The KW2 Blog Companion (2005-2007)

The KW blog has never had a formal mission statement, but if one were to retroactively cobble one together based on the mish-mash of news, how-to's, reviews and tirades found herein, it might go something like...

The DVD release of KW2 marks the end of a bittersweet era. TEMPORAL SEMANTICS always sought to chart the lunacy behind the camera, but sometimes style and emotion overrode any actual news.

Over three years of pseudo-reporting the progress on KW2, no single unifying event ever defined the blog. To distill down the goal to "finishing the movie" would cheapen the whole effort, as it became about wrapping the movie, editing it, reshoots and supplements, premiering it, polishing it, then blogging about it. And finally, releasing it into the wild, like Jane Goodall nursing a rare species of ape back from the brink of extinction, only less critical.

To cut through the fat, we now offer this exclusive FREE literature indexing the life and times of "Killer Weed". All articles sorted and linked according to dramatic quality and/or obscure theme.

PRODUCTION REPORT Production histories were staples of the now defunct Wm. Moses Geocities website, and the tradition carried over when it came to outfitting KillerWeedMovie.com. Here the "Killer Weed" backstory is told in loving, labored detail, laying the foundation for this blog.

TRANSITION TO BLOGSPOT The official KW2 Blog wouldn't exist if not for Scott, who suggested it as a means of maintaining a broader internet presence. I remember being unenthusiastic at first, thinking it a needless distraction. Now I'm blogging about blogging.

• Chapter the first: 'Website Relaunch::10.08.05' - Scott celebrates the newest incarnation of the official website and simultaneously launches the blog. Tears flow.
  
• 'Blog Ho!' begins Matt's incessant stream of mental diaahrea. Acknowledges Scott's move from Birmingham to Los Angeles, and foreshadows much puppet-making to come...

PUPPETS Initially, the single most galvanizing topic was puppet-making. Three puppets were on order to supplement the flick's ending, later reduced to two puppets for so-called "story logic".

• A stew of early posts follow the process, 'Pastor of Muppets', 'Puppet Design For Dummies', 'Potatoes For Everyone' and 'Clay Tastes Good'
  
• 'KW2 Headlines' categorizes several art sub-projects including the Pope puppet's costume, the reprinted 8-Toe'd Joe comic, and the acknowledgment that the 'Making Of' is mutating, metamorphosing into something far too powerful to control
• 'I'm Your Puppet' - on the eve of the puppet shoot, a startling revelation and a mundane explanation!
  
• The wry 'Item: Small Puppets Set To Charm American Audiences' feverishly recounts the day the much-ado'd scene finally sees completion (special cameo appearance by Yellowhammer Films)

MILESTONES Proud moments were few and far between...

• 'Zero Hour' - the eve before the premiere, Matt, Scott and Chris sweat out last minute playback wrinkles then have a shitting contest with the evil Jeremiah Jones
  
• 'Premiere Sees Record Attendance! Crowd Weeps!' - KW2 premiere at the Jupiter is sold out and the world is forever changed
  
• 'KW2 DVDs are here!' - huzzah for at long last releasing the DVD; contents itemized for your convenience! - 'Santa's Sweatshop' recalls the ordering info while offering an inside glimpse into each DVD's manufacture! It's very tedious!
• 'The Bad and the Beautiful' laments the end of the KW dynasty - various blurbs supposing a third installment ("Killer Weed: Three's Company" and so on...)
• 'The Wm. Moses Memorial FAQ' acknowledges the growing rift between Matt and Scott that culminates in their imminent breakup (as first announced in 'KW2 Headlines: Wm. Moses Prods. Disbands')
  

VENDETTA! Perhaps the biggest evolutionary stride for the blog was becoming a psychological sounding board for my irrational hatred of everybody everywhere.

• 'Bring Me the Head of Jeremiah Jones' - a fatwa goes out on the dirtbag booking agent at the Jupiter Bar & Grill; trumped up venue fees and poor phone etiquette make Hulk angry!
  
• 'Enemies of Wm. Moses Roundup' - Matt issues blanket amnesty to his most hated foes (but not before taking a few more shots at them)
  
• Scott vs. DVDs!! 'The Horror Part I' pits Scott against unreliable CPU witch-magic and it's a race with the devil to make it home in time for Lost!
• 'Enter Nega-Duck' - Matt learns of another Matt Stuart blogging in the ether of cyberspace and pledges his destruction. Bizarro Matt hasn't made a peep since.
• Matt vs. himself!! An internal conflict of clinically insane proportions! 'La Vita e Abominile' plots Matt's downward spiral after the premiere comes and goes
• 'Review: Pot Zombies' pans a fellow low-budget zombie endeavor with a daringly similar concept. A biased, lop-sided but blissfully entertaining screw-job on the competition
  
• 'Stabbed in the Neck!' - Matt is brutally assaulted and vows vigilante payback, if only it's convenient to his schedule and hopefully for a cash reward
  

CLARIFICATIONS & APOLOGIES Many, many, many many many times we'd put out a date for the premiere or DVD release and we'd push the deadline, reversing prior claims. This happened so often it became understood and an accepted part of life, like occasionally crapping your pants in public but only a little so you try to walk it off. Happens.

• 'Clarification on the KW2 Premiere' begets 'Savor Our Flavor' begets 'Red Team Go!' - all piddling excuses and deflections for not having the movie done
• Only with 'Premiere Date Set' is there closure on the matter; an analysis of the many pushed deadlines and broken promises. Sorry 'bout that.
  

And then came the posts where total amends were in order.

• 'Apology Corner' addresses certain factual discrepancies in the "Pot Zombies" review and recounts email conversations with PZ creator Justin Powers

PRODUCTION & POST-PRODUCTION A small cluster of shots were outstanding as editing marched on. Meanwhile, careful documentation of canned footage...

• A couple testimonials from the Toe-Tag Industries infomercial are chronicled in 'Sandi You're a Dandy' and 'A Day Without a Zombie' (featuring a bonus makeup quasi-tutorial!)
  
• An image 'Grab Bag' by Scott along with some of his early compositing work in 'Keen of You to Join Us'
• 'A Few Words on Nutrition' - A typical day in Matt's world: foregoing food and water to log tapes, construct a faux torso, and build a chimera out of wire and duvatene
  
• Matt muses on his assistant editor role in 'Fast Tongue, Lazy Eye' - nothing is learned
• 'Open Letter From KW2 Star Jillian Fratkin' - a one-time guest contribution from "Zoey" recounting her KW2 experiences on set and off
  

THE MAKING OF "THE MAKING OF" A camcorder always seemed handy when working on gore, art, etc., and sometimes Chris enlisted extra cameramen solely for the purpose of documenting shoots. The resulting footage filled six tapes, with another four devoted to interviews. The 31-minute "Making Of KW2" is now packaged with the DVD.

• First mention in 'Savor Our Flavor' as a "very thin behind the scenes reel"
• 'Dripping With Draper' - Matt interviews Scott
• 'Glib' - Matt interviews himself
  
• 'Sound Off' - Matt knitpicks the sound mix
  
• 'Featured Making-Of Clip: The Script' - defunct link to a 5-min video, a segment from the now 30-min documentary. Awesome.
  

CHRIS' WESTWARD EXPANSION Much ballyhooed were Chris Merritt's semi-regular visits to L.A.; this was before Chris became a Californian himself.

• 'There's Something About Merritt' eagerly anticipates his upcoming Thanksgiving trip
  
• 'Doppelganger Powers, Activate!' charts Chris' Thanksgiving visit and the many, ahem, fun activities Matt has in store. Chris since describes the experience as "a prison," forced to do "paperwork" and "give taped interviews"...
  
• Chris' cross-country move to L.A. warrants this writeup, 'Let the Circle Be Unbroken' beginning the brief five months Chris, Scott and Matt live under one roof at the Wm. Moses Commune in North Hollywood. Group sex was taken off the menu after a troubled experimental phase.
  

FLUFF PIECES/DISTRACTIONS Noteworthy are the stories set on the periphery of KW2; events and misadventures that happen because of (or in spite of) KW2.

• 'Escape From ATL! A Real-Life Layover Told in Fabulous Present Tense!' - returning from the Tuscaloosa premiere of KW2, Matt is stranded at Hartsfield International and so begins a struggle for survival against incredible odds!
  
• 'Currently' - Scott hires Matt for a deadly mission: Driving Scott up to Berkley so he can shoot a liberal blogger! Bonus defunct link!
• 'Essay: The Real 8-Toe'd Joe' touches base with the inspiration for Matt's character
• 'Yellowhammered' - shameless cross-promotion for Matt's association with Yellowhammer Films, the Myspace sensation that's crazing the nation
  
• 'KW2 Insinuates Itself into Comi-Con!' - Chris and Matt dork it up and are caught in the milky rays of George Takei's gaydar!! Unsuspecting celebrities plied with compliments and complimentary DVDs!!!
• 'Ghoul School' - a nod to the U. of Alabama special interest course teaching zombie survival techniques - a primer for the dark future to come?

POSTS THAT NEVER WERE Somewhere in a mirror dimension another me has slightly more time on his hands.

• 'KW2 = Festival Darling!' - KW2 was never, ever accepted into any film festivals, but those are the breaks. Their loss, cause the blog post to follow would've totally justified the pity vote.
• 'The Horror Part 2' - Scott triumphs over DVD-tech and only misses the first 10 minutes of Lost
  
• 'Annual State of the Blog Address' - as president of the blog, Matt speechifies all that's right with the blog while dismissing critics' assertions that it's due for regime-change
  
• American Film Institute votes '"Sequel Ate My Baby!" Movie of the Century!' and a statue is erected.
• 'A Very Special TEMPORAL SEMANTICS' - a parallel reality where Matt dies from his neck-stab-wound and vows vengeance from beyond the grave!

Matt