Horror Helps Out History and Filmmaker’s Journey Leads to Academy Award and Grammy-Winning Team
Steve Barton
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The horror industry is one of the single most giving businesses in all of the world. Any chance people within the genre get to give back to the world is readily and happily taken. Here’s a wonderful case in point…
From the Press Release:
For fans of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, there’s a wonderful opportunity to take home a piece of Elm Street memorabilia and help out a worthwhile project at the same time! Three Freddy Krueger display heads, signed by David Miller (designer and creator of the original Freddy Krueger make-up from the 1984 A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET), and two Freddy Gloves, signed by Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger himself) and built by Anders Eriksen (from Nightmare Gloves), are being raffled off as part of a new fundraiser. A $20 tax-deductible donation enters contributors into a drawing for these first-rate Elm Street items.
On Veterans Day, an ongoing Indiegogo campaign was launched to raise a portion of the funds for the production of a WWII documentary, JOURNEY TO ROYAL, and includes other notable perks from Doug Drexler (signed Star Trek business cards) and Matt Gonzalez (Ralph Nader’s 2008 Vice Presidential running mate and current San Francisco Chief Public Defender, who contributed an original piece of framed art). Director Christopher Johnson’s producing/directing gears have switched from the fiery tones of his A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET CONCEPT TEASER (see below), which he created for his then agent to garner an opportunity to reboot the series, envisioning a Freddy Krueger on fire with glowing hot blades. But thanks to the generosity of a few key Elm Street veterans, JOURNEY TO ROYAL is not without the influence of Freddy Krueger.
In addition, The Misty Falls Motion Picture Company is pleased to announce the addition of Oscar®-winning visual effects artist Doug Drexler (Dick Tracy, Star Trek: The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine, Battlestar Galactica, Defiance) and Grammy-winning songwriter and arranger Les Reed OBE (It’s Not Unusual, Delilah) to its production team for the JOURNEY TO ROYAL. Drexler will serve as Visual Effects Supervisor, while Reed will compose original songs for the soundtrack.
Johnson’s film tells the story of Lt. Royal A Stratton, a 22-year-old rescue pilot who died in the South Pacific while heroically saving the lives of nine of his fellow airmen.
Already completed is the filming of the presentation of Congressional Commendations for Stratton by Representatives Marcy Kaptur, John Conyers, James Jordan, and Jim McGovern and former Representatives Nick Rahall, Rob Anders, and Dennis Kucinich. Also completed are interviews with stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, such as Marsha Hunt and Janis Paige, who tell of a country bound together by purpose and of the entertainers who stepped up to boost morale as war efforts exploded. In his pursuit of additional veterans interviews, Johnson states, “Good fortune has facilitated finding and visiting these remarkable WWII vets. I’m constantly aware of the fragile timeframe within which I’m working.”
Interviews from members of the 4th Emergency Rescue Squadron, with which Stratton flew, include first-hand accounts of the rescue of the U.S.S. Indianapolis survivors (a story made famous in the blockbuster JAWS), the delivery of the surrender documents to be signed by the Emperor of Japan on the U.S.S. Midway, the escorting of the Enola Gay, and an eyewitness account of Hiroshima.
JOURNEY TO ROYAL is being produced through Johnson’s production company, The Misty Falls Motion Picture Company, with Mariana Tosca and Glenn Rossney co-producing, and is sponsored by Moving Train, Inc., which makes contributions tax deductible to the full extent permitted by law.
David Concannon (of Explorer Consulting, LLC), the last person to dive on the Titanic, has signed on to head the expedition to locate and film Stratton’s scuttled PBY, though Johnson has yet to source the $1.2 million required for the undertaking. Johnson says, “The main goal of this documentary is to preserve the history, legacy, and stories of these members of the Greatest Generation. There are components to this documentary that are massive in scale and warrant exploration, such as the filming of Royal’s PBY at the bottom of the Pacific. We know where she is, roughly, and someone like James Cameron would have no problem accomplishing this, but he has access to those kinds of resources. The challenge for me as a filmmaker and producer is aligning the production with people inspired by and willing to back such an endeavor.”
“I was recently speaking with a colleague, Joe Rohde (documentary filmmaker and theme park designer), and we were discussing our current projects. He just finished a beautiful and important documentary (THE LEOPARD IN THE LAND) and mentioned that his father, Martin (Rick) Rohde, was a WWII photographer in the South Pacific and offered me the use of his vintage photographs for the documentary. These are the serendipitous moments that you hope for.”
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