Two months ago, Ed Douglas, the mastermind behind local
goth/industrial heroes Midnight Syndicate, finished
post-production work on The Dead Matter, a horror
movie he directed. Shot in Northeast Ohio, the film is about a woman
who tries to connect with her dead brother but inadvertantly enters a
supernatural world. Douglas sent the movie to potential
distributors. “We’re trying to find the best match for us,” says
Douglas, who just returned from showing a trailer of the film at the
Midwest Haunters convention in Columbus. “It’s arguably the most
important decision we’ll make. It’s completely up to the distributor
whether it goes straight to DVD. I leave it up to the experts to make
that decision. They know what makes the most sense.” Douglas says the
film will “definitely premiere in Cleveland,” probably in late August
or early September. “I’m trying to figure out the best way to do the
premiere,” he says. “It should be a fun event. I’m looking forward to
it. It’s not a groundbreaking horror film, but it is entertaining.
That’s for sure. That’s what I like about it.”
After about a year in the position, Christina Grozik announced that she’s no longer the director of the Ohio Film Office. Grozik sent out a letter saying she has “been asked to
assist in efforts of a new venture that will help to grow the
film/video industry in Ohio.” She also dropped lots of celeb names
(George Clooney, Chuck Norris, for starters) she’s worked with over the
years, so it’s anyone’s guess as to what that “new venture” entails.
“It’s still new, and we’re putting the pieces and parts together,” says
Grozik, who worked for several years for the Greater Cleveland Film
Commission under former director Chris Carmody. In the letter
announcing her new venture, she referred to her short-lived reign as
director as “an exciting and educational journey,” even though she
admits a tax incentive would have changed the nature of the job. Grozik
is also finishing post-production on a film she directed, which she
plans to screen as part of a charity event in Cleveland sometime in
August. “We’re still working out the details on that,” she says. And
despite the state budget shortfall, Ohio Department of Development
spokesperson Kelly Schlissberg says that the vacant Ohio Film Office
director position should be filled sometime this summer.
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2009.
