E. Roger Mitchell still in a "Battle" movie

Check this spot out...saw it on TV last night...around 30 second mark you start to hear a familiar voice "...these aren't meteors.." and soon you'll see our "Step Off" star E. Roger Mitchell.

http://www.movieweb.com/movie/battle-los-angeles/tv-spot

So, despite the name of our movie changing from "Battle" to "Step Off", E. Roger Mitchell can be seen in another movie called "Battle"..."Battle: Los Angeles" that is opening 3/11 just a couple days before "Step Off" comes out on 3/15.

Great work from a great actor!

Martin Kelley
Producer, "Step Off"



"Yeah, I gotta go help save the world from aliens right after this shoot. So don't make me late."

BATTLE TRAILER

Battle - Trailer from REEL ONE TV on Vimeo.

Beatmakers is Back!!!!!

Watch the Documentary that created the New Feature Film "Battle"

Cast Spotlight - Chris Burns!

CHRIS BURNS

With razor sharp focus and fierce tenacity, Chris has played various roles on stage from Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire to Cpl. Dawson in Aaron Sorkin' s A Few Good Men To the Dauphin Charles VII in George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan.

Recently, he played Max Arthur in The Lena Baker Story starring alongside Tachina Arnold and Michael Rooker. Chris also had the re-occurring role of Brad on the first original television series for BET "Somebodies", as well as being a series regular for the Cartoon Network Superdeluxe sketch comedy series Fark TV.

A true chameleon, Chris has not only acted in well over eighty film and television programs, he also has multiple credits as a Co-Writer, Assistant Director, and Producer. In 2006 Chris had the distinct pleasure of having not one, but three projects at Park City during the Sundance Film Festival.

His latest film projects include a lead role in Kely McClung’s action film Kerberos as well as a lead role as Jay in Reel One Entertainment’s Battle.



Chris rehearses scene at WREK



Chris Burns' wife Miracole also plays a role in "Battle" as the Beatmaker Lady-O

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

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"

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)