"DEAD" GETS RETRO REVIEW (10/27/99):

"While there is a definite satiric atmosphere present in THE DEAD NEXT DOOR, the level of cinematic brilliance Bookwalter often achieves is remarkable. Despite a low budget, Bookwalter managed to pull off a few incredible feats and, in the process upped the ante for all zombie films to come. Born of raw genius or sheer madness, Bookwalter aspired for his zombies to achieve levels greater than their higher-budget predecessors. Where RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD implied that the living corpses might one day take over the nation, Bookwalter's zombies do it right before your eyes! Hell, they climb over the fence and on to the White House lawn! Not allowing himself the credit he so-rightly deserves, Bookwalter chalks his ambition up to naïveté, saying he didn't know what he was doing. Had he actually taken the time to consider it, he probably wouldn't have done some of the outrageous things he did. Naive or not, Bookwalter obviously has a keen cinematic sensibility."

How 'bout that. They're gonna go and give us swelled heads. If you can't wait to hear more, pop on over to the Cashiers du Cinemart web site and tell 'em Tempe sent ya! Or you can order this extra-special issue #10 by mailing $3 U.S. to: Cashiers du Cinemart, P.O. Box 2401, Riverview, MI 48192-2401 USA.

TEMPE OFFERS FULL MOON TO FANS AT A DISCOUNT (10/22/99): Beginning today, Tempe visitors can order the Full Moon movies we've been talking about directly from us in our online store! Best of all, we are offering our fans all of the titles we've worked on for Full Moon at a substantial discount from other Internet B-movie companies...discounts from 10% all the way up to 25% off the list prices. These incredible discounts are being offered to you thanks to our friends at Full Moon Releasing. Not only will we be offering everything we've worked on for Full Moon, you'll have your choice of VHS or DVD formats and we'll tell you all about the work that went into them. In some cases, we'll even offer versions that aren't available anywhere else -- the first being the anamorphic letterboxed version of SHRIEKER, our debut project with Full Moon. Currently it's only available in the standard "pan & scan" format, which loses a lot of the action. Fans will finally be able to see this flick for the first time in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, coming soon! Stay tuned every month for new titles at the same great prices, and ordering from us guarantees your order ships promptly -- we're only a hop, skip and a jump away from the Full Moon warehouse, which means we'll give better service than those other guys who don't stock these titles. What are you waiting for? Order today!

TEMPE-EDITED "PET OF THE YEAR" FINALLY HITS DVD 10/22/99): That's right, it's finally here! J.R. Bookwalter, Harry James Picardi and Ariauna Albright contributed to PENTHOUSE PET OF THE YEAR & FRIENDS 1999 STARRING NIKIE ST. GILLES last December. At that time, a multiple-angle DVD was promised from Pioneer. That deal fell through, but now Penthouse Video has secured an exclusive deal with Image Entertainment and the fruits of that labor come to your DVD player on Tuesday, October 29th, 1999. Following on December 21st is another Tempe-edited show, PENTHOUSE LINGERIE PARTY. We haven't found out if our multi-angle segments made it onto the first disc, but we'll let you know when our copy arrives next week!

UPDATE (10/27/99): Sadly, those multi-angle segments are not included in the aforementioned disc. However, it looks beautiful and includes a behind-the-scenes segment on the making of this video that we also helped to post-produce!

FAT CAT POST LEAVES FULL MOON (10/1/99): Tempe Entertainment's Fat Cat Post division recently announced its decision to separate from partner Full Moon Pictures, relocating their facilities to a newly-expanded space back in North Hollywood, California. The break was a friendly one, claims Tempe chief J.R. Bookwalter: "A lot of us felt like working full-time for Full Moon was becoming somewhat stifling creatively. Charlie Band is certainly an ambitious guy and the workflow when we were internal and semi-exclusive to Full Moon was never-ending and fast & furious. Personally, I had moved into a solely supervisory role which had gotten routine and boring, and I think many of the guys felt the same restlessness as me." Adding to the decision was a downsizing and refocusing at Full Moon. "Charlie has deviated a bit from his core audience, which is mostly the classic Full Moon horror movies. The market is soft on kids' movies (Pulsepounders!) and erotica (Surrender Cinema), so this is a natural decision." Without full-time ties to Full Moon, a new arrangement has been made where a core group of the Fat Cat team will continue to work on post-production for Full Moon at their new offices, while Bookwalter makes his long-awaited return to directing, both inside and outside of Band and Company: "I'm slated to direct a cool little horror flick for Full Moon called HORRORVISION.COM (formerly FEAR.COM) in early 2000, and in the coming weeks we'll have a very exciting announcement regarding the next new Tempe production. Y2K is going to be a very exciting time at Tempe and Fat Cat Post, and we look forward to our newly-altered relationship with Full Moon!"

VIDEO BUSINESS SAYS WAKE UP TO "MAKEUP" (9/13/99): From the pages of trade mag Video Business the week of September 13th: "Trick-or-treaters of all ages looking for a new way to stand out at a costume party should take a peek at E.I. Independent Cinema's BASIC HOW-TO HALLOWEEN MAKEUPS. The two-volume, two-hour title presents 10 easy-to-apply ghoulish cosmetic designs, all created from inexpensive materials found at home or in costume shops. Featuring makeup artists who have worked on such cult favorites as THE DEAD NEXT DOOR and ROBOT NINJA, the program introduces viewers to basic techniques of professionals, all explained in step-by-step detail. It's available on Sept. 21 (prebook now) priced at $14.98." Tempe recently renewed their license with E.I. to promote these popular titles packaged as a single two-tape package at one low price. The title will soon be available online with new lower prices on the single volumes ($9.95 each).

"GHOUL SCHOOL" SPECIAL EDITION VHS RELEASE NOW AVAILABLE (8/1/99): Tempe Video today announced the immediate availability of their first special-edition VHS release. GHOUL SCHOOL, formerly released on Cinema Home Video in 1990, is a gory zombie flick from first-time director Timothy O'Rawe. It has been talked about frequently on THE HOWARD STERN SHOW in the years since its first release because of a special guest appearance by Stern writer Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling. (His wife, Nancy Sirianni, also stars.) New Yorkers will also recognize famed talk show host Joe Franklin in a key cameo role as well. This is the first time the film is available in a '90s-style clamshell case with all-new packaging, and the SP-speed tape also features the complete original theatrical trailer as a bonus (in addition to many other Tempe trailers). DVD plans for the title are sketchy, but there is talk of a double-feature release with another title sometime in 2000. Orders are now being accepted for GHOUL SCHOOL and will ship immediately!

FAT CAT POST WEB SITE GOES UP (7/31/99): We've been talking about Fat Cat Post pretty regularly for a couple of years now, but have been somewhat silent on what it's all about. Well, the silence has been broken! There is now a Fat Cat Post section online, detailing all of the post-production services we have contributed to producers as diverse as Full Moon Pictures, Penthouse Video, Cinema Home Video, Raven Releasing and many others. "The name started as a bit of a joke," Tempe chief J.R. Bookwalter explains. "When our post work for Full Moon really started to occupy a large chunk of our time, it seemed only natural that we give this subsidiary entity an identity." The name came from indie filmmaker and editor Don Adams, who was the first outsider to join Tempe and Full Moon's post team with CURSE OF THE PUPPET MASTER. "We always remarked on how fat my cat Gumbo was," Bookwalter reveals. (Gumbo is the little kitten eaten by the vampire mother in KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE, for trivia fans.) "Don, Matt Walsh and I would joke about Gumbo barking orders to keep us working and wearing headphones to monitor sound mixes. Don threw out the name Fat Cat Post, and the rest is history." The site currently features a quick look at the equipment available, along with a complete post client list dating back to 1987! "This has always been a passion of mine," Bookwalter concludes. "I think a lot of people have it backwards -- the magic of moviemaking isn't always in production, it's in post. I've unfortunately witnessed too many filmmakers who have dropped the ball during this critical stage. It's only natural since that's the last step and the shoot always goes over-budget. That said, we hope outside producers will e-mail us for a quote on their productions. I think we're at the cutting edge for this level of filmmaking, and our association with Full Moon and others gives us the professional edge over competing producers because they can see the results on bigger-budget 35mm productions." Look for the Fat Cat Post section to continue to grow, and a RealVideo and Quicktime version of the Fat Cat CGI sample reel will be online shortly (a VHS version is also available by request). Fat Cat T-shirts and other apparel are also in the works.

TEMPE CONTRIBUTES TO NEW COMIC BOOK (7/31/99): 42,000 comic book fans will descend upon the town of San Diego August 12-15th for the 1999 Comic-Con, and Tempe will be there to support their work on the debut issue of Sybil War, a unique new comic book published by Dark Matter Studios from writer Don Adams and artist David Lange. These Tempe vets have spent the last few months putting the finishing touches on the story of Y2K baby Sybil and his (mis)adventures in a post-apocolyptic world. Lange and Tempe had a previous stab at comic books in late 1991 with Thermonuclear Warrior (which also briefly made an appearance in The B's Nest newsletter that eventually became Alternative Cinema). Lange, always dissatisfied with his work on Warrior, is beaming with pride over Sybil War issue #00. The test issue will sell at the San Diego Comic-Con and follow by year's end with sales at comic dealers coast-to-coast. Check out the Sybil War web site going online soon with a preview of this cool new comic book!

DVD RESOURCE CHATS UP FULL MOON & TEMPE (7/30/99): Point your browser to DVD Resource, an excellent source for DVD news and information. Their recent "Full Moon Rising" segment has detailed news on Tempe's work remastering several titles for Full Moon including TOURIST TRAP, LASERBLAST and BLOOD DOLLS. It also has a quick plug for the pending Tempe DVDs, which are inching ever-nearer to reality. Stay tuned!

PENTHOUSE VIDEO UPDATE (7/30/99): It's been over six months since Tempe edited PET OF THE YEAR & FRIENDS 1999 STARRING NIKIE ST. GILLES for Penthouse Video. Since then, we've been hard at work on three additional shows for them: PENTHOUSE LINGERIE PARTY, PENTHOUSE PET WORKOUT and most recently, PENTHOUSE WEB BABES featuring web-head Asia Carerra. WEB BABES is especially noteworthy as Tempe staple Lance Randas directed three of the eight segments, including both of lovely Asia's. (Look for techno-cameos by the Apple iMac and Powerbook G3, courtesy of Tempe.) Penthouse's west coast producers are so thrilled with both Mr. Randas' direction and Tempe's editing and post services that they've been enlisted for several more shows before the year's end. Stay tuned for all the details!

MAC CENTRAL LOVES US! (6/14/99): MacCentral staff writer Dennis Sellers reported today how Tempe enlists the Apple Macintosh computer to do all of the post-production work for both their own productions as well as those in their new partnership with Full Moon Pictures. Tempe's last two features, POLYMORPH and BLOODLETTING, were entirely completed with the Mac -- all editing, sound, computer-generated special effects, music...right down to the video box and promotional materials! You can read MacCentral's full story online, and keep an eye on this site for more Mac-based developments!

OBITUARY: DON NORROD (6/9/99): It is with great sadness that we report the death this week of our friend Don Norrod. Don is the husband of Barbara Katz-Norrod, an actress who made her Tempe debut in THE DEAD NEXT DOOR (as "Doctor J") and later went on to starring roles in SKINNED ALIVE (as "Whinnie Miles") and THE SANDMAN (as "Mrs. Martinak"). Don and Barbara have always been great friends of Tempe beginning with Barbara's first audition in 1985, and have been involved in the majority of our films -- lending a hand to corral extras, drive folks around, cook "prop meals" (Don's meatlof is featured in CHICKBOXER!), even let us shoot at their house (the bedroom where Mrs. Martinak is confronted by the title character in SANDMAN is, in fact, a room at the Norrod household!). Don was a great guy, a retired Akron, Ohio police officer who went to great lengths to make everyone around him as happy-go-lucky as he was. He will be missed, and we send our regards to Barbara in her time of sorrow.

TEMPE PLANS DIGITAL ROLLOUT (5/31/99): DVD releases of your favorite Tempe flicks are in the works! For all the details, check out our new section devoted to these forthcoming releases and read all about our first two planned titles.

FULL MOON & TEMPE ENTERTAINMENT THINK "DIFFERENTLY" (3/15/99): Beginning today, and running for a few months, on Apple Computer's main corporate web site, will appear an article highlighting Full Moon Pictures' now-infamous post-production department. Full Moon has put to use the power of Apple technology to complete all stages of post-production, including editing and special visual effects, for their films (installed and executed by the folks at Tempe). Leading the way is Full Moon's post-production supervisor J.R. Bookwalter, who may be the first person to pull off this feat in a movie company this size. We will have to read the article at the Apple site to find out! Apple's "Think Different" philosophy certainly applies to Full Moon Pictures. We recommend you take a look in the Design & Publishing section of their site to read all about it. (Press release courtesy of Bob Langer and our friends at Full Moon Pictures, with a special thanks to diamond David Budge for puttin' it all together.)

SAVVY INDIE FILMMAKERS PROFICIENT WITH POST-PRODUCTION...WE WANT YOU! (1/31/99): That's right. Tempe Entertainment and Full Moon Pictures are looking for independent filmmakers willing to relocate to Hollywood, California and spend every waking moment in our Fat Cat Post facilities. We're looking for assistant editors, online editors, trailer & promotional editors, sound editors & re-recording mixers and the like to supplement our growing enterprise. Proficiency with Media 100 software, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere 5.1, Pro Tools and Beta SP & DigiBeta equipment is a major plus. The more you can do, the more we'll let you do. If you think you're going to come in and start pitching scripts or directing features for Full Moon your first week there, don't bother writing us. We're looking for eager, hard-working, talented folks who know how to keep their egos in check and would rather jump in front of a moving bus than try to stab us in the back or bother us with the day-to-day details of their pre-Full Moon existence. Team players only need apply! If you think you have what it takes, drop us an e-mail or send us your qualifications (and sample work on VHS) to: Full Moon Pictures, Attn: Post-Production Supervisor, 1645 N. Vine St. 9th Floor, Hollywood, CA 90028 USA. Remember, you have to be willing to come to us and also to be abused mentally (and maybe physically).What the hell are you waiting for? Sit down and write us!!

PENTHOUSE VIDEO COMES TO TEMPE FOR 1999 PET OF THE YEAR EDIT (1/5/99): If you've ever watched a Tempe flick and bemoaned the abscene of skin, Tempe has made up for it and then some! We were recently enlisted by the kindly folks at General Media, Inc. (that's the parent company of Penthouse magazine, for the lamen) to edit and mix their PET OF THE YEAR & FRIENDS 1999 STARRING NIKIE ST. GILLES show for home video and DVD release in early '99. The show features Pet of the Year 1999 Nikie St. Gilles and a beautiful trio of her Pet pals romping their way through 60 minutes of fun and thrills. The DVD release is particularly exciting in that it features multiple angle segments, a Penthouse Video first. We're proud to have been chosen to cut this show...and if you're scanning Viewer's Choice pay-per-view, look for a "soft" version of the program with the title PET OF THE YEAR WINNER 1999, our promo is running now!