Update for June

Greetings, all.

I know this update is long overdue, but there have been some very big changes that have kept us focused on the actual pre-production of the movie and not so focused on sharing all the developments with everyone.

Lots to cover, so I'll be as brief as possible with each ...

New Title

We have changed the name of the movie for the third and *HOPEFULLY* final time. The film formerly known as Dark Matter, and formerly, formerly known as Suicide Squad, is now entitled "The Hanged Man."

This title change reflects the new direction of the script, which is now firmly set in the "psychological thriller" genre.

The Hanged Man is a Tarot reference, which is much better describe by Wikipedia than I could summarize here.

The Hanged Man Details

New Cast Members

We've also added Ralph Hatley to our cast. Ralph plays the role of Sheriff Parker (our antagonist) in the film, and is a great addition. Ralph is a retired police officer and Director of Campus Safety at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. Ralph, inspired by two of his acting sons, became an actor himself later in life, and has made quite a name for himself in the independent film and theater world.

More on Ralph.

Ralph's Web Site.

We lost one of our female leads in the film due to the production location change, but have replaced her with the equally beautiful and talented Robbyn Leigh (headshot and resume to be posted at www.boxofstars.com soon).

New Location

We have also decided to move location from the beautiful but barren Southern California to the uniquely beautiful (and hot) location of Traveler's Rest, South Carolina. (At least we can keep those monogrammed S.C. towels we ordered.) We have secured an excellent location for principal photography, and are geared up to begin production in less than three weeks! Which brings me to ...

Production Date Change

We begin principal photography on Monday, June 19, and plan to wrap on July 4. I personally plan to stay awake for the entire two plus weeks.

Investor Update

We have raised our target budget and still have a couple of shares left. If you are interested in increasing your investment, please contact invest@boxofstars.com ASAP, as the shares will be gone within the next two weeks.

As a reminder, shares are $2,000 each, and are available in quantities as low as 1/4 share ($500).

Crew Update

I am VERY excited to announce that we have secured Patti Lee as our Director of Photography. Patti was most recently the Director of Photography for the Bernie Mac Show on Fox Television. She is a brilliant and talented DP, and we are so thankful to have her on board.

We've also secured the most organized, energetic, and talented individual we could have possibly hoped for to serve as our grossly underpaid Line Producer. Daren Dukes (www.darendukes.com) is working his magic on our budget, crew, and technical requirements every day. Thank you for all your hard work, Daren!

Marketing Update

We're in a period of radio silence to some extent on promotion of the film. This is for two reasons: 1) We've completed the fundraising portion of our marketing push (which was a great success, ultimately landing us coverage in a Wall Street Journal article and helped us raise a full 1/4 of our production budget! And 2) There just aren't enough hours in the day to focus on Marketing and gear up for production in our new location with less than three weeks until we start filming!

But, now that we are closer to beginning production, we are starting to receive greater response from media outlets. Adam was recently highlighted in a local publication in Santa Clarita, and I was recently interviewed by the Greenville News (article to appear the week of June 11).

We are also in the early stages of putting together a viral marketing campaign that we hope all of you (100+ on this e-mail distro) will help us spread the word on when we're ready to launch our campaign.

Everything Else

In addition to the exciting parts of moviemaking, we're wrapped up with things like contracts, SAG negotiations, finalizing craft services, booking air travel, securing set design and props, etc., etc.

Hope this letter finds you all well and as excited about this project as we are.

Thank you all for your continued support,

Glenn & Adam

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New Title - AGAIN

There's no way around it. Our previous title was trumped by Val Kilmer and Meryl Streep.

Their film based on actual events, surrounding a Chinese university student who responds violently when his chances for a Nobel Prize are dashed by school politics is due out later this year, and also happens to be called "Dark Matter."

No worries ... based on final script revisions and the current direction of the film, the new title works much better. Let's just hope this one sticks.

Our new title is ...