Eventide Productions is thrilled to announce the addition of producer Jason Contino to the Sufferance team.  Jason just wrapped up producing Ben Hickernell’s Lebanon, Pa.  which just had it’s world premiere @ SXSW 2010.  Before Lebanon, Pa. Jason had a string of successful low-budget horror movies, including the  2007 scare-flick The Murder Game about a group of teenagers who invent a game in which one of them is secretly chosen to be a “killer,” while the others remain innocent victims.  I’ve had a chance to get to know Jason over the last couple of years, not only as a producer but as a colleague and friend and he really is a joy to be around and work with.  He’s a smart, insightful and very sharp individual who has an amazing amount of knowledge and love for cinema.  The fact that he’s hilarious and handsome?  Well, that’s just gravy.

After the few chances that we’ve had to sit down and discuss the project, we are confident that he will make an excellent addition to the crew and we’re truly excited to have him on board.

On January 24th, 2010  I recieved the following email from SUFFERANCE screenwriter Matt Casale:

“At long last – it’s about time – and all that other fun stuff. The draft is finally done.
Of course there will always be corrections and tweaks and more re-writes, etc, etc, you stole fizzy lifting drinks…But you know what I say – don’t get it right, get it written.

So without further adu – I bring you Version 4.”

“A plague on both your houses!” ~ Mercutio: SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO AND JULIET.”

The script is by far the most important part of the movie-making process – It lays the foundation on which all other parts are built.  Shaky foundation, equals an unstable product.

After reading and re-reading the latest draft of SUFFERANCE, I find myself becoming more excited about the potential of the project.  There is still quite a bit of work ahead of us, but before we dive back in to re-writes, picking apart dialogue, character motivations, scene re-ordering, etc.  I want to appreciate this moment.  The moment where Matt reshaped a story that he’s had in his head for years and years and did an amazing job of blending his original vision with the current direction of the film.  The results are a truly rich and immersive world that is not only stocked with well-researched information, but also vibrant, colorful characters full of backstory.   I know it wasn’t an easy process for him, and I am truly thankful to have such a talented and passionate screenwriter on board.  This is my first (Of hopefully many) public thanks to someone I am proud to call my screenwriter, collaborator and most importantly.. a great friend.

Having a completed draft of the screenplay is not only exciting, it also means the beginning of the next step in the filmmaking journey. We can all start think about making this project happen!  We have a tactile product, so I can start thinking about actors and potential collaborators, camera work, storyboards, locations and special effects, music, costumes, production design; all the fun and exciting parts of the process that begin to create the film and help give it a unique identity.  Of course, one of the most important parts of the independent filmmaking process is fundraising, so with a draft of the script, we can put a rough budget together and begin the ambitious process of raising cash.  Geez! As I am writing this out, I’m realizing how much there is to do.  Better wrap up this entry and get to work!

Amazon.com announced today that Gary E. Irwin’s commercial is one of five finalists of the Your Amazon Ad Contest, Amazon’s first national competition in search of a television commercial idea from its customers. The submission, “WISH LIST,” along with all five finalists’ videos are available for customers to view and rate until September 6 at www.amazon.com/yaac.

“We were absolutely delighted with the level of creativity our customers demonstrated in their submissions,” said Steve Shure, vice president of global marketing at Amazon.com. “It was not an easy feat choosing only five finalists, and we’re very excited to see what our customers think about the videos.”

Props go out to all the cast and crew that volunteered their time and efforts to help pull this off. Special recognition must be given to producer Paul Irwin for his mad producing skills, Casting director Ann Gillette for pulling together a solid core of actors in just a few days, Get-Kinetic for the donations, D.P. Kevin Hackenberg for his slick eye, Gato, Inc. & Abad Rosa for the insane moco move, and GK’s editor/Visual FX guru, Dan Gauthier who made the project sing!

OK, so now onto the really important part. I have two big favors to ask of you:

1. Please head over to Amazon and please vote 5 stars for “Wish List” .

2. I would love some help spreading the word via email, facebook, twitter, LinkedIN, etc.

Here is the direct link to my submission.

In an effort to make this as easy and painless as possible (Because I know you’re all busy folks) please feel free to copy and paste the post into an email/blog/etc. Also, below is a quick headline that you can use in the social site(s) of you desire….

“Gary Irwin’s submission for the Amazon Ad Contest has been named as a finalist! Please do me a huge favor and Vote 5 stars for “Wish List.” http://tinyurl.com/ldg5za and please post this as your status and get all of your friends to vote too! Thanks everyone!”

Originally developed by OF DARKNESS screenwriter Matt Casale along with his cousin William Bedner, the script is currently in re-writes and will hopefully begin fundraising in Spring 2010.  SUFFERANCE has been pushed ahead of the companies other project INDIGO FALLS and will now be the teams first foray into Feature film territory.

An Interview with horror guru Matt Molloy of Scars Magazine and Of Darkness director Gary E. Irwin is available now in Magazine’s March 2009 issue.  Irwin and Molloy chat OF Darkness, working w/ kids, motivations, challenges, FEARnet, and what’s next for the EP team.

Other issue highlights include: Sweatshop Interviews: Stacy Davidson, Ted Geoghegan and Ashley Kay, Marcus Nispel returns to Crystal Lake, Splinter’s Toby Wilkins, Scream Queen Brooke Lewis, Yatterman, Old Habits Die Hard, Horror Business and more!

Head over to Scarsmagazine.com to pick up a hard copy of the issue for $8.95 or a digital version for only 3 bucks.

The Winner will receive the OF DARKNESS Value Pack, which includes the DVD, T-Shirt & Poster

The Runner-up will received a copy of the DVD.

Sign up today at obscurehorror.com

Head over to Badlit.com for a full review of the DVD, including a small review on OF DARKNESS.

To find out more about Festival of Horrors or to pick up a copy, check out Rudderpost’s online store.

Greater Philadelphia Filmmakers, established in 2001, is a natural extension of work that the Film Office has fostered for years. In addition to attracting production to the region for the purpose of economic development, the Film Office is committed to nurturing the local industry in every way possible.

Well, not to worry, below are three ways you can check out the film that everyone is talking about.  Some that offer cheaper prices and others that offer more convenience.

1. Buy the DVD directly from Eventide Productions – This is our preferred method, of course.  $10.00 and it goes right into the pockets of us filmmakers. 

2. Download or Stream it from Caachi - That’s right!  You can now stream or download the film from Caachi.com.  Next best thing  – $4.50 and 75% goes into the filmmaker’s pockets. You can also add a nifty little Vidget to put on your Facebook or MySpace page. 

3. Buy the DVD from Amazon.com – We know most folks prefer to order things from Amazon.com these days, and now “Of Darkness” is available for purchase, so next time your buying something, throw it into your shopping cart and you probably won’t even have to pay shipping.  This option costs $12.99 – Honestly, we may only see half of this cash, but if it means more people get to see it, then it’s still a solid option.  

In addition to these options, we have a few more distribution options cooking…in the upcoming weeks, the film will be available to rent through Amazon’s Video OnDemand and we’re also working on making the film available to download directly through iTunes.

Of Course, If you’ve already seen the film, you can always pick up a T-Shirt or Poster.

———————————————————————————

Here are some non-financial support options, you can do one/some/all of the following (listed in effort-inducing hierarchical fashion):

The “1-minute approach” – You can forward this on to your friends, family, colleagues, roommates, classmates, frenemies, enemies…whoever you think might be interested. They, in turn & if interested, can do the same. This will spread awareness of the project, and possibly develop an entirely new audience who would have otherwise been cheated out of a chance to see & enjoy the film.

The “5-minute approach” – You can head over to YouTube and check out the brand new “Of Darkness” trailer. Watch it, rate it, share it…help to elevate the project’s YouTube popularity, thus gaining a wider audience for the film on a daily basis.

The “10-minute approach” - For those of you with a bit more social web-presence, you can can use your Myspace page to become a friend of the ‘Darkness’ (& if you’re already a friend, then please grab the new “Of Darkness” banner and post it on your profile). If you’re a Facebook savvy sort, become a fan ‘Of Darkness’ and share with everyone. Are you a social bookmarker? Use the “ShareThis” feature, located at the bottom of of each page, to add the Eventide Online Store to your Digg, Del.i.cious, twitter, Google, Reddit, etc pages.

The “20-minute approach” – This is for all of you bloggers out there. Spend some time on our site and blog about us (Or Post a link) on your blog.

“Of Darkness” is now available for download through Caachi

For only $4.50, download the DRM-free DivX/Xvid version of ”Of Darkness” for your computer & TV or the H.264 version for iTunes and your video iPod & iPhone. You can also watch instantaneously using Watch Now! streaming video – no waiting, no downloads, & no commercials. 

If you check out the film and want to support us further, you can head over to our Eventide Storefront, and pick up a DVD copy of the film (loaded with tons of special features!) or an official “Of Darkness” T-Shirt.  

Want to know more about “Of Darkness”?

Still curious about what Caachi is all about? 

Confused about how to download the film?