Blood of the Wolfman Wins Best Short Film Prize at International Film Fest Paul's movie Blood of the Wolfman (1975/2007, 14 min., black & white & red) was awarded the prize for Best Short Film at the 2009 international Talking Pictures Independent Film Festival in May. The movie is one of Paul's "intergenerational self-collaborations." In 1975, at 13, he scripted and shot (on Standard-8mm film) the original, silent version of this film; one-third of a century later, he wrote, shot (on Super-8), and inserted new footage with his nephew, Henry McComas (Crooked Lake Productions), and added sound with Dub Vox Studio Service's Joshua Avila. Equal parts poignant, unsettling, and (due to the actors' youth) kind of adorable, Blood of the Wolfman honors the Wolfman and voodoo films of the 1940's while exploring - through familiar monster-movie tropes - the interplay between violence, guilt, forgiveness, empathy, faith and redemptive love. Of all his "resurrected/restored/updated" kid-flicks, this one is the closest to Paul's heart. CAST: The late Julia Sackin (to whom the film is dedicated), Paul, John Scott, Leah Barnum, David Shareef, Rachel Taknint, Joelle Taknint, Hazelyn McComas, Bill Kestin, Dan McComas and Kelly Avila. Says Paul, "This is a huge surprise. I was happy just to be included in the Fest; I never expected to get a prize. I know the film didn't win for its prodution values! Maybe for industriousness...possibly for 'heart.' Would that I could go back to 1975 and tell my 13-year-old self -- 'auteur' of the film's original version -- that this was going to happen!" In related news, Paul and Brian Cox were honored in the Political Awareness category of the Alliance for Community Media's 2008 Philo T. Farnsworth Awards competition for Beyond the Planet of the Apes (1976/2008, B&W, 22 min.), their scathing satirical indictment of George W. Bush, Abu Ghraib and the Iraq War. (Josh Avila did the sound for this film as well.) Blood of the Wolfman, Beyond the Planet of the Apes and six other films of Paul's (including prior award-winners Vader and Shock Theatre) are available, all together, on the $10 charity-DVD "No-Budget Theatre: The Best (?) of P.C. Productions," which so far has raised $700 for blood donation services. Go to "Ordering Info" on this site for more details and/or to order. From Paul McComas' film Blood of the Wolfman, which was screened May 1, 2009 at the Talking Pictures Festival in Evanston. From left to right: Real-life Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau (Rachel Taknint), Paul McComas as the Wolfman, and Priestess Evelyn Laveau (Joelle Taknint) at her voodoo altar. "The Daves" Celebrate Their Silver Punk-versary Paul's college punk band The Daves -- so-called because nobody in the group was or is named "Dave" -- played a 25-year reunion gig back at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, on June 21, 2008. During a 50-minute, 15-song concert, members (group photo, from left) "Paul Velcro" (bass, vocal), Ross Wydeven (a teenage "ringer" on guitar, from Madison, WI), Kim Hah (lead vocal) and "Tiny Dr. Tim" Buckingham (drums) played covers by Gang of Four, the Cramps, X, Nirvana, the Pretenders & Soft Cell, as well as Paul's "Dayna Clay" songs "Give Me Oblivion" and "Virtual Virtue," plus such Daves originals as "(You Killed My) Goldfish," "Sacrifice," "A Song (Cecilia)" and the thrash-classic "In the Hospital" (hence, Paul's scrubs in the accompanying photo). Present in spirit were Daves members Tommy "Feedback" Schroeder, "Amy L. Nitrate" (Amy Smith) and Robyn "Roulette" Hoyt. "Ka-RAR!"   photos: Lee Salawitch Paul Got Hitched! On Sept. 27, Paul married Heather Jo Swartz - a fellow fiction writer, Obama-backer, long-distance runner, prehistoric-mammal enthusiast, Wonder Woman fan and committed simiophile (that's someone who digs apes) - outdoors at sunset in the South Dakota Badlands, with a reception that evening in Wall, S.D. [click photos for larger versions - all photos by Sheldon I. Miller] Floyd Hand, Buffalo Chief for the Oglala Sioux, instructs Paul before the service. Hon. David Hahn, Mayor of Wall, S.D., "makes 'em legal" as Lila Valinoti and Leah Barnum witness. Heather's uncle Sandy White and Paul's mother Hazelyn assist Chief Hand with the star quilt ceremony. The happy couple! Further Persons Imperfect Story Does Perfectly Well in Competition "What You're Looking At," a gripping short story by Heather Swartz (Paul's fiancee) that appears in the Paul-edited 2007 anthology Further Persons Imperfect, recently won the Leo Love Merit Scholarship for best prose piece (encompassing both fiction and nonfiction) submitted in advance of this year's Taos Summer Writers' Conference. Heather will be attending the conference -- for free, thanks to the Love Scholarship -- in July and studying with the outstanding short story writer Pam Houston (Cowboys Are My Weakness). Says Heather, "I'm thrilled and honored; this recognition means a lot to me."   Collaboration with Bill Nolan on "Logan" Novel A Childhood Dream-Come-True William F. Nolan -- award-winning author of the best-selling novel Logan's Run, and author/editor of 80-odd other books (as well as a terrific Foreword to Planet of the Dates), is currently co-authoring the fourth Logan novel, Logan's Journey, with Paul -- who's been a hardcore "Loganite" since the age of 14! The first new book in the seminal dystopian-s.f. series since 1980's Logan's Search, Journey is currently planned for publication in 2010, to coincide with the projected release of Warner Bros.' big-budget cinematic remake of Logan's Run. The new book comprises three linked novellas: "The Mission," co-written by Bill and Paul; "The Challenge," written by Bill and revised/expanded by Paul; and "The Gun," written by Paul and revised by Bill. Said Paul in late July 2008: "'The Mission' is done, and 'The Challenge' is nearly done, so we're about 2/3 finished. It's going to be the longest Logan so far. . .and, honestly, one of the best; Bill and I co-write very smoothly and very well." Previously, Paul wrote the Foreword for Nolan's 2005 multi-genre short story collection, Ships in the Night [ISBN #1-59266-020-7], and Bill wrote a killer back-cover blurb for Unplugged.   Paul with Bill Nolan at the 2002 World HorrorCon in Chicago (photo by Radisson O'Hare desk clerk)   Unplugged Screenplay Garners National Prize The feature-length screenplay that Paul adapted from his 2002 "critics' darling" of a novel, Unplugged, recently took Third Prize (out of some 400 entries) in national competition through the New York City-based The Writer's Place. Says Paul, "This was some of the hardest writing I've ever done: getting a 92,000-word novel down to the length of a two-hour screenplay, without losing the heart and soul of the material. It took me six ever-shorter drafts; the first one was a freakin' mini-series! But it was worth it, and I'm hoping that Planet -- now that it's been optioned -- might open a door or two for an eventual movie version of Unplugged."   No Budget Needed To Win Movie Prizes! 2008 Update: Paul's collaboration with Brain Cox and Joshua Avila, the scathing anti-Bush, anti-Iraq-War, scifi/political satire Beyond the Planet of the Apes, took an award in the "Political Awareness" Division of the 2008 ACM Awards. Take that, Dubya! Paul's & Brian Cox's comedic cable-TV series "No-Budget Theatre" has just been awarded First Place in the "Best Original Teleplay" category by the Alliance for Community Media. Paul (& maybe Brian too) will go to Fort Wayne, IN, in November 2007 to accept the award.   Going Further! As of mid-October 2007, Further Persons Imperfect was, according to Amazon.com, its 15th-best-selling current anthology title! And on October 20th, Further Persons Imperfect received an Honorable Mention in national competition at the 2007 DIY Book Festival in Los Angeles!   Paul Wins (faux) Academy Award! Following a recent public screening of his 11-minute Star Wars sequel, Vader (which Paul made in 1977 at the age of 15), the "auteur" was presented with a cardboard Oscar for Best No-Budget Special Effects. After doing his best Adrien Brody impression, a visibly flummoxed Paul thanked his cast, his crew...and, oh yes, George Lucas. Not bad for a movie in which the "spaceships" were modified ping pong balls!   Ivana award......two, in fact! On October 8th, 2004 in Troy, Michigan, Shock Theatre - a short film adapted from the "Ivana Viktimm" subplot of Paul's novel Unplugged - received two first prizes from the Alliance for Community Media-Central States Region. The piece, an affectionate homage to low-budget UHF horror-movie shows, was written by Paul and co-produced with Brian Cox; it took top honors in both the Entertainment and Original Teleplay categories. This marked the second time in as many years that an Unplugged-derived video by Brian and Paul took two first prizes in ACM-CS competition.   Bill Nolan's Ships in the Night William F. Nolan - award-winning author of the best-selling novel Logan's Run, of 70-odd other books and of a most gracious blurb on the back of Unplugged - recently asked me to write the Introduction for his new, multi-genre short story collection. It was my great honor to accept! Ships in the Night is an engaging, eclectic story cycle - highly recommended. For more information or to order a copy [ISBN#1-59266-020-7], go to www.caprapress.com. "Characters defined through their actions; storylines that unfurl with alacrity and grace; expository description as concise as it is complete...This is an ambitious book, for in Ships in the Night Nolan tackles no less a topic than humanity itself." - Paul McComas, from his Foreword. Bookstore Events! Erin Walsh, Paul and Heather Mell (pictured at right) performed Dayna's songs at most of the bookstore events for Unplugged. At most Chicago-area performances for Unplugged, Heather Mell and Paul were joined by drummer David Rothenberg (as pictured at right). (photo by Laurie Starrett) Rockin' the Rockies Kyla Baruch and Michael Whiting join Paul at Fact & Fiction Books in Missoula, MT, Sept.12, 2003.   (photo by Elwyn Otter-Raven)   Another Interview with Paul Here's a link to an interview conducted by Charles Shaw (editor-in-chief of Newtopia Magazine) that appeared in 3am Magazine....   Paul & Jake During a December 2003 retreat to the Badlands (where he wrote Chapter 11 of Planet of the Dates), Paul visited Jake Sharp, owner of Badlands Ranch & Resort and partial inspiration for the character "Drake" in Unplugged. The closest you can come to riding horseback on Drake's land is to do so on Jake's -- and he has the horses to make it happen! For info, go to www.badlandsranchandresort.com.   (photo by Judy Sharp) RAINN-ing in D.C. At a November 2002 Washington, D.C. event presented in cooperation with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, (from left) RAINN Projects Coordinator Kerry Naughton and D.C. vocalist Nikole Yinger helped drummer Chris Kozlowski and Paul present a rousing bookstore performace (the tour's inflatable mascot was in attendance as well). (photo by Lee Salawitch) Symmetry At the 2003 Alliance for Community Media/Central States conference in Akron, OH, Paul and video producer Brian Cox accepted First Prizes in the Inspirational and Performing Arts categories for their short-form video "Symmetry," adapted from pp.132-133 of Unplugged. The video was also a Finalist for Original Teleplay. (photo by Christine Cox) Together again The cast and crew of Paul's 1994 movie Desert Slacks reunited for a 10th anniversary screening at CapriCon 2004 (an international science fiction and fantasy convention). From left: Neal Katz, Eric Diekhans, Pattie MacKenzie, Paul, Mark Mallchok and Bernadette Burke.