Creatures of the Night Beware! Ghost Trek to Screen at Fright Night Film Fest
Steve Barton
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Fright Night Film Festival
http://www.frightnightfilmfest.com
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“Ghost Trek” can best be described as “Reno 911” meets “Ghost Hunters”, and the show’s gang of misfits are out to prove that they’re the funniest bunch of paranormal researchers since Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz and Egon Spengler. Those of you lucky enough to be in the Louisville area of the Bluegrass State on Saturday, July 23rd, will get your chance to have a sneak peek at the pilot!
With a tagline that basically sums up the series (“Ghost Trek”: Paranormal research with an emphasis on bad taste), the Paranormal Underworld Detective Society (that’s right, PUDS) is portrayed by an incredibly eclectic group of individuals. Actors, reality stars and former professional wrestlers are among the cast members, each bringing their own unique talent to the program.
The pilot for the program, entitled “Ghost Trek: The Kinsey Report,” will be featured at the Fright Night Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, this Saturday, July 23 at 5:30. Drop by and check out what could be the next must-see comedy coming soon to a TV near you!
From the Press Release
From the author of the critically-acclaimed Kill the Music (book) and creator of See the Dead (short) comes Ghost Trek, an uncensored comic–horror series based around a paranormal reality show. “Ghost Trek” follows the Paranormal Underworld Detective Society (PUDS) as they investigate the haunts across the US and abroad between tanning beds, babes, body-building, and bong hits – all the while risking life and limb capturing the undead and unexplained on video. The pilot episode begins in the show’s second season and introduces the characters in a “teaser” fashion.
Principal photography for the pilot, “Ghost Trek: The Kinsey Report”, was shot in four days in reality-style and POV high definition in Charlotte, North Carolina (Hunger Games, Homeland), and its environs December 10-13, 2010. Additional photography and second unit were shot January–March, 2011.
“Ghost Trek” is led by Dr. Zeke Wallace (Michael Melendez -Turning Home), a good-looking ex-chiropractor turned paranormal investigator who lives in New York with his girlfriend, Shawna Leibowitz (Gia Allemand – “The Bachelor”), the show’s producer. And Scary Carrie Carmichael (Christy Johnson – Mortuary), the “Living-Dead Roller-Girl”, pines away as the Ghost Trek case manager as management forbids Carrie face time due to her freakish outward appearance.
Other PUDS investigators are: Barry ‘The Bomb’ Burkowski and Joey ‘Mayhem’ Moscone, affectionately called The Goon Squad – two ex-wrestlers from New Jersey who hung up their tights for a paying gig (Glenn ‘Disco Inferno’ Gilbertti (TNA) and Scott ‘Colt Cabana’ Colton (ROH), the fashion-conscious psychic, Guy Swisher (Brett Gentile – Cold Storage) is comedic genius incarnate,- the team’s tech specialists and devoted stoners are Robbie (Michael Bortone – “Survivor”) and Ray-Ray (Jonny Fairplay – “Survivor,” The Scorned, TNA), Weasel is the kleptomaniac “emo” cameraman (Kevin Johnson – Devil’s Crossing) and the ‘newbie’, Jules Partridge, (Julia Bullock) is the “investigator in training” chosen by the network marketing department.
In the pilot, the PUDS team travels to Aspen, Colorado to investigate a supposed “cursed” house where a young pageant girl, Tyler Rae Kinsey (Addy Miller – “The Walking Dead”), was choked to death with a jump rope.
Meanwhile, Shawna is fuming over Zeke’s out–of-control spending, especially now that she suspects he’s cheating on her with a Russian soft-core porn model (Cora Deitz). But Shawna’s forced to sit still for Zeke’s lunar escapades as Harvey Goldman (Michael Plumides) says, “He’s trending.”
Director of Photography and Co-Director, Robert W. Filion, has worn a lot of hats. He’s a director, producer, unit production manager, visual effects coordinator, and sound mixer with 17 years of filmmaking experience.
Robert is also the 2009 American Zombie Film Competition winner for his short, See the Dead, judged, moderated, and sponsored by the iconic creator of Night of the Living Dead, George Romero.
Creator, Writer, Producer, and Co-Director Michael Plumides is a celebrated author and writer, making his directorial debut with the “Ghost Trek” TV pilot.
Going to jail with GWAR’s lead singer Oderus Urungus in September of 1990 gave Plumides some serious street cred after the release of his anti-censorship book, Kill the Music (2009), describing the rise and fall of the infamous 4808 Club of which Plumides was the owner during the moral hysteria of the PMRC years. After promoting the book for a year and without missing a beat, Plumides turned his attention toward screenwriting.
Michael conceptualized “Ghost Trek” in late 2009 after watching marathon episodes of cable paranormal reality shows such as: “Ghost Adventures,” “Paranormal State,” and “Ghost Hunters International.” Plumides was convinced of an underlying comedic element to each show, begging to be lampooned. Michael began developing the characters of “Ghost Trek” in early 2010 and completed a feature script in March which is dark, violent, politically incorrect, but very funny. Then using the screenplay as a template, Plumides wrote six television episodes with six more in development. Now that the pilot is completed, Ghost Trek, LLC is shopping the concept.
Combining the camp of “Kolchak: the Night Stalker,” the dynamics of “The X-Files,” the social commentary of Clerks, the drama of “Entourage,” the humor of The Young Ones, and the zany hijinx of “Scooby Doo,” there’s no question “Ghost Trek” will be a hit with the “Family Guy” and/or “Ghost Hunters” crowd. And with over-the-top offensive, adult oriented shows blossoming like “Archer” (FX), “Ghost Trek” is sure to be a hit. Also, the “Ghost Trek” cast members are getting noticed; they’re chanting Colt Cabana’s name on WWE, Gia Allemand has come back for a second season of ABC’s “Bachelor Pad,” and Addy Miller’s episode of “The Walking Dead” is nominated for an Emmy.
“Ghost Trek” is intentionally dark and humorous in the same vein as the new hit show “Wilfred” (FX), or “Eastbound and Down” in it’s third season (HBO) (Produced by fellow NC natives Jody Hill, David G. Greene, and Danny McBride) but with a paranormal reality spin. Early screenings have had positive exit poll reactions in the 18-49 male market share with “Ghost Trek’s” brand of high-brow meets low-brow humor. Future screenings are to be tentatively held in Charleston, SC (July 30), Columbia, SC, and Athens, GA as well as New York, NY, Austin, TX, and Los Angeles, CA (TBA).
Described by Jason Tracey, writer and producer of USA’s “Burn Notice” as “promising and well-written,” “Ghost Trek” combines indie-horror with indie-comedy creating a crossover market appeal by incorporating reality stars and actors, plus masterful special effects make-up (Dean Jones – Deep Space Nine) and graphic design (Justin Kates – Sanguis Vitum Est). “Ghost Trek” promises to have the best in creature effects, as Conor McCullagh (Winner – SyFy’s “Face Off”) is attached as Make Up Special Effects Producer for the Ghost Trek feature/TV show.
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