This Blog Has Moved!

Hey, all!

There have been no new posts for a while now, and with good reason!

All Lone Lantern Entertainment news and updates are now written about on the website's blog page, the "News Feed."

For the latest and ongoing Lone Lantern goings-on, check out: http://lone-lantern.com/blog/news.html

You can also LIKE us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lone-Lantern-Entertainment/106672789358693

Or, you can follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/LoneLantern

Thank for following, and we'll see you all there!
--Yota Valkanas
CEO & Founder, Lone Lantern Entertainment

The Waiting Game

So.... It's a been a while. Or at least, it's been a while for Lone Lantern. We're all doing our own things at the moment.

Things that pay, specifically.

I'm ADing on a comedy and writing a psychological thriller, myself, but those are slow going. It seems like that's the case in a lot of ways, though.

You seen, people of the Interwebs, we've got lots of ideas at Lone Lantern. We've got lots of planning. We spend our free time diligently trying to adapt these ideas into films that we can make on a budget of nothing, and maybe even try to make them marketable.

The lack of funds is the biggest drawback to our industry, but them's the breaks in Indy Film. Besides, necessity (or boredom) is the mother of invention, and so we film peoples find ways and ultimately either prevail or take one jobs in the food service or sales industries.

I kid, but I weep on the inside.

Le sigh.

Anywho, keep an eye out for updates to the website, and for a way to help us raise funds that won't cost you a penny, but only a moment of your time.

Updates coming soon!

It's FUND-RAISIN' Time!

Alrights, ladies and gentlemen of the Internet, we over here at Lone Lantern are starting up another project. This one's a feature-length horror/drama/comedy lovingly called "EAT ME!"


The story opens with Ben (our main character) and his friends, hanging out and playing video games at his parents house. They've been there for the entire weekend, having a ball and completely unaware that, all around them, the City of Chicago has fallen victim to a zombie outbreak of epic proportions. Now, they've got to try to travel to safety, battling hordes of the undead with handtools, sporting goods, and whatever other household items they've got, through twists and turns, making friends and enemies, and finding out that there's a lot more going on here than they could have ever thought.

This project is in pre-production right now, and I'm meeting with some potential investors, but we're also trying to crowd-fund the project, and its IndieGoGo promotional homepage can be found at http://www.indiegogo.com/Eat-Me .

So, go on ahead and read through the project description, look through the gallery, and pay extra special attention to the VIP Perks, where you'll get to find out just what you'll get in return for investing in the project! And don't forget to tell your friends/family/enemies/passersby-on-the-street!

Moving Right Along

So, at the day job right now and finishing up all of those loverly Graduate School applications, I'm just wondering on all of the rest of the attempted-indie community. I say "attempted" because oh, so many of us are half-on and half-out, either not able or not willing to fully take the plunge and devote ourselves entirely to a difficult-to-attain career in film.

I've recently gotten a "job" (<- unpaid, credit, meals, if you're in this business then you know the drill) as an AD on a feature-length comedy here in Chicago. Mostly scheduling stuff, maybe some PA work. Whatever. The point of doing this thing during the evenings and weekends is meeting new people. Remember that last post? About networking? Well, sometimes you've got to put yourself out there and help others, especially when those others appear to have vastly more resources than you do.

Meanwhile, hopefully all of this wistful writing will change in tone for me soon. See, I've been looking into grants and contests and all of these nice websites devoted to funding projects by random, wonderful people on the Interwebs who seem to like the cut of your jib. These websites, like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, look to me to be wonderful little resources for those of us whose biggest obstacle is a combination of a lack of funds and a lack of people, for you see money will bring the people in.

Plus, on the contest circuit, there are a few either well-exposed or well-paying contests which I'm working on entries for, as the subject material will either come really easy to me or it can be animation-based, which I can do all by me onesies in my spare time.

Brilliant.

No, really. It's going to be awesome.

So, basically, all of these projects on the website? They depend on the community at this point. I'll be spending some ridiculously large amount of time in the future putting together little press and promotional packages with the intent of shopping these ideas around.

And when I put these project up on Kickstarter or Indiegogo? Oh, you'd better believe that you're going to hear about it.

Networking, Anyone?

Okay, people, so the life of an independent film-maker is fraught with peril.

And, by peril, I mean hardships.

And, by hardships, I mean being broke and/or alone.

Sure, we all try at some point to go it alone and just do everything ourselves, but that makes things much more difficult than they have to be, and that in turn is going to make it harder to produce a quality product. It's a vicious cycle.

We'll try to get help from strangers via things like CraigsList or ProductionHub, but the moment you mention low- or no-budget, a lot of the quality help is going to just keep on moving down that list of "Help Wanted" posts. This, of course, turns out to be something of a mixed blessing, though, as they were probably cocky bastards anyways. So, bully to them.

Meanwhile, what is the point of writing all of this?

Well, we here at Lone Lantern Entertainment are trying to get things back up and running after entirely too long of a lull in production. We've got a couple of new scripts in the works, two movies and a couple of webseries, and are adding new material to our repertoire. We've got a literary magazine that we're trying to get started, and we'll be calling on the public for entries for that soon. Several of our people are creative types and working on their own full-length novels. One of us is writing and illustrating a children's book. All of those will be published through the company and printed via a third party. And we're also working on a musical that will be shopped around Chicago's theatre scene, as well as recording original radio serials.

But mostly, we need to meet new people.

We've all got day-jobs, some of us are still in college, and some of us have both of those time-commitments sucking away our otherwise free time. It's tough to meet all together, and it's even tougher to stick to a rigid schedule for production.

Money is tight, and we haven't got all of the equipment that we'd like.

But meeting new and creative people? People who might already have equipment, or a story, or some ever-precious time to work on a movie with us?

Well, hey, that's what we're looking for. It's probably one of the most precious commodities that a film-maker can often find them selves taking for granted, but quality crew, dedicated cast, just extra helping hands are what really help a project come together.

So, as we put the finish touches on some of this projects, and as we start to raise funds, we'll be sending out feelers for those of you in the Chicago film community that want to lend a hand, whether you're a casual film-maker with some spare time, a seasoned veteran with a soft spot for newbies, or a film student or even a theatre major looking for something to pad out a resume, a reel, or just looking for some experience.

Keep in touch, everyone; that's what a great movie really needs.

Help Us Bring Film-Making Opportunites to Chicago Youth!

Hey, there! We're joining forces local film-makers to start up Bug-Eye Entertainment, a prospective not-for-profit film company dedicated to giving hands-on film-making experience to Chicago youth, as well as the chance to make good in the Independent Film Industry here in the Windy City, and maybe even get a scholarship while they're at it.

BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The project has been approved for a $50,000 grant from the Pepsi Corporation, but whether or not we get the money is contingent on online votes at the Pepsi Refresh Everything Project here:

http://www.refresheverything.com/bugeyeentertainment

Please give us your support, and remember that this will not only give opportunities to young people in Chicago, but also give them inspiration and refresh the talent pool of film-makers here, nurturing creative and dedicated minds; it will also give more outlets and exposure for actors of all ages and types, so keep that in mind!

REMEMBER TO VOTE EARLY AND VOTE OFTEN!

"Suicidal Sammy" IMDB Page Goes Live!

Although some of its aspects are still under review, the film's IMDB page can be visited here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1631461/