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Spring 2006 (Entertainment stylist and Indy film fan) OK get this, I got to go to my first big time premiere and I almost didn’t make it inside the building! Unless you have been living under a rock by now you have heard the buzz surrounding the distributor’s Promo screening of Edgewood’s latest film “ILLEGAL ALIENS” at Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca Theater in New York City. The event was a smash with coverage from a HUGE amount of media, from ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, GERALDO, THE INSIDER, EXTRA, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW YORK POST, LIZ SMITH, and a ton more. It was held the day after one of the film’s stars, ANNA NICOLE SMITH had a hearing before the Supreme Court of the United States. (If you don’t know about that one there is really nothing I can do for you…) The screening was only a promo reel of about 16 minutes of selected scenes from the film, it was cleverly edited for distributors and invited guests only. Problem was, there was so much media coverage that it delayed the screening by almost 20 minutes, and due to the mess ANNA NICOLE decided not to attend at the last minute. (On the Supreme courthouse steps the day before there was so much pushing and shoving by the media that some people were actually trampled!) Anna and her son DANIEL SMITH are also producers and investors in the film, so it was left to Director DAVID GIANCOLA to face the media to explain the situation alone; MEDIA (Some guy from E.T. who is incredulous): “You are telling us that Anna Nicole Smith is afraid of us? The other photographers and news crews grunt for an answer. They want blood. GIANCOLA “Are you kidding? I am just some little filmmaker from Vermont and I am scared of y’all” Regardless, many of the film’s cast, JOANIE “CHYNA” LAUNER, LENISE SOREN, DENNIS LEMOINE, WOODY KEPPEL and the film’s Executive Producer JOHN JAMES (yes TV’s DYNASTY hunk) gave interviews and the media got a great story which ran for days. After the media was cleared out the screening was a riot and the after party was a blast! Oh, so how come I almost missed it? Well the studio had to increase the security so tight at Tribeca that I was kicked out until one of the film’s Producers ZORINAH JUAN spotted me on the sidewalk and waved me in. Thank you Zorinah! The film, a satirical sci-fi/action/comedy is now planned for a post-Labor Day release has become a true juggernaut for the studio. Director DAVID GIANCOLA has been busy supervising the editors JUSTIN BUNNELL and NATHAN BEAMAN along with digital special effects artist TIM MACK who are completing post-production on the film. ALSO, “ILLEGAL ALIENS” features music from some major recording artists (they won’t let me tell who…curses!) and over 200 special effects shots. I have snuck into the studio’s conference room many times to listen in on Executive Producer JOHN JAMES and Producer MARY BETH FRENCH negotiating with some major players in the biz for distribution rights to the film (again, they won’t tell me who…double CURSES!) Mr. James tells me they have already turned down many offers that came in right after the Tribeca screening; “We know we have something very special in this film, it has tested through the roof with audiences and we have done our homework with retailers who say the film hits their DVD sweet spot for sales” said James. He mentions that the Theatrical release for the film is being specially crafted to target the film’s demographic. “We will premiere in L.A. and hit many major cities but we know the heartland of the country and college towns are our real audience.” Translation: The film is more “Wedding Crashers” than “Brokeback Mountain”…. I mean I was listening to Director Giancola call for more farting sound effects the other day… did I mention that the film is a riot? Next door to the edit suites, Director DAMON LE MAY and sound mixer DAN MAZUR are finishing the sound mix on the gory and strangely funny (think “Shaun of the Dead”) horror film; “ZOMBIETOWN”. The film will be out around the end of summer this year. Not to be too overly promoting (I don’t ACTUALLY love everything produced here at Edgewood) but this film looks like a sleeper hit with horror fans to me. These two films are some of the best works I have seen come out of Edgewood! Ironically while Giancola is calling for farts, Director LeMay is next door calling for more screams… The Award-Winning short film “THE SPIRIT: TEN MINUTES” is now available on-line at Edgewood’s Studio Store on VHS and DVD. It’s a film I haven’t seen until last week and although it is far less accomplished that most of Edgewood’s films, it has been really neat for me to see Mr. Giancola’s talents progress over a couple of decades. The film is a must-buy for WILL EISNER and “THE SPIRIT” COMIC-BOOK fans. GOSSIP ALERT: Edgewood Facility Manager TOBY FITCH recently had to add strict security measures surrounding the studio’s computer network as it was discovered that some hackers were trying to gain access to Edgewood’s network. The network includes the file sharing of the editing and special effects for the studio’s productions. It seems that some rabid fans of JOANIE “CHYNA” LAURER were trying to get a sneak look at scenes from “ILLEGAL ALIENS” by accessing the wireless network while sitting in the studio’s parking lot. Mr. Fitch tells me now everyone has passwords and firewalls and all the footage from the film has been watermarked to thwart piracy. However, he promises that the studio will release some selected sneak preview scenes this summer, probably through Apple’s I Tunes website and Edgewood’s own webpage. |
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