DIRECTOR IRENE MIRACLE AND AUTHOR/PUBLISHER TIM LUCAS OF VIDEO WATCHDOG TO COLLABORATE WITH THE FACTORY DIGITAL FILMMAKING PROGRAM AT DOUGLAS EDUCATION CENTER
'The Baggage Claim' Will Begin Filming in Late July 2010 at Douglas Education Center
MONESSEN, PA., May 17, 2010 – On any ordinary day, walking into the The FACTORY Digital Filmmaking Program complex at Douglas Education Center (DEC) would be both exciting and imaginative - as students learn the building blocks to develop a positive career in filmmaking. These days the ambiance is absolutely electrifying as students and teachers gear up for this summer’s “The Final Product” production.
Golden Globe-winner Irene Miracle (director of DAWNLAND: CHANGELING as well as an actress noted for such films as MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, Dario Argento’s INFERNO and PUPPET MASTER) and students from The FACTORY Digital Filmmaking Program at DEC will team up to produce THE BAGGAGE CLAIM in late July 2010. The film is based on a screenplay by Tim Lucas, Saturn Award-winning writer/publisher of VIDEO WATCHDOG magazine, and the cult fiction favorites THROAT SPROCKETS, THE BOOK OF RENFIELD, and the epic biography MARIO BAVA – ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK. THE BAGGAGE CLAIM will be produced under the auspices of The Final Product - the last course students enrolled in The FACTORY Digital Filmmaking Program at DEC will take prior to graduation. “The Final Product exemplifies the Factory’s philosophy of immersing students in a real world production situation by teaming them with working filmmakers on viable projects,” said FACTORY director Robert Tinnell. Previous productions have been directed by Tom Savini, whose make-up effects school is part of Douglas Education Center, as well as by Tinnell, an industry veteran whose directing credits include FRANKENSTEIN AND ME and whose screenplay for THE LIVING AND THE DEAD will be directed by Brad Anderson in the coming year.
Irene Miracle is eager to begin collaboration with DEC. “What delights me about Robert Tinnell and The FACTORY Digital Filmmaking Program at Douglas Education Center is the feeling of being surrounded by an incredible number of like-minded poetic creators, and that together we’re all aiming for the stars. That may explain why this little film we are planning will be so crowded with people, quick scene changes, and a heart beat that takes the world into a quick dance.”
Screenwriter Tim Lucas notes, “I sat down and wrote THE BAGGAGE CLAIM in a single sitting, in longhand, hardly changing a word as I typed it up. Irene loved it, and when Robert Tinnell came aboard and we saw what was possible with his resources at DEC, we revised it together with an eye to those possibilities. It was one of the happiest writing experiences I’ve ever had.”
Lucas goes on to say, “In some ways, THE BAGGAGE CLAIM is an opportunity for a group of artists experienced in horror to speak more warmly to our audience by sharing what we’ve learned about life and relationships by this point in our lives, while telling a story in an unmistakably fantastic vein.”
DEC students enrolled in The FACTORY Digital Filmmaking Program will have a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a variety of positions during the creation of the digital production of THE BAGGAGE CLAIM. All aspects of filmmaking will be put to use while students work hand-in-hand with film industry professionals. Education and experience will be used in the field in a green screen environment.
“My students and I are thrilled to be working alongside this wonderful group of film professionals,” said Robert Tinnell. “There is a tremendous need for students to have practical, hands-on film-making experience prior to graduating into the real world of professional filmmaking, and I am very pleased that DEC is creating an atmosphere where creativity and learning are one in the same in achieving that aim.”
For more information, call 412-684-3684 or visit www.dec.edu.
Here's a link to the actual press release.
