Torgo's Staff returns to Manos Returns

It's not apparent at first glance that my dad Tom Neyman, who played The Master in Manos The Hands of Fate in 1966 was a tremendously talented guy, but he was.  He was a kind of rock star in community theater in El Paso 1965 to 1972 until he left for California and other opportunities.  He played the lead in a number of plays at the Festival Theater now renamed The El Paso Playhouse.  Man of La Mancha, The prime of Miss Jean Brody, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Camelot, Arsenic and Old Lace to name only a few.  He was also an artist who worked in any medium he was interested in trying.  In Manos The Hands of Fate, my dad created all the art, props, and some costumes including The Masters robe, the wives gowns and Torgo's outfit.  Some of the sculpture of hands was already created in his body of work and other things he made especially for the film.  The Master and Dog painting and Torgo's staff are two of the props that are most iconic.  I, in turn followed my dad down the art path with the idea that I could do anything and with the same curiosity and interest in doing many different things.  I'm not a girl who shys away from a challenge.  Unfortunately, none of that art is in the possession of our family and so, I decided to recreate some of dad's works as close to the original as I can from photographs and memories of sitting in his studio and studying his method while he worked on an art project or ran his lines for the next play. 

In 2012 I produced one version of his painting to use as a Portland Oregon comedy stage production of Manos and to offer as prints

Debbies Manos on Etsy 

and then, two weeks ago, I created a second one to use as a prop in our new film Manos Returns and as prints for backer rewards on our Kickstarter crowdfunding.  I knew we would need a Torgo staff for a prop as well and took up the challenge to make it myself.  With my boyfriend's help and welding equipment, we got some 16 gauge steel and got busy.  I loved making them and I love how they turned out.  As close to the original as I can recall and made by me, The Master's daughter.

We made 18 total.  15 for Kickstarter backer rewards. One for the film prop.  One for me and one for my boyfriend in appreciation for making it possible to create them.

Our Kickstarter is very near funding with 8 days to go and I'm so proud to be part of this cool project with the opportunity to work with such a talented production team.  Check us out, share and support so we can bring you a quality fun fan film while honoring Manos and the original surviving cast in the spirit of Indie film.  Manos Returns Kickstarter

Debbie from Hands of Felt with Rachel Jackson

 "Forgetting You" and Manos soundtrack is being recreated by Cory Fujimori

...and if you read this before 9pm Tuesday Feb 23rd 1016, get us to our goal early to get in on some cool new perks

Manos Returns Challenge

A few words from The Masters Daughter about Manos Returns

Manos Loves Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, 

Hope you and all your Brides or you and your Master are having a lovely romantic day.  It will be dark soon!

I've been very busy the last few weeks keeping up with all the attention coming with the launch of the Manos Returns sequel Kickstarter 
Manos Returns Kickstarter

 and here we are at the halfway point of our campaign, which just happens to be Valentine’s Day.  A good day to return a little of the Manos love with the return of the MANOS Returns T-Shirt

The Master t-shirts from our fundraiser to pay my dad and get his scenes filmed last fall were very popular, but were available for such a limited time that a lot of people missed out on their chance to get one so here they are again, but for only a couple weeks. Check out all the cool perks on our kickstarter that come with your shirt too. 

New!  The Little Debbie Shirt 

While plenty of you are excited for the return of The Master, don't forget about me. Our second mid-point celebration t-shirt features a haunting portrait of Debbie from the cover of my upcoming book “Growing up with Manos the Hands of Fate" in black on a red 100% cotton high quality t-shirt.  I love this Badass artwork by artist Phil Dragash and really can't wait to get my Debbie Shirt. It's definitely not just for girls!

- T-Shirt Add Ons: If you've backed us at levels $50 (Signed Script) through $275 and need a t-shirt, you can add one on by adding $25 more to your pledge.

- We Got Blu-Rays: Due to popular demand, we've added some new rewards featuring Blu-Rays at level $40 and $55.

- Blu-Ray Add Ons: Also, anyone backing at levels $50 (Signed Script) through $275 can turn their DVD into a Blu-Ray by adding $5 more to their pledge.

- More Signed Scripts: Also due to popular demand, we've increased the number of Signed Shooting Scripts (level $50) we're offering. Get yours before we run out for good.

I finished my version of my dad's iconic painting of The Master and Dog this week.  I think it came out pretty good.  We'll be using this one as a prop in our film but for the lower perk levels you can get a download for wallpaper or a 11 X 14 print of your very own.  Shouldn't everyone have The Master watching over them with approval?  

Jackey with her Master and Dog painting

As of this moment, The Torgometer just now hit the 70% level!  Can we get it to 80% by the end of MANOS Monday?  With your help, yes we can!

The Torgometer

Thank you so much for anything you can do in supporting MANOS Returns. Please share our campaign on social media. We think plenty of people would like to help MANOS come back and I hope you will help.  Word of mouth is a powerful tool.

 Here are some posts you can share: 

Support indie cinema, get great perks, & celebrate Women in Horror in one donation. Kickstart @ManosReturns http://kck.st/1P2LjDs

@ManosReturns just added fabulous new t-shirts to their Kickstarter. Support them at http://kck.st/1P2LjDs

That question mark at The End? of MANOS deserves an answer. Help Kickstart the sequel @MANOSReturns http://kck.st/1P2LjDs

The Master Speaks!

This week our Torgometer blasted to, and past the 60% level.  We are currently 66% and the next level is within our grasp before the coming weekend with the wonderful support we are finding among our project backers and in the fan world at large.  Our most sincere thanks and gratitude!  Please... Please keep spreading the word of Manos far and wide! 

The personal journey of beginning this project was both frightening and exhilarating.  I wondered if I would be able to do something wonderful for my dad and something equally fun for the fans.  I clearly knew that alone, I could not do more than dream.  Once again I invoke the Will of Manos.  Never in my life have things conspired to follow a particular path.  I have learned that my job is simply to follow it.  What an amazing journey with a fabulous production team this has become.

Check out our Writer/editor Steve Foley's new promo video.  I love it!  The Master Speaks!

The Master Speaks!

Yesterday, I finished the Master and Dog painting that we will be using in Manos Returns.  As many of you know, my dad The Master painted the original painting along with doing all the artwork and most of the costuming.  Some of his work including the iconic painting went home with the director of the original Manos The Hands of Fate,  so now, as an artist myself, I am re creating a few of dad's pieces to use in the film and to offer as Kickstarter perks.   Hint: Check out the Limited Edition Torgo staff in the perks! 

Manos Returns Kickstarter

Jackey and her Master painting

 ...and in case you missed it, Tonjia Atomic and I had a great live interview with Final Cut.  You can watch and listen here.  I love the acknowledgement to Tonjia for being a rare woman in horror film.  She is a trail blazer and I'm proud to be on her team.

Final Cut Podcast with Tonjia and Jackey

Stay tuned to the project.  We are announcing some cool new swag on Valentine's Day for all who love Manos!  I know I want some!!
Manos Returns Kickstarter

Manos Returns Kickstarter is 36% funded in a few days

As terrifying as it is to put myself out there so publicly and with a project that has the potential to draw scrutiny from fans and detractors of Manos, I still felt it had to be done, and so far no one else had.  The other thing is, that if my dad were to be part of the project and have an opportunity to see it finished, time was of the essence.  Dad is 80 and although he is one tough old bird, we are all mortal.   A sequel to Manos was in the works…again.  Way back in 2010 another sequel had been planned and even partially executed.  Part of what was filmed were my dad’s scenes and some other scenes that included other key people of Manos.  That project never got finished and never will.  The guy putting that together burned every bridge he walked across it seemed, in the debacle that was the first attempt at a sequel to Manos.   It was a big disappointment to all the people who had already put so much into it and I was sorely disappointed that I had dragged dad into something he would never see a benefit from doing.  A deeper sore point that it was Manos related and dad had only done it for me. 

  Fast forward to 2015 and much has happened in the interim.  Rachel Jackson’s Manos Hands of Felt in Seattle Washington, Manos The Hands of Fate as a stage production by Brian Koch in Portland Oregon, The Restoration of the original film in Blu-ray by Ben Solovey,  a prequel by David Roy titled The Rise of Torgo in postproduction.  And I wrote a book, Growing Up With Manos The Hands of Fate which will be available for sale within months.

Manos has given me opportunity to meet and collaborate with so many interesting and talented people and somehow during the journey, the right group of creative successful people just fell together and decided it was time to make a sequel.   We say it’s the will of MANOS and we’re kind of kidding, but we’re also kind of not. It's very strange how MANOS makes things happen, but we know enough by now to just go with it.

 A few days ago as we prepared to launch our Manos Returns Kickstarter on Friday the 29th, I felt sick.  I thought "What if me and a few crazy friends are the only ones that believe this is a cool thing to do?  What about my reputation?"  and then my very next thought was, "What reputation?  Geez Jackey, look what you're known for, after all."  and then I was fine.  So we launched and the thing  just took off.   Whether you love Manos or love to hate it, you have an opinion and the fans are speaking.  We are on the fourth day and as of this writing, we are 36% funded and coming up on $9000.00, and because of you, our project is #8 most popular in Kickstarter Film and Video projects.

This photo was last night before going to bed exhausted and happy.

We have a ways to go for our base goal and if we want to make our dream movie it's going to take more than that.  Please keep sharing and helping us get the word out so we can bring you the best fan film possible.

Manos Returns Kickstarter

Thank you so very much for your support.

Jackey

Manos Returns Kickstarter January 30

I’ve talked a little about the sequel to Manos and now it’s time to really start talking.  We are ready to get to work with a talented team of creative entrepreneurs and indie filmmakers and get this movie made.

 Jackey Neyman Jones (producer, lead actor) -  My dad was The Master and I was little Debbie in "Manos: The Hands of Fate.”  I live in the Great Northwest as a professional artist, art instructor and author of "Growing Up With Manos: The Hands of Fate" which is to be released soon.  I have been a special guest at numerous events like The El Paso Classic Film Festival, Hollywood Independent Film Festival, and Seattle’s Crypticon and have appeared in several film and theatrical projects including “Manos The Rise of Torgo”, “The Curse of Pelican Bay”(post production) and “She Run” (in production)

Tonjia Atomic (director) - Tonjia is an award-winning filmmaker, actress, musician, jeweler, and freelance writer. Her films range from the dark and disturbing to the light and comedic. She is best known for the films "Plain Devil," "Hobo with a Trash Can," and "Walking to Linas." Her writing has been featured in several online and print magazines. She's in the bands Duet To-It, Huh-Uh, and Filthy Issue. Her music has been featured in several films including "Bikini Gorilla" and "Scarewaves."

Steve Foley (writer/editor) - Steve, owner of Foley Video Productions, Inc. based in Tallahassee, FL, spent 17 years in broadcast television production before starting his own company in 1995. His recent film-related projects include post and effects on several short films and he is currently putting the finishing touches on a low budget horror anthology feature. In addition, Steve is working with the stars of cult film "Alien Factor" to produce DVD extras for the upcoming Blu-ray release.

Joe Sherlock (Director of Photography) - Joe is an award-winning filmmaker and a veteran of over 30 feature and anthology films. Joe’s extensive body of work includes "Drifter," "Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires" and "Twisted Fates," which have been screened across North America. His work as director of photography includes "Dead Ink," "The Evilmaker" and "Platoon of the Dead." Cult movie expert Joe Bob Briggs comments, "Drive-In Academy Award nominations for Joe Sherlock, the writer/director/composer/editor, for doing things the drive-in way."

Rachel Jackson is our behind the scenes everything from crafting the Kickstarter to marketing and sage advice.  She and her Manos puppets will be making an appearance in the film as well.

MANOS Returns is a tongue-in-cheek return to Valley Lodge. It follows a group of young would-be filmmakers who learn their favorite movie, “MANOS: The Hands of Fate,” is based on a true story. They set out to visit the site of the events that inspired the original and of course they find more than they bargained for.

Thanks to Mystery Science Theater 3000, MANOS has become a pop culture phenomenon, gaining more and more fans as time goes on. We think it’s high time we found out what became of everyone at Valley Lodge, so we want to film MANOS Returns this summer, release it on DVD and have it ready to screen in time for MANOS’s 50th anniversary on November 15^th.

There have been a number of Manos inspired projects through the years.  Some fizzled out, a few other completed the goal, and others are still in progress.   Several have been very successful.   Ones such as Manos Hands of Felt by Rachel Jackson, the HD Blu-ray of the Manos Restoration by Ben Solovey, distributed by Synapse and the Manos game by FreakZone Games for iPhone.   Manos Hands of Felt and the Restoration both launched Kickstarter campaigns to fund their projects and both far exceeded expectations.  Such is the love of Manos.  And let’s not forget the ones who made Manos known to the world to begin with.  Mystery Science Theater 3000, headed by Joel Hodgson (did I mention he wrote the foreword to my soon to be published Manos book?).   The November Kickstarter campaign to bring back MST3k quickly set records when the MST3K campaign became one of the top 10 most funded Kickstarter campaigns ever, closing near 6 million dollars . 

 So….  We’re not asking for nearly that much.  We don’t need that much.  Seriously.

In addition to the people already willing to help us with their time and resources, we know we can make a bare bones version of MANOS Returns for $24,000 (20,000 after the Kickstarter fees and reward fulfillment).  For $55,000, we can make the dream movie we envisioned when we started talking about this project. 

We’ve committed to this project and thanks to fan support we’ve already filmed The Master, my dad Tom Neyman in his part.   And we’ve got everything lined up to get Nicki Mathis, the vocalist on the original soundtrack, into the studio to re-record “Forgetting You” for our soundtrack as soon as the Kickstarter has ended.

The Kickstarter goes live January 30th. That’s the day that Mystery Science Theatre 3000 first brought MANOS back from oblivion in 1993, so we thought it was the perfect day to launch MANOS Returns. As soon as we launch, www.MANOSReturns.com will take you directly to our Kickstarter page. Please consider backing us on that first day; the faster we gain backers out of the gate, the more successful we’ll be.

If you can’t spare any money right now, but still want to help us get back to Valley Lodge, spreading the word about this campaign is a huge way you can show your support. Please share our Kickstarter far and wide. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Use the hashtag #MANOSReturns to bring the word of MANOS to all!

And thank you, as always, for your awesome support.

Manos Looks Ahead

Another very long gap between posts.   I sometimes think I’m done writing this blog but then realize there are always things to talk about when it comes to Manos.  Especially these days.  In the last year alone, the Restoration of Manos in Hd Blu-ray, distributed by Synapes was released to the public through Amazon and hit the top thirty best seller list in pre orders the week before it was available.   At the same time, the October 2015 issue of Playboy Magazine featured an article titled The Battle Over The Worst Movie Ever Made.  I had interviewed for it and my name begins the article.  The fun part for me was to be able to say that I was in Playboy.   Marking that off my bucket list at 56 years old.  My boyfriend loved using that as bragging rights.  My twenty one year old son?  Not so much.  Ha!                                                          Playboy Article

I was invited to Crypticon in Seattle last September to attend a screening of a short documentary “Conversations with Jackey Neyman”.  It was a last minute thing so I wasn’t a Special Guest and didn’t have a table or anything.  Little secret?   It was my first Con ever. I have never been to one.   I had the best time walking around anonymously with my Manos t shirt on and talking to people who recognized and commented on it.  Seems I got enough attention that I am invited back for Crypticon 2016 as a Special Guest.  Woo Hoo!  See you there!

I wrote a book.  Not only that, but I finished it and it is now in the hands (manos) of my publisher, Bear Manor Media. This project could not have possibly happened without my fabulous co-author Laura Mazzuca Toops with her editing skills and gentle prodding.  I just can’t imagine.  Started with a couple years thinking about writing it, then a couple more talking about it and then another length of time to find someone to guide me.  Took sixteen months to research and write, with a ton of sitting around staring into space with a stupid look on my face.  No one was around, so I’m just assuming that’s how it would have looked.  During all that time, I couldn’t seem to write anything else.  Grocery lists were a chore.  I also didn’t pick up another book to read.  So weird.  I love to read.  Now that I’m done writing (for a while, at least) I’m reading two.  Initially, I was going to write a story about my memories and those of my dad, The Master.  One thing led to another and I began uncovering things I had not known and people who I thought had disappeared forever or who were unknown in the first place.  I learned that I’m pretty good at research and that I enjoy it.  Maybe shoulda been a private eye.   This journey  resulted in recovered stories, new friendships begun, old ones renewed and much family healing. 

 I’ll let you all know the release date as soon as I hear anything.  Expecting it to be within the next few months and then some traveling to promote and meet the fans of Manos.  Check out the awesome cover art by Phil Dragash.  Also take a moment to notice the foreword is written by Joel Hodgson, the creator of MST3K!

So now time to focus on the next big Manos project, Manos Returns.  A sequel to Manos The Hands of Fate that I'm producing and my dad, The Master is appearing in.  Watch for our crowdfunding campaign coming soon.  Follow me here for notifications and updates and check out                                                                                               Manos Returns