DVD's available July 9th

It’s hot. like it’s better then any DVD I’ve seen in a long time. The
opening menu alone gets you pumped up.

Here is what you can look forward to seeing on it.

1. Widescreen format of the film:

-Which is cool if you have a rectangle TV, but whatever.

2. Behind-the-Scenes Featurette.

-See how some of your favorite scenes came about. It’s not how you expect.

3. Commentary track with director
Matthew Von Manahan, plus actors Michael Hampton (Montag) and Jeff Berg
(Scar).

-We basically just laugh at Jeff for an hour and a half.

4. Bonus extras include short films with characters from "The
Book of Caleb", still gallery, and original trailer.

-Yeah, some of these are my student films from FSU. It’s neat to watch the
story evolve. The earliest one was shot in November of 2001.

Hey Everyone,

Thank you to everyone that has been voting for the "The Book of Caleb"
film in the "From Here to Awesome" film festival.

Maybe a day after I sent that "Last Chance to vote" newsletter I was
informed the voting deadline was extended.

The final deadline for voting for the film is now this FRIDAY, JUNE 6.

I was hesitant to write another one of these, but I figured there were a
few of you that maybe wanted to vote and got distracted or something and
then thought the contest was over.

Again, sorry to hassel you with this, but I hate to lose and honestly, my
only other alternative was spending my next two days off creating fake
e-mail address and voting for the film myself.

I'm a grown man and the idea of me sitting in a bathrobe doing that while
the rest of the world was at work was just too ridiculous. So please,
vote and spare me a little less humiliation.

Every vote counts so please take and time to at least do one of the
following, and if you have already done one, now would probably be the
time to do the other.

VOTE

You'll want to got to two sites:

Site 1:

http://www.fromheretoawesome.com/bookofcaleb

You will need to register before you can vote. Have a pen handy. The site
doesn't
let you pick your own password.

Vote by clicking “this film seems awesome” and following instructions

Site #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0upLEBV3as

You have to create a youtube account.
then:

1. rate it five stars: click the red ones
2. add a text comment
3. favorite: click the heart--most important.
4. subscribe to the channel, by clicking subscribe button in top right
corner.

Thanks

---

"DVD IS DONE"

Thanks to Justin at www.strikeanywherefilms.com

Yes, the long anticipated DVD is finally locked.

Keep in mind this is just the Master, or original. All the copies for
everyone to hold, well that's another story, but soon.

If you are interested in getting one of the DVD's at a lower price you can
pre-order here:

http://www.bookofcaleb.com/index.php?left=store&right=store&nav=on&title=on

---

"THE BOOK OF CALEB ON YOUTUBE"

If you want to see more videos about the making of the film you can always
check out our youtube channel at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/montag98pg

if you subscribe to the channel all the updates will come to you.

Grant made a fun one recently about the unique collaboration between the
cast and myself.

----

"THE BOOK OF CALEB NOW ON FACEBOOK"

Yes, it's true.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Book-of-Caleb/13447867099

become a fan if you want...

---

"STORIES FROM THE WINTER FRONT"

Cast and Crew remember to keep sending your production stories in.

Today I wanted to take a great story from Producer Grant Fenster. Grant
who has always kind of the unspoken hero of the project, and obviously the
film never would have gotten made without his personality being involved.

What does a producer do exactly?

well to sum it up he eats all the shit and never gets thanked.

Not that everybody else didn't accomplish great things, which I continue
to want to share, but all the other jobs on the production are kind of
temporal. You come in and do your job, eat some shit for awhile, and then
move on to something else.

Grant's been eating shit since he dropped out of North Carolina School of
the Arts in 2004 to produce this thing.

Obviously, it would be impossible to thank him for all he's done in one
mass e-mail ( especially since neither one of us are pussies, and we both
tend to take emotion as a sign of weakness more then whatever it's intent)
but I figured it'd be a good chance to hear a story from his point of
view.

So here is one of my favorite Fenster stories from Pre-production of THE
BOOK OF CALEB

----

The great thing about 35mm is not only its look but all the additional
costs associated with it. Being extremely low-budget, we had counted on
shooting with a more cost effective 16mm stock run on a camera we were
going to borrow from our alma matter, Florida State University.

Our start date kept shifting around, and when we finally had our dates
set, the FSU students' shooting schedule conflicted with ours. FSU could
not secure us with a 16mm camera package but could let us use their 35mm
camera instead. This just messed with the already strapped budget, and we
didn't know how we would afford the 35mm film to put into the camera and
pay to get it processed. We were bankrupt.

After an immediate food binge, with an attendance of director of
photography, line producer, producer, and director, followed by a slight
nap, we all brainstormed what we could cut and what each department was
willing to sacrifice to make the movie. How dare we get forced to shoot on
35mm? The industry standard of the medium.

With a lot of sacrifice and Line Producer Taylor Feltner's knack of
stretching a dollar, we had a game plan and a working budget. All we had
to do now was get the camera from the panhandle of Florida up to
Philadelphia.

I knew there was one man perfect for the task, our 2nd AD Joe Chang.

Not only is he a close personal friend I can ask a favor of, he also owns
a truck. On his way from North Carolina to Florida, traffic was smooth,
the vast majority of it heading northbound and leaving Joe a straight shot
to Florida. We soon learned that a tropical storm named ‘Katrina’ was
headed for the Gulf.

Joe was going to have to haul ass the rest of the way there and back to
North Carolina if he was going to make it in time to meet up with the
second part of our relay team, our three lead actors. Luno, Hampton, and
Nic were sent from Philly to North Carolina to pick up the camera gear
from Joe. They had to go because the rest of us were busy doing
pre-production work, and in any case, they needed some time to bond if
they were going to play childhood friends.

The idea was great in theory, but the experience actually turned out to be
a 20-hour awkward silence between three complete strangers shoved into the
DP's small pick-up truck.


-----

Thinking about the stress from those few days still makes me want to
vomit. It still physically puts a vice on my stomach, but that was the
nature of this production.

We would continually get ourselves into these hopeless situations and then
more often then any other, Grant at the last possible second would figure
a way to get our heads back above the water.

Best,

MM

Siskel and Ebert gave "Die Hard" a negative review when it first came out.

v



Yeah... what about this Deputy Police Chief? played by BOC actor Paul Gleason?

I dunno, pretty much as long as I remember DIE HARD was one the of the best movies I've ever scene. I try and watch it every christmas.

Weren't these two supposed to be the best critics? which I guess brings me to my next point, what's so bad about making your own mind up about something? 

I love how they completely switch their opinions after it turns out to be a smash hit... Listen to the fat one's last comment.

Last Chance to Vote for "The Book of Caleb"

"AWESOME CALL TO ARMS"

OK, everyone... some of you I am meeting for the first time and some of
you lived
with me in a basement for 6 months.

Need to call in a favor.

I know what you're thinking "another favor?! you've been nothing but an
emotional/financial and social black hole as long as I've known you"

I don't want to argue over the small points. I'm sorry if I've offended
anyone when my
"initial prediction" for finishing the film ended up being off by about
half a decade.

I'm a filmmaker, not a mathematician.

I've gotten a fair share of hate mail about the process taking so long,
and it's funny because some of them make it seem like I've been
deliberately putting off finishing the film... Like, I sit around thinking
of ways to draw things out just so that I can live with my parents in a
room with no windows a little longer.

It's taken so long because, unfortunately we want to do it right.

If you haven't already, this is your LAST CHANCE to support the film in
the "From
Here to Awesome" film festival.

Which basically, among other things, would give the film a limited theatrical
release on three continents.

Oh, but "that doesn't count as a real release because it won a popularity
contest and
wasn't hand picked by some 50 year urban art critique...with long purple
hair and
filed canines"

Blow. popularity contest = audience = people actually see the film.

The release strategy Grant and I have put together really hinges upon this
as its fulcrum. We don't win and win big here and now, the train gets
derailed.

Help. This goes double for Cast and Crew. Our credit list is close to 300
people deep.
I know who hasn't voted yet. Sure, this voting thing is a pain, but wasn't
standing in snow 14 hours a day?

Don't run 25 miles of a marathon just to go chase some butterflies in last
ten feet.

VOTE

Here's how:

You'll want to got to two sites:

Site 1:

http://www.fromheretoawesome.com/bookofcaleb

You will need to register before you can vote. Have a pen handy. The site
doesn't
let you pick your own password.

Vote by clicking “this film seems awesome” and following instructions

Site #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0upLEBV3as

You have to create a youtube account.
then:

1. rate it five stars: click the red ones
2. add a text comment
3. favorite: click the heart--most important.
4. subscribe to the channel, by clicking subscribe button in top right
corner.

You are not just supporting one film, you are supporting a worldwide
experiment that uses the
internet as a way to democratize the distribution of content we watch.

It's a contest for anyone who has ever left a movie theater wondering,
"why was that
so dumb?" or clicked off primetime network television after 30 seconds
because it “sucks so bad”.

It's the beginning of letting people decide for themselves what content
they would
like to view. It's the new age of entertainment, and it's going to be
personalized,
direct and very very addictive.

Please, ride the crest of the wave with us.

If you have any problems with the voting sites you can contact me
directly.

mmanahan@bookofcaleb.com

--------------

“SNEAK SCREENING AT LUTHER COLLEGE IN IOWA”

I wouldn’t call it a premiere, but we showed the finished film to a bunch
of college kids to see how it played to an audience…

It played well check out the highlights on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofLYrYu07CQ

Read what the student paper had to say about it:

http://chips.luther.edu/2008/05/08/alum-screens-film-receives-rave-reviews.html

----------------

"DVD UPDATE"

Justin Barber is working on the DVD, Grant and I have viewed the first
draft of it and all we can say is…

It’s hot. Like not in the “noble effort” kind of way we expected a small
little film like this to have.

It’s hot. like it’s better then any DVD I’ve seen in a long time. The
opening menu alone gets you pumped up.

Here is what you can look forward to seeing on it.

1. Widescreen format of the film:

-Which is cool if you have a rectangle TV, but whatever.

2. Behind-the-Scenes Featurette.

-See how some of your favorite scenes came about. It’s not how you expect.

3. Commentary track with director
Matthew Von Manahan, plus actors Michael Hampton (Montag) and Jeff Berg
(Scar).

-We basically just laugh at Jeff for an hour and a half.

4. Bonus extras include short films with characters from "The
Book of Caleb", still gallery, and original trailer.

-Yeah, some of these are my student films from FSU. It’s neat to watch the
story evolve. The earliest one was shot in November of 2001.

You can pre-order your copy here:

http://www.bookofcaleb.com/index.php?left=store&right=store&nav=on&title=on

What's great about pre-ordering your copy, is first of all they are about
5 dollars cheaper, but also the more dvd's we sell by pre-order the faster
we will be able to get them out because we use the money from the
pre-orders to make the actual discs.

----

"ANOTHER STORY FROM THE WINTER FRONT"

Remember Cast and Crew. Send in a production story. The more points of
view we have
the more interesting the story the making of BOC is.

Here is a good one from Set Decorator Inna Levin on her blog:

http://honeyspider16.livejournal.com/65740.html

She writes:

----

...I mean, I was doing this thing for three months. That’s a fucking long
time. That’s
the span of my average dating-type relationship. So as you can imagine [or
perhaps
you can’t], I grew pretty close to some of these people…

…And now, sadly, it is over. I must return to my daily toil. “Can I tell
you about
our specials this evening?” will be my warrior cry, instead of “Duct tape!
We need
more duct tape!” or some such...

...And I really can’t explain vividly enough what it’s like, working with
so many people on the same project. I mean, it was a lot of people. Just
our art department alone was what? Around ten people. Usually, I only
associated w/ the other art department ladies. But when I ran into anyone
from any of the other departments, it was like a treat. 'Cause you knew
that all these people were doing their little part and you were doing your
little part and at the end, when we added them all up, all those hundreds
of little parts, it would result in this one giant movie. That people
could actually go and see...

---

Yeah, so please vote and more people will see it.

Thanks,

MM

"STORIES FROM THE WINTER FRONT"

Came across this blog from our Script Supervisor Elissa Cohn at:

http://theladysrevenge.wordpress.com/

She writes:

--

""Way back in the fall of 2005 I left the comforts of my parents house in
warm, sunny south Florida to spend the winter in the cold of Bucks County,
Pennsylvania. I drove over twenty hours in order to work on my very first
feature film. I was to be the script supervisor on the ultra low budget
indie The Book Of Caleb. Written and directed by FSU alum Matt Manahan,
The Book of Caleb was a production unlike any I’ve seen or been a part of
since."

It was run incredibly professionally, crewed with immense talent, fueled
by passion. And done on a tiny budget that shouldn’t have allowed most of
the things we accomplished to occur.

Now, after a long wait and much anticipation, The Book of Caleb is
finished. I’m incredibly excited for Matt and everyone else who has spent
countless hours putting this thing together. And I just wanted to share my
excitement and spread the love.""

--

It kind of got me thinking. It's crazy we wrapped production over two
years ago, but I think the scars from the trauma still run deep in much of
the crew.

SO, what I'd like to do is start collecting stories from the Cast and
Crew, and then post them on the Blarf in the countdown leading up to the
DVD release of the film.

It's an open invitation to anyone that worked on to film to share a story
from the production. The crazier the better. You can e-mail me at
mmanahan@bookofcaleb.com

------

"AWESOME"

So we are making a real campaign to make the top ten in this "From Here to
Awesome" Film Festival. It's kinda difficult to explain what makes this
event so important, but please support the film.

Here's how:

You'll want to got to two sites:

site 1:

http://www.fromheretoawesome.com/bookofcaleb

you will need to register before you can vote. have a pen handy. The site
doesn't let you pick your own password.

Then go to youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0upLEBV3as

you have to create a youtube account.
then:

1. rate it five stars: click the red ones
2. add a comment
3. favorite: click the heart--most important.
4. subscribe to the channel.

I totally understand this is the pain in the ass. It's best if you can
vote in both places, but if you can only do one that is fine too.

every vote counts so thanks.

---------

"DVD UPDATE"

I've gotten alot of questions about when people can actually watch the
movie. Here's what I can say...soon.

Barber is working on the DVD, and the rough timeline we have worked out is
that they will be available for shipping sometime in mid May.

Here is what you can look forward to seeing on it.

1. Widescreen format of the film
2. Behind-the-Scenes Featurette.
3. Commentary track with director
Matthew Von Manahan, plus actors Michael Hampton (Montag) and Jeff Berg
(Scar).
4. Bonus extras include short films with characters from "The
Book of Caleb", still gallery, and original trailer.

You can pre-order your copy here:

http://www.bookofcaleb.com/index.php?left=store&right=store&nav=on&title=on

What's great about pre-ordering your copy, is first of all they are about
5 dollars cheaper, but also the more dvd's we sell by pre-order the faster
we will be able to get them out.

---

FINAL TRAILER NOW ONLINE

Josh Rosenfield and Justin Barber did some great work getting this trailer
updated and ready to rock. Be the first to see it here in top quality:


The Book of Caleb Theatrical Trailer from Joshua Rosenfield on Vimeo.

Later we will put it on some other sites including the main BOC one.

-----

Thanks,

MM

Book of Caleb DONE!

THE BOOK IS CLOSED:

Well, it's been a crazy crazy ride so far, but I can say with confidence
that after 7 years "THE BOOK OF CALEB" is finally done. I was 19 when I
started writing it and now that I'm 27 I really can't believe it that the
story is finally told, and why did it have to take so long? Jesus, that is
almost a quarter of my entire life.

Thanks to the host families, cast, crew, extras, investors and everyone
else (Shooters Post and Transfer) that made this film possible. At the end
of the day it's really a strange feeling to watch something on the screen
that came out of your head, and I feel that together we all accomplished
something significant, and when you watch the film I'm pretty sure you
will say you've never seen anything quite like it before.

DVD"S AND SCREENINGS:

We all worked very hard on the project and now comes the time for people
to see it. DVD's will be coming soon, hopefully by the end of the month.

As far as public screenings go. One great way to see the film in theaters
is through this new online film festival called "From Here To Awesome". I
don't want to get to wordy but basically, it's a new thing that really
takes advantage of the ways the internet can help an independent film find
it's audience. The top ten films have screenings in Paris, London, NYC,
and LA.

What's great about this fest is it's programmed by the audience.

Here's how you can help. first you want to watch this video about the
making of the film:


If it pleases you then rate it and leave a comment.

or just go to:

http://fromheretoawesome.com/bookofcaleb/

and click "THIS FILM SEEMS AWESOME"


----

ANYBODY STILL IN THE PHILADELPHIA AREA?

I worked on this great film that is premiering at the Philadelphia FIlm
Festival Sat. April 12th at 7pm at the international house called "Rocky
Jumped a Park Bench" which was directed by James Rolfe.

http://www.cinemassacre.com.

James is a great talent and a good friend, so if you are around come
check it out. His youtube channel is currently ranked 5th in the world
with 118 thousand subscribers.

check out the trailer:


check out: phillyfests.com for more info.

It's a great film for anyone that likes Rocky and Philadelphia.

Best,

MM

From Here to Awesome

Hi everybody,

So there is a new online film festival around the corner. If you can spare a few minutes check out this video below.



The judging the best I can tell right now is one big popularity contest. So please for the love of God, support this film in this contest.

If it makes the top ten the film will screen in Paris France. Yes, that  means that french audiences are going to meet Tanner and Scar. I think watching the reactions to Tanner puking all over himself is going to take the humor of the film to a new level.