August Update

Summer is almost over and we are winding down with production of Thong Girl 4:The Body Electric. We have shot most of our green screen scenes and I am VERY grateful to Tony Warner and Warner Construction for his generosity in letting us use one of his warehouses for the summer. He also owns the Devil's Dungeon haunted house and he let us shoot the first few months of production there. Make sure you get out to the Devil's Dungeon for Halloween. They have the best haunted house in Nashville. I mean it! (www.devilsdungeon.net)
Here are a few highlights from the past couple of months: A couple of weeks ago we shot a scene with the original TG, Leah Adcock. I've already let it slip that Thong Girl dies in a tragic accident at the beginning of the new movie and her sister (Alex del Monacco) comes to Music City to attend the funeral and unwillingly acquires the power of the Thong. Leah graciously agreed to do a cameo role and it turned out fantastic! I was planning on using a body double to stage the "accident" but I thought, what the hell, I'll ask her if she'll do it and she said yes. It was great working with her again and it adds so much to the movie. I know her fans will be glad to see her return.
Also, I finished a teaser/trailer for the new movie and we took some promo shots with Alex, Will (Electar) and Tony (BoxerBrief Boy) for the new poster and banner. The trailer will be available to view on Facebook, YouTube and MySpace in a few days. We'll also have a link on the TG website. We still have several scenes to shoot so this is more of a teaser than a full-blown trailer. But you'll get to see some of the footage that we've shot, including the strip scene at the Brass Stables with the lovely Stacey Dixon (DynoWoman).
We shot a robbery scene last weekend at Comix City Too in Madison. In this scene TG tries out her ass laser for the first time with mixed results. Thanks to Mark Angel and James Hannon for letting us use their store and hanging in there with us until 4am.
September will be the busiest month yet with several key scenes left to shoot and then the big finale in October. Then it's off to post-production solitude. This is my favorite part of the filmmaking process because I get to do what I enjoy most - hibernate and edit. All of the elements of filmmaking are extremely important to the final product, but you can literally make or break a film in editing. That's where you take all of your ingredients and mix them together to form something cohesive and viewable. With all of the amazing technology available through Mac and Final Cut Pro, it's like being a kid in a candy shop for an editor. I am SO psyched for post-production.
Well, that's it for now. It may be awhile before I blog again but please check the TG website (www.thonggirlfilms.com) for updates and new behind-the-scenes pictures. We also will be appearing at the Nashville Comic and Horror Convention in October and Alex del Monacco will attend this year. Hope to see you there.

A Long, Hot Summer

Hello TG friends and fans! I have a rare weekend off from shooting while my DP James Houk participates in the 48 Hour Film Project. Personally, I don't see the appeal in writing, shooting, editing, scoring and delivering a short film in 48 hours. It's stressful enough to make a movie over several months, but to have to complete one in two days is totally INSANE! On the other hand, humans love to push themselves past the boundaries of what is considered "normal" and have been doing so for centuries. This is how we strive toward greatness. Anyhow, enough pontificating... let's get down to the Thong business at hand.
We are two thirds of the way through production of "Thong Girl 4: The Body Electric" and things are going very well. We shot at the Brass Stables a few weeks ago and we got some amazing footage (see picture). Thanks to all of our terrific extras who showed up to whoop and holler as Stacey Dixon, alias stripper Candy Slice aka DynoWoman did her amazing pole dance. Thanks also to the Brass Stables for being such gracious hosts for the day.
We moved into our "green screen facility" warehouse last weekend and did our first shoot with Will Jones as Electar on top of the AT&T building and a really sweet scene with Tony Domenico and Martin Brady as BoxerBrief Boy and Dweeble. This scene had our superhero sidekicks driving to the scene of a crime while reminiscing and commiserating over the loss of their dear departed Lana Layonme. (Here comes a spoiler: Lana aka Thong Girl dies at the beginning of the new movie) We'll be shooting on green screen for the next eight weeks or so. Many thanks to Warner Construction for letting us use the building.
Last week my gameboys from DeVry University completed a beta test version of the new TG video game! We sent it out to several of our friends and we've had really positive results. If all goes well the game will be ready for release by September; just in time for our appearance at the Nashville Comic and Horror Convention.
I am currently working on a TG4 trailer and I am planning on having it ready for the Kentucky Fright Night Film Fest in mid-August. Alex del Monacco (the new TG) will be appearing as well Stacey Dixon and myself and possibly a few other cast members.
Lastly, I'm cooking up a really fun contest to draw some superhero wannabees into the TG realm. There's a scene in the movie where TG and BoxerBrief Boy go to see the Maharishi for spiritual training and enlightenment. Since the last film, word has spread that the Maharishi is a miracle worker with a knack for training wannabee superheroes. So every manner of kooky crimefighter has lined up outside his door to seek his spiritual guidance. We're looking for ten or so original superheroes - similar to Stan Lee's "Who Wants To Be A Superhero" TV show - to appear in a scene with Thong Girl. I'll have more info on this coming soon.
One more bit of news: Former TG star Leah Adcock has graciously consented to making a cameo appearance in the new movie. This is great news to me and to all TG fans and it will bring the Thong Girl saga full circle. I will not divulge the nature of her appearance and you can't make me (except with large sums of money). But I will say that her appearance will be "electrifying".
Well, that's about it for now. After this weekend it's back to the moviemaking biz. This film promises to be much bigger and better than the last one and we're really going to do some serious promotion to get this movie out there. Thanks again for your continued support and interest in Thong Girl.

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.