M.A.R.S. Productions
10.12.08 | Operation Baghdad Pups
Join our efforts to help our men and woman in the Armed Forces bring their beloved pets back home from Iraq & Afghanistan. Dedication video in FILMS and sign the petition. M.A.R.S. Safe Haven is a division of M.A.R.S. Productions dedicated to animal welfare and rescues.
09.11.08 | John Noble on "The Fringe"
Congratulations to John Noble for his outstanding performance on the new series "The Fringe." John also played Denethor in LOTR.
09.02.08 | Carrie-Ellen Zappa
Welcome Carrie-Ellen Zappa! She's a professional actor & acting coach, and will be working with Rachel!
08.28.08 | Check it out!
A short demo featuring clips from some of my work! And, our video dedicated to those in need! Preparations for upcoming AFI films. Auditioning for feature films & television series continues. Thanks go out to the folks at Framework Entertainment in Hollywood for their continued support on my behalf!
08.26.08 | Prospect Place
Rachel will lead a private investigation at Prospect Place in November. Steve Christopher will join us!
07.05.08 | Waverly Hills Sanatorium
Rachel will lead a private investigation of Waverly Hills Sanatorium on July 9th. This is Rachel's 2nd investigation of Waverly. She has investigated the Queen Mary, Stanley Hotel & Eastern State Penitentiary with Jason & Grant (TAPS), Patrick Burns (Haunting Evidence) & Chris Fleming (Dead Famous). Waverly again on July 29th with Darkness Radio. Patrick & Chris will be there too!
04.10.08 | Greetings from New Zealand
NEW ZEALAND 2008: Just wanted to send hugs and love from New Zealand. How could I not think of TORN and my Lord of the Rings friends during my trip here? I owe TheOneRing. net and the fans so much and I am forever in your debt. So much has changed during these past two years since our first film screening at ORC. I have a top Hollywood manager of my own now and a television series in development. TORN opened the door for me with all your love and support.
On April 20 I got to meet Richard Taylor!!!!! aaaaahhhhhh Need I say more? AWESOME!
I also got to stay overnight at the American Ambassador's to New Zealand's residence in Wellington (Ambassador MCormick). Mrs. McCormick is my aunt's cousin. That was very cool!
MySpace blog.
I have played Frodo in our M.A.R.S. Productions films for so many years and now I'm finally here in New Zealand for a wonderful five week adventure of a lifetime. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to be here. This truly is a dream come true for me.
As soon as my plane touched down in Auckland, I received a text message from Daniel Reeve welcoming me to New Zealand. Can't get much sweeter than that! I called my Mom from the plane in Auckland. Our conversation went something like "Aaaaahhhh! New Zealand!!!" LOL Gareth Reeve was here to meet me at the airport in Wellington. I may be a long way from home, but I will be well taken care of during my stay here. And, what an amazing adventure it will be!!!
Thanks again to everyone at TORN, esp. big brother Larry Curtis & our charming "Middle Earth Idols" celebrity guest judge, Michael Regina, and all my LOTR friends. PICS & more news soon! Special thanks to Daniel Reeve & his family, Kiran & Kit Shah and everyone who made this dream come true!
This is one hobbit's tale from New Zealand... And, my journey awaits me....
Love always, Rachel
03.24.08 | What's been going on?
Rachel had her second meeting with Disney in California last week and that went really well. BIG BIG trip around the corner - more news on that later. Bon Voyage!
Also, Terrie, the "M" in M.A.R.S. Productions, recently had two books published - Dark Storm Rising: Book One and Prosperity's Princess. Coming Soon to publication - Book Two in the Dark Storm Rising Trilogy and "On The Wings of Dragons. Congrats!
01.14.08 | Lucy and Ethel update
Lucy & Ethel arrived here in Ohio on Saturday, January 5th - their forever home. We love them very much!!
Look up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's SONIC to the rescue! Yes, it's true . . . Many of you might not know that Patrick Burns (of Court TV's "Haunting Evidence") is also SONIC - a true superhero.
Lucy and Ethel have been SAVED!!! Through generous donations we were able to save the dogs. Patrick Burns and his wife, Pam, wanted to help us and offered to drive our new babies to our home in Ohio from their home in Georgia. Lucy and Ethel are in good hands as they begin their journey to Ohio. Thanks so much to the Burns family!! And, to everyone that donated and continues to do so - our thanks to you always!!! Click Here to donate to the Lucy & Ethel Fund
12.22.07 | BIG NEWS!!
Been a crazy few weeks - but quickly . . . The Stanley Hotel paranormal investigation (November) and the Queen Mary paranormal investigation (December) went well. Thanks to Darkness Radio for another great event!!!
SPECIAL THANKS to DEAN HAGLUND for entertaining the paranormal fans in the evening with his brilliant improvs that everyone just loved!!! We are so glad that M.A.R.S. Productions could get Dean to join Darkness Radio's Queen Mary event. What a treat!! Love ya, Dean!!!
Rachel's big news: A Hollywood A-List Manager . . . uh, huh. This week Rachel also met with a major network and even auditioned for a movie with another network. You go, girl! She is being managed by FRAMEWORK ENTERTAINMENT of West Hollywood, California.
12.10.07 | Living Dead Lock Up 2
Check out "Living Dead Lock Up 2: March of the Dead" from Golden Dragon Productions. The film is by filmmaker Mario Xavier, a friend of ours. He gives us an honorary "associate producer' credit on the film. Mario keeps a close eye on us and is someone we can always count on to help us out. He does amazing work too! His films are available at Amazon.com. Thanks, Mario!!
09.17.07 | Upcoming events
October: Univcon in Pennsylvania
November: Stanley Hotel & Rolling Hills investigations, Darkness Radio events
December: Queen Mary, special guest Dean Haglund (X-Files), Darkness Radio
MAJOR NEWS COMING SOON !!!!!!
09.14.07 | DOTR Fan Film special guest news
In 2006, M.A.R.S. won the "Dork of the Rings" film contest with special appearances by Steve Christopher & Nikki Taylor Melton. Nikki currently appears in the new Rob Zombie movie "Halloween." Congrats Nikki!!
08.29.07 | Eastern State Penitentiary DVD now available
DVD PREVIEW available in "films" Eastern State Penitentiary. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this penitentiary was home to some of America's most notorious criminals, including Al Capone. Experience Darkness Radio's paranormal retreat to this historic landmark. Featuring Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Steve Gonsalves, Chris Fleming and more!! In cooperation with the Eastern State Historical Society. CLICK HERE
08.29.07 | Waverly Hills Sanatorium investigation slideshow online
Here are some pictures from our recent investigation of Waverly Hills Sanatorium, August 2007, at the Darkness Radio retreat. Click Here
08.24.07 | Waverly Hills Sanatorium
Waverly Hills was an amazing place to investigate and to film. It lived up to its reputations as one of the most haunted places in America. We have pictures online at our myspace site and will be putting up a slideshow here this week. More on Waverly in the days to come.
08.24.07 | Dragon*Con 2007
M.A.R.S. will be at Dragon*Con where Middle Earth Idols is one of the feature films at the Tolkien track. Come join us for the screening on Saturday night. See you there!
08.20.07 | What are you doing this week?
M.A.R.S. Productions is at Waverly Hills in Louisville, Kentucky filming Darkness Radio's paranormal retreat and investigation. Waverly Hills! Yeah, baby! Finally.
07.28.07 | Pre-production for Counter Strike
M.A.R.S. is currently in pre-production on a documentary for the rock band COUNTER STRIKE. Cool!
07.28.07 | Waverly Hills Sanitarium investigation
Just a couple of weeks away from filming the Waverly Hills Sanitarium investigation and retreat for Darkness Radio. Really looking forward this.
07.26.07 | Eastern State film in post production
06.25.07 | Eastern State Penitentiary Slideshow online
Best way to describe Eastern State? It's alive...
06.23.07 | Queen Mary Paranormal Retreat DVD: Order now!
Filmed at the Darkness Radio Queen Mary paranormal retreat and investigation, January 2007. Also included is the “Most Haunted” parody produced by M.A.R.S. Productions.
06.23.07 | Stanley Hotel Paranormal Retreat DVD: Order now!
Filmed at the Darkness Radio Stanley Hotel paranormal retreat and investigation, March 2007. Featuring Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson (TAPS/Ghost Hunters), Patrick Burns (Haunting Evidence), Chris Fleming (Dead Famous) and more!! Also included on this DVD is the parody of “The Shining.” Starring Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Rachel Scott, Ashlee Scott and Dave Schrader.
06.22.07 | Queen Mary/Stanley Hotel Paranormal Retreats DVDs
Buy both and save!
06.21.07 | Charlie Chaplin "City Lights" tribute
Please go to FILMS and watch our short tribute to one of the greatest movies ever made, Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights." We're huge fans of silent films and grew up watching them with our mom. In 2001, we took one of our favorite songs at the time, "Gone," and cut it with some of the most moving moments from "City Lights." Hope you enjoy it.
06.15.07 | Rhode Island & NYC
Sorry we were behind in our mail this week! We spent a few days in Rhode Island with a certain Ghost Hunter friend of ours. On Tuesday, we went to NYC with Jason and Grant. And, on Wednesday, Grant gave Rachel her first driving lesson! How exciting! zoom zoom Lots of fun!
06.14.07 | Eastern State Penitentiary with Darkness Radio & TAPS
This week we return to Eastern State Penitentiary to film the Darkness Radio paranormal retreat and investigation with TAPS (Jason, Grant & Steve) and more! See you there!
06.03.07 | Eastern State & Most Haunted LIVE
Visit our photo gallery to view a few pictures from our visit to the Most Haunted LIVE telecast at Eastern State Penitentiary, Friday June 1st. It was very cool being there at Eastern State and wonderful meeting Yvette, Karl and the rest of the cast and crew of Most Haunted.
They were all really nice! And, plan on having a viewing party to watch our parody. We hope they like it. We were only expecting to meet Yvette and Karl, but we actually met everyone on the cast and crew.
We'll be back at Eastern State later in the month for the Darkness Radio paranormal retreat with Jason & Grant from TAPS, Chris Fleming & more!
Thanks to Yvette and Karl for making us feel so welcome and for being so nice to us. We had a great time! Special thanks to the party involved in getting us there to begin with...
05.29.07 | M.A.R.S. meets Most Haunted team
The British invasion! M.A.R.S. Productions will be meeting those British paranormal investigators from "Most Haunted" this Friday, June 1st, at Eastern State Penitentiary. Our parody world will come face to face with the real deal! Sweet...
This Friday night, the Travel Channel will air a seven hour LIVE investigation with Most Haunted at the historic prison. Rachel and I will be on hand to meet Yvette, Karl and the rest of the Most Haunted team this Friday night before they begin their investigation.
Our parody of their show premiered in March during the Darkness Radio paranormal retreat at the Stanley Hotel. Imitation is considered one of the highest forms of flattery. Wonder what Yvette will think of Rachel's Lynette? No worries! They have a good sense of humor and they're looking forward to meeting us too! It's always an honor to meet the people you're spoofing.
Be sure to tune in this Friday night to the Travel Channel to watch the British invasion of Eastern State Penitentiary! As Lynette would say, "Frightening!"
05.28.07 | Shining parody trailer online
Preview of "The Shining" parody trailer, starring Jason Hawes (Ghost Hunters), Grant Wilson (Ghost Hunters), Rachel Scott, Dave Schrader (Darkness Radio) and myself. Filmed by M.A.R.S. Productions, Patrick Burns (Haunting Evidence) and Pacific Paranormal.
Soon to be available on the Queen Mary/Stanley Hotel dvds.
05.27.07 | St. Augustine Lighthouse, Most Haunted parody II
We recently had a chance to pay a visit to the haunted lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. See the photo gallery "2007" for pictures. And, we'll be filming another Most Haunted parody at Eastern State at the end of June, featuring special guests psychic Tiffany Johnson & Chris Fleming (Dead Famous).
05.17.07 | Pulse-Journal newspaper article on M.A.R.S. Productions
Very cool! See blog
05.01.07 | Help M.A.R.S. Productions:
Several of you have asked how you can help us out with our expenses, even if it's just to buy film. We've finally set up a PayPal donation account for you to use. Please go to PayPal and send your donations to: marsproductions@marsproductions.net Thank you for your support!
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A DONATION
04.28.07 | Upcoming Projects
2007: Eastern State Penitentiary, June (Pennsylvania) with Jason & Grant (Ghost Hunters), Chris (Dead Famous) & Darkness Radio; Waverly Hills Sanitarium, August, (Kentucky) with TAPS & Darkness Radio; Dragon*Con, September (Atlanta) Middle Earth Idols is the feature film in the Tolkien track; Queen Mary paranormal retreat & investigation with our favorite ghost hunting team, December; Trek convention in Vegas, August.
2008: Omegacon in Birmingham (March) with our ghost hunting friends. Our "Most Haunted parody" and "The Shining" parody trailer starring Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Rachel Scott & Dave Schrader will be shown there, plus we will be filming the event for a documentary fan film.
Plus, we joined friends from Paranormal World recently to help film their investigation of the Bobby Mackey House (Kentucky).
04.22.07 | M.A.R.S. Productions gets an on air mention!
M.A.R.S. Productions got a mention tonight from Grant during their first nationally syndicated radio show. A caller asked about filming the paranormal retreats and Grant mentioned that we film them and gave our production company name out. Very, very cool! Thanks! Love ya, Grant!
04.21.07 | Ghost Hunter's Jason & Grant on the radio LIVE!
The Ghost Hunter's Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson from the Sci-Fi Channel are now on News Talk 630 WPRO! Tune in for Beyond Reality from 8-10pm as Jason & Grant take your phone calls live on WPRO. The Beyond Reality radio site is up now. Jason & Grant are close friends of ours. We wanted to share this exciting news with you! Tune in and support their show! Thanks! To access the radio program sign up for the free account now at: www.630wpro.com Click on the banner "Listen Live - Click Here"
04.21.07 | COMING SOON!
Journey back with us to the Queen Mary and Stanley Hotel paranormal retreats from 2007 in a two disc set brought to you by M.A.R.S. Productions, May 2007.
04.19.07 | Grand Slam: Sci-Fi Summit Slideshow & Blog
Creation's Grand Slam: Sci-Fi Summit took place on April 13-15, 2007 in Burbank, California. Featuring guests from Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Harry Potter, Buffy and more! Met a lot of new wonderful people, but it was especially nice to see Katee again! Love ya! Click on link to view slideshow. Grand Slam BLOG now online too! Read about it!
04.13.07 | Stanley Hotel Slideshow & Blog
Take a look at the Stanley Hotel retreat and investigation brought to you by Darkness Radio, with guests Jason & Grant of TAPS, Patrick Burns of Haunting Evidence, Chris Flemming of Dead Famous & more! Blog online now!
04.13.07 | Grand Slam Summit
M.A.R.S. Productions is at the Grand Slam Summit in Burbank, California. More news to follow!
04.05.07 | Queen Mary film with Jason & Grant from TAPS online!
03.27.07 | Most Haunted parody now online!
In association with Darkness Radio. Thanks, Dave! This was a lot of fun to do! Hope the guests at the Stanley Hotel enjoy this!
03.26.07 | The Stanley Hotel
We're off to the Stanley Hotel in Colorado. Jason and Grant said this is one of the most active places they have investigated. ooohhh. Creepy. Thanks to Patrick Burns for finding the IR extender for both our Sony HD cameras, making our night vision capabilities amazing. Can't wait to film here! Wish us luck! redrum Premiering at the Stanley Hotel: Most Haunted parody and the Queen Mary film.
03.25.07 | The Making of Middle Earth Idols
Read our blog! Thanks!
03.19.07 | Middle Earth Idols: Part One & Two ONLINE
To make the Top 12 is an honor.
To win the competition is a dream.
12 contestants. A panel of expert judges.
This is Middle Earth Idols.
Guest starring Kiran Shah, Daniel & Gareth Reeve, Dean Haglund, Grant Wilson, Michael Regina & Alexis Cruz, with special musical guest Emerald Rose. Premiered at ORC 2007 in Burbank, California.
Thanks TORn, for posting our film on your site! Appreciate it!
03.17.07 | Reviews of Middle Earth Idols
03.13.07 | ORC 2007 Slideshow Online
03.11.07 | ORC 2007 News
See BLOG & a few pics in the gallery! More pics and news to come!
FYI, guests were invited to vote for their favorite performance from Friday's premiere of Middle Earth Idols! Votes have been tallied and the results are in!
GOLLUM received the highest amount of votes and is the official "Favorite Performance" for the first episode! I thought for sure his striking duet (with himself, of course) as Smeagol & Gollum would scare people, but they loved it! LOL With Eowyn in 2nd place, Legolas in 3rd and Frodo in 4th. Never saw that one coming! LOL Thanks for your votes!
03.05.07 | Daniel Reeve makes U.S. appearance
M.A.R.S. Productions is pleased to announce the following U.S. appearance by Lord of the Rings Calligrapher, Daniel Reeve:
Daniel Reeve (http://www.danielreeve.co.nz) will be the keynote speaker at Thinking Creatively 2007, the annual conference of the Art Director's Club of New Jersey. The conference reinforces the relevance of what creative people do best - imagining possibilities and creating them!
An exhibition of the Art of Daniel Reeve will be on display in the main atrium for the duration of the conference.
Thinking Creatively is on 30 - 31 March, 2007 at Kean University in Union, NJ.
Don't miss this opportunity to experience Daniel's amazing artwork!
02.23.07 | Hollywood here we come! (again!)
For the second time in three months, we find ourselves at an exciting event in sunny California... Creation Entertainment's ORC: The One Ring Celebration is fast approaching. Our Middle Earth Idols film will premiere here. Not to be confused with the ME Idols music video from ELF in NY. The new film features the top 12 contestants with celebrity judges commenting on the top 12 performances.
On a personal note, we are thrilled to finally meet Andy Serkis (Gollum). He and Peter Jackson are 1 & 2 on our list of people we most want to meet. Can't wait to meet Andy!! David Wenham (Faramir) will also be there, very cool. And, we'll be present for the USA premiere of Billy Boyd's band, Beecake. Have tickets in hand already! Looking forward to seeing so many familiar friends and faces! Going to be an awesome weekend.
02.20.07 | Middle Earth Idols Gear
Middle Earth Idols gear available, featuring the artwork by David Reddick.
02.15.07 | Middle Earth Idols trailer
To make the top 12 is an honor. To win the competition is a dream. 12 contestants. A panel of expert judges. This is MIDDLE EARTH IDOL. Brought to you by M.A.R.S. Productions, this parody of American Idol and Lord of the Rings features Kiran Shah, Daniel Reeve, Michael Regina, Grant Wilson and Dean Haglund judging Frodo, Galdalf, Gollum and more! Will the Shire bring us the next Middle Earth Idol? Or will the future king of Gondor reign above all others? The entire first episode will premiere at ORC in Burbank, as well as a compilation of the remaining episodes. Beginning 3/18, you can view the series here online and vote for your favorites!
02.01.07 | Upcoming Events
-Premiere of "Middle Earth Idols" at ORC in Burbank, California, March 2007.
-Filming the Stanley Hotel retreat & investigation with TAPS (Jason & Grant), Colorado March 2007.
Our Queen Mary film will premiere here. Darkness Radio event.
-Filming the Eastern State Penitentiary investigation with TAPS (Jason & Grant), Pennsylvania, June
2007. Darkness Radio event.
01.23.07 | Special thanks... Middle Earth Idols
All the tapes are in! Converting from PAL to NTSC has been completed. We've finally been able to review them! What can we say? Wonderful! Thanks to Kit & Kiran Shah for sending a tape from London (twice!). Fantastic work, Kiran! Thanks to Daniel & Gareth Reeve for showing us once again how much talent there is in New Zealand. Thanks to Dean Haglund, Alexis Cruz, Michael Regina & Grant Wilson. You all did a great job and it was an honor to work with each of you! Love you guys!
01.19.07 | Queen Mary photos online
Click on this link to view a slideshow from the Queen Mary event in Long Beach, California. Thanks to Darkness Radio for this wonderful event! Thanks, Dave! Special thanks to Ghost Hunters Grant Wilson & Jason Hawes and also Haunting Evidence's Patrick Burns for taking such good care of us. Love you guys! Coming soon: Queen Mary film from this event
01.01.07 | Starbase Indy film online
M.A.R.S. Productions is proud to present our Starbase Indy film for your enjoyment. Experience the fun of Starbase Indy with us as we share highlights from the weekend and hilarious clips of improvs starring Dean Haglund, Denise Crosby, Alexis Cruz & David Reddick. Featuring interviews with Dean Haglund (X-Files), Gary Graham (Alien Nation/Star Trek), Tim Brazeal (Trek United/Sci-Fi Studios), Alexiz Cruz (Stargate/Shark), Denise Crosby (Star Trek: TNG), David Reddick (Trek Life) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica). Starbase Indy was amazing! Thanks so much for making it such a memorable weekend. We hope you enjoy this look back at Starbase Indy with us! Go to "films II" to view film.
12.28.06 | Middle Earth Idols II in production
Thanks to everyone that came out today to be a part of our Middle Earth Idols studio audience. You did great! Hope you still have voices tomorrow after all the screaming and cheering you did for our film!
12.05.06 | Middle Earth Idols II at ORC 2007
M.A.R.S. Productions is pleased to announce that Middle Earth Idols II will be screening at Creation Entertainment's ORC 2007: The One Ring Celebration. Middle Earth Idols is a film parody of American Idol featuring Lord of the Rings characters, with celebrity guest judges Kiran Shah (LOTR), Daniel Reeve (LOTR), Dean Haglund (X-Files), Grant Wilson (Ghost Hunters), Alexis Cruz (Stargate, Shark), Michael Regina (Co-Founder of TheOneRing.net) and more! Special musical performance by Emerald Rose! Who will be the next Middle Earth Idol? We'll see you in Burbank, California March 2007!
11.29.06 | Starbase Indy
Rachel and I would like to personally thank the convention committee, Trek United, fans and guests of Starbase Indy for your hospitality. It was a wonderful weekend! Thank you for being so kind and generous with your time. We talked so much and laughed so hard that I've almost completely lost my voice! We have hours of footage to pour over and look forward to creating a Starbase Indy film for everyone to experience. Thanks again to everyone! Hope to see you again next year!
11.18.06 | Queen Mary and the Stanley Hotel
Very exciting! We're off to film the investigation and retreat aboard the famous Queen Mary in Long Beach, California in January and the Stanley Hotel (from "The Shining") in Colorado in late March, with special guest the Ghost Hunters, Patrick Burns and many more! What an amazing opportunity! Our participation made possible by Darkness Radio and Grant Wilson (Ghost Hunters). Forever grateful. Thanks heaps! Thanks also to Patrick Burns (Haunting Evidence) for your support. Start swimming,
dude! Hugs to you all. =)
11.16.06 | Starbase Indy and MegaCon
M.A.R.S. Productions will be filming at both Starbase Indy (November) and MegaCon (Orlando, February). Celebrity guests include Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), Jonathan Frakes (ST:TNG) & Dean Haglund (X-Files) at Starbase Indy and Sean Astin, Kevin Sorbo, Jamie Bamber (“Apollo”) & Mary McDonnell (of Battlestar Galactica) are among the stars at MegaCon in Orlando.
11.11.06 | Join M.A.R.S. Productions at MySpace
Click Here
11.02.06 | Currently in production
On the Wings of Dragons, The Hobbit, Waverly Hills Sanatorium project and Middle Earth Idols 2 with surprise celebrity guest judges!
10.20.06 | Gen Con Short Film online!
New Zealand's own Jack Peterson makes a guest appearance at Gen Con, the world's largest gaming convention. Highlighting the cast & crew of the feature film "The Dork of the Rings" and the M.A.R.S. Productions filmmakers. CLICK HERE
10.04.06 | Dragon*Con Documentary now online in FILMS
09.22.06 | Waverly Hills Sanatorium
We're putting a crew together to film at Louisville, Kentucky's Waverly Hills Sanatorium for an upcoming production. Waverly Hills is believed by many to be one of the most haunted places in America.
09.17.06 | Dragon*Con Short Online in FILMS
Check out the Dragon*Con short film we produced for TheOneRing.net in 'films.' It was our first time at D*Con. Great fun! D*Con was all about rushing from one place to the next, crowds and costumes - and woven into all the madness and mass confusion were those moments when we'd have a guest to ourselves just talk to them one on one.
09.13.06 | M.A.R.S. Productions on YouTube.com
You can leave comments and rate our videos! CLICK HERE
09.05.06 | Dragon*Con News & Pics Online
Dragon*Con 2006 has come to a close after four long days of fun and excitement. Dragon*Con can be a success if you follow these three words: Divide and Conquer. With a 100 plus page program featuring dozens of guest and activities to enjoy, for newbies to Dragon*Con, like ourselves, it can be a bit overwhelming navigating through thousands of fans trying to get from one location to the next. Thanks go out to Ghost Hunters Steve Gonsalves and Bryan Hamois for rescuing us from the crowd and helping us find our way to the Ghost Hunters programming track or we might still be lost! Dragon*Con is extremely subjective since it's not humanly possible to attend everything you really want to see. That's where the "divide and conquer" come into play. A teleporter for future Dragon*Con's would be extremely helpful since we did miss things we had planned on seeing simply because we were not fast enough to get from one location to another in time.
Regardless, we're thrilled with what we were able to catch, plus we were able to spend time with some of our favorite people, such as LOTR's Kiran Shah and Dean Haglund (Langley, one of the 'Lone Gunman' from the X-Files). Talking with "Night of the Living Dead" Director George Romero was a real treat, as was finally getting to meet the incredibly friendly "Ghost Hunters," our favorite sci-fi show. Ghost Hunter Grant Wilson never failed to make a face at our camera. Favorites such as Kevin Sorbo (Hercules, Andromeda) went out of his way to embarrass us, you'll see more of that on our documentary. And, it's always wonderful hearing Emerald Rose perform. There were many interesting sci-fi/fantasy programming tracks to attend, including several LOST and Tolkien track programs. Elfstone, the Gandalf trivia challenges and improvs were especially fun. Our own LOTR fan films were screened at the Tolkien track on Friday and Sunday, plus we had a Monday panel, which was a lot of fun. Even if Monday's crowd looked like a remake of "Dawn of the Dead" with all those worn out, zombie like people!
The evenings were unique unto themselves, with costumes galore and thousands of fans. Music and fan films could be found just about everywhere at anytime of the day or night. TheOneRing.net was one of many fan booths there, in addition to the dozens of dealer and vendor tables. We were treated to another screening of "The Dork of the Rings" on Saturday night. There was the Dragon*Con parade and Masquerade Ball, and the Evening at Bree was entertaining and lively with costumes, music and dancing all evening long.
Dragon*Con had it all from Star Wars to Stargate and even a Miss Klingon Beauty Contest! Now there's something you don't see every day! The most amazing memory of the weekend for us would definitely be dinner with Kiran and our "Dork of the Rings" friends. It was just a relaxing evening laughing and telling stories. Rachel and I finally had the chance to tell Kiran how much his guest appearance on the X-Files has terrified us our entire lives! Kiran is hilarious and friendly, and we hope anyone that's seen him in Chronicles of Narnia, Star Wars, the LOTR trilogy or any of his other numerous films has a chance to meet him one day. He's more than just an actor and stuntman, he is also an incredible mime and illusionist himself. We look forward to working with him one day.
Everyone there brings home with them different experiences, but one thing is certain we all had a wonderful time even without food or sleep. We spent the entire weekend filming for our own Dragon*Con documentary so watch for that in the coming weeks!
08.14.06 | Gen Con News & Pics Online
GenCon has come to a close once again, but what a wonderful weekend it was! I don't think anyone attending had time to sleep! There just aren't enough hours in the day to do all they have in store for you there! Gaming, RPG, LARP, TCG, tournaments, art shows, celebrity guests, comics, Star Wars, LOTR, musical guests, 24 hours of films from "Aliens" to "Princess Bride," plus an amazing Film Festival where fans showcase their own work in several categories from short films to full length features! Not to mention vendors galore & tons of free goodies!!
Four days, twenty-four hours a day of fun, gaming and films! The new games that were previewed were incredible and we can't wait for their releases. Darth Vader & his gang were there to take pictures with fans, as well as other well known action heroes. Richard Hatch & Kevin Sorbo were among the guests attending this weekend.
Our "Dork of the Rings" friends had a wonderful world premiere on Friday evening to a packed theater. The cast and crew were on hand throughout the weekend to answer questions for Dorker fans. And, at the DOTR booth, fans were lining up to buy their DOTR dvd, just released this weekend at GenCon, but available online at www.dorkoftherings.com for anyone that wasn't able to attend.
Director Tim Richardson had Rachel interviewing fans who were waiting for the Saturday showing of DOTR. She enjoyed that! There was a lot of filming going on that weekend actually, so be sure to check Tim's DOTR site soon to see what he's put together for Gen Con. ;-)
We had two of our own fan films showing throughout the weekend also, "LOTR: Return of the King" Sneak Preview parody and our DOTR fan film. It's always fun watching films with other fans! We met so many incredible people and were sorry to see the weekend end!
Special thanks go out to the entire cast and crew of "The Dork of the Rings" movie. We had a blast!! And, we think you're all wonderful! Thanks for keeping us company all weekend long! Looking forward to working with you soon! Special thanks go out to Derek Guder, Anime & Film Program Manager of GenCon, for all your help, Lobster Man.
08.05.06 | Gen Con Film Festival
Our winning "Dork of the Rings" fan film & "ROTK" parody will be screened at GenCon on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (August 10-13). GenCon is a 4-day gaming convention that draws over 26,000 attendees and has an awesome Film Festival. We'll be on hand to introduce both films and have a Q&A afterwards. Very exciting! Rachel will also be in a tournament for Halo & Halo2. Look out guys! She kicks butt! Think Eowyn!
07.31.06 | ELF II
ELF II was an amazing weekend! We started with a night in NYC. ELF opened on Friday with featured guests Daniel Reeve and John Noble. They were both wonderful! Our "Middle Earth Idols" opened the show on Saturday and was a huge hit! Sean Astin was Saturday's featured guest. Emerald Rose entertained fans that evening after the talent and costume competitions.
A Sunday brunch with Billy Boyd and other fans for his charity auction started our day. More hilarious fan skits and our DOTR promo for Director Tim Richardson. We then screened our "Return of the King" parody from ORC, our winning DOTR fan film and an encore performance of "Middle Earth Idols," which was one of the LOTR Music Video contest winners, followed by our Q&A session Lots of fun! ELF II once again featured incredible panelist also! Billy Boyd was our featured guest today.
Thanks to LOTR fans for your cheers & applause! Thanks to the folks at Creation Entertainment & TheOneRing.net for your continued support (Yo! LC). Special thanks to Daniel Reeve & his family, John Noble and Billy Boyd for giving so generously of your time. You made it a weekend we'll never forget!
07.22.06 | "The Dork of the Rings"
"The Dork of the Rings" feature film premieres at GenCon on August 11th! Order your copy today and receive a 2 disc set containing the feature length film, the "dorkumentary", music videos, fan films & much more! Our DOTR fan film is included in the set too! Visit the DOTR website for more information.
07.11.06 | Middle Earth Idols on TheOneRing.net
7/08/06, 10:50 am EST - Xoanon
Gondolin writes: Is Gandalf the next Taylor Hicks? I admit it! I love the popular television show "American Idol." But, I am an even bigger LOTR fan. I have to share this with you and please pass it along to other LOTR fans. Those teenage filmmakers that just won the DOTR contest have a hilarious parody on their site called "Middle Earth Idols." Gandalf competes against six other top finalist. We see Denethor boogie to "Disco Inferno" and the ever dramatic Eowyn sings her heart out over lost love Aragorn. Speaking of Aragorn, a side of him is revealed that I was completely unaware of. I must say my favorite part of their "Middle Earth Idols" is the final song, which is a moving tribute to our favorite LOTR characters. I loved it! A must see! Check out "Middle Earth Idols" in 'films' at marsproductions.net
07.08.06 | Middle Earth Idols
Is Gandalf the Taylor Hicks of Middle Earth? Check out these Top 7 Finalist in our "Middle Earth Idols." Watch it in "Films" and you be the judge!
06.18.06 | DOTR Fan Film & Behind the Scenes on TOR.n
6/16/06, 8:35 pm EST - Celeborn
The latest film project by teenage filmmakers, Ashlee & Rachel Scott, is now available online in our Fan Films area. Their film recently won first place in "The Dork of the Rings" fan film contest. It is comprised of three scenes based upon the DOTR themes. Fans of the television series LOST will enjoy this fan film too, because the filmmakers incorporated their own version of a scene from LOST into their DOTR fan film as Frudo feels the power of the Ring of Credit all around him. And don't miss the 'Behind the Scenes' film posted as well. This parody shows fans the realities of filmmaking as security issues, weather problems and temperamental actors abound. [Fan Films]
06.01.06 | "Dork of the Rings" Fan Film Contest Winner!!!
WE WON !!!! Awesome! We're also very excited about our cameo appearance in their film! Look for us as two panicked Throbbit girls. Thanks go out to our cast & crew and everyone at DOTR! Read the announcement from the DOTR website!
05.31.06 | Dork of the Rings Fan Film Online
Our "Dork of the Rings" Fan Film is now online! Fans of the TV series LOST will especially enjoy the final scene. Remember Sawyer hearing voices in the woods, Season One? And, check out our "Behind the Scenes" Special Feature we did for Director Tim Richardson. It's not what you might expect! Security problems, weather issues and temperamental actors abound! Special thanks to Steve Christopher and Nikki Taylor Melton of DOTR for your cameos in our fan film!
05.22.06 | Filming Update
We've been extremely busy filming! We're in post production with our DOTR material. Thank you to Andrea Polan for arranging use of their golf course for our film production. And, also to Sir William Barker for allowing us to film in his wonderful castle. Special thanks to everyone that worked for us, in the pouring rain, while we filmed our "Behind the Scenes" interview for Director Tim Richardson. You guys did great and we had a blast! Viewing party scheduled for this week for all cast & crew members! See you there!
03.15.06 | "The Hobbit"
We are currently in production for "The Hobbit" Check back for updates and photos.
03.15.06 | Casting Call
Most of the key roles have already been cast, but we're nearing the point where you can sign up for a particular extra, such as elf or goblin. Check out the "casting" link. The majority of filming will be done in the Sierra Nevadas, California. We will be filming battle sequences in Ohio to accomodate the schools who have volunteered to serve as our armies.
03.06.06 | ORC Fan Film entry online
Our "LOTR: Return of the King" parody is on TheOneRing.net website!
3/06/06, 10:10 am EST - Xoanon "Due to the overwhelming requests, we have put together a page to highlight the entries of this years Fan Film competition at ORC 2006..."
02.09.06 | "The Lord of the Rings Symphony" Dress Rehearsal
Howard Shore, composer and conductor of the LOTR music, resided over the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra for a special Thursday night working dress rehearsal. We were fortunate enough to be there. After the concert, we actually got to go to Howard Shore's dressing room. Thanks to Gary Hanson, Executive Director of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. We had also seen Howard Shore in Columbus two years ago performing the LOTR symphony.
01.22.06 | ORC 2006 Pasadena, California
ORC 2006 in Pasadena, California was amazing! Those were two of the most incredible weeks of our lives (Roswell). We met so many wonderful LOTR fans and the LOTR stars were incredibly nice.
Highlights:
* Meeting Daniel Reeve, who did all the calligraphy & map work for the LOTR trilogy and King Kong. We even rode in the elevator with him - twice! He'd stop to talk to us whenever he saw us at ORC. He personalized our ROTK movie books in Hobbit script for us. He was wonderful!
* Breakfast with Billy Boyd (Pippin). He asked to see our cell phone pictures, loved our little Frodo and then showed us his cell phone pics. So, for any of you who's photos are still saved on our cells - Pippin saw you! His dog is very cute! He also called Rachel's cell phone and left a voice mail message for her. And, we got to wear his coat. He asked me to do my "Pippin" for him that I use in our movies and he said I do a really good Scottish accent. Very cool. He asked if he could star in one of our movies one day. Billy Boyd is a sweatheart! Very huggy!
* Meeting Elijah Wood (Frodo) & Sean Astin (Sam), lots of hugs. They asked us for our business cards. Very cool. We talked about gaming. Elijah & Rachel are at the same level. Elijah Wood was a home schooler too, btw. Elijah Wood showed us the pictures on his cell phone too - lots of his shadow. We adopted him as our brother. He's great! Sean Astin talked to us about politics. No surprise. He was very nice too. Elijah Wood talked to Rachel about gaming, as I said, and talked to me about directing and editing. He called me a "control freak" (he was teasing) and I in turn called him a jerk. Yes, I called Frodo himself - a jerk, but I was joking. He enjoyed teasing me. He's a sweetie! They both asked to be in one of our movies some day and for us not to forget them. Like we would?
* John Noble (Denethor) was amazing. He has wonderful stories to share. He asked us tons of questions about our ROTK parody and poured over our movie book. Made us act out every scene with him in the movie. He wants to be in one of our movies and cast as the "hero," a John Wayne type, who at the end turns out to be evil. He was always waving at us. We loved him!
* Miranda Otto (Eowyn) was wonderful too. It was her first convention appearance, so she was a bit nervous. But, she was very easy to talk to. When someone in the audience asked her to name three directors she'd like to work with in future - she named a few and then pointed directly to us and said, "I hope to work with Ashlee & Rachel Scott one day." Aahh! It was wonderful meeting Miranda.
* We had lunch with Miranda Otto, John Noble and Daniel Reeve. John Noble insisted we act out every scene in our parody between him and his two on screen sons, Boromir & Faramir. That was fun! He really enjoyed it and so did we.
* Sideshow Weta people were very cool! They gave us free collectibles - "The Mouth of Sauron."
* The Saturday evening "Awards Ceremony." Watching our fan clip with all those fans - the best ever experience! Two standing ovations and Elijah Wood rallying for us. The flip flop flying past Sean Astin's head (you had to be there!) More hugs from the stars. The wonderful intro by Cliff Broadway (of "Ringers") who told the audience our fan film was the BEST fan film he had ever seen. Cliff Broadway, Larry Curtis (LC of TheOneRing.net), John Noble, Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, Miranda Otto and loads of fans said that we were going to be famous one day. That was nice to hear. Miranda Otto told us never to lose our determination.
LC told us after the awards ceremony that they were going to put our fan film on TOR.n so all the fans worldwide could see it. Wow! It's only the biggest LOTR website in the world! Thousands upon thousands, if not millions, will see it! Elijah Wood told us that fans would be asking for our autographs and photo ops at the next ELF & ORC. Daniel Reeve teased us that more people recognized us than him! We doubt that, but appreciate the thought. To be invited to have our fan film on their site is a real honor. To be able to say that we've become a part of TOR.n history in this way is a dream come true.
Thanks, guys! LC made it very clear to us that we have to thank TOR.n during our Oscar acceptance speech one day. ;-) Will do. Promise.
Love and respect goes out to everyone associated with LOTR/King Kong and TOR.n. Thanks for everything!!
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