It's now time to...Step Off March 15th!

I'm going to do something unheard of on this blog. What is it?

Well, I'll stop talking about "Battle" now.

Why? Well, the distributor (Lion's Gate) has changed the title of the movie to STEP OFF ...so please remember it!

Now you may OFFICIALLY look for it March 15th! Hopefully, it'll be EVERYWHERE like they say

Okay, here is the new trailer from Lion's Gate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDPZS-dBbB4




You say "Battle" is called WHAT now?



"Step Off" man!

We'll keep you in the loop as usual.

Thanks,

Martin Kelley
Producer, 'Step Off'

The Score and Music is Set!!

Okay, we've set the music for the film. It was a task and a half.

I just want to thank all the following artists who contribute music to the film.


SAMUEL ABRAHAMSEN (Composer)
MIDICHLORIAN
MIGHTY NETWORK
DJ GRUMBLE
CONRAD "HEADROC" CLIFTON
GSHARP
GREEN TEA
CHAPTER 13
MADDMANN
SHIN B
LORD KAYOS
MR. BOZ AKA DADDY FAT CRATES
L.I.V.E.
DIRTY DOLLAR$
REIGN OF TERROR
KING KATALOGAS
DAN PEDERSEN
WES P
MARVIN “CYLENTSOUNDS” LABRANCHE
SADIYQ BOOKER
MR. MORRIS
and
DJ DAINJA
with vocal contributions from
STEVE "B-RIGHT" GUZMAN

We're proud to have had these artist collaborate with us on the film.

I can't wait to let everyone else hear their talents when the movie unspools.

More announcements will be forthcoming sooner than you think, trust me :)

Thanks for continuing to follow "Battle",

Martin Kelley
Producer, "Battle"



Sarah Cooper and Muta'Ali Muhammad approved this list (presumably).

Battle in the Newz!!!!

Joshua Tanksley and Laron Austin


Laron Austin To Direct 'Battle'
Monday, August 17th, 2009

Laron Austin is directing the indie pic "Battle" for Atlanta-based Reel One Entertainment. Starring Chris Burns, Onira Tares and Conrad "HeadRoc" Clifton, the film is the tale of an unknown hip-hop producer, played by Clifton, who enters a Beat Battle competition.

Martin Kelley and Eddie Singleton have written the screenplay and are producing along with Kenno Rixson and Bennie Swint. Exec producer is Cassius Weathersby.

Read more: www.hollywoodreporter.com

Movie » Battle

» Comments
Joshua Tanksley
Oct 8th 2009 10:38PM I really think that this is gonna be a great urban film. I had a lot of fun working with the cast' crew and producers on this project. I first started out on the set as an extra for a few days and was given a featured role "Technician". It was a lot of fun playin the role. Can't wait to see it. Should be out in 2010.

Do you remember?

Well, this is really it now.

We spent the last 48 hours fighting the elements to get a lot of 2nd Unit and B-Roll footage we needed to complete Battle...so we re-wrapped Production with Onira and HeadRoc and immediately started feeling nostalgic for past days on the shoot. It was sad and yet satisfying at the same time.

This of course beats complete relief to be done with something, I think.

So in that spirit let me take a moment to remember some of the shoot already.



Do you remember when we met Kevin Raser delivering pizzas to eyedrum while we were doing a final location scout for the shoot? And he said he wanted to help out on the shoot? He was great, he did everything from boom op duties to extra duties to manning the fog machines and fanning them with the flags. Very good young man and willing to get it done on the set. I highly recommend him to all the filmakers in the ATL.



Do you remember when we lost our Starbucks sponsorship after we pitched a movie tie-in featuring Chris Burns as Jay? I mean how could this tagline go wrong? "Well, it's not Red Bull and Vodka but it'll have to do..." We sure thought it was a winner. Guess we shoulda pitched HeadRoc and his expensive Frappachino habit instead :)



Do you remember Conrad "HeadRoc" Clifton attempting NOT to be upset when he heard that we forgot to order his Tofu dish for lunch and that he'd have to go with the salad? Well, I thought he played it off well at the time but photo evidence here suggests he was a little miffed.



Do you remember the heated exchange between direcor Laron Austin and producer Bennie Swint on location at WREK? No? Well, you're right, that never happened. But...



...there were fireworks on the set that day. I really can't go into it at this time...but check out the scene (in the movie of course) that we shot there.



But seriously, one of the best memories involved DRES tha BeatNik and the best extras I've worked with creating the genuine Hip-Hop vibe for Battle. Thank you all for helping us create the excitement of Beat Battles.

Anyway, I just wanted to post some more pictures and thank everyone again for all the hard work that they put in on the movie. We'll be sweating and grinding in post to make sure your efforts are rewarded with a great movie.

Take care and I'll be back to blog some more soon.

Martin Kelley
Producer, Battle

Flashback...various pictures from Battle

Did you miss me?

Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. There will be more blogging going on.

In the meantime, enjoy these pictures from the shoot.



Alicia Honore plays Keisha in Battle in a scene outside Never Enough Thyme Cafe



Arvell Poe (R) plays Quasar in Battle and looks to Director Laron Austin for advice on NOT being a dope Hip-Hop producer.



Chris Burns, Samantha Worthen and Conrad "HeadRoc" Clifton on the set as FVSU



I wouldn't want to work for Christopher Thomas (L) (well at least not in a kitchen environment)...would you? Just ask HeadRoc (R).

He makes a menacing boss if you ask me. It's like Rocky IV "I must break you...and then make many, many bad B-movies :)" (Dolph that is, not CT)



"You talkin' to me?" DJ Dainja actually did spin records live on the set before mangling the blocking of a complicated scene :)

And then recovering like a champ to deliver some classic lines (so says the co-writer).



Onira Tares, Errol Sadler and HeadRoc on the scene at Lenny's Bar along with some Paranormal Activity happening behind them.

As always, I urge you to stay tuned to the blog as there will be more revelations soon.

Thanks,

Martin Kelley
Producer, Battle

Martini Day!!! It's a wrap at Solar Sounds Studio

No, it's not a drinking holiday on the set (well, for our Gaffer Dan Slemons it is because of his crafty side deal that keeps his beer locker stocked during production) it's the Martini Day because it's the last day of Principal Photography.

Last day of prinicpal photography is always a bittersweet experience. On the one hand, everyone is excited to have completed the project. A lot of hard work goes into translating script to screen, so it feels great to have accomplished getting it all into the can. However, most of the time on a good set, there's the little feeling of melancholy that you won't be spending time with the little family that gets created on each production (at least not for a while)...and that's exactly how it felt Sunday when we were going through our last day of full crew production on "Battle".

We started off confused...again. As Chris wasn't sure which wardrobe he had worn in the scene that immediately follows the scene were were supposed to shoot. He had brought all the wardrobe choices...except the one we thought it was. So he rushed back to get that shirt only to find out that he had brought the correct clothes after all. It was the red shirt (not the RED shirt you see above...he takes things to figuratively sometimes).

The trick to a last day (at least my theory) is to make it an easy day (my first feature the last day was the toughest and I felt bad that I wasn't able to smile and hug everyone as they wrapped because we were so stressed to "make the day") so everyone can enjoy themselves. So we scheduled 2 scenes that are vital but still...2 scenes for a crew whose shown the ability to get 10 pages a day in the can when necessary? But of course, never is a day on an indie film ever easy.



However, with great actors like E. Roger Mitchell, Chris Burns, Conrad "HeadRoc" Clifton, and Candace Mabry on the set, any setbacks can be overcome through their excellent work. And they all did great.



So, we got back on track and overcame the little issues and our Martini scene was on Deck.

For the scene we had once again the talents of Rapper Trimm and James E. Brown II on the set playing Dirty Dollar$ and Big Man respectively and our generous host Talib Shabazz got to do a cameo as well.



Talib Shabazz was kind enough to allow us to shoot at his great recording studio Solar Sounds Studio.


For those unaware, Talib being part of "Battle" is very significant because he is an Icon on the Atlanta Hip-Hop scene. He co-hosted WRAS’ Rhythm & Vibes Show (‘91-’94) which was one of the most important Hip-Hop shows in college radio at that time. He went on to also host V-103’s Thunderstorm Mixshow (‘95-’96), WRFG’s Ruff, Rugged, & Raw among others. Talib also opened the first Street Marketing company in Atlanta, Keep It Street Marketing & Promotions and is one of the founders of Ear Wax Records & CD’s (which was the record store we had written into the script).

Above all, he's one of the great people in the ATL hip-hop community.

Now that we've wrapped principal photography, that doesn't make this blog obsolete...we're in post and there are tons of pictures that I still want to share so please be sure to stay tuned.

Thanks for following along thus far and thanks to all the cast, crew and location partners who've allow us to get "Battle" into the can. It's been great!

Later,

Martin Kelley
Producer, Battle

Battle crew member's own movie set for release 11/3

We've got lots of updates coming soon...


...but I wanted to take a moment to congratulate our excellent Assistant Director, Dave Watkins, on the upcoming release of his movie Stragglers which he directed, produced, and even stars in.


It's a horror flick with lots of gore...so if it's not your cup of tea you can just add it to your Netflix queue and push it back just before it ships but the add will help our man Dave.


So please put it in your queue and tell your friends too.


Two other Battle cast members also star in the film, Chris Burns and Michael D Friedman.


Do it sooner rather than later as it will be better if it's in demand before the actual release date which is Nov. 3rd.



-------------------------------------------------------
Stragglers on Netflix

You can now queue up Stragglers on Netflix! Its releasing on DVD November 3rd.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419167/



http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Stragglers/70127014?trkid=222336&strkid=1409635333_0_0&strackid=696cb113c004660d_0_srl
--------------------------------------------------------------------


thanks

Martin Kelley
Producer, Battle



AD Dave Watkins wonders "how a big time feature film director gets roped into working with 'these guys'?"



Sarah Anne Cooper and Muta'Ali Muhammad show some "Papparazzi Love" in Battle



HeadRoc Makes a beat versus Miracole Burns (had to sneak in a Battle pic)

Hurry up and WAIT!

Dan Slemons and Laron Austin outside Never Enough Tyme Diner

Yes, we're still in production. Only two days of principle photography to go and we can't wait to get those days in the can.

What are we waiting for?

Well, lots and lots of things.

You never really appreciate the logistical challenge of any project until you're in the middle of it.

We've got several challenges to finalize but we feel we're close to getting those completed. We'll have an update soon.

We've got a new system to configure which will make editing a lot less of a time consuming endeavor as we've upgraded the system to make it 8 times more powerful than before which hopefully means that post-production can go at least twice as fast as we'd expected initially.



There's also human logistics. We are working around a lot of schedules because we're not Warner Brothers and cannot lock everyone down for 3 months straight. So we're being as flexible as possible with Cast and Crew and they're reciprocating for us as well. It's truly been easy up to this point. I can say that with all sincerity.

And of course, one of the most daunting tasks can be locations.

We had to search far and wide for one of the key locations for the whole movie and we believe we found it. The aesthetics of the location are perfect and the people helping us facilitate the shoot have been tremendously supportive. We'll reveal all in a future post but needless to say that we think it will be worth the wait for us in the end.



So, bear with us because once we get things solidified, the pace picks up fast and furious again and before you know it we'll be full-tilt into post production on "Battle"

So please stay tuned...

Martin Kelley
Producer, "Battle"

HeadRoc in real Producer's battle

Jammin' with Taurean Blacque on "Battle"

Jenique Mincey gets "last looks" before Taurean Blacque performs a scene at Circle Sky Records.


I told you that I'd post more about Taurean Blacque's visit to our little movie and now I finally can do so. First of all, let's not forget that Mr. Blacque was an Emmy-Nominated regular on arguably one of THE BEST television shows of all-time (yes, ALL TIME) in "Hill Street Blues". If you've never seen that show...well, let's just say in that unlikely scenario, you may have seen him in one of his countless guest appearances over the years on television or if you're a Sci-Fi/Horror or Nia Peeples fan (and who isn't right?) you may remember him from Deep Star Six. I wanted to ask him if he remembers working with Atlanta's own make-up effects Wizard Toby Sells on that one but we had a shoot day to get to in an open record shop no less.


So, as we're pre-lighting, Eddie (the Producer) keeps asking me if Taurean has called for directions yet...despite it still being well before his call time. He hadn't, but I tell Eddie not to worry as if that's going to stop him. Anyway, 5 minutes before his call time, Taurean arrives to the set...IN WARDROBE. We'd given him the script and character description and had asked for him to bring some wardrobe possibilities himself and we'd choose from whatever he had or whatever we had (yes, we had wardrobe choices available...we're ultra-low budget but not without some things handled), well, one less garment for Jenique to have to worry about getting wrinkled because his take on 'Blue' was perfect. He had two major wardrobe sets for the scenes he was shooting and he had great choices for both, complete with hats :)




AD Dave Watkins watches as Director Laron Austin lines up a shot.

So, after he meets our crew and chats with our lead HeadRoc, we're ready to rehearse the first scenes.

Taurean is off-book and at first just going easy to feel out the rhythm of the scene with HeadRoc.

He asks some questions of Laron and they discuss more about the characters and the scene. The rehearsals get sharper and more energized as we go. Still within a few minutes of our targeted start time for the scene.

Finally, we start rolling and don't stop til we're done with the day's shoot. Taurean brings 'Blue' to vivid life in front of us and everyone on set is "jazzed". Taurean kept getting better with each take and the important swing in the storyline is accented perfectly by the performances we got that day.

Even the customers of the store cooperated and they all wound up being extras in the different scenes that we shot that day. Just wanted to share the experience even though it's been a little while since this shoot day and of course finally share a few more images from the shoot.

HeadRoc and Taurean Blacque perform scene in Battle.

Martin Kelley
Producer, Battle

Never Enough Thyme

If ever there was a phrase apropriately describing life on an indie film shoot, this is it. Never enough it seems.



I have to say we've been pretty lucky and blessed thus far on the shoot.


And one of the blessings is coming up this weekend as we partner with the wonderful Diner Never Enough Thyme to shoot some scenes for the film.


You can find their wonderful menu and hours of operation here:
http://www.neverenoughthyme.net/


Atlanta consistently ranks high among film-friendly towns in America and great folks Like Michele Doyle are the reason why. She is helping us tremendously by allowing us to film in her establishment. It's not just a nice place to eat, it looks like it will be a great place to shoot.

We've got a heavy load to get through this weekend but having access to a great location is really a terrific jump start to getting it done well.

So, come visit Michele's place and then you can say "hey, I've been there!" when you see Battle in 2010!

Stay tuned....

Group Hug!! L- R: Muta'Ali Muhammad, E. Roger Mitchell, Sarah Cooper, that guy, Conrad "HeadRoc" Clifton, and Onira Tares on the Eyedrum Set of Battle.

Muta'Ali Muhammad and Sarah Cooper on the set of Battle

Martin Kelley

Producer, Battle

'Battle' couple at Dragon*Con

Our own Chris Burns who plays Jay and his lovely wife Miracole Burns who plays Lady O of the Symphony in Battle are featured in this article from the AJC about the upcoming Dragon*Con which begins tommorrow here in ATL.

http://www.accessatlanta.com/atlanta-events/couple-dresses-up-for-129790.html

Check it out.

-MK

Eyedrum Pictures from Week 3

"Lady-O" Miracole Burns vs "Rippa" HeadRoc




Gabrielle (Left) and DeAngelo (Right)
Our Great Extras get ready to give me "Energy"

Week 3 at EYEDRUM

Errol Sadler "Maestro" (left) beats out Khalid Salaam "Whiz kid"(right)

Police on the scene

Gaffer Dan Slemons sneaks behind our Police officers for a sucker punch...



...and they promptly arrest our Lead actor Conrad "HeadRoc" Clifton.




Thanks to our Assistant Director Dave R. Watkins (top L) and actor Philip Covin (top R) for taking the time and care to making the police officers look credible. I was going to settle for "detectives" :)

Martin Kelley
Producer, Battle

Lenny's is wrapped

Director Laron Austin, Gaffer Dan Slemons, and Producer Martin Kelley on the set of Battle.


Well, we worked with Taurean Blacque on Saturday and we shot our opening club scenes at the famous Lenny's Bar on Sunday.

And I still am working from week 1 and 2 photos...really, new ones coming soon.

Anyway, a little about Lenny's Bar for those uninitiated.


Lenny's hosts national and local music acts each week from Rock to Hip Hop, Country to Mashup's.

And how's this for synergy...Lenny's is the venue for The Mighty Mighty Beat Down Producer's Battle the 1st and 3rd Thursday each month...which is hosted by Battle's own talented Dres Tha BeatNIK.

It's a great place to see a show and a nice place to film a movie as well. We're glad we were able to shoot at Lenny's because the scenes we shot were actually written with Lenny's in mind.

So, art imitated life again Sunday as Dres hosted our "battles" and another enthusiastic group of extras really helped create a nice hip-hop club vibe for the actors. Thanks to all the folks who came out on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

.
Now, on Saturday we worked with the talented veteran actor Taurean Blacque and he couldn't have been more gracious to us...I'll definitely talk about that day in detail in a future blog...Yes with more pictures


I should note the following Shake-up on the crew...Onira Tares became impatient with how the film was being shot and she took matters into her own hands much to the chagrin of Director Laron Austin (see below)


Of course I'm kidding...but Onira is playing a documentary filmmaker and she has shot some of the footage that will be used in the film.

Stay tuned as always...

Martin Kelley
Producer, Battle

Taurean Blacque joins the "Battle"

Taurean Blacque joins ‘BATTLE’


Atlanta, August 26-- ReelOne Entertainment announced today that Emmy Nominated Actor Taurean Blacque joined the cast of “Battle,” the Laron Austin (“BeatMakers”) directed film stars Chris Burns (“The Lena Baker Story”, “Somebodies”) Onira Tares (“Jack Squad”) and Conrad “Headroc” Clifton. Scripted by Martin Kelley and Eddie Singleton. Executive Produce by Cassius Weathersby (You Got Served) Produce by Kelley and Singleton along with Kenno Rixson and Bennie Swint.

Taurean Blacque is best known for his role as “Detective Neal Washington” on the cop drama Hill Street Blues.

“Battle” is a coming of age drama about an unknown producer RIPPA (Clifton) who pursues his passion for composing music. He wants to produce music for the top rappers in the industry and be respected as a producer worldwide.

“Battle” blends the mood, vigor, and themes of “8 MILE” with the perseverance and edge of HUSTLE & FLOW” with the old school vibe of “JUICE”

About Reel One Entertainment

Atlanta based multi-platform content provider and Production Company, specializing in entertainment content, online Marketing, and Sales/Licensing. Reel One Entertainment creates and produces low budget, high quality, genre content that entertain, inspire and inform.

Behind the Scenes of "Battle"

Director Laron Austin gets ready for the next Scene.



Producer Kenno Rixson has one too many!

One more night at Eyedrum

Going into our final evening shooting at the fabulous Eyedrum Facility. They've been very helpful and certainly instrumental as a location partner for this film. Tonight we're creating a different atmosphere than we did last week and I'm excited that Reign of Terror's own DJ Dainja as well as Hylandaz' DJ Doc West will be making an appearance in the movie to represent Hip-Hop Deejays!

It's important to us to "get it right" in terms of the Hip-Hop Element in this movie and having real Hip-Hop Deejays in the place will certainly help us "get it right".

Don't have pictures from last week yet, but don't fret because when I get them in my hand, I'm going to go crazy with them and catch you up on all the production happenings thus far.

Was very happy to see a short article on the movie appear in The Hollywood Reporter last week and it reminds me that I've got to introduce lots of folks to all of you who've been following the blog.

Don't worry, I'll be working overtime on the blog when I'm not doing double duty between my daytime occupation as Clark Kent and my nights and weekends gig as SuperProducer for Battle.

Thanks for checking in and definitely stay tuned as there's a big casting announcement happening this week that we're all excited to share with everyone.

Martin Kelley
Producer, Battle

Getting WREK tommorrow

What a week we've had.

We shot a lot of performance scenes at the Eyedrum this week and I want to take a moment to praise all the extras who came out...you all seriously SHUT IT DOWN!

Amazing work by all of you. It really created the atmosphere we envisioned when we wrote the script. Thank you so much.

Also, special thanks to Dres Tha BeatNIK as well in the role of Mighty Mouth...it was a demanding week for him as he was in almost all the performance footage. Excellent work DRES! Hope he blogs well of the experience.

The best part is that I got to peek at some of the footage thus far...AWESOME stuff!

Eddie and I are very excited. Hope to get pictures up soon for y'all.

However, tommorrow we resume and at my alma mater, Georgia Tech at the famous WREK radio station.

Plus we get to work with up-and-coming Rapper TRIMM from the might Battery 5 camp.

If you're into an eclectic mix of music...check out the station.
http://www.wrek.org/

and as always, stay tuned...there's a lot more news to come.

Martin Kelley
Producer, Battle