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The Haunt is on...
A group of ghost hunters must up their game to compete in the competitive world of paranormal TV shows, leading them to a truly haunted prison with a grisly past that proves to be more than they bargained for.
"Apparitional" was conceived and produced with one goal in mind; to create a micro budget feature film that looks and feels big budget. My name is Andrew P. Jones, and with thirty years of filmmaking experience, I've tapped into my background in special effects, directing, writing, and post production to craft a film that we know will entertain and impress. The theory was straight forward... write a fun script, cast amazing actors, pull together an exceptional crew, and find a location that is jaw dropping. And so far we have been successful in all of the above. My wife, actress Linara Washington and I met on the feature film "Kings of the Evening" in 2007, and this is the first time since then that we have embarked on a project together in order to feed the creative needs of a director and actor. Producing "Apparitional" together has been a labor of love, and we are now ready to finish it and share it with the world.
We could never have made it this far without an amazing group of believers. My Director of Photography, Warren Yeager, not only brings decades of experience and an amazing eye, but he also shot "Kings of the Evening" as well as about five or six other projects for me ranging from TV pilots to shorts to documentaries. Producer Andy Meyer of Aunt Max Entertainment in St. Louis provided us with amazing crew and gear while shooting in Missouri. Producer Barney Burman (Star Trek, Grimm) brought his Oscar winning talents to the party in the form of special effects makeup and facilities, as well as being a valuable advisor in all things horror. The Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, MO opened their doors to us and allowed us to use the prison (built in 1836) as our personal back lot. And the list goes on...
Where does all your money go?
To date we have self funded the film 100%. But as we get into the final stages of post production, we need a little help from our friends. Here's how your generous dollars will help:
- Sound mixing
- Box art
- Music
- Color correction
- E&O insurance
- MPAA Rating (Did you know it costs $3,000 to get one? Yep, we're gonna need that, too!)
These are all the things we need to do to reach the finish line. We hope you'll help!
The Ghost Hunters
Andrew P. Jones (Writer/Director/Exec-Producer)
Andrew began his career in special effects providing makeup effects, props, and puppets for films and TV shows such as Hook, Batman, Groundhog Day, In Living Color, Roseanne, Muppets Tonight, Everybody Loves Raymond, Married With Children and more. Turning his attention to producing and directing in the late 1990's, Andrew directed live action pilots, documentaries, and shorts, as well as producing and directing for his award winning children's series, Field Trip which ran for three seasons. Since then he has edited and/or directed for network shows including Nanny 911, Hell's Kitchen, ESPN's Elite 24, Trey Songz: My Moment and others for FOX, Discovery, Playboy TV, Lifetime, Spike, A&E, Travel, and BET. 2010 saw the release of Andrew's debut feature, Kings of the Evening starring Tyson Beckford, Lynn Whitfield and Glynn Turman. Kings won numerous awards and had the distinction of opening and closing many film festivals across the country.
Linara Washington ("Kate"/Exec-Producer)
Linara's professional acting career began on the stages of Chicago's most acclaimed theaters including The Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Northlight, and Victory Gardens. She has appeared in over 50 commercials nationally and internationally. A supporting role as Keisha in the film Barbershop 2 motivated her move to LA where she has since enjoyed recurring roles on American Dreams, E.R., and most recently NCIS. Other notable TV credits include Private Practice, Touch, Castle, CSI, and Ghost Whisperer among others. Film credits include Barbershop 2, The Express, Stranger Than Fiction, and most recently Linara was the only female actor featured in the Brad Pitt film, Killing Them Softly, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. Apparitional is Linara's debut as a Prodcuer.
Jeffrey S.S. Johnson ("Joel")
Jeffrey Johnson is an actor/musician/writer originally from Southboro, Massachusetts. Perhaps best known for the heartfelt feature film Letters to God, he received rave reviews for his portrayal as Brady McDaniels, a troubled soul who finds inspiration through the wisdom of a young man stricken with cancer. He starred in the recently released Worth with Eric Roberts and Corey Feldman and is also starring in the soon-to-be-released Apparitional. Television credits include Vegas, NCIS, Bones, Lie to Me, Criminal Minds, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Burn Notice, Unhitched, CSI, Without a Trace, Barbershop, The District, Boomtown among others. Jeff is the Voice of T-Mobile in a national campaign of multiple TV, radio and Internet spots.
Charley Koontz ("Berger")
Charley Koontz is best known for his work as 'Fat Neil' in the sitcom Community, currently in its fourth season on NBC. His first film, Rubber directed by Quentin Dupieux, premiered at the 2010 Cannes
Film Festival and has garnered an enthusiastic and dedicated cult following. He worked with Dupieux again in the 2011 film Wrong currently in theaters. Charley's other television credits include Perfect Couples (NBC), Gigantic (TeenNick), Awake (NBC) and he is set to recur on Royal Pains for USA in its fifth season. Film credits also include the upcoming sexual thriller Contracted, directed by Eric England hitting the festival circuit later this year.
John Zderko ("Roger")
After a successful career in business, John discovered acting in 2005 and never looked back! Recent TV credits include The Mentalist and Criminal Minds. In addition to Apparitional, John recently wrapped a science fiction feature called Swerve and a comedy entitled Brad’s Untitled Restaurant Project, both of which are currently in post-production. Recent theatre credits include a well-received L.A. production of Judgment At Nuremberg alongside a fantastic cast that included Oscar nominee Katharine Ross. He currently studies with Paul Kampf at Performing Arts Institute. Finally, John loved EVERY minute of shooting Apparitional with all of his new friends, even freezing his ass off at 3AM in a prison in Missouri in November!
Dee Wallace ("Ms. Simon")
Dee Wallace first broke into both TV and cinema screens in the mid 1970s. Her appearances in several well remembered horror and sci-fi films quickly gained her a cult following amongst the fantasy film fans. Poor Dee always seemed to be on the wrong side of some malevolent person or evil creature; she was pursued by a clan of cannibal killers in The Hills Have Eyes, terrorized by a pack of werewolves in the superb The Howling, got a break from the horror, as a sympathetic mum in the mega sci-fi hit E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and nearly ends up lunch for a rabid St. Bernard in the heart stopping Cujo. This time she's calling the shots as the ball-busting network executive, Ms. Simon.
A little low on dough?
We understand that some people just can’t contribute financially, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help in other ways. The best help you can give us is making some noise and getting the word out about our campaign. Tell your friends, your co-workers, family and fellow paranormal enthusiasts. Every bit counts!
Thank you again for your help and consideration.