The Night Shift: Day of the Distributor

The Night Shift is the production diary of Fighting Owl Film's new independent supernatural-adventure-comedy of the same name currently in "post" 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 from Erin Lilley, a producer and actress on the film.

Day of the Distributor

Well, guys, today's post takes us into the next chapter of our little movie journey. So far, we've covered pre-production (casting, costuming, props, locations, etc.), filming, post-production (editing, effects, ADR, etc.), marketing, reviews, and getting shown. Now, we move into distribution ...'cause we can. That's right, we have a distributor now! Yay!

What that means, really, is that we have a wonderful company representing us to retailers, broadcasters and other companies that might be interested in showing The Night Shift. Honestly, I don't think I've ever been more thrilled or relieved in my life, and our representative is now my new favorite person on the planet (sorry, Thomas). Of course, for the distributor to be able to do his job, we needed to supply him with the necessary materials. All movie, sound and effects files had to be in place and able to be shipped. They also needed an exact shooting script - every line of dialogue, with all ad libs, ums, uhs and stutters - and a list of what are referred to as "time codes." That's a shooting script with the exact time a line of dialogue was said marked, and is for foreign language translation and dubbing.

None of this was difficult, but it was time consuming. Thomas sat at the computer with a open script document, while I worked the remote control for the DVD player, pausing whenever he needed to change a line or fix something in the stage directions. Honestly, I had no idea, up until then, just how much Herbie ad libbed. I swear, that skeleton made up half of his role, the ham. I'm also proud to say that I managed almost 100% accuracy on my lines. Almost. We now know that, in the future, we need to mark down ad libs immediately, and make any other changes to the script during editing. That should save us a lot of time in the long run.

Bruce Campbell's B-list: 'Burn Notice,' 'Bubba,' books & back to 'Evil Dead'

BY AARON SAGERS

Campbell in 'Burn Notice,' Courtesy USA

He is Ash, the wisecracking hero with a chainsaw hand from the Evil Dead movies. He is Autolycus, the comical “King of Thieves” from the Hercules: The Legendary Journies and Xena: Warrior Princess television series. He is an aging mummy-battling Elvis Presley in the horror-comedy Bubba Ho-Tep. And among nearly 100 other characters, self-proclaimed B-movie actor Bruce Campbell is now retired Navy SEAL Sam Axe from USA Network’s hit spy show, Burn Notice.

Instead of gaining fame as a pretty marquee face in blockbuster movies, Campbell’s notoriety is the result of years spent in the blue collar world of acting. Originally from the suburbs of Detroit, he is a work-for-hire performer who just happened to appear in enough movies and TV shows he got to be well known. It didn’t hurt that his roles in the aforementioned cult favorites (not to mention his turns in Maniac Cop, Escape from L.A., The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.) made Campbell a pop culture stalwart. Campbell has even traded in on his working-class cult actor status in those Old Spice commercials, a meta movie My Name is Bruce – where he played himself – and two books, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor and Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way.

But it is getting more difficult for the 53-year-old to claim “B” status.

Since the show’s premiere in 2007, Campbell has appeared in Burn Notice on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. as Sam, a beer-drinking, ladies man who uses his espionage knowledge as a do-gooder private investigator in Miami alongside disavowed spy Michael Westen (played by series star Jeffrey Donovan) and former IRA operative Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar). A fan favorite, Campbell’s character received the stand alone treatment in the TV movie, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe and the fifth season premiere of Burn Notice net 5.2 million viewers. His current success also involves appearing as the voice of “Torque” Redline in Cars 2, in theaters now and an upcoming appearance at the Comic-Con International in San Diego.

While taking a break from filming the sixth season of Burn Notice in Miami, Campbell discussed his work on Burn Notice, as well as involvement with Evil Dead and Bubba Ho-Tep sequels, and more books.

'True Blood' recap: 'You Smell Like Dinner'

Sassy at-home critic (and Rental Reviewer) Denise Purvis reviews HBO's vampire soap True Blood each week.

True Blood, recap 4.2: "You Smell Like Dinner"

Fade in to Jason chained to a bed in Methville. Those kids/people are so creepy. One of the kids is cleaning Jason’s head wound by licking it. Hello hepatitis!

Jason: “I’m more of a Band-Aid kind of guy.”

Well, those skanky little kids do seem to like Jason a lot, so it makes sense that the whole beating-and-tying-to-an-old-pee-stained-bed-scheme is brother/ uncle/cousin/fiancé Felton’s doing.

Meanwhile, Eric is landlording over Sook’s house.

Eric: “Funny about ownership isn’t it?—a little piece of paper and the only power you had over me is gone.”

'Haunted Collector' & 'Hollywood Treasure' Finale sneak peek

To get the holiday weekend off to the right start, how about some sneak peeks at the season finales of John Zaffis' Haunted Collector and Joe Maddalena's Hollywood Treasure?

Kicking off at 9 p.m. on Weds, July 6, on Haunted Collector, Zaffis and his team are detecting outrageous readings on their EMF reader near a wall of swords. They suspect it could be because there’s something electrical in the wall behind the sword but that doesn’t seem to be the case which makes the sword even more suspicious.

On the season finale of Hollywood Treasure this Wednesday at 10 p.m., Maddalena and team go head first into some props and masks from Walking Dead. Multiple masks that were used on set are being donated for them to auction and Joe even gets a surprising rise and scare from the items.

Paranormal Pop Column: I'm mad as hell about movie tickets

BY AARON SAGERS

I love movies, and I also see movies as part of my job. But I’m mad as hell and I won’t take it anymore.

Let me explain: Each week I’ll attend a few press screenings of big studio movies. I get into these screenings for free because it’s part of the symbiotic relationship between filmmakers and film writers; they want us to talk about the movies so people will see them, and we need to see the movies to have something to talk about.

And yet, because I love movies, I still attend regular showings of other films throughout the week that I haven’t screened in advance. Or I will go back and watch movies I’d already seen with friends excited about the new blockbuster or Oscar bait.

That means paying for a ticket.

That, in turn, means taking out a mortgage on my house, accepting bids on a kidney or selling my firstborn child. If I want a soda and snack, it may be necessary to auction off my mortal soul. And now that we’re knee deep in the summer movie season - a time when the public takes to the theaters the most for a couple hours of air conditioning and escapism into massively marketed 3D super hero/sequel vehicles – it means I may have to pull off a massive art gallery or casino heist just to afford the trips to the multiplex.

According to National Association of Theatre Owners, the average U.S. ticket price in 2010 was $7.89, up 5% from $7.50 in 2009. The Los Angeles Times reported in January 2011 that the fourth quarter ticket costs in 2010 were around $8.01, a 5% increase from the same quarter in the previous year. Meanwhile, the cost of tickets where I live in New York City: $13 for an evening ticket or about $18 for 3D movie, but you’ll need to tack on another $1.50 for a “convenience fee” if you want to buy online through Fandango.

And this is during a time of serious economic hardship. So, can we call it? Can we now pronounce “dinner and movie” as a cheap date idea officially dead? A family trip with the kids to the cinema is DOA, right?

This is madness.

I understand how ticket prices work. A majority of the astronomical ticket cost goes, not to the theater, but the studio. Aside from expensive talent, to create a movie means enlisting a crew of hundreds from high profile gigs on down to the gaffers, caterers and animal wranglers. But when the budgets for the latest adventure of a hero with a power ring ($200-plus million for Warner Bros.’ Green Lantern) or robots in disguise ($400-plus million for Paramount Pictures’ Transformers: Dark of the Moon”) keep rising, ticket costs will also continue to increase so studios can turn a profit – or at least break even – from their bigger productions.