NOTE: All of the following information, including plot, titles, and storyline are copywritten and WGA West registered.
Over the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th of May, 2009, we shot the first short movie of my “ROOM 333” mini series entitled: “ROOM 333: The Voice of Terror”. Although we had a low budget, the completed production looks outstanding! We used a “red camera”, shooting in HI Definition, and the colors are absolutely beautiful. My wife Sandra and I formed the small dba, ROOM 333 PRODUCTIONS and executive produced the film.
It’s a period film taking place in the 1930s. We found a fantastic hotel here in San Antonio called the HAVAVA INN on the Riverwalk. The place looks like it was specifically built for my film… just perfect.
The story involves a despicable, albeit beautiful divorced woman and her all-so-innocent eight-year-old daughter, Judy. They check into a hotel and of course, Room 333. Their purpose for being there is so daddy can pick up his little angelic Judy for his weekend with her. But what Judy doesn’t know is that mommy dearest has a plan… a very devious plan. While in the room Judy begins to hear a voice that only she can hear. It’s a frightening voice, filled with terror. But the voice tells Judy things; things she refuses to believe… until she orders room service. The bellboy is Ricardo, a haunting individual, who in actuality is the messenger of death. He tells Judy things that are almost precisely what the “voice of terror” has been telling her within the room. And then… the “fun” begins.
We located an eight-year-old actress in San Antonio named Eva, and asked her to read a few scenes from my script after briefing her on the story. We gave here about thirty minutes to rehearse with her mother and then sat her at a table across from her mother who read the part of the story’s devious mother. We filmed the table-read with a simple hand-held camera. After splicing the various parts she read, and adding some stock haunting music over it, we sat down and watched the little girl at work. I must tell you, I knew every line of dialogue and every-single-thing that was going to happen because I wrote the screenplay. However, this little actress scared the living hell out of all of us! Her range from adolescent innocence to catatonic rage was unbelievable. We also located a wonderful actress named Mary Murphy from New York who was excellent in the role of mommy dearest. Mary is a true professional and any writer and director would be proud to have her working on one of their projects.
We had a hard-working crew of 35 people who worked 14-hour days for almost four straight days. My wife and I were not only amazed at their professionalism, but their absolute dedication to our project. Robert Lopez, the owner of Raging Bull Films Inc, and the director, was truly amazing. He loved the script and stayed true to it during the entire shooting. Now this is a feat all screenwriters would love to see happen with their work!
We retained the services of a musician Robert knows to compose all the music for the film, and it proved to be an excellent choice because the music is absolutely wonderful. The piano sequences throughout the film are not only beautiful, but haunting, as well, in some specific scenes.
I've recently submitted the film into the 2010 Sundance, Berlin, Miami, Beverly Hills, and Boston film festivals. Our desires are to attract the right investors willing to not only purchase the film, but finance the remaining seven short "psychological thriller" screenplays in the Room 333 mini series, all to be filmed here in San Antonio. I strongly believe that cable TV networks such as HBO, Showtime, Stars, etc, will be greatly interested in my projects. Here’s hopin’!
Tuffy - October 10, 2009
