Progress Report

     Hey Everybody, Here's the latest on our progress:  We just wrapped up shooting on our laboratory set last weekend.  After three months of shooting mostly weekends we got everything we needed, including a FANTASTIC shoot with my hero, Lloyd Kaufman in a cameo appearance as Dr. Thomas Edison.  Jim O'Rear also made an appearance as Igor, Edison's hunchbacked assistant (see photo).  Lloyd brought his unique sense of humor along with the promise of droves of Troma fans. Lloyd also said he would like to attend the premiere of TG4, schedule permitting.

     We have a very busy summer ahead of us with lots of location shooting, including a scene at the Brass Stables on Printer's Alley this Sunday (May 31st).  We need about thirty extras to whoop and holler as Stacey Dixon, alias stripper Candy Slice, aka DynoWoman does her lasso dance onstage.  Shooting is from 11am to 2pm and there will be free food and non-alcoholic beverages courtesy of the Brass Stables.  For more info email me: glenhweiss@comcast.net

     We are also planning on attending the Fright Night Film Festival in Kentucky in August with TG4 stars Alex del Monacco, Tony Domenico (BoxerBrief Boy) and Will Jones (Electar). We are putting together a trailer that will screen multiple times throughout the festival to promote the new movie.

     Also, the new Thong Girl video game is nearing completion.  My DeVry University gameboys are hoping to have a test version ready by early summer with a completion date in September.

How cool is that?

     We are planning to attend several festivals and ComiCons this year and  next to promote the new film so look for us in a city near you.

     Thanks for your continued support and please check out our newly renovated website at thonggirlfilms.com

April Update

     Spring is finally here and we're well into our second month of shooting TG4.  We've shot five or six scenes so far and we've got a very busy April and May.  Here is a picture of our laboratory set that we started building back in November of last year.  We'll be on the set for the entire month of May and then we'll do all of our outdoor location shooting in June and July, followed by a month of "green screen" shooting and then we should wrap by the end of the summer.  Then it's on to post-production which will include bigger and better special effects, music and a very special "secret" that I'm not at liberty to discuss... aw, hell, everybody knows I can't keep a secret. We're going to try and shoot the grand finale dance/throw-down fight scene in 3D!!!  James Houk, our Director of Photography is working out the details and, as far as we know, this will be the first local feature film to utilize 3D and 3D glasses.  Very exciting!

     I'm also looking forward to filming a flashback dream sequence at the end of the month with one of my personal heroes, Lloyd Kaufman.  Lloyd will be making a cameo appearance as Doctor Thomas Edison from the 1920s.  Lloyd is the founder of New York based film company Troma Films, home of the well-known Toxic Avenger series.

     Since we're shooting mostly weekends it's taking a lot longer than most indie films to shoot, but we're getting some really great footage and I think you'll see the end result will be well worth the wait.

     Keep checking back with me and also check out our revamped website for some behind-the-scenes photos.  And remember:  If You Do Wrong, You'll Answer To The Thong!

     

Thong Girl 4 Begins Production

Hello, Thong Fans. We have officially started production on Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric. We're into our second week of shooting and this movie promises to be be bigger and better than its predecessor TG3!

First, the movie stars the lovely and talented Alex del Monacco as the new Thong Girl.  The story calls for Lana Layonme, alias TG, to meet a tragic demise only to have her reluctant sister Laura, an attorney from L.A., take on the task of becoming the new TG.  The story is based on historical events involving the rivalry between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse for the electricity patent in the early 1900s.   

Making a cameo appearance as the brilliant scientist Thomas Edison will be founder of Troma Films, the inimitable Lloyd Kaufman.  Lloyd is best known for creating the comic book icon The Toxic Avenger.  His company, Troma Films has produced and distributed over 800 titles, many of which were written and directed by Lloyd himself.  Troma's newest opus is called Poultrygeist: Night Of The Chicken Dead, a must-see musical masterpiece!

In the role of great-grandson and billionaire scientist Miles Edison is Will Jones, known internationally as "Dr. Epiphone",  the spokesman for the Gibson Epiphone guitar company. Fittingly, Miles' alter ego is named Electar, after the Epiphone brand guitar and amplifier. Due to a medical experiment gone wrong, Miles unwittingly becomes the evil guitar lord Electar and exacts his revenge on Music City, USA.  Laura must rise to the challenge and carry on where her sister left off as protector and superhero Thong Girl!

Also returning in the role of crimefighting sidekick BoxerBrief Boy is Tony Domenico.  And Martin Brady reprises his role as nerdy ally Dweeble Mahoney.  

Joining forces this time around with our band of hilarious heroes will be newcomer Stacey Dixon in the role of DynoWoman. 

We will be updating our website soon and I'll keep you posted as to our progress.  This is a much more complicated production than any of the past TGs and will take a little longer to complete.  But the grand finale of the film will be something that B-movie buffs and critics alike will be talking about for literally minutes after viewing!

Please check out our soon-to-be-revamped website at www.thonggirlfilms.com and keep watching for news about Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric".  

Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric

Winter is upon us and that usually means hibernation for me, but there's just too much work to do this year.  First, let me tell you about our new Thong Girl, Alex del Monacco.  As I mentioned in the last blog, I met Alex online and we discovered that we had a mutual connection through the Nashville Comic and Horror Convention.  I wasn't going to do the Con this year because we didn't have any new product and Audra Lynn had just dropped out due to health issues.  Frankly, I was feeling a little forlorn at the task of having to search for another Thong Girl.  And then along came Alex! Alex is a beautiful, sexy actress/model from Carterville, Illinois with loads of modeling experience and some film experience.  She heard about the Thong Girl project and was interested in taking on the challenge of a crimefighting superhero who just happens to look hot in a thong bikini.  She, like Audra, had not done many starring roles and was anxious to use her acting skills for the good of humankind and comic book and film fans alike (huh?)  Anyhow, she contacted me and we decided to join forces at the Nashville Con and it turned out GREAT!  You can see some of the Con pics on the TG MySpace page at this link:  http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewAlbums&friendID=64204205
In the next few months we'll be preparing our new set located at the Devil's Dungeon Haunted House in Nashville and scouting locations for the rest of the film. We plan to start shooting on the new set just after the New Year. We will also be looking for extras for several scenes, so if you'd like to be in the new movie please contact me through my email or the TG website. I'll be posting a new blog every couple of weeks to keep you updated on our progress and keep checking the website at www.thonggirlfilms.com for more TG info. And never forget: IF YOU DO WRONG, YOU'LL ANSWER TO THE THONG!

Nashville Comic & Horror Convention

I know this is kind of short notice but we will be appearing at the Nashville Comic & Horror Convention at the State Fairgrounds this weekend (Oct. 18 & 19) here in Nashville. Admission is $10 and there will be all kinds of creepy creatures and comic book stars there along with actress and model Alex del Monaco as Thong Girl!!! Alex will be representing Thong Girl Films and donning The Thong this weekend and signing autographs and selling her merchandise as well as ours. While Alex is here she'll also be auditioning for the role of Thong Girl for the upcoming feature film "Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric" which will begin filming in just a few short weeks.
Please come out and meet Alex and support Thong Girl Films and buy some cool TG merchandise including dvds, tee shirts, comic books and autographed 8X10s of the lovely Alex del Monaco. For more info about the Con please go to http://comiccitytn.com/hfest08_home.html
I'll have more about the new film in the coming weeks. This film will be bigger and badder than the last one and will feature more cool special effects and even a big dance number!!! Hope to see you this weekend.

Thong Girl where have you gone?

It seems like forever since I've posted a Thong Girl blog and I apologize profusely.  The fact of the matter is, not much has been happening.  Things are starting to pick up again and I'll start with the good news/bad news portion of the blog.

The good news:  We'll be doing the Nashville Comic and Horror Convention on Oct. 18th & 19th.

The bad news:  Audra Lynn will not be there.  Unfortunately, Audra has opted out of the Thong Girl project due to health issues and personal reasons which I can't go into.  The last I heard she had moved from Los Angeles back to Minnesota and is living with her parents during this period of transition.  I wish her well and I totally enjoyed the few months that we worked together.  But the good news is we've teamed up with actress/model Alex del Monaco for the Nashville Con and Alex will be wearing The Thong and appearing as Thong Girl for the two-day convention.  While she's here she'll also be doing a screen test for the movie and we'll discuss the possibility of her assuming the role for the next film "Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric". Alex brings a ton of modeling experience and also some film experience along with a really solid fan base and we're all excited about the possibility of her becoming the next Thong Girl. I'll be posting more info in the next few weeks concerning the Nashville Comic and Horror Festival.

We've also been working diligently on the set for the new movie.  The story is based on historical events concerning Thomas Edison and the electricity patent wars between he and George Westinghouse in the 1920's.  The set will resemble the funky old Frankenstein laboratory where the monster was created.  Thanks to the artistic talents of my buddy Pablo Scruggs we've been able to replicate a lot of the old laboratory ambiance and what better location for the set than a haunted house?  The folks at the Devil's Dungeon (www.devilsdungeon.net) have graciously donated a room for us to film the laboratory scenes.  They will be using our set during the Halloween season and as soon as they close we'll move in and start filming.  I wanted a place where we wouldn't have to move everything around everytime we wanted to shoot.  The laboratory scenes will take the longest amount of time to film, so I wanted a place where we could stay set up for a month or two.  Filming will begin in late November.  Look for a mystery celebrity in a cameo appearance as Thomas Edison!  

Also, the Thong Girl video game is coming along right on schedule and my guys from DeVry University are hard at work putting that together for a 2009 release.  

That's about it for now.  I'll be busy casting the new film and tightening up the script for the next few weeks.  Thanks to those of you who have inquired about the new movie and I hope to see you all in October at the Con. 

Winter update

Hey Everybody, It's been awhile since my last update. I tend to go into hibernation in the winter... something about being a bear in a past life. We're about to get very busy again and I wanted to let you know about some of the cool Thong things that are on the way for 2008.
First, the new comic book is finished and this looks to be the biggest and best yet! This book will mirror the new movie (more on that below) and Desi has outdone himself with the artwork on this book. It looks fabulous! It's at the printers right now and will be ready for the ConNooga Comic Convention on Feb. 22-24th (www.connooga.com). As soon as I get the proof from our publisher I'll post the cover on the Store page of our website and you'll be able to order it online! I'm really proud of the storyline; it's based on historical events and I used the book as a sort of prototype for the script for the new movie.
As for ConNooga, we're all really excited about headlining the three-day event in Chattanooga this year. If you go to their website (www.connooga.com) you'll see Audra Lynn's pictures and if you click on Schedule you'll find some of the panels that we'll be participating in, such as Filmmaking 101, Script Writing and Acting in Independent Films. I'll be joined by my good buddies from Allied Horror, Jim O'Rear and Ted Alderman and a few of the other Con guests and we'll be talking about how we've all made millions of dollars in the world of independent filmmaking (not). Audra will also be joining me to talk about being an actress in indie films. On Sunday we'll be screening "Thong Girl 3: Revenge Of The Dark Widow" followed by a Q&A and a discussion on the future of Thong Girl. And of course, we'll have a booth set up and we'll be selling all of our Thong Girl merchandise, including the new Thong Girl tee shirts with Audra's picture on the front!
As you know by now, Audra Lynn is our new Thong Girl. She'll be starring in the new TG movie which will start filming this summer. Audra will be flying in from Los Angeles next week and we've scheduled photo shoots and a script reading with some of the cast members. I have yet to hear the script read aloud and I'm excited about having it read by actual people! The script took four months to write and it's considerably longer than the last one, but the first reading is a good way to judge how it will flow onscreen and so consequently it will be trimmed and honed to make the dialogue tighter. Some scenes will work and some will not, but I've learned that the script is basically a blueprint for the movie and it is constantly evolving and growing as the film grows... just like a child!
The other exciting Thong thing that I wanted to tell you about is the video game. My DeVry gaming guys have wrapped their other project and are focusing all of their attention on the new Thong Girl video game. We'll be talking again this week and finalizing the plot points and the outline for the new game. I'm really anxious to get started on this; it will take about a year to develop and build and I'll be monitoring and advising them along the way but the production is basically in their hands. I, of course, know nothing about video games. But I see the potential in having one and I see the huge crowds of gamers at the Cons that we attend so I know that this is where we need to go. We'll be advertising the new game and talking it up at ConNooga and I hope to get some feedback from some of the resident gamers there.
Well, that's about it for now. We're going to be putting a lot of new pictures and merchandise up on the website in the next couple of months and... oh, yeah, we're also going to re-design the website for the new year. We've added so much stuff in the past year that it's looking a little "random" (do they still say that?) these days and it needs a make-over. So Robin, our web mistress will be giving the website a new look and making it a little more user-friendly and easier to navigate.
Come on out to ConNooga if you're free next weekend and stop by and say hey to Audra Lynn and Desi and me. It's a beautiful drive from Nashville and there's lots to do and see in Chattanooga, including one of the finest aquariums in the world. See you soon.