Some Screenshots and official word on trailer

We've been talking about it and you may have seen the new flyers with the official website listed, www.battle-movie.com by the way, and we likely told you that the trailer will be released on New Year's Eve.

So, for anyone who didn't get the flyer and speak with us, here is the official word on the trailer. It will be released 12/31/09 by 6pm EST. So be sure to check it out.

Meanwhile I've put my hands on a few still frames from the movie.



Conrad "HeadROC" Clifton as Rippa in Battle



A beat battle featuring Dres Tha BeatNik, Errol Sadler and Joshua Tanksley



Onira Tares as Monique in Battle

So please be sure to log into the official site, again www.battle-movie.com, on New Year's Eve and check out the trailer for the movie.

thanks,

Martin Kelley
Producer, Battle

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

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.

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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