from May 17, 2009

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Prize-winning filmmaker Paul McComas

Evanston writer and filmmaker Paul McComas celebrated this week after winning the inaugural "Best Short Feature" prize at the Talking Pictures Festival for his horror homage, "Blood of the Wolfman."

But he couldn't have done it without the help of a key collaborator: his 13 year-old self, who shot the majority of the “Wolfman’s” 8 mm footage in 1975.

"Winning was a true surprise. In terms of production values, I probably should have come in last," McComas confesses. "I'm assuming the judges based their decision on heart and innovation, and on my respectful, affectionate evocation of the source material."

A charming tribute to 1940s werewolf and voodoo movies, "Blood of The Wolfman" is one of a series of DIY "inter- generational self-collaborations" McComas has produced over the last three years from silent films he shot as horror and sci-fi obsessed teenager.

Now an acclaimed fiction and screenwriter with five published books, McComas was inspired to dig into his personal film archive while researching his latest novel, "Planet of the Dates," a semi-autobiographical coming of age story set in Wisconsin during the summer of 1980.

"These movies had literally sat in my parents’ basement for 30 years before I decided to reengage with them," says McComas.

"When I looked at them again, I saw such utter sincerity. I thought it not only would be interesting to collaborate with my younger self, but that it would also validate and redeem him on some level,"

McComas, who has an MFA in film from Northwestern, used an analog splicer to meld together segments from more than 40 different childhood films, with new scenes shot on Super 8. He transferred the footage to digital, adding post effects and sound tracks.

"I’ve made six shorts like this so far, and there's enough material for probably three or four more," says McComas, whose primary focus is on writing and teaching.

Teen-aged McComas as “Wolfman”

The collection includes re-imaginings of “Star Wars,” “Planet of the Apes,” “Logan’s Run,” “The Twilight Zone” and “Fall of the House Of Usher.”

“You haven’t really experienced the darker works of Poe until you’ve seen them enacted by 13 year-olds,” he claims.

The individual shorts have aired as a series called "No- Budget Theatre" on Evanston Community Television. They won three first place prizes from the Alliance for Community Media, garnering "something of a cult following."

DVD sales of the films have raised $700 to date for blood- donation services.

Larger film-related projects also may be on the way as "Planet of the Dates" was optioned last June by Hollywood producers Jason Koornick ("Next") and Michael Henry (music doc "Years in Your Ears").

McComas' feature film screenplay adaptation of his critically acclaimed rock-&-roll/recovery novel "Unplugged" also recently placed third The Writer’s Place national competition.

"This," he says, "is my dream project, my baby. 'Unplugged' was one of the best-reviewed small novels of 2002, and the screenplay only improves it. Plus, it's set largely in the Dakota Badlands, the most cinematic place I know. I'd love to hook up with the right production company or filmmaker and make this one happen!"

As a novelist, McComas is currently collaborating on a sequel to the sci-fi classic "Logan's Run" with original author William F Nolan. It is scheduled to hit the shelves in conjunction with a new Warner Bros film adaptation of the original in 2010.

The charity-DVD "No-Budget Theatre: The Best (?) of P.C. Productions 1975-79" is available by calling 847/491-1309 or at www.paulmccomas.com. —Tim Horsburgh

Tim Horsburgh is an associate producer with Horizons Communications Group. See www.hcgrp.net/theTeam/timhorsburgh. Phone: 847-436-2329; Email:

Thanks, REEL CHICAGO, for the great piece!

Anyone out there want to see the award-winning UNPLUGGED screenplay? I'd love to find a Chicago director/producer to tie in with. Character actor John Doe is attached, & major interest has been shown by an exec producer of TNT's "The Closer." —Paul McComas, Award-winning screenwriter/author

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