Looking to 2010

With our new feature documentary Ghosts of War now in post-production, we are looking forward to some new projects! As mentioned earlier in 2009, we have adapted an H.P. Lovecraft story for the screen. It's titled The Tomb and we hope to develop this enough to go into pre-production this year or in early 2011.

Other projects under way is the development of a new story and script titled Far From the Evening that we hope to actually shoot in the Fall and Winter months of 2010--and at least two new short films that we hope to use as marketing tools at several film festivals. These are titled Schism and FM and we plan to shoot them this summer.

We are actually looking for some help with our projects:

Location Scout. If you are familiar with the outdoor areas in and around Memphis, as well as historical locations and homes, give us a shout.

Attorney. If you know a lawyer who wants to work some pro bono hours for helping a local productions company, please let me know. We need to clear some copy rights.

Composer. If you know any local composers who are interested in getting film credit and experience, send 'em our way.

In the meantime, stay tuned for more updates concerning Ghosts of War. We will start submitting to festivals this spring and hope to start doing a few private screenings of the film locally in Memphis this March.

If you are an actor and are interested in learning more about our projects (and want to be added to our casting call lists) send us a current headshot to info@elsinoreproductions.com. Cheers!

2009 Summer Update

With our film Ghosts of War going into post-production, I will be looking at a couple new projects for the fall. In the book realm, I am currently finishing my book for Llewellyn Publishing, The Ghost Hunters Field Guide to Haunted Locations. It is scheduled for a 2010 release (more on that later). Once that is out the door, I will continue writing about guerilla filmmaking, finish my Haunted Memphis book and possibly concentrating more on fiction work.

On the film/video front, I am currently in the process of adapting a story by H.P. Lovecraft into a short feature film (approx. one hour in length). Once I finish clawing my way through the legal mire that is the Lovecraft's copyrights/estate, I will know for sure whether or not I can proceed with this project. That said, I have a couple scripts of my own that may have to be used instead (this is in addition to the ever-in-development project Shimmer).

Ghosts of War, as I mentioned above, is now officially in post-production and I plan to have the final cut of the movie ready for October 1st and a Halloween release. That said, we plan to limit the release to local screenings at this point (one each in the states of Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois) to get some feedback and to repay the locations that allowed us to shoot with a fund-raiser screening of the film. I hope to get a television premiere of the film for the winter and a DVD release in early 2010 (come on networks, drop me a line...).

At this point, though, I'd like to thank everyone who made the movie possible and worked with us to get the film finished. First off, thanks to the locations in the movie: The Eldred House, the Harney Mansion, Octagon Hall, Magnolia Manor, and the Deason House. Second of all, thanks to our sponsors: Flip Video, Ghost Augustine U.S.A., and Digital Dowsing. I also want to thank the other members of Paranormal Inc, Mike Uelsmann and Brandon Delrosa, for their production help and for investigating each of the locations and getting killer evidence of the hauntings there. And finally some miscellaneous thank you's: Sullivan Journal (press), Haunted Times Magazine (press), Jim Taylor (for his wonderful and authentic music that is featured in the film), and the Memphis & Shelby County Film Commission (assistance with locations, permits, etc).

Stay tuned for upcoming screenings of Ghost of War, as well as more information regarding the general release and premiere of the movie. Cheers!

2009--The Outlook is Great...

Well, it's the new year and we at Elsinore Productions are hard at it! My newly released book, Cinematic Game Secrets (Focal Press), is on the shelf and three--count 'em three--more books are currently in production:

Guerilla Film Secrets is my new book chocked full of guerilla filmmaking skills, tips, and knowledge. We're not talking about film theory, or people telling you what you should do to make your low-budget movie. This book is about how to shoot your low-budget movie. Anyone can tell you to get free actors, write a script that takes place in nearby locations, and to avoid special effects. This book is about getting dirty, building and making what you need, and getting the job done. Should hit shelves late this year.

Haunted Memphis is my second book and is the culmination of working with the Paranormal Inc team and shooting our first feature documentary Ghosts of War. It's a 250-page, crammed full book of haunted locations, weird history, and information for ghost hunting in general. Read about infamous places like the Woodruff Fontaine house, the Hunt-Phelan home, or the legendary Brinkley Female College ghost story. This book will be dropping this summer.

Lastly, I have compiled a listing of over 1000 hauntings across the United States for my book The Ghost Hunters Field Guide to Haunted Locations. There are listings for every state--and every location is accessible to you, the budding ghost hunter! More information regarding this title's release will be forthcoming.

On the film front, we are in the final month of shooting our documentary about haunted Civil War sites called Ghosts of War. We are down to our last major location--but we can't seem to decide which we really want it to be! We're looking at the Harney mansion in Missouri, the Myrtles plantation in Louisiana, and Cedar Grove in Vicksburg, MS. Whichever we go with, you can bet it will be good! Our other eight locations have paid off in spades. Other than that, we are looking at a couple days for pickup shots and reshoots. When I return from speaking at the SXSW Interactive Festival, I will be diving headlong into editing to get us a summer release.

Stay tuned as we have lots more planned for this year on the film front: A narrative feature, a second documentary, and (most likely) a new short for the Elsinore Productions catalog.

Posted by: Rich Newman Contact Rich at info@elsinoreproductions.com