Meet The Cast Of Hold My Beer: Ian Engelsman

This week, I'd like you to meet another cast member of Hold My Beer: Ian Engelsman!

Ian is playing Jess, a friend of Val (the lead character). Jess introduces Val to beer on Val's twenty-first birthday by taking him to Loowit Brewing in scenic downtown Vancouver, WA. Jess is the kind of friend you want to have in that he's - as described in the film - "brutally honest." He's not afraid to tell it like it is, but you know that he cares and always has your best interests at heart. Oh, and he also refers to himself in the third person (for reasons not made clear in the film, but will be explored more if - I mean, when - Hold My Beer becomes an ongoing series).

Fun fact: I actually met Ian way back in February 2013, an experience that I documented in this blog post. He was already a very talented drummer - check out this YouTube video where he played with us at the relaunch party for Joel Suzuki, Volume One - and continues to be an accomplished musician to this day. One of his current bands, Atomic Terror, even has a song on Hold My Beer's soundtrack!

Here's his bio:

Ian is a musician and part-time actor based in the Vancouver/Portland area. He is currently the drummer for the thrash metal band Atomic Terror and has played guitar and drums for other acts and groups such as Saint John the Baptist Church, Al Perez, Matthieu Raney, and Metropolitan Performing Arts. His previous acting experience includes roles with American Immersion Theatre, Murder Mystery Company, and Cinema of Horrors from Treadway Events.

Thanks for being part of our cast, Ian!

Much more to come...

Meet The Cast Of Hold My Beer: Rich Ray

Last week, you met the lead actor of Hold My Beer, Andrew York. This week, I'd like to introduce you to Rich Ray!

Rich is playing Doug, the father of Andrew's character, Val. Doug is divorced from Val's mom and he and Val have been estranged for several years. During the events of the film, the two of them reconnect because of Doug's homebrewing experience, but will that be enough to fully mend their relationship? You'll have to wait and see when the film comes out early next year!

Fun fact: Rich and I used to play together in a couple of bands years ago, which is how I first met him. He also sang the national anthem at an Autism Empowerment egg hunt back when we used to do such things.

Here's his bio:

Rich Ray has lived in Portland, OR for 24 years. During that time, he has been steadily active as a performer, having played a lead in a local production of HAIR as well as a leading role in Hold My Beer, along with being a vocalist in several rock tribute bands. By day Rich is an Early Intervention Specialist, serving as a teacher and parent coach for young children with special needs and developmental delays.

Thanks for being a part of our cast, Rich!

Much more to come...

Meet The Cast Of Hold My Beer: Andrew York

In the weeks leading up to the premiere of Hold My Beer, I'm going to be spotlighting members of our awesome cast and crew. This week, I'd like to introduce our lead actor, Andrew York!

Andrew is playing Val, the main character of the story who discovers an interest in craft beer and decides that his life's goal is to open his own brewpub. Andrew has some big-time prior acting experience (see his bio below) and came to my attention via his mom, Karen (who is also part of our crew and will be featured in a future post) and her connection to Autism Empowerment.

Although! Our paths actually crossed years ago, back in 2016, when I did an author visit to Shahala Middle School and Andrew, who was a student there at the time, was in attendance (a visit that is chronicled in this blog post)! Funny how life works.

Here's Andrew's bio:

Andrew is a 21-year-old from Vancouver, Washington with a passion for acting. He began his acting career at a young age and has since worked on such television shows as Portlandia and The Librarians. A recent college graduate in English and Psychology, Andrew hopes to soon attain his master's degree and become a high school English teacher. His hobbies include fencing, reading classic literature, Dungeons and Dragons, Street Fighter, and competitive board games.

And here's his IMDB page.

I and the other producers of Hold My Beer are so happy and grateful to have such a talented and experienced actor as the star of our film. We're sure you're going to love his performance!

Echoes Of Wisdom! Today!

Today! This game is out today!

The Legend of Zelda! Echoes of Wisdom! Is out today!

Did I mention that this game is out today?

Because it is! Out! Today!

Can't blog...must go pick up pre-ordered copy...today...

Today!

Final Footage

Although principal photography for Hold My Beer wrapped two months ago, we still had a little bit of camera work left to do. You may recall reading in this blog post from last month the details of when we shot some B-Roll footage in and around downtown Vancouver. One thing we had on our shot list for that day was a bird's-eye-view of the city skyline, featuring Smith Tower, the convention center, and the its-days-are-numbered (probably) I-5 bridge. Unfortunately, we couldn't access any of the taller buildings, because they were mostly all closed on Sunday.

One place that we really wanted to get into was the historic Arts Building on Main Street, which was once, about a century ago, the largest building in Clark County (Washington, not Nevada or Ohio). It was in a good position to get the shot we wanted, and there appeared to be what looked like a nice rooftop area from where to shoot. It too, however, was closed. But after a few weeks of having to do other things, we found ourselves with a day where the stars aligned: it was a weekday so the building would be open, we had a free hour, and it was nice and sunny (to match the scene, shot in June, that this footage would serve as an establishing shot for). And, as luck would have it, the stars further aligned when the property manager graciously allowed us access to what we thought was the roof but was actually a deck area adjoining her office (Her: "I can't let you on the roof, but you can use this spot." Us: "Oh, um...great!")

So we got the footage we wanted. Yatta (yay!) And that, combined with a very brief pickup shot we did a day earlier (we'll let you guess which one it is when the film comes out - we're hoping no one can tell), puts a definite bow on filming. Now, back to the edit bay!

Anime Roundup

That's right, it's time for another Anime Roundup! Let's see, the last one was in...October of last year?? How can that be? I mean, I feel like I've been watching just as much anime as I always do, although I guess based on the fact that I only have four of them to talk about this time around, maybe not. After all, I have been a little busy with a film project you might've heard of...

Tonikaku (anyway), here we go!

Delicious in Dungeon

A D&D-style party of adventurers go into a dungeon and fight monsters and then...eat them? Yup, you heard that right. A lot of the episodes end with them going through the steps of preparing and cooking the various creatures they just vanquished, with recipes that seem like they could actually work in real life. In fact, I think my bass player/director of photography even tried one out, using chicken or beef instead of harpy or basilisk meat. Oh yeah, there's also a plot involving a rescue mission - the party isn't simply on a dinner run (even though that part alone is fun to watch).

The Quintessential Quintuplets

Another entry in the "multiple girls inexplicably fall for the same boring dude" sub-genre of anime, in this one the girls are quintuplets, and the guy is their classmate who is initially hired to tutor them but then ends up becoming their object of affection despite his apparent lack of interest. Maybe it's that lack that makes him attractive to them? Who knows. Anyway, it's a light-hearted, fun rom-com that eventually had me asking my TV "who will Futaro choose??" (if you watch this show - there's two seasons plus a full-length movie - mild spoiler: the answer may shock you. Or not.)

Rising Impact

Like Naruto, but with golf! Seriously. The main protagonist is a short blond boy who has a seemingly unrealistic goal (Naruto: to become the leader of his village, Gawain, from this show: to be the world's best golfer), there's a brooding friend/rival (Naruto: Sasuke, this show: Lancelot), people have individual specialty powers (Naruto: various jutsus, this show: various unbelievable golf shots), and the hero, as he progresses in his journey, encounters other groups of people who are like him but their strengths escalate along the way (Naruto: other villages, this show: the other golf schools). As a big fan of both Naruto and golf, I approve this message.

The Rising of the Shield Hero

Netflix: You're gonna love this one.

Me: I dunno...it looks like a standard paint-by-numbers isekai portal fantasy where some average dude gets transported to a D&D-type world and then fights monsters and saves the day.

Netflix: Trust us.

Me: It doesn't seem like anything special. Plus, I already have a show with the word "Rising" in the title lined up for the next Anime Roundup. Why don't I check out Terminator Zero instead?

Netflix: Sure, but believe us, you'll want to come back to this.

Me: (sighs) Fine.

* watches show *

Me: Whoa...I can't stop watching this! But, I mean, why? It's basically what I thought it would be. And yet, it's so compelling. Is it because of the protagonist's chilly, anti-hero personality that he develops only after being wrongfully accused? The underdog nature of him being the only hero without an offensive weapon? (By the way, Captain America might have something to say about shields being non-offensive weapons.) Could it be the catchy and awesome theme song that I'd heard before in anime song mixes? No idea, but - you were right, Netflix. I'm not sure how you do it. It's pretty scary, actually.

Netflix: You're welcome.

Hold My Beer Poster

Hold My Beer now has an official poster!

Big thanks to graphic designer extraordinaire Dave Born (whose other projects have included the Beer & Ramen EP cover and Spectrum Life Magazine) for doing an awesome job!

Fun fact that I learned during this process: the standard size for movie posters is 27"x40". Apparently, this has been the official size since around 1990 (it was 27"x41" before that) and is so because it's large enough to draw attention without being overly expensive. Or something like that. Either way, it bugs my OCD-brain because it's not evenly divisible by any common factor (is that the right way to word it? I haven't done real math in years) besides one.