Back Lot Films Blog

Julie McNiven update

2008-07-18T12:06:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I was in touch with Dangerous Crosswinds actress Julie McNiven, congratulating her on the announcement that her TV show, Mad Men (which she plays the part of Hildy), received an amazing 16 Emmy Nominations. Julie's a terrific actress and, like I've written here before, it's always refreshing whenever you see good things happening to good people.

Also, be sure to check out Julie's blog at http://juliemcniven.vox.com/ where she writes about everything from cool retro kitchen dish sets to tasty vegan desserts like Mocha chip muffins. In fact, Julie's blog has a humorous yet very compassionate "McVegan" theme going throughout (including poignant quotes such as "Animals are my friends...and I don't eat my friends" by George Bernard Shaw).

Congratulations again Julie and keep up the great work!

Old Man Dogs press release

2008-07-17T15:32:00.004-04:00

Here's a new press release concerning our upcoming re-issue of Old Man Dogs on DVD:

July 10, 2008 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Back Lot Films announces re-issue of Old Man Dogs

Critically-acclaimed 1997 film, shot in New Hampshire, to be re-issued this fall on DVD as well as have limited theatrical run.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Back Lot Films, a New Hampshire-based film & video production company, has announced that its first feature-length film, Old Man Dogs, will be re-issued this fall, both on DVD as well as in a limited theatrical run in local theaters. “For this re-issue we are using a digital transfer direct from the original 16mm film negative,” explains Bill Millios, President of Back Lot Films, Inc. “We’re also re-mixing the sound straight from the original magstock reels - there’s still a great deal of work to do but so far it’s been very gratifying to see the film look as it good as it does.”

An atmospheric tale about the spirits of the dead trapped by the feelings of the living, Old Man Dogs starred Bill McNally, Julia Radochia and Don LaBranche and was written and directed by Bill Millios. The film debuted on May 6, 1997 before a sold-out crowd at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, MA and followed with screenings at numerous film festivals (including the Independent Feature Film Market in New York City) as well as four night runs in Concord, Keene and Durham, NH.

Critical praise came in all directions. Variety, the national film weekly, wrote "Old Man Dogs is a heartfelt showcase of raw talent with something to say - makes masterful use of the New Hampshire outdoor locations. Director Bill Millios deftly handles emotional scenes. As a calling card for the New Hampshire film community, Old Man Dogs does the job." The Boston Globe said that “Old Man Dogs is full of moody subtleties which may make the big-budget commercial-film connoisseur uneasy. Audiences will walk away saying that they never have seen anything like this produced on Granite State soil." And America Online followed with “Old Man Dogs is a treat it is to stumble upon - something completely different - the plot is used as a base for the film to ruminate on life, love, fate, and the need to mourn. Not an easy sell when it comes to independent filmmaking."

Features on the re-issued DVD will include the following:·

Old Man Dogs (1997, 88 min., featuring a new transfer direct from 16mm negative & re-mixed audio)
Audio Commentary Track
Looking Back at Old Man Dogs Documentary
Restoring Old Man Dogs Documentary
Original Trailer
Bottled Words (16mm short film by Bill Millios, 1995, 15 minutes)

Back Lot Films, Inc. has produced and distributed a wide range of corporate and narrative productions since 1993, including the feature-length films Dangerous Crosswinds (2005), St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral 1905-2005 (2005) and the upcoming Death & Glory (2009). Corporate clients have included Pike Industries, the New Hampshire Department of Education, the New Hampshire Veterans Home, Southern New Hampshire University and others. Back Lot is also a co-founder of the Digital Filmmaking Workshops. For more information please visit the Back Lot Films website at www.backlotfilm.com.

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Old Man Dogs DVD update

2008-07-02T13:00:00.006-04:00

We've been making some big strides of late on the upcoming re-issue of Old Man Dogs on DVD. At the moment the DVD will include the following:

Old Man Dogs (1997, 88 min., featuring a new transfer direct from 16mm negative & re-mixed audio)
Audio Commentary Track
Looking Back at Old Man Dogs Documentary
Restoring Old Man Dogs Documentary
Trailer
Reviews Slideshow
Bottled Words (16mm short film, 1995, 15 minutes)

We're also working on screening this new cut of Old Man Dogs at a theatre in New Hampshire this coming fall. More details soon...

This just in...

2008-06-27T14:37:00.007-04:00

Two quick plugs for members of the Dangerous Crosswinds crew:

This coming Sunday, June 29 at 4:30 pm at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, NH there will be a screening of the Buston Keaton silent classic Steamboat Bill Jr. - featuring live music once again by DC composer Jeff Rapsis. If you haven't yet attended one of these screenings you owe it to yourself as Jeff always does a terrific and very imaginative job behind the keyboards. No easy task as it's all live and on the fly...
As a followup to a previous post on filmmaker Jim McCrackin's new feature The Other Side of Hell premiering in Wilton, NH on October 5, I've just received word that Jim has also booked a screening for Saturday, October 25 (TBA) at the Manchester City Library in Manchester, NH. With these two screenings and plans for many more, Jim's new film is poised to become the first NH indie narrative film since our own Dangerous Crosswinds to exclusively concentrate on playing a string of independent non-festival dates throughout the state. Hopefully, more in-state filmmakers will be encouraged by this and work harder to get there films into the many theaters throughout New Hampshire. Remember, check your ego at the door and do the legwork yourself - nobody is going to call you with an invite.

Congratulations Jeff and Jim, keep up the great work!

Werner Herzog interview

2008-06-25T11:50:00.003-04:00

There's a really interesting interview with director Werner Herzog up on Yahoo News - check it out by clicking here. Herzog's latest film, a documentary entitled Encounters at the End of the World, was shot in Antarctica and sounds fascinating.

The Other Side of Hell to premiere on October 5 in Wilton, NH

2008-06-23T11:19:00.006-04:00

Mark the date: I've just received word that the world premiere of New Hampshire filmmaker Jim McCrackin's feature-length film The Other Side of Hell will be on Sunday, October 5 at 4:30 pm at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, New Hampshire. I've previously written about this film before and it's really cool seeing it come together after so many years. Jim's currently in the final stages of the edit (color correction, soundmix, etc.) and is also in the process of booking other dates in the New England area. Also, an official website for the film will soon be launched - congratulations Jim! The photo above is Jim, with filmmaker/actress Julia Radochia, rehearsing a scene from one of our past Digital Filmmaking Workshops.

Back Lot Films in Markee Magazine

2008-06-12T16:11:00.007-04:00

The current issue of Markee Magazine (a national monthly trade publication) highlights film & video production throughout the Northeast and I'm happy to report that Back Lot Films (along with Portsmouth's Hatchling Studios) were the two New Hampshire production companies selected for the story. Click on the image below to read the brief but nice article.

R.I.P. Bo Diddley 1928-2008

2008-06-03T13:29:00.004-04:00

"I walk 47 miles of barbed wire, I use a cobra snake for a neck-tie." - Bo Diddley.

"If you could copyright a style, then Bo Diddley could have sued everybody for copyright infringement." - William McKeen, author and journalism chair at the University of Florida,

HWIC update

2008-06-01T07:47:00.005-04:00

This past week Dave Soucy and I uploaded the new Metabolism Makeover 12-Week Course onto the Healthy Weight Inner Circle site. This innovative program, created by Dave, demonstrates how to lose that extra fat you're tired of carrying around for good. No more silly diets, gimmicks or fads. Just real food, sensible exercise, and a fit, healthy body. Each week for the next 12 weeks you'll receive a new lesson, workout plan, and helpful emails to guide you to your new body. The course will feature new video workouts to accompany the text demonstrations and Dave's voice-over. Click here to visit the Metabolism Makeover main page and view the first video for free - it features over 30 minutes of exercise and nutrition info that will help you out immediately.

Top ten reasons to go vegetarian

2008-05-19T11:25:00.006-04:00

Here's a very informative article written by Bruce Friedrich and published on Saturday, May 17, 2008 by CommonDreams.org. Articles like this are important resources for our upcoming film Death & Glory.

Top Ten Reasons to Go Vegetarian During World Vegetarian Week (May 19-25) by Bruce Friedrich

Gone are the days when vegetarians were served up a plate of iceberg lettuce and a dull-as-dishwater baked potato. With the growing variety of vegetarian faux meats like bacon and sausages — along with an ever-expanding variety of vegetarian cookbooks and restaurants — vegetarianism has taken the world by storm. With World Vegetarian Week beginning on Monday, here without further ado are PETA’s picks for the top 10 reasons to give vegetarian eating a try.

1. Helping Animals Also Helps the Global Poor
While there is ample and justified moral indignation about the diversion of 100 million tons of grain for biofuels, more than seven times as much (760 million tons) is fed to farmed animals so that people can eat meat. Is the diversion of crops to our cars a moral issue? Yes, but it’s about one-eighth the issue that meat-eating is. Care about global poverty? Try vegetarianism.

2. Eating Meat Supports Cruelty to Animals
The green pastures and idyllic barnyard scenes of years past are now distant memories. On today’s factory farms, animals are crammed by the thousands into filthy windowless sheds, wire cages, gestation crates, and other confinement systems. These animals will never raise families, root in the soil, build nests, or do anything else that is natural and important to them. They won’t even get to feel the warmth of the sun on their backs or breathe fresh air until the day they are loaded onto trucks bound for slaughter.

3. Eating Meat Is Bad for the Environment
A recent United Nations report entitled Livestock’s Long Shadow concludes that eating meat is “one of the … most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” In just one example, eating meat causes almost 40 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, and planes in the world combined. The report concludes that the meat industry “should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.”

4. Avoid Bird Flu
The World Health Organization says that if the avian flu virus mutates, it could be caught simply by eating undercooked chicken flesh or eggs, eating food prepared on the same cutting board as infected meat or eggs, or even touching eggshells contaminated with the disease. Other problems with factory farming — from foot-and-mouth to SARS — can be avoided with a general shift to a vegetarian diet.

5. If You Wouldn’t Eat a Dog, You Shouldn’t Eat a Chicken
Several recent studies have shown that chickens are bright animals who are able to solve complex problems, demonstrate self-control, and worry about the future. Chickens are smarter than cats and dogs and even do some things that have not yet been seen in mammals other than primates. Dr. Chris Evans, who studies animal behavior and communication at Macquarie University in Australia, says, “As a trick at conferences, I sometimes list these attributes, without mentioning chickens and people think I’m talking about monkeys.”

6. Heart Disease: Our Number One Killer
Healthy vegetarian diets support a lifetime of good health and provide protection against numerous diseases, including the United States’ three biggest killers: heart disease, cancer, and strokes. Drs. Dean Ornish and Caldwell Esselstyn — two doctors with 100 percent success in preventing and reversing heart disease — have used a vegan diet to accomplish it, as chronicled most recently in Dr. Esselstyn’s Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, which documents his 100 percent success rate for unclogging people’s arteries and reversing heart disease.

7. Cancer: Our Number Two Killer
Dr. T. Colin Campbell is one of the world’s foremost epidemiological scientists and the director of what The New York Times called “the most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease.” Dr. Campbell’s best-selling book, The China Study, is a must-read for anyone who is concerned about cancer. To summarize it, Dr. Campbell states, “No chemical carcinogen is nearly so important in causing human cancer as animal protein.”

8. Fitting Into That Itty-Bitty Bikini
Vegetarianism is also the ultimate weight-loss diet, since vegetarians are one-third as likely to be obese as meat-eaters are, and vegans are about one-tenth as likely to be obese. Of course, there are overweight vegans, just as there are skinny meat-eaters. But on average, vegans are 10 to 20 percent lighter than meat-eaters. A vegetarian diet is the only diet that has passed peer review and taken weight off and kept it off.

9. Global Peace
Leo Tolstoy claimed that “vegetarianism is the taproot of humanitarianism.” His point? For people who wish to sow the seeds of peace, we should be eating as peaceful a diet as possible. Eating meat supports killing animals, for no reason other than humans’ acquired taste for animals’ flesh. Great humanitarians from Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi to Thich Nhat Hanh have argued that a vegetarian diet is the only diet for people who want to make the world a kinder place.

10. The Joy of Veggies
As the growing range of vegetarian cookbooks and restaurants shows, vegetarian foods rock. People report that when they adopt a vegetarian diet, their range of foods explodes from a center-of-the-plate meat item to a range of grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables that they didn’t even know existed.

Sir Paul McCartney sums it all up, “If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That’s the single most important thing you could do. It’s staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty.”
So are you ready to give it a try? Check out VegCooking.com for recipes and meal plans and to take the World Vegetarian Week 7-Day Pledge.

Bruce Friedrich is vice president for campaigns at PETA. Before joining PETA in 1996, Bruce spent six years running a shelter for homeless families and the largest soup kitchen in Washington, D.C. He has been a progressive and animal activist for more than 20 years. These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

NH filmmaking testimonial from Ken Burns

2008-05-17T10:09:00.005-04:00

The New Hampshire Film Office has posted on YouTube a nice testimonial from documentarian Ken Burns as to why he loves being a filmmaker in New Hampshire. I'm still waiting for a chance to see Burns' most recent documentary The War. I purchased the DVD set this spring and it's been staring at me from on top of the TV set ever since. I'm looking forward to it as I've always been a big fan of his work.

D.I.D. to premiere at the Palace Theatre on June 15

2008-05-16T06:54:00.008-04:00

I've received word that the NH-shot feature D.I.D. will be making its world premiere at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, NH on Sunday, June 15. The film's executive producer, Gary McGuire Sr., attended our Digital Filmmaking Workshop in 2007 and it's very gratifying to learn of such wonderful news. Gary's son Brandt directed the film and, besides the Palace date, the father-son filmmaking team (based out of Mont Veron, NH) are lining up various screenings throughout New England. Also, next week their production company website (Grave Situation Films, LLC) will be launching their official website.

D.I.D., a psychological thriller, was filmed in New Hampshire in Amherst, Bedford, Milford, Mont Vernon and Weare. Actors in film include Cheri Birch, Bernard Galvin, Brenna Galvin, Joshua Gelbwaks, Sarah LeBlanc and Brandon Stumpf.

Tickets for the Palace show will be available at the theatre and, beginning May 26, online at: http://www.palacetheatre.org/tickets/purchase-tickets.aspx. Congratulations Brandt and Gary and I'll be sure to post more details here as they arrive.

Back Lot website update

2008-05-06T17:51:00.008-04:00

Exporting from Adobe Encore to Flash I've added a link to view videos and read testimonials from our corporate production work on the Back Lot Films website. And updated demo DVD will also be available in the next few weeks.

HWIC update

2008-05-03T12:29:00.008-04:00

Dave Soucy and I have posted a new edit of the Diet Victims photo montage on The Healthy Weight Inner Circle homepage. If you haven't yet visited the HWIC site definitely do so soon as Dave and company are continually adding new fitness tips, exercise & bootcamp videos as well as assembling a growing team of expert fitness contributors from across the country to contribute - including Barry Lovelace (Personal Trainer and Coach who has appeared on CNN Headline News, Body Smart Fit Tips, and Connections Fit Tips) and Dr. Kareem Samhouri (President and Owner of Global Fitness LLC which specializes in assisting people to realize complete wellness, as they serve nutrition, massage, physical therapy, and personal training).

The photos of Preston Gannaway

2008-04-30T17:58:00.003-04:00

The Concord Monitor has posted a special online section for readers interested in viewing the heart-wrenching and very emotional photos that won Concord Monitor photographer Preston Gannaway a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. The original caption for the photo above (copyright Preston Gannaway/The Concord Monitor, via Associated Press) read "Carolynne St. Pierre, stricken with terminal liver cancer, is surrounded by loved ones in her home."

Click here to view a slideshow of the series as well as listen to an audio interview with Gannaway. It's no mystery why Gannaway was awarded a Pulitzer. And, when you get a chance, visit her website to view more of this photographer's breathtaking work.

Valerie's Gallery: Newburyport ArtWalk

2008-04-15T17:03:00.007-04:00

Here's a quick plug for my wife Valerie, whose shop, Valerie's Gallery, is again part of Newburyport's upcoming ArtWalk. On April 26th her gallery will present new photography along with personally chosen quotes from literature that gallery photographers have selected and feel represents or adds meaning to their images. Also being introduced that evening will be black and white photography by photographer Daniel Powers (that's his cool photo above, entitled Elements). For more information visit www.valeriesgalleries.com and www.newburyportartwalk.com. Valerie’s Gallery is located at 12 State Street in downtown Newburyport. Shop hours are Monday-Saturday, 10:00am-5:30pm, Sunday, 11:00am-5:30pm.

Press Release for NHDE PSA project

2008-04-13T21:43:00.005-04:00

April 12, 2008 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Back Lot Films announces release of Public Service Announcements project for New Hampshire Department of Education.

Seven-part series focusing on high school dropout prevention written and performed by The Youth Voices, funded by the Workforce Opportunity Council and will air on Comcast and Time-Warner cable systems throughout New Hampshire.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Back Lot Films, a New Hampshire-based film & video production company, recently announced the release of the final three Public Service Announcements, produced for the New Hampshire Department of Education and funded by the Workforce Opportunity Council. In all, a total of seven 30-second PSA’s ("Teacher", "Mirrors", "Keys", "Pedro's Rap", "Leader", "Pizza" & "Stairwell") focusing on high school dropout prevention, were completed in 2007-2008; all written and produced by The Youth Voices (youth enrolled in WIA Youth funded programs that are a subcommittee of the State of NH Youth Council), and developed, in conjunction with Back Lot Films. The new spots, as with last year’s series, will be broadcast throughout New Hampshire on Comcast & Time-Warner cable systems.

“The fact that these spots dealt with such an important and critical theme made this an especially rewarding project for our company to be involved with,” said Bill Millios, President of Back Lot Films, Inc. “Developing and coordinating the production schedule using the student’s original scripts and then seeing it come alive during the shoot and edit was fascinating. There was definitely no shortage of creative ideas or writer’s block on the student’s part.” Credits for the PSA’s include teachers and students from Franklin (NH) High, Farmington (NH) School District's Project Pride, My-Turn at Manchester (NH) Central High School and Nashua (NH) South High School, NH-JAG at Merrimack Valley Regional High School, Manchester (NH) West High School, Manchester (NH) Memorial High School, Woodsville (NH) High School and NHCTC-Manchester, Newport Junior Senior High School's CARES Program, and Southern NH Services Youth Empowerment Program.

All seven PSA’s can be viewed on the Back Lot Films website at www.backlotfilm.com. Back Lot Films, Inc. has produced and distributed a wide range of corporate and narrative productions since 1993, including the feature-length films Old Man Dogs (1997), Dangerous Crosswinds (2005), St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral 1905-2005 (2005) and the upcoming Death & Glory (2009). Corporate clients have included Pike Industries, the New Hampshire Veterans Home, Southern New Hampshire University and others. Back Lot is also a co-founder of the Digital Filmmaking Workshops.

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The music of Jeremy Ward

2008-04-12T09:39:00.009-04:00

As many of you know, Jeremy Ward has written and performed the music for many of filmmaker/actress Julia Radochia's films. In addition, he's created wonderful music in a side project called Suitcase Poets. And, to top it off, Jeremy recently launched his own MySpace Page to showcase his solo work (and demos). His blog on the site includes informative song-by-song 'linear notes'; the songs Jeremy's posted so far include:

Little to Say
Nothing
Going Home
Mr. Not Quite Right
Happy at Home
New Vince Guaraldi Order

Definitely check them out and keep the great songs coming Jeremy!

The films of Ted Arabian

2008-04-10T10:56:00.008-04:00

It was nice meeting NH actor/filmmaker Ted Arabian at our Digital Filmmaking Workshops this past weekend. Ted's three short films (I.D., Spymaster and Love) as well as a 'how-to' video he produced can be seen in their entirety on his Lightwrite Pictures website. Ted's already in pre-production on his next short film, entitled The Moire Effect. Visit the film's website for more information and keep up the great work Ted!

Back Lot Films in Markee Magazine

2008-04-09T11:45:00.010-04:00

Last week I was interviewed by Mark Smith of Markee Magazine (a national film/video trade publication) regarding an article he's writing on various production companies in New Hampshire. I'm sure there will be only a little bit on each outfit but I crammed in as much of Back Lot's recent activity as possible (the NHDE PSA's, Pike Industries outreach video, Healthy Weight Inner Circle membership site, the Digital Filmmaking Workshops and Death & Glory). The article is scheduled for the June issue, I'll be sure to post it here when it arrives. Markee also ran an interview with me back in 2004 when we were prepping Dangerous Crosswinds.

Mirthquake poster

2008-04-08T11:51:00.006-04:00

Here's a cool poster for next week's mind-numbing (but in an ambitious way!) Mirthquake Film Festival, for which Back Lot Films is one of the sponsors. Click on the poster below to enlarge the image to be able to read the dates/times/locations for all the screenings. Make every effort to check out one or more of the films if you're able to. Dave and Ali Stevenson of Looser than Loose are the key architects of the festival while Dangerous Crosswinds composer Jeff Rapsis will again perform live accompaniment to many of the films (which is always a blast to hear). Congratulations to everyone involved as Mirthquake has definitely become a very special annual event for New Hampshire:

DFW photos

2008-04-08T07:32:00.004-04:00

Here are a number of photos from this past weekend's Digital Filmmaking Workshop in Manchester, NH:

This weekend's DFW & other quick updates

2008-04-04T11:15:00.010-04:00

Just a reminder that this weekend (April 5-6, 2008) we'll be holding our annual Digital Filmmaking Workshops at my studio in Manchester, NH. Be sure to visit www.digitalfilmmakingworkshops.com or call 603-206-4364 if you're still interested in attending. I'll be posting photos afterwards; also, we'll be shooting the entire two days for a June DVD release.

The Comic Arts Laugh Festival (April 9-13 in Belfast, ME) will be screening all of Julia Radochia's comedy short films on Sunday, April 13th at 12 noon. The films are Jimmy's House of Hugs, Sally's Dream House, Eddie's Winning Date, Go Faux and I Just Want to Eat My Sandwich. Great job Julia!

Yesterday I ran into NH filmmaker Todd Norwood in the Manchester Best Buy; I'll be meeting Todd again in the upcoming weeks and I'll be sure to post some updates on the various projects he has cooking.

Dangerous Crosswinds lead actor Larry Jay Tish reports that this week he's heading down to New Orleans to perform his play The Black Jew Dialogues. From there the play will also stop at LSU in Baton Rouge. Check out the play's website at www.theblackjewdialogues.com - congratulations Larry!

Very short notice but, in the event you'll be in the Newburyport, MA area this evening, my friend Gordon Przybyla's artwork will be on display at Licorice & Sloe. Co. between 7:00-9:00 pm. Best of luck with the show Gordon!

HWIC on Yahoo News

2008-04-03T22:42:00.006-04:00

I just noticed that Yahoo News is running our new press release for Healthy Weight Inner Circle. The headline is "New Online Fitness Community Debuts With a Goal of Getting People to Stop Dieting". Click here to check it out.

Healthy Weight Inner Circle 'Tip of Week' Clip

2008-03-29T12:37:00.005-04:00

Here's a funny (but true) new Tip of the Week clip from our new Healthy Weight Inner Circle website. As Fitness Expert Dave Soucy says, just because something has the word 'vitamin' in the title, that doesn't mean it's good for you. Dave and I will be officially launching the site next week but you can get a sneak peak and sign up early now by visiting www.HealthyWeightInnerCircle.com.