May 8, 2020
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GEP Quaranstream: STRAY BULLETS on Vudu

Directed by Jack Fessenden.

Starring Asa Spurlock, Jack Fessenden, James Le Gros,
John Speredakos, Larry Fessenden and Kevin Corrigan.

“A blazingly confident feature debut…
An enjoyably blood-soaked thriller with unexpectedly
lyrical interludes… strikingly impressive”
– Hollywood Reporter

“What distinguishes Stray Bullets from so many other
low-budget crime films is Fessenden’s sense of quietness,
reduces a stock scenario to its primal essence, informing
genre blood sport with pulp transcendentalism.”
– Slant Magazine

“a pungent, tactile sense of place…
de-emphasizes the crime drama for the sake
of character development”

Watch on Vudu

June 14, 2019
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Father’s Day Weekend with GEP: Stray Bullets

This Father’s Day weekend, revisit Jack Fessenden’s directorial debut feature, STRAY BULLETS.
Starring James LeGros, Kevin Corrigan, Jack Fessenden, Asa Spurlock, John Speredakos
and Proud Papa Fessenden.

Explore the father/son filmmaker dynamic on set in “Sweating Bullets: The Making of a Kid’s Movie”
and watch Fessenden’s zombie-horror short film “Riding Shotgun,” exclusively on iTunes.

Stray Bullets available on iTunes

August 24, 2018
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Weekends with GEP: STRAY BULLETS

This weekend, revisit Jack Fessenden’s directorial debut STRAY BULLETS.
Digital download available on iTunes.

Special features includes SWEATING BULLETS, a behind-the-scenes look at Stray Bullets.
Along with Jack Fessenden’s zombie-horror short film RIDING SHOTGUN,
exclusively on iTunes.

Don’t forget to pick up your very own copy on DVD!

“A blazingly confident feature debut”
– Hollywood Reporter

December 14, 2017
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Stray Bullets among pictures cited in celebration of Hudson Valley Film Production

From the Upstater:

It’s no secret that the Hudson Valley is home to countless Hollywood movie stars and producers—its lush and beautiful landscapes and proximity to New York City providing the best of both worlds. Though a handful of films have showcased the area over the decades, its cinematic footprint paled in comparison to other regions due to a flawed state program that didn’t consider the Hudson Valley “upstate.”

But that’s all changing. Last year, after significant advocacy from Ulster County Executive Mike Hein, New York State passed legislation allowing Ulster County and a handful of other left-behinds to finally compete for productions by offering the same 40-percent tax credit allotted to the rest of upstate New York. The legislation was signed by the governor in November 2016, and as a result, the entire Mid-Hudson region is now included and will benefit.

Recent months have seen Ulster County evolving into a hotbed for major movie productions…

Stray Bullets (2017)
Written and directed by 16-year-old wunderkind Jack Fessenden (with a little help from his father, veteran indie filmmaker Larry Fessenden), Stray Bullets follows two teenage boys who accidentally collide with a group of armed robbers on the run. Filmed across Ulster County, in Stone Ridge, Rosendale, Kingston, Woodstock and West Shokan.

Read full article here

June 7, 2017
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INDIEWIRE: Jack Fessenden one of 11 Indie Filmmakers 30 or Under You Need to Know

Check out the rest of the list…

May 8, 2017
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Jack & Larry Fessenden on Horror Happens Radio talk STRAY BULLETS

April 28, 2017
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STRAY BULLETS in MovieMaker

The Family That Makes Movies
Together Stays Together

…When asked about directing his dad in Stray Bullets, Jack laughs, “I’ve directed my dad since I was a very young child. I’ve always been bossy, but now, I’m considered directorial. My dad’s been in my short films for three or four years now, in front of and behind the camera. What’s funny is that I assume he knows what I want because we talk about it so much beforehand, so on set I may neglect to give him direction when I should, and that can result in him saying, ‘Well, I didn’t know what you wanted.’ But we’re usually on the same page.”

Read the whole article

Watch the film!

March 14, 2017
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Jack Fessenden’s STRAY BULLETS out on DVD 14 March!

Jack Fessenden’s
Feature debut
STRAY BULLETS
now available on DVD
for your home collection.

“An enjoyably blood-soaked thriller with unexpectedly lyrical interludes — made very much in the shadow of classic genre forebears and on what was clearly a constrained budget — this is a strikingly impressive calling-card.” —Hollywood Reporter

Disc includes the hour-long “making of” featurette entitled SWEATING BULLETS.

Stop by your favorite brick and mortar video store or order on-line today!

Starring Asa Spurlock,
Jack Fessenden, James Le Gros,
John Speredakos, Larry Fessenden,
and Kevin Corrigan

and why not pick up the STRAY BULLETS Score from iTunes as well!

March 1, 2017
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STRAY BULLETS score available on iTunes

“lots of ambience and mood… a distinct feeling of desolation and claustrophobia
… fascinating, and very well produced … Give it a try.”
Soundtrack Geek

“particularly effective use of his own haunting, guitar-heavy score
… Fessenden could probably pursue a career in music if the challenge of film-making palls”
Hollywood Reporter

“an impressive debut with an equally impressive score”
Victoria Advocate

STRAY BULLETS original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Now Available from Lakeshore records

composed and arranged by JACK FESSENDEN
additional composing CHRISTIAN NOLL
producer LARRY FESSENDEN
recorded at UNDERGROUND AUDIO, NYC
engineer, mix and mastering MATT ROCKER
additional engineer WILL WHATLEY

keyboards, guitars, percussion JACK FESSENDEN
bass MARK LERNER
electric guitar CHRISTIAN NOLL
cello ASA SPURLOCK
violin CYRUS SPURLOCK

“Ave Maria” by Franz Schubert
recorded at DUBWAY STUDIO, NYC
engineer and mix RUSSEL CASTIGLIONE
thanks AL HOUGHTON

piano ROGER PELTZMAN
vocals LUCY KATHERINE GHEGRAE

FROM THE COMPOSER

Even after Stray Bullets picture-locked, my biggest creative challenge still lay ahead: composing the score. I had used pieces by Cliff Martinez, Brian Eno, and Philip Glass, among others, as temporary music in my edit to help myself understand what mood I was hoping to evoke with the score I would go on to write.

I worked with Christian Noll, a fellow musician and friend from school, to help get started with developing chord progressions and sounds for the music, and soon felt confident enough to continue on my own and compose the entire feature film’s worth of tracks. We recorded in only 4 days, inviting friends from upstate to come down to play bass, cello, and violin. Asa Spurlock, my co-star in the film, and his younger brother Cyrus made up our string section, and Mark Lerner of Phoenicia, NY offered a unique bass tone that occurs throughout the score. I played most of the other instruments, drums, keyboards and guitar, expanding upon previous ideas and coming up with totally new ones in the moment.

I like to enter the studio with a solid understanding of what is needed and an openness to working spontaneously; I had made crude recordings of several of the main pieces with different parts and instrumentations mapped out, but other themes were less developed, and were discovered and refined in the studio. Never have I handed a musician a sheet of notation; I like to talk with collaborators and get them on the same page and then see what they have to offer, how they respond to my direction. Improvisation, especially with a largely atmospheric and ambient score such as this, is how we found the most memorable sounds. I believe it is in those last minute adjustments and additions that the music can really come into its own.

We mixed the music right there in the studio, Underground Audio on 3rd street next to Hells Angels, and were out of there in the afternoon of the 5th day. Sometimes I question myself before entering into an ordeal like this, fearing that I hadn’t done enough to prepare, but by surrounding myself with like-minded and willing collaborators, meticulously articulating my vision to them and letting them make of it what they will, I was able to shape the material and expand my original themes into the moody score I was looking for.

Jack Fessenden
Jan 2017

TRACK LISTING

Ricochet
Air
Crooks Bridge
Pulse
We Got It Good Here
Crux
Mood
Breakdown
What Took You So Long
Sweeten This
Prey
You’re Next
Pursuit
Stray Bullets
Crashing Down
“Ave Maria” by Franz Schubert

buy on iTunes

February 9, 2017
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Exclusive: Alternate posters give STRAY BULLETS some teenage kicks!

Click here to check out the exclusive posters…

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