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Mutantville Monday after Mother’s Day.

Welcome back to the MVP Blog oh Mischievous Mutants.  I hope you’ve all recovered from a pleasant weekend treating your Mothers to the finer things in life.  The Mutantville Players would like to take a moment to recognize the wonderful mothers that have been involved in our own projects over the years including Kathy Bulter Sandvoss ( G.H.O.S.T.), Janna Tolleson – mother of Kayli Tolleson (G.H.O.S.T., Indigo Child, and Family Fiend), Danielle Giambrone-King -  mother of Meghan King (Scarecrow At Midnight),  and Janice Mithcell Wyatt (Scarecrow At Midnight), Nancee Bowers (wife of Johnny Brento) and of course Momma Streebo – Debb McRoberts – who has served as a producer on every MVP project to date.

Mothers are a wonderful thing, ladies.  We wouldn’t be here without you!  Thank you all for showing us how to be dedicated to one’s craft as well as one’s family.  We hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day.

In MVP news, post-production is ongoing on G.H.O.S.T. and Indigo Child.  Present timetables predict that the FX on Indigo Child will be complete in the coming month and the entire set should be available on the Tales From Mutantville DVD this summer.

I just received word from the programming director at ConCarolinas that Scarecrow At Midnight has been accepted into the film festival at the 10th annual ConCarolinas convention on June 3 – 5th.  Showtimes will be posted as soon as they are available.  Streebo, Geo and Brento will be in attendance with our good friends from Ghost Trek and will be taking part in several panels over the course of the weekend.

I have submitted a proposal for MVP to conduct the No Budget Filmmaking Course: Horror 101 over five panels throughout the weekend to give potential filmmakers all the tools they need to start making their own movies.  We have not heard back from the programming director as yet – but we are hopeful that this will come about.
Thor was released over the weekend to claim the #1 spot at the box office for a modest $66 million gross (and another $120 million worldwide).  Thor was a fun take on the Kirby/Lee  Thor mythology created in the early Sixties.  I had very low expectations going in – but found myself pleasantly surprised.  It tells the tale of Thor’s banishment to Midgard (Earth) so he may learn humility from the mortals and regain his rightful place as Thor God of Thunder in time to deal with his sneaky brother Loki and a legion of frost giants waiting to overwhelm Asgard.  It provided good four color superhero fun. Check it out.

In horror news, Scream 4 has levelled out with a disappointing $36 million – not even touching it’s budget of $40 million as yet.

Check out Streebo’s review for Scream 4 here:

Stakeland starring Danielle Harris (Halloween 4, Rob Zombie’s Halloween) is out playing in selected theaters (New York and L.A.) to very favorable reviews.  Here’s to hoping that Stakeland makes enough to warrant a wider release. And last but certainly not least -  James Wan’s Insidious continues to gain ground by staying in the top ten and grossing over $50 million to date.  Not bad for a film with a budget of $1.5 million.  Be sure to check out my review for Insidious on Youtube:

Don’t forget to keep checking out our multi-part interview with Ken Daniels the promoter of Fright Night Film Fest and Fandom Fest as we all gear up for the big convention in July.  In case you’ve been living under a rock – the one and only John Carpenter will be in attendance as well as several other amazing guests.  We can hardly wait.

This has been your Mutantville Monday update.  We’ll see you on the flip side.  Keep checking Mutantville.com for your up to the minute MVP news.

Nevermore Film Festival Filmmaker’s Q&A on Youtube!

Last week, the 12th annual Nevermore Film Festival played host to the world premiere of Scarecrow At Midnight. Mutantville Productions was proud to be on hand as the first installment of the Tales from Mutantville anthology collection was shown to horror fans from across the state.  Writer/director J.T.McRoberts was on hand to participate in a Q&A session following the screening.

“When the Stars Begin to Fall” featured a wide variety of short films from across the country.  Also featured on the program was The Devil’s Toy, Davis, Written By, Last Seen On Delores Street, See The Dead and Murderabilia.  Mutantville Productions was proud to share the screen with so many fantastic short films. 

MVP was on hand to captire the event live.  We are proud to present the “When the Stars Begin to Fall” Q&A session in it’s entirety.  Enjoy.

Scarecrow At Midnight Premieres at the Nevermore Film Festival.

Scarecrow At Midnight premiered at the 12th Annual Nevermore Film Festival at the Carolina Theatre in Durham on Saturday February 19th. The neo-modern scarecrow slasher flick played to a raucus crowd that seemed to yell and jump at all the right places. The film played as part of the short film block entitled “When the Stars Begin to Fall” and was accompanied by several fantastic shorts such as The Devil’s Toy, Davis, Last Seen on Delores Street, Written By, Murderabilia, and See The Dead.

Attendees of the premiere included writer/director J.T.McRoberts, star Katie Bearden, as well as several other members of the cast and crew such as Robert W. Filion, Julian Safrit, Janice Mitchell Wyatt, Meg Elliot, Lisa Cobb, Todd A. Britt, Meghan King, Brent Bowers, Geo Swanko, Coty Galloway, Jeremy Bonham and associate producer Jason Arispe. Kenny Caperton, proprietor of the Myers House NC, was also in attendance and was as thrilled as the rest of the cast to see the movie and his house on the big screen. According to the Carolina Theatre – attendance for the festival was estimated to have suprassed the previous year’s event.

The cast and crew roamed the halls of the Carolina Theatre talking to the fans and enjoying the Nevermore Festival. The cast raved about how much fun they had working on the film and the hilarity continued as the group goofed around after the premiere. Director J.T.McRoberts led everyone on a slasherthon to follow up on the terrors of Scarecrow At Midnight by then watching Friday the 13th and Silence of the Lambs in 35mm.

One fan stated that Scarecrow At Midnight reminded him of the classic Goosebumps tale The Scarecrow Walks At Midnight, “except that it (Scarecrow At Midnight) was about a thousand times more terrifying.” Other compliments were passed along to the cast and crew on several aspects of the film from the performances of the cast to the quality of the special make-up effects. Director J.T. McRoberts stated that “having the opportunity to have our movie play at this festival was a dream come true and to have the crowd react in such a positive manner makes it all worth it. This is the only reward a filmmaker needs and I would like to thank the Carolina Theatre for making it possible.”

Scarecrow At Midnight will be available along with the other shorts Indigo Child, Family Fiend, Devil Comes Down, and Respawner the Web Series: Pilot Episode in the Tales from Mutantville anthology collection on DVD and Blu Ray this summer. Be sure to sign up for the Mutantville.com newsletter to keep up to date on the latest MVP News.

The Nevermore Film Festival 2011 keeps Horror alive in the Triangle!

This weekend, the Mutantville Players are heading to Durham and the Carolina Theatre for the Twelfth Annual Nevermore Film Festival. This year’s Nevermore will consist of nine new independent horror films, three classics, and fifteen short fillms from filmmakers across the country – including the Carolinas! Mutantville.com is proud to announce that the first installment of the Tales From Mutantville collection – Scarecrow At Midnight will premiere during the event.

Over the years, Nevermore has played such cult hits as Bubba Ho Tep, Monster Man, My Little Eye, Night of the Demons, Witchboard, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein and many more. This year’s lineup consists of an array of films from horror classics such as Friday the 13th, Sam Raimi’s Darkman, and the Academy Award winning Silence of the Lambs as well as new indie features like Unaware, Rubber, El Monstro Del Mar, Vanishing on 7th Street, Black Death, and Mold! Nevermore will also play host to no less than fifteen short films consisting of the aforementioned Scarecrow At Midnight, Bursters, The Writer, Alice Jacobs Is Dead, and even the winner of George A. Romero’s American Zombie Film Contest – Robert W. Filion’s See The Dead!

J.T.McRoberts, writer/director of Scarecrow At Midnight, expressed his enthusiam about the festival by stating that “I look forward to Nevermore every year. I keep my ear to the ground in the fan community and people are often complaining that horror is dead or that mainstream horror is all about remakes. Well if you just take the time to look around, one can find great horror everywhere and the Nevermore Film Festival is a testament to that. They’re playing nine new independent horror films from across the globe and there’s not a single remake in the bunch. I feel blessed as a fan to have a place like the Carolina Theatre nearby that keeps horror alive in North Carolina. To have one of my short films play there is a real honor.”

Scarecrow At Midnight and Robert W. Filion’s See The Dead will be playing in the short film block entitled “When the Stars Begin to Fall” on Saturday the 19th at NOON and again on Sunday the 20th at 2:10pm. For more information on the Nevermore Film Festival and the Carolina Theatre, please visit their official website here.

Scarecrow At Midnight to premiere at 12th Annual Nevermore Film Festival.

Rejoice, Mutantville Players for the time is almost upon us!  Last October, MVP set out to film not one – but three new short films for the Tales From Mutantville collection.  Next week, the first installment will debut at the Twelfth Annual Nevermore Film Festival.

Scarecrow at Midnight will premiere on Saturday the 19th at 12pm during the short film block entitled “When the Stars Begin to Fall.” Also playing at Nevermore during the same film block is Robert W. Filion’s (D.P. on Scarecrow At Midnight) award winning short See The Dead.  Have your cameras ready as the filmmakers will be involved in a Q&A session following the screenings.

The writer and director of Scarecrow At Midnight, J.T.McRoberts, stated that “I’m thrilled that Scarecrow At Midnight was accepted into the Nevermore Film Festival.  I consider myself a “Retro Regular” and attend shows at the Carolina Theatre in Durham all the time.  The Nevermore Film Festival has always been the premiere horror festival in North Carolina and to have our movie make it into the Festival is a real dream come true.”

The Mutantville Players will be on hand to enjoy the sights and sounds of the festival throughout the weekend.  On Saturday, MVP is gathering together to go see Friday the 13th at 2:10pm, followed by  The Silence of the Lambs at 4:20pm, then we’ll grab sushi in town and make it back by 8:10pm for El Monstro Del Mar and after all of that, we’ll top off the night by watching the alien abduction flick Unaware at 11:01pm!

The latest order for Mutantville.com t-shirts went out today which included the classic G.H.O.S.T. shirt as well as the new designs for Scarecrow At Midnight and Devil Comes Down.  They will be available for pick up at the Nevermore Film Festival from your favorite Mutantville Player.

In CFC local news, our good friends at Quiet No More Pictures wrapped their post-apocalyptic faith based film My Name Is Paul over the weekend.  Congratulations to director Trey Ore and his talented cast.  MVP is very eager to see the final product!

We’re in for a rollicking good time next weekend!  Make sure you come along for the ride by ordering your tickets for the Nevermore Film Festival now!  You can visit the official website for the Nevermore Film Festival by clicking here.

Scarecrow At Midnight One Sheet Finalized!

Mutantville.com is proud to bring you this exclusive look at the official one sheet for Mutantville Productions’ first release from the Tales From Mutantville collection – Scarecrow At Midnight.  Early versions of the poster were revealed last week.

Writer/director J.T. McRoberts commented that “we worked very hard to come up with a design that would both engage the eye and relay the story of Scarecrow At Midnight all at once.  I’m fortunate to work with a designer as talented as Brent Bowers who has the technical ability to bring my ideas to life.  Brent enjoyed working on the poster so much that he continued tinkering with the initial design and came up with the mosaic idea that incorporated every single character in the movie in the image.”

Mutantville Productions releases first official trailer for “G.H.O.S.T.”

There have been rumblings about an official trailer for MVP’s supernatural thriller coming from the Mutantville offices for the past month.  Fans on Facebook have been privvy to constant updates about work on a “trailer” for weeks on end with little else being offered in the way of explanation.  This morning – a video marked “G.H.O.S.T. trailer” has appeared on the Mutantville Players Youtube channel and the internet seems all abuzz about this sneak peek at the latest full length feature from the MVP team.

No official word yet on a release date as writer director J.T.”Streebo” McRoberts states that “there are still a lot of visual FX and music to be done – but we’re making progress every day.  The performances we captured were amazing and we’ve put every little horror movie trick we could think of in the movie.  In the end – it will be worth the wait.”

G.H.O.S.T. stars Kathy Butler Sandvoss, Clint Jones, Dave Tunik, Jack Stecher, Scott Thomas, Jason Wheeley, Kayli Tolleson and Matthew Ewald.  Check out the offical trailer at the link below:

MVP Welcomes Caroline O’Neil To The Cast Of “G.H.O.S.T.”

Mutantville Productions is extremely proud to announce the addition of local actor – Caroline O’Neil to the cast of “G.H.O.S.T.”

Caroline has apearred in several local productions including the Vintage Seduction Trailer, The Trial and Chekov’s Children for director Robert Fillion.   Caroline is an extremely talented and vivacious individual who just happens to be a master of education as well as a master of fine arts.

Director J.T. McRoberts states, “I met Caroline at last month’s Charlotte Film Community meetup and was impressed by her cheerful attitude and overall effervescence.  Caroline jokingly stated that she wanted to join us on “G.H.O.S.T.”  Being the writer and director, I decided to call her bluff and wrote her into one of the new scenes.”  Caroline will join lead actress Kathy Sandvoss on the set this coming weekend to film one of the new scenes for act one of “G.H.O.S.T.”

MVP is very happy to welcome Caroline to the talented cast of “G.H.O.S.T.”  We look forward to working with her on this and many projects to come!

You can find out more about Caroline by viewing her resume here.

Mutantville Talks “On The Red Carpet” With Catherine Trail!

Catherine Trail – the host of “On The Red Carpet” – was gracious enough to invite several of the Mutantville Players to appear on her show.  Kathy Sandvoss, Luis Machicao, Jack Stecher, Geo Swanko and director Jamie McRoberts had a great time talking to Catherine.  The following videos were filmed at the Charlotte Film Community meetups over the past few months.

Video courtesy of John Mackey and Charlotte Web Video.

More “G.H.O.S.T.” Casting News: Davis Osborne Accepts Role In “G.H.O.S.T.”

MVP and Mutantville.com are proud to announce the addition of Charlotte-based actor Davis Osborne to the already stellar cast of “G.H.O.S.T.”  Davis joins Dave Tunik on the set this weekend.  He will play the part of “Joshua” in the first of a series of new scenes introducing the eponymous ghost hunting team in “G.H.O.S.T.’

Davis has appeared in a multiplicity of productions in and around the Charlotte area – including “Pursuit”, “Tolerance”, and the award winning short film “Chekov’s Children” by director Robert Fillion.

Davis initially auditioned for “G.H.O.S.T.” at the casting call back in August of ’09 – but  was unable to accept a role at the time due to schedule conflicts.  Director J.T. McRoberts states, “I was very impressed with Davis’ auditions.  Davis quite literally blew us away with his reading.  I was always disappointed that we weren’t able to align our schedules to allow him to join us at the time.  As soon as I started reading through the new scenes and thinking of the talent in the area – Davis’ name immediately sprung to mind.  I reached out to him about participating and he graciously accepted.”

Davis’ philosophy on acting is proudly displayed on his website where he states, “every character . . . ever written, has an emotion to convey . . . to evoke in the silent bystander . . . the one in the shadows . . . the viewer.  Pity. . .hate. . .fear. . .lust. . .love. . .concern.  It is my job as the actor to search deep inside of me. . . . and find the parts of my human nature that I can use and magnify to deliver more than a performance. . .”