As promised, here is the next blog installment:

Blog 14 - Better Know a Gackt

     Here, the twins (Rory and Tim) interview and talk about Maggie, who plays the roll of Poly Gackt in Resident Horror. Enjoy and sorry about the music!

     Hey, before I go... if you could be any video game character, who would it be and why?

-Ben Lathan
X-strike Brain-Ager

     Yeah so we're all playing Smash Brawl right now and if you're not you're probably just waiting for your next turn. So here's something you can do while you wait to get back in:

Blog 13 - Ready to Die

     Another delightful Resident Horror cast interview blog to keep you busy between rounds.

     Check back in a week for the next one, I swear...

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Smasher Brawler and Brother

     Exactly ONE month after our last update we have a new update with a new blog!

Blog 12 - A Visit with Clyde

     This will kick off a series of behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast of Resident Horror starting with River City Rumble co-star David Autovino! There will be more interviews in the weeks to come so keep checking back. If there isn't another one up by next weekend start a riot on the forums.

     Also consider this your first, but far from only, warning. In just under two months, X-strike Studios will be turning 5 as a company. It's still way too early to tell you exactly what will be going on, but rest assured, you'll want to be checking the site early and often when that date starts getting near.

     Until next time

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Devil Bringer

     This is a super quick update!

     Remember when we did video blogs for Resident Horror? Well, we're still doing them!

Blog 11 - Rough Cut Madness

     This latest blog depicts the editing process for the rough cut of the movie that showed at MAGFest. Watch, enjoy, post, buy me dinner, pre-order the movie, and eagrly await more news about Resident Horror!

     Hugs n kisses!

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike hugger and kisser

     Why does MAGFest always have to end?!

     It's time to reflect on this past weekend's adventure: MAGFest. The Music and Gaming Festival ran from January 3rd to the 7th and was a non-stop orgy of friends, music, merchandise, butt-secks from JoeCam, and of course, video games.

     For those that were not in attendance at this "epicwin" convention (as the kids refer to it), missed out on the following X-Strike events: a horror discussion panel, a behind the scenes look at some of our failed projects featuring video from Ninja Story Time, Sidequest, and Untitled Project #Suck, and the world premiere rough cut of Resident Horror. I will pause for a moment while you stop cursing yourself out for not being there. For those of you that were at MAGFest, you can click here to continue.




     Here are some of the other awesome things that occured this weekend:
-Eric "DJ Potatoe" Ruth and his self made top down shooter Return of the Space Cowboy from Flavor Grenade Studios
-Fizz Man Industries with more of his amazing sculptures including a Mario themed chess set!
-Brian from Game Refuge Studios and their game Artic Stud Poker
-Ed Glaser from Dark Maze Studios featuring their latest movie Press Start
-Maximo and his must-have artwork
-Main Moon Productions showcasing Captain Atari
-Robert V. Aldrich featuring his continuing series of anime-novels and (my personal favorite) his panel entitled: "Robert V. Aldrich on: Stuff"
-Virtual Fools with several thought provoking panels and all around just being downright awesome!
-PBC Productions bringing thier new 2 disc DVD of the entire first season of Captain S, the original soundtrack to match, and pre-orders for thier new "Evil Shirt," all found at thier online store
-And of course the bands: Advantage, Armcannon, Powerglove, Select Start, Smash Brothers, Shawn Phase / Temp Sound Solutions, and This Place Is Haunted! Unfortunatly, Wave Theory could not make it to MAGFest due to the new laws requiring a passport to travel between the Planet Skill and America.

     So now that you have a giant shopping list of things to buy, let me add just one more thing to it: Resident Horror Pre-Order! As usual, we thrive on pre-order sales to help us get the movies pressed on DVDs, so please do your part as an X-Striketeer and pre-order TODAY!

     Stay tuned to the site for more updates about the relase of Resident Horror, you might just find we've got a few more tricks up our sleeves!

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike Co-Writer of Off Campus

     Hey there ho there

     We have returned from our most recent foray into the Virginia Anime convention circuit and once again we had a great time. Thanks to everyone who came out to support us at all of our events. However it is most unfortunate that not everyone in the universe could be there for the big debut of the new Resident Horror trailer. I suppose I should let you all in on the fun.

Resident Horror Trailer

     Real footage from the movie an almost completely forgets to advertise the fact that its a comedy. Rest assured that it still is and be sure to post your thoughts on the boards. Seriously.

     Alright well in the meantime I will get back to playing Mass Effect and getting Resident Horror ready to show at MAGFest VI - just over a month away!

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Krogan Battlemaster

     Checking in for our last update before the Anime USA convention this weekend. I know we'll see you there enjoying our panels and wares and new Resident Horror material.

     But for now I have a new blog to slip into your schedule before everyone starts playing Super Mario Galaxy and Assassin's Creed non-stop. Blog 10 - Return to Sodus

     This blog takes place back in mid-October and it was more of the same: long, tiring and productive. Production is almost over with. Things are looking up for my free time...if we didn't have to edit the movie that is. *sigh*

     COME TO ANIME USA!!!

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike 30 Life Code.

     Happy pending Halloween everyone! I must apologize for the relatively slow pace of the updates lately. I wish I had a good excuse but I've really just been playing games a lot when I should be editing video blog. Like you've never procrastinated things because of the fall release schedule. Anyway, in this week's blog we finally move forward from the Labor Day shoot and on into new territory. Unfortunately, at the time we were filming this shoot I didn't have enough space on my HDD camera to record all that much so sadly you don't get to see too much of the actual shooting itself. To make up for it and just in time for Halloween this blog also details some odd occurances that have befallen a one Rory O'Boyle in the past few weeks. Turn off the lights and pull the covers over your head because there is a blog sneaking up right behind you!

Blog 9 - Ghost Stories

     Oh the horror! Now a lot of you have been watching the blogs and clamoring for a new trailer and we're just about ready to give it to you. Where and when you ask? Well the answer is already right in front of you. Look a few inches to the left. Maybe a little up or down. See that? In a few weeks X-strike is finally getting out of Buffalo for Anime USA in Arlington, Virginia. We'll have the usual good stuff - panels, a table and movie screenings. But here's the trick, to get everyone ready for Resident Horror we're pulling Silent Horror back off the shelf and including the debut of an all new Resident Horror trailer as well as a preview scene after the movie! Can you afford to miss that? I highly doubt it so take off from work, book your room and save some bling cuz X-strike is coming to town!

     See you next week...or maybe two...sometime before AUSA

-Tim Ekkebus
Unlockable after watching Off Campus 2 on Hard Mode

Hey folks

     After a bit of a delay the third and final part of the electrifying Labor Day blog story arch. For this blog we decided to just have a bit of fun and show you what basically amounts to an outtake reel.

Blog 8 - Labor Day Outtakes

     I hope you all enjoy it. We have been quite the busy bees lately and now have 80% of the movie shot. This is awesome and very exciting for us to already be so far. There's still a lot of work to do to finish everything up but the end is definitely in sight. I'll be back next week with our first blog in the post Labor Day shoot era.

     Until then

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Aperture Science Enrichment Center Test Subject

HA!

     Were you tantalized by the cliffhanger ending of last weeks unforgettable blog of problems? Well wait no longer because the stunning sequel is here!

Blog 7 - Camera Bag Full of Bees (Hornets)

     Good to go. Another long one about our epic Labor Day shoot weekend. It was another long day, somewhat reminiscent of our first shoot at an UNDISCLOSED LOCATION. But long days mean lots done and that works for us. We have another shoot coming up this weekend and next week you will be graced with the EPIC conclusion to the Labor Day shoot saga.

     Until then

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike ekirts-X

     I know its been a while since my last update but we have indeed been spending the time wisely gearing up for and subsequently recovering from an epic 3 day shoot this past Labor Day weekend. The X-strike core crew as well as a good 20-30 more assorted extras, actors and crew people descended upon Beechwood State Park in Sodus, NY to film the crap out of Resident Horror. It was a lot of work, a lot of fun and we got a lot done. However it was far from an easy road to get there:

Blog 6 - Filming? Objection!

     This blog details some of the major problems we faced in trying to organize this shoot and come out successfully.

     Also I'm happy to unveil the long awaited, and highly anticipated image gallery for Resident Horror. This image gallery comes courtesy of Amy "Sheva" Bullach of the X-strike message boards who came up with a crew of Virginians to help out with the shoot. So be sure to sign on the boards and give her a good, firm thanking.

     Next week I'll be back with another delicious blog detailing how the filming went so be sure to check back.

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Splicer

     I've decided to take some time away from my busy schedule of playing Persona 3, admiring my new X-strike colored DS and anxiously anticipating Bioshock to bring you another Resident Horror blog update:

Blog 5 - Awful Zombies

     Kind of a shorty this week but it was also a pretty small bit of movie that we filmed.

     Download, view and enjoy!

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Somethingorother

     I am once again exhausted. One week after the epic first shoot of Resident Horror, I am wiped out from another long but successful day behind the camera. It was good times but you can hear and see more about that next week. Right now I'm sure you're anxious to get a peek inside what we did last weekend. Service:

Resident Horror Blog 4 - Long Day, Good Day

     It was a loooong day but it was also a good day. Moreover this was a BIG day for Rory and I, to finally be putting on camera what we'd been brewing in our minds for over 2 years. Please be sure to let us know what you think on the boards. I had hoped to have a stack of stills from the set to present you with but alas I have yet to get the complete collection of the shots taken last weekend, so it will have to wait a bit longer

     Also on the subject of last weekend, we were pleased to have with us X-strike Alumni Brett Vanderbrook and Chad Williams of PBC Productions. They were on hand to lend a hand to filming, make cameos in the movie and make a TOTALLY SWEET MINIDOC on the weekends events. If you haven't checked it out already, go check it out. FACE:

Greater Gaming Culture - Resident Horror Day 1

     That's two sweet videos in one week. Totally sweet!

Be sure to check back next week when I will surely have news and a blog of the weekend's events to share with you.

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Birthday Boy of the Week

[The original post was sent to me last Wednesday, however, due to Internet problems and a busy schedule, the site was not updated on time. I've left the message the same way Tim wrote it, so imagine that it is last week when you read this. I'm sorry for the delay.
-Ben]

     Hello again folks. As I promised on Saturday, here is another tasty update with another tasty video blog to enjoy

Resident Horror Blog 3 - Creating a Monster

Tomorrow myself, Rory and the bulk of the X-strike crew will be taking off to an undisclosed location to begin principal photography for Resident Horror. By the time we get back on Sunday a fifth of the movie will have been shot, a lot of good times have been had and Rory will officially be 26. Everyone is bursting at the seams with excitement to get started on this project and if you guys are half as excited to see it, we'll all be ok.

Be sure to check back next week when I will surely have news and a blog of the weekend's events to share with you.

Tally~ho!

-Tim Ekkebus
is eating Cheerios

     Hello again all. I'm pleased to be invading this page once again with another spectacular Resident Horror update

Blog 2 - Location Scouting

     Second video blog is ready to go. Its actually stuff we did a couple months ago but hopefully everyone will find it interesting and entertaing just the same. Be sure to let us know what you think about these blogs by visiting the forums.

     That's all the news I have for now. Fortunately our camera is FINALLY back from repair so we can really get rolling on some projects that have been on hold lately. Next weekend we have a big Resident Horror shoot but I'm still hoping to have another blog up before we go so check back on Thursday.

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Targetmaster

     Who's ready for some fun?

     I know I am. In the tragic wake of the untimely demise of Sidequest, we have regrouped and are ready to take the video game movie world by storm. Rory and I have been hard at work ramping up preproduction for Resident Horror, the long awaited sequel to Silent Horror, due to start filming at the beginning of August. Fortunately, you don't have to wait that long to get in on the action as we are please to officially open the Resident Horror info page and launch an all new series of online video blogs detailing the production.

Blog 1 - Resident Origins

     It is now available for download and general viewing. Be sure to check back regularly for blog updates as I'm hoping to have a new one every week. I know the webpage is a bit sparse right now but we'll have more information to reveal as we go along.

     So sit back, relax and start getting pumped for the best X-strike production yet.

     I'm excited. Are you?

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Retailer Incentive Member #2

     I'll get right to the point on this one. We've put up a new Sidequest blog, and although it takes the surprise out of it, this is the last Sidequest blog. Sidequest has been murdered. Or manslaughtered depending on your interpretation. This wasn't an easy decision, and wasn't without a fight. There are a lot of reasons why the project ultimately went under, all of which will be discussed in our new documentary detailing the three year struggle to piece together what was ultimately an overambitious movie.

     As the blog says, we could have finished the movie, but only in a half-ass sense that wasn't intended and isn't what you deserve. We tried to keep a somber tone to the blog, but as you can see we're not really good at that. Some things were made light of, but I do really want to thank the actors whom got jerked around at times and put a lot of time and sacrifices into the movie.

     The documentary will be a showcase of everything we have from the movie (especially Steve's prop and costume work, most of which never made it into a shoot), and will be a good look into what we do here at X-Strike in general.

     But, we're very sorry, and can't express how much we appreciate everyone who has followed the project in any sense. Thank you.

     ...fuck, this is depressing. On a better note, we had a great time at AMA this year, and appreciate everyone that joined in our panels about women in videogames (alternately titled "gams and games" or "chicks with sticks") and videogames in society, as well as the viewings of Snake, Nth Mile, and the test audience that gave us some helpful feedback on our other upcoming project.

     Also, Resident Horror is in full pre-production swing, and looks to start filming in late July/early August.

     That will conclude our sexy rendez-vous for now. Thanks again, and expect some exciting new things on the horizon. Sexy things. Horizon things.

Sadly yet boldly moving from fantasy to documentary
-Juese

     Happy April Fools Day! I believe this may be the first year that we are posting the truth on this date. A rare occasion indeed, but one to remember since...
P. Rappa's Nth Mile Dilemma - A Ghetto-Tastic Rap-Venture is officially FOR SALE!

That's right everyone, no longer do you have to wonder how to get girls to notice you, what it's like to be a gang-bangin' thug, or how to bake! This DVD has it all, not to mention the heaps and heaps of bonus content! Cost is $10 plus $5 for shipping and handling (Tax for NYS residents). If you haven't pre-ordered it, buy it today!

     To everyone that has pre-ordered the movie, THANK YOU. We say it every time, but you are the ones that help us get these movies printed and out to the world. And keeping the tradition we started with Project: Snake, we have included a little somethin somethin for your help. I can't tell you what it is, since it would spoil the surprise, but it's something that has meant a lot to us and has brought us so much joy in life and so many nightmares in our sleep. We expect to mail out pre-orders Monday and Tuesday, so be ready for it!

     In the world of Sidequest, we are working like crazy to level up and get this movie finished. We're only a few hours in (in the grand scheme of things) but everything is going well! We also have two new video blogs for you (two / three) and another one on its way! The new site for Sidequest is under construction, but be sure, when it's done, it'll be full of new content, info, and art work; enough to satiate even the most rabid of fan boys and girls.

     In other unrelated-to-movies news, this past Saturday we premiered ourselves as the improvisational comedy troupe 20 Minutes of Talent. SUNY Fredonia's Improv Society held their annual Improv-a-thon and graciously invited us to partake in the fun. We had a great time and put on a great show (according to the crowd). Hopefully, we'll get a chance to do this again in the near future and you can come watch!

     Alright, I've got a pre-order party to get to and you have to go running around your residence screaming with excitement that P. Rappa is here.



-Ben
Eating my way to victory!

     A firm hello, cadets. We've made it four years as of Friday the 20th (the three things people remember about April 20th: Hitler's birthday, Columbine, and X-Strike), and we'd like to give a big thanks to all the fans that helped us make it this long. Ideally, that's you!

     We've put up a fourth Sidequest video blog, detailing more of our party and their exploits. Plenty of sneaks into the movie on this one, cautiously pealed like layers of a parody onion and applied like Thundercats stickers into a matching Thundercats brand sticker book. Just like that.

     And I can't not write this without adding a plea for everyone reading this to go out and see Hot Fuzz. It's in limited release, and the better it does the better chance of getting more of this team's work and similar work stateside. And it's really REALLY good.

-Juese
Yarp

     Ides of hello, X-Strike brothers and sisters. I'm Shanghai-ing the main page again to talk about Sidequest.

     You might have read on the boards that Sidequest was going through some, lets say, processes. Well, I could explain here, or I could point you towards our first VIDEO BLOG. We're doing director video blogs every week of filming. Now, this is a sneak peek, since we're working on an awesome Sidequest site and a fancy title graphic for the segments, but, the work is done on #1, and you guys aren't just here for the pretty graphics (I think that's obvious by what site you're on). So enjoy and let us know what you'd like to see on future installments.

     We will be on the third weekend of filming by the time you read this, and the second video blog should be ready next week sometime. More updates to follow.

     I, as always, encourage everyone to check out our Myspace page as well, since that's the place people like to hang out and do...whatever. It's the hub of pictures that don't have a place on the regular site and it has a nifty background using characters drawn by our artists Hex Penetrate and Maximo.

     Oh, and I thought you'd be interested to know that P.Rappa has been officially put into the hands of the middle America printing company we so often use, which means it should be back to us in three weeks to ship! Please buy it!*



-Man of Action Juese
*as close to a sales pitch as I come

     Happy Super Bowl everyone! Yeah I didn't care either but I DO care about getting my X-striketeers updated on our latest goings on.

     First off, myself, Rory, and Juese spent the last two weeks packing, moving, and unpacking our way into a new, much nicer apartment which is great for us, but to all of you who would be sending in-store orders through the mail, be aware of my new address:

X-strike Studios
66 Vernon Place
Buffalo, NY 14214

New street. Almost the same zip code. Just everyone be sure to take note of this. Also apologies to anyone ordered recently. Due to said move, I've been a bit behind on getting the movies out but rest assured that your DVDs are on the way.

     In Nth Mile news things are looking great. All of the resources are in our hands and the DVD is looking to be in your hands before the end of the month short, of a meteorite hitting Ben or his house. It's looking great and big ups to everyone who has already preordered the movie. We say it everytime but it's those preorders that go a long way to making our financial lives A LOT easier.

     In some less than exciting news, X-strike will be missing its first Katsucon, since the company's inception, due to a variety of reasons. Nothing big, just things didn't work out for once. It was bound to happen. Now we look ahead to finalizing our plans for Anime Mid-Atlantic in June and Otakon this summer. Both are great events that noone should miss so keep checking back for updates.

     Everyone should be happy to know that after a bit of a slow 2006 on the production front, we have been spending a ton of time, lately, behind and in front of the camera. There's great stuff on the way that we're really excited to show you guys. Just you wait and see.

     That's all for now. Insert usual reminders to sign up for the boards and mailing list here. In case noone knows yet, we've been sending out some special top secret stills to our mailing list fans so the rest of you should come on board and get in the loop!

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Mover and Shaker

     X-strike Studios has survived another brilliant MAGFest. Our fourth trip proved to be nothing short of the best with great friends, bands and an endless stream of stories which you can find being spewed forth in our forums! Thanks to everyone who came to our panels to talk, to the table to buy stuff, or just walked up to us to say "hi." It truely was our best con trip ever and it wouldn't have been that way without you the fans. Be sure to check out the downloads section for the final product (Silent Belmont) of X-strike's 90 minute crash course in video production featuring authentic X-strike fans!

     Also spawning out of MAGFest, we have unleashed Nth Mile DVD preorders upon the world! Seriously, the DVD is almost done and it would have been done by this writing but one song didn't work out. So please, hit the store and be one of the first to own this Rap-venture that's been over 2 years in the making!

     Now that M5 has passed we now set our sites on the rest of the convention year and our next stop will be Katsucon 13. Katsu has been another strong convention stand by for us and this will be no exception. Expect a table, movie showings, panels and a special video during the opening ceremonies of the convention! Definitly an event not to be missed.

     Looking further into the year 2007, X-strike has some big things in store for you. Sidequest production is under way along with a brand new series of internet shorts which we will be announcing shortly. Definitely keep coming back and checking out this space for more details on that little venture.

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Magicite Lab Janitor

     I, Juese, am actually writing something on the main page because Sidequest *trumpets* is officially out of full-scale pre-production and into awe-inducing production (ie we got a scene done). A lovely swamp scene, tempered in awesome. Another thanks to the cast for shooting as the Earth, and subsequently Hamburg, NY, cooled, what felt like, 30+ degrees in about 2 hours.

     Pictures from the shoot (and the one prior) are up in the Sidequest section, so do gorge yourselves on their visceral splendgasm.

-Juese Cutler
Mr. America

     OK, well some of you know that things have returned to normal here in Buffalo. Tim has been mailing out orders for a couple weeks now, but I just recently got the internet back (due to a combination of downed lines and a virus or 4). We're still having some technical problems with our email, though I'm pretty sure it's unrelated to the storm. We can currently receive but not send so if you emailed any of us expecting a response, don't hold your breath for one. I am working on the problem and I don't know how long it will last, but don't let it stop you from emailing us. We can still read your emails, we just can't tell you that we read them/liked or disliked what you had to say/took care of your problem with and order/ask for your phone number so we can get some food together sometime (I'm looking at you FrIsKyKiTtEn69@aol.com).

     Thanks to everyone that went to vgXpo and supported us. We had a good time but are already looking forward to our next con! So, if you're not too busy and have some free time November 17th to the 19th, you should come and see us at Anime USA. It's sure to be a great time and we'll have panels galore!

     Oh yeah, happy belated Halloween! I dressed as Maverick from Top Gun. I looked just like Tom Cruise, minus all the crazy. What did you dress up as? You should join our forums and post about it in the Halloween thread and then check out everything else in the forums!

     Alright, it's time for me to split. But before I go, I'll leave you with some pictures that I took while walking with Darrin from our house to his parents' on Friday the 13th. Good times. Somewhere in them are two pictures looking both ways down our street to show that our cars would be blocked in by fallen trees...if we could have gotten them out of the driveway at the time... Enjoy!

-Ben Lathan
This space was intentionally left blank.

     SNAKE IS HERE! IT'S FINALLY HERE!

Project: Snake will be shipped out, to everyone that pre-ordered it, today! Thank you all for your patience and we hope you all like your pre-order bonus. For those that didn't get a chance to pre-order it, you can still buy it from our Store site.

     As for the other productions, the P.Rappa hard drive has been sent to me by Mr. Chad Williams to finish up before sending it out to be pressed. You're gonna love this DVD. It's going to have lots of great outtakes on it and lots of other bonus stuff. Expect pre-orders to go up for P.Rappa within the next couple of months. We need to take care of some mild file corruption (don't worry, there are backups) on the hard drive first, before we start pre-orders.

     One last production announcment/update; Sidequest will begin filming in mid October! I hope everyone reading this is just as excited as we are. This movie has been put on hiatus, has had several major script re-writes, and re-casting abound, so we're all glad to see it start filming. Pre-production on it took much longer than any movie we've done because of the massive amounts of costumes and props used in this "epic" movie! Everything looks great though and we're all antsy to get some outside filming done before Buffalo turns into a barren winter-wasteland. Expect lots more updates to be done to the main site once filming gets underway!

     Finally, I'd just like to remind everyone that this month's King of Filming topic is "Epic" and that submissions are due to me by Tuesday, Seeptember 26th. If you have any questions, you can post it on the forums, private message me on the forums, or email me.

     It was good talking to you. We'll have to do this again sometime.

-Ben Lathan
Current Mood: Updatastic
Current Music: Bound Together Remix

     Greetings X-striketeers, I come to you with a snipit of an update on the 25th anniversary of my existence.

     We are one week removed from our visit to the 3 day festival of cosplay and catgirls otherwise known as Otakon. Good times were had by all in the small contingent of X-strikers that made the trip, meeting up with fans and then making some new ones. And we all managed to not blow too much money in the insane 1200 table dealer room to boot! Go us!

     Now you're probably wondering what's going on with Project: Snake and it is like THIS close to going to the presses. There is literally ONE THING LEFT TO DO and the only thing stopping us is our damn computer. Hopefully the problem will be thwarted in short order and I'll be here in a week telling that things are all good. Cross your fingers homies.

     Also I hope everyone has been enjoying the efforts of our King of Filming competitors. After a bit of a rocky start things are starting to pick up and remember there's still 10 days to get your entry in for this months competition: Game Shows!

     Otakon pics! Laters

-Tim Ekkebus
Not Thinking of Transporter Accident Riker

     Hey all! Well, summer is here, King of Filming is in full swing, and the new season of The Venture Bros. has started. Life is good.

     We had a great time at AMA (in case you haven't read the boards, which you should, because they're fun an informative...but I digress). Our next scheduled con appearance is Otakon, which is August 4th to 6th. Now, if you'll take a moment to tear your eyes away from this riveting update and look to your left, you will see a little list underneath the Navigation bar. It is our list of upcoming appearances and it will be updated as we learn of which cons or other places we will be going to. Clever, huh? Yeah, well I take no credit for it. My idea was to send out singing telegram to everyone. Frugal? No. Entertaining? Oh hell yes.

     The King of Filming entries for the last two months are in! You can watch them in our flash viewer on the site or download the mov files with the links on the left side of the page. They are great submissions and I hope the enthusiasm continues on to the other months! The winner will be chosen by Wednesday the 28th, at which point a topic for the month of July will be chosen. Get ready!

     Finally, a little bit of clarification. In an earlier update, I posted about a listserv to let you know of updates to the site. To subscribe to the listserv, send an email to updates-subscribe@x-strikestudios.com. Sorry. That was my bad.

     X-Strike fan appetites are satiated. My work here is done.

-Ben Lathan
The whole package

     Let's play the X-Strike update drinking game. Every time we update, drink. Probably not a good plan since we usually go a month without updating this page, huh? Well, to be honest, there isn't a whole lot going on right now at the X-Strike HQ. Once filming for Sidequest gets underway, we'll have lots to tell you and even more new content! But in the meantime, for those of you that get depressed when checking our un-updated page day after day, here's a little something for you: sign-up HERE and be added to a list serv that will notify you when the website is updated in any major way (with the exception of anything on the forums). I hope this will satisfy our hardcore fans.

     Project: Snake is still chugging along with the end in sight! The finished movie should be showing at AMA (which I will talk about in a bit) and the DVD should be out sometime after that. P.Rappa is also almost finished! We will be getting a hard drive very soon from Chad with the completed movie so far. We'll have three songs to slap in there, possibly need to re-edit a little bit, and then finish up the DVD menus. It's close people. Can you smell the RAP in the air?

     AMA - Anime Mid Atlantic - June 16-18. We're gonna be there, with bells on. It's an X-Strike extravaganza this year! We've got 2 movie showings: Snake will be showing at Midnight on Friday and P.Rappa will be at 11:00pm on Saturday night. We will be having 2 discussion panels, Video games as a Narrative and X-Strike vs Hollywood, at 9pm on Friday and 5pm on Saturday (tentatively and respectively). We will also be selling our usual wares and running a few VG tournaments. If you're going to be there, stop by the table and say "Hi." We love meeting our fans. We also love meeting supermodels...just throwing that out there.

     Don't forget to submit your entry for the King of Filming competition before June 23rd. The topic from last month, Video Game Movies, has been extended into this month. Tell your friends!

     I'ma go make me a sammich now. Peace!

-Ben Lathan
Doomed to be skinny

EDIT: If a section on the navigation bar is glowing red, that means the section has been updated recently. It'll only glow for a week after it's been updated, then it'll go back to normal.

     Hello all. Have you noticed anything new with the site? Well the site and the company turned 3 a couple weeks ago and we decide to celebrate by giving x-striketudios.com another navigation link! It's kind of like when Enzo turned 2.0 in Reboot, so they gave him a useless clothing update, only our update isn't useless, it's AWESOME! The link is for the King of Filming competition and this marks the first month that we will be running it. For those that don't know what it is, anyone can compete by submitting a 5 minute or less video that they made about a monthly topic. This month's topic is "Video Game Movies." Click on the King of Filming link to see the complete rules, read em, and get to work on a video!

     On to the topic of conventions. We had a great time at Arcon in Oswego! Rich was in heaven with all the role playing, basically all of Baldo's gaming store in the center of the room, and OH! that theater! Oswego actually has a theater on campus. It's not huge, but damn it's nice. If you're in the neighborhood and like role playing, I'd highly recommend going next year. Now for those of you that need you in person X-Strike fix and didn't see us at Arcon, we will be at this year's Anime Mid-Atlantic, or as we affectionately call it in bed, AMA. It is June 16-18 in Richmond, VA and it is a stupid good time. (In the previous sentence, "stupid" was used as an adjective emphasizing"good," contrary to it's normal derogatory use of "a below average intelligence"). We will be selling our stuff there, showing our movies, and speaking in a panel. Come and have fun and reserve your hotel room soon.

     So how many of you use that new-fangled MySpace all the kids talk about? Well, so do we. Juese has set up not one, but two MySpace accounts. Add us because internet pop culture demands that in order for us to be cool, we need more friends. The first one has some of our trailers on it that get rotated. The second one is a myspace group with a lot of pics that aren't found on the site. So have at em and have fun.

     Ok, that's all from here. Good luck on finals for those in school. Remember, if you make one mistake, it could mean your diploma!

-Ben Lathan
Will work for money

     For those that don't know Go For Broke Day is a day for taking big risks and putting it all on the line. Or playing a lot of fighting games. Or for updating the front page!

     April is actually a pretty big month this year. On April 20th X-strike will be celebrating its 3rd year of existence and the very next day Silent Hill will be premiering in theaters across the country. That very weekend, April 21-22, you'll be able to find X-strike Studios in attendance at Arcon V in Oswego, NY. Arcon is a student run convention at SUNY Oswego that focuses on tabletop role-playing, LARPing, and general nerdy gaming goodness. We will be in the hizzy to sell our wares, show off Nth Mile and Project: Snake, and host a video game trivia contest for fabulous X-strike prizes! So show up, rock out, and get your game on!

     It wouldn't be a main page update if I didn't say something about our most recent project to be delayed, Project: Snake. Well, there isn't much to say. We're still doing our best to finish everything up and get the DVD out and as soon as we have a concrete release day we'll let you know. Basically the biggest thing to blame for the delay is that fact that we refuse to release a movie without doing EVERYTHING we possibly can to make it as good as it can possibly be.

     It also recently occurred to me that we haven't said much about Nth Mile in the past few months aside from mentioning a showing here and there but not really much about the overall progress of the film. Well I'm happy to tell you that Nth Mile is actually quite near completion. Chad has been endlessly toiling his time away on the project to get it finished and ready and things are looking great. I know a lot of you have been waiting a LOOOOONG time to see this movie and your wait is nearing its end as we're hoping to have the Nth Mile DVD released hot on the heels of Project: Snake. Just stay tuned to this space for more specific info as it develops.

     I'll see you later. I'm gonna GO FOR BROKE!

-Tim Ekkebus
Spent way too much at Gamestop this week

     Ok, I've got some bad news for all the X-Strike fans out there. As if your week wasn't bad enough, what with Isaac Hayes leaving South Park, Sony setting back the launch of the PS3 another 6 months, and the death of Maureen Stapleton, we here at X-Strike will add to the bad news by telling you that Project: Snake has been delayed yet again.

     Our sound man ran into some serious computer problems, leaving the files for the last third of the movie corrupted. It is now our task to complete the rest of the movie's sound editing in a timely fashion and maintain the quality desired. How will we do this? Each member of X-Strike has dawn straws to determine which deity they will be praying to each night for spiritual guidance and miracles. The only one not used was Satan, and that was because he does not answer prayers, only e-mails, and our e-mail has been acting funny for the last week.

     Of course I joke about the severity of this. It should not be too difficult to finish up the last third of the movie or take that long, though I won't give an expected date of completion because it may jinx us/give Satan yet another reason to claim our souls.

     I apologize for the wait and I ask you to not be angry with us, but rather the "man" that keeps X-Strike down. Thank you to everyone that has pre-ordered already though, you are each greatly appreciated.

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike Bad News Bear

     Hi there. A/s/l? I'm 25, male, and full of news, myself. There's so much going on at X-Strike right now so let's get right into it!

     We just got back from a great time at Katsucon. Thanks to everyone that stopped by the table and said hi and supported us and "Hi" to all the new members on the forums! If you weren't able to go to Katsucon and you're in the New York area, we will be at SUNY Fredonia on March 11th for an all day gaming extravaganza. You can see our movies, play some games (table top, MtG, arcade units, RCR on a big screen, etc), take part in our trivia show, and have an awesome time in general!

     On the movie front, Project: Snake is just about completed. AE is finishing up the last track needed and our sound man, Haroon, is in the home stretch. Thank you to everyone that has pre-ordered the movie so far! Sidequest is about to begin filming in a couple of weeks and when it does, expect lots of production stills. What's that? You want special stills that don't make it to the site, special movie updates, and extra insight into upcoming movies, shorts, and events? Well then, just join our mailing list! It's back, it works, and I don't have a third thing for this list!

     Speaking of shorts, we've got a new one - Rampart, directed by Rich Durham. Hope you like it! We'll have more on the way, now that our camera is fixed.

     Two more things and I'm done. First, if you are in the Buffalo, NY area you probably know of Mondo Video. If you don't, you lead a sheltered life. Anyway, they are going to start renting our movies there this week! So if you're unsure about buying our stuff, preview it from Mondo! Second, any mail order people, our address has changed to:
Check the store page for more details. Stay tuned for more updates!

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike Skeletor Look-a-like

[EDIT: Check out our two new trailers! The Sidequest teaser (which can also be found on the Sidequest page) and Resident Horror. Both can be found on the downloads page as well. Remember, if either doesn't play when you click on the link, right click and "Save As."]

---

     Well X-striketeers, MAGFest 4 has come and gone and now its time for us to recharge our bodies and reload you with updates.

     First off, bathe in a shower of new merchandise:
-Project: Snake preorders are now open!

     Two incentives to preorder as soon as possible: 1) the first 30 pre-orders get a FREE Project: Snake poster and B) the more preorders we get the easier it will be on our personal finances to get the DVD produced. The DVD is currently scheduled to ship in February and God willing we WILL make this release date.

-"I Hate Uwe Boll" shirts now for sale!

Do you hate Uwe Boll? For those that might now know, Uwe Boll is the German director responsible for House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark and Bloodrayne. His movies are considered to be a disgrace to gamers and filmgoers by many critics. Buy the shirt and let everyone know that you don't support his films.

     Now I'll come back to the topic of MAGFest 4: we had an absolute blast! Thanks to all the fans who came out to show their support for the company in the video room and at the table. Both Nth Mile and Project: Snake had overwhelmingly positive showings despite the incomplete versions of each film. It's a rare opportunity that we get to see so many fans in one place and at one time. It was good to see our friends from Virtual Fools, Wave Theory and the VGMix community once again. Three days is never enough time. If you didn't make it this year, start making plans for M5 now. It'll be an event that you truly won't want to miss.

     Now we look forward to our next big con stop at Katsucon 12 in Washington DC, February 17-19. We have secured an table in artist alley to sell our wares and of course there will be a Project: Snake showing late Friday evening. More details as it develops but if you missed us at M4 this is another good opportunity to see the crew live and in person and buy merch without having to deal with evil shipping costs.

     As always, until next time, continue to rock the forums, like so many others have recently. Keep checking back for more updates and new shorts in the spirit of Monster in a Box.

Some M4 pics! [EDIT: Link works now]

-Tim Ekkebus
X-Strike Insomniac

     I trust that everyone survived this war-torn holiday season. Between terror, Christmas, and drugs, I'm surprised that people still were able to celebrate their respective holidays. How was your's? Did that special someone in your life buy you an engagement X-Strike DVD? (It's the new millennium, we're progressive.) Let us know by talking about it on the forums. Everyone should make it their new year's resolution to talk more on the forums...and to buy our stuff...and to stop world hunger. X-Strike comes first though, obviously.

     Now I bet you're asking yourself "Self, what did X-Strike get me for this season of giving? They're a bunch of upstanding gentlemen and definitely wouldn't leave me out in the cold without a present." Well, you are correct. We are upstanding, good looking, educated, and some of us are single! Anyway, we got you this. It's nothing big, but we think you'll dig it. Oh yeah, and it's only the beginning. Keep your eyes opened for more of these shorts. We get bored easily and have a camera.

     The new year is just around the corner and we've got big plans for it, I mean BIG. We will begin filming on Sidequest this year. It's revamped and ready to go, as soon as the cast reassembles back in Fredonia. The Project: Snake DVD is in its finishing stages and is expected to be out in January! AE and Planet Skill are completing the soundtrack for the movie while Haroon masterfully masters our sound. The finished product will be shown at MagFest 4.0 (January 13-15). You can see us, the movie, a sneak preview of some of the bonus material, and we might just have a few new items for sale too. There is one more big announcement, but you should probably go to MagFest to witness it in person.

     I think that's about it from us here. We had a real good year and with your help, 2006 will be even better! Remember, talk on the forums, buy our stuff, ...and something about starving kids and third world countries. Peace!

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike Chronicler of Narnia

     Just a quick update for everyone. Recently we were interviewed by Nadia Oxford, a writer for 1up.com. The article (located HERE) is about video game movies; what may have worked and what didn't, and it features interviews from Rocco of the popular Mega64 and our very own Tim Ekkebus, Juese Cutler, and Rory O'Boyle! The article also features comments from Rocco and Tim with what they would do to turn certain games into movies. Very interesting, check it out!

     Now, for anyone that missed last year's MagFest or the past vgXpo, and thusly missed out on the oportunity to buy an X-Strike shirt, we now have them for sale on our site! Cost is $12.00 + shipping and handling. Get your's today!

     On the moving picture front, Project: Snake is nearing video completion! After that will be some serious sound editing by our good friend Haroon Piracha. At that point, we will be working on making a DVD menu and maybe, just maybe, some new, unrelated to Snake video content for the site. But let's just keep that between you and me.

     Well, that's all from the world of X-Strike. Peace.

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike lover of Girl Scout Thin Mints

     We are all back and accounted for from our trip to vgXpo. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and spent heaps of money on games and such. Check the forums for the list and add your purchases too!

     It was a shaky start to the weekend as Rory and I edited non-stop only to have the G5 crash every few minutes. So we did what every sleep deprived editor would do, install 1 gig worth of RAM at 3 in the morning! It runs great now by the way. We got to Fort Washington with minor problems (mainly a family of sasquatch, a shadow wolf, and bad directions). Once we got set up at the expo (which was right across from Ralph Baer's table), we explored the place. There were arcade units with free play, heaps of old video games and systems for sale, sexy pirates, NBC, and LEGOS!

     The Project: Snake premiere went off rather smoothly, thanks to Brendan and his bag of tricks. Oh yeah, and just to make all of you that weren't there jealous, we got to see a trailer for Bloodrayne...

     Many thanks to everyone that came out to support us and hang out. A couple personal thanks to Rez's Brazilian coffee to help us edit Snake, Jolt Cola gum for allowing us to get there safely, and Rich's iPod and the gas station attendant in Bath, NY for suggesting the 'City Blend' coffee to help insure a safe trip back.

     That's it for me. See you at the next con!

     Click here for more pics.

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike Hater of Deer


     A couple of quick notes from me. We will have X-strike logo shirts and Silent Horror soundtracks in stock on the site starting in the next couple weeks. So save your nickels and check back.

     Also its time to start gearing up for our next big convention event in January. The 4th annual MAGFest will be taking place in Charlottesville, VA January 13th and 14th. If you don't know the wonders of MAGFest, check out our MAGFest 2.0 doc and then show up and rock out. Its a lot of fun and totally worth whatever lengths you have to go to to make it. So start planning now. X-Strike will be there to host events, show off the final cut of Project: Snake and maybe a couple more surprises!

-Tim Ekkebus
X-Strike Proud owner of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Fighting Edition

     We are less than a week away from the big Project: Snake premiere at the Philadelphia vgXpo. We will have a table set up there all weekend, but here is the information for the showing that you need to know:

Sunday, November 13th at 2PM
Fort Washington Expo Center
Fort Washington, PA

     It's going to be an awesome time, immediately followed by a Q&A session featuring the cast and crew. And aside from us, the expo will feature almost 50 different exhibitors, including classic game sales, arcade machines, and developers, like Red Octane (the makers of Guitar Hero). Its gonna be fly!

     Also to keep you occupied until then, check out Bound Together: An Earthbound Remix Project (organized by X-Strike forum regular Joecam) and then read the interview conducted by yours truly with the man himself!

     Oh yeah, and if there's anyone out there who missed out on getting an X-Strike Studios logo T-shirt the first time around, check back in about a week because we're getting another shipment in and they will be sold online this time!

     That's all for now. See you this weekend!

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Chronicler of the Sword.

     Sidequest: Advent Children without cellular phones? No.

     I bet you've been wondering about Sidequest. Or at least the people who have IMed me were, so I'll write it out for them. The new, final draft of the script is done. It's longer and much better (trust me.) The main cast is set, and we're having readthroughs this weekend. Dale North is still doing the music, which is a blessing in itself. I realize the old trailer has been up a long time, and that will be remedied (hopefully) by vgXpo. I wanna say thanks to everyone who has been patiently waiting for it, and well...keep waiting...BUT it will be well worth your wait. There will be an update to the Sidequest page coming in the near future, so keep an eye out for that. Production is a G-O!

-Juese
Lover of your girlfriend's mound. Did I mention Sidequest is E for Everyone?


     We finished principle filming for Project: Snake this past Thursday, while Darrin, the "director" decided to go see Serenity...ANYWAY, it turned out quite well, as did all of the footage for this movie, really. Things are still moving steadily with editing as we start in on the final stages.
     Also, we are now officially one month away from vgXpo (November 11th). If you are in the Philidelphia area or are willing to drive out there, vgXpo is a free expo featuring many different events including the premire of Project: Snake and a discussion panel with X-Strike Studios. We will also have a table where we will be hawking our wares, so if you make it, come and say hi, buy something, and challenge me to an arm wrestling match.
     The reviews are back and running, however, due to our schedules, we won't be updating them every week, but we'll try to get them out frequently because we know you just looooove to read what we think.
     That's all for this update. See you next time.

-Ben Lathan
Semi-retired

     After a long and bloody battle I have seized control of the X-strike shipping dock from Len Bathan and now I rule over it with an iron fist. I will be shipping out the past couple weeks worth of orders in the next day or two and from there on out, I'll be making runs at the post office once or twice a week as needed. Please note from here on out that all sales and shipping questions be directed at me instead of Ben.

-Tim Ekkebus
Master of Shipping


     Things are coming along very well with Project: Snake. We filmed yet another scene including uncomfortable conditions for our star actor Rory O'Boyle, and in addition, completed the opening sequence to the film as well. With these two scenes out of the way, all that remains left to shoot is one major battle, and it is a very important one. Jaekwon and Rory are working closely to put finishing touches on the edited scenes we have so far, as well as moving forward with the remaining scenes left to edit. Rich Durham is currently hard at work on the behind-the-scenes documentary of Project: Snake, which will be included as an extra on the DVD. And our very own Ben Lathan is at his computer, in between serving tables, to make our effects look extra special.
     We at X-strike are doing all we can to meet our deadline in November for the premiere at VgXpo in Philly. It is great to see a project like this coming together finally, but the true payoff will be when we get to show you fans what we have been working on for the past year. I am as impatient as the next person to see product in its finished form, but I promise, this one will be worth the wait!

-Darrin DeMarco
Snake Charmer

Hi everyone. This is just a quick note and update on our current situation:
     The Fredonia branch of X-Strike Studios is about to move. The house that has served this company for the last 2 years will be no more. Rory and Steve are going to be living with a friend of our in about a week while I will be moving to an unknown location. In the time being, we'll be crashing at the luxurious Hotel Durham. In that time, there will be NO ORDERS SHIPPED. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may cause anyone. This will remain in effect until I can get my computer hooked up to the intraweb once again. Please note that if you have ordered recently with an e-check, your order will not ship either, since I have reviewed no notification of cleared checks at the time of this post. Also, we have changed the address to send to for mail orders. Please take note!
     It's a little hectic around here right now. That's why there hasn't been an update to the Review section this week. On a better note, lots of Snake filming got done this weekend. The footage looks great and everyone is gearing up for the end of filming!
Ok, that's all from here. Keep watch for when things return to "normal."

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike Zoologist

     Hey there loyal fans. Today is a big day. We've got big news all around and some changes to the site to go along with it. We've added a review section to the site. It will be updated on a weekly basis with reviews from us about anything from games (old and new) to movies, to politics to housing. ANYTHING goes! The staff page has also been updated with the addition of two new X-Strikers, some bio updates, and a picture overhaul. I'm trying out a new format for the main page here as well. Give me your feedback on the "Website" section of the forums. Hope you like!

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike Webguy



     In the 21st century, the anticipation of two momentous events gave teeming masses reason to continue their petty and loveless existence on this planet. The first is the return of Jesus Christ; the second is the release of Silent Horror. Well, in your face Lord, because Silent Horror is finally here! Ben Lathan, Rich Durham, and I have promptly cataloged the units and will be shipping them along to all those fans who pre-ordered the movie over the last 6 months. To those who have waited patiently half a year for this movie's release, you have my ineffable gratitude. I'm sure you'd rather have your movies, but don't worry, they're coming up fast. And now, without further ado...SILENT HORROR IS OFFICIALLY FOR SALE ON DVD. God that felt good...
Slainte

-Rory O'Boyle
X-Strike Master Librarian


     What are you doing the end of August? Say the 27-28th? If you answered 'nothing' then you need to round up your gaming pals and head for the Washington DC edition of the vgXpo. For those that aren't in the know, vgXpo used to be known as the Philly Classic, but this year they're broadening their horizons and their event sites to include more cities and appeal to MORE gamers. And the best part is its free to go. Actually I lied, the best part is that X-Strike Studios will be in the house in Washington DC selling our movies and merchandise and showing some movie. If you haven't had a chance to meet us in person or are just looking for that last summer hurrah before going back to school, I highly recommend trucking down to Washington for some good times!

-Tim Ekkebus
X-Strike NES Snob


     Project: Snake continues to progress in both the editing and filming departments, with continued improvements in both areas. You are in store for a new level of special effects and make-up (as far as low-budget film goes), provided by Rory O'Boyle, and Jaekwon Shep. We have filmed everything from fight choreography to wildlife this past week, and I assure you, no fan of Metal Gear will be disappointed. The movie itself is about 80% filmed, with those last few scenes making all the difference.
     All of us at X-strike are working hard to get this one done within the next few months, and still deliver you the above-average product that you all, as fans, deserve. If all goes according to plan, we'll be infiltrating vgXpo - Philidelphia this November for the premiere.

-Darrin DeMarco
X-Strike Muscle


     Computer is back with new logic board! Editing on P. Rappa to resume shortly. About 35% edited with all the music needing remastering. Lots of post needs to happen, but everything that is done = GOLD.
-Chad Williams
X-Strike Soccer Coach

     Huhlo. Here we are freshly back from another epic trip to Virginia and at least halfway recovered. As usual the Silent Horror showing attracted a packed house that enthusiastically loved all over the movie. X-strike's first panel actually attracted a strong crowd for being pretty early in the morning and generated some great conversation. We really do have some badass fans to be sure.

     Oh yes, and the new Project Snake trailer went over phenomenally well. Oh what? You couldn't make it? Well BOOYAH its on the site now! Download and enjoy!

     I'm sure some of you will watch the trailer and say "Damn, who did that awesome music?". Well friend, it's time to let some cats out of their respective sacks. Project Snake will have a completely original score created by Alex "AE" Esquivel and Snake writer/director Darrin DeMarco. AE is known for producing fantastic electronic VG remixes as well as originals. He is also part of the California based band Wave Theory, a favorite of X-strike.

     While I'm talking music, it's long overdue that I give props to a man who has been working on music for Nth Mile since before we started shooting. Duane "DCT" Thorpe volunteered himself to hammer out some original but still game inspired tunes back last spring and now that the movie is being pushed through post production he's gone into overdrive putting the finishing touches on the raps and background music.

     Oh yeah and Ninja StoryTime. Long idling in post production it's going to be hitting the home stretch towards completion (as soon as Silent Horror moves its considerable self off the G5) with music by none other than VG remix legend and guitar god, Sean "Ailsean" Stone.

     If you're not familiar with these chaps already, be sure to check out their arranged works on OCremix.org and VGMix.com as well as original works for DCT and AE respectivley at www.thebigshot.com and www.planetskill.com.

     That was a lot of new, and for a change, positive news to throw on the front page so I encourage everyone to drop us some feedback in the forums. We've had a lot of new peeps join up lately so its been a pretty rockin place to be. Until next time....

-Tim Ekkebus
X-Strike Town Crier

     Yo. For anyone that does not frequent our forums and is planing on being at AMA this weekend, the time and day of the panel featuring X-Strike members has been moved to 11am on Saturday in Panel Room 1. The discussion is entitled "Hollywood vs. Gamers: What They Think vs. What We Want." It'll be a good time. Also, do not forget about the showing of Silent Horror at midnight on Friday in Video Room 3.

     Ah yes, and about Silent Horror...Well the hard drive worked, I transfered all the files that were needed (at least I thought I did) and sent that little bastard on its way to get made. Well, today, Tim recieved a couple emails basically saying that too many files are missing and a DVD cannot be made from that hard drive. So it's being sent back to us as we speak and I will go round 2 with it. I don't know what happened, but I apologize.

     Anyway, on a lighter note, we did some filming for Project Snake this past weekend and with our new DV deck, logging, capturing, and editing will be taking place very soon!

     Ok, that's it from me. I need to get ready for a second shift of working! Score!

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike Head Server (You call me a waitress, I'll punch you)

     That's been the most asked question of the past month or two, for obvious reasons.

     Well folks its been a rough post production process for Silent Horror so I thought I'd let you fans know what's been going on. We made a final master copy with all the content and menus in place some time around the end of April. However because we had to cram so much content onto a 120 minute DVD (the run time of the movie alone is 105 minutes) the quality of the video took a big hit and after much deliberating we decided that this just wasn't good enough to send to the presses. So what we decided to do was to bump the DVD onto a dual layer, 240 minute DVD to ensure the most pristine quality possible. What this meant was a lot more trouble for X-strike. First I had to get a dual layer burner from my uncle. Easy. Then I had to produce a good master copy with said burner. Not easy. When my first attempt made it to the replication plant, it was found to be riddled with bad sectors and completely unusable. *sigh*. Alright so I special order two more dual layer DVDs to try to make new masters with and suddenly my burner doesn't want to play nice with others and lands me with a pair of 25 dollar coaster/frisbees. In the meantime we'd been working on a back up plan because the process of pressing dual layer DVDs from a DVD-R master is pretty much unheard of, we had prepared for the worst. This meant ordering a portable hard drive that we could dump the necessary files onto and send to the plant. That sounds reliable right? ha HA! So not one, but two nonfunctioning hard drives later, we have to make a third attempt at ordering a working HD while we and digitalcdr.com and you the fans are forced to sit on our hands and wait. Lemme tell you from everyone here at X-strike: this blows and we're really sorry. We'll be sure to let you know as soon as things stop going wrong.

     On a much more positive note, please head over to virtualfools.com and wet your Silent Horror appetite with their world exclusive review of Silent Horror. I think he liked it. Off Campus 3 has started shooting! Project Snake, Ninja Storytime and Nth Mile are all hitting the editing room hard and fast! We're still going to Anime Mid-Atlantic! Woooo!

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Dock Supervisor

     Good news! X-strike Studios will be attending and showing at the 2005 Anime Mid-Atlantic convention June 17-19th in Richmond, Virginia. We will be showing Silent Horror at the usual con time of 12AM Saturday morning and will have the DVD on hand to sell in public for the first time! ...unless more goes horribly wrong. In addition, we will be hosting our first panel, tentatively scheduled for 6:30PM Friday, entitled "Hollywood vs Gamers: What they think vs what we want". So come out early to the con and hear us run our mouths' about what works and what doesn't work in Hollywood made video game movies. Mark it on your calendar and tell all your buds, X-strike is coming to town!

     Remember, if you can't make it to the convention to buy your own copy of Silent Horror (or River City Rumble), you can always do so here with our online store.

     Also, the Character Bios for the Project: Snake page have been updated. Check it out!

-Tim Ekkebus
X-strike Chewer of Marshmallows

This past weekend was SUNY Fredonia's Fred Fest, originally a weekend of BBQs, good music, friends old and new, and drinking. Now it's just crappy music, miserable people, and too much drinking. But who needs the school's help to have fun when we have a house!

Friday:
    The last Improv Society Show of the semester occured. It was a senior members show, with special guest Chad Williams, and from what I hear, it was amazing. I'm still waiting to see the tape.

Saturday:
     It began with a pankake breakfast for most, followed by Dinosaur BBQ, followed by even more food. Back at X-Strike HQ, chef to the stars, Darrin DeMarco, was busy cooking up more meat (thanks to his and Chad's generous donations). Kabobs, chicken, steak, hot dogs, brauts, oh, and Rich's spicy smothered steak fries. A feast for all! The food went for most of the night as did the drinking, the game playing, and the movie watching. A game of chubby bunny was played. Winners Brett Vanderbrook and Stacey Sarek (both of RCR fame) were declared joint winners with 23 marshmallows each! Around 11:00, most of us made our way to BJ's to hear Stacey sing one last time with her band. Rory and Juese did not make it due to an intesnse power hour that ended only moments before. The rest of the night, after the show, was pretty calm...except for when Tim started chewing some marshmallows loudly in front of Rory. It went something like this:

Rory: You'd better stop...
Tim: (pops another in his mouth and continues chewing) What?
Rory: I'm serious.
Tim: (puts another in, chews some more) It's the sounds of cats fucking!
Rory bolts out the door and pukes over the porch.

Sunday:
     We had the last official Improv Society meeting of the semester, watched some Harvey Birdman, and then went to see Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

     Here are the images from Saturday's festivities. Also, the pics from last week's Snake shoot have been added to the image gallery. Check em out!

     Ok, I think that's it from here. Watch for an update this weekend about the status Silent Horror DVD and info on the next Off Campus episode! Peace.

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike MAN

A lot has been going on here at X-Strike Studios, so let's just get right into it.

    Silent Horror DVD: Ben has like...one more thing to figure out. Its been delayed a bit because we're trying to squeeze every ounce of video quality possible onto the DVD. I know on the forums we said that the master was burned and ready to go, but at the last second we decided to try again. We've gotten our hands onto a dual-layer DVD burner to help increase the video quality. I don't want to give an expected date of completion because it'll just end up jinxing us. The only thing I can say for certain is that it will be finished and in your hands before Steve finishes his Predator costume.

     Project Snake: Primary filming is almost complete! We just had another big weekend shoot in Sodus. I think you'll be pleased with what came from that shoot. Now there should only be a few bits and pieces left to film and then its heading into post production!

     Sidequest: Well, about that...here's a note from the director, Juese:

         With much regret, Sidequest is officially being put on hiatus, for many many reasons I don't feel are necessary to go into here. What does this mean? This means I am halting filming until X-Strike re-assembles in fall. The script will most likely be revised over the summer, re-evaluating what we can and can't do with our resources. THIS DOES NOT mean we are killing the movie. This doesn't mean the cast will necessarily even change in any dramatic style. A lot of what's been shot may still be used in the final cut, and anything that isn't will inevitably end up on the Sidequest DVD in the future. It pisses me off, but at the moment it is needed. Thanks to everyone who has helped in any fashion. This just means we will be more prepared when filming begins anew. - Juese

     Off Campus: Episode 3 is in the works. Filming will begin this weekend. This will be the last episode until we get settled after our big move.

     Happy Birthday? X-Strike Studios turned 2 last week!


-Tim Ekkebus
X-Strike Whathaveyou

Hey everyone. Just want to thank those of you who commented on the April Fools Day update. Thanks for making it worth while. Also, I'd like to wish a happy birthday to Jaekwon, The Superbeast (AKA HELL), Ilana, and my sister Amanda. Now on to the news...

    The Off Campus Episode 2 - Spot the Mistakes Contest is over and winners have been chosen! Congratulations to Raymond Deppe and an unknown email writer. Thanks to everyone who played!

     Today we are having another big filming day for Snake. Keep your checking the Snake page for picture updates from today's shoot. Also watch for an update for the character bios this weekend.

     In two weeks, Sidequest filming will kick into high gear! Stay tuned for pictures from the multiple shoots that will be taking place next week!

     Alright, I need to get ready for filming. See you at the next update.

-Ben Lathan
X-Strike Webguy

Let me start off by saying HOLY SHIT! Two days ago we recieved what we thought was a prank phone call from Artisan Pictures. "We have a party interested in doing a sequel to one of your movies, White Dawn. Ha ha ha, very funny. Well then we got a call from the interested party...UWE BOLL! Oh my GOD! We talked for about 3 hours hour about a sequel to the movie, written by us, directed by him, staring the original cast and others! Here are some of the details of it:

    The premise: Ruthuford B. Jacked takes the remaining DNA from Blackface and constructs a clone army which he sends back in time to destroy Caucasio (who finds his way back to his time with the help of Mr. Tumnus). Jacked's new right hand man, The Griffon, leads the clone army through time to search for Caucasio and DESTROY!
            Tentative Cast of Characters:
            Caucasio, Blackface, Ruthoford B. Jacked, The Griffon, Mr. Tumnus, Strids, Female Blackface (DNA error), a computer generated Art Garfunkle, The Easter Bunny, Gobbleskat, Bizzaro Caucasio, and Coma Boy (example 1, example 2).
            We have started pre-production already. Juese has been storyboarding like crazy. He can't draw, so he uses stand-ins and a web-cam. While he's been doing that, we've been going location hunting and testing out costumes.
            I'm not gonna lie to you, I wasn't thrilled about it at first, but after a little persuasion, the guys convinced me to don the makeup, gloves, hat, and trench coat yet again.
            Due to the high demand for this movie, we have decided to stop all work on our other projects until White Dawn 2: Ethnic Promise is completed (with the sole exception of the Silent Horror DVD. We are now remastering that to include a White Dawn 2 trailer). We are very sorry to our fans that were anxiously awaiting the release our other movies. You had just better deal with it.
            Well, I think that's about it from me. I need to get back to work and help Juese with the storyboarding for Uwe Boll and get a leg up on costuming. Peace!


-Ben Lathan
X-Strike Webguy/ Co-star of White Dawn 2

Hey X-strikers. Hope you all managed to survive the winter. If you have a winter where you live. And if you don't, well go play some Shaq Fu or something.

    Good news: Silent Horror DVD is almost done. Like a heart away. Ben and Rory have been bustling in front of the G5 putting the finishing touches on the movie, extras and DVD. Now I am proud to present to you the final features list for Silent Horror:
            -Silent Horror feature (105 minutes)
            -Audio commentary track 1 featuring writer/director Rory O'Boyle, assistant director/actor Tim Ekkebus and SPECIAL GUEST COMMENTATOR Joecam!
            -Audio commentary track 2 featuring actors Brett Vanderbrook, Steve Smith, Rich Durham, and Darrin DeMarco
            -12 minutes outtake reel
            -Deleted Scenes
            -X-strike trailers

    We're very proud of this DVD and everyone has put a lot of work into it so we hope you all enjoy it. If you haven't preordered already I recommend you get to it toot sweet. The DVD will be shipping within 2 weeks and over half of the first run are already spoken for.

    March has been kind of slow on the filming front but take heart that Project Snake is already over halfway filmed which means we'll be able to more wholly concentrate on Sidequest in the very near future. Yay! Also, updates have been made to the Snake page. A character bio page is now available and a pic page will be added in a few days! Stay tuned to the Sidequest page too, as there will be updates made to it in the coming weeks.

    Also of importance, everyone has until THIS FRIDAY to get their entries in for the Off Campus 2 "Spot the Mistakes Contest." Put your entry in for the contest that rewards you for our half assed production!

    In community news the aforementioned Joecam recently finished his first CD and it's available for only SEVEN DOLLARS at joecam.net which includes shipping. What a bargain! It's a great, fun CD. So dig that change out of the couch and score your copy today!

     That's all for now. Expect another heads up when the DVD has started shipping. If you need me I'll be playing Devil May Cry 3 so just follow the trail of vulgarities. Peace.

-Tim Ekkebus
X-Strike Director

Hi. How are you? We're doing alright, when we're not dodging skunks, shorting out leaky washers, and accidentally spilling water on game systems...

    Katsucon was a good time (so I've heard). Lots of drinking, new people met, and hung out with friends. Hi to everyone that signed up on the forums/bought DVDs because of Katsucon. Judging buy the sales in the last week, a lot of you really liked Silent Horror. Good! We're chugging along to get this movie out to you soon! The two audio commentary tracks were recorded this past weekend. We still need to do some audio tweaking (due to a computer mishap), then compile it all onto a DVD and send it out to get produced.

    Sidequest and