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I personally imagine that it must be kind of interesting from a fan’s perspective to find out “what was happening behind the movie.”

So I asked Cassie to write a review of her experiences during the production; here’s what she said.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started dating Jeff Benson. I didn’t know how big his and Robbie’s aspirations were at the age of 15 and 17 to become filmmakers. I had never heard of Earthbound until I met them. It started when Jeff and Robbie started pulling out their old VHS tapes with their childhood reenactments of the game. I remember when the decision was made to shoot the first Chapter of the Saga. It was on a whim and essentially out of boredom. I don’t think anyone expected the kind of recognition it ended up getting from both UbseyMovies fans and Earthbound fans.

Many know me in Earthbound as Paula, but I was actually Paula, Tracy, and a Happy Happyist cult member. Originally, I didn’t want to be any of these characters. I’m shy, I don’t like being in front of cameras, I had never acted before, and ultimately didn’t want any part in a role in the Saga. I was willing to help with anything else in the Earthbound production except being a character. Well, that didn’t seem like it was an option for me. I was Jeff’s girlfriend and was always at the Benson household as it was. With so few resources at hand, the guys became excellent at convincing and improvising.

When I was on the “set” for Earthbound, everything was always haphazard. Things would be somewhat planned, would fall apart, and yet there would always be a happy accident that would result from it. I remember most of the shooting I did with them took place in the summer and a lot of the situations we found ourselves in weren’t exactly ideal. There would be long, hot days of shooting in garages and sheds that were extremely cramped and uncomfortable. We couldn’t open windows or doors because it would affect the lighting so everything was musky and humid. When I was an Insane Cultist, I had to run around in a mechanic’s jumpsuit in the heat. I found it very easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed in these situations. In retrospect, I’m amazed at the scenarios we put ourselves through and yet everyone still remained focused on completing the task at hand and getting good footage.

Dating Jeff while working on Earthbound (or really any project that UbseyMovies was working on) was difficult in itself. Most of the time, I was just another helper while Jeff, Robbie, and Jon were incredibly deep into their projects. I was there when needed, but otherwise, our relationship would be put on hold. It came to the point where our relationship was so much a part of UbseyMovies that we didn’t really have one anymore. Ultimately, I became just another member of the crew and I feel this greatly led to our break up. However, if it wasn’t for Jeff, I wouldn’t know or have been a part of UbseyMovies for 3 years I was.

Prior to writing this, I had never seen Chapter 4. I had no idea who replaced me as Paula. I had a feeling it would be Morgan because she’s the only other blonde girl that the guys really knew and was readily available. At the same time though, I didn’t really want to know. After Jeff and I broke up, I didn’t want anything to do with UbseyMovies anymore. I wasn’t at all curious on following up with them and I wanted to put everything involving UbseyMovies in the back of my mind. I never watched any of the films they had done after we broke up. I’m not sure if I didn’t watch their more recent films because I wanted to forget my relationship with Jeff and UbseyMovies or if I just didn’t want to see what kinds of things they were doing without me. As for being replaced, it was just something that had to happen. I knew they weren’t going to come back to me and ask me to be Paula after Jeff and I had broken up. I thought it was hilarious how they slipped Morgan in like nothing was different. I especially liked the scenes where it alternates between me and Morgan both playing Paula. I hope the guys keep up with that theme of switching out different girls that are supposed to be playing the same character.

Now, 2 years later, I’m happy to say that I was a part of UbseyMovies and the production of the Earthbound Saga. Despite the fact that I unwillingly played the role of Paula, it gives me something to look back on and laugh about. Since I’ve learned about Earthbound as a game, I’ve completed it twice and still love it. Although I’ve moved on and moved away from California, I think I can safely say that if the guys of UbseyMovies came back to me and offered me the role, I’d accept it.”

Throughout most of my interview I have my shirt almost fully unbuttoned. I guess I was hoping to make it more interesting and unconventional; however, I didn’t weigh the possibility that it could make people feel awkward. All I remember is trying to make myself look like a slob in hopes of giving people something to laugh at when they watch the video.

My question is: what did you think of this oddity?

Despite my attempt at justifying myself, I am going to give a small update as to where the project currently stands.

I’ve pseudo finished the outline and have begun writing the script, dialog and all. Some of it is funny, some of it is lame, and all of it needs more work. There’s one thing I believe I’m learning, and that is to not be married to certain ideas. If something in the story doesn’t work at all, and the only reason for having it is because it’s cool, it’d be best to rework it with all bias aside. This is something I thought I learned over the summer while working on another project, but I suppose I have a bit longer before this creative guideline is engraved into me.

The outline is significantly longer than I’d like it to be, so the script is obviously going to wind up being way too long to logistically shoot, given the budget and time we have. But I figure it’s best to finish writing this draft in all it’s bloated glory, then go back and see what can be removed.

In other news, I’m going to be in Tucson Arizona from the 27th of November to the 3rd of December. I’m visiting Reid & Camille Young, along with their wacky brother Steve Campos! There’s going to be a nightly broadcast via Fangamer office cam, so keep an eye on their twitter account for when we’re on the air. It’s surely going to be a fun time!

CLICK TO VIEW

I know there’s one of me as Jeff Andonuts somewhere, but I can’t find it.

EB4 Teaser

(Screen shot looks like an Abbey Road parody)

Thanks to all who bought a copy of the EB Saga DVD, there’s plenty more so tell all your friends to pick up one for themselves as well! Order right here.

I made a neat cover for a fake Runaway Five LP.

As I typed this, I heard either gunshots or firecrackers outside. Happy 4th of July.

The beast is complete! After nearly 8 months of work, from conception to completion, we have finished what has taken as long as an EB Saga chapter in itself. So much work went into this, that I will assume at least 50 copies will sell.

One thing I should make clear before I get started: The EB Saga DVD is uncensored, it has very strong language in some segments and should be noted if you’re a little guy; sorry kids.

In this entry, I’m going to take the liberty to break down everything involved in the DVD, hoping to get people excited about buying it.

1. BONUS: Runaway Five Poster

Along with your purchase of the DVD, you’ll be receiving an official Runaway Five poster created by Fangamer.

This thing should probably be sold on it’s own, but they’re throwin’ this puppy in free of charge! I’m honestly anxious to get my hands on one of these for myself, I’ve got a frame and a spot on the wall picked out all ready. The poster is 18” x 24” printed on glossy high quality poster paper.

2. High Quality EB Chapters w/ commentaries

It’s self explanatory that getting this DVD allows you to watch all four chapters in their best quality. But you’ll also be able to watch all four of them with commentary by Robbie Benson (Ness), Jon Magram (Carpainter & Mondo Mole), Robert Krakower (Pokey & Apple Kid), and myself (Everdred & Lucky.) Because I want people to know what they’re buying, here’s a clip with one of the commentaries.

DVD1-4 Commentary Sample

What a silly group of goofs we are! Now you know what a pack of wallops you’re getting into if you choose to buy the DVD.

3. SPECIAL FEATURES: Documentaries

This is the part that took so long. For six months I sporadically put together a 42 minute documentary about EB4 and other misc EB Saga fun. We tried to go into as much as we could that we thought fans would take interest in, some things include: How special effects were done, why Paula didn’t talk and why the actress changes, what Robbie’s inspiration for Ness is, the hardship the crew went through filming, why Robert’s dialog is frequently jumbled, a brief talk about Mr. Saturns, and what future chapters entail.

There are a few interview questions that I never put in the documentary because they didn’t fit and were kind of lame; I’m going to post one of those here for you to see.

Kyle’s Shirt Story

Additionally to the EB4 documentary, there is an EB 1 -3 documentary included on the DVD as well. Originally it was made for the EB Saga fanart prize DVD in 2007. This documentary includes such topics as: the actor’s frequently changing facial hair, close up look at the Ness body double, getting kicked off locations, talking to beautiful women who are bothering us while we’re filming, looking at the EarthBound game in retrospect of our childhoods, and some behind the scenes footage. This one is about 14 minutes long; pairing that up with the other documentary, you’re getting an hour movie about the making of the series - What a deal!

4. Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, AND Bloopers

We use just about everything we shoot when making chapters, but there have been a few times when we’ve removed scenes. The two best examples of this are from chapter four, where there’s a semi-alternate ending, and a deleted scene where Ness gets shroomed.

There are also some outtakes/bloopers that are pretty silly, such as experiencing mic problems on city streets, Robbie improvising lines, a fire that apparently grows out of control, and Robbie indirectly getting Robert’s spit on his hand.

5. Three Extra UbseyMovies

Along with your polished set of EarthBound Saga chapters, you’ll also be able to check out some of our other work as well! The three original movies that come on the DVD are: High Stakes Hooky, Elliot Kane the Vampire Hunter, and FEED TIME. Hopefully you’ll find the time to watch these, and perhaps become interested in supporting us branching out from just EB Saga.

6. The “PLAY ALL” Feature

I spoke of this briefly in a past entry, but I’m going to talk about it again. There’s a great option on the DVD called “Play All”, located on the main menu. It does just what it says, playing every chapter without interruption of opening/end credits. This will have the effect of watching a 50 minute EarthBound movie. A small problem is: you cannot jump through chapters with the play all feature, you have to watch everything or else it won’t play the next chapter; sorry folks.

The amount of time between switching chapters will depend on how fast your DVD player can read discs; at it’s best it’ll look like this.

7. All UbseyMovies profits go towards EB5

I’ve made it clear all ready I think, but I’ll say it again: We don’t have any money to make EB5, and it’s a mega project that is going to cost some dough. In the past I’ve used my own money and connections to get chapters made, but that’s not going to cut it anymore; I’m broke. The sales from this DVD would help us a lot in getting future chapters made for you guys. I understand people would like if we made more than one chapter a year, but the more time and money I have to work on these, the better the final product will be. I honestly believe EB5 will be the defining episodes that marks a new era in the series, but I can only do it with financial support.

The amount of money and effort being put into chapter 5 is a double edged sword, if it succeeds then we need more money to make more chapters; however, if it tanks and no one likes where the series is going, we’ll most likely drop the series. The underlying idea is this: It’s not me who’s making the series, it’s you guys, because you’re supporting it. This series would die as fast as it started without all the support from you guys - And even at the risk of sounding like a money hungry maniac, I believe the best way to show your true support for the series is to buy this DVD, as well as future ones when/if they’re released.

8. Unfortunately lacks subtitles*

I’m sorry to say it fellas, maybe some other time in the future.