FINALE at SCREAMFEST LA – SAT, OCTOBER 17, 9PM at the MANN’S CHINESE

F I N A L E fans,

The schedule for SCREAMFEST has just been announced, and F I N A L E will be screening —

SATURDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 17 at 9PM at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

This is opening weekend of the #1 Horror film festival in the United States! F I N A L E will be playing side by side with the true masters of horror like Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, Clive Barker, Tobe Hooper and the many others who have been in attendance.

Buy your tickets NOW before it’s too late at www.screamfestla.com

We’ll see you October 17th at the Mann’s Chinese!

The F I N A L E Team

OFFICIAL SELECTION TO SCREAMFEST LA!

F I N A L E, the multi-award-winning independent horror film, is honored and thrilled to announce its official selection to Screamfest, the largest horror film festival in the United States. The festival has dubbed the “Sundance of Horror,” and has hosted many famous horror legends including Sam Raimi, Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper and Clive Barker.
Screamfest is held at the prestigious Grauman’s Mann’s Chinese 6 on Hollywood Blvd, kicking off right before Halloween, October 16 – 25th.

Be sure to check back for announcements on this special one-time screening!

Overall F I N A L E has been incredibly well-received within the festival circuit, recognized with such accolades as Best Narrative Feature (OIFF), Best Horror Film (STIFF), Best Cinematography (BIFF) and A Night of Horror’s illustrious Indie Spirit Award.

“Anyone that enjoys old school horror has been waiting for this…one of the best throwbacks to the heydey of Dario Argento and Mario Bava” Screamin Demon

Check back soon to find out about an upcoming European showing!

For more information about F I N A L E, please visit finalethemovie.com

For more information about Screamfest, check out their website: screamfestla.com

F I N A L E WINS BEST FEATURE at OXFORD INT’L 2009!

F I N A L E the multi-award-winning indepedent horror film, returns from yet another triumphant festival weekend, bringing home the “Best Feature” award at the Oxford International Film Festival. The coveted award was determined by an audience vote.

FUN FACTS About F I N A L E

- The old church that explodes in the climax actually caught fire and burnt down a year after shooting.

- The 19th century Victorian house was abandoned for 30 years. The Producer and Director had to clear out knee-deep trash and debris. Since shooting, the roof caved in.

- Photography spanned three states. Characters will walk into a shot, aging two years, or have a conversation with someone they never actually saw.

- The majority of the film was shot in one or two takes, avoiding traditional coverage.

- The Director sound-designed the movie.

- SFX makeup artist, Chris Payne, life-cast demon heads and puppeteered them, lit on fire, before they were blown up by shotguns and fireworks.

- The DP and Director gathered bones for set dressing from an abandoned barn out in the forest, at midnight, by the light of their cell phones.

- The filmmakers had 13 brushes with local police; the Director was pulled over, shirtless and covered in blood, hauling an unlicensed generator on a trailer with no plates.

- First time feature for both Producers, Director, DP and Editor.

- Firemen burned down a location as a training exercise.

- The scene between Sean and Angela at the mirror took 12 hours to light for the complex, in-camera ghosting effect.

- The DP and Director hand built 30+ life-size corpses.

- Excluding the DP, every crew member appears in the film. Producer Wahl appears 17 times, even doubling for the lead actress or hanging from rafters in an attic.

- The DP painted the backdrop for the set in the style of the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

- When stunt-doubling for a drop from the catwalks, the Director refused a safety harness.

- The cult bonfire seduction was lit by actual firelight. Before each take, two backwoods boys mixed up buckets of Napalm and threw them into the fire – a huge fireball would erupt, then everyone would rush into positions and camera would roll.

For more information about F I N A L E please visit finalethemovie.com

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT Part 1

Finale is a fictionalized account of my oldest brother’s suicide and my mother’s subsequent retreat into grief-stricken denial and paranoia. I tell the story from her perspective – that his death was not self-inflicted, but the planned sacrifice of a demonic cult – and that she alone must save her family. The project opened up lines of communication within my family, giving us an outlet to face our demons.

After collaborating on two short films, Ryan Harris and I assembled a team, pooled our money, landed grants from Kodak, Laser Pacific and Panavision, then set out for Cincinnati, Ohio – to shoot in the post-industrial wasteland on the outskirts of my hometown. Locals supported the cause, donating a generator, abandoned Victorian house, and hospital room.

Our 8 person crew shot a month and a half straight with only 2 days off, often 18 hours a day, in backwoods, abandoned houses and barns, down dirt roads, crypt-like passages and cemeteries, through the most desolate, haunting, forgotten places. If circumstances demanded, I rolled sound or operated camera. Without the luxury of a production designer, Ryan and I hand built props and the entire set for the climax. Opting to shoot on Super 16mm, we devised our own complex in-camera, practical effects, borrowing from the lost arts of early film magicians – like behind the lens filters, two-way mirrors and speed ramps. Our no-budget spectacle was accomplished with meticulous storyboards and planning, so that elements assembled years apart work together seamlessly within single scenes.

Director’s Statement Part 2

To achieve a tracking shot of fire racing down a trail of kerosene towards the camera, we filmed in reverse. At the bottom of an ancient concrete stairwell, Ryan and I lit a trail of gasoline and literally ran through the flames. Special effects makeup artist Chris Payne life-cast demon heads and puppeteered them, lit on fire, from beneath a card table, before they were blown up by shotguns and fireworks. While Producer Mike Elkin and I were set dressing an abandoned house on Christmas morning, we got held up at gunpoint by police who mistook us for burglars. Another time, a vagrant found our trunk of prop pipe-bombs, the FBI shut down the highway and had a bomb-squad robot blow it up – before we were finished shooting its scenes. We lived in a key location, had a 100-mile-daily commute between sets, and worked without heat or running water in the dead of winter. I stunt-doubled for principal actors, even dressed in drag with my legs shaved. While loading equipment, the crew accidentally shattered the rear windshield of my Ford Explorer.

..I made a lot of personal sacrifices, ended relationships, lived out of my car, gave up all stability, but never doubted we would finish. It was a trial by fire, but we passed. For all those that believed in us, those that said it couldn’t be done, and everyone who donated time, energy and blood over the 4 years it has taken, I owe one thing – to get Finale out to the widest audience possible…

For more about the story behind the production of F I N A L E please visit finalethemovie.com