Outtakes

Hey everyone

we have had a few issues, leading to more delays, but we are very close to having a finished episode of popcorn done, we just need some work to be done on the sound and a little colour correction, we are hoping to get it online very soon, possibly in the new year

thanks to everyone who gave us feedback on the first 8 minutes we posted, we have already taken some on board and made some changes, the whole thing runs a minute shorter and the pace is a lot better

anyway to keep you ll interested, heres a vid with some great outakes from the cast of popcorn, enjoy!!

New trailer 2 online...

The brand new trailer for popcorn is online, and we are now counting down to the launch of popcorn which will be online on friday 9pm 26th November.

check out the trailer and lets us know what you think via our facebook page


Andy

New interviews online

Hey everyone

We have all new interviews online, three with me and producer James chatting all things popcorn along with interviews from all the cast, see below and tell all your friends

Andrew Kinsella and James Thomason part 1



Part 2



Part 3




Karl Schofield



Dave Firth


Tony Eccles



Helen Pawson



Danny Kenwright



Amy Nichols

Filming - day 4

So day 4...

the final day of filming for most of the cast. This comprised of shooting a couple of staff room scene (both the first and last scenes) and then the imperlal march scene, with Jim's lightsaber show.

It turned out to be some of the best stuff we have shot

On the downside we had problems with the lights again, why do £25 light bulbs blow so easily, but s always we worked around it

All thats left to film is some exterior shots and cutaways, one scene with Lizzy, and the opening titles which should be fun to do

more to follow

Andy

POPCORN - trailer 1 now available online

Hey everyone,

just gonna let the trailer do the talking, hav a look and let us know what you think via the facebook group

filming - day 2 and 3

Okay


so filming is still going well. Got some really great stuff shot on day 2 and day 3. We did of course have a few problems, the tango ice blast machine which is killing the sound for one, but it has been switched off now (despite us being told it has to remain on, and I didn't do it before you think that)

In terms of the scenes, we had to reshuffle things, again the weather scuppered some plans we had to film outside, so that will be done next week, and if we hadn't of had to cancel a day in the first week we would nearly have everything done, but things never go that smooth

A quick word about the cast, who I will talk more in detail about in a future post, but I just want to say how amazing everyone has been, and how lucky we have been to find this cast. I think everyone is so well suited to their character, and hopefully you will see that in the finished product

Also a big thanks to Michelle Barlow. Michelle came on board as our director of photography and has been done a great job with everything, despite not feeling very well.

anyway that's it for now, the picture shows a great scene where holes is trying to weight lift a Oscar statue, one more days filming next week so ill keep you posted

Andy

Filming - Day 1

Ok, so the day has finally arrived. The cast and crew are off to the Plaza cinema in Crosby, Liverpool to commence with filming

Overall we had a great day. The cast were fantastic. We shot the first scene, which is by far the longest scene in the sitcom, almost 6 pages, and it took use about four hours. It was really hard work, but we knew it was the hardest most complicated scene so great to get it out of the way

We then shot a couple of scenes in the foyer, With Dave and Danny showing off their robot dances, and Amy showing she can brush up popcorn with the best of them

The only major issue we had on day one was one of the bulbs blowing in one of the lights, and we didnt have a replacement eeek!! So we are one light down already, but already sorted out a replacement

All in all a great days filming, roll on day 2

Keep posted for more news and check out the facebook group for more pictures of the filming




Andy

Rehearsals

So Rehearsals were yesterday

I just want to start by saying how amazing (or awesome, you pick) it was to get the whole cast together for the first time. We have had so many read throughs with different combinations of people, including ones where producer James is reading about 4 parts, but it was great to get all the main cast together



I was really happy with the way things went and really happy with everyones performances. We had a riot and the only worry is that we will be able to stop laughing at each other long enough to shoot this piece of shit, but i'm sure that wont be a problem, after all, we are are all professionals ;-)

So we finally start filming tomorrow, which cant come soon enough, its been a long haul to get to this position, so its so exciting to be finally doing it

We all need to just go away and practice our robot dances and our duh-duh-derderderder-duh-derderderder's of the imperial march!!

roll on tomorrow


Andy

What's that coming over the hill....................is it a Wookiee?

Hey everyone



A bit of news on the music front, we have secured quite a few really good local bands to use as a soundtrack to popcorn, We are just in the process of deciding on actual songs, but the most recent to come on board and the first that we have decided the exact song we want to use are the Wookiees. The Wookiees are a four piece band from Warrington and their song novacaine, seemed perfect for a segment we have in the opening part of popcorn. Also with popcorn being awash with star wars references, a band named the Wookies seemed like a perfect fit.

you can check them out on facebook and see when they are gigging near you

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6677284&id=503644675&ref=fbx_album#!/pages/The-Wookiees/280384335528



plenty more news to follow about other bands we have lined up, and rehearsals, so watch this space

Andy

cast changes!!!

Okay, little late as these changes in cast were made a while back, but its good to finally reveal the full cast. Noel and Rosie had to leave the prodution and we wish them both the best of luck for the future. Rosie is currently working on a show called elastic bridge that can be seen at the Salford lads club http://www.quaytickets.com/WhatsOn/EventDetail.aspx?EventId=5810

So now playing the role of Lizzy we have Helen Pawson, Helen is a really talented actress who has recently appeared in a music video for the band exit state and a feature film called creepsville. Helen has really impressed us so far and we look forward to working with her on popcorn



Next up playing the role of Charlie we have Karl Schofield. After much deliberation we decided to go for a younger Charlie in the production, and make him more of less the same age as the rest of the characters, and we think Karl will be a great choice to bring that character to life. Karl has done numerous short films, and we worked with him before. He played the character of Barry in the film Doggin i wrote and directed last year, so welcome aboard Karl, but no dogging in this film im afraid!!!



and just out of interest, you can see Karl in dogging action below!!!

Doggin'short film from Andrew Kinsella on Vimeo.

So thats it for the new cast, its great toi finally get everyone together and i'll have some news about rehearsals very soon

Andy K

theme music

Okay, so a little information about the music for the opening titles to popcorn. I'm really excited about working with the Thinman project again, they did some awesome crazy electro zombie march to the night of a million deaths trailer I did a while back




The Thinman Project are a three piece synth project based in Manchester. Fueled by a mutual love of freaky soundtrack music, synthpop and italo disco, the group have been writing and recording since 2008.

Available for bespoke soundtrack work, email thethinmanproject@googlemail.com

Join the Facebook group here
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Thinman-Project/32520538006




heres the guys hard at work!!!! so check out there stuff, I have heard a rough version of the theme music, and think its going to be amazing!!! cant wait


more news to follow...

Andy

The old drawing board!!!

Okay, so first post for a while. We had a few setbacks which has put us back a little bit, but everything is rocking again now. We have some really exciting things happening at the moment, and I have some news to post about the website, the theme music, logos and posters we are having designed and also a few changes in cast

All these will be revealed in the next week or so. A lot of people have been working hard, and we will now be filming in mid-September, we hope to confirm these dates in the next few days

A quick note on potential funding. We had a meeting with north west vision and media in Liverpool last week which was a bit disappointing. They aren't investing in any new projects at the moment and say with the demise of the uk film council there isnt any money going around, so back to the drawing board for us

Anyway its not the end of the world, everything we have done so far has been self funded, and made with sweat, tears and hard work, and this will be no exception. The only problem we have is the scale and ambition of the project means, we do actually need money for props, but we will just be looking into alternative methods of funding (rob a bank?)

anyway keep posted for more information in the following days, and for those on facebook, join the group and add all your friends


Andy

Costumes and uniformity!!

Hey everyone

just a quick post to give you a little sneak preview of the uniforms and some costumes for the sitcom. The uniforms are blue polo shirts, designed by Elite designs in st Helens. They feature a popcorn logo and the name of the cinema that we are filming at, the PLAZA



We are really pleased the way they have turned out, I think the cast will look great in them

Also a sneak preview of the popcorn costume, this is like a promotional thing, where the staff have to dress in this and go and hand out flyers etc, again i think it looks great



so thats it for now, ill be posting againn very soon regarding rehearsals and also some exciting news about who is composing the theme music for popcorn

Andy

I WANT FUNDING!!!

that just about sums it up really!!

the search for funding isnt getting us anywhere fast, hopefully some might fall out of the sky, but at the moment, its looking as likely as a visit from little green men

However I'm not ready to give up yet. Despite us missing out on north west vision and media's deadline for the July meeting (the next available meeting is mid-August, even my dentist isnt that backed up with appointments) but im still feeling positive.

This week has been spent securing all the props, and im really happy with everything that we have got, although it has cost me a small fortune getting them all together, but at the end of the day, I only needed one kidney, so it's fine!!

wait...maybe I can sell my other to the visiting fund distributing UFO, then I could double my money....just a thought!!! am i looking a bit yellow????


more news to follow..........

logo-a-go-go

Hey everyone

got some great sneak previews of the staff uniforms for the plaza, think they are going to look great when we get them in the next week, this is a picture of the logo that will be on the polo shirts



So we are well on the way to having all the props for shooting in a couple of weeks time, the last few things will be obtained in the next couple of dayss, its getting very exciting

Rehearsals are this week, so ill will be posting some news about that, and hopefully some pictures towards the end of the week


Andy

As he faced the sun, he cast no shadow!!!

Okay, so we finally have details of casting. We waited aslong as possible to make the decisions, due to a number of issues, we were waiting on some people to make sure they were available, but I think we have gotten ourselves the perfect cast. Anyone who has read the script, I think you will find that these guys are going to be great for these roles, and Im soo looking forward to rehearsals next week, to finally get them all together as a group and get started

so first up may I introduce...playing the role of Lizzy (drumroll please)



Rosie Macpherson

Rosie will be playing the role of Lizzy, and is someone we were very eager to work with. She has done some great short films (search youtube for three little words to see her in the shortlisted virgin shorts film) aswell as television work and plays. Most recently she has been working on Baby cows Ideal with johnny Vegas and the play wishful thinking at the unity theatre in Liverpool



Next up playing the part of Nicole we have Amy Nichols. Amy is a talented young actress/singer currently studying at Warrington Collegiate. She has been in numerous plays at college and has recently been cast in the upcoming "believe"



Next up playing the role of Jim we have Tony Eccles. Tony was very impressive in auditions, and the fact that he was using his facebook status to quote lord of the rings, we knew he was perfect for the role of Jim. He may be a geek, but he's our geek.



Speaking of geeks, the role of Holes, king of the geeks, has gone to David Firth. Again, David was someone who impressed in auditions, and we are sure that he will be able to bring uber-geek Holes to life.



Next up, playing the role of the boss everyone loves to hate we have Noel Ross. Noel was perfect for the role of Charlie, very bubbly, fulls of beans, but given the right material (which hopefully we have plenty) someone who will come across as the new david brent.



and last but definitely not least, playing the womanising Dave will be Danny Kenwright. Danny is a liverpool based sctor studying at the liverpool media academy!!


So rehearsals begin next week, ill keep you posted via the blog

Riddles in the dark

Or why is a raven like a writing desk?

This makes my head hurt. So we held the final auditions on Thursday, and now we are just in the difficult process of actually deciding who we want to play the characters. As I said before, We had so many people interested, and thanks again to anyone that applied, and anyone who came down to audition. The fact that we met so many great people has made this much harder

It was very interesting to see peoples different take on the same character, and it gave me plenty to think abour. It always helps having read throughs to find out what works and what doesnt in the script

So, It's a riddle, or maybe a puzzle, much like a rubix cube, and I can only ever do the blue side!! but decisions will be made

So thats basically it for now, final decisions are being made today, actors and being contacted today, and within the next 48 hours, I will be posting the fianl cast on here

and then the real fun starts...

Andy

Auditions

Okay so we had auditions again today

I just want to start by saying a massive thankyou to anyone who applied and attended the auditions. The response we have had has been unbelievable, just actresses alone we must of had over 150 applications, which meant there was no way i had the time to reply to them all. So if you applied and never got a response, take it as a sign that i work too many hours and have no time rather than a reflection of your CV

anyway, todays buch were very good, very enthusiastic, and we had a greta day all round. Its great to see peoples different approaches to the same characters. Really gives me lots and lots to think about. We will be making final casting decisions in the next week, and I will post details of the cast on here

in other news. I want to welcome Michelle Barlow aboard, We met tonight and she will be working as director of photography on this project

thats me done for today, but ill keep you posted on further developments

Andy

conspiracy theories!!

So we went to visit the Plaza again today, took some pictures both interior and exterior to give everyone an idea of what the cinema is like

We spent our time there talking conspiracy theories, like blaming our mis-direction using the sat-nav on the manufacturers deals with oil companies, so they take you the longest way around via petrol stations so you have to buy petrol!!! and whether or not there is any storage units for traffic cones, or do they just move them from one part of the motorway to another constantly slowing us all down

but i digress... our main reason for the visit was to discuss filming dates (done) and meet with Becca who we were hoping would come on boared as another producer (done) so not a bad day all round

Auditions are next week, so details of casting will follow!!

in the meantime have a look at the pictures and you can start imagining what our little sit-com will look like

Andy

Location, Location, Location!!!

Okay

blog number one

Me and producer James have been searching for the location for our new sitcom, (enititled popcorn) for a while now with limited success!! We had the one in knutsford which wanted £11 per hour, which isnt bad, but we were looking at something that costs us nothing (hey, when you have no budget, you need to keep a close eye on the pennie), and the cinema in stockport, which were very enthusiastic about us filming there, and so where we, until they said it would be £100 per hour!! no wonder they were enthusiastic, sureley the bbc doesnt even pay that much (and if they do, no wonder all our licence fee goes so quick)

We also had cinemas in northwich and flixton, which look great from the outside, but completely unusable on the inside, (one is gutted and in a state of disrepair, the other has been converted into a dance studio)

anyway, they are just a couple of the bad news stories, but this is the good one. We came across the plaza in liverpool. Its a community cinema, run by volunteers, who do an amazing job, very friendly, nice people!! in others words, perfect!!

Me and james went along to have a look and it really is the perfect little independent cinema (take a look at the picture)

so we will start filming there next month, which will be amazing, and I will keep you posted on here. I'll also take a few more snaps to post on here as i go along

bye for now

Andy Kinsella