The Sisters Of Mercy Featuring Lucy Rupert, Sarah Slean

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On the day of my parent's anniversary, I am happy to announce a forthcoming feature film project titled The Sisters Of Mercy. The story takes place in 1939, mere months before the Second World War, and is a narrative adaptation of an original dance performance called "The Animals Are Planning An Intervention" created and performed by two time FortyFPS collaborator Lucy Rupert. A review by 96.3 FM in Toronto said of Animals:

The Animals Are Planning An Intervention is performed to a gorgeous string quartet by composer Sarah Slean. Lucy Rupert uses expressive animal imagery to explore the evolution contained within us. It is a beautifully conceived show, rich in set, lighting and video details. Her theme is loss and recovery, and she actually makes her lyrical body look angled and distorted.

In the film adaptation, Rupert plays the lead role of a mother named Marie who is unknowingly hand-delivered to a government institution by her three sons after a house-fire, that Marie escaped, claimed the life of her 9 year old daughter. The Sarah Slean arrangements commissioned for Animals will be featured and used throughout the film. Announcements will continue to spill out leading towards production set for Fall 2011.

New Original Score Preview "Patchwork Parade"

Section 13 [Patchwork Parade] by CJ Wallis

Earlier this year, director David Branin posted a note asking for someone to create an original score for a film he has recently finished called Goodbye Promise. The influences suggested to apply were Sigur Ros and Radiohead.

Armed with a not-very-secret obsession with both bands and a like-crafted, unreleased Elective instrumental - we contacted them. After listening to all submitted works and composers - we were ultimately selected by the filmmakers to create their arrangements.

Celluloid Social Club Photos, Screens The Rose

As was recently mentioned, our video for The Rose played in front of a sold out Celluloid Social Club last Tuesday. Additionally making our night in millions of different ways was the arrival of Mr. Chris Gonzalez and Paula Lindberg - who never could have imagined shooting Narcolepsy what strange things were awaiting her 6 years later. Click here to view the photos from the night, taken by Bob Soska.

Dead Hooker In A Trunk Gets UK Television Premiere

Like an NFL player finding out he was traded on ESPN Sportscenter rather than from his agent or management team - we here at FortyFPS and Twisted Twins Productions have received most of our film's announcements via other people's Twitter accounts.

Today's installment comes to us from ScreamQueenArmy who has announced that Dead Hooker In A Trunk will have it's UK television premiere on June 29th on The Horror Channel. There is nothing about it on their website at the moment, but I assume SQA has checked his facts.

UPDATE: He didn't...

But, since the original post was published, SQA has made good by forwarding everything to do with the debut including the channel's official press release, appropriately titled: "Beasts, Nazis and Dead Hookers - July On The Horror Channel."

Dead Hooker In A Trunk – Friday 29th 

Twin sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska are behind the brutal and shocking independent flick Dead Hooker In A Trunk, which must earn itself the “It Does Exactly What It Says” title of the month. The movie concerns four disparate friends, the Badass, the Geek, the Goody Two Shoes and the Junkie face a fight for their lives when a dead hooker is inexplicably found in their car. 

They list available satellite channels as 319 on Sky, 149 on Virgin and 138 on FreeSat and it is set to screen at 22:55 local time.

Celluloid Social Club To Honor The Rose, Leo Awards

Celluloid Social Club @ The Anza Club on W. 8th, Vancouver BC

Paul Armstrong, co-founder of the long-running and immensely popular Celluloid Social Club, messaged us and asked if The Rose would like to attend a Q&A screening with other recent Leo Award recipients at the next CSC event on Tuesday, June 21st. Which is a silly question that was instantly agreed to.

Paul is one of few people in this city who seems to be consistently pioneering every major development or successful event our branch of the industry has to offer. Entry starts at $5 and doors open at 7:30pm. This event is only once a month and always sells out fast making early arrival crucial.

Empire Magazine Print Ad For Dead Hooker In A Trunk

Someone sent along photos to The Twins from the June 2011 issue of popular UK film publication Empire Magazine which features a half page ad dedicated to the DVD release of Dead Hooker In A Trunk. Bounty Films have done an amazing job supporting their region's release of the film and have been a delight to deal with.

American Mary now has an IMDB page with a cast & crew listings page that is filling up nicely. On top of producing and post production/marketing work, as previously mentioned, I will direct a 9 minute sequence of the film. The last nine months two weeks of producing this film have been overwhelming but, assuming all goes according to plan in the next x amount of days, you will soon understand why. Stay sickkk.

"The Rose" Named Best Music Video Of 2010

The video made for Sarah Slean's song "The Rose" was awarded Best Music Video Of The Year at the Leo Awards.

I was unable to attend the ceremony and was notified via a txt that read: "You just won a Leo award!" from Katrin Bowen, director of the multi- award nominated feature film Amazon Falls.

Fellow 2006 Crazy8s alumni member and Phoenix co-star, Katrin took a considerable amount of her post-awards evening to ensure the award was looked after and eventually was the one to hand it to me, beaming - which made it all the more better. Thank you.

Thanks to the jury/industry members that voted for the video. This is a wonderful pat on the head and all involved appreciate it a great deal. Please feel free to check out the video by clicking here.

From Our Shelves To Yours

As submitted to us from Peter Bakewell taken in a UK branch of HMV

Dead Hooker DVD Sold Out On Amazon, Reviews Are In

According to those in the know, the first run & release of Region 2 Dead Hooker In A Trunk DVDs have sold out completely and a second run of discs are being promised soon from those at Amazon (Artwork from Australian release pictured above) The features and some of the menu images from the UK Bounty Films version have been released, along with a semi-favorable review, on DVD Beaver:

Edition Details:
• Directors' Commentary with Jen and Sylvia Soska
• Production Commentary with C.J. Wallis, and Jen and Sylvia Soska
• Deleted Scenes (16:9; 5:37)
• Behind the Scenes Featurette (16:9; 14:33)
• Discussion with actor Carlos Gallardo (16:9; 1:44)
• Theatrical Trailer (16:9; 2:22)
• Preview Trailer (16:9; 2:56)
• Festival Trailer (16:9; 1:13)

14 DVD Chapter Titles:

01. The Night Before The Morning After
02. Youth Group
03. A Dead Hooker In The Trunk
04. Visitors
05. Getting To Know Goody Two-Shoes
06. Losing Limbs
07. Burial
08. Cowboy
09. Heavenly Advice
10. The Hooker's House
11. Catching The Killer
12. A Face From The Past
13. Friends To The Rescue
14. End Credits

DVD Menu Art By Bounty Films:

Bounty has also sent around a good chunk of screeners to various established UK print magazines and websites. TotalFilm Magazine reviewed the film and had this to say:

Hobo With A Shotgun might be getting all the buzz, but…there's another grindhouse gem equally worthy of your attention, out on DVD on Monday. 
Like Hobo With A Shotgun, Dead Hooker In A Trunk easily lives up to the promise of its title. If you want a nuanced plot, watch Chinatown. If you want a thrill-ride that'll occasionally make you spit-take your popcorn and Coke, watch Dead Hooker In A Trunk. Case in point, none of the characters have proper names, they all go by ridiculous nicknames. But that doesn't stop you from falling in love with each and every one of them.

Ben Bussey, a self-proclaimed fed-up-with-DV-Low-Budget-Horror film writer for the popular genre website Brutal As Hell, has already once previously, and positively, reviewed an earlier/rougher edit of the film and had the task of doing a second review for the DVD release now complete with our final DVD-exclusive spit-shines.

Ricki Gagne[sic], CJ Wallis and of course the Soskas themselves are genuinely...people you enjoy spending an hour and a half with. It is their charisma as individuals, and overall chemistry as a group, that will bring people back to watch this movie over and over. And their work is all the more impressive when you consider all but Gagne were doing multiple jobs on the film; the Soskas multi-tasking is established, plus CJ Wallis was one of the principal cinematographers, as well as editing the film and composing and performing the music. They’ve made a debut feature that, for all its flaws, really does stands apart; that’s a rare thing, and worthy of celebration.

The second run of the DVDs are available and apparently also nearly sold out. Rumor has it the distribution deal for a North American release has been finalized with a major company that couldn't be a better fit.

Continuing in this vague fashion, it looks as though Fortyfps will be doing the pre-release marketing campaign for a major motion picture starring two people you have definitely heard of. More info coming, as it is allowed.