The Night Shift: The beginning

Editor's Note: I'm happy to begin our new weekly feature, The Night Shift - which is the on-set diary of the new independent supernatural-adventure-comedy of the same name currently in pre-production in Mobile, AL. Over the course of the next several weeks and months, you'll get an insider's peek at what it's like for filmmakers to craft a new entry of paranormal pop culture. A big welcome to Erin Lilley, who is involved in the film as a producer and actress, and who will be taking over writing duties every Friday. Now I'm going to pass it along to her to introduce you to The Night Shift. - Aaron Sagers

The Night Shift

Hi, Paranormal Pop Culture readers!  My name is Erin Lilley, and I'm one of the producers of the upcoming independent film, The Night Shift.  I'm also one of the actors, so when our executive producer and director, Thomas Smith, was approached about doing this blog, he very sweetly Shanghai...er, thought of me.  Actually, I'm thrilled to have this opportunity, and can't wait to share with you some of what's going on behind-the-scenes.

So what is The Night Shift?  It is the feature-length version of a short film that our company, Fighting Owl Films, produced in 2008.  The original film focused on Rue Morgan, the undead caretaker of a cemetery with a slight demon problem.  The film was shot in Mobile, Alabama (really), with local talent playing Rue, his best friend Herb (a quick-witted skeleton torso with a flair for fashion), Claire (the living day shift worker and Rue's crush), and Trigger (the demon in western wear).  It cost about $200, and had a crew of about six people, including the actors.  It went on to screen in several film festivals across the country, and has garnered a lot of support and interest online. 

We also received the thrill of our lives when Fangoria reviewed it positively (shown here).  I'm seriously still in a bit of shock over that, to be honest.  The feature will be about 90 minutes, with a cast of about 35, and a considerably larger - though still on a shoestring-budget - so the production values should be worlds better than before. 

Also, Rue and his gang have a few more baddies to battle, and there are a lot more fun adventures to be had.  We're making this movie as a salute to the films we loved as children - Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, The Goonies - and hope that you enjoy watching it as much as we've enjoyed working on it.

As for me? I played Claire in the original, and I'm reprising that role in the feature.  I also played Trigger in the original (and if you had any idea how girly I am, you'd find that a lot funnier), as well as a ghost child, a tresspassing teenager and I had a turn as Herbie puppeteer. 

My day jobs (yes, we all have them since we have to pay the bills somehow) have me working as a voice-over artist and a professional church singer.  Thomas is a web designer and we've been married for a little over two years.  Yes - married to each other.  We don't have a physical studio, so our apartment has been taken over by props and costumes. 

Right now, my living room is home to two Herbies, a decapitated dummy dressed as a bad wedding singer, and a couple of very confused parakeets.  Next week, I hope to have some fun stories (and maybe pictures!) from our make-up workshop.  Our chief make-up artist is going to teach the extras and some of the principals how to do their own ghost and zombie effects for the shoot.  If nothing else, it should make for an interesting way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I'm a first time blogger and I'm still learning the ropes, but this has been fun.  Please bear with me, and I hope you enjoy this first-hand, inside look at the making of The Night Shift!  And in the meantime, please come say hi on our Fighting Owl Films Facebook page.

Paranormal Pop Passion: 'Secretary'

Each week paranormal romance author Caden Leigh will give her take on love and sex in both mainstream and supernatural entertainment. The Florida-based scribe of The Silver Septagram, published by Captiva Press, always has an opinion on what's hot - or not.

Secretary

To date, the mere mention of Secretary makes me smolder after one night - as my insomnia got the better of me - I lounged on my couch surfing through the endless titles on my DISH guide.

About to give up and grab a book, the title caught my eye and I hit the obliging "info" button, read the plot synopsis and became instantly intrigued.  After an unbalanced young woman newly released from a mental institution , finds employment as a secretary to an imperious lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a erotic, sadomasochistic liaison.

The first incident of the lawyer's wanton need for discipline and submission, made me want to throw out the spellcheck on Microsoft Word and be a bad assistant! Let's just say Mr. Grey's (James Spader) form of correction and  Secretary Lee's (Maggie Gyllenhaal) blissful reaction to his punishment will leave you shopping for paddles and restraints.  Each smack teased my curious appetite, leaving  me  in anticipation for the next carnal rendezvous. And there are many! This is definitely a movie meant to be watched by inquisitive  lovers.

Rental Reviewer: 'The Ring'

Each week, at-home critic Denise Purvis dons the guise of the Rental Reviewer and explores the best (and worst) of paranormal pop culture movies.

The Ring

I just realized this movie came out in October 2002, nearly eight years ago. To this day, it’s one of the scariest horror films that I've ever seen.  From Gore Verbinski (director of all of the Pirates of the Caribbean films) and starring Naomi Watts, it’s not your typical B-style horror flick. In fact, The Ring is a remake of a 1998 Japanese horror movie, introduced the J-horror genre to the States and spawned a sequel.

The plot: A mysterious, cursed videotape (VHS because not even the devil uses Beta) of creepy, seemingly-unrelated images surfaces and kills anyone that watches it within seven days of viewing the tape. Just in case they weren’t sure they were going to die, they get an ominous phone call moments after watching the haunting grainy tape saying, “You will die in seven days.” Apparently the Grim Reaper is pretty meticulous about delivering its message.

Anyhow, the footage on the tape of the woman brushing her hair, the tree, the well - and pretty much all of it - gives me hardcore goosebumps. So does the twisted corpse of teen Katie (Amber Tamblyn) who watches the film and croaks, who happens to be the niece of main character Rachel Keller (played by Watts). Keller is a journalist who decides to investigate the tape that caused her niece’s death, which ultimately puts both her and her son’s life in danger after she finds out about a dark, evil girl named Samara who caused all of the weird happenings.

The scene: The one scene that still makes me shaky to think about is when Rachel’s ex-husband, Noah, goes over some film prints in his apartment when the television mysteriously comes on with static - in the same exact way that Rachel’s niece’s death occurred. He attempts to turn off the television which promptly turns back on. Creepy Spoiler Alert: A gross, soggy undead Samara crawls out of the television. AHHHH!!! It freaks me out even now  to type about it.

The take: This is without a doubt the most frightening and well made horror film I have seen in my entire lifetime. I remember when I originally watched it at the movie theater when I was still attending UGA and my demonic roommate unplugged all of the cable wires from the TVs so they would only show static. I, to this day, cannot stand static on a television because of this movie.

The extras: 10 minutes of deleted scenes & trailers for some other movies.

The extra extra: Since the DVD is thin on extras, we decided to include the video from The Ring's videotape embedded below.

Once bitten, thrice tried: The 'Twilight' trailer formula

When I made a comment the other day about the new Eclipse trailer feeling the same as the others from the Twilight Saga film series, I had no clue how right I was.

Well, Moviefone is on top of its game and developed a seven-item checklist for a Twilight trailer that includes:

1) Sweeping shots of the Pacific Northwest
2) Close-up shots of brooding R.Patz and his lady love
3) A truck or two
4) Heart-to-hearts in the forest
5) Piano music
6) Stating the obvious
7) Slow motion

Watch and learn...after the jump

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'Suck' it up: New trailer for rock 'n' roll vampire film hits

The trailer for Suck, the vampire rock 'n' roll flick we first wrote about in August, hit this week and, well, it doesn't suck.

Starring Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Henry Rollins, Moby, Malcolm McDowell and Dave Foley in supporting roles, it's a Canadian horror/comedy about a vampire rock band.

The film premiered last September at the Toronto Film Festival, and will be shown at next week's South by Southwest festival in Austin and at New York City's Museum of Modern Art. Wide release information to come.

Paranormal Pop Culture Week in Review

Paranormal Pop Culture Week in Review: A round-up of the week's news to know when talking about the unknown:

• A New Zealand woman sold two vials of holy water (shown left) she said contained the ghosts of an old man and young girl - which she says had been exorcised in a $100 bargain exorcism - for US$1,983 at an online auction site (visit for the comments alone). The auction attracted more than 200,000 views and was eventually won by an electronic cigarette company. She said the proceeds, minus the exorcism fee, would go to an animal charity.  Two questions:  Who charges for exorcisms? If you had to pay for an exorcism, wouldn't you want to avoid the budget option that probably just ticks off an evil spirit? (Reuters)

• The UFO NewsCorp coverage craze continues with something eerie over Lake Erie when an Ohio EMT catches what he claims is photo and video evidence of a craft "making line formations and triangles in the sky." (FOXNews)

• Nessie may be occupying prime real estate in a new Monopoly Highland Edition game that will replace London landmarks with Scottish ones. While not yet official, the Loch Ness Monster is a top contender to replace the coveted Mayfair spot from the London version (which is the most expensive space on the board, similar to Boardwalk in the U.S. version). Scots get a chance to vote on the top slot with the British makers of the game, Winning Moves, with polls closing on April 2, and the game being released in October or November this year. Of course, if Nessie wins the race, and we have no doubt she will, she'd already be prepared to be a landlord - hard to find and surfacing only when you're not ready for her.   (Telegraph)

• Forget the wolf, it looks like Red Riding Hood is going to be the "big bad" in two upcoming female-driven werewolf hunting flicks. First up, geektastic actress Felicia Day (Penny from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog) will star in Syfy's 2011 Red. As a descendant of the original Riding Hood, her character "brings her fiancé home, where he meets the family and learns about their business — hunting werewolves. He’s skeptical until bitten by a werewolf. When her family insists he must be killed, Red tries saving him." Also, Amanda Seyfried will be directed by Twilight helmer Catherine Hardwicke in the Leo DiCaprio-produced vehicle, The Girl With The Red Riding Hood about a village plagued by a werewolf. (EW & The Playlist)

•  Zombies are organizing in Oz to protest Australia's lack of an adults-only video game rating - which prevents games like Left4Dead 2 from being sold there. Instead of being walking dead (this time) the zombie hoard is actually a group of protesters who will be gathering at the Hyde Park Fountain in Sydney on March 27 for a citywide shuffle, but will be taking part in a promotional photoshoot tomorrow (or today, I guess, when you consider wacky Australian time zones). Called the Epic Zombie Marchmarch, the group has organized over Facebook. Blow their minds and eat their brains, zombie protesters! (via NetworkWorld)

• Author Seth Grahame-Smith continues to enjoy attention as, depending on your point of view, either breathing a little excitement into literature and history or tainting it with his new book, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The film rights to the book have already been picked up by Tim Burton, and Grahame-Smith's other book, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is also being made into a movie starring Natalie Portman. Add to that, the upcoming PP&Z graphic novel - which PopCandy so nicely gives us a sneak peek of - and you've got a guy with a mini-monster-mashup empire on his hands. Can The Old Man and the Sea Serpent be far behind? The trailer for Vampire Hunter below.

Ghosts in the machines: Upcoming paranormal video games

Instead of spending several hours over night, cramped in uncomfortable positions, dealing with clients and not being guaranteed any evidence, aspiring ghost hunters may want to opt instead for some upcoming paranormal pop culture video games that try to simulate an investigation from the comfort of your couch.

Coming in June from EA is "Ambitions," the Sims 3 expansion pack that allows gamers to pursue a multitude of professions and be heroes or villains as detectives, firefighters, mad scientists, eccentric artists - or paranormal investigators (shown in a screenshot, top left) that look remarkably similar to Venkman's crew. (via BigDownload)

Also on the way, for Nintendo's DSi, is Ghostwire: Link to the Paranormal. Created by Swedish developer A Different Game, the adventure game, according to USA Today, is an augmented reality game that utilizes real-world input to shape the gameplay, as shown here. Based on the developer's site, after meeting a little girl ghost, she acts as your spirit guide while your DSi is "a portal to the astral plane" as well as a "frequency modulator" that helps you find and collect ghosts. And once you find them, your job is to document they haunt our world and help them find peace while solving riddles. Ghostwire is scheduled for release this Halloween.

So there you go: You're guaranteed a haunting good time right from home instead of having to head into dank, old buildings to hunt for spirits but only finding mosquitoes and asbestos. Then again, if you still insist, maybe these video games will be good cross training for fledgling investigators.

Trailers for both games after the jump.

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'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' trailer hits

Sigh. More Twilight.  I know it's a movement and all, but can we just take a year off or so between movies, or is Summit Entertainment afraid Stephenie Meyer's twi-hard fanbase will dry up and die off like a puny mortal by then?

The new Eclipse trailer looks to be more of the same (whiny Bella, morose Edward, shirtless Jacob) and not nearly as fresh as this Eclipse or as compelling as this Eclipse.  Still, it is what it is and looks like it's giving fans what they want.

The trailer is embedded below for your enjoyment, then head over to the L.A. Times "24 Frames" blog for a breakdown of it.

Heidi Montag hires psychic manager

Heidi Montag (above) and Spencer Pratt - two married celebutards who lack any discernible reason for living, other than perhaps to be the biggest stars amongst cockroaches, post-nuclear winter - have announced that she'll be dumping him as business manager in lieu of a psychic.

According to MSNBC.com (via People.com), "Pratt, who has managed the couple since the day they met nearly five years ago — when Montag was 19 years old — is being replaced with a Malibu-based psychic named Aiden Chase."

The vacuous - um, I don't know, actress? - says, "After the incredible experiences I have had healing my life and truly connecting to my dreams with healer intuitive Aiden Chase, I have officially asked him to become my manager ... having an intuitive psychic leading my team gives me an edge no one else has."

  

Frankly, a marble currently has more of an edge than this pair, so anything must be a step up.

(Photo courtesy mistahzee.com)

Tim Burton, ghost believer: 'I've seen things'

Alice in Wonderland director and auteur of the often absurd, Tim Burton, says he believes in ghosts, and has had his own encounters.

In an Interview Magazine Q&A conducted by friend and composer Danny Elfman (he of the paranormal pop culture band Oingo Boingo), Burton says, "I’ve seen things and felt things. I think most people do. I think it’s just how much you suppress it."

For a director whose subject matter has already involved the paranormal, as with Beetlejuice, The Corpse Bride and Sleepy Hollow, this news isn't entirely surprising. Yet Burton goes on to say that while he doesn't come right out and exclaim, "'Oh, my god, I was abducted by a UFO,' or 'I’ve seen these ghosts'," he does feel their energies - as with "certain hotel rooms in Venice."

He and Elfman also discuss hanging out in graveyards - which the director describes as positive and celebratory - and a time when the pair worked together in a studio supposedly haunted by a child spirit.

The entire interview is a candid conversation between long-time friends and pop-culture icons, and this particular passage is a straightforward, honest discussion about the paranormal.

Paranormal Pop Culture Week in Review

Paranormal Pop Culture Week in Review: A round-up of the week's news to know when talking about the unknown:

• Actress Krysten Ritter (above, photo courtesy KrystenRitter.org) speaks about her role as a New York City vampiress in Amy Heckerling's 2011 "Clueless for vampires" movie, Vamps - which also stars Alicia Silverstone. (io9)
  
  
• The International Museum of Spiritual Investigations opens in Gettysburg, Pa. So check it out if you're lucky enough to attend the Phenomenology 102 event March 26-27. (WGAL.com)
  
  
• A West Virginia home owned by the family of John Wilkes Booth will become a museum and ghost hunting school known as The Haunted Cottage. (The Journal, Martinsburg, WV)
  
  
• Eccentric British psychic Gary Spivey - he of the Stay-Puft marshmallow 'do - heads to Vegas for a limited engagement, and predicts the city's future. (Las Vegas Weekly)
  
  
• Australian pop singer Peter Andre reveals he bonded with Brit-pop icon Robbie Williams over their "mutual obsession" with UFOs. (STV Entertainment)
  
  
• Supernatural romance author Tina Wainscott discusses her reasons for exploring a paranormal world beyond werewolves and vampires. (Naples Daily News)

'Ghost Whisperer': top 100 ghost rules

Over the course of 100 episodes of Ghost Whisperer, medium Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) has crossed over 404 ghosts into the light.

To celebrate the centennial episode tonight, March 5, 8 p.m., EST on CBS, here’s a list of 100 rules that ghosts must follow in the Ghost Whisperer world…

1. GHOST WHISPERERS like Melinda Gordon can see and communicate with earthbound spirits.  They help them with unfinished business before crossing them into the light, and give closure to loved ones left behind.

2. A ghost can materialize anywhere he or she wants by concentrating on where it wants to be.

3. Ghosts cannot pick up things.  Under duress, in an emotionally charged situation, or in a group they can move things.

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