The Reservist - Official Thread

DammitJanet

DammitJanet

Well-known member
MAJOR UPDATE: A sneak peek of The Reservist is available now!!! You can download the HD version here (92mb), or you can check out the YouTube version here. We hope this trailer makes you as excited as it makes us.

Sleep Soldier Films is proud to announce its debut feature, The Reservist. The film centers around an army soldier who is forced to come to terms with his own mortality, hopes, and fears before his own deployment to Iraq.

The film was written by Christopher Shank and will be directed by Blake Burress.

Shank will also serve as Director of Photography.

The film is loosely based on the life of Chris' brother Cpl. Jeremy Shank who was killed in action in Balad, Iraq on Sept 6, 2006. It is not just a tribute to Jeremy, but a valentine to the people of his hometown of Jackson, Missouri for their unwavering support.

The Reservist is currently in production.

If you would like to contribute (in any way) to the production of The Reservist with your time, talents, or expertise please contact the filmmakers at sleepsoldierfilms@gmail.com

Read our first bit of press here...http://www.semissourian.com/story/1193990.html

Stay tuned for more updates on the film...
 
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Bizzump.

Dude, words cannot describe how much I'm looking forward to this.

To all that may read this thread, if any of you be praying types, pray for this to go well. If not, just hope for the best. I know we're capable of making a feature film that will be a good film, but let's just hope that it would be something that my late brother would be proud of.

I look forward to keeping you updated.
 
I'm actually doing a revision of Chris' script right now. As soon as we've agreed on the changes we'll shoot you an email with the script attached.

Thanks so much for your interest.
 
This is the kind of story that needs to be told. In this case, especially that it's based on a real life event. Regardless of where you stand wrt. to this war, the real stories of real people affected by these historic events cry out to be told, and I feel like Hollywood has not done justice to this topic - at least not so far. I'm pulling for you guys, and will follow this closely. The best of luck!
 
Thanks, guys. Ya, OldCorpse, that's the same way I feel. We know that, depending on the person, the movie might come off as liberal OR conservative. But this is what it feels like to lose someone to war and this is how people react to it. It's an honest portrayal, which is, as you hinted to, lacking in other more well-known projects.
 
Happy to report that we had our last casting call last Sunday and we have almost all of the roles cast. There are only a few weeks of planning left before shooting begins. We want to thank all of you who have contacted us about the movie or offered to help in some way. We're very grateful for your support and we can't wait to show The Reservist to the world.
 
I was informed today that we got some more local press in OFF! Magazine. There was a nice picture and article, but unfortunately it's not published online. I'd scan it, but there really aren't any new developments in the article, and this isnt' really for scrapbooking. Anyway, I was unaware that they had picked up the story but naturally I'm thrilled. Response to the press so far has been overwhelming and we're almost ready to start shooting, so I guess there's not much more to say for now except stay tuned. :)
 
Looking forward to seeing what you do with this idea. My brother served in Iraq once, and may have to go back in September (Marines), so this story hits pretty close to home. Keep us posted! :)
 
Thanks a lot for the interest, everybody. We'll be sure to keep you posted with as many update journals and behind the scenes pictorials as we can manage. Stay tuned!

:)
 
DammitJanet said:
I'm actually doing a revision of Chris' script right now. As soon as we've agreed on the changes we'll shoot you an email with the script attached.

Thanks so much for your interest.
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I'm not sure if you have a film editor already worked out or if you could use any help in that department but I would enjoy going over the script either way as I have a friend being deployed to Iraq in a few months.
 
skippyfx said:
I'm not sure if you have a film editor already worked out or if you could use any help in that department but I would enjoy going over the script either way as I have a friend being deployed to Iraq in a few months.
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Hey, Skippy. Thanks a lot for your interest, but Chris and I are actually planning on doing the editing ourselves. If we have any questions or concerns in that area we'd be happy to get ahold of you if that's alright. We'll try and keep you posted on the film (stay tuned to this thread), and our prayers go out to you and your friend. Best of luck to him. :)
 
I just wanted to step in and say production starts in a couple of weeks. Chris and I have reached a final draft that we're both very happy with, and casting is just about finalized. I'm very stoked with the actors we have so far, so I think we're going to end up with a great movie.

Chris is in Washington D.C. this week doing some last minute research while I hammer out the remaining locations.

We're very excited about this, and we hope some of you are too.

--Blake
 
Well, we've got our schedule ready to go and we start shooting next week. I'll try to remember to get some grabs while we're out and about for you all to chew on. :)
 
I'm pleased to announce that we're shooting now and the visual aspects of the film are making me extremely excited. We're going to shoot some outdoor stuff tonight and I'll hopefully have a few grabs for you all soon. Stay tuned!

For those of you using the Canon XH A1, we've been using disjecta's preset VIVIDRGB for our outdoor stuff and the results have absolutely floored us so far! :)
 
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