Henu Productions Blog

Round and Round

Just saw the trailer for the new film “2012”.  Apparently, the Mayan Calendar signals the end of the world as we know it.  Yeah, yeah, I’ve read the more sensible explanations as to what that December 21, 2012 date really signifies – how it’s all cyclical and the world’s not ending so much as it’s beginning again.  Blah, blah, blah.  Roland Emmerich can’t make a kick-ass disaster movie out of all that spiritual circle of life gobble-de-gook.  He needs the world. to. end. 

Oddly it reminded me of scene in the middle of “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”, another disaster flick that’s been bringing in big audiences.  As giant food falls from the sky a reporter notes that all the major capitals seem to be getting hit by the storm first before it spreads across the globe.  So in “2012” we see the White House and St. Paul’s Cathedral crushing and being crushed, and then random other places are engulfed by the destruction.  Thank goodness for the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben and the Great Wall of China.  No one wants to see a meteorite hit a cornfield in Nebraska.  And a lot of people are actually hoping for the destruction of the crappy little towns they left behind after high school.  So you gotta go for the big stuff.  If the government can’t save the Golden Gate Bridge then we all are surely doomed.

It’s all about symbols, old and new.   We give them power as surely as the gods themselves.  The Hollywood sign signifies a town, an industry, a dream, while the lost knowledge of an ancient civilization equals mysticism and magic.  Since humans first wandered the planet we have identified symbols and then gathered them around us to protect our friends and families and to wreak havoc on our enemies.    Once we gazed into a fire and imagined our futures.  Now we bask in the glow of a movie screen.  If we are to believe the movie industry’s interpretation of that ancient calendar, we’ll soon be gazing into campfires again.  We are as cyclical as the Mayans predicted...

Nobles of the Mystic Shrine*

We’ve been staying pretty close to home base these days.  We’re editing the SCi about why we need to believe in “the other”, working on the website, organizing the November conference and generally messing about in boats, so to speak.  But of course, the elephant in the room is Dan Brown’s Lost Symbol coming out in September.  The glare of a very large spotlight will soon hit us squarely in the face as people await Simon’s next best-selling companion book.  The publishers expect Simon’s manuscript on their desk two weeks after Brown’s book is released.  Simon won’t be getting a sneak peek or advance copy.  He will simply read Brown’s book on September 15 and then work non-stop to create the unauthorized, authoritative guide in 14 short days.  They want Decoding the Lost Symbol on the shelves by November 1.  Oh my.  Can old school publishing somehow meet the new media demands of instant mass distribution?   

Simon is back in the UK right now.  Sort of “in training” for the writing process.  He’s been reading every book he can get his hands on that might relate to the many hints Brown’s publisher has been releasing regarding the mysterious subject matter.  Freemasonry, the Founding Fathers, symbols and maps, clues and imagery – all centered in Washington, DC, the most symbol-filled city in the US.  Simon reads and summarizes and cross-references and fills book margins with his own illegible “symbols” that will help him quickly create Decoding.  

Of course, I’m trying to be supportive but I’m following my usual pattern of getting completely ahead of myself.  I’m totally distracted by what I’m pretty sure is going to be a super fun production for Unlocking the Lost Symbol’s DVD.

See, I love Washington, DC.  I get all caught up in the history and the beauty and the, well, symbolism of the place.  I was a snare drummer in my high school and college marching bands, so I know all those John Philip Sousa marches* backwards and forwards – the minute I step onto the National Mall, the piccolo part from "Stars and Stripes Forever" starts whistling through my head, and I can’t stop smiling.

I joined Henu Productions because it provided the opportunity to learn about subjects and visit places that I find deliciously evocative and enticing.  Cairo and Kabul. Tiahuanaco and Taklamakan.  Wewelsburg and Washington.  Atlantis and Area 51.  Oh, right, Area 51.  Back to the editing room for SCi’s “Little Green Men and Other Strange Beliefs.”  But soon, we’ll cross the Potomac…

Your pal,

     MjM

It's in the Cards

She looked so normal.  I mean, no crystal ball or turban or creepy, unidentifiable accent.  Just, well, normal.  But she was about to read the tarot cards for our beloved leader, Simon Cox, do a little light palmistry, and then identify his inner animal spirit guides.  Fantastic!

Our trusty director of photography, Joel, was doing his best to get some good shots in Krista’s comfy, but small alcove off the Bodhi Tree Bookstore in Los Angeles.  I was helping.  (Really, I was.  I had a clipboard and everything.)  As Simon continues his investigation into why we believe, we were there to find out more about people who look to psychics and card reading for guidance. 

And then, with no fanfare whatsoever, she began dealing the cards and talking.  It was fascinating to watch because she wasn’t making a big deal of anything or asking Simon any leading questions.  She was just kind of calling it as she saw it.  No big revelations, but certainly some valid insights into Simon’s personality. 

The palmistry was fun because it was determined that Simon’s lifeline runs right off his hand.  Yes, you read it here first.  Simon Cox is immortal.  But the best part was the whole animal spirit guide thing.  If you are a fan of this set of cards, I apologize in advance for my rudimentary understanding of how it is supposed to work.  What I did understand is that the dog, wolf, badger, and wild boar all represent aspects of Simon’s personality at different times in his life.  And as Krista expounded on the traits that go along with those animals, it seemed to me to be remarkably accurate description of Simon.

As we were leaving she mentioned that one of the cards dealt had to do with building and was often associated with Freemasonry.  We all had to smile since Simon’s next book will be the companion book for Dan Brown’s “Lost Symbol,” which many people believe will explore the secret society of Freemasonry.

Just a coincidence, right?

Your pal,
     MjM

Red Lights, White Mailboxes, and Little Green Men

So a few weeks ago we were on the road to Area 51.  Five people, camera gear, luggage, and a substantial bag o’ snacks crammed into a Cadillac Escalade with flames painted on each side.  We rocketed north out Los Angeles towards the far side of Vegas – a seemingly endless swath of dust, cacti, and occasional bomb craters officially known as the Nellis Air Force Base Test and Training Ranges.

We’ve all known each other for a while – years even – but this was our first road trip together.  I was in the backseat, in the middle.  The spot I fondly remember from my youth as the “hump seat” due to the lump in the floorboard caused by the driveshaft running underneath the family car.  Modern technology has smoothed out the floors of today’s vehicles, so that wasn’t an issue.  But the feeling that my siblings were going to start flicking me in the back of the head at any minute never quite went away.

With nothing of particular interest speeding past our windows, we were a captive audience for Ace and Simon, who declared themselves the trip DJs and began to “educate” the rest of us. Two bigger music fans I have never met.  Their depth of knowledge and range of musical taste was astounding and a little bit frightening.  Both have been band tour managers so there wasn’t just running commentary about the music, there was info on the band members, producers, record labels, groupies, and all sorts of random minutia. 

Soon, mercifully, they were so busy entertaining each other that they forgot about those of us in the backseat.  Joel (DP), Jen (Exec Prod), and I chatted about nothing in particular, although there was a delightful interlude during  which we described our favorite Dairy Queen treats.  Good times.

We were off to shoot our first series for Simon Cox Investigates – “Little Green Men and Other Strange Beliefs.”  Along the way we shopped at the Alien Beef Jerky store in Baker, traveled the Extra Terrestrial Highway,  marveled at the giant metal man in front of the Alien Research Center, chatted with the locals at the Little A’Le’Inn, and watched the night skies near the legendary Black Mailbox (now painted white).  It seemed like the little red lights on our cameras were always lit and it was great. 

Our journey to the gates of the Nellis AFB Ranges containing Area 51 (aka “Dreamland,” “Paradise Ranch,” and “the Box”) was one of the highlights of the trip.  In movies people are always breaking into top secret places or smuggling out top secret documents, but when you come up against a real place with real warning signs and real guys with real guns, well, your perspective changes a bit.  The military has every intention of keeping the secrets within those gates, including whatever monkey business that may have occurred in Area 51.   The “camo dudes” (armed guards in camouflage gear) positioned on surrounding hills spend their hot, dusty days watching the roads for potential threats – and for idiots who think it would be fun to step over the line just to see what happens.  Putting a boot on the neck of such a prankster would totally make their day.  So, when an unmarked truck suddenly came down the road towards us while we were filming, we immediately decided that, hey, maybe we have enough footage of this area, you know?  Maybe it was time to head back to town.  Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.  And the flame-painted Escalade made a neat little U-turn and we skedaddled.

Before we said our farewells to Rachel, Nevada, and the surrounding area, we interviewed the owner of the Little A’le’Inn (“aliens are among us; they take over our bodies…”), a woman behind the counter at a local gas station (“those lights are just Air Force maneuvers…”), and other folks with varying opinions about what they believe, what others believe, and why it all seems to matter so much.  FYI, no one at the Dairy Queen in Baker seemed to have a strong opinion about the subject, but the Blizzards and the Dip Cones were most excellent.

Can’t wait to show you the footage.  (teaser!!)  I’ll let you know when it’s gonna hit the website.

Your pal,
    MjM

The Other Side of Show Biz

First of all, in the interest of full disclosure, I want to say that this really is a fun job.  Any whining that may crop up in this or future posts is simply that – self-indulgent whining.  I have been toiling away in the show business trenches longer than I’d like known here on the interwebs, and I am here to tell you that I have had really bad jobs.  The reason Jeremy Piven’s over-the-top character is so affecting on “Entourage” is because he’s based on a real over-the-top agent.  The crazies, the screamers, the debauched, and the recently-placed-on-probation really do exist here in Hollywood, and they all have downtrodden assistants with therapists on speed dial or impossibly high bar tabs (or both).  If one of the afore-mentioned nutjobs gets a show on the air, they then have entire crews working horrible hours trying to capture their OxyContin-laced Bloody Mary-induced fever dreams on tape.  (Oh my, the bitterness is showing and apparently it requires a lot of hyphens.  I’ll stop now.)

But new media, good friends, and a generous serving of luck have landed me in the lap of Henu Productions and the amazing (if slightly, um, skewed) vision of Simon Cox.  It is a refreshing, exhilarating, and creative wonderland of possibility that looks very shiny even from my jaded perspective.  What I found most attractive and intriguing was the idea of a website that made use of all the creative arts to explore ideas.  We’re currently working on our first show under the “Simon Cox Investigates” banner.  The topic is belief and why we need “the other”.  A bit esoteric, you might say, but we enter the discussion in an unusual way – the 1947 “UFO incident” at Roswell, New Mexico.  Atypical storytelling; typical Simon Cox.

The thing that sets us apart, IMHO, is that www.intotheduat.com is more than a series of videos, or just one person’s point of view.  We’ve invited other authors and researchers to weigh in on topics that embrace the search for “the other” on every level.  Other approaches to mainstream science, other perspectives on conventional wisdom, other ways of interpreting what we “know”.  We’ll be publishing articles and books (electronic and hard copies) and showcasing musicians known and new who offer to interpret our themes musically.  There will be conferences, forums, and tours that allow our audience to gather and explore ideas together.  Most importantly, there will be t-shirts.  After all, no legitimate business venture can hope to succeed without a decent t-shirt.  And a Facebook page. 

As you may have read on other blogs here, we have been traveling around the southwestern US shooting the “Little Green Men and Other Strange Beliefs” series.   I’ll add my two cents worth about that in my next posting (teaser!!).  And my social media pals have helped me channel my need to hear to myself talk onto Twitter (@MjBubbles).  Meanwhile, take a look around the site.  It’s kinda cool.  And fun.  Did I mention this is fun?

Your pal,

MjM