Who would expect someone to turn a series of films I co-wrote in 2013 into a Sony-backed streaming series in 2022?
Not me, that's for sure.
Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. The apocalyptic thriller, Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End, had already spawned a sequel and a half. I say a sequel and a half because the first two pictures were originally supposed to be one film. However, somebody decided it could easily be split into two with the addition of a few new scenes in the second one. Hence Revelation Road 2: The Sea of Fire and Glass. Work began on the script for the third film in the trilogy, Revelation Road: The Black Rider, before the second film was released. The films always had a devoted audience among those people who longed for a faith-based Mad Max.
Still, a new streaming series financed by Sony to run on their Pure Flix service?
I have to give a lot of credit to writer/director Gabriel Sabloff. He always had faith in the series. I would periodically see hints and hopes that there was going to be a fourth film or a series on his Facebook page over the years. I must also credit Pinnacle Peak co-founder David A.R. White, who played the lead in the films. David, whom I used to affectionately call the ultimate hyphenate for all of the hats he wore on our films, primarily sees himself as an action star. Therefore the Revelation Road films, and now the series, suit his needs perfectly.
Still, I have to give most of the credit for the existence of this series to one man: Super Producer John Shepherd.
John is a well-established producer in the faith-based arena. I was familiar with his work before I got a call from him late last summer. He had been hired by Pinnacle Peak to wade through its library of intellectual property to find things that PureFlix's new owner Sony would want to develop as a streaming series.
John quickly focused on the Revelation Road films. They are somewhat unique. The action genre is seriously underrepresented in the faith arena. Additionally, dystopian stories are currently very popular on streaming. Revelation Road combined both aspects. Just as John surmised, Sony was very interested in pursuing the project. However, being a responsible corporate entity, they wanted to make sure that all of the contracts and intellectual property rights were in order. They weren't. In order to produce the series, they needed my signature.
That's why John called me: To get my signature on a piece of paper.
That would not be an easy task. I wasn't initially inclined to work with Pinnacle Peak again as a result of a contractual dispute regarding the original Revelation Road films. Still, John got the job done. How? Easy. He gained my trust. The world of faith-based filmmaking is very small. Everyone doesn't necessarily know everyone, but none of us are more than one or two degrees of separation from the other. After that first call, I reached out to people we knew in common.
Everyone had nothing but respect for John. They liked him. I found myself feeling the same despite my initial ambivalence. John and I talked many times and I was impressed by his candor. Trust me, candor is not a virtue rewarded in Hollywood. Candor usually gets you in trouble, but it won me over.
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| David AR White with Yours Truly |
Eventually, we hammered out a great deal which happily more than addressed my all of my previous contractual difficulties with Pinnacle Peak vis-à-vis the original Revelation Road films. I even got the right of first negotiation concerning a graphic novel based on the series Sony wants to pursue. Sadly, I would not be writing any scripts this season. Gabe had already written them. I am being paid to write only three words on a contract: Sean Paul Murphy.
Nice work, if you can get it.
I don't know what screen credit John Shepherd will receive on the finished product, but I can tell you it would not have happened without him. Additionally, he helped reduce my cynicism about the faith-based film industry. I am absolutely delighted to be working with Sony and PureFlix. I've heard nothing but good things about them and I believe I was treated with the utmost fairly and respect.
I must also add it was very pleasant dealing with Pinnacle Peak's Head of Production Anna Zielinski. She went out of her way to make sure all everything proceeded quickly and smoothly despite some errors I made. I first met her years ago as an actress at a Boston film festival for the premieres of Jerusalem Countdown and The Encounter. She later produced and starred in the film Marriage Retreat, which I co-wrote and edited. In the misogynistic world of Hollywood, I was happy to see that she rose to the rank of Head of Production. Kudos.
Maybe I've been too hard on Pinnacle Peak. They certainly did everything they could to address my concerns on this project.
Revelation Road is currently shooting in South Africa. I wish Gabe and David and the rest of the cast and crew a safe and successful shoot. I can't wait to see what they come back with. The stills I've seen online look fantastic. I'm sure the fans will be delighted.
I hope the show runs for ten years.
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| David AR White, Madison Gibney, Jamie Nieto, Your Truly, Anna Zielinski and half of Carey Scott |
By the way, I must also thank John for appearing on the Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast to talk about starring in the horror classic Friday The 13th Part V: A New Beginning and how that role ultimately led to his career in faith-based films. That was very kind of him.
Check out the episode here:
Here are the trailers for the Revelation Road films:
Check out my novel Chapel Street. It is the story of a young man straddling the line between sanity and madness while battling a demonic entity that has driven his family members to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting my family experienced. You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.
Listen to me read some chapters here:
Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3
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For the record, it was not my idea to split the first movie into two parts. I wanted to keep it as one film. :)
ReplyDeleteSorry Gabe, I was misinformed! Thanks for the correction!
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