Chris Jones Blog

JUST UPDATED - Urban Ghost Story wins the ratings war! AMAZING!

Amazing news – the screening of ‘Urban Ghost Story’ last night won, YES WON, the rating for that time slot – of the hundreds of channels available in the UK, ‘Urban Ghost Story’ captured 11.5% of all viewers, with just under half a million people tuning in to watch the movie - we out performed all other channels, including BBC2, ITV, Ch4, Five and all Sky and cable channels!

Of course we did follow ‘Film 2009’ which must have helped - and apparently we had a great name checking trail before ‘Film 2009’, though I didn’t hear it myself.

Nearly half a million people! Blimey! Amazing!

UPDATE -

Gone Fishing AP Leilani Holmes asked…

So how does this translate in terms of this particular film, Chris? Is it likely that further options for TV distribution could come out of it.. say in the US or other parts of the world? I'm just wondering how it all works really. In terms of the elasticity of an indie film's shelf life.

I asked our distributor, David Wilkinson to comment, and he added…

The BBC screening helps me in licensing to other broadcasters in the future. Prior to this latest outing it has screened in the UK on The Studio Channel and Sci-fi plus the BBC do have a further four showings. It was already one of the more successful films in our catalogue but this cements its standing. The screening has resulted in increased DVD sales partly because it is packaged with the first film by the same team WHITE ANGEL. The BBC is regarded as one of the world’s leading broadcasters so it should help with overseas sales…

Thanks guys… and remember you can get the double disk DVD here

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

Urban Ghost Story, on the BBC, and the stunts and how we we did them...

Wow! So ‘Urban Ghost Story’ played on BBC1 last night – I got loads of emails and texts during the screening, a kind of live commentary from friends. Awesome!

It’s been a long time since I have watched it and I was surprised by all sorts of details that had slipped my mind. And I must admit, I was very nervous and excited the moment the BBC logo came up and the film was introduced – I am so used to seeing that opening title sequence and hearing the music, but the BBC intro was of course a completely new experience. Very cool.

I know David Wilkinson of Guerilla Films, who cut the deal with the BBC, will get some viewing figures for us in due course. And the film is available on BBC iPlayer for a week – people in the UK can view it here.

OK... so, the video above is about how we achieved the breathtaking sequence at the climax of ‘Urban Ghost Story’, the car crash and the fall from the towerblock. Both were shot in a weekend that was separated from the main shoot, and was stunt co-ordinated by our late great friend, Terry Forrestal. This short video was supposed to make it to the DVD release, but had to be cut as we ran out of space…

So if we had to cut great stuff like this video from the DVD, what on earth IS on the DVD?

Well there is of course the movie in FHA 16:9, with the full Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack (which when played on a good sound system is awesome and very, very creepy). There are also two chat tracks over the feature, one with me and editor Eddie Hamilton. The other is with Genevieve and DP Jon Walker. There is a 20 minute or so behind the scenes featurette where we roll up our sleeves and explain just why and how we made the movie. There is also a feature on the deleted scenes, with explanations as to why we chose to cut those scenes – this is very useful to help illustrate the organic growth of the story, all the way through post production (if you are interested in comparing the film to the shooting script, you can download it here – this in itself is a powerful film education about how a story evolves from script, through shooting and finally through post production)

There’s a slide show too, as well as the full music score – we loved the score that composer Rupert Gregson-Williams wrote for ‘Urban Ghost Story’, but it never got a release on CD, and so, as we had the rights, we could actually put it on the DVD too! Finally, there is a cracking and terrifying documentary about the real case on which ‘Urban Ghost Story’ was very loosely based.

If you want your own DVD, you can get it here, as a special Guerilla Film Makers double DVD set with our second feature film ‘White Angel’, starring Peter Firth as a mild mannered serial killer. Again, a very chilling movie that gets under the skin. Here is the link to buy the DVD set.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

Read a whole chapter from 'The Guerilla Film Makers Hanbook' on the making of Urban Ghost Story, premiering on BBC1 tomorrow night

As promised over the weekend, in advance of the UK Network TV premiere of ‘Urban Ghost Story’ tomorrow night (Tuesday) on BBC 1, here is the complete chapter from the Guerilla Film Makers Handbook about how we made the film. It’s a PDF and 1.6mb in size, so will take a moment to download.

After the premiere tomorrow night, I plan to put up a video that never made it to the DVD - as the disk was maxed out with loads of film makers extras. I don’t want to say what it is right now, as those who have not seen the film will know what happens at the end – but for those of you who have seen the film, it’s a little doc about how we filmed the end sequence.

I was just scanning through the press pack too – you can read the whole press pack here if you are interested – and was stunned at just how good our reviews were. I had forgotten how many we got and how amazing they were… here are a few…

"Ken Loach meets "The Exorcist"… Jones and Jolliffe show they can multiplex with the best"
Variety

"A shrewdly judged chiller that boasts a brilliant, moving performance from newcomer Foster as the troubled Lizzie"
The Daily Mail

"genuinely haunting work"
The Independent

"...utterly electrifying... Heather Ann Foster illuminates Urban Ghost Story with compelling intensity."
Uncut

"Urban Ghost Story is one of the most credible studies of spectral obsession ever committed to celluloid. the film establishes a disturbing mise en scene that keeps one rooted"
Film Review

Crickey! No wonder the BBC bought it, now I want to watch it all over again!

And have a special offer on the double DVD (whith our second feature, White Angel, here.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

British Network Premiere of 'Urban Ghost Story' on BBC1, Tuesday just after midnight...

Last week I got a call form the BBC to tell me that my third feature film, Urban Ghost Story, would be playing on Tuesday the 13th of October at 12.05 at night (which is obviously Wednesday morning really!)

And since it has been announced in the various TV guides, I have been getting loads of emails from people who have since bought the DVD or read the chapter in The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook about how we made the film.

And the reviews in this weeks press are fantastic too, with the Radio Times giving it ‘film of the day’ and saying…

‘This movie demonstrates how a budget can often be the mother of invention. Heather Ann Foster plays a 12 year old girl in a Glasgow tenement who starts to detect supernatural rumblings while recovering from an ecstasy linked near-death experience. Jason Connery plays against type as a reporter seeking to exploit the story… Andrew Collins’

And the Daily Mail today saying…

‘Brought back from the brink of death, teenager Lizzie Fisher fears she brought something sinister back with her in this atypical British chiller. Low-budget, and rightly so – it’s from the people behind The Guerilla Film Maker’s Handbook – it is a curios but mostly effective mix of traditional horror and social realism’

It’s absolutely fantastic to screen on the BBC, and better still, BBC1 – and the deal was brokered by David Wilkinson of Guerilla Films, also interviewed in The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook (but not connected with the book, we just happen to have the same names!) David is one of the rarest of people in the UK film business – friendly and extremely helpful to emerging film makers, brutally honest (which is often hard for us all to hear) and in my experience (and most importantly), operates with very high integrity. Anyone who has taken my two day masterclass knows that I only recommend a handful of sales agents and distributors, and David is at the top of that very short list – and here is proof that David really does deliver! BBC1!

OK, so we have lots of reviews from when the film was released in the cinema here. In fact hen I just checked the link I was amazed just how many GREAT reviews we had, and from big players too.

Over the next few days, I am going to post some Urban Ghost Story related goodies on the blog – some of the features from the DVD and also PDF’s from the Guerilla Film Makers Handbook, so check back in.

But if you just can’t wait, you can buy a signed double disk DVD from us that also includes our second feature film, serial killer thriller ‘White Angel’. You can get the DVD here.

So a reminder – Tuesday the 13th, five past midnight, make a cup of cocoa and grab a  blanket… Urban Ghost Story, UK Network premiere on BBC1!

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]