TBT: Career Highlight with a Fireball

Have I reached the pinnacle of my stunt career? I hope not. But this gag last year was definitely bragging rights for my future grandkids.

Ambulance Crash from Christmas Bloody Christmas.

See the movie if you must, but I recommend skipping the first half because of all the potty sex talk (exposition would be more interesting) leading up to the deed indeed (sweating while wearing undies). But once they get in the car to escape, the movie keeps its tension and the genre expectations of the trailer.

Speaking of exposition in an action movie, Garry Marshall's book Wake Me When It's Funny has a hilarious description; "You go there, I'll go here."

Christmas Bloody Christmas was my second movie for Joe Bezos and Josh Ethier. I do enjoy working for them. They are obviously opinionated about their stories and methods, and unapologetic about it. I appreciate that. They are also very generous and fair and run a safe, friendly, professional set.

We filmed in Placerville, CA, the original capital of California, nicknamed Hangtown for all the criminals they hanged. The locals had no idea of the movie being told on their quaint streets.

The challenges were many, especially due to the budget, from Special Effects and Transpo struggling to find and prep all the vehicles, to traction issues on a hilly, dirt road in snow and towing unmanned vehicles. But I got to work with two old friends, Special Effects Coordinator, Chris Bailey, and Stunt Coordinator, Tony Snegoff. It had been a while since I'd crashed a vehicle, and a much longer while since I'd been inside a fireball, so this career highlight was a combo. And the nice thing these days is everyone has a high quality video camera in their pocket, so I got to collect tons of coverage of my scene without asking.

After much thought about stopping a heavy vehicle on slippery flat steel (the gutted police car was chained to trench plate) before hitting the building and the cameras inside, all the prep (including a deceleration assist) and rehearsals (I could get the ambulance up to 25mph in the distance available, and stop in 15 ft with good traction) paid off. A week later, I parked the ambulance in front of a white wall so that the flashing lights would reflect onto me as I changed my wardrobe and yelled into the camera, so I could personalize the video. 

During the actual ambulance crash, I was actually wearing a Santa jacket and beard but the hat wouldn't stay on my helmet and I had to see. I also doubled Santa (Abe Benrubi) riding and climbing through the ambulance, up to another crash. Another time, I'll post about the other stunts, and give more credit where credit is due.

Ian Max Eyre

Creation Mandate - Take God's Good and Make it Better

I took am 8 week business course in January/February and loved it so much I'm leading the course this time around (We started this morning). FaithDrivenEntrepreneur.org has videos that challenge me to integrate my faith into every aspect of my life, including my finances, my relationships, my businesses and my community. 

https://www.faithdrivenentrepreneur.org/session-1-our-call-to-create

God cares about beauty. He partners with us to create, as we are created in his image. He gives us the raw materials and expects us to perfect what's in our domain as a reflection of Him. This guy created the coolest leather coffin so that when he dies people will see how much he cares about beauty, and why, hoping to point people to our Creator. He also provides free day care so that his employees' families can be whole.

Jesus' first miracle was an actor of beauty: turning water into wine. 

What is the Creation Mandate? Genesis 1:28 (ASV)

And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

Adam and Eve were the first entrepreneurs. They had a job to do, together.

God made everything good, not perfect. He expects us to co-create with Him!

I hereby declare myself Chief Steward of everything God has given me, my time, relationships, talents, skills and finances.

Ian Max.

Terrorist Rehab Center in Saudi Arabia?!?

I saw a documentary last night at a Libertarian film fest that came to Memphis (https://anthemfilmfestival.com). THE UNREDACTED follows a handful of Guantanamo prisoners sent to a rehab center in Saudi Arabia. It was really interesting to see jihad terrorists humanized. 

Guantanamo detainees are released into a year long program of de-radicalization in Saudi Arabia, with the eventual goal of finding jobs and starting families.

The movie got canceled by mobs at Sundance, SXSW, and everywhere else, so this was the only public screening so far, besides a screening at San Quentin Prison. Read about the journey and public outcry here: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/oct/23/jihad-rehab-documentary-making-unredacted-saudi-arabia 

The Q&A with the director Meg Smaker was fascinating. Her journey as a firefighter, to seeking to know more about the Middle East after 9-11, to moving to Yemen and learning Arabic, to working in Saudi Arabia and building relationships that led to filming interview with 150 terrorists, to narrowing it down to a handful of rehabees during the program and for a short while after, until her access was removed.

I did not think I would believe these terrorists could be rehabilitated so I didn't plan on seeing the movie. Then I learned how the movie was cancelled, predominantly because a white, non-Muslim woman made it. It seemed like a rare opportunity, and I'm against cancel culture.

These terrorists were teenagers when they were recruited to jihad training camps. They spent 15+ years in GITMO prison, with no access to the outside world. They were not charged with any crimes, nor did they go to trial. When they were released, they had no experience with the Internet or smart phones.

I don't agree with everything Meg said, but some things ring true: These men are searching for purpose and belonging. There are four motivations for these men joining jihad training groups; Cause or duty, Economic, Peer pressure or family, Adventure. I can relate to the person who seeks adventure. In fact, these four motivations are the same for American teens who join the US Military.

Some other thoughts by Meg:

The most powerful force in world is storytelling, because stories shape how we think and spend. 

Hollywood gatekeepers lack courage and principals. 

You can argue politics and facts but not a personal story.

The Diary of Anne Frank made 6 million Jewish deaths in Germany tangible. 

Vets connect with this movie because they miss the camaraderie of soldier life and feel more in common with enemy soldiers than the people who sent them to war. 

Cancel culture: The answer isn’t to cancel discussion, it’s to come up with better ideas. 

The inmates at San Quentin they saw themselves in the terrorists' stories. 

Saudi Arabia claims their rehab center is 85% effective. Meg talked to the head of the FBI in Saudi Arabia who said the US tracks all Gitmo prisoners who have been released and that 80-82% do not return to fighting. 

The reason for their success of the program is that a family member in Saudi Arabia must sign for them at the risk of getting jailed in their place if they skip country, and family shame is a huge motivator there. Also, after graduation, the Saudi government provides a house, car, job help and up to $30K dowry so they can get married because the likelihood of a former terrorist returning to terror diminishes when they have their own family. This is unaffordable in America, or for larger groups of criminals.

Torture in Guantanamo did the radicalization, at least against America. 

Empathy in America has been dropping. Every one of us has capacity for extreme good or extreme evil.

Rehab isn’t sexy, it takes time, longer than a political term. 

Thoughts?

Ian

Zack King's Greatest Stunts

Just yesterday I was planning on looking up all the Zach King Amazon Alexa spots that I stunt coordinated, as it's time to update my reel, and look what I found, Zach King's Top 10 Craziest Stunts!

Tony Snegoff and I tag teamed on coordinating most of these. Let me know if you can spot me or if you have any questions. Since Zach is giving away secrets of his magic, I guess I could too.

Ian Max

Credits:

Underwater: Tony stunt coordinator/key rigger, Ian stunt rigger.

Upside Down (Basketball): Ian stunt coordinator/key rigger, Luke Berger, Josh Fapp.

35 Foot Fall: Ian stunt coordinator, Dallas training team - John Cann, Mark DeAlessandro +2, Los Angeles airbag safety - Mike Washlake, Christian Howard, Narayan Cabral.

Flying Backwards: Tony stunt coordinator/key rigger, Jeff Constine stunt rigger.

Being Upsidedown (hanging by feet on "Stranded 2"): Tony stunt coordinator/key rigger, Ian stunt rigger. (Umbrella) Not me, I don't think. (Light bulb) Ian stunt rigger. (Rubik's Cube) not me, I don't think. (Zack in yellow hoodie) Tony stunt coordinator/key rigger, Elena Churinova stunt rigger.

Falling on a Car: Tony stunt coordinator/key rigger, Vladimir Tevlovski stunt rigger.

Dropping a Car: Tony stunt coordinator/key rigger, Ian stunt rigger.

The Value of Moms and Neighbors

I just hosted a screening of the work in progress of Vengeance Trail. The images have been digitally enhanced by ai software and the sound has been much improved. The neighbors loved the experience, as shown in this recap:

Yes, neighbors tell about as much truth as Mom, when it comes to critiquing creative work, but I did learn where some sound technical issues are and where the slow parts are. 

Bonus: a drinking game will be added for every time Doc takes a swig or Bess agrees to do thankless work. It was a tough life back in the 1800s!

Next stop, a theatrical experience in Memphis, TN. Goals for the year are to also host a theatrical experience with cast and crew in Los Angeles. Then direct sales this Fall, followed by streaming options.

Enjoy!

Ian Max

Are Billboards Still Valid? - Indie Film Advertising

First time for everything. I noticed a digital billboard near my house that said BLIP, so I looked it up. Blip Billboards sells freeway billboard space by the moment with a self-service model. And since I'm sharing the space with many other advertisers, the costs are super reasonable compared to committing to a billboard 24/7 for a month. 

I created an ad for Vengeance Trail, to start building awareness in my hometown for a theatrical screening at the end of Summer. I signed up to spend $20 per day and yesterday was my first day.

Each impression lasts 8 seconds and I got 117 blips. The billboard I chose is at the corner of two interstates. The goal is to get people to remember VengeanceTrail.com

Here are some more analytics:

The proof will be when I get a sale from someone who's not on my friends and family network.

I'm experimenting with Twitter and Facebook (Meta) ads as well, but the learning curve is steeper. Anyone have any experience? For the first while, I will be spending all my pre sales on grassroots advertising until sales take off.

Ian Max

Crowdfunding is for Interacting, NOT Begging

I have lots of friends. Some of them like my movies. Some want to support me no matter what the movie. Some are just fine-feathered, patrons of the arts. But I don't have a million friends! Yet!

Crowdfunding often seems like begging friends and family for a favor. But pretty soon, those favors are used up. I don't want my social media to have daily reminders of my projects. Where's the value added?

Business success comes from creating and delivering value!

Now, if you like Westerns and want to see more Westerns, then the value-add is me helping ensure more Westerns get made. Quality Westerns, morality tales, battles between good and evil.

So, here's a crowdfunding effort to Pre-Sell my Western, Vengeance Trail - to finish creating the extra value allowed by new digital tools, and deliver it to the world.

And interact with the fans! So, leave a comment and I'll respond.

I just want fans of Westerns to learn about Vengeance Trail and tell their friends. And, if enough fans are found, my friends at HollywoodGunsAndProps.com and I will make more Westerns.

I will be sending out an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) and finding bloggers and podcasters who want to discuss the movie and the making of Vengeance Trail. If you know any, please send them my way.

Thanks, Ian Max