Venetian Heat

[jadea]

It's indeed sad news to hear that VH won't be coming through I hope James will soon find another good film project, sigh.

[whimsicalnotion]

Hey guys.

I just wanted to let you know that I've spoken to Jon Renard the producer to ask if the fans could do anything in helping to get the financing for this movie to go ahead. He gave me permission to let James fans know that the movie should go ahead and he's going to let me know if there's anything we can do next week.

So how about it? If it's needed who's willing to make a small donation?

Buddy

[PokerKitten]

Hi Buddy. Whilst I admire your get-up-and-go, I am sorry to say that I don't think a small donation has any point to it. I have heard of producers inviting Joe Public to invest in a movie project, although I don't know how successful their efforts have proved to be. For the cast to be paid decently, for production values to be reasonably high, for location filming etc, and ending up with a movie that stands a chance of decent distribution we are talking more than a few bucks.

Amber did it this way with "Chance", okay. But she was making an experimental first movie using a digicam and with no hopes of it getting properly released and the participants not being paid. Venetian Heat is aiming to be much bigger scale. Many many movies get this far and then falter because of lack of the large financial backing they require. Doesn't mean it is forever thwarted, but they'll have to "do the rounds" again to get the players interested. Actually, it always struck me as the type of project that would do well coming out of the FilmFour stable...

HOWEVER, if they do choose to look at this way of at least partially financing the movie, they would do well to target the Pink Pound/Dollar.

And if email/letter support for the project would help sway wavering backers and reassure them that there would be a market for the movie - think of the Dresden Files campaign - then I am sure many people would be willing to participate, JM fans being just a small minority I should imagine.

[whimsicalnotion]

Hey Pokerkitten.

Thanks for replying.

I would agree with you entirely if they needed to raise *all* the money needed to get this movie made but they don't.

My idea was based on the concept that if the public (eg James fans) were willing to help raise some of the cash if it were needed, it might encourage further investment from those who have greater funds available. James has a lot of fans and if enough people were willing to donate, their willingness to see the movie made would hopefully carry a lot of weight in letting would be financiers know it would be a good investment in terms of bums on Cinema seats, not mention video and DVD sales.

It shouldn't be necessary because Jon Renard said that he's confident the movie will be made one way or another, which is great news.

I know there are other methods of raisng awareness and the email/letter campaign you mentioned is one of them and I think you're right about targeting the pink pound/dollar but I was just putting out a few feelers really and already I've had offers of donations and support.

Mostly I wanted to give people a happy with the news that the project isn't dead and buried.

Buddy

[PokerKitten]

I really do hope it goes ahead, and I would def pay to see it, whether or not James was still involved. I hope if it does happen at some future date he is still able to commit to it...

[PokerKitten]

Whoop whoop! Apparently the producer of VH says it is back on!! And with JM!! Even that they are constructing sets, as of next week.... If anyone has heard more, do tell!

[Cyrus]

Woohoo! We get to see James snogging a guy and possibly lots of his skin afterall! ;D
Now, to find the right guy for him...

[nightnurse]

;D And a big YAY from me!
Johnny Depp would be good!

[PokerKitten]

Too high profile. Besides, he does nothing for me, acting or looks wise

Okay, it was Buddy's (whimsical notion's) info that got us whooping and stuff. You can check out her LJ entry about it (14th Oct) here - www.livejournal.com/users/whimsicalnotion/

[PokerKitten]

Er... oops! I mean, I have met Buddy and I don't feel comfortable with folks casting aspersions like this. But sounds like she could have been hoodwinked...?!

Aria at MM contacted JM's management about VH and the "news" that had been going round from Buddy. here is what she says:

Hey Mobsters, I got a response back from James' management, they spoke to the producer of the movie & he has denied ever talking to anyone & saying any of this stuff, says the girl is fabricating the conversation because it never happened. Official word from James' camp is the movie is not happening where he is concerned, if they make it he's not a part of it.

PetiteMiel went on to say:

Hey Aria,
Thanks for checking on this. I also contacted them last night because I started to think this could be a scam for someone to get donations to finace a movie that wasn't going to happen.

Julie Caitlin Brown contacted me today and assured me of the same things you have already mentioned. I also asked them if they could place a statement on his official website to insure that James' fans aren't taken advantage of in this way and she assured me that they are going to place a statement on the site as I requested.

MM members can go look at this in the Venetian Heat thread in The Man, The Actor HERE Non-members will need to register first.

You can check out Buddy's reaction at her LJ - link given in a previous post. How very perplexing!

[PokerKitten]

Oh my goodness! This is getting silly! Check this out:

mwrgana.tripod.com/heat/news.htm

Venetian Heat - News Statement: 22nd October 2003

Over the last day or so, there has been an increasing amount of misunderstanding and misinformation appearing on several boards concerning the current state of play of Venetian Heat.

One poster has claimed that Buddy's statement of last Friday was a total fabrication and that the film is not going ahead and that James is no longer involved in any way.

Trusting Buddy implicitly and feeling sure that she has enough fiction to go on with, without making up stuff that can be easily checked, I phoned Jon Renard this morning to find out just what the situation is.

The project is still alive but there are many complications with regards to the financing. As you are no doubt aware, the film business is very fluid and it is a world in which water flows up as frequently as it flows down - on a sound stage, no laws of physics can you hear you scream!

The situation, as regards updating the official web site is also complicated. Because he has nothing positive to report Jon has not wanted to post anything there - frustrating though it is to James's fans, the company's first priority when updating their web site is to be professional.Torchlight Pictures is a business and its web site is part of that business; cataloguing a series of changes and forthcoming possibilities is not the best way to present itself to possible investors.

I asked Jon if there was any truth to the latest assertion that James will no longer be involved whether the film goes ahead or not and also what the situation with Sean Bean is, this is what he told me:

~ Sean Bean is due to film Troy, with Peter O'Toole (latest news on this prodcution is that the sets were destroyed in the hurricance and have to be re-built so there is a delay there, too. See what happens when you play the Thane, Mr Bean...!);

~ James Marsters is filming Angel;

both actors are still interested in the project and, as long as they are available will be taking their original roles - Jon has spoken to both James and his management recently to confirm this.

Jon has asked me to thank all of you who have e-mailed him and apologises that he cannot reply to everyone. He is, I think, still reeling from the James-tsunami that has hit him. He is aware that James is the source of so much frenetic, web-community interest in the film and, while it has come as something of a shock to him, he very much appreciates it. He is not very web-minded, he says, and it has all come as rather a surprise that there is so much support for VH from people he never expected to be interested.

In the meantime, rather than flood Jon's inbox - unless you want to give him lots of money! - he would be grateful if you would send enquiries to James and Venetian Heat and I shall endeavour to reply with the latest news. I'd like to be on the phone to Jon every day but the important thing is to let him get on with the important work of final funding finding then we'll all be happy!

Keep checking here for updates,

Regards,

Mwrgana.



As I do so want to see this happen I shall put on my rosy specs and think happy thoughts until the next installment in the VH saga!

[nightnurse]

;D methinks all the convolutions in this tale would make a good film!

[PokerKitten]

And so it goes on... From the latest Angel mag Stateside:

Meanwhile, Venetian Heat, the film James was due to star in, has been delayed. James recently told Dreamwatch Magazine that it is now hoped production will take place in the summer of 2004.

That doesn't mean to say he has plans to be in it still... although he is obviously keeping informed about it.... oh the confusion! DO IT JAMES!!! ;D

[psychonetic]

Im really hoping this goes ahead. Ive not really seen James in any other roles but Spike. I want to see his other side and what acting capabilities he can pull off. This film would probably show what he can do and prove that he's versatile.

[Ditto]

James said yesterday at the con that films take years to get off the ground and he said specifically about Venetian Heat that he would have no problem playing a gay guy and I felt he said it was still in the pipeline but Deb is not so sure. Peeps can be at the same con and hear different things!!!! ;D

[PokerKitten]

Kristen from BAPS heard from the webmaster/mistress of the VH website that filming is now planned for September 2004 ---->
www.venetianheat.com/800/index.htm

Casting has not been finalised yet, and they said they were still interested in James doing it.

So long as it doesn't interfere with Halloween (lol), I say go for it James!

[PokerKitten]

Bringing over this extract from teenes Oakland Con report, and at the same time slapping Steve Himber hard. Why, for pity's sake?!

Venetian Heat - it's on again, off again, he thought it was forever gone, but then they called... he hopes they do do it, he thinks it's a great script and would love to do it, but his manager doesn't even want him to think about it right now. If the opportunity does come around, though, he would definitely consider it (which, IMO, is a total non-answer, b/c there's a long way between considering it and doing it).

[PokerKitten]

Ouch! In an email to a fan enquiring about James' new movie role, Steve Himber makes it absolutely clear it is NOT Venetian Heat, and that the VH producers have yet to prove they are legitimate producers who can make the film.

So don't hold your breaths gals

[PokerKitten]

Whoever thought that VH would raise its pretty, controversial head again, huh?! But Pasty at CDS spotted a new entry on JM's IMDb profile (however, we all know that almost any old body can tinker with IMDb info) -

Out of the Night (2008) (pre-production) (rumored).

And it lists cast:

Peter O'Toole ... Don Giorgio (rumored)

James Marsters ... (rumored)

Richard Roxburgh ... Franco

Raoul Bova ... Adriano

(Derek Jacobi was originally set to play DG, and James was Adriano, wasn't he, in Venetian Heat?)

When she investigated further, this is what she found:

intandem films

Quote:
Status: Pre-Production
Director:
CLAUDIO MACOR (director of the successful stage play)

Producer:
JON RENARD

Writer:
CLAUDIO MACOR

Principal Cast

MIRA SORVINO (Guiding Light, Mimic, Romy & Michelle’s High, School Reunion)
PETER O’TOOLE (Venus, Lawrence of Arabia, The Last Emperor, Troy)
JAMES MARSTERS (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Smallville)
RAOUL BOVA (Windows, Under The Tuscan Sun, Alien V’s Predator. Facing)
RICHARD ROXBOROUGH (Moulin Rouge!, Mission: Impossible II, Van Helsing)


Genre:

A tense, exciting drama played out against true events

Synopsis

Italy 1943. A young married couple subsist on their isolated farm, convinced that the war will never reach them. They go on ignoring the truth and ignoring the crisis in their marriage - until two deserters arrive demanding food and shelter.

Italy’s people and army are divided. On one side, deserters and partisans fight against those who a few days ago were allies, the Germans. Conversely some continue to fight for the Germans, who are now invaders and occupiers. This divide still exists to this day in the conscience of Italians as one of the most dramatic episodes of WW2.

In the area surrounding the farmhouse hate and betrayal set in. Close friends become spies and enemies. This explosive situation fuels the couple’s crisis and exposes their darkest secrets.

The husband falls in love with one deserter, awakening his hidden homosexuality, desperate to love amongst all this hate and death. At the same time the wife falls in love with the younger deserter. Out of the night come intense emotions that are allowed to take flight.

War is the greatest calamity, but also the spark needed to ignite passions. Past and future don't exist, it’s the present that’s important, when love, truth, passion, hate and death arrive.

That is most definitely a description of Venetian Heat, as was. But don't get too excited. Think about the previous kerfuffles over this movie's production and Steve H's rather damning words about the producers.

Still, the timing of this is interesting and it gives us some more handsome guys smooching to think about. I for one never get tired of that ;D

[Thanks to DeeDee for bringing this to my attention ]