Forbes Magazine: “This is considered the best-ever social media campaign and one of the first viral marketing efforts. The marketers behind this horror flick were able to generate big buzz for a movie with a teeny budget by using Web sites and message boards to stoke interest in the flick months before its release in the summer of 1999. Was the story of young documentary makers lost in the woods true or false? Fake newspaper clippings about the disappearance of the movie’s main characters and police photos of their missing car were posted. Movie site Box Office Mojo reports that the film made more than $29 million during its first week of wide release. It has generated about $249 million to date worldwide.”

In each episode, our heroes confront para-abnormalities that no other team would dare — busting ghosts caught on sex tapes, braving motel rooms that kill (and have no cable or turndown service), and seducing succubi.

Now online at www.paraabnormal.tv

With the tenth anniversary underway, I’ve updated the official site to coincide.

Haxan also has new digs, having revamped the entire casa.

It’s a huge undertaking, but at ten years and with still no sign of interest wavering (fans still reach out by the thousands, and there’s an entirely new generation discovering it for the very first time), the task is very well worth it.

As a sidenote – Blair Witch made the Guinness Book of World Records for “Top Budget:Box Office Ratio.” (for a mainstream feature film). Now approaching 2009, www.blairwitch.com is now the longest running filmsite ever online.

Woods Movie – The Making of The Blair Witch Project Tenth Anniversary Edition is dedicated to Neal Fredericks. In Blair Witch, three student filmmakers go missing and are presumed dead. And for a long time many assumed our film was real. However, Blair Witch is entertainment and nothing more. It is a movie.

On August 14, 2004, our dear friend, and Blair’s Director of Photography, died suddenly at the young age of 35. That, is not entertainment. That is our unfortunate reality.

Neal died truly doing what he loved. He was on a small plane shooting footage for the film “Cross Bones” off the Dry Tortugas islands near the Florida Keys. The plane crashed in the water after its engine failed. The pilot and three other members of the film crew got out of the plane safely. But since Neal was strapped in with the camera equipment, he was not able to exit the plane before it sank. His body was recovered by Army divers the next day.

Woods Movie is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend, and brother, Neal L. Fredericks.

Ed was in LA last week to complete final color corrections, now comes the work of cutting a trailer or two, poster design and getting the filmsite updated and (finally) away from the production site version.

All this and more will be completed by end of August.

Then it’s on to the festivals…

Roadside Nabs ‘Italian’ Rights
Bringing Jason Todd Ipson’s romantic comedy stateside
By Gregg Goldstein

July 18, 2008, 12:00 AM ET

“Everybody Wants to Be Italian,” or at least that’s the bet Roadside Attractions is making.

The indie distributor has acquired domestic rights to Jason Todd Ipson’s raucous romantic comedy from producers James Huntsman and Jaime Burke of Asgaard Entertainment.

Cerina Vincent (“Two and a Half Men”) plays an Italian-American woman from Boston’s North End who is set up on a blind date with a lovelorn fishmonger (Jay Jablonski) by his two good pals (John Enos III and John Kapelos).  Convinced she will never fall for a non-Italian, he takes desperate measures to fake his ethnicity.

Penny Marshall makes a cameo in the film, which was inspired by Ipson’s experience living in Boston, where he met his Italian wife.  A Sept. 5 platform release is planned.

Ipson directed the Lionsgate/After Dark Films horror feature “Unrest,” also produced by Asgaard.

Roadside’s Dustin Smith negotiated the deal with Todd Slater, who repped the producers.

“You can also visit the equally well-made website for the movie by clicking here.  Some sections are still under construction, but there’s enough there to make it worth a look.”

Nice.

When Robert discovers the “help” he has offered him is being used for a much darker purpose, he is caught between his belief system and the need to make things “right.”

Longtime friend Aaron Goldstein, who is producing, brough the treatment to me some time ago, when at first reading I had reservations about it - with the Episcopalian in me thinking, “do I really want to do this?”

…And I nearly didn’t.   For as sick and twisted as my own sense of humor may be at times, this one had me think twice.   I read the treatment, ‘very funny.  Though perhaps something I might pass on I thought.

…And once the script came through, it became all the more funny.  Still though, ‘wasn’t quite sure.  At this point I agreed to make a composite of how the filmsite might appear and flow, using a local church, myself and a neighbor in placement of the main characters.

When the dailies came through however, it was hysterical and I knew we were sitting on a solid comedy and took the leap and agreed to sign on.  To have not done so would have been equally frustrating considering that bottom line it’s for friends. Aaron’s on board as producer, Jackson is directing, Will’s on as producer and featured character.  Even Alex has a role. 

The result of this being a full composite with a photo session for the actors to use on the filmsite as well as pre-edited clips and more.

And the final version is now live at www.forchristssakemovie.com as we go to the festivals.