It's a very strange thing to announce a website that replaces the website you're posting the announcement on, especially when the replaced website will be visible on the front page of the new website you're announcing.
http://www.thenocturnalthird.com is a slick and simple way to learn more about our newest movie. Enjoy, and please share with friends that might be interested!
-Ben Stark
Writer/Director, The Nocturnal Third
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
OFFICIAL Press Release for The Nocturnal Third Global Premiere
Here's a whiz-bang press release written by one of our producers extraordinaire, Lee Fanning. The guy has some experience with media dealings, seeing as he sacrificed his life on the altar of the 2010-2011 A Genesis Found Campus Tour last year.
The press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WONDER MILL FILMS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF INDEPENDENT FEATURE-FILM THE NOCTURNAL THIRD!
Huntsville, AL – Wonder Mill Films announces the release of its second independently produced feature film, The Nocturnal Third.
Dubbed a home-brewed mystery/thriller/“neo-noir”, The Nocturnal Third is the story of Eli Gottfried, a pensive art-hobbyist whose family connections have led him to an ill-fitting job at Stafford Stoneworks, a local stone fabrication facility. Facing increasing debt and late bills, Eli reluctantly takes the third shift on a crucial night—from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. The pressure of deteriorating machines, a crushing schedule, and a recurring nightmare begin to be too much for Eli to handle.
When a suspicious co-worker is severely injured, Eli finds his only solace in the ways of a stranded stranger….
Produced from the ground-up entirely in Huntsville, Alabama, with largely Huntsville-based cast and crew, Wonder Mill Films’ second feature film is a tense neo-noir, set against the backdrop of a developing Southern economy.
Utilizing an innovative day-and-date release strategy, The Nocturnal Third will be made available via several simultaneous distribution platforms on September 9, 2011 to facilitate the film’s global premiere.
The Free Local Premiere and Q&A of The Nocturnal Third will be hosted in Huntsville, Alabama at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center’s Davidson Center Theater (1 Tranquility Base/ Huntsville, AL) on September 9, with doors opening at 6:30 PM and the film starting at 7. A Q&A with the cast and crew will immediately follow, and concessions will be available for purchase. Admission is free and the event is open to the public. In the lobby, donations will also be taken up for the Governor’s Tornado Relief Fund to aid victims of the April 27th tornadoes.
The Free Three Day Online Stream of The Nocturnal Third will accompany the local premiere. From 10:00 PM Friday, September 9 to 10:00 PM Monday, September 12, a stream of The Nocturnal Third will be available free of charge at the film’s official site, thenocturnalthird.com. Aimed at stretching the reach of the film’s premiere to a global audience, the stream will serve, for many, as a gateway into the film, and into the works of Wonder Mill Films. Viewers of the stream are also encouraged to connect and share feedback about the film with Wonder Mill Films and other viewers via Facebook (facebook.com/wondermillfilms).
The DVD Release of The Nocturnal Third will also launch on September 9. Available for $10 MSRP both online and at the Free Local Premiere of The Nocturnal Third, the single-disc DVD features extensive bonus material, including:
Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1 Aspect Ratio) – Enhanced for Widescreen TVs
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Audio
Filmmaker Commentary
“Do What You Can With What You Have: The Making of The Nocturnal Third” Featurette
“Welcome to Stafford Stoneworks: New Hire Training Module” Featurette
Trailers for both The Nocturnal Third and A Genesis Found
Manufactured on demand using cutting edge short run disc printing processes, the DVD is available through thenocturnalthird.com, as well as other third party sites, including amazon.com. The film will be available via Amazon Video on Demand in November.
More about Wonder Mill Films
Based out of Huntsville, AL, Wonder Mill Films was founded in 2006 by Benjamin Stark and Lee Fanning, their first legitimate production company after co-founding the student “banner” Off the Set Films while at the University of Alabama.
After producing numerous short films, the company’s first feature, A Genesis
Found, was produced in the summer of 2008, and began a festival run in 2009.
The film was completed and released on DVD in 2010, and toured to numerous Colleges and Universities throughout the Southeast from July 2010 to March 2011. Some of the major universities visited include the University of Tennessee, the University of Georgia, Auburn University, the University of Arkansas, and the University of South Carolina.
Produced in the summer of 2009, The Nocturnal Third is their second feature-length production.
The Nocturnal Third Synopsis
EVERY MACHINE NEEDS FUEL.
Eli Gottfried is lucky to have a job, but that doesn't mean he loves what he does. Caught in the hustle and bustle at Stafford Stoneworks, a fabrication shop in rural Alabama, Eli is unsure of his future, short on sleep, and creatively dried up. He and his wife, Ellie, struggle to make ends meet, facing medical bills, a swollen mortgage, and student loans. The Stoneworks, in turn, is cutting corners and working overtime to take the next step in establishing its economic foothold in the surrounding community, securing a contract that could change everything .
EVERY MACHINE NEEDS REPAIR. Tasked with the dreaded third shift, from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM, Eli must overcome his own disastrous sleep cycle and a recurring nightmare to man under maintained and increasingly deteriorating machinery. Things take an ominous turn when Harold, a mistrusted co-worker, unexpectedly arrives to work alongside Eli. The question is, how closely is Harold tied to Lee Kirby, ex-employee and bitter competitor of Stafford Stoneworks?
EVERY MACHINE BREAKS DOWN. The night comes to a dead halt when Harold is severely injured in a careless accident. As the deadline approaches and the machines deteriorate, Eli is unlikely to hold up under the pressure, let alone tend to Harold's failing health and suspicious behavior. He finds a sort of relief when an outsider appears - Jeffrey, a stranded traveling salesman. Jeffrey's carefree perspective offers a solace from the demanding work, and maybe with his support, Eli can take control of the situation. Moody and textural, The Nocturnal Third is a slow-burn workplace thriller that begins with a seemingly domestic situation and meticulously transforms into a tense neo-noir. This gripping story of corporate espionage takes a young man through a single harrowing night as he faces the limits of the human body, his own future, and his role in a system that is beginning to break down.
The press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WONDER MILL FILMS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF INDEPENDENT FEATURE-FILM THE NOCTURNAL THIRD!
Huntsville, AL – Wonder Mill Films announces the release of its second independently produced feature film, The Nocturnal Third.
Dubbed a home-brewed mystery/thriller/“neo-noir”, The Nocturnal Third is the story of Eli Gottfried, a pensive art-hobbyist whose family connections have led him to an ill-fitting job at Stafford Stoneworks, a local stone fabrication facility. Facing increasing debt and late bills, Eli reluctantly takes the third shift on a crucial night—from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. The pressure of deteriorating machines, a crushing schedule, and a recurring nightmare begin to be too much for Eli to handle.
When a suspicious co-worker is severely injured, Eli finds his only solace in the ways of a stranded stranger….
Produced from the ground-up entirely in Huntsville, Alabama, with largely Huntsville-based cast and crew, Wonder Mill Films’ second feature film is a tense neo-noir, set against the backdrop of a developing Southern economy.
Utilizing an innovative day-and-date release strategy, The Nocturnal Third will be made available via several simultaneous distribution platforms on September 9, 2011 to facilitate the film’s global premiere.
The Free Local Premiere and Q&A of The Nocturnal Third will be hosted in Huntsville, Alabama at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center’s Davidson Center Theater (1 Tranquility Base/ Huntsville, AL) on September 9, with doors opening at 6:30 PM and the film starting at 7. A Q&A with the cast and crew will immediately follow, and concessions will be available for purchase. Admission is free and the event is open to the public. In the lobby, donations will also be taken up for the Governor’s Tornado Relief Fund to aid victims of the April 27th tornadoes.
The Free Three Day Online Stream of The Nocturnal Third will accompany the local premiere. From 10:00 PM Friday, September 9 to 10:00 PM Monday, September 12, a stream of The Nocturnal Third will be available free of charge at the film’s official site, thenocturnalthird.com. Aimed at stretching the reach of the film’s premiere to a global audience, the stream will serve, for many, as a gateway into the film, and into the works of Wonder Mill Films. Viewers of the stream are also encouraged to connect and share feedback about the film with Wonder Mill Films and other viewers via Facebook (facebook.com/wondermillfilms).
The DVD Release of The Nocturnal Third will also launch on September 9. Available for $10 MSRP both online and at the Free Local Premiere of The Nocturnal Third, the single-disc DVD features extensive bonus material, including:
Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1 Aspect Ratio) – Enhanced for Widescreen TVs
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Audio
Filmmaker Commentary
“Do What You Can With What You Have: The Making of The Nocturnal Third” Featurette
“Welcome to Stafford Stoneworks: New Hire Training Module” Featurette
Trailers for both The Nocturnal Third and A Genesis Found
Manufactured on demand using cutting edge short run disc printing processes, the DVD is available through thenocturnalthird.com, as well as other third party sites, including amazon.com. The film will be available via Amazon Video on Demand in November.
More about Wonder Mill Films
Based out of Huntsville, AL, Wonder Mill Films was founded in 2006 by Benjamin Stark and Lee Fanning, their first legitimate production company after co-founding the student “banner” Off the Set Films while at the University of Alabama.
After producing numerous short films, the company’s first feature, A Genesis
Found, was produced in the summer of 2008, and began a festival run in 2009.
The film was completed and released on DVD in 2010, and toured to numerous Colleges and Universities throughout the Southeast from July 2010 to March 2011. Some of the major universities visited include the University of Tennessee, the University of Georgia, Auburn University, the University of Arkansas, and the University of South Carolina.
Produced in the summer of 2009, The Nocturnal Third is their second feature-length production.
The Nocturnal Third Synopsis
EVERY MACHINE NEEDS FUEL.
Eli Gottfried is lucky to have a job, but that doesn't mean he loves what he does. Caught in the hustle and bustle at Stafford Stoneworks, a fabrication shop in rural Alabama, Eli is unsure of his future, short on sleep, and creatively dried up. He and his wife, Ellie, struggle to make ends meet, facing medical bills, a swollen mortgage, and student loans. The Stoneworks, in turn, is cutting corners and working overtime to take the next step in establishing its economic foothold in the surrounding community, securing a contract that could change everything .
EVERY MACHINE NEEDS REPAIR. Tasked with the dreaded third shift, from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM, Eli must overcome his own disastrous sleep cycle and a recurring nightmare to man under maintained and increasingly deteriorating machinery. Things take an ominous turn when Harold, a mistrusted co-worker, unexpectedly arrives to work alongside Eli. The question is, how closely is Harold tied to Lee Kirby, ex-employee and bitter competitor of Stafford Stoneworks?
EVERY MACHINE BREAKS DOWN. The night comes to a dead halt when Harold is severely injured in a careless accident. As the deadline approaches and the machines deteriorate, Eli is unlikely to hold up under the pressure, let alone tend to Harold's failing health and suspicious behavior. He finds a sort of relief when an outsider appears - Jeffrey, a stranded traveling salesman. Jeffrey's carefree perspective offers a solace from the demanding work, and maybe with his support, Eli can take control of the situation. Moody and textural, The Nocturnal Third is a slow-burn workplace thriller that begins with a seemingly domestic situation and meticulously transforms into a tense neo-noir. This gripping story of corporate espionage takes a young man through a single harrowing night as he faces the limits of the human body, his own future, and his role in a system that is beginning to break down.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Nocturnal Third... GLOBAL Premiere!
In honor of Steve Jobs stepping down as C.E.O. of Apple, we have our own little "one more thing" when it comes to the September 9th premiere of our second feature film, Wonder Mill Films:
On September 9th, not only will The Nocturnal Third be screening publicly for the first time EVER at the slickest theater in Huntsville, Alabama, but the movie will also be available on the main page of our website, http://www.thenocturnalthird.com, to watch in HD for absolutely free.
The stream will be left up for three days after the premiere, for anyone to enjoy at their computer, and possibly even on their mobile device. In addition, the film will be available to purchase on DVD for $10.00, thanks to Amazon.com's CreateSpace on-demand publishing service.
The DVD will be loaded with extra features, including filmmaker commentary, a cryptic Stafford Stoneworks "safety video", and a 30-minute "making-of" documentary: Do What You Can With What You Have: Making The Nocturnal Third.
This scheme, in fact, is why the film has been sitting on my hard drive, perfectly complete, for about two months now. We wanted to make sure the film was as openly available as possible before we released one frame.
Now, the motivation behind this plan is selfish for numerous reasons. Clearly, we're hoping this will buy us a measure of publicity that we can leverage as the film continues to be available on DVD and gets screened at venues and film festivals throughout the fall, winter, and spring.
I will be honest, however. My personal reason for making the film so widely available is to give my extended family a chance to check out our new film. Most of my family actually lives in Germany, which is where my parents immigrated from when I was three. Hopefully some of my awesome cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents will be able to grab a laptop or giant-screened PC to enjoy an evening at der virtuellen Kino.
Alright, guys. Thanks so much for reading, and please comment here, on Facebook, on Twitter, or e-mail us at wondermillfilms@yahoo.com if you have any questions whatsoever!
See you on the 9th!
-Ben Stark
Writer/Director, The Nocturnal Third
On September 9th, not only will The Nocturnal Third be screening publicly for the first time EVER at the slickest theater in Huntsville, Alabama, but the movie will also be available on the main page of our website, http://www.thenocturnalthird.com, to watch in HD for absolutely free.
The stream will be left up for three days after the premiere, for anyone to enjoy at their computer, and possibly even on their mobile device. In addition, the film will be available to purchase on DVD for $10.00, thanks to Amazon.com's CreateSpace on-demand publishing service.
The DVD will be loaded with extra features, including filmmaker commentary, a cryptic Stafford Stoneworks "safety video", and a 30-minute "making-of" documentary: Do What You Can With What You Have: Making The Nocturnal Third.
This scheme, in fact, is why the film has been sitting on my hard drive, perfectly complete, for about two months now. We wanted to make sure the film was as openly available as possible before we released one frame.
Now, the motivation behind this plan is selfish for numerous reasons. Clearly, we're hoping this will buy us a measure of publicity that we can leverage as the film continues to be available on DVD and gets screened at venues and film festivals throughout the fall, winter, and spring.
I will be honest, however. My personal reason for making the film so widely available is to give my extended family a chance to check out our new film. Most of my family actually lives in Germany, which is where my parents immigrated from when I was three. Hopefully some of my awesome cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents will be able to grab a laptop or giant-screened PC to enjoy an evening at der virtuellen Kino.
Alright, guys. Thanks so much for reading, and please comment here, on Facebook, on Twitter, or e-mail us at wondermillfilms@yahoo.com if you have any questions whatsoever!
See you on the 9th!
-Ben Stark
Writer/Director, The Nocturnal Third
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Nocturnal Third - Premiere Announcement!
Check out the flier for our local premiere! Print them out and post them if you feel so inclined. We've got this guy in color...
...and in black and white!
...and in black and white!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Website Progress Report
We've decided to use Vimeo to host all of the trailers for both A Genesis Found and The Nocturnal Third on the new N3rd website we're building. You can check them out at the nice custom URL Vimeo was nice enough to grant us:
http://vimeo.com/wondermillfilms
The site is just a page or so of copy away from being ready to publish. Expect to see it replace the two year old place-holder soon!
http://vimeo.com/wondermillfilms
The site is just a page or so of copy away from being ready to publish. Expect to see it replace the two year old place-holder soon!
Monday, August 15, 2011
The March Goes On
MAN! Still a few little things to fix on the N3rd DVD. Luckily, the problems are all limited to menu flubs that I somehow missed in my three proofing sessions. I will try to power through them before I go out of town for dayjob work for four days, but rushing things never helps.
We're close to locking down a premiere venue, which means we're closing to locking down a premiere date. Producer Lee put out a feeler for cast and crew scheduling last week, so we'll hopefully be able to facilitate the most amount of our hard-working collaborators as possible. I can't imagine being on the their end of things, with relative silence on their 2009 sacrifice, save for a update e-mail here and there. It's deceivingly difficult to keep folks in the loops when you're in the editing trenches.
-Ben
We're close to locking down a premiere venue, which means we're closing to locking down a premiere date. Producer Lee put out a feeler for cast and crew scheduling last week, so we'll hopefully be able to facilitate the most amount of our hard-working collaborators as possible. I can't imagine being on the their end of things, with relative silence on their 2009 sacrifice, save for a update e-mail here and there. It's deceivingly difficult to keep folks in the loops when you're in the editing trenches.
-Ben
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Every Machine Needs Fuel.
Danielle took these pictures before this year's Cotton Row 10K. Our marketing budget could use some help, I'll admit.
-Ben
The Final Scene of Alfred Hitchcock's NOTORIOUS
The ending sequence of N3rd was designed with the idea of the sovereignty of the "final shot" in mind. I discuss a great example of that concept brilliantly executed by one of the greats in the newest "Great Scenes" entry over at the FilmNerds.com blog. Take a look!
-Ben
-Ben
Monday, August 1, 2011
Southern Speed
Here's a fun bit... My parents popped a quick picture of my dad's race car, complete with Wonder Mill logo!
Now in N3rd colors.
-Ben
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