Latest / CINEMACTIVIST / S03E01 - Meet The Holy Ghost
Transcript
- John C. Lyons: Welcome back. Welcome back everyone. This is John Lyons and you are listening to Cinema Activist Season Three. Today's episode, I'm going to catch you up on a new feature film project, The Holy Ghost. There you go, the Holy Ghost. Before we get to that, let's take a little trip down memory lane. Before we but before we get to that, let's take a little trip down memory lane. Just start again. And we're back. Hi, everyone. This is the Cinema Activist Podcast, and I'm your host, John Lyons. Today in episode one of season three, we are going to get you up to speed on a new feature film project that I'm working on called The Holy Ghost. But before we get to that, let's take a little trip down memory. So in twenty twenty, our previous feature length film Unearth. Had made its film festival debut at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal. It would have been amazing to have gone there. But this was in the heart of COVID, and that wasn't going to happen. This was back when film festivals were all virtual and it was a mixed bag of emotions. Of course, we were extremely happy. To have made a top-tier festival, the biggest genre festival in North America. It was a great honor. It was amazing. And it really set things in the right direction for Unearth. But we had to zoom in remotely for our QA's, and people had to watch the film over virtual cinema. This is the trailer for Unearth, if you haven't seen it before. Shout out to Greg MacLennan who cut that trailer. It was very helpful in the promotion of the film and ⁓ made the film look good. So this is some footage actually ⁓ from the release of the film. We did have a theatrical release, Lanley Theaters ⁓ had it at two locations. This is the QA. Again, this is time ⁓ time of COVID. ⁓ with masks and social distancing. There's Adrian Barbeau meeting with some of the fans. ⁓ this was our second screening. And then this was our ⁓ local premiere at the Sunset Drive In in Waterford. ⁓ Mark Blucas came out for that. Here's Mark talking. I don't have sound on this, so ⁓ I'm just gonna talk through it. Yeah again outdoors. drive ins. I'm so happy that there were drive-in movie theaters. ⁓ then at the Erie Horror Fest we had a special screening. ⁓ it was hosted ⁓ by ⁓ some awesome folks. This is our screening at MoMA. We're there with Adrian again. This is Jane Saunders, the composer. Yeah, so that was pretty cool too. What is the name of their podcast? Son of a biscuit. We'll look it up. Movie Odyssey. Right. Movie Odyssey. So shout out to him for making the film look awesome, which helped a lot. Absolutely helped a lot. In addition to that, ⁓ we had some posters. ⁓ the poster on the left, which is also behind me on my wall, is from artist Christopher Shy Fantastic work. I'm not sure who made the ⁓ overseas poster, so I can't give them a shout out. ⁓ it may have been ⁓ One of our distributors there, Signature Entertainment, I'm thinking. May have come up with that poster. now I'm gonna show you some footage from the release of Unearth. Keep in mind this is during the time of COVID. ⁓ Laemmle Theaters, they're awesome, independent theaters ⁓ out west. This is us at the premiere, ⁓ all masked up. Of course, social distancing. These are in the days when you had to have six empty seats in between each person. It was wild. Here's Adrienne Barbeau with her fans. ⁓ this was another screening that we had in LA. This is our local Pennsylvania premiere at the Sunset Drive In in Waterford. So thankful for drive in movie theaters. It was a awesome ⁓ venue to show a film, ⁓ like this. And ⁓ Yeah, people could be outside, outside wearing masks, me and Marc Blucas crazy. Then at the Eerie Horror Fest, we had a reunion ⁓ with many members of the cast. it was hosted by ⁓ the host of a movie Odyssey podcast. Great guys. There's Allison and McAtee ⁓ we also had Rachel McKeon, Monica, and PJ there. Then we were selected to play at MoMA, which was amazing. unbelievable. Adrienne was there. Jane was there, our composer. ⁓ it was it was fantastic. ⁓ so all things considered, you know, opening a film during COVID, crazy. ⁓ it also added in a strange way, ⁓ different layers to that film as people are getting sick in the film and coughing and sneezing and things like that. ⁓ you know, it really kind of recontextualize things in the time of COVID. ⁓ okay, so that was Unearth and that was in 2020 and 2021. as I said, the film had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, which was a huge help. ⁓ it was distributed across the globe. We got both a domestic and an international sales agent. ⁓ You can listen to the previous episodes of this podcast for more information about sales and distribution and how that worked out for us. so also in 2021, writer Shiara Pettis and I started to work on Unleash, which is the standalone sequel to Unearth. We continued working on that through 2022. we've since finished. That script. And it is camera ready. ⁓ we've got a budget for it. We've got a production schedule for it. ⁓ you can again listen to ⁓ season two of this podcast to hear more information about Shira, ⁓ my co writer, and about that project. ⁓ Unearth incidentally was originally conceived as a six episode limited series. ⁓ The first film Unearth is essentially episodes one and two of that series. Unleash would be three and four. It takes the story ⁓ into downtown in a city and has new protagon new protagonists, higher stakes, bigger budget. I hope that one day we get to make this film. I'm really passionate about these topics of our relationship with the environment. And ⁓ cover-ups and government selling out. The timing just hasn't been right so far. And so back to the Holy Ghost. So the Holy Ghost originally is based on a story that my partner Dorota Swies told me ⁓ from her childhood. So she is from Poland and Poland, ⁓ a very Catholic, integrated, ⁓ Country and society. And she told me about when at a very young age she had to confess for the first time. and how that is was a terrifying experience. So imagine, you know, a young seven or eight-year-old ⁓ girl sitting in the confessional ⁓ with a much, much older ⁓ You know, priest on on the other side and how that always stuck with her. And I thought that was fascinating. And that was kind of the ⁓ starting point for the Holy Ghost. I thought about, you know, revisiting that, working it into something at some point. So in 2022, as Shiara and I were working on Unleash the sequel script, I was also meeting with a producer. Who had recently moved back to the Erie region. And she and I were kicking around various ideas ⁓ dealing with religious themes. We had an idea that we were calling Nightmare in Eden. ⁓ and this is one of those early sparks. ⁓ it was a story about a small group of people that awoke on a beach, they didn't know each other, ⁓ sort of like a lost setup. Factions formed. There was a lighthouse in the distance. And when they entered the lighthouse, it revealed their true selves and their secrets. So that was kind of an early spark. ⁓ and then Melissa Troutman and I ⁓ were working on the documentary Lake Erie Our Kin for PBS ⁓ with Jesse James, and we had an idea for a documentary or a docuseries based around the theme of consent. And we were kicking that around as well. And that was another spark ⁓ related to the Holy Ghost early on. So yeah, so you take the situation of a young girl ⁓ having to confess her sins, and then these ideas of consent and you know, the world that we live in now and and rampant corruption were all kind of percolating. And I began writing the Holy Ghost script ⁓ in the fall of 2023. I finished the first full 97-page draft in on December 28th, actually while we were vacationing for Christmas holiday in New York City. I didn't return to that script again until the winter of 2024. Again during Christmas holiday in New York, interestingly enough. I remember actually posting on Patreon about this. ⁓ when we go to New York, we take the Amtrak train and it's a very long ride. It's about ⁓ 10 or 11 hours and usually with a lot of delays. ⁓ that's our public transit system ⁓ here in in the United States, right? And taking the Amtrak and you know kind of having that repetitive motion and needing something to do while you're you're spending your time in transit. And I found that working on ⁓ this script was definitely a good good time and a good thing to do on those long journeys. So early this year in 2026, I performed some minor tweaks to the script based on ⁓ some feedback from recent readers It's now at ninety-four pages, but it doesn't really sign ⁓ differ significantly from those earlier drafts. ⁓ this is a bit odd in my screenwriting experience. Usually it's a long, lengthy process over years, and it's a lot of working and reworking and revisiting and rewriting and writing. this one, as I said, I I worked on it for a few months, completed the, you know. ⁓ First draft, ⁓ revisited a year later. And ⁓ yeah, it just kind of came out of me and and that's the way it is, and people seem to like it. ⁓ another early inspiration for sure was the solar eclipse in April of twenty twenty four. Erie, Pennsylvania was one of the best places to Excuse me, Erie, Pennsylvania was one of the best places to view this eclipse. Erie, you know, it's one of those situations where you know, you have a great opportunity for tourism and a lot of people to come to your city. And ⁓ there was a lot of buildup for the event, but then Erie weather being Erie weather, ⁓ The forecast was was for a cloudy day. I mean, it's April in northwestern Pennsylvania. Chances of it being a cloudy day are really high. But we kind of ⁓ got down on ourselves and ⁓ you know, in a way didn't necessarily turn people away, but let's just say going downtown on that day, on that historic event, ⁓ on this natural wonder, ⁓ even the Potential opportunity to see it. ⁓ we didn't really do ourselves any any favors ⁓ as we got close to the date. And I think a lot of people went elsewhere. So I went downtown ⁓ with my black magic camera and ⁓ just kind of walked around and captured the vibe. ⁓ I'll put some of that footage ⁓ in here while I'm talking, ⁓ just so that you can check it out if you're watching this. ⁓ but yeah, it ended up working out great because you know, the sun came out and the clouds parted just an hour or so before the event, and it was really an amazing sight. And I wanted to capture that and really capture it in camera in the moment because I'm hoping to use ⁓ a lot of this footage and ⁓ base it on recreations for the film. The Holy Ghost, because ⁓ there is this turning point in the script that happens during a solar eclipse event in the fictional downtown city of the script. Yeah. Actually, in a February 2023 post on my Patreon page, I said, and I quote myself here, I've been outlining I've been outlining a script for a while now that would feature this eclipse as a major turning point in the story. Now that the Unleash script has been turned over to a group of trusted readers and producers, I'm itching for writing a new project, and this might be the one I am most attached to at the moment. I've been calling the project the Holy Ghost. The act of contrition, the film hacks and I've been calling the project the Holy Ghost. So what is the Holy Ghost about? I'm gonna pull up some of my materials here that I'm ⁓ I've been using ⁓ in various forms of pitch decks and presentations. So the story of the Holy Ghost is a coming of age story that follows Lily, a devout young woman raised in a strict Catholic community, as she navigates the complexities of faith, morality, and systemic hypocrisy. When the lily's when Lily's worldview is shattered by the tragic death of her best friend and the corruption she uncovers within the church, she finds new purpose for her. By exacting justice and retribution on the system that has failed her and those she loves. When Lily's worldview is shattered by the tragic death of her best friend and the corruption she uncovers within the church, she finds new purpose by exacting justice and retribution on the system that has failed her and those she loves. As her true identity is revealed, will she embrace it or succumb to madness? So that's basically the overall story synopsis. I also will share here some themes that will provide ⁓ some additional context. We've allowed ourselves to become complicit in the depravity and theft perpetuated by the Epstein class, enabled our systems to be infused with Christian nationalism and might makes right ideology. And accepted the normalization of corruption at levels never before seen in human history. The Holy Ghost is a bold and emotionally charged thriller that delves into universal themes of faith, morality, and justice. Its character-driven narrative is a commentary on power and the limits of a resilience when confronting a diseased society. The script distinguishes itself through its biting commentary. Lily, whose internal monologues are delivered in a provocative, unfiltered manner, would find herself at home with American Psycho's Patrick Bateman and Fight Club's narrator. I also include in the packet, which I'll share here as well, a little bit about ⁓ the Holy Ghost aesthetic that I ⁓ titled Duality. The Holy Ghost aesthetic will reflect the duality of characters and situations within the narrative. Similar to David Lynch classics like Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, our film will feature a visually striking, often surreal look characterized by a stark contrast between Seemingly idyllic imagery and disturbing dark undercurrents, creating a sense of increasingly unsettling beauty and hidden darkness. And then as far as some style ideas for the film, which I'll be talking about here soon with a co director and cinematographer. the slide I've titled Immersive. The Holy Ghost will utilize wide angle lenses to capture the majesty of our locations, shifting recognition beyond and towards the consideration of something greater, while also bringing the viewer into the skewed worldview of our protagonist, Lily. This will create the sense of a deeply immersive and naturalistic experience, while also allowing for intimate close ups of our characters, essentially making the audience feel like they're part of the environment. By exaggerating the scale and perspective of the surroundings, this technique will also contribute to the film's sense of realism and raw emotion. And I've included ⁓ some screenshots here as well in the deck, ⁓ from some of Terrence Malick's films, ⁓ I think mostly they're from. All right, so that gives you a little background on the Holy Ghost. Yeah, so that gives you a little background on the project The Holy Ghost. Obviously, through the course of this podcast, I'm going to be having a lot of guests on ⁓ to talk about varia various aspects of this project. and you know, to keep you updated on on where we're at and where we're going. we have at this point ⁓ So, as I mentioned in the introductory podcast episode, I am fundraising for this project and for our next tethered immersive experience. ⁓ in the upcoming episodes, I will share with you the progress ⁓ that we're making there as far as fundraising. But I will share that I've been meeting one-on-one and in small groups with potential investors for this film, and we're making good progress. I hope ⁓ the next time that I jump on here and record something specifically related to this project that ⁓ I can give you some solid information about ⁓ how far we are in that funding goal and where things are looking as far as the timeline for production itself. In addition to ⁓ meeting with these potential investors, I'm also quietly meeting with people who would ⁓ be potentially heads of department. ⁓ And helping out with ⁓ securing locations and and things like that. The big location to find is a church, which is probably going to have to be a ⁓ deconsecrated church because of the material of of the story. ⁓ it doesn't pull any punches ⁓ when it looks at power of all sorts and uses Lily in her. small community and ⁓ her relationship with the church ⁓ to tell ⁓ a bigger story ⁓ about corruption through this small lens of of her community situation. ⁓ I'm very excited about this film. It's a thriller, dark comedy, and ⁓ yeah, it's a different voice than I've ever written in before. I've never ⁓ been one to heavily use voiceover or narration. And this one leans very strongly into that. ⁓ that's why I reference in the deck American Psycho and Fight Club, both of those films. ⁓ their their structure and their style, I would say, are very much inspirations ⁓ for the Holy Ghost. So yeah, that's your that's your primer or primer. ⁓ of the Holy Ghost. And I'll be back next week to give you some background on Tethered and what that project is looking like. And then we will be having our first guest on, and I'll share more information about her as a little tease in next week's episode. As always, like and subscribe. wherever you podcast and on YouTube. And this is a link to my web. And this is a link to all things cinema activist. Thank you so much for listening. We'll be back soon.