Member Kely McClung Posted February 16, 2011 Member Share Posted February 16, 2011 Hi to all, As most of my friends know, I recently made a distribution deal for my first film "Blood Ties" with Afterlight Pictures. "Blood Ties" is the flagship movie for this new Atlanta based distribution company, and of course that's exciting as well as full of uncertainty. I know lots of my film making friends are watching and wondering where this will take us. As of February 15th, "BLOOD TIES" is officially available on Amazon and Amazon Video on Demand and Indieflix. Hulu, I-Tunes, and nearly every other outlet are rolling in right behind over the next few weeks! Atlanta filmmaker Chiken steps in behind the mic! Pretty cool as of Moday, having spent the last 7 years making my 2 features films, but not having them available, to 'as of today', being able to let people know they can buy our first, is a HUGE difference! Seeing the 'buy' links on our site is pretty damn cool! Zeke Flatten and Afterlight Pictures, and my film partner Robert Pralgo - who's own star is rising fast - and the small team I've been assembling led by Imoto Harney (Captain Crazy TV), kicked things off with our Official World Premiere here in Atlanta last Friday. Like any party, you send out invites, call your friends, and hope someone shows up! Part of the Blood Ties crowd at Atlanta's Aurora Cineplex I'm thrilled to say we more than packed the house! "Blood Ties" sold out a 250 seat theater and had people standing in the aisles to watch it, had to turn away somewhere between 50 and 100 people who were not expecting our huge turnout and couldn't get tickets, and then put about another 60 - 70 people in a second showing at the Aurora Cineplex. The Red Carpet Event, with posters, video, hundreds of photos, interviews, our red carpet and backdrops, lobby posters, etc.. kept the cinema lobby completely filled and buzzing from 6:30 till almost midnight! We had the owners and girls from Variety Radio Online (The VRO) come down from North Carolina, sharing and celebrating with us, posting up on their site, doing the Facebook/Twitter thing, and helping to promote Rob, me, and the "Blood Ties" movie. Film Director Anthony McHie "Passive Fist" enjoys the crowd Lolita Skvortsova with Universal Artistik came all the way from New York to share and see what the fuss was about, as well as beginning to create promos and the buzz for my second film "Kerberos," which UA is bringing to New York for Press Screenings later this Spring. Dozens and dozens of photos are up on Facebook already. The "Blood Ties" Press team led and coordinated by Imoto Harney had dozens of pictures up even before the first press screening was over. We gave away dozens of signed posters, retail DVD's, and custom Press Kits and "Blood Ties" messenger bags. I got to see friends who I haven't been able to catch up with in years, met dozens who know or have heard of me through the efforts of Rob and Zeke, and the entire Atlanta Film Community. I had people like former World Full Contact Karate Champion Jeff Gripper come out to say hi and watch what I've been up to. We still have a LOT of photos, interviews, and video coming of the event to go up, and I hope at least a couple hundred of the people who were able to make it out, all felt a sense of camaraderie, sharing and accomplishment for all of us involved in the arts and all of our creative endeavors. I genuinely feel like this was celebration for all of us. I hope the DVXUser's will feel that way too! Though many people had seen an earlier version of "Blood Ties," they now have seen and heard it finished. I think a couple hundred people who had heard rumors were surprised at the artsy, indie story telling, and those involved and who had seen it before, at the polish and finish I dedicated to movie and that Afterlight Pictures helped us deliver. I know everyone was excited and happy with the acting and the action! If you ever get a chance to meet Rob and/or Zeke, take a moment to congratulate them. Making any movie is pretty tough. To stand outside the system and make one that wins the awards and accolades that "Blood Ties" has is almost unheard of. Kely McClung and Exec Producer Robert Pralgo on the Blood Ties hot seat To make a feature on a DVX in 3 countries and 6 cities w a crew of 2 people, for only 20K... well... And to now be able to buy and watch it all over the world is new ground for all of us! I've already gotten emails from AU, UK, Italy, and Germany - and the response has been overwhelmingly positive! And last if you watch the movie, I sincerely hope you like it. It would mean a lot if you could take a moment to write a short review on Amazon - or if you are feeling really ambitious and want to show off your writing and reviewing chops, to write one for IMDB... "Step Off" Producer Martin Kelley shows support to the Blood Ties World Premiere Zeke Flatten (Afterlight Pictures) and Kely McClung field some press I am pretty damn sure BLOOD TIES will be the lowest budget movie you have ever seen! Thanks again for all the support! My movies will only get bigger and better... and more violent! http://tinyurl.com/buyBloodTies http://bloodtiesmovie.com/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blood-...83163711701094 kely All photos from Imoto Harney and the Captain Crazy press team at the Blood Ties World Premiere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted February 16, 2011 Member Share Posted February 16, 2011 I'm truly glad to learn that everything turned out beyond your expectations. I hope the right people noticed and you get offers to do more along with the $ to really create something extreme. Hope I get to see it soon. Congratulations!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted February 16, 2011 Administrator Share Posted February 16, 2011 Okay Mr. McClung, I read your post, followed a link, watched the trailer, and immediately went to Amazon and purchased a copy. As a one-time wannabe filmmaker I know how difficult it can be to create something cool in this most complicated of artistic mediums. I was really impressed with what I saw in the trailer. So despite being on a very low budget, I wanted to show my support by purchasing your film. Can't wait to see the movie. Thanks for sharing with us here at the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Kely McClung Posted February 17, 2011 Author Member Share Posted February 17, 2011 Thanks so much! I've only posted on this forum a few times and am always thrilled by the support of KFCF! Having worked with a lot of the American martial arts guys... Dudikoff, Bradley, Gruner, Daniels, and Wilson... (not all Americans I know but their films are for the most part), I tried to make something that would compete... I can't promise you'll love or like it, but I can promise as a filmmaker you will appreciate it, and that the action is much, much better and more plentiful than the trailer! Thanks again for the show of support and I do hope you like the flick as well as enjoy the commentary and some of the insight in to how we pulled it off... guerilla - indie - and full of original storytelling for sure! I recently finished my second feature KERBEROS - and am prepping for a NY press screening now. I know this forum will be have the most discerning and critical fans - but I'm sure also the most loyal and dedicated... thanks for having me! Thanks again! Respects to all kely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member daisho2004 Posted February 17, 2011 Member Share Posted February 17, 2011 I had seen the trailer before and I was waiting for it to be released I'm going place my order for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted February 17, 2011 Member Share Posted February 17, 2011 Trailer looks fucking badass.. Quick question for the filmmakers, "How was shooting on location in Thailand and Cambodia??? Did you need like a permit or you can practically just start filming right away with no worries?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AndyWayne84 Posted February 17, 2011 Member Share Posted February 17, 2011 Congratlations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Kely McClung Posted February 17, 2011 Author Member Share Posted February 17, 2011 Permits?! hahaha I used to teach martial arts in Thailand and had some idea of what to expect. Still, it's always different when you are really doing it! The first thing I did landing in Thailand was to make friends with local police... it did become useful later. Though many of the people I had to use were off the streets and local taxi drivers, once I hooked up with some professional stuntmen, they made my life so much easier - they bargained, negotiated, and kept me out of trouble. All these guys had been in major movies, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Tony Ja, Steven Seagal.. they ended up with so much respect for me I think because they saw how hard I worked. I never ask anyone to work as hard as me... and they are certainly not used to the 'star' being in the trenches with them. These guys are all very close friends now and I do stay in touch! This was shot on just a mini dv camera... these guys are used to major crews and equipment. But the entire film world has been amazed at what I pulled off and how great it looks. I had meetings with Tony Ja's producer/director... he too was shocked at what I pulled off. In a lot of ways, this is an indie, art house movie that has a lot of fighting! Winning Action Film of The Year in LA against movies that cost 300 times my budget was and is still sweet! We also won top awards at fest in UK, Puerto Rico, and around the US... I could have done none of that without the help and the wonderful culture of the people there. Also, my bad guy - Erik Markus Schuetz - is a genuine bad ass... was a Thai boxing champion and is 170 lbs of rock hard muscle... a challenge for sure and much of our choreography was basically us just fighting without trying to kill each other and me calling camera angles to get it on film... as you can imagine - that tough, champion ego made for some interesting, brutal fights! I am already planning a new movie with Erik - and we will shoot in Germany, Thailand, US and AU... Shooting in Thailand and across the border of Cambodia was one of the great experiences of my life... I am already starting to make the deal to distribute KERBEROS - probably will be famous for all the cursing! - and is a pretty intense cops and robbers saga.. there are couple serious fights in it! My next film is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW26yos9u-o... really pushing the horror/thriller concept... think Se7en meets Inception... won't be for everyone, but it will get notice for sure... I'll always be very proud of Blood Ties and the work everyone did on it... it has some great fights, and a lot of really creative , clever filmmaking. It's beautiful to look at, and the acting is really strong. It's not perfect, and I will never pretend it is, but it will always be my first directing effort and I've worked hard so that in 50 years, I can look back and still be proud of it! thanks all - here's a bit of what i've done... and more coming soon! http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0565955/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.