James Kellogg Professional Headshot

Film: Chasing Eden

James Kellogg as "Robert Galliluin" and real-life punk Michael Lopez as "Slick".

SCENES FROM THE FILM:

Robert confronts Slick in prison for raping his sister.


An angry Robert confronts Slick -
"What did you do to my sister?"


Robert vents his fury.


Robert vows his justice.


The band reunites - Robert, his sister Padme (Melissa McGinnis), and Jules (Faraon).


Jules and Robert remember the good times with their band.

Justice is finally served to Slick.

BACKGROUND STORY:

July 20, 2006 - Just found out I was cast in another Mike Czerniewski film as punk rocker Robert Galliluin! Hmm...this should be fun! We shoot some of my scenes this July 29. Mike kept on sending me e-mails that I kept on ignoring, assuming I was just on his distribution list for potential crew volunteers. Then one day I opened up his email to view pics from his shoot, and thought I recognized one of the actors and asked him about it. Mike responded in the affirmative and then then mentioned that my scenes were coming up, and I asked him 'what do you mean - "my" scenes?' Ha ha - I got drafted! Wow, that Mike, he sure knows how to pull a fast one.



July 22, 2006 - Punk Makeover - Let me be honest. I absolutely know nothing about punk. So I decided to go on a field trip to research my new role. I went to a tattoo place to find out where I could find punk clothes and they referred to me to a thrift shop called the Arizona Trading Company in Westport. I went up to the clerk and said "I want you to punk me." She responded in shock, "Excuse me????". And I replied, "I want you to punk me..you know...make me look like a punk rocker." She retorted with disdain, "I'm not your personal shopper . . . go to the back where the men's clothes are and find some clothes yourself." Surprised by her rudeness, I proceeded to the back and found nothing except some black and silver studded belts that were too small.


In dismay, I called up a friend and asked what I should do no next. While I was on the phone, I saw a car drive up and out popped four punks...one girl with purple hair (Mary), a guy with shaved head and purple pants (Matthew, affectionately referrred to as "Fathead"), and two mo-hawkers (Shep and Alyssa). With a big smile on my face, I run up to the group, and explain to them that I'm an actor researching a role and asked if they knew where I could buy punk clothes. Michael replied "You can't buy clothes like what we are wearing, man...they are really hard to find." In desparation, I asked "Your shirt...would you sell your shirt. I will buy it." "Hey dude, this German punk shirt I have is like really rare but hey, if you have $10, I will sell it to you.. I just washed it." "Deal," I replied. I then told them I wanted the punk experience...were they aware of any concerts,etc? Surprisingly friendly, they invited me to join them at the restaurant and then we planned out a punk adventure for me. They were going to hear a band whose name I can't mention here, but it had to do with an affectionate play on words on Dick Cheney and one of his body parts. The gang thought it was really cool that I wanted to check out their "scene" and told me they were going to adopt me like a little puppy.


It started at one of their houses, where they introduced me to their other punk friends including Michael, who struck me as being more of a heavy metal guy who just liked hanging out with punks. They educated me more about their sub-culture. Punk is not necessarily a certain style of music, but an attitude to protect one's individuality in a system that is built for conformity. To earn some money, some punks make patches which have some really profound slogans, that they would then sew into their clothes with dental floss. Intertubes and tires are sometimes used to make belts. Some punks like the dirty look, so they taught me how to roll in the dirt and encouraged me to not wash my clothes for days to get that nice soiled look.

One punk had this fashion accessory he kept on his built made of a railroad spike and rope (see picture of me holding it).
After hanging out with their friends they then proceeded to the Kansas City Westbottoms area (warehouse district) to go an underground punk concert and hang out with punks, including an introduction by Michael to one of the musicians from "Monsters in the Basement", a Lawrence group. Held in a warehouse art studio, about 20-30 music fans stood motionless listening to the deafening screaching sounds of electric synthesizer followed by bursts of tranquil music.


Then at one of the band changes, the fans got a little more animated, and I got thrown into a punk slam dance (they now call it "moshing") with some other punks and by imitation, later incorporated some more animated head banging and drumming antics into my moves. That was surprisingly a lot of fun. Found out that the Rigged crew was also in the neigborhood and walked over there and participated in another shoot of a drag racing scene in my new guise. The night ended with a nice little street fight with a drunk, where I honed my punk fighting skills. What a swell evening!

CHASING EDEN
Writer: MIKE CZERNIEWSKI
Director: MIKE CZERNIEWSKI
Assistant Directors: NICK HIDAKA, DARION FRANKLIN
PRINCIPAL CAST
Holden Murdoch: ANDREW EBERT
Padmé Galliulin: MELISSA McGINNIS
Gene "Gob" Broflovski: MIKE CZERNIEWSKI
Marshall Dickerson: DARION FRANKLIN
Tyler Murdoch: STEVE WILLIAMS
Jules Swann: FARAON BUSH

Helena Waterfield: TBA
Robert Galliulin: JAMES KELLOGG
"Slick" Han Miyalufa: MICHAEL LOPEZ
Serenity Houseworth: JEANETTE GONZALEZ
Gladys Murdock: STEPHANIE REED
O'Shea Slater: MIKE WILLIAMS
Kelly Stanford: ZACH HAHNE

Film: Rigged

Friday - July 21, 2006 - Joined a group to be in an upscale crowd for a huge fight scene in the film, "Rigged." Check out the film's website at http://www.riggedthefilm.com/

Saturday, July 22, 2006: As I was preparing for my punk rocker role in the Kansas City Westbottoms, I stumbled across the Rigged crew filming crowd reactions to a drag race. So I jumped into the scene as my punk persona.

Story: A female boxer fights through deception against all odds.

Brief Synopsis: Michael Dublin is a drifter running away from a past well forgotten. Working the underground boxing sport, he sets the fights and pulls the strings. It isn't until he stumbles across Katherine Parker that he finds his best con yet. A female fighter that has a haymaker which will take down anyone. She is an instant gold mine in a scam he describes as “fight-rigging, in reverse”. In order to survive among the shadows of lies and deceit they must break the one rule that protects them - trust each other.

Why it could be big: Intricate character development and slick cinematography.

Film: "Doctor Zero"

If you ever saw the movie, "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," this short sci-fi film by Dave Berry invokes these kind of black and white with color tint images and the use of retro sci-fi spaceships and robots. I have been cast as the "G-Man" (government man). We completed an all-night shoot in front of the green screen and will add some photos as we get them here.

Animated Film Short: The Good, The Bad, and The Stupid

With the animation and editing help of my friend Dave Berry (with Skypad Productions), I was able to bring to life my concept 2 minute animated spoof of Sergio Leone's "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." Remember the scene at the grave yard, where Clint Eastwood has a showdown with the bad guy and the ugly guy? The scene goes on forever, with no words, only the camera panning back and forth between the faces, arms and legs of the three gunslingers. Classic scene. Well, in the animated version, we re-create the scene, only I added a Yul Brunner look-alike dressed in black, for the bad guy, and a cartoon cowboy for the ugly guy. The ugly guy tries everything in his holster to blow Clint away, but to no avail. Finally in frustration with the director doing the continual shots between the three, Clint blows the director guy away. A little joke to my indie film director associates in IFC (Independent Film Coalition), as the director character has an IFC shirt on. It takes a looooonnnnng time to animate, so we didn't capture all the visual gags we wanted, but it was a nice directorial debut entry for me in the "Kansas International Film Festival" in October, 2005. The animated competition was called "Between the Lines". They give you the first line "Why do our conversations always begin like this", and the last line "I bet you didn't see that coming" and then as the filmmaker, we had to decide what to fill in between. So as the voice of Clint Eastwood, I have Clint give those two lines and then since these cowboys were the quiet type, I have nothing said in-between those two lines, only the classic representation of the camera shots.

Film: 72 Square Feet

Dan Meyers and Dale Benson from Lumascope Productions (www.lumascope.com) have produced and directed a very funny family film called "Seventy-Two Square Feet." This film has been lovingly shot, and they plan to enter it into a major film festival, such as Sundance, in 2007. I play "Big Bernie", who ain't too happy with the little dweeb, "Henry", for moving into his turf with the new trailer Henry bought. My character was inspired by the spirit of Sylvester Stallone and Robert DeNiro. See that chair in the picture to the right? It ends up going on a "rough ride".

Big Bernie has had enough with Henry's annoyance.
Bernie confronts Henry and his son, "What'ya wanting?"
Bernie attacks Henry's trailer - "No one messes with Big Bernie Movers!!!" Henry is at it again and Big Bernie ain't happy.

Want to see more scenes from the film? Go to http://www.lumascope.com/n_inproduction.html

Film: The Jesus Letter

I played a very small role as a Mormon missionary, Elder Teasdale in this very low budget digital video, "The Jesus Letter". Directed by IFC member, Mike Czerniewski, this is a controversial film about a guy who becomes a Mormon then tries to get out of his perceived horrors related to that. Seeking diversity in each of my roles, I took on this assignment and gave my character a kind of a creepy, nerdy look with glasses and a southern lilt.

THE JESUS LETTER
Writer: MIKE CZERNIEWSKI
Director: MIKE CZERNIEWSKI
Director of Photography: CRAIG WILSON
CAST
James Sorensen: MIKE CZERNIEWSKI
Jennifer Lamonica: LILLI CHANCEY
Tom Brooks: ERNEST BROWN
Pete Boynton: JORDAN BARANOWSKI
Brian House/Dale: ZACH HAHNE
Angela Quillen: RACHAEL REDLER
Elder David Marks: KALEN MOLLOY
Elder Whitney: JONATHAN LANGSTON
Ward Elder/Elder Ashton: DAN RENFRO
Bishop Snow: ERIK J. PRATT
Elder Teasdale: JAMES KELLOGG
Elder Kirtland Sorensen: KEATON KOHL

Film: Raising Jeffrey Dahmer (Film formerly called "Sorry, Dad"

In October 2005, I played a reporter in the serious dramatic digital feature film, Sorry, Dad. This is about the formative years of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Directed by local filmmaker Rich Ambler and featuring a cast of local performers, “Sorry, Dad” was co-written and produced by Wood Dickinson, former CEO of the locally based Dickinson Theatre chain. This is the first production by Renegade Pictures. By concentrating on the character of Dahmer’s father, Lionel Dahmer, the film will examine universal questions, such as the role parents play in the choices their children make, Dickinson said. When you see the film, there are some scenes where the report are camping outside the house of Lionel Dahmer. Bo Svenson, the detective, bumps into me and I'm one of the primary reporters in the camera's view, wearing a trench coat.

What It's About: Per the producers, the film has to do with the following: When an apparently normal, healthy boy grows into a vicious serial killer, who is ultimately responsible? Can such a monster exist without some blame being laid at the door of the people who gave birth to him and raised him? Can such a human aberration arise unless the seeds of his evil reside in the very being of his parent? These are the questions Lionel Dahmer confronts as he realizes, with growing horror, that his son Jeffrey has brutally murdered and even cannibalized young men over a period of years.

A chemist, Lionel is by nature analytical. He wants to know why this awful thing has happened, and he won’t spare himself in his search for the truth. So we are taken on a journey through his memories and his merciless self-reflection. Could he have done anything different that might have prevented so much senseless murder? Did his divorce from Jeffrey’s mother play a part? Was Jeffrey’s fate transmitted with Lionel’s genes? There seems to be no clear answer, and he wants nothing so much as clarity, some kind of certainty.

Sorry, Dad is about love in the midst of chaos as Lionel and his second wife—Jeffrey’s stepmother—try to cope with the rumors, innuendo and intrusive media attention that descend on them when word of Jeffrey’s crimes reaches the public. It’s about the love of a father for a son who is incapable of returning that love. And it’s about a parent who does his best but is haunted by the suspicion that his best simply hasn’t been good enough.

In Lionel Dahmer, we come to know a man who speaks for all parents everywhere as they try to grasp why their children are who they are and what role parents really play in shaping them. Sorry, Dad is based on Lionel’s own record of the events that lead him to question the origins of evil and his own complicity in its creation and consequences. Don’t we all, as parents, look at the failings of our children and see their seeds in our own past?

Lionel Dahmer is the extremity of a parent’s dilemma, but from his terrible experience he learns the power of love and hope. In a story we all need to hear, he shows us that we—and society at large— are too quick to condemn parents for the choices their children make. But Lionel’s personal tragedy also becomes a triumph of the human spirit—a spirit that allows each generation to believe in a better future for its children.

Who's In It: Actor Bo Svenson, whose movie credits include “Kill Bill — Vol. 2,” “Speed 2: Cruise Control,” “Heartbreak Ridge” and “North Dallas Forty,” has been cast as a police detective.

For more information, check the film's website at www.sorrydad.com.

Film: Widget & Faux

We started pre-production for Widget & Faux in August and September. It is a very interesting short-film by Director Steven Mah, Red Horse Films, based on Plato's Republic. My friend, Doug Rottering, who is the musician for all of Dennis Ward's films was going to be involved in scoring the music for this film, and they had lost their lead character. So I arranged to meet with the Director around the time of August 15th, and I responded to his interview in full character. I got the lead on the spot!

I play Faux, the "shadow on the Wall" to Widget. Widget decides to leave the cave, but Faux, being the narcissist that he is, will have nothing of it. This has been a fun project, because we are learning sword fighting and some stage martial arts moves for the film. I had the opportunity to train under a guy who works every year as a warrior at the Renaissance Festival in Bonner Springs, KS. They use swords made of foam, but it can still hurt if you get poked in the eye or slapped on the wrists twenty times. During the beginning of this training process, they teach us real controlled sword fighting and once we get that down, we will start the more showmanship stage type of training. Sadly, the Director's father passed away and we grieve with him. So we have postponed production until Spring, 2006.

Update: Summer, 2006 - It appears that this film is never going to get made. Left a few messages to the director and he is out of commission.

Film: Bamboo Shark

Dennis Ward has a third comedy film coming out which is his largest yet - Bamboo Shark. He poured money into this baby. This one has many outstanding professional actors and the same digital film camera equipment that George Lucas used in his recent films. It appears to be very funny and mad-cap. I decided at the last minute to get into this one, and play a doctor - Brian, the older brother to the main character who is being played by Dustin Chase. Interestingly, Dustin played Zach, the main character opposite Eddie in "Stuck In Star Wars"! We shot the car scene in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in June, 2005. For more information, check out http://www.mentalwardfilms.com/bambooshark.htm

("Bamboo Shark" Photo Courtesy of Mental Ward Films, Copyrighted 2005)

Film: Lenexa, One Mile

In the June timeframe, 2005, I also appeared as an extra in the Lenexa Days Scene in "Lenexa, One Mile", a multi-million dollar feature film drama. Who's in it? Jason Ritter (John Ritter's son) , Michael Rooker , William Baldwin (of the Baldwin brothers), Michael Beach , and Josh Stewart . It is directed by Jason Wiles in his directorial debut. Jason was in the television program "Third Watch" as the character, "Maurice 'Bosco' Boscorelli". What's it about? The film tells the story of five childhood friends during their last summer together in Lenexa before going to college. Their bond is tested when a disturbing secret comes to light and they are forced to set out on a quest to protect and redeem the reputation of one of their own- at whatever cost to their futures. Check out the set pictures of the film at http://www.jasonwiles.net/0602set.htm. When you see the film, look for the lime-shirted character near the tent closest to the stage on the tent to the right hand side. That's me!

Film: Self-Help!

In May, 2005, Bean Lake Productions started shooting a feature film called "Self Help!", a comedy that follows the journey of an office cubicle designer, Banks Brockmore, who quits his job to become the world's next great motivational speaker. As a vehicle to his greatness, the hapless character creates a reality TV show called Rock More! with Banks Brockmore!, and has his roomate create a supporting website dispite his utter lack of web design skills. The website address for the "show" is banksbrockmore.com. Check it out! I act in the role of "Crank Crankerson", a football-loving red-neck.

More Regarding What It's About: Brian Culp, Director, gives this synoposis: He’s insanely jealous of Tony Robbins and Dr. Phil. He wears a fake moustache in an effort to look more “pedagogic,” even though he has no idea what that word means. And he’s obsessed with a single pursuit: becoming a darling of the motivational-speaking circuit. He is Banks Brockmore!, and he’s just figured out what will propel his Junior Varsity career into the Big Leagues: a reality TV show, based on his own, well, “unusual,” motivational techniques. (And yes, Banks both a) signs his name with an exclamation point, and b) quotes himself with “flexed fingers” in the air.) Banks then risks it all - his house, career, the last shreds of his self-respect – and soon hits the road with a tiny film crew in search of contestants. Fortunately, there are lots to choose from. After all, as Banks himself says in his (self-published) book, “There’s Something Wrong With You, Too!!” But Banks’ “contestants” aren’t quite as receptive as hoped, and before long the show is in real trouble. But in subverting Banks’ last remaining hope for the show, Sonny Futz, a jealous husband of one of Banks' "contestants" unwittingly sets Banks on a course towards his greatest triumph. Now just one question remains: should Banks accept his ironic offer of wealth and fame? Self Help! is a comedy that skewers two staples of a modern television diet: reality TV and the self-help industry. In doing so, it also subtly and humorously examines what Thoreau described as humanity’s struggle against “lives of quiet desperation. For more information about Bean Lake Productions, their website is www.beanlake.com.

Film: Grassfire

Here is a picture from a scene I was in for "Grassfire", a comedy/drama ("dramedy?") film shot in 2003 and released on DVD in 2004 by director Dennis Ward of Mental Ward Films. I played Mr. Hyde, an attorney. I have two or three scenes, of which one was particularly good, with me in a business vest and suit calmly convincing the executive committee to pull the plugs on the video game company. Dennis continued to improve his film-look quality since "Stuck on Star Wars" and paid a handsome sum for the animated opening sequence during the film titles. The film won an award or two at some film festivals and premiered at the Glenwood Arts Theatre in Kansas. After having seen the final cut, however, I do not recommend this as a "family film" due to its content. A real struggle as a actor who is trying to be more consistent in his Christian faith is finding clean films these days, and I'm sorry I got involved with this one.

("Grassfire" Photo Courtesy of Mental Ward Films, Copyrighted 2003).

Film: Run

Run is the debut feature from writer/director Timothy English. Production lasted from August of 2001 through March of 2002. A premiere was held on June 29th, 2002 at the Rio Theatre in Overland Park, KS. I worked with Tim English on Stuck on Star Wars. When he lost his lead actor playing the mysterious Victor Corso, he asked me to fill the role. I really liked this film because of it's black and white film noir appearance. Corso was a great character to play, and if Tim ever makes the sequel, Oracle, I hope I can reprise the role.


What It's About: "They're coming Mr. Reeves." is Victor Corso's proclamation to Jaxon Reeves during their first encounter. RUN is the story of a man, Jax, whose wife is abducted by aliens after he steals a disk containing the mysterious "Tesla Files" from a radical group known as E.T.R.A. (Extra Terrestrial Research Associates). Jax soon meets Victor Corso, a member of the ETRA group, who warns him that he is being hunted by the sinister Men in Black and they will stop at nothing to prevent the Tesla files from being translated. Run sets up the detailing of an alien invasion and colonization of earth.


Who's In It: The Cast and Crew include D.H. Rottering,Meghan Dickinson, Nick Casarona, Ed McLinn, Ryan Singer, Rick Seifert, Timothy English and Sarah Walker. See the sheet below.

Interesting Tidbits: In his Director's Journal, Tim writes:

• "With Run I wanted to put the viewers in the mind of a character as he is recalling the final days of his life. I wanted them to see it as he remembered these things happening to him."
• "The decision to do the entire movie in black and white was actually made by my wife after she acted as my test audience for early cuts of the film and trailers."
• "When I originally wrote the 'Victor Corso' character, he was a much older, weary man...late 50's early 60's... but then I ended up casting James Kellogg, who I thought would give the character a stronger presence."
• "The 'Abduction' sequence we filmed in Topeka and Eudora, Ks. in 2 nights. We had a crew of maybe a dozen or so. I wanted to give the scene the 'what you don't see is scarier' intensity."
• " I brought in Doug Rottering to do the music after I met him while working on 'Stuck on Star Wars'. I wanted to give the whole movie that creepy old science fiction movie feel and I think Doug delivered."

CAST AND CREW
Jaxon Reeves............................................Timothy English
Victor Corso...................................................James Kellogg
Agent Nine...................................................................Ed Mclinn
The Blonde Woman...................Meghan Dickinson
Agent Zero...............................................................Rick Seifert
Julie Reeves......................................................Sarah Walker
Detective Carter................................................Ryan Singer
Detective Myles...........................................Nick Casarona
Daniel Logan......................................Jason Schonberg
Music byD.H. Rottering
Executive ProducerTimothy English
Produced byAnita Nickel
Assistant DirectorEd Mclinn
Written and Directed byTimothy English