Archive for January, 2009

On the weekend of January 23rd through January 26th, Exile was one of 41 teams to compete in a worldwide competition. The contest was only open to the city winners from last year’s 48 Hour Film Project.

We received our elements: A theme; a character finds a suitcase or briefcase containing $500,000. They find it in a public place. A line of dialogue; Will you meet me later. A character; Walt Abrams, boat owner. A prop; briefcase. And finally, a genre: Horror.

What we came up with is called “Empty”

“empty” tells the story of a desperate man who finds a case full of money and will do anything to keep it.  The story was inspired by the works of fellow Providence writer H.P. Lovecraft and is intended to be a nod to the works of the 20th century master of horror.

We are planning a public screening.  Check back for details.

On the weekend of January 23rd-25th, Exile will compete in the 48 Hour Film Project international competition. Only teams which won the best of their city are allowed to compete. This time we have three days to make a movie. We have vowed to always stick to the rules and never pre-plan for these events, so there is no telling what our film will be. Stay tuned to see what we come up with.

Exile Movies founder, Mark Fogarty, was one of twenty-two people invited to speak at the RI Film & TV office’s town hall meeting held on Wednesday, January 7th.  The town hall meeting was held to unite the film community in RI and introduce the new Rhode Island Production Coalition (RIPRO).   Other speakers included Todd Trainer of Trainer Bros. production, Kim Leadford of Kay Studios, Annie Mulhall of LDI casting & the president of Tangopix, Curt Worden.  The 15 Million dollar cap on the film tax credits and it’s impact on the industry was the subject of much discussion.  However, the film commissioner, Steven Feinberg, assures us that while the cap has hurt the industry, filmmaking is still alive and well.  He cited several productions which are coming to Rhode Island this year.

“The Film industry in Rhode Island is about to blow up”, claims “Rhode Block” founder, Roarke Leddy.  Anyone in the packed Columbus theatre can see why.  The enthusiasm of the many filmmakers and industry professionals showed a community united and ready to turn Rhode Island into a model Independent film community.  In an effort to explain how the RI film community became so united, Mark Fogarty was quoted as saying; “The reason why Rhode Island has been more successful in bringing the community together is that in Rhode Island, there is one degree of separation.  You don’t have to be Steven Spielberg’s cousin to get in the door.  In Rhode Island, we are all Peter Farrelly’s cousin.  It is easy to connect the dots and find your way in.  And once you are in, everyone in the community will open up and help you make your movie.”

Thank you to Steven Feinberg and Carol Connelly for bringing together the film community and doing an amazing job in attracting film to Rhode Island.  To find out more about filmmaking in RI, go to their website:  www.film.ri.gov

Exile Movies and TSL have moved into development of “Vampire Nation” as a series. The series will expand the world of Vampire Nation and follow the exploits of Ethan Cull, Lizzie Sloan and the rest of the cast as they try to bring order to a world on the brink of war. Episodes two & three will be filmed back-to-back. Stay tuned for more updates.