Monday, March 26, 2007

Starway Pictures presents: THE DEAD

And they say miracles don't happen! After far too many years sitting on a dark, cold, lonely shelf the chronicles of Haven, Jimmy and The Duke can finally be told in the Web version of THE DEAD.

It is a visual narrative told with an hallucinogenic flare that is often fragmented, non-linear, esoteric and ephemeral.

This Online exclusive will be told in multiple chapters starting with CHAPTER ONE: MANNY GALLARDO. With a little luck we'll release subsequent chapters over a period of time (still to be determined).

A note from the director:

Originally shot during the summer of 1998, THE DEAD was an ambitious digital featurette in many ways unique to itself. It was one of the first projects to use the brand new emerging technology of digital video. The world this dark fable unfolds within is partly real and mostly a digital creation. Many have commented that the look and feel is like "a living graphic novel." Unfortunately, the release of "The Matrix" and "Kill Bill - Volumes 1 & 2" killed the project before its completion. There are major striking similarities between the production design of THE DEAD and "The Matrix", namely the Trinity character resembling Haven. However, it was the plot of "Kill Bill" that was the final nail in THE DEAD's coffin.

The tragic part of this tale is that many people put a lot of hard work into shooting THE DEAD and the fruits of their labor have gone unseen. Many of the key sequences were already finished. So it made sense to finally start releasing some of these sequences to the Online world.

It will take some time and effort to get the last chapter into shape for presentation, as most of it still requires digital set extensions and digital environments. But I look forward to everyone having a chance to see this once beloved project.

Robert Sanders

Starway Website Updated

Please visit the updated Starway Pictures Website. We have added brand new mini-sites for SHADOW POINT (formerly Shadow Falls) and THE TWENTY-THIRD LETTER. Plus the mini-sites for our short films have all been completely updated.