Otherwise Known As Kevin Miller (XI)

The "Hellbound?" summer tour--coming soon to a city near you

Summer is nearly here, which means the theatrical release of Hellbound? is only a few months away. As we put the finishing touches on the film, we're also ramping up efforts to raise awareness about Hellbound? and get people excited to see it this fall. In addition to the usual marketing channels, this summer my co-producer David Rempel and I will be hitting the road to promote the film at various festivals across the United States. Our first confirmed stops include:

• Spirit West Coast (Del Mar) - May 25-27
• The Wild Goose Festival (Shakori Hills, NC) - June 21-24
• Icthus 2012 (Wilmore, KY) - June 20-23

At most festivals, we'll be pretty easy to find. Just look for the big black tent with the word "Hellbound?" on it. We'll also be launching our new poster concept, video podcasting from each event, giving sneak peeks at footage from the film and handing out free swag, including the nifty little item pictured above. So if you're in the area, make sure you come out to meet us. We'll continue to post additional tour dates as they're confirmed.  

New Teaser Trailer for Hellbound? is now live

Lost, lonely and ignored

I'm talking about this blog. Lately I've been blogging at the official site for Hellbound?, but even that's taken a bit of a back seat as I focus on the rough assembly of the film.

This stage of post-production is a bit like being in labor, only it can last for months. I tend to become obsessed with the cut, even dreaming about it, until I finally complete the first draft. That's part of the reason I'm playing hockey right now. When I'm on the ice, my body is using all of its resources simply to keep my feet moving, so it's one of the few times my brain gets a break.

All that to say, I'm thinking seriously about shutting down this blog permanently. Although I would like to hold on to this URL, seeing it's also the name of my production company. I also have a huge body of work here in terms of posts and comments. So I'm not sure what to do with that either.

All that to say, don't expect many new posts to appear here for a while. And if this blog does survive, it'll probably become part of the corporate site for my production company--if and when I get around to creating it.

And I write this knowing only about 5 people really care, but I just thought I should have something up here to explain the apparent dormancy of this site--which has mostly become a receptacle for spam comments. Sure wish I knew how to block those at the source.

Get a sneak peek at the "Hellbound?" teaser trailer in Vancouver this weekend

We'll be screening a trailer for Hellbound? at a live event in Vancouver at 2:30pm on Sunday, January 29. Email for details.

Impress your friends! Provoke your adversaries! All with our new "Hellbound?" web banners

In the interest of pushing a few buttons--and enlisting you folks in helping us promote Hellbound?--over the next several days we will be releasing some new web banners that you can put up on your blog, Facebook page or the Westboro Baptists' web site. (If you can figure out how to hack into it.)

As you might guess from our first version, our banners will feature a rogues gallery of terrorists, mass murderers and dictators who would make almost anyone's list of the "Five People You Meet in Hell." All except the last one, that is. But more on that later...

Incidentally, the idea was inspired by news coverage of Osama Bin Laden's death last spring, which gave rise to several news stories like the one below, which expressed absolute certainty that Osama is in hell.

I'm not saying Osama isn't in hell (Who knows? And whose version of hell would he be in anyway?), and I'm certainly not condemning the all too natural feeling of elation and relief that people who were directly victimized by him felt upon news of his death.

However, I do want to provoke us into re-thinking our tendency to rush to judgment about anyone no matter how heinous their crimes. As my friend Archbishop Lazar Puhalo says, "It's always someone else who's going to hell."

Best of all, we're offering the banners in three sizes. Hint: The horizontal one should work just perfectly with Facebook's timeline layout. Just a thought...

To use a banner, all you have to do is right click on it and then choose "Save image as." And if you do post one, please let us know!

Want a sneak peek at the teaser trailer for "Hellbound?"

If you live in or near Vancouver, BC, you'll have a chance to watch an exclusive screening of our Hellbound? teaser trailer at a live event with the filmmakers on Sunday, January 29th. If you'd like to know more, just email us for details.

It's not Rolling Stone, but we made the cover!

Faith Today, Canada's answer to Christianity Today, has just released its latest issue, which features a photo from the production of Hellbound? on the cover.

I was interviewed for an article called Writing for Hollywood: How Canadians in the film industry bring their best to the big screen. In the article I champion the films of P. T. Anderson and sound a note of caution about buying in to myths of redemptive violence, among other things. (And BTW, I have no idea what Anderson's faith position is, contrary to how I'm quoted in the article.)

Give it a read!