Out West (or) Out to Lunch?

After more than four years on the air,I know that I have aired a few episodes way too many times and knowing that people can only watch the same show so many times,I get why maybe the most loyal of fans give up and eventually stop tuning in each week.

After my first couple years on the air it sometimes became a bit of a struggle each week to keep coming up with new shit week after week but with this new series on the air now,I'm feeling stoked all over again.

That being said,it really sucks when I get emails from people out West telling me they didn't get to watch "Don and Corey were friends" last night,instead they tuned in to see that DOGBOY "the untold story" for the THIRD week in a row!

How the hell is a guy suppose to build back a fan base when the same damn episode is aired three weeks in a row in one of the biggest television markets in the country! I get that screw ups happen once in a while and I'm just some shmuck who use to buy his own airtime and it's not like this new series is airing in prime time or anything but what about the viewers who watch Global and CHTV who like watching Survivor and all the prime time show but also like watching my dumb little show? People like Jillian who just emailed me to ask what the hell is going on with same episode airing over and over again.What about them?

Obviously I will be inquiring about all these scheduling problems on Monday morning but there isn't really a ton I can even do about it.That's what really sucks about all this!

Tonight the show airs again in Ontario on CHTV at 12:30 but I have no idea what will even be on the air. What a mess this has been these past few weeks. If anyone watch's tonight,let me know what episode ends up on the air.

I'm going out for a steak dinner and then to a late movie for some popcorn.Going to the movies is a good idea when you just want to escape for a few hours and not have to think about all the crap you can't help but think about in your life.

Have a great weekend everyone.I think we are going to see The Matador tonight. It looks like it might be the kind of flick I usually enjoy watching.

Don & Corey were friends

Pozz and the boys are all geared up to see "Don and Corey were friends" tonight on Network television. I was suppose to hook up with them tonight down town for a few drinks but I told some friends I would join them tonight in Burlington for a late dinner and it takes 45 minutes to get into Toronto from here so I'll hoop it up with the boys next Saturday night when the episode airs again instead!

I hope there are a few of you who are staying in tonight and will be able to see tonight's show. Especially since last Friday night there was a mix up at the network and DOGBOY "the untold story" aired for the second week in a row. It sucks when that stuff happens but what am I going to do about it? Somebody screwed up,but it's not like they aired the wrong episode of Survivor or something! As always,I just gotta keep rolling along and be happy when things go right I guess.

Things went very right with this little movie you guys will see tonight. I see lots of potential in Pozz and in the characters he created for this short film.I can't wait to start working on the next short film with these guys.We had a really good time making this last movie and the guys were a blast to hang out with!

It's nice to be looking forward to a second season already but there's one thing I haven't figured out yet,that's what to call this new series of mine.You may have noticed that I keep putting different titles on the home page.I'm curious what you guys think I should call this series.

a)JR DIGS PRESENTS
b)In The Can with JR DIGS
c)FADE IN with JR DIGS
d)?

I'm meeting with the Network suits in a few weeks to talk about the series and where I want to see it go from here so I really have to start thinking about what I'm going to call the show this summer!

Let me know what you guys think as well as any thoughts you might have about tonight's episode.

I gotta roll.

LAST BLAST FOR A PODCAST?

I haven't had a ton of time to update my blog lately but hey,not doing this little radio show/spot anymore might be a way to free up at least a few minutes each week. Last week my good pal "Frankie" walked out of the studio half way through the show and today we had a total melt down on the air!

Could this be the end of a life long friendship or the beginning of things to come on the radio each week for Frankie and me? If you didn't hear last weeks radio show you can find it in last Thursdays blog like Kevin did....

I'm really enjoying your new radio show says kevin in the email he sent me the other day,and then goes on to say..... however, the ongoing antics of Frankie Colorado, deeply concern me. His bi-polar radio persona comes across a devious blend of "school-girl tattle-tale" and a "rattlesnake with teen-angst". He acts out like a fiendish-ghoul,Hell-bent on trying to sabotage everyone's fun (perhaps even by stealing microphones from the studio?).

I know he is your friend and I do enjoy the "Four Minutes of Fame" program, I just worry about Frankie. His apparent fear of girls became all the more obvious last week when he barred all females from entering the studio while he was on the air.I worry that such attitudes may complicate his ability to develop the social graces necessary to become a successful radio host.

Keep fighting the good fight, JR.


....Thanks Kevin and to everyone else who has sent me emails lately about the radio show/spot that we have been doing for the last few weeks on CFMU 93.9 Thursday mornings.

click here to listen to todays show!

The untold story was told once too many times this weekend....

Hey guys,
Thanks for the emails about Friday nights show.I have no idea why DOGBOY "the untold story" aired nationally again for the second week in a row but obviously the wrong episode got put on the air and I'll try finding out what happened first thing Monday morning so I can make sure the right episodes air next weekend.That really sucks and I appreciate you guys letting me know about the screw up.

I've always thought feedback from fans and people who have seen my show was an important part of this entire process for me. Not just because you guys email me to let me know a scheduled episode didn't end up airing,but because emails and feedback about the show also let me know if I'm even on the right track or not with the show. When you change directions the way I have with this new series,getting your emails actually becomes an important part of the process. Staying on the air somehow over the years has been a part of that process but it's only been half the battle. What's it done is allowed me to hang in there and fight the other half of this battle for sure, and that's the tough half!

All this time on the air has allowed me to experiment and try a few different things with the direction of the show which is cool.You never know what might work I guess but at the end of the day,viewers and fans of the show are the ones who determine what does and what doesn't!

After over four years of trying to figure all this out,one thing I know for sure is that you have to stick to what you believe in.You have to be relentless and passionate about what you are doing and eventually if you are lucky,you will come up with something original and interesting and that's what it all boils down to.You have to do something original or at least it has to be perceived that it is.

I recently got this email from Drew.... Subject: want to do short film.

Message: I'm watching your show right now and I think where your taking it is great! it was awesome before, but letting others do some insane things like this dogboy stuff is even better! your on to something, and doing something original! amazing. I live in Ottawa I and I'm sure I could come up with something just as crazy or crazier then that.

Either get me to do the next film or get those guys back, anyway very creative. Big fan since the beginning. Eat shit haha best ending ever.

....It's great to hear from people who have been fans of the show for a few years and still seem pumped about what I'm doing or at least am trying to do with this new series.It might take a little time and I know that I might lose some of my old fan base who still just want to see me doing all that Jack Ass,Tom Green shit but that's the stuff my friends and I were doing a million years ago now.Hell the boys from Jack Ass were doing that stuff a million years ago as well but it just wasn't on TV then,it was only on skate videos! Yep,it's time to move on guys!

I hope there are more of you out there like Drew who liked what I was doing before but are even more interested in what I'm doing now. There are tons of new idea's I have that I look forward to shaping into something.Producing these short films and looking for talented and aspiring film makers to work with is a gas! It's going to be a lot of fun creating this new series but in the end,it will be you guys who decide if it's original and entertaining enough to keep watching.

Do any of you guys ever watch the show on MenTV Sunday nights at 9:30pm.It's a pretty sweet timeslot but I don't know of that many people who even get that digital channel.Just curious.

Moving on to more important matters....I'm addicted to ping pong! Stay tuned for more details in my next blog!

This weekend on the tube!

Hi Guys,
I'm taking the rest of the night off to go out for dinner and relax a little bit so I thought I would quick update my blog here and let everyone know that the podcast of are radio spot on CFMU is online and in Thursdays blog now.Something got screwed up and it didn't show up until today so I apologize to those of you who have been emailing me about it.

Speaking of emails,I got kind of a cool one from Kevin the other day.Check it out.....

Hey JR.

Last week's "Dogboy" episode was outstanding! That movie was truly an emotional rollercoaster ride!

Personally, I would have been quite happy if the young actress did take off all of her clothes (but those reasons have nothing to do with the movie). You did a great job easing the situation and preventing the set from degrading into complete chaos. It was also unfortunate that Stephen's (?) mother couldn't understand that cinematic history that was being made in the bathtub, when she got home. Talk about suffering for your art.

Wow. You really went all out with the "method acting" at the auto show. What a great way to allow the viewers to get a feel for such a complicated (and tragic) character. It was as though, by telling everyone around him to "Eat Shit" he was actually telling himself to"Eat Shit", very profound. Marlon Brando would be proud.

I can't wait for "The Bolts and Nuts or Hoes and Sluts", it sounds like a real genuine, sex romp!

Keep up the great work!
Kevin
PS. When is Kayvon finally going to make his much anticipated cinematic debut?

.....Thanks Kevin! Kayvon will be featured in one of the upcoming short films as the most famous Pizza delivery boy in the history of the world! I'll keep everyone posted with regards to when that movie will be on the air. Tonight being aired Nationally will be a kind of filler type episode which will give me another week to keep jammin away at putting together the next two new episodes that will be airing.Next week will be a cool little movie called "Don and Cory were friends" and the week after that will be the movie Kevin is waiting for called "The bolts and Nuts of Hoes and Sluts" which is a movie about robots sent down to earth to have sex with every woman they can talk into jumping into the sack!

Saturday night in Ontario on CH at half past midnight "DOGBOY the untold story" will air again which is the other movie Kevin was talking about so if you live in Ontario and didn't see it last week,make sure you check it out.

Thanks for all emails guys,keep em coming.The feedback is awesome.Have a great weekend everyone!

PODCASTING & EAR BLASTING!

In case you guys missed us on the radio this morning at 9:30am which is are regular spot now on CFMU 93.3,I've got the podcast hear for you guys to listen to.Every week after are fifteen minute spot on the radio Thursday mornings,we end up with fifteen more minutes of booked time in the studio so we use every second of it.We continue recording and then I put the full half hour here in my blog for you guys to check out.

Like I've mentioned in the past,this isn't even close to being what I would consider to be a radio show. I don't have the time these days to begin working on a radio show each week but this little experiment has been a riot so far! It's just me and a buddy having some fun on a college radio station which is quite clear in the last fifteen minutes of this podcast.

click here and have a listen if you want to know what I mean.

NEW WORLD! SAME OLD CRAP!

Hey guys,
This is the first night in what feels like a long time that I haven't had anything to shoot or work on so I'm enjoying doing nothing and I made no plans that might screw me out of a good night sleep that's long overdue.I suppose I could have slept through the movie I went to see tonight and not missed anything.The New World was even more disappointing than I figured it was going to be but it only cost $6 and there wasn't anything else playing that I would have wanted to see at the cheap ticket price theatre and I just felt like kicking back with some popcorn and watching a movie.

Now that I'm home here I thought maybe I would catch up on some emails and stuff that I have been neglecting getting around to. There doesn't really seem to be that many emails from you guys regarding last nights episode featuring DOGBOY "the untold story". That either means you guys weren't all that jazzed with last nights episode or most of you were doing something else last night and you didn't even see it. I didn't get home myself until around 1:30am or so last night after rapping up shooting with Chris Nash on his new film for the series.The title of this film is hilarious.It's called "The bolts and nuts or hoes and sluts" and it's all about Robots who have been sent down to earth to have sex with all the women of earth! There's a little more to the storyline but we can get into that another time.

Tonight at 12:30am on CHTV in Ontario,"COPS" is airing again and next Saturday night at the same time "Dogboy the untold story" airs again in Ontario.I'm really trying to jam these first batch of short films out to get the ball rolling on the new series but I have to admit,I'm already looking forward to season two this spring because the film makers and I will have a little more time to work on scripts and and the prep work that's needed I you really want to be able to shoot some kickass funny little movies!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far and I hope that you guys keep emailing me and giving me your thoughts and feedback about the concept for the new series. I've started looking for more film makers to shoot movies with for season two as well so with that in mind,keep spreading the word guys,I apprecaite it.

Oh ya,you may have also noticed that I put a bunch of new video clips on the video page and there is a couple new ones on the home page as well.Expect to continue seeing the video page updated after each new short film goes on the air each week.

I wonder what it cost to make that crappy movie I watched tonight? More than a couple hundred bucks,that's for sure!

WHATS NEW IN RADIO LAND!

It's cool to know that so many of you guys are reading my blog and continue to be interested in my adventures into Tv Land. It sounds like some of you are even willing to follow me into the dark unexplored worlds of radio as well. Obviously you guys know how interested I have been in following Howard Sterns adventure towards Satellite radio and how bummed I was about not being able to listen to his new show here in Canada. Until Shane P(not Shane Cunningham)started sending me all of Howards new shows of coarse! Thanks again Shane,you are the best. I have been putting all of Howards new shows that you have been sending me onto cd's and listening to them in my car for the past few weeks,it's been awesome!

Then ealier this week in case you haven't heard, Howard finally found his way onto Canadian sirius satellite radio. I wanted to thank all of you have emailed me to let me know about the news.I live in a bit of a bubble these days so it's great to know that I can count on you guys to keep me up to speed on what's going on in the world.Especially when it comes to stuff I'm actually interested in.

My interest in radio seems to be growing more and more these days and satellite radio is definitely the brave new frontier that will open up all kinds of new opportunities for people like me who often find themselves on the outside looking in all the time!

Are little experiment on College radio these days is proving to be more fun than I ever thought it would. Hanging out with my buddy and shootin the shit on the radio each week for a few minutes is a riot.It's a long way away from being a radio show but down the road,who knows.For now though,it's mostly just alot of fun for us.

If you missed are radio spot this morning at 9:30am on 93.3 CFMU,you can check it out right here in my blog.We only have fifteen minutes on the radio every Thursday morning but the studio is booked for a half an hour so we have been using every minute of the studio time and I have been posting it here each week as a podcast.

click here to listen

HOOKIN UP MY BOYS!

Hey guys,it's creeping into the wee hours here again and I'm hardly awake enough to say anything interesting right now but this seems to be the only time when I feel like I can take a bit of a break and update my blog.

From the second I wake up until the second I crash at night, I'm busy as hell working on this new series and trying to take care of all the other stuff that needs to be taken care of to keep things rollin along.The pace has become so frantic it's almost astonishing that I'm still enjoying it as much as I am!

Sorry if I haven't emailed some of you back yet but I will,I promise.It's great to hear from you guys about the new series now that its on the air.I even received an email from Branden who is one of the film makers who's short film will be featured this weekend.Branden use to be my editor on the old show which is I guess one of the reasons why I let him take a stab at making a movie for the new series.Branden and Shane who's film was featured last weekend spent a lot of time with me working on the old show back in the day. After all the hard work and the sacrifices that were made on a weekly basis by these guys while I struggled to keep my show on the air,it's great to be able to repay them in a way by offering each of them this opportunity to make a short film and have it aired on Network televison.Plus I knew I could count on these guys to get the series rolling with a couple cool little movies. They are both extremely hard working talented guys.

Lots of people are starting to contact me these days about wanting to make a short film for the new series but Shane and Branden are my boys and it's cool that they got the first crack at it. "COPS" was really good considering all the pressure Shane was under to get it shot in just two days and now its Brandens turn to strut his stuff this weekend with his movie DOGBOY "the untold story".It sounds like Branden liked "COPS" as much as I did and now he's eager to air his short film this weekend.

Branden writes.....

Hey JR!
I just watched the first new episode and wanted to say that it was truly awesome television!

I think the show's finally found its path and it could actually take off an go places.

Shane - your film was awesome. Andrew's actually got some charisma - Iloved his one liners. Bram's pretty hilarious too - and I couldn't stop laughing when I saw JR and his shifty eyes...it's a subtle thing, but really funny when it plays out on TV.

Anyhow, I'm looking forward to seeing "Dogboy: The Untold Story" on air this Friday.

Let's keep the momentum going...our potential next film: "Dogboy: The Detective Story".

Set in the swinging 1940's, Dogboy, a drunken disheveled, down on his luck,private detective, is recruited by a sultry femme fatale to solve a mysterious crime, but ends up being dragged deeper and deeper into the bowels of organized crime.I'm thinking we would shoot it like Sin City...very film noir.

It's great to see you so pumped about the new series JR.It's been a long time since Ive seen you this interested and excited about what you are putting on television.

We got to host a screening party for our films sometime!

Branden

"COPS" was very funny says Guy Hebert!

I thought I would take a break from editing here for a few minutes and make a quick blog about "COPS". It was the first short film to be featured as part of the new series and it aired this past weekend.If you missed it and you live in Ontario then you will be happy to know that it will air again this Saturday night @ 12:30am on CHTV.If you watched it this past weekend,I would like to encourage you to email me and let me know what you thought of it.First time director Shane Cunningham would probably love the feedback as well.

From Shane to all of you out there in blog land:

Hello Everyone,
I hope you all liked my movie "Cops" even though I had to chop five minutes of the film out the final product for time purposes which might have made it hard to understand at parts. There really wasn't much time for character development but thats how it is in the world of short films (a longer version will probly be available on dvd in the future). My cast was way better than I expected especially Andrew "the physco fan" who I hadn't even planned on having in my movie. There was a lot of problems with lighting (running out of daylight) and audio (not having any external microphones) but all in all i think considering i only had two days and it was my first "real film" it was ok. I just hope my next film, TEEN WOLF 3: Return Of The Wolf, KICKS "COPS" ASS. I just hope every movie i make is better than the
last. Thanks for watching.

I look forward to hearing about what some of you thought of it.

Love Shane

A BRAND NEW JR DIGS!

I never really feel like myself unless I get seven or eight hours of sleep at night so it's good that all I have to do yet today is act like someone else in the movie we are rapping up tonight.I give each of these unknown directors a camera,some mic's and two days to shoot a short film.The budget for each of these films is almost none existent.

Right now were are shooting a little flick called "Dan and Corey were friends" and I have to admit,it's turning out way funnier than I thought it might.It's alot different than "COPS" that goes on the air tonight,that's for sure.

I think you guys are going to really like this short film by my old pal Shane"the cameraman"Cunningham. Shane and I go way back so it's very cool to be featuring his short film "COPS" as the first movie in this new series of mine. Shane use to volunteer to shoot footage with me for the show back in the day and now he's scraping together his own money to make little movies for me to showcase on network television.I don't want to give too much away about this movie so check it out and let me know what you think.I think it's hilarious!

It's the beginning of a brand new JR DIgS guys,I got a brand new television series,I just bought a new pair of pants and my brand new radio show went on the airwaves this morning on CFMU.I'm glad to hear that some of you listened to it on the radio and on line.

Right now it's just me and a buddy shooting the bull on college radio but six months from now when I have a little more time,I'm sure we will seriously work at developing an actual radio show.For now it's just a lot of fun for us,check it out if you want to.....

click here to listen!

Watch "COPS" tonight!

Am I the only one still awake?

Just rolled in from are first day of shooting "Dan and Corey were friends" which is going to be a really cool little movie.

The stuff we shot so far was hilarious but right now I'm pretty bagged so I'm not going to get into all the details and besides,I need a few hours of sleep before I have to get up and back to shooting this movie again on Friday.I guess this is Friday now isn't it.It was Thursday the last time I checked but like I was saying,I really need to crash and get some sleep.

I just thought I should make a quick blog here because I wanted to let everyone know that are first radio show on CFMU hit's the airwaves Friday morning sometime between 9-10:00am.I'm not sure exactly what time the program director is going to slide are pre-recorded show into the schedule this week because we got bumped Thursday morning because of some student election debate or something.Are regular spot looks like it will be Thursday mornings at 9:30am!

You can listen to the show on line if 93.3 isn't CFMU where you happen to live!

I bought a pizza pita on my way home so I'm going to go eat it now and then crash.I'll touch base with you guys later.

What a crazy ass week this has been.