#eric blue

Lost in the woods of evil ‘Beacon Point’ – movie review

  BEACON POINT

All across this great country of ours people go on hiking trails everyday. No matter if it’s a quick two hour hike or a full day voyage usually there aren’t too many things to be afraid of. Maybe a few spiders, some ticks, a snake or two. For the trail hikers in BEACON POINT the same cannot be said. What starts off as a 10 day hike into the beautiful Appalachian Mountains becomes a…

Horror Movie Review: Beacon Point (2016)

Beacon Point is a Sci-Fi/thriller/horror Written and directed by Eric Blue, making his feature length debut. It follows a group of hikers on the Appalachian Trail. They soon become lost and stumble across an ancient secret that threatens their survival.

The film follows Zoe, an unfulfilled estate agent who’s mourning the death of her father. She decides to take a 10 day guided hike on the…

Alguma Coisa Caça Turistas na Floresta no Trailer de 'Beacon Point'

Produções independentes às vezes podem demorar um bocado para sair e esse é exatamente o caso de Beacon Point, cujo o primeiro trailer apresentamos para vocês em Dezembro de 2013. De lá pra cá não recebemos mais novidade, mas finalmente o filme de Eric Blue se prepara para fazer a sua estreia em

“I couldn’t move. I swear there was something moving in the dark, right outside my tent.”

How long ago did this journey with”Beacon Point”begin for you, Eric?

“”Beacon Point” has been a work in progress for over 12 years. Not this exact story, or screenplay per say, but the overall dream of writing and directing a feature film. It’s something I’ve been able to stay laser focused on over the years, always working in some way to get closer to my goal. I wrote”Beacon Point”because I wanted to tell a suspenseful story with compelling characters. We felt that the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee legends based there would create the perfect atmosphere to set the story.”

Did you come up with the idea?

“Yes, I’d been wanting to do another thriller since directing Lost Crossing, starring Melissa McBride (Carol from The Walking Dead). Many of my favorite movies are thrillers and genre films are a great device for Indie filmmakers. I wrote”Beacon Point”with co-writer Traci Carroll. We wanted to write a story with compelling characters, people we cared about, and lots of suspense. We loved the backdrop of the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Cherokee legends that surround them. Traci was a big help in adding a feminine quality to the character of Zoe. We worked off themes like, healing, redemption, and personal growth. These themes helped drive the conflict in the story and create some real tension between the characters.”

How did it come to you?

“I couldn’t move. I swear there was something moving in the dark, right outside my tent. It didn’t seem like a hiker. It didn’t sound like an animal. I don’t know what it was. I was completely terrified. It was 1994 and I was camping with my girlfriend, deep in the Great Smoky Mountains, a stone’s throw from the Appalachian Trail. This experience stuck with me and was so intense that I felt compelled to use it as the basis for a story. This morphed into my first feature film, “Beacon Point.””

Why the sci-fi/thriller genre? Did the budget and resources dictate the type of movie you’d be able to do or was that simply a genre you personally enjoy?

“I love Sci-Fi and thrillers so I combined the genres. I’m a huge fan of Kubrick, Hitchcock, Christopher Nolan and Ridley Scott. Sci-Fi is a hot genre right now and something I could really get behind. I wrote the story with Traci Carroll and it fell into place quickly. I’m very happy with how great the movie turned out.”

Did you have the cast on-board before you secured financing? 

“We didn’t cast the movie until financing was secured. We worked with the Georgia based casting agency Big Picture Casting. They gave us tons of options and took the time to make sure we were happy. I had never held auditions via Skype before. We had several actors auditioning in LA and Skype was the perfect platform. We cast Rae and Jon out of Los Angeles and Eric, Jason and RJ out of Atlanta. We were fortunate to have four days of rehearsals just prior to shooting, giving us the opportunity to connect as a group.”

Can you tell us why you went for the cast you did? What was it that sold you on them?

“We were super picky with casting and we auditioned actors from all over the country.  The actors needed to bring life to the role. That was the most important thing for me. I needed to see the characters as real people, not as caricatures or clichés.  I got very lucky and we got an amazing cast. We spent a lot of time rehearsing before the shoot which was a nice luxury. This was key and gave us an opportunity to really work on the characters before having the pressure of being on set. Our actors all did a fantastic job and I’m very proud of what we created. We’re all still friends and will be celebrating as a team during Dances with Films.”

Did the script change a lot between the initial draft and the shooting script?

“The script didn’t change that much between the initial draft and the shooting script. It changed more in the editing room. My editor, Scott Salamon, and I cut around 10 pages out of the script in the editing room. Though it was hard cutting scenes from the movie, it ultimately serves the picture better. We have a very tight movie that has a great pace. It’s often hard to see how something will work on paper so sometimes these decisions don’t get made until you’re cutting the film.”

Did you encourage improvisation or spontaneity?   I imagine films like this can’t afford to go too much off the page?

“I try to keep the actors on the script for the most part. We had a very tight shooting schedule and unfortunately didn’t have a whole lot of time to experiment. Most of our improv was done during our rehearsals so we flushed things out there. Eric  Goins, who plays Dan, did some great improvisation. He adds a comedic element to the movie so it was a little easier to do improv on his parts.”

Was it a tough shoot? Or did things go fairly smoothly?

“It was a very good shoot, we were lucky, but every day had its challenges! For example, the bugs are really bad in Georgia during the summer months. Hornets terrorized the cast and crew constantly. I got a tick bite that didn’t heal for months and I thought I had Lyme disease. Luckily I didn’t. The heat was intense every day and our shoot was during one of the rainiest periods in Georgia’s recent history. We also shot in a cave and the main prop wouldn’t fit inside. Oh, and there were the airplanes flying over our set constantly since Atlanta has the busiest airport in the world. Looking back these are all silly things but at the time they seemed like a big deal. Looking back I can honestly say we had an amazing shoot that went very smoothly.”

The film has been accepted into the prestigious Dances with Films festival in Los Angeles.  Tell me how that felt when you found out you’d been accepted?

“I was absolutely thrilled to get accepted into Dances with Films! We’ve just started our festival run and we’re already getting lots of positive feedback on Beacon Point. Film makers make movies to be seen. Being part of a big festival like Dances with Films really feels good because it helps validate all of the hard work you’ve put in and gives you a great forum to show your movie to the world. We screen on Friday, June 10th at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood which will be amazing. I can’t wait.”

“…the bugs are really bad in Georgia during the summer months. Hornets terrorized the cast and crew constantly. I got a tick bite that didn’t heal for months and I thought I had Lyme disease.”

Is it difficult to get into festivals – I hear it is?

“Yes, festivals have become very competitive lately. There are so many people making movies that some of these festivals are getting literally thousands of submissions for maybe 50 slots. There are a ton of great movies that don’t get into festivals simply because there are so many films vying for a few spots. You’re best chance of getting into festivals is to first, make a great movie, and then show that you have a fan base. Get social media followers and people liking your trailer. The more fans and buzz you have around your movie, the easier it is for a festival to program it.”

What do you think Dances with Films look for in films?

“Honestly, I’m not sure how Dances with Films does their programming. Every festival is a little different. Looking at their past films though, I can say they have high quality films that are entertaining and fun. Many of the films that premiere at Dances with Films go on to get distribution. That’s our goal. I’m really looking forward to watching a ton of films at the festival. I’m a huge movie fan.”

They’ve programmed”Beacon Point”to open as part of a horror block their having. Does that mean your film might likely attract a different audience to what some of the other films on offer there will?

“Yes, I do think we’re going to get a different audience than some of the other screenings. Genre films, like thrillers and horror, usually get a super dedicated fan base that really loves these types of movies. They are big supporters of Indie movies and a big part of our fan base. We’re screening on Friday, June 10th at 11:45pm as part of the Midnight Series horror block. What a great time slot!”

“I can honestly say we had an amazing shoot…”

What kind of audience have you been targeting for the film?

“We are targeting Sci-Fi and horror fans as well as people that like the outdoors. We have a female lead, Zoe, so I think it appeals to males and females. We’ve been building a steady fan base for a while now with bloggers and fan sites so there’s a lot of excitement about “Beacon Point” being released.”

Have you been surprised to discover there’s other segments that enjoy it too – maybe a group that totally took you by surprise?

I made a movie called, Lost Crossing, a few years back starring Melissa McBride (Carol from The Walking Dead). It’s a thriller about a little girl that runs away and is befriended by a fellow traveler (McBride). It’s had a ton of support from Walking Dead and Melissa McBride fans. They’ve been tremendously supportive of”Beacon Point”and have really helped us get the word out about the movie. We were also fortunate enough to successfully fund a Kickstarter campaign that lead to even more supporters of Beacon Point. It’s really important to identify your fan base and partner with them on getting the word out about your movie.

I imagine the next goal is to find a distributor for the film?

Yes. Distribution is a key goal for us with Beacon Point. Right now we are doing our festival run but we’ve already started talking to distribution companies. I feel really good about our movie.

What are your hopes for the film – would you like to see it play on the big screen or are you happy with a nice DVD or VOD release?

Theatrical is the dream, right? What film maker doesn’t want to see their movie on the big screen. We’d like to do a limited theatrical release in some key cities and then move on to the other markets like DVD, VOD and foreign. Ultimately, I want as many people to see the movie as possible, no matter what the platform is.

While you deal with all that are you generating ideas for future films? Can you tell us about any of them?

We already have our follow up film planned. It’s another thriller and will have a bigger budget. We’re also planning on having some well known actors attached. That’s important for distribution. I don’t want to say to much about it because it’s still in the development stage. It’s going to be suspenseful and fun, that I can promise.

For those thinking of entering the filmmaking game, what advice would you give them?

Every aspect of film making, from the writing, fundraising, production, and post production has its challenges. People ask me what it takes to be a director. The answer I always give is the same, you have to really want to do it, because there are a million reasons to give up. I was fortunate to have an incredible team around me. My wife and production designer, Karen Teske Blue, my co-writer, Traci Carroll, and my producers, Matt Ackerman and Scott Salamon, were a huge part of the movie and really helped push the production value to the next level. The movie looks as good as any Hollywood production and we spent a fraction of the money. This is what indie filmmakers do, we stretch our money in creative ways, telling fresh and exciting stories. And most importantly, we never give up. If you want to make a movie, then go out and do it. Don’t let anything stand in your way.

Some hikes just aren’t meant to be taken ‘Beacon Point’ – movie review

BEACON POINT

There are many things that go bump in the night and scary noises can always be heard coming from dark woods. Our adventurous nature of being a camper or hiker makes us forget about the creatures that claim the woods as its home and territory. Yet some sounds could be other things we fear more like aliens, witches or creatures only our worst nightmares can imagine. Beacon Point from…

Clip from ‘Beacon Point’

BEACON POINT

This Friday at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood is the premiere for the heart racing terror BEACON  POINT. The studio has released a clip from the film and we have it for you to see ahead. The Eric Blue feature follows a group of hikers who come across and evil in the woods unlike anything they have seen before. The clip gives a teaser of an very tense moment and shows no matter how…

Unsettling sci fi thriller ‘Beacon Point’ premiering this June

  BEACON POINT

Heading to the Dances with Films film festival early June is the new sci fi thriller from Eric Blue BEACON POINT. The story involves a group of campers who come upon an ancient evil that they may never escape from. BEACON POINT will screen at The Chinese Theater on June 10th. Look ahead at the trailer, stills and more and be ready for more updates upon it’s release. (more…)