Feature length horror film shooting in the Billings area April 2014

Stacey Faldetta

For all you Theatre majors (and anyone else) out there that would love the chance to be in a feature length film and happen to be a fan of horror movies, check this out!!! Bozeman Magazine got the inside info about this one of a kind opportunity. “The Writer’s Ghost”, a feature length horror film written and produced by Michael Hitchcock, is shooting in the Billings area this month. We have the original press release, and thought it would be interesting to run it with this article.

We got the opportunity to sit down with Michael Hitchcock, the executive producer and screenplay author of “The Writer’s Ghost”, and Omnithex’s John Pavek, to discuss the specifics of this film and the live music event that precedes it. The musical event takes place at the Yellowstone Garage, located at 2123 1st Ave. North on Saturday, April 5th and offers a live musical showcase with Omnithex performing, among other local musical acts, music featured on “The Writer’s Ghost” soundtrack. The event will run until 8:00pm when the brewery closes, so make sure you get there early! It is also open to those of you that are under 21. Come out and support local music!
    
Michael Hitchcock is the solo writer of the screenplay but expressed that he had a partner to help out and even his daughter, Jackie, had a little input in the storyline. Michael tells us that one day a “key scene popped into his head” and he wrote a movie around it. He also tells us that he “does not believe in ghosts” and that at some point he realized that, in writing this story, the similarities to his childhood fears are astounding. The film will be shot in an old farmhouse turned Bed and Breakfast out toward Shepard on the outskirts of Billings, and that everyone involved in the project has been fantastic to work with so far. This is an amazing opportunity to be involved with a film and it should be an awesome event!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Billings Film Production Company, P210 Productions, to Shoot Full Length Feature Film in April 2014 Billings, MT –  P210 Productions LLC, a Billings based independent film production company announced today that it will begin production in April of 2014 on a full length horror film project entitled "The Writer's Ghost".
 
The film project will be supported by the Montana Film Office (MFO) and several local Billings businesses. Boston film director Douglas Guarino (www.guarinoproductions.com) was selected by P210 Productions executive producers Michael J. Hitchcock and David L. Bulkley to direct the film. Earlier this year P210 conducted a national search contest to find a director for their film project, and selected Douglas from a wide and diverse field of candidates across the country.
 
“We created a director's contest and search because we knew we had a great script and we needed a great director to develop it into a movie,” stated Creative Director and Executive Producer David L. Bulkley. According to writer and Executive Producer Michael J. Hitchcock, “Douglas produced, directed, and edited a teaser/trailer that completely captured the feel of the original script. Landing Douglas was exactly what we intended, as his background and vision are precisely what we need to make this a top-notch, very enjoyable horror movie.”
 
Los Angeles producer and actress Gia Franzia will also to lend her expertise and talent during production, along with Paul Black, former singer for LA Guns, who will write the musical score. Rebel Syndicate, EndEver, Omnithex, and local Billings singer/actress Rachel Ess will also contribute to the movie soundtrack.
 
The MFO and the Billings Chamber of Commerce are lending their support in searching for filming locations and generating support from the Billings community. Montana has served as the location for many films in the past, including "The Horse Whisperer" and "The Patriot" and the recently released “Nebraska", which has been nominated for six Academy Awards this year. "The Writer's Ghost" production will take place entirely in Billings, Montana.
 
“The Writer’s Ghost” is a story about Becky (Bex) Cook, a successful writer with a second book deal and a newly purchased home. She quickly discovers the house comes with a mischievous but seemingly benign spirit. As the spirit gets more aggressive, Bex's new boyfriend, Scott, becomes the target for their ethereal house guest. Bex learns more about the home's previous owners as dramatic events unfold, leading them down a path of terror that neither expected...nor wanted."
 
For more information, visit http://www.p210productions.com.

Thanks to Michael Hitchcock for sitting down for an interview with us, and to John Pavek as well. Best of luck on the film endeavor!!!!

This was made by

Stacey Faldetta

Stacey Faldetta is a freelance writer currently living in MT with her four children. She is working on her first book of compiled poetry called ‘A Thousand Little Sparks’ and enjoys travelling extensively around our breath taking state enjoying all that the Big Sky Country has to offer. She can be reached at mtcinnamon73@gmail.com(ckramer (at) gmail [d0t] com,)

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