December 31, 2004 --
With the year at an end, I thought this was the appropriate time to give my
year-end speech. I’m sure many of you will agree that this past year,
especially this past summer, went by incredibly fast. It’s amazing that the
cast and crew survived Fairview Falls (no pun intended) considering all
of the mishaps we encountered along the way – deaths, illnesses, accidents,
and near brushes with the law. But we did survive it.
Fairview Falls has been a defining experience for me. It has made me
become a better filmmaker. In many ways, the experience was much like it was
with Fear of the Dark. It was a new cast (mainly) and it was a chance
for me to experiment cinematically. New friendships and partnerships were
formed and love blossomed on the set. Fairview Falls has definitely
made an impact on many of those involved with it, hopefully for the better.
I think it was when I was my daughter’s age that I first had a dream that I
would one day become a filmmaker. I used to borrow my father’s old Super 8
and make claymation movies, and Dracula and Frankenstein
movies. I came across a claymation short a few years ago and it wasn’t bad at
all. Now with digital editing, I can narrow down the gap between frames and
include it on the DVD as a goof. I grew up around horror movies and was
always fascinated with the macabre. Recently, I did an interview with Sara
Karloff (daughter of Boris Karloff) and Bill Diamond (Dark Crystal and
Bill Diamond's Monster TV) for Hacker's Source. I had the
opportunity to talk to Sara about her father whose movies have been a big
influence on me as a horror filmmaker. Here I am full circle, doing what I
love 25 years later. And, it couldn’t have been done without the support from
my Light & Dark family and our growing fan base.
A lot has been accomplished so far. In 1999, Fear of the Dark was a dream.
Now, 5 years later the Black Rose Killer is the staple of Light & Dark’s
notoriety. We have been approached by a toy company about the possibility of
doing Black Rose Killer, Rellik and Gentleman figures. There is even interest
in doing trading cards from Light & Dark movies. We have been featured on web
sites and in magazines and newspapers from all over the world. We are
exploring a number of merchandising mediums for the coming year to improve and
expand upon the Light & Dark universe. Many of the talented actors and
actresses that we have worked with have gone onto bigger and better things.
Suzi Leigh (appeared in FHM), Syn DeVil (Scream's of Terror Scream Queen of the Year 2004) and Debbie Rochon are in a new horror calendar. Suzi and
Debbie are also hosting shows on the new
Fangoria TV channel. Ring of Darkness which Mike Gingold
wrote was released overseas this past year and will debut in the states on
video on March 29th. Media Blasters wrapped Shadow (with Tony “Candyman” Todd)
this past October that Mike also wrote and Brian Spears and
Pete Gerner did the effects for with the help of Gene Mazza. Sal Sirchia worked on
Coalition and did two songs for the soundtrack. Kirk Larsen had a
guest spot on the Montel Williams show. The accomplishments
that many of you have made are too many to list here. I’m proud to have
worked with you all.
We wrapped No Trespassing 2: No Exit, a short for the forthcoming Fairview
Falls DVD this past October. It was well received at this past
year's Fourth Annual Putnam County International Film & Video Festival.
It features music by David Aaron and Ashes of October. You will be
seeing a lot more songs incorporated into the soundtracks for Fairview
Falls and Sins of the Father.
I’m currently in postproduction on Sins of the Father. My aim is to get that
completed by the Spring followed with the bonus materials and a Fear of the
Dark special edition over the summer.
After the New Year, I still have 2 shots left for Fairview Falls. We did a
pickup for the party/woods scene a little over a month ago. There are plans to shoot
additional bonus materials next year for both Fairview Falls and
Sins of the Father.
Fairview Falls postproduction won’t begin until mid to late summer. Having
finally viewed all of the footage, I can say that there are some truly
remarkable performances.
Finally, though it’s too soon to go into any specific details, Mike Lane and I
have joined forces for another movie that will be shot in about 2 years. We
are hoping that this will be the first of a wave of fresh new ideas now that
the Black Rose Killer is in retirement and that it will be a significantly
higher budget. Mike's official web site is now merged with Light & Dark.
Check it out.
www.lightanddark.net/MikeLane.htm
We will be at Chiller Theatre January 7
- 9 supporting the full line of Brain Damage movies as well as our own.
Come check us out! Until then, I hope you
all have a wonderful holiday and a safe and happy new year and be sure to
sign up for our new Yahoo! Group!
Back to Top
