Glass Eye Pix presents
AMERICAN JESUS
a film by ARAM GARRIGA

Available On Demand and DVD
Tuesday MAY 13, 2014

Opening NYC at IFC
Wednesday MAY 14, 2014

Opening LA at Downtown Independent
Friday MAY 23, 2014

Coming to your town! Check:
AmericanJesusTheMovie.com

Dear Internet,

A few years ago during the release of my film THE INNKEEPERS, I wrote an open letter about piracy and the effects it has on independent films. Particularly in the case of films that premiere first on VOD before being released in theaters. This distribution model is becoming more and more common in an effort to help smaller films reach as wide an audience as possible.

You can read that letter in its entirety HERE, but basically the gist of what it said was: Paying for indie movies provides tangible evidence that there is a market for esoteric films, and that it’s important they be financially supported – not necessarily for the filmmaker’s bank accounts – but to prove to investors that there is in fact monetary value in all different types of filmmaking. It is about preserving sustainability.

Some people liked what I had to say, some people hated every word of it. Having just reread it, I would say that 90% of what I wrote still holds up. That’s a pretty high percentage if you consider how embarrassing old journal entries can be…

So instead of writing an all new letter, or simply reposting the old one, I thought that this time around, with the VOD release of my new film THE SACRAMENT, I would briefly address a couple of thoughts not fully articulated back in 2011. These seemed to be the two most common rationalizations for “illegal” downloads.

So without further ado…

Read the letter from Ti West in full here.

From Weekly Geek Speak:

Weekly Geek Speak Podcast: Re-Birth of the Geeky Pod

This week Weekly Geek Speak hits episode 50! And like all stale products in modern times, we’re rebooting. This means nothings different but you get the chance to get to know us once more as we talk over the questions asked each other in episode one. We also celebrate all things George A. Romero with the DVD release of Birth of the Living Dead, a documentary all about how Night of the Living Dead came to be. We’re also joined by Birth’s producer and indie horror legend, Larry Fessenden who talks all about his view on the horror genre and how Romero effected his career.

Check out the full podcast here.

Why “Tales From Beyond The Pale” Season Two Boxed Set Is A Must-Listen For Old-School Horror Fans

From HorrorBoom.com on May 2, 2014:

Note: I’m not getting any free copies, perks, nor am I selling copies of this incredibly cool item. At times this piece might sound like I’m getting a cut of every sale, but that’s not the case. I’m just REALLY REALLY enthusiastic about it and I know horror fans in my age demographic (and up) will want to know about it.

Well, hell, even if you were born after the 80s, and just love all things horror, I’m pretty sure you’ll want to know about it.

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The TFBTP S2 boxed set is only on Amazon via third-party sellers, and the least expensive copy is marked up to $30.00. If you want it right from the source, you can buy it on the TFBTP site’s official store for $25.00, which you can find right here. Oh, and the tales themselves are R-rated, another big plus. These are definitely not safe for work (unless you’re wearing ear buds, I guess) or for children!

Speaking of the official website, it’s just packed with goodies. Each “tale” not only has a description of the episode (just enough to rev you up, but not enough to spoil anything), there are Director-Writer notes for each episode. On some of then, they reveal that the story, even though there wasn’t a visual, was storyboarded (I didn’t see the actual storyboards on the site, but they could be there somewhere or included as extras for when you purchase the physical sets). That’s pretty painstaking, but it gives you an idea of just how much of a labor of love the episodes are. They also have really cool art for each tale

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Season One doesn’t look too shabby either, and I’ve got some serious catching-up to do. For instance, an episode titled, “The Grandfather,” features Angus Scrimm in the title role.

If you go to the official website referenced above (hell, I’ll just give you the link again) you can hear excerpts from some of the stories. Co-creator and producer Fessenden also introduces/hosts the tales, and not only does the book-ends but steps in during a break mid-story (each of the Tales run approximately 30 minutes) with a E.C. horror-esque comment along the lines of “Well! [character name] seems to be in way over his head! But things certainly couldn’t get any worse, could they?” The breaks add to the ambiance instead of taking you out of the story.

If you don’t want to commit to the full boxed set without a taste, you can buy episodes on the iTunes store for $2.95 a pair (Season One) and individually (Season Two) for $1.95.

Read article here

GEP pals’ THE SACRAMENT is On Demand and iTunes today!

Congrats to Ti West, Peter Phok, Jacob Jaffke, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Amy Seimetz, et al.

iTunes: http://bit.ly/SacraiTunes
On Demand: http://bit.ly/TheSacraOnDem

THE SACRAMENT hits theaters June 6

GEP had a great time bringing TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE to the Stanley Film Festival! Check out the TALES: STANLEY EDITION official trailer below and see pics from the fest here.

From Sam Zimmerman at Fangoria (read the full recap here):

“…Proving horror not just versatile, but essential to our existence were two of the hottest tickets of the weekend: Jennifer Kent’s THE BABADOOK and the wondrous presentation of TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE LIVE: The Stanley Edition, both of which engage the necessity of art’s dark thoughts and themes. The latter truly proved the treat of The Stanley [Full Disclosure: I was lucky enough to be part of the cast]. Directed by Glenn McQuaid and written by McQuaid, Clay McLeod Chapman and independent horror legend Larry Fessenden, the Glass Eye Pix brand of old-fashioned radio drama rendered live on stage is an incredible occasion as actors, composer, sound designer and foley artist collaborate before an audience’s very eyes offering (again) layers of reverent entertainment. You may close your lids for something of an authentic experience, or open and be wowed by the quick-witted work of telling a tale beyond the pale.

The Stanley Edition of TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE boasted diegetic tiers, too. Tailored to the hotel and festival, the story saw Fessenden play an author who looks and sounds like Jack Nicholson (not unlike Fess, himself) retreat to the Stanley for a bit of inspiration, as well as confront his own demons. His story then folds into one he writes, a pulpy werewolf tale that saw the voice talents of Ana Asensio, AJ Bowen (a teen wolf who bites through a placenta), Jocelyn DeBoer and Martin Starr and more. That’s in addition to the amazing audio work from foley artist Chris Skotchdopole and designer John Moros that truly led the experience…”

Read post here

Stanley Film Fest: Live Tales from Beyond the Pale Offers Awesome Alternative to Film Program

by Ryan Turek, April 27th 2014

Purveyor of all things celebrating indie horror, Larry Fessenden, brought his Glass Eye Pix team to The Stanley Film Festival in Estes Park, Colorado for a live performance of Tales from Beyond the Pale, the anthology audio play that channels the old days of scary radio dramas. Y’know, that era when all it took was some actors, some sound effects, some music and your imagination to frighten the heebie-jeebies out of listeners. The series has previously featured the macabre works of Fessenden, Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead), Simon Barrett (You’re Next) and Jeff Buhler  (Midnight Meat Train) among many others.

For Tales from Beyond the Pale: The Stanley Edition, Fessenden and McQuaid pulled together an acting troupe which included AJ Bowen (The Sacrament), Martin Starr (Silicon Valley), Jocelyn DeBoer (Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead) and even our pal Sam Zimmerman from Fangoria. Fessenden took a leading role as “Jack Landon.”

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It took some very slight adjustment focusing on the narrative, but once I got used to it, I could fully appreciate the mechanics of what went into making this live performance work. We were encouraged to close our eyes and just listen to the show, but I truly enjoyed watching the experience. It distills the nature of telling a horror story down to the basics without any sort of flashiness and it was a welcome alternative to the film programming at the Stanley Film Fest.

I know that Glass Eye Pix has done a live performance of Tales in New York City. If they do it again, I encourage you to go. I’ll be sitting here in Los Angeles, hoping they share this magic with the West Coast.

read the article

[Stanley Fest ’14] Getting Vocal With ‘Tales From Beyond the Pale’

By EvanDickson on April 27, 2014

One of the most pleasant surprises of this year’s Stanley Film Fest was being able to witness a live recording of Tales From Beyond The Pale at the Historic Park Theater in downtown Estes Park. For those unfamiliar, Pale is a radio show produced and directed by Larry Fessenden (Habit, Beneath) and Glenn McQuaid (V/H/S, I Sell The Dead). Previous episodes have been penned by the likes of JT Petty, Simon Barrett and many other noted horror writers.

Fessenden filled me in on the show’s history several days before the performance, “we devised the concept some years ago and we went into the studio and did 10 of them, which allowed us to craft them very well. It’s an experience as an audio drama, it’s not just about dialogue. It’s also about sound design. And that did well, it was well liked. So we said, ‘let’s do it live.’ An opportunity came up with a theater engagement in New York and we pushed ourselves and approached different collaborators and did it live and that was great. But this is our first time traveling with the live show.”

That live show is surprisingly complex. If you’re thinking a radio show just involves a microphone and some prerecorded sound effects, you’d be wrong. There are several other performers onstage in addition to the voice actors, ensuring the room (and your ears) are filled with a palpable atmosphere. From plinking ice in a glass when someone pours a drink to stretching celery in unnatural ways to depict a werewolf transformation. McQuaid rightly insists that this stuff is every bit as valuable as the meat and bones of the narrative, “the foley because your performance too. The show is happening live and if someone’s digging a grave, the actor needs to hear and feel that.”

Read article here