Monster Runs Amuck!
Notzilla has to be the longest gestating dinosaur egg in history! The year after I graduated from high school, my buddy Jeff and I (co-members of the band The Daily Planet) wrote a short draft for a monster movie spoof, and said, “Let’s do this!” We were going to film it with a Super-8 movie camera, but ran out of money ($750 is a lotta moolah!) and time (college profs rudely assigned us homework).
Two years later, I expanded it to feature length and my screenwriting professor said, “Do this!” But it takes an a even bigger buncha moolah to make a feature film.
So the egg remained dormant.
Two decades later, I rewrote the screenplay again, gave it its current title, and submitted it to a new division of Warner Bros. They said, “Let’s do this!” Notzilla was slated to be their next feature film! But then the division folded.
Three years later, the same company that made Scary Movie, Parts 1 through 9,648, was about to give it the green light when, at the last minute, studio execs decided to do yet another Scary Movie.
Would this dino ever see the light of day?
And then, in 2018 the executive producer of my first feature film as a writer-director-producer, Healing River, said, “Let’s do this!”
And the egg finally hatched!
Notzilla has just been made an Official Selection by the Simply Indie Film Festival, and is also a Finalist for Best Screenplay! This virtually never happens. Comedy screenplays are rarely nominated. And spoofs? Forget about it. So, festival judges, I thank you and my monster thanks you!
Notzilla was also named Best Comedy at the Will Roger Motion Picture Festival last month, and is now gobbling up nominations and awards everywhere! In February alone, he’ll attack film festivals (click on highlighted words to learn more) in Boca Raton, Florida (I’ll be there), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (not to be confused with the one in France), Pasadena, California, and Tokyo, Japan — Notzilla’s homeland!
So if you live near any of those places, show up and…
Watch this monster run amuck!
Love this! Can’t wait for it to come out on dvd. Glad you persevered!
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Congratulations!
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Congratulations Mitch! I remember when I was part of the party! What dates will you be in Florida? Boca is about 3 hours away from us, any plans to screen it in Orlando?Keep us posted. Have a most blessed Christmas and New Year! Give our love to the family.always,
Joe & Samii
4480 Powderhorn Place Clermont, Florida 34711
mobile: 909.241.6088
SDG Soli Deo Gloria “To God Alone the Glory”
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Notzilla screens in Boca Raton at 8 pm on Friday, Feb. 7. I’ll be there to do an after-screening Q&A. It would be awesome if you could make it! Other fests are popping up, but I’m not sure if Notzilla will make it to Orlando. Great to hear from you two!
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KEEP UP THE FIRE!
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Thanks, Jerry!
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That’s really cool Mitch, congratulations!
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So incredibly cool! Congratulations! I wish one of those screenings was closer to me. Guess I’ll have wait for the wide-screen release.
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Can’t wait to see this! Will it ever actually come out in OUR corner of the world?
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We’ll end up at a few more festivals, I’m sure. And after that, I don’t know. I’ll keep y’all posted.
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I didn’t know that about comedy screenplays. That’s really great.
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What a thrill for you! Congratulations! If it ever comes to the Phoenix area, I’d love to see it.
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I’ll post updates when I know more. Thanks, Mark!
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Good for you my talented friend! Congrats 🎈
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Thank you!
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Nevertheless he persists and look what happened! So happy for you. 🙂
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YOWZA!! Congratulations!
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Congratulations!!
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woo hoo! Congratulations, Mitch, and to your monster, too! ☺️
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Thank you, Lynn!
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Thrill 😃🙂 congratulations
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What a testament to sticking something out to the end! Congrats, I can’t wait to see this!
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The good news keeps coming–WOO-HOO! SO, SO happy for you, Mitch.
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Bless you, Nancy.
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Wonderful news!!
Congratulations!
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Thank you, Sarah!
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Congrats from me too!
I don’t live near any of those places and can’t sit thru feature length films anyway. But DVD players have [Pause] buttons.
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Wow! This is wonderful news. Better than wonderful. Congratulations, Mitch. I wish I were in a major city so I could see this film.
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Thanks, Jennie. I’ll keep y’all posted on places it’s playing.
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Thanks!
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