Pia's script Blackout was filmed and is now available at many VOD services.

A young attorney's life is turned upside when he wakes to find a dead woman in his apartment.

You can view the movie at the following locations:

Amazon
VuDu.com
WalMart
Verizon On Demand

Woohoo! Congrats, Pia! Can't wait to check it out.

Congrats! Is it on netflix yet? lol

I can attest that it's rentable via Amazon...  ))

Sweet! Pretty soon we'll be able to have a Pia film festival.

Awesome!  Not sure who Pia is (as I am a noob) but congratulations on the feature.  I only aspire to be someone who gets one of their ideas on film (that I didn't shoot myself ).

Great job, Pia! Will try and check it out.

Excellent news Pia

Mark

Congrats Pia! I'm planning to check it out as soon as I get the chance. Been a busy week. Look forward to it.

Congrats Pia.

Congratulations on your recent success. Next stop Cannes Film Festival.  

FANTASTIC NEWS PIA!!!!!!

I'll be getting a copy this week.

Shawn.....><  

This is brilliant, Pia! I look forward to viewing it

You kick azz Pia!  Congrats!!!!!!!

Congrats Pia,  I'm pretty happy for you.

Ghostie

Once again, Pia's kicking ass with another feature release. Good stuff. =)

And, Lee, Pia is Angry Bear.

Congrats Pia! Must be exciting for you!

Pia really is on a roll, you on fiiiiarrrreeeee lol.  Anyways, congrats, lets hope that your success continues!

Curt

Nice! Congrats Pia, sounds like this attorney has got to explaining to do.  Can't wait to see it.

Yes, Pia, you angry bear, you!  Can't wait to see this..when it streams on Netflix.

Keep it going, girl!!

Not much to add, really, but compelled to add my voice to the rest.

Very happy -- and even proud to have read your very first script.  Yeah.  I remember.

Keep rockin' it, Pia.  Can't wait to see what's next.

Quite the winning streak you have going there Pia!  Love the trailer and plan on renting it this weekend!  Congrats!

Gary

HOLLA!!!!

Hey Pia - well done -- you're 'being prolific'

VOD - isn't it? - just wondering how much? Not that it'll put me off or anything ...  

Congrats Pia!!! You must be so proud?!!

Big congrats, Pia! I'll be waiting for a Netflix release along with Jeff. It doesn't seem to have hit my VOD just yet. Will be watching the Evil Dead remake tonight instead.

great work Pia, look forward to checking it out

Michael

C'mon people, don't wait for Netflix.  It may never happen there.  Rent it on Amazon or something.  It's four dollars!  We're talking Pia, here!

Phil
(saw it, like, two weeks ago)

OMG Don!!!!  I love you!! And not just because you're a darn good dad and a great home renovator and cook, you're also a great supporter of all the screenwriters here at SS regardless of age, gender, race and "behavior".... Seriously, you're awesome!!  

Thanks all!!  

Breanne, if you watch, you will totally understand my comments on FB.  

Silverback, I'm pretty sure Cannes is pretty much not in my future.  Although who knows. Troma goes there every year just to party, so who knows. Btw, I went to Cannes when I was 13. I sat in the bar at the Ritz Carlton in my bathing suit and drank an $8 Coke....

Bert...yeah. My first script... I don't have a copy of it anymore. It was lost in a Mac death.  

As far as my "streak" goes, I seem to work well with these filmmakers. Our goal is to continue to make more films and increase the quality and budget as we go along. Dead Ringer is scheduled for release in November. Not quite sure what will happen with Arterial Motives yet. That one almost killed me!!! Scream For Me might get made too. Not sure yet, but some people were interested in funding it.

If you decide to watch, keep in mind that this is very low budget films. Our goal is to increase quality with each film.  

I forgot to mention that this film was released two weeks ago.

Quoted from Grandma Bear Silverback, I'm pretty sure Cannes is pretty much not in my future. Although who knows. Troma goes there every year just to party, so who knows. Btw, I went to Cannes when I was 13. I sat in the bar at the Ritz Carlton in my bathing suit and drank an $8 Coke.....

Cheers.  

Congratulations, Pia!

Can't wait to check this one out, too!

Congrats, Pia. Awesome news!

I’ll be sure to check it out.

Hey, blond, congrats! I'll see you in there. Where? In the sucess party!

Looking forward to when we can catch this in Oz' - we'll be snapping it up.

Must be a great feeling, Pia. Congratulations!

Quoted from dogglebe C'mon people, don't wait for Netflix.  It may never happen there.  Rent it on Amazon or something.  It's four dollars!  We're talking Pia, here! Phil (saw it, like, two weeks ago)

You're a stud.

Congrats Pia! Renting it tonight on Amazon!

Finally got a chance to check this out. Sorry it took so long. Been a busy summer.

Quoted from Grandma Bear Breanne, if you watch, you will totally understand my comments on FB.

Yes, now I see. That's close to what I was talking about. For example, they gave a special thanks to Alfred Hitchcock. I noticed they didn't credit him on IMDb, though. That would have been what I was talking about. If you look up Hitchcock on IMDb, he's got a lot of credits on recent films that he clearly had nothing to do with. It's just filmmakers trying to drive up the starmeter ratings on their own projects.

Anyway, back to Blackout:

First off, congrats again on getting something produced and distributed. I saw you were an executive producer on the project. Congrats on getting involved. I know it was a lot of hard work. I noticed your credits in the film don't match your credits on IMDb. Not sure what that's about. You have a "Written by" credit in the film while director Matthew K. Hacker didn't get any writing credit. According to IMDb, Matthew has a writer credit while you have a story credit. It's all very conflicting.

Now on to the movie:

Hmm, had some things I liked and some things that were problematic for me.

First off, I thought Blackout was a tremendous improvement over Finders Keepers in terms of photography and direction. In fact, those two things were the most notable positives for me. I thought the photography on some of the exterior shots was really good. I also thought a lot of the shots were framed well. The shots seemed to waver every now and then between being well lit and too shaded, but there were a lot of good shots.

I thought the acting was good. Timothy did well, but I thought Bill Oberst Jr and Robert Covington (again!) were the standouts. Seriously, that Covington guy could carry a feature. And Bill Oberst Jr is just awesome.

I did have a few issues with the story, though. For one, I didn't think we got to know Harley well enough. We saw him in one meeting at work, and once outside the meeting, and that was it as far as his career. Which, by the way, was the driving force behind all his most crucial decisions. Alfie says Harley always has to win, but I didn't see that at all in the way Harley was presented. To me, it was a classic case of telling, not showing. I thought a lot of his decisions were quick and senseless. This is a movie, so much of the logic can be chalked up to "movie logic." Still, I felt the concept could have been more fully exploited.

I didn't get the ending at all. Maybe I missed something, but the ending made almost no sense to me. I can't say more because I don't want to give anything away. All I can say is I didn't get it. I have very little idea what was going on. I mean, I understand what was happening with Harley, but I didn't understand any of the characters' motives. Like I said, maybe I missed something.

The movie clocked in at an hour and twenty minutes, including the credits. Seems like there was room to fill the characters out more. But then, I don't know all the production constraints, either. For example, it seems to me that Harley could have been shown actually doing his job. The location was already there. There was room for it time wise. It just seemed like there could have been more.

Anyway, enough of the negatives. There were plenty of positives, too. Great job of getting something produced and distributed. Congrats to you and the whole team. Hope the movie does well.

Quoted from Breanne Mattson Finally got a chance to check this out. Sorry it took so long. Been a busy summer.

I appreciate you checking it out.  

Quoted from Breanne Mattson Yes, now I see. That's close to what I was talking about. For example, they gave a special thanks to Alfred Hitchcock. I noticed they didn't credit him on IMDb, though. That would have been what I was talking about. If you look up Hitchcock on IMDb, he's got a lot of credits on recent films that he clearly had nothing to do with. It's just filmmakers trying to drive up the starmeter ratings on their own projects.

I figured. I still haven't figured out that starmeter thing. It swings wildly. Some people seem to think that means how popular you are, but I think it has more to do with how many click on you or do a search...

Quoted from Breanne Mattson Anyway, back to Blackout: First off, congrats again on getting something produced and distributed. I saw you were an executive producer on the project. Congrats on getting involved. I know it was a lot of hard work. I noticed your credits in the film don't match your credits on IMDb. Not sure what that's about. You have a "Written by" credit in the film while director Matthew K. Hacker didn't get any writing credit. According to IMDb, Matthew has a writer credit while you have a story credit. It's all very conflicting.

I have no idea what that's about. The credits, I mean. As far as the ex producer thing goes, it had more to do with me chipping in to get the deliverals ready for the distribution. I wasn't exactly involved.  

Quoted from Breanne Mattson Now on to the movie: Hmm, had some things I liked and some things that were problematic for me. First off, I thought Blackout was a tremendous improvement over Finders Keepers in terms of photography and direction. In fact, those two things were the most notable positives for me. I thought the photography on some of the exterior shots was really good. I also thought a lot of the shots were framed well. The shots seemed to waver every now and then between being well lit and too shaded, but there were a lot of good shots.

I think it was the same DP for both films. Maybe the circumstances had something to do with it? One being out in the woods and the other in more controlled environments.

Quoted from Breanne Mattson I thought the acting was good. Timothy did well, but I thought Bill Oberst Jr and Robert Covington (again!) were the standouts. Seriously, that Covington guy could carry a feature. And Bill Oberst Jr is just awesome.

I really like Covington too. Nice looking guy as well. He should be able to get some bigger roles.

Quoted from Breanne Mattson I did have a few issues with the story, though. For one, I didn't think we got to know Harley well enough. We saw him in one meeting at work, and once outside the meeting, and that was it as far as his career. Which, by the way, was the driving force behind all his most crucial decisions. Alfie says Harley always has to win, but I didn't see that at all in the way Harley was presented. To me, it was a classic case of telling, not showing. I thought a lot of his decisions were quick and senseless. This is a movie, so much of the logic can be chalked up to "movie logic." Still, I felt the concept could have been more fully exploited.

This is something that has driven me crazy when reading the reviews. Not just for Blackout, but for FK as well. A lot of the things that are complained about in the reviews are things that I know were in the scripts. I understand they did what they did for production reasons, but IMHO, the stories were complete it the scripts.

Quoted from Breanne Mattson I didn't get the ending at all. Maybe I missed something, but the ending made almost no sense to me. I can't say more because I don't want to give anything away. All I can say is I didn't get it. I have very little idea what was going on. I mean, I understand what was happening with Harley, but I didn't understand any of the characters' motives. Like I said, maybe I missed something.

The ending was sloppy in the script. I rewrote it once, but then left it because I never thought the script would go anywhere. I wish now that we had discussed it and that they had asked for a rewrite….

Quoted from Breanne Mattson The movie clocked in at an hour and twenty minutes, including the credits. Seems like there was room to fill the characters out more. But then, I don't know all the production constraints, either. For example, it seems to me that Harley could have been shown actually doing his job. The location was already there. There was room for it time wise. It just seemed like there could have been more.

The script was 96 pages or something like that. A lot was never used. I'm sure they had their reasons.

Quoted from Breanne Mattson Anyway, enough of the negatives. There were plenty of positives, too. Great job of getting something produced and distributed. Congrats to you and the whole team. Hope the movie does well. 

Thank you so much Breanne!!!! Your support means a lot to me.  

At freaking long last, here is my review of Blackout. I'm sorry this took so long to go up, Pia; I have no idea what my editor was doing.

http://www.vancouverweekly.com/blackout-indie-hollywood/

Chris, you made my day! Very professionally done by you! I hope they pay you to write these!

I loved that you included some of the masters in your review and your understanding of no-micro budget indies.

After having read some of the other reviews out there, I sort of hung up the keyboard. I really want to thank you for what you wrote!!!

Best of luck with your next endevours. I will always be a BIG supporter!  

Quoted from KevinLenihan Sweet! Pretty soon we'll be able to have a Pia film festival.

yes!

If we do, I'll make sure we'll have plenty of stiff drinks.  

At the Hippo!!!!!!

I just checked all of this out on IMDB, the cast and crew... Not a bad little start, Pia. The reviews don't actually matter that much... although I'd be a little pissed that Hacker found his way onto the writing credit too... greedy bastard. All in all, it's not bad. I can't actually rent your film as I have Netflix and Blockbuster already and cannot justify another contract. Unless I can watch on a per-film basis... then I'll gladly watch it.

As the writer you can blame everything on the producer and director.... the important thing here is that you have a writing credit. It is honestly quite refreshing to meet a writer that just wants to get things made. I'm the same. Well done.

Hey Dustin, almost didn't see your post here. The OWCs push things down the portal fast.

The film is missing large pieces from the script which makes the film not clear, IMHO. So, it gets frustrating reading reviews where the reviewer says things like, who wrote this crap, the writer needs to get a thesaurus. To be honest, it crushed my writing spirit. The good thing is that I think, it came back to me with this OWC, so I thank Don for that.

Quoted from Grandma Bear Hey Dustin, almost didn't see your post here. The OWCs push things down the portal fast. The film is missing large pieces from the script which makes the film not clear, IMHO. So, it gets frustrating reading reviews where the reviewer says things like, who wrote this crap, the writer needs to get a thesaurus. To be honest, it crushed my writing spirit. The good thing is that I think, it came back to me with this OWC, so I thank Don for that.

The reviews talking about writing are probably from fellow writers, so there may be some hints of jealousy and extra low scores unfairly attributed. Watch out for people that smile a lot Film viewers tend to blame the name on the case, which is Hacker.

I checked into you a little more (one of the benefits of a pro account) and I was actually very impressed with your achievements so far. It's not important if the films made money or not... not at this stage of your career. What is important is that you are building those credits... you're doing stuff. If you look through anyone's IMDB and check out their early careers you will often find that they have similar credits. Maybe even stuff they'd rather forget about now.

Glad to hear you're not losing heart... keep up the good work.

Quoted from Grandma Bear The film is missing large pieces from the script which makes the film not clear, IMHO. So, it gets frustrating reading reviews where the reviewer says things like, who wrote this crap, the writer needs to get a thesaurus. To be honest, it crushed my writing spirit.

I understand.  

I read the IMDB reviews, both in the discussion and those culled from critics, and while reading them I always thought of both what I know you would have written vs. what got shot - and why, and what got edited in or out - and why, an what viewers saw vs what you wrote - and why, and how helpless writers are once they agree to let anyone else touch their screenplay from script to screen.

That last line you wrote in above quote broke my heart, as well.

Writer to writer - I'm sorry.
Sincerely.



It's good to have Don and the SS Samurai here to help you and each other when we can in whatever capacity we can.

You guys rock.

Pia, you of all people should have nothing to hang your head about.  You have several of your features produced which is several more than 99.9% of the people who write reviews on the IMDB or this and other sites.  I remember reading "Dead Ringer" and writing up liner notes for you and thinking: Man, she really knows how to craft a story.  That takes talent and you have it.  And as long as producers or directors see that, I wouldn't give two shits about what some hack reviewer has to say.  

As you know, I've been lucky enough to work with a director these past three months on a feature film he's directing (financing should get done this week!--knock on wood!) and I've learned more about writing for features in that time than in all the time I've spent writing and posting my shorts here.  Most of my shorts get savaged by people here, and I once mentioned that to him.  He laughed and said: "If you take your reviewers too seriously, you'll never accomplish anything, because you'll spend the rest of your life curled up in your bed sucking your thumb in the fetal position." He then told me to ignore the reviews, because (and I stole the number above from him) 99.9% of the negative reviews come from people who haven't produced anything of substance. If they do haven't something produced, it's usually the occasional student film thesis production or short that shows up on YouTube, but because of that they're suddenly experts in screenwriting.

I used to live and die on what people thought about my writing, but after he gave me this opportunity with this feature film (for which I'm getting paid and getting an on screen writing credit), I knew that his was the only opinion that mattered.  Caring about any of these other opinions will just be an albatross around your neck.  You're a helluva writer, Pia, and the people who understand that are the only ones that matter.  Not get outta here and go write something!

All the best,
Gary

Who gives a rip whether this film was good or bad.  What's most important is that you've got another credit to your name and to keep moving forward.  It's better than nothing.

What's the total # of people who have rented or bought this flick so far?  100?  1,000?  Do you know?

Quoted from DustinBowcot The reviews talking about writing are probably from fellow writers, so there may be some hints of jealousy and extra low scores unfairly attributed. Watch out for people that smile a lot Film viewers tend to blame the name on the case, which is Hacker.

Yeah, regular people never seem to notice the writer.

Quoted from DustinBowcot I checked into you a little more (one of the benefits of a pro account) and I was actually very impressed with your achievements so far. It's not important if the films made money or not... not at this stage of your career. What is important is that you are building those credits... you're doing stuff. If you look through anyone's IMDB and check out their early careers you will often find that they have similar credits. Maybe even stuff they'd rather forget about now.

I actually have quite a bit more produced. Everything doesn't make it onto imdb. There's a guy I know who's a great writer and a bunch of people brag that they know him, I checked out one of his films and it was pretty bad. It's hard to make a great film. Everything has to come together and make it work.  

Quoted from RayW I read the IMDB reviews, both in the discussion and those culled from critics, and while reading them I always thought of both what I know you would have written vs. what got shot - and why, and what got edited in or out - and why, an what viewers saw vs what you wrote - and why, and how helpless writers are once they agree to let anyone else touch their screenplay from script to screen.

This is very true. The filmmakers will work with what they have available to them. It's often not at all what the writer had in mind. I learned that myself when trying to film Them That's Dead. That's why I roll my eyes sometimes when reading  and the writers are VERY specific about certain things when writing their scripts. I'm thinking to myself, there's no way they're going to make sure that house is a bright chartreuse and surrounded by birch trees covered in yellow autumn leaves.

Quoted from RayW That last line you wrote in above quote broke my heart, as well.

Thanks Ray. It's very similar to putting a new script up here at SS and all the comments are bad. It definitely doesn't inspire you to do anything. Something to think about when dishing out bad reviews. Myself included.

PS, You read the first draft of this script, Ray. It was my effort in the 6WK thriller/amnesia. You said the characters were unbelievably stupid. Several reviews of the film said the same thing.  

Quoted from Gary in Houston Pia, you of all people should have nothing to hang your head about.  You have several of your features produced which is several more than 99.9% of the people who write reviews on the IMDB or this and other sites.  I remember reading "Dead Ringer" and writing up liner notes for you and thinking: Man, she really knows how to craft a story.  That takes talent and you have it.  And as long as producers or directors see that, I wouldn't give two shits about what some hack reviewer has to say.

Thank you Gary. Maybe I'm just not as thick skinned as I'd like to think.

Quoted from Gary in Houston As you know, I've been lucky enough to work with a director these past three months on a feature film he's directing (financing should get done this week!--knock on wood!) and I've learned more about writing for features in that time than in all the time I've spent writing and posting my shorts here.  Most of my shorts get savaged by people here, and I once mentioned that to him.  He laughed and said: "If you take your reviewers too seriously, you'll never accomplish anything, because you'll spend the rest of your life curled up in your bed sucking your thumb in the fetal position." He then told me to ignore the reviews, because (and I stole the number above from him) 99.9% of the negative reviews come from people who haven't produced anything of substance. If they do haven't something produced, it's usually the occasional student film thesis production or short that shows up on YouTube, but because of that they're suddenly experts in screenwriting.

I know. Making a film and reviewing a scripts are two different animals. I do highly value the reviews people give here though. This is where I learned. When I first started writing in -06, I could barely write a complete sentence without glaring errors. But through constructive reviews, I slowly picked up on things and today, I actually feel okay about how I write. I just need to get better at structure and some of those other things. It is true though what you said, filmmakers are NOT looking at story the same way readers are.  

Quoted from Gary in Houston I used to live and die on what people thought about my writing, but after he gave me this opportunity with this feature film (for which I'm getting paid and getting an on screen writing credit), I knew that his was the only opinion that mattered.  Caring about any of these other opinions will just be an albatross around your neck.  You're a helluva writer, Pia, and the people who understand that are the only ones that matter.  Not get outta here and go write something! All the best, Gary

Thank you. I'm planning to start a new feature tomorrow. This time though, I'm going to be careful and make sure it doesn't consume my life as it used to. 5-6hrs/day 7day/week. I've actually spent more time with my family lately and even done some gardening!!!! Now that IS weird!  

Quoted from NickSedario Who gives a rip whether this film was good or bad.  What's most important is that you've got another credit to your name and to keep moving forward.  It's better than nothing.

As long as the filmmakers to the best they can, I'm good. It's just hard to read reviews where the writers get ripped for stuff that was clearly handled in the script. I want them all to read the script! How many pro scripts have I read where the film, good or bad, is not exactly like the script? There's just a long winding road from script to screen. I read long time ago that Stephen King hates seeing his own films because they are never the way he envisioned them while writing. As long as everyone does their best, it's all good...but if a critic ever cross the road in front of you, step on the f'n gas!!!  

Quoted from NickSedario What's the total # of people who have rented or bought this flick so far?  100?  1,000?  Do you know?

I honestly have no idea. I would like to know too. Especially since I have points in any profits.

Thanks guys. You picked up my spirit.  

I'll be renting it tonight, it's only $1.99 on Amazon. I think that's around £1.30 or something... and I get 7 days to view it. I watched the trailer and it looks pretty good.

I'm going to have to get a hold of this.

BLB

Quoted from Busy Little Bee I'm going to have to get a hold of this.

I have other better ones coming out this year.  

That's Great Pia,

You should be selling signed Blu-Ray copies to us all.

Your signature would double the value of the disk and when you are famous, I'll sell it on EBAY.

XoXoXoXo

Alex

That's amazing. Congrats!!!