:15, which is where they show the clip of Wingmen Incorporated.

http://www.abc12.com/story/23649018/flint-film-festival-to-celebrate-10th-anniversary

There was another article, but for the life of me I can't seem to find it.

So, yeah, they talked about our film quite a bit leading up to the festival. So I figured despite them completely blowing off telling us we got in that I could easily forgive them if we won an award.

Well, we didn't win. The Rebound, a local film the festival directors did NOT talk about in any of their interviews, somehow won "Best Feature".  (go ahead and re-read the articles I posted, no mention of it anywhere)

Below is the trailer...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS3rqOtmQbo

Now I'm not going to bash another person's film, but there was a reason why the festival used Wingmen Incorporated to lure people to the festival and not this film. So they clearly thought our film was better, yet somehow, The Rebound managed to win the award.

So that was kind of the last straw. I filed a complaint with the film festival submission website www.withoutabox.com and the festival itself and got my refund.  The festival director couldn't have been more rude or condescending.

Here's a few snipets of his emails...

"Well they (withoutabox) forwarded me your nasty letter..."

First off, it wasn't a "nasty" letter. It was a letter of complaint. I told him about how I didn't appreciate not being notified of being selected or them ignoring my initial email.  I also asked how a film that they gushed about in every interview could lose to a film that they never mentioned at all in any of their interviews and that if I knew they were just going to give awards to their friends* I wouldn't have wasted my time submitting to them in the first place and would like a refund.

*Now I'm not sure if they are actually friends, but it was a local film. I called them "friends" to get my point across to them that from an outsider's perspective this looks really really really fucking shadey.

Here's an excerpt from another email...

I personally liked your film, and it was strong as far as the competition. Our scoring as far as the placement is by scored in certain criteria, and is just by number and not emotion or whether we like it or not. I hope you understand.

That being said, I saw nothing from The Rebound trailer that made me think it was a far superior film. In fact, I'd take our film over it any day of the week. He still never answered my question how a film that he used so valiantly to promote his festival could lose to a film that he didn't feel was good enough to even mention to the press? If it was so great, why didn't he talk about it more? Or at all even?

In well over 2,000 submissions we have never been asked for a refund.

I'm not sure if I buy that. If so, how unlucky am I?  Seriously, that's like a 0.05% chance of fucking up, and they fucked up the one time I deal with them.

 I'm sorry that things worked out the way they did or the way that you perceive they did...

This pissed me off. I didn't "perceive" any of this. This is what really happened in real life. There's no lack of communication or crossed signals or not being on the same page or whatever cliché you want to use. They really didn't contact me and they really didn't respond to my initial email and they really did award a local film "Best Feature" despite the fact that they really did never talk about the film at all in their promotional interviews.

....but kicking up all of this dust isn't doing any good.

Worked out okay for me. I got my f*cking refund.  (well, most of it, my submission fee was $25 and they sent me a check for $20. So they shorted me $5, but honestly, as incompetent as this festival is I will consider that a VICTORY!)

Anyway, I hope I don't come off as too pissy. Part of these blogs are to vent and get things off your chest and this has been in my mind for the past week or so.  If you are a filmmaker I would definitely recommend skipping this festival. I have been treated better by festivals that rejected me than this one, and they loved our movie. I can't imagine how they treat people who's movies they don't like.

Jason W. Schaver

Having a Bitchin' Summer!

Hello All,

It's been a LONG time since my last blog.

In that time I have...

1. I moved
2. helped my mom move her Flowershop into another building.
3. helped my g/f get her new business set up & running
4. sent Wingmen Incorporated out to numerous film festivals
5. halfway through a fundraiser for No Regrets

Okay, so where to start?

I was just off of work for a month b/c of "lack of work". Despite being bored out of my mind I did enjoy getting paid to do nothing. I've never really had to draw unemployment before. It was not that bad since I already had a job, so I didn't have to go look for work.  I go back tomorrow. Hopefully I can remember my login info and passwords.  I kinda feel like I did when we'd come back to school after Christmas break and I was always afraid that I wouldn't remember my locker combo. It's a powerless feeling.

Moped Jones News...

We are now up to 14 Moped Jones Drunken Podcasts.  Click here to listen to all of them. They are pretty funny and there are some really good tunes.  I think from Ep 11 on are our best ones.

http://mopedjones.com/podcast.cfm

Wingmen Incorporated has gotten into a few festivals. It plays as part of The Prairie State Film Festival in DeKalb, IL on Saturday July 20th.  And has also been selected to be part of the Naperville Independent Film Festival that takes place in Naperville, IL in mid September.  Very much looking forward to both. If you are in the area you should stop by.

I've submitted to several other festivals around the US and will be hearing back from them in the coming months. I am very excited about several of the festivals (Naperville was one of the ones I was excited about and we got in!) But there are several others that I cannot wait to hear back from. I'll be steadily submitting up until spring of next year.  I pretty much have to since I am the only one promoting this film.  But hey, that's okay! I recut the film and am damn proud of my cut. I cut out about 4 minutes incredibly boring unfunny dialogue that really killed the pacing of the film. The film really flows now and I am damn proud of this film the way it is now and I am very optimistic about its chances of getting into many festivals (it's already 2 for 2) and securing distribution (and hopefully getting on Netflix like The Truth About Average Guys did back in 2010-11).

Our fundraiser for No Regrets has been going great!  We're trying to raise $1500 in 60 days. 30 days in and we are already at $1107. So we are well ahead of the pace!   We've had 31 donations ranging from $2 all the way up to $125.  If you are interested in helping the cause, please click the link below and donate whatever you feel comfortable with.

http://mopedjones.com/home.cfm

Rewards include IMDB credits.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2869746/

That's the IMDB page for No Regrets.

Also, Evan and I are going to record a new commentary for Wingmen Incorporated. My last one got edited without my permission. So we decided that since we are doing another drunken commentary for Wingmen Incorporated we should just start doing drunken commentaries for other films as well. It's perfectly legal to do this. We own our audio. So we can sell it as an add-on for like $0.99 or something. Maybe less.  I don't know. But first things first, we have to record them. (there is a thing called Riff Trax that does this, it was made up by the guy that did Mystery Science 3000, I'm not ripping him off, I just happened to think of something that was already invented, lol, plus it's different b/c  I got rid of the robots and added a lot more booze!)

Off the top of my head I would like to do drunken commentaries for the following films...

The Notebook
Titanic
At least 1 of the last 3 Batman movies
Labyrinth
Never Ending Story 
The Room

Basically we want to do movies people already have (otherwise what's the point?). 

What else?  My lovely girlfriend Kate surprised me with tickets to go see Flight of the Conchords in late August out in Chicago!

Also, Demitri Martin, Dave Chappelle, and Kristen Schaal will be there as well.  I cannot wait to see them all.




Welp, that's all I gots for now!

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment
www.mopedjones.com

Really Been Slacking on the Blogs (big rant!)

Howdy Ya'll,

I've been really slacking on the blogs the past couple months or so, but tonight I felt like doing some writing. 

New Podcast is up.  Episode 10. Has an 80's theme to it, and some pretty funny stories.

http://mopedjones.com/drunkenpodcast.cfm

Also, if you want a free download of my award winning comedy, S.O.L., all you have to do is click the link below and sign up for the Moped Jones Mailing List.  And I will email you a download link for the film.  It's a free movie.  It's pretty funny.  And, again, it's free. 

http://mopedjones.com/contactus.cfm


So here's what's been happening in my little world....

1. My landlords sold the building, effective May 1st.  I got a letter from the new landlords saying they are doubling the rent, want a $500 deposit (for the apartment I've been living in for two years already!), and a no pet policy.  Which kind of sucks b/c I got permission to let my girlfriend's dog live here on March 28th.  So it was kind of shitty for the previous landlords to say it was okay, then sell the building a week later (they told me  on April 5th that they had sold the building & it was effective May 1st).

Needless to say, Kate and I are out of here. This shithole is not worth what they want for it.  I was paying $330, they want $500.  Although I'm sure after the apartment sits empty for the next 3-4 months they will probably lower the price.  Oh well, we'll be out of here on May 31st at 11:59 pm.  Good riddance to my 116 year old bat shit crazy neighbor. God bless that c*nt.

2.  I was planning on shooting my short film, No Regrets , in late June, but due to having to move + scheduling conflicts from my DP in July, we have pushed back shooting until mid-august.  I cannot wait to get this project out there.  It's such a 180 from what I've done in the past. Most of you know me from full length R rated feature comedies. Well, this is TWO things I've never done before. A short film & a drama.  I am very anxious to see if I have the chops as a director and an actor to pull this off.  I am putting together a great team of people that I trust and cannot wait to get started.

3.  Having some trouble with my former car insurance company. I went through the local Auto-Owners agency here in Fulton, IL.  My car is now paid off. My dad co-signed on my loan so I would get a much lower rate (11.5% VS. 7%).  Yeah, my credit is shitty.  Moving for whores will fuck up your credit, don't do it.  Anyway, my car is paid off and we were taking my dad's name off the title, which means his name needed to be taken off the car insurance policy as well. And since the car is paid for (and shitty), there was no reason to have full coverage anymore.  So we needed his name off our policy & drop it down to liability. 

Pretty simple, right? 

Not if you are the local Auto-Owners Insurance affiliate in Fulton, IL. I went in on March 23rd to get dad's name taken off the policy and have them change me to liability. When I went in the local affiliates seemed more concerned with running a day care out of their office than doing their job.  Okay, I cut them some slack, after all, it was a Saturday and I went in about a half hour before they were scheduled to close. I told them what I wanted and they said they would call me the following Monday (March 25th) as I wanted this done before April 1st, which was when I was scheduled to pay full coverage for the month of April.  Pretty simple, switch it to liability before April 1st and start billing me for that. (sensing they would fuck up this ridiculously easy task, I put a block on my auto-withdrawal so they couldn't bill me for full coverage in April)

They never called. I was busy that week of the 25th, so I didn't get a chance to go into their office until Wednesday, April 3rd. I went in to see why they hadn't contacted me and they said "yep, everything is fine, we went ahead, got your dad's name off the policy and sent that in for you".  And I said "Did you drop me down to liability?"  And they said "oops".  So they filled out the right paperwork and sent it back in and said I would be getting a bill soon. 

On April 5th I got a bill from them saying they weren't able to get into my bank account (that I blocked) and that I now owed them April at full coverage + $20 for not letting them take money that they weren't supposed to take in the first place.  I call this an "incompetence fee". They fucked up, and that meant I owed them more money. Unfortunately for them I don't reward people for incompetence.

On Monday, April 15th I got my new policy in the mail for liability.  FINALLY!  The nightmare was over. There was no bill with the policy, so I decided to walk over and pay my first month of liability (which should have started April 1st).   I got my checkbook out and the guy said I owed $152.77

My jaw hit the floor. Full coverage was $80 a month.  How in the hell could liability be nearly double that?  The agent went on to explain that I owed $80 for the full month of April at full coverage + the $20 for not letting those morons get into my account on April 1st + the full month of May at the liability price ($52.77).   I tried to explain to him that I don't owe April at the full coverage price b/c they were supposed to switch that before April 1st.  The idiot then went on to misuse the word "pro-rated" several times (seems to me that if you are in the insurance industry, or any industry with monthly billing, you should absolutely KNOW what "pro-rated" means). 

Here's how I would have pro-rated full coverage in the month of April.

$80 for the 30 days = $2.67 a day
$2.67 x 0 (the number of days I wanted full coverage in April) = 0

So pro-rated for the month of April, that's $0. 

After he stopped talking I said "I'm going somewhere else".   And he said in a smarmy voice "Well, good luck" as if to say "Good luck getting car insurance on a Monday afternoon in April."  Like it's so hard to do that.  15 minutes later I had a new policy with the local State Farm Agent.  I got a little more coverage than Auto-Owners and it was only $37.30  ($15.47 cheaper than AO's).  It's amazing that State Farm did in 15 minutes what those bozos at AO couldn't do in nearly two weeks. I don't know if they are morons, or were just trying to get another month of full coverage out of me.  Either way, I don't tolerate slimey or stupid. I think these guys are a little of both.

On May 1st, Auto-Owners tried to get the $152.77 out of my account, but I put a permanent block on them, so it was denied. I'm sure I'll be hearing from AO's corporate office and when I do I'll direct them to this blog, that way I don't have to relive it again. They can just read it. But I am not paying them another dime. Like I said before, I don't reward people for being morons. They made the mistake, they can eat it.

Wow, what a rant!

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment
www.mopedjones.com

Long Time No Blog! (lots to catch up on)

Where to start?

1.  Wingmen Incorporated played its very first festival on April 6th out in Cedar Rapids, IA. It won the Silver Eddy in the Best Feature Pro-Am Category. To be eligible for this we needed to have someone associated with the state of Iowa (I was born in Clinton, IA) and to not make over 50% of our income as filmmakers.  Since it is way less than 50% we were eligible for Pro-Am status.  The screening went really well and people seemed to really enjoy the film. I was approached several times throughout the night because people recognized me from the film. It was pretty cool.  People in Iowa are so kind.  Not at all like those fucks in Delaware.*

*never been to Delaware, I'm just assuming this based on how boring it must be to live there.

2.  My lovely girlfriend Kate moved in with me.  On Easter Sunday I borrowed my dad's truck and headed out to Chicago to pick up a truckload of her stuff.  We got it loaded up with no problem. Some Asians almost took my dad's mirror off, but they swerved at the last second b/c not only are they good at math they are good swervers. Anyway, it's been going really well. It's nice having someone here. She's a great girl and I am really lucky.

3.  Updated the website, so feel free to check out the new layout.  I just think it flows better.  Be sure to check out our new promotion:  Buy The Truth About Average Guys AND Wingmen Incorporated for $19.99 and we'll throw in a FREE copy of S.O.L.  3 DVD's loaded with bonus material for less than twenty bucks?  Yep, it's real!

http://mopedjones.com/home.cfm


4.  The podcast is still going strong. Check that out as well. We look forward to having more guests as we feel those segments have gone really well. We have a lot of fun making the podcast and the feedback so far has been great. People seem to be enjoying it.  It's really cool watching this thing grow. Hopefully it continues.

http://mopedjones.com/drunkenpodcast.cfm


5. I have some other stuff, but I'm not really sure I'm ready to go public with it yet. I want to calm down and make sure I handle it properly. It involves my career path. Some slimey things have continued to happen and I will now be doing more projects on my own. I'm not naming any names, but for those of you that know me and my work you can probably guess who I am referring too. I may give more details in future blogs/podcasts/ect... but for time being this is all the info I am comfortable giving. I do have a list of all the slimey stuff though, and I'll probably share it at some point. Probably in blog form. We'll see.

Autobots, roll out!

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment
www.mopedjones.com

Podcast Episode 2 + other stuff

Dear Whomever is bored enough to read this,

The latest Moped Jones Drunken Podcast is up.

http://mopedjonesentertainment.bandzoogle.com/podcastblog.cfm

Click that, scroll down to you see the player, then click on episode two. In the latest episode we discuss a wide variety of topics including: Evan's big date that he may or may not have, using kids to pick up women at the mall, me almost getting killed this week, song & movie recommendations by Jason, Evan, and Kate.

While I have you here, I would love for you to click the picture below and rate Wingmen Incorporated on IMDB.



DVD front cover of my new film Wingmen Incorporated.



The reason I am politely asking you to rate the film is because we recently went from a 9.6 to a 3.6 because of one heavily weighted vote.  According to the IMDB stats, the vote came from an 18-29 year old female and I think I have a pretty good idea of who it came from.  It has been years since I've seen this girl, and she should have no reason to have any animosity towards me as I was not the one that lied or cheated.  I'm almost positive it's her because I have had several repeat visits on the website from her current town.  It's not enough to convict her, lol, but I am confident that it's her. 

We have made up some ground as we are up to 4.0 on IMDB, but don't let that terrorizer win!  Please click the picture above and rate the film how you see fit.

And lastly, head on over to www.wingmenincorporated.com and buy a download of the film for $2.99 and watch it tonight!  Or buy a DVD loaded with bonus material for $11.99 and wait for it! 

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment

Click here to follow me on Twitter

Moped Jones Drunken Podcast: Episode 1 + pic

Dear Whomever is bored enough to read this,

http://mopedjonesentertainment.bandzoogle.com/podcastblog.cfm

Click the link and hit play. You can just play it or download it for free.  In the podcast we discuss the following...

Scott Weiland
how Evan's kids may or may not be amazing
a crazy girl I used to sleep with
Evan's upcoming date
Jason & Evan each recommend a song (and play it)
Jason & Evan each recommend a movie (and don't play it, just discuss it)
A very entertaining phone call from Evan's sister
love making tips for Evan

Feel free to email us any questions to info@mopedjones.com and we will try to answer them on the next podcast.

Also, please go to www.wingmenincorporated.com and pick up a DVD or download of my brand new film Wingmen Incorporated.  Downloads of the movie are $2.99 (film only) and/or buy a DVD of the film that is loaded with bonus material.


This is the DVD front and back cover.  Pretty slick, was designed by our buddy Kyle Clark.

Thank you for caring, I truly am humbled by all the kind words about the new film. And to those of you yet to check it out, give it a chance. I promise you'll like it.

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment

Click here to follow me on Twitter.

Wingmen Incorporated is here!

Dear Whomever is bored enough to read this,

It's here!  Wingmen Incorporated is now available.  Below is the trailer to the film.  Check it out!

Wasn't that just hilarious?  No?  Yes it was, screw you.  All kidding aside, if you think that trailer looks funny then feel free to go to www.wingmenincorporated.com and pick up a download of the film for $2.99 (film only) and if you enjoy the film I urge you to pick up a copy of the DVD that's loaded with bonus material.

Also recorded the first Moped Jones Drunken Podcast tonight, should be available soon.  I will let people know as soon as it's available. I like to think it turned out pretty funny, especially the unexpected phone call we got during the show.

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment

Click here to follow me on Twitter

Wingmen Incorporated this Friday! + new logo pic!

Dear Whomever Is Bored Enough To Read This,

Big week coming up. First off, we'll be launching a short trailer & website for our film Wingmen Incorporated on Friday, March 1st.   DVD's and Downloads will be available for purchase.  Downloads (film only) will be $2.99 and DVD's with bonus material will be $11.99 (plus shipping).


This is our new logo. Pretty sweet!

Wingmen Incorporated: Bonus Material
Sober Commentary with Ken Gayton & Bethany Carol
Drunken Commentary with Jason Schaver & Friends
7+ minutes of bloopers
8+ minutes of outtakes
Deleted Scenes

We're hoping that people who are on the fence about buying a DVD will buy a download of the film and then hopefully fall in love with it & want to buy a DVD that is loaded with bonus material.  Downloads of our first two films (The Truth About Average Guys & S.O.L.) will also be available for $2.99.  So hopefully fans of the new film will want to go and check out our earlier work.  DVDs of the first two films will be available on the website as well.

We'll also be releasing a longer trailer on March 15th.  Just felt that two was the way to go.  The first trailer will be about a minute forty-five.  And the long trailer will be about 3 minutes.

What else?

Will be starting a weekly podcast with my buddy Evan Atherton and my girlfriend Kate. It's called The Moped Jones Drunken Podcast. We'll try to put those out every Friday.  Topics will include:  random crap, song and movie recommendations by myself, Evan, and Kate, and news about Moped Jones' upcoming projects and screenings.  The podcast is unrated, and is put on by immature people, so somehow that means you have to be "mature" to listen to it.  There will be more info on all that fun stuff on the Moped Jones website (www.mopedjones.com) once it goes live this Friday.

Any more news?

Oh yeah, will be doing a short film this June entitled No Regrets. The film is uncharted territory for me as I've never made a short film or a drama before. While comedy is my bread and butter, I am very anxious to start this new project to see if I've got the chops to pull it off. The first part of the story is based off something that happened to me, and the ending is something that could happen to me as a result of it (I'm hoping it doesn't b/c it doesn't end well for my character!)

Hope all is well with everyone!  I am so ready for spring.  We got dumped on last Friday and we're getting dumped on right now.  Hopefully this is the last significant snow storm of the winter and we get start seeing 50 & 60 degree temps very soon!

Can't wait for Friday!  I think people are really going to enjoy my new film. Very proud of what we accomplished despite our limited budget.

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment

Click here to follow me on Twitter

Know Your Rights Kids!

Dear Whomever Is Bored Enough To Read This,

So I was at Walmart today and this kid (who looked to be about 4 or 5) was misbehaving a bit and his mother said to him "If you don't behave I'm going to leave you here."  Part of me really wanted the kid to say "From a legal standpoint you would be in a whole mess of trouble if you knowingly left me in a public place as you are legally responsible for my well being until I am 18 years of age".   Of course, little kids don't know the whole "I'm gonna leave you here!" is just an empty threat.  I wanted to pull the kid aside and explain this to him, but it's never wise to be a stranger and pull aside a child b/c then you look like a creepy weirdo perv, and that's not really what I was going for. 

This made me think of all the times as a child my parents tried to scare me with empty threats.  I wish we'd get to redo our childhoods with our adult brains inside our kid bodies so we could call adults on their bullshit just to see the looks on their lying faces.

Know your rights, Kids!

Anyway, now for the Wingmen Incorporated updates....

1.  My buddy Kyle is feverishly working on the DVD art work for the film.  I saw a rough sketch and I liked what I saw.

2.  Just sent out screeners to couple of Film Critics. We're hoping to get the reviews back in time to have some quotes in the trailer and on the DVD artwork.

3.  I sent out a copy to the Cedar Rapids film festival.  The festival is in April.  Hope we get in (I'm feeling optimistic about our chances b/c The Truth About Average Guys got in and won "Best Pro-Am" in 2011.  Wingmen Incorporated is a much better film and less controversial. But if the film industry has taught me anything it's that you should never take anything for granted and keep your expectations low.  Far less disappointment that way.

4.  Getting things ready so I can record my drunken commentary for the film.  It's looking like I'll be doing that next Friday night or Saturday during the day.  My friend Evan and my girlfriend Kate will be joining me for that. Should be a lot of fun.  Kate is pretty funny for a girl, and Evan is pretty funny for a guy that used to be a girl.

Anyway, that's all I got for now.  Still looking like we'll hit our March 1st deadline, but it will certainly not be easy.

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment

Click here to follow me on Twitter

Haven't Blogged For While....

Dear Whomever Is Bored Enough To Read This,

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!  Oops, I mean Big Game Sunday since we're not allowed to say Super Bowl because of the Nazi's over at the No Fun League.  God, my sports teams suck right now.  The Cubs are rebuilding b/c of a century of losing. The Bears started 7-1 and didn't make the playoffs. The Illini suck at football and are in the middle of another 2nd half collapse in basketball.  What do I have to look forward to from a sports standpoint?   I wish I liked NASCAR or tennis or something stupid like that.

So it's been a while since my last post.  Felt like writing something, even if it wasn't very interesting. 

Wrote another scene for my new screenplay. So now I'm up to 7 pages.  Only 83 more to go! So far so good.  All kidding aside, I think this thing could be one of the best things I've ever written.



Yup, that's their logo!

Been working on the Wingmen Incorporated website. I'm really impressed with the website that we're doing the site through. It's mainly for bands, but people with films use it as well.  A lot of cool features, plus the sites look pretty sharp. I will be doing a Moped Jones website through them as well once I start that back up.  These sites even have a feature that allows you to do a podcast.  I'll be doing one for Moped Jones with my friend Evan.  So that should be fun.  And if it sucks we can always quit.  Anyway if you are a musician or filmmaker looking for a cheap way to have a professional looking website, I definitely recommend them.

 Also, will be getting a final cut of Wingmen Incorporated here within the next day or so.  I have to burn 3 copies of it to send out to some critics. We're hoping to have some nice quotes to put on our DVD cover and in the trailer. I need to also burn a copy to send to the Cedar Rapids Film Festival. They have to have it by the 8th so I need to get that out ASAP. My first film, The Truth About Average Guys, won Best Feature there in 2011. I will admit, I've been to many film festivals and have seen a lot of really bad indie films, but Cedar Rapids had some very entertaining films there in 2011.

So everything is still launching on March 1st. 

Website
Trailer
DVD's to sell
Downloads to sell

My buddy Kyle is working hard on getting the DVD artwork done.  Still a lot to do, but we should have it done in just the nick of time.  I have never been this optimistic about any of the film projects I've done and cannot wait to see/hear people's reactions to this film. I just have this feeling that it's going to take off and open a lot of doors for me.

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment

Click here to follow me on Twitter

Big Announcement (Wingmen Incorporated) + pictures!

Dear Whomever Is Bored Enough To Read This,


Giving our pitch in 2011

I am very pleased to announce that Wingmen Incorporated has been accepted into the 2013 Film-Com Financing & Distribution Market's New Project Expo! It takes place in Nashville, TN in mid April.   This will be our 2nd time at the event.  In 2011 we were selected to pitch The Truth About Average Guys & S.O.L.

So what is Film-Com you ask?  (just fucking ask it so I don't feel like a jackass).  I'm glad you asked!  It's a film and distribution market that puts filmmakers in direct contact with studio execs we wouldn't normally have access to. 



Partied on the top floor!

Past attendees include....Michael Uslan - Executive Producer of the Batman movies (yes, all the Batman movies, including the recent Dark Knight trilogy). Virgin (they did the movie Limitless, we actually met with them for about a half hour last time we were down there),  FOX has some TV & Film people down there, as does CBS.  Many more.  Seems to be growing every year.



See?  Party, top floor. You can trust me.

Our pitch (in 2011) went really well, and we had a blast partying with all the industry folk.  One guy from FOX even said to us "You guys have 'it'.  I have no idea why you aren't working on the 3rd floor at Paramount right now."   (that was nice of him to say, but it's not like you can go up to the front gate at Paramount and say "Some guy from FOX said we had 'it', can you please let us in and show us to our offices on the 3rd floor?")



The hotel we stayed at.

All in all it's a great opportunity for Wingmen Incorporated to go down there and hopefully sell the movie or get some sort of distribution deal where we don't have to sell our souls (and get nothing in return).  Or find someone that can get us on Netflix Instant Watch.  The Truth About Average Guys was on Netflix Instant Watch for 1 year  (3/9/10 through 3/9/11) and we were rated nearly 30,000 times.  So I don't know how many people watched it, just that about 30k watched it and rated the film (2.4 out of 5 star scale, most people loved it or thought it was the worst movie ever made, they were both right!)  I think if Wingmen Incorporated were on there it would have no trouble finding an audience.

2nd floor balcony of the hotel.

So things are about to get crazy.  Submitting to our first two festivals very soon (they take place in April). Releasing everything  on March 1st (website, trailer, film).  And going to Nashville in mid-April to meet with some studio execs.  Right out of the gate we have the opportunity for something big to happen. Would be nice if something in my life were finally easy.  I don't want to sound like a whiner, b/c I know my life hasn't been as bad as some people's, but there seems to be a lot of things that happen to me where I'm left thinking "Well, that was unnecessary" Or "Does that happen to everyone or just me?"

Ready for easy!

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment

Click here to follow me on Twitter

Wingmen Incorporated Website + other stuff

Dear Whoever Is Bored Enough To Read This,

Here's where we stand at the moment.  Ken is putting the finishing touches on the final cut of the movie.  Still trying to finalize the music before we submit to our first two film festivals (LA Comedy Festival, and Cedar Rapids).   Both festivals are in April, so time is ticking on submitting.  I have until February 8th to submit to Cedar Rapids.  Not sure what the deadline is for LA Comedy, but Ken has that one covered since it's in his neck of the woods. 

While he's been chugging away on the final cut, I have been working on the Wingmen Incorporated website.  A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this site called Bandzoogle.com. It's a website design & hosting site that is mainly for bands, but some independent filmmakers use it as well.  I really love how easy it is to use as well as how professional it looks. I also love all the little extra features they let you have.  They let you have a mailing list signup & give you free newsletter templates.  So there may be a Wingmen Incorporated newsletter (if we feel like it & there is a demand for it). 

Another feature I really like is the ability to do a podcast.  I've always wanted to do one (well not always, b/c in 1985 I didn't want to do one mainly b/c they didn't exist yet, but always as in ever since 2011 when I was a guest on a local podcast called AudioRod).  So that is definitely something I would be interested in doing.  Would need to buy some equipment to do that, but I'm fine with that.  Bandzoogle also keeps track of your website stats so we can know how many visitors we have as well as what city, state, and country they are from.   There will also be a forum on the site where people can discuss the films or ask us any questions they may have about low/no budget filmmaking. 

We'll also be working on the trailer in the not too distant future, as well as getting some screeners out to a few critics so hopefully we'll have some glowing reviews and some pretty sweet quotes to put in the trailer & on the DVD cover.

Can't wait for March 1st!  I think this little indie comedy is going to open a lot of doors for us.

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment

Click here to follow me on Twitter

New Plan Stan...(with video clip)

Dear Whomever Is Bored Enough To Read This,

Well, after talking it over with my partner, we've decided that we're going to release our upcoming film, Wingmen Incorporated, a little earlier.  We feel it's in our best interest to have our film out there well before the bigger budgeted film with a similar title. We were planning on sometime in May, however, now it's looking like March 1st (if all goes well).  And it should go well. So yeah, March 1st, 2013 we will (most likely) be launching the following....

The Wingmen Incorporated Trailer
The Wingmen Incorporated Website
Selling Downloads of the movie for $2.99 (film only)
Selling DVD's of the film with extras for $10.99

The Website will also include DVD's and Downloads of our 2nd film, S.O.L.. I don't have the pricing info on the S.O.L. stuff yet.

Our debut film, the multi-award winning comedy, The Truth About Average Guys, will become available on DVD and Download on March 10th, 2013.  The reason for that is that is when our distribution deal is up, and trust me when I say "WE HAVE NO FUCKING INTENTION OF RESIGNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"   You may have noticed the CAPS.  And the swear word.  And the 17 exclamation points (don't count them, it ruins the joke).   We weren't big fans of what our deal ended up being (no money for us, but a lot of money for people that weren't us).  That was the exact opposite of how we were hoping it would go.  Anyway, the full rights to the film come back to us on March 10th, 2013.  Which is why there is a short delay in that being available on our website.  But from March 1-9th  people will be able to enjoy Wingmen Incorporated and S.O.L.  And if they don't think we're awful after that, they can check out our debut film and see how much better we've gotten. 

We're in the process of finalizing what songs are in the movie.  Been having a lot of trouble finding music for this one.  Found several songs on shockwave.com.  So that got us started off really well.  But as for finding songs from bands, that's been really difficult to find songs that we can use that fit our scenes.  We need 2-3 more songs from bands that would be featured in the film (meaning, they aren't background noise, but actually heavily featured in the scenes). 

Now that we are moving everything up several months, that also means we'll be starting the film festival submission process several months earlier as well.  We were going plan our entire strategy around Sundance 2014, but now we are not.  The first two festivals we'll be submitting to are the LA Comedy Festival and the Cedar Rapids Film Festival.  Both festivals are in April.  If we got into both that would be a very good start to the film festival circuit. 

Been getting a lot of reads from all over the world.  Very cool.  Not sure how you are all finding me, but I'm glad I've kept your attention for 8 blogs.  I can't wait for you all to see the new film.

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment

Click here to follow me on Twitter

Started New Screenplay + Wingmen Incorporated News!

Dear Whomever is Bored Enough to Read This,

As of 1/1/13 I have officially started a new screenplay.  It's been a long time since I started a new one.  I co-wrote Wingmen Incorporated but that story wasn't my idea.  In 2009 I did start a comedy called Welcome To The Family, but that beginning ended up being used in Wingmen Incorporated. So that one never got finished (and probably won't be).   I may take some of those scenes and put them in my newest screenplay, which is tentatively called I Don't Recall.

I'm not sure how much of the plot I should give away, but the script involves my character getting into an accident and faking amnesia.  When my girlfriend (Kate) moves out here in the spring we'll get crankin' on the script. In the meantime I just wanted to start writing a few scenes here and there so we wouldn't have to start from scratch once she gets here.  I'm really anxious to see where the story takes us.  It has the potential to be very funny. I've let a few people read the scene I've written and the responses have been all very positive.  I like where it's heading.

In other news, Ken and I recently found out that there is a film coming out (with a much larger budget) called Wingman INC.  While it's not exactly the same title as Wingmen Incorporated, it's still a little too close for comfort.  We have no intention of changing our title. So we are discussing our best plan of action.  The last thing we want is to miss out on some film festivals because they don't want to accept two films with similar titles.  Their film does have some "name" talent (I put "name" in quotes because while some of their actors have done well known film and TV projects, they weren't the stars and aren't really all that well known) but that will still help them get into film festivals b/c festivals get huge boners for "name" talent.  So we may cut a few corners so we can get it out there sooner.  Nothing major.  The main thing is we may not wait until 2014 to start film festival run.  May start submitting to festivals immediately and hopefully start getting into some later in the spring/summer of 2013. To do this we may have to skip some "minor post production stuff" (that most non-filmmakers won't really notice or care about) in order to get it out there several months sooner. 

So our festival run may start this summer as opposed to next January.  This is actually what I wanted to do in the first place even before the film with the much bigger budget and similar title got on our "radar".  I just didn't want to push everything back for Sundance.  Don't get me wrong!  It would make my LIFE to get accepted.  I just didn't like our odds and didn't feel the time spent waiting would be worth it (meaning, I didn't think we'd get in.  Don't get me wrong again.... I think  Wingmen Incorporated is worthy of getting into Sundance, I just don't trust their selection process enough to warrant pushing everything back several months to save our "premier status" for them.)

If we decide quickly on what we're doing it's possible our festival run could start in April at the Cedar Rapids Film Festival.  My first film, The Truth About Average Guys, won best Pro-Am Feature there in 2011. Their early bird deadline is January 25th.  Their late deadline is February 8th.  So it's possible that could start our festival run.  Since I was born in Iowa that makes us eligible to submit as filmmakers need an "Iowa Connection".

So at the moment, I'm not sure if Wingmen Incorporated (not to be confused with Wingman INC) will be released in May like previously discussed or much sooner.  After Ken and I discuss this more we'll decide on the proper course of action. I think we both are leaning towards putting it out sooner, but we'll see!

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment

Click here to follow me on Twitter.

The Next 730 Days...(plus video clip)

Dear Whomever Is Bored Enough To Read This,

As 2013 gets started, I can't help but think that the 730 days leading up to December 31st, 2014 will have a bigger impact on my life than any other 2 year stretch during my lifetime.  In those 730 days anything can happen.  Anything from "Nothing to Everything, and anything in between".  Does that even make sense? I like to think it does. Let me explain....

I tend to view things in 2 year increments.  The beginning of one year all the way up to the end of the following year (hence the 730 days, except if there is a leap year involved, then it's 731 days).  I started doing this in 2009 after my engagement was called off.   On 12/31/10 I just couldn't stop thinking about how 730 days ago I was incredibly happy and how quickly my life went to shit because of someone else's stupid decision (*the stupid decision was leaving me for a co-worker that had a girlfriend that he liked to cheat on, in case you were wondering, that little "fling" was over before I was even unpacked. It still amazes me that a thing that lasted 21 days tops could have such a huge impact on the rest of my life*).  So there's your brief history lesson on why the whole 730 days thing strikes such a chord with me.

Anyway, 2013-14 has the chance to be life changing.  In the first 5-6 months alone I will have my new film, Wingmen Incorporated, finished & my lovely girlfriend (Kate), will be moving from Chicago to Fulton (wtf? really?) to be with me.  I've never had a girl move for me before. I've moved twice in my life to be with girls (11/02/03 to Orlando, FL, and 11/02/07 to Rockford, IL).  Both ended up being huge mistakes that cost me dearly.  Maybe 11/2 is my unlucky moving date? Or maybe it had nothing to do with the date, but more to do with the type of girl I moved for?  Just to be safe I won't move on 11/2 ever again. I won't move for whores anymore either.   

Once Kate gets here I'll be saving quite a bit of money on rent and utilities.  Plus by May my car will be paid off  + changing my insurance to liability will save some $$$ also.  All in all, I'll be saving almost $800 a month by having her here.  Plus she's awesome.  Our personalities really mesh well together.  We can have a blast just doing nothing.  Never had that before. Would not be shocked at all if I were at the very least engaged by the time the 730 days are up.  My parents recently met her and really like her.  My dad even said he wouldn't mind having her for a daughter-in-law.  He's never said that about any of the girls I've dated before (even my ex fiancé).  Will also be good for my diet.  I have this habbit of getting down to 205, getting frustrated about something that has nothing to do with my diet, then going back up to 230 (which is where I'm at now).  Once she gets out here I won't be so bored + she's a bit of a health nut so I should be more active and be eating much better.  I hope to get down to 175-180 well before the end of the 730 days.

The money saved by having a hot "roommate" will be going towards my own film equipment (a decent camera, editing equipment/software, and possibly some sound equipment).  It sucks wanting to film things but having to plan a whole weekend around it by driving out to Chicago, having people available, ect...  Would love to be able to start doing my own stuff out here.  I have tons of little sketches written that I would be able to film out this way.  Am looking forward to starting 10 Minute Abs back up again now that I have more free time.  I might also shoot a short film I wrote back in the summer of 2011 called No Regrets.  I've never done a short before.  I've also never done a drama/thriller before either.  It's definitely something I want to try just to see if I have the chops.

Also, in or around May, I'll be having a fundraising screening in Clinton, IA. for Wingmen Incorporated.  I'll be going all out for this.  Buying radio-spots to help advertise, articles in the local paper & buying ad space as well.  My goal is to pack the 250 seat theater.   In January of 2011 I had about 100 people come out to a fundraising screening of my film, S.O.L., on a Wednesday night in the middle of January.  So I'm hoping with a little advertising and better weather, this thing will be a huge success.  *crosses fingers*

The rest of 2013 will be spent researching and submitting to film festivals across the country for the 2014 Film Festival Season that starts in January with Sundance & one of our personal favorites, the Trail Dance Film Festival (Duncan, OK).   We're saving our "World Premier" for Sundance.  Of course, there is no lock that we'll get in b/c they get over 10,000 submissions a year. But, we'll see.  You never know, the right people might think we're hilarious and want to "discover" us.  So we'll see how it goes.  Sundance's early bird deadline is in April/May of 2013.  Perfect timing b/c that's when our film should be done.  All money made from my Clinton screening will be going towards film festivals submission fees & travel expenses.  Film submission fees really add up quickly.  But once you get accepted, that's when things start to get pricey.  Plane tickets, gas, hotel rooms, food, ect... It adds up in a hurry.

Will be releasing the film, website, trailer, downloads (film only), DVD's with special features, when the film is completed.  Launching everything on the same day.  I'm excited to see how many people download the film & tell their friends about the film.  Downloads will be $2.99.  Not because the movie is shitty, but because we want people to try it.  Hopefully if they enjoy the film they will buy the DVD with all the special features.  "Drunken Commentary" with myself and Ken Gayton.  Loads of outtakes AND bloopers and whatever else we can cram on there!  I'm just really curious/excited to see how the word of mouth on this film goes.

Will also be starting a new screenplay in 2013.  So I'm very excited about that.  Been a while since I started a new one from scratch, let's hope I remember how!  I really like the premise.  Can't disclose too much, but it involves amnesia.  Not sure if it's going to be a full out comedy, or a more relaxed comedy, or a dramady.  We'll see where the story takes us (Kate is writing it with me, it's awesome having an English Major for a girlfriend) =)

2014 is when it could get amazing....

For example, starting off the year having our world premier at Sundance.  That all by itself could be life changing from a career standpoint.  Wouldn't even be 25 days into the 2nd half of the 730 days and we could have already sold the film for major $$$.  But like I said, if we don't get in, it's not the end of the world. We'll hopefully get into plenty of other festivals that could do some nice things for us.  Should know by late October/early November 2013 if we are going to Park City, UT in January of 2014.  I know the film is good and that people will really enjoy it. I just hope someone important feels the same way. *crosses fingers*

Anyway, as promised, here is a clip from my new film Wingmen Incorporated.  Enjoy!   If the clip made you smile, all we ask is that you "like" us on Facebook and "share" the video. We're not a big budget film.  Word of mouth is one of the few ways we can compete against the big boys.  So please like us and share us as much as possible.

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone's next 730 days go as well as hopefully mine do!

Jason W. Schaver
Moped Jones Entertainment

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