Happy Labor Day, fellow Mutants! I hope you’ve all been enjoying your extended weekend with your friends and family. Here aboard the Mutantville Mothership, we’ve even slowed down production over the weekend to give us all a bit of a breather.
We’ve been working almost non-stop for over two years on several projects and that’s a pace that would wear down even the sturdiest of bionic men. If you’ve been following our progress since the beginning of the year – you’ll know that it’s been a wild and wooly year for the Mutantville Players. Since we’ve passed the mid-year mark for 2011 – we thought we’d share a look back at what 2011 has brought us so far in anticipation for all of the great things to come!
(Get the full report after the leap!)
We started off the year with an wild special New Year’s Edition of the Mutantville Player’s Club podcast. WARNING: Drunken Ranting Ensues!!!
We started January by releasing the first official trailer for MVP’s supernatural thriller G.H.O.S.T. starring Kathy Butler Sandvoss, Dave Tunik, Jason Wheely, Clint Jones, Jack Stecher, Scott Thomas, and Steve Tucker with special makeup FX by Todd A. Britt and featuring wardrobe designs by Luis Machicao! The trailer has already amassed over 5,000 views and should continue to climb steadily over the coming months. MVP is gearing up for a special cast and crew preview screening this Fall at which time we’ll decide where we all go next!
G.H.O.S.T. asks what happens to a group of ghost hunters when they encounter something they weren’t prepared for and the ghost hunters become the ghost hunted. Check it out.
In February, MVP made the trip to the Carolina Theatre in Durham for the Twelfth Annual Nevermore Film Festival and the world premiere of MVP’s own Scarecrow At Midnight. Scarecrow At Midnight is the first installment of the Tales From Mutantville anthology series which will be released on DVD later this year. Also included in the anthology are Indigo Child and Family Fiend. Check out our report from the Nevermore Festival below.
At this point in the year – our course was set. We had a plan to start visiting local film festivals and conventions all in an effort to prepare ourselves for the national stage. Last year we traveled to Kentucky to the Fright Night Film Festival to meet with Roger Corman and we were delighted when we received an invitation from the promoter to return for this year’s event with special guest John Carpenter. Here is the first part of our epic interview with the Fright Night promoter below:
In March, we made the trip to Stellarcon for the special North Carolina premiere of Respawner the Web Series Pilot Episode. The Mutantville Players were out in full force as Streebo, Geo and Brento were joined by actors Kathy Butler Sandvoss who played Sweet Vicious, Jason Wheeley who played Fagan and special makeup FX expert Todd A. Britt who provided the monster makeups for the first episode. Check out the footage from the premiere screening below.
Throughout all of this promotional activity – the producers at MVP have still been working hard on moving everything through production, post-production and beyond. Back in the spring – Brento and Streebo took a minute to update everyone on the status of several projects.
In this next clip, we take you behind the scenes as we create an audio clip for use in the final score of Scarecrow At Midnight. This is an interesting clip as it shows a different side to MVP – a musical side. Long time friends of the Mutantville Players will know that Geo, Brento and FX expert Todd A. Britt are all extremely talented musicians that enjoy sharing their music whenever they can.
In June, MVP appeared at ConCarolinas as guests and hosted an evening of original horror films which included Devil Comes Down and Respawner the Web Series. Scarecrow At Midnight played in the short film contest eventually losing out to Chris Gervais excellent installment of Fantastic Tales of the Unknown: Junker. We also got to see several fun indie projects like A Few Brains More and Ghost Trek. In the video below we had the chance to interview legendary scream queen Brinke Stevens!
In July, the comics world lost one of it’s greats with the passing of master artist Gene “The Dean” Colan. Gene Colan was the co-creator of the character of “Blade” made famous by the film series starring Wesley Snipes as well as the long time artist on many classic books such as Tomb of Dracula, Iron Man, Daredevil and Doctor Strange. MVP honored his memory with a set of memorial videos that took a look at some of Colan’s amazing art from the past thirty years.
The entire year led up to the Fright Night Film Fest for MVP. We never know exactly how these things are going to work out – we just plan for the best and prepare ourselves for everything. In the final weeks leading up to the event, Geo put together a special promo video for the Fright Night Film Festival to update everyone on the fantastic new additions to the convention – which also included Mutantville’s own Matthew Ewald – star of Galidor, Indigo Child, Scarecrow At Midnight and the upcoming Plan 9 remake.
Just to show you how extremely busy we are at all times I’d like to share this next video for you. Not only has MVP been embroiled in the post-production process on several projects, as well as constantly promoting the horror genre here on Mutantville.com, Facebook and Youtube – but we’re also always making something new and exciting. In July we took the time to shoot our first segments for the Movie Morgue starring Muticia who was played by the always lovely and talented Vanelle. Muticia will serve as the hostess for the upcoming Tales From Mutantville DVD in addition to hosting her own show Muticia’s Movie Morgue which will appear sometime in the near future.
Late in July – we made the long awaited trip to the Fright Night Film Festival in Kentucky! At the convention we were able to talk to many of our friends old and new such as the gang at DEADPIT.COM, Teeshirtjoe from FASTCUSTOMSHIRTS.COM, The guys from Ghost Trek, B.Jr. from Endurance Productions, J.D.Fiegelson, Charles Edward Pogue, Larry Drake, Jim Kelly, Michael “Slipcase” Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures, Matthew Ewald and of course the Master of Horror – JOHN CARPENTER. Check out the first part of our v-log chronicle of the event below!
After the con – we took another minute to bring you a commercial break and station identification. We talk about our progress, the plans for the promotional tour and much more. In this video, Brento and Streebo take you behind closed doors for a look at the work on Muticia’s Movie Morgue.
During the midst of all this promotion, pre-production, post-production and outright production – MVP always keeps it’s finger on the pulse of modern horror, science fiction and fantasy. In this video, Streebo brings you his mid-year report on the state of horror as we know it. Be sure to subscribe to the Mutantville Players Youtube channel as we bring you constant updates and new reviews for the latest in horror, science fiction, and fantasy.
Which brings us to right now. We’ve had a long and crazy year where almost everything went according to plan. There were a few pleasant surprises along the way and a few bitter disappointments but in the end it has all been an amazing journey and one that we couldn’t do without you. What we’ve seen so far has been spectacular and what is to come is virtually unlimited. At MVP we believe in living without limits. We like to dream big and aim for the highest star. In the end even if we fall short and miss our mark, we will have made it further than so many more who never even try. Thank you for making the journey with us and we very much look forward to what the future will bring.
In closing we leave you with our video of the John Carpenter Q&A session from the Fright Night Film Fest. Keep checking back to Mutantville.com for exclusive content, reviews, interviews and original new works. We will be posting our remaining videos from the convention over the next week so please believe me when I tell you – as good as this year has been – the best is yet to come! We still have an exclusive ten minute interview with John Carpenter to share with you. All this insanity, excitement and creativity has been brought to you by one place and one place only – MUTANTVILLE.COM.
