Left to right: Ashleigh Lawrence, Jay Oliver Yip, Christopher Rithin and Andy Pierce

Through-out October the cast and crew of ‘Convention of the Dead’, took over the stylish 4* hotel in Bournemouth to shoot Kelvin Beer’s comedy-horror. A hilarious story in which three sci-fi fans that go to a comic book convention only to walk into the zombie apocalypse.

Christopher Rithin plays Errol. The uber, Star-Trek loving, retro game playing, thick rimmed glasses wearing geek. Along side him are the incredibly talented Asheigh Lawrence, Jay Oliver Yip and Andy Pierce. “Over the course of the month we all bonded very well, which was fantastic for the chemistry on screen”. Christopher, Jay and Andy all shared a room for most of the shoot. “It was Kelvin’s [the director's] idea. He wanted us to really get to know each other so we would have something genuine on screen. Lucky we all liked each other really”.

Most of the time they were joined by the locals of Bournemouth who were wonderfully enthusiastic in helping out anyway they can. This is where the magic happens – because the film really starts coming to life with zombies dressed as your favourite sci-fi/comic book characters and that couldn’t have happened with out the extras. They were fantastic!

“We had an amazing time. It was hilarious to work on. Laughing everyday, making scenes funnier as we developed them on the shoot with Kelvin, we are sorry to see it over – though we can’t wait to see the results”.

The Convention of the Dead team have said that the first teaser trailer should be out in December 2012 with it travelling the International Film Festival circuit before being distributed later next year.

To see more photo’s, clips and behind the scenes go to Convention of the Dead’s Facebook page – and Like what you see!

Photo By: Celeste Piraino

Friends, fans, and volunteers, such as Andy Pierce, are patiently waiting for the Uptown Theatre to throw open their doors to the people of Chicago.

“The project, when it begins, will take a year or more,” he said. “So we all will have plenty of time to pick out what we are going to wear to the grand opening.”

The historical building has sat empty since 1981, almost three decades ago. But with new ownership, some people question whether or not they will be able to restore the Uptown Theatre while still keeping its historical value.

According to Pierce, the intention of the present owners, Jam Productions, is to restore the building and use it for ticketed performances such as concerts and special events.

THE PRESENT

Jam Productions bought the building for $3.2 million at a forced judicial sale in 2008. According to Kathy McLeister of the Theatre Historical Society of America, the 46,000 square foot building needs a lot of work before it could ever reopen.

McLeister says the building is a hard hat zone. The terra cotta decoration on the outside of the theatre had to be taken down as the owners were afraid it would fall and hit pedestrians on the sidewalk.

With the excitement of the Uptown Theatre lighting up their neon sign once again, the buzz around the community is whether or not the new owners will rip out the original seats to make it a general admission.

The current auditorium hold 4,000 seats, all with very ornate siding.

“Personally, I would not be wild about that kind of concept but almost all theatres change with times to attempt to be successful in the market,” Pierce said. “No matter what, the Uptown will always be the Uptown.”

The removal or exchanging of the old seats for new ones might be necessary. As McLeister pointed out, seats made in the 1920’s were both shorter and narrower than seats concert goers are used to.

Besides the communities feelings towards the original seats versus new seats or no seats, Pierce goes on to say that the concept seems to have the support of local leaders and there’s been no recorded opposition.

Jerry Mickelson, of Jam Productions, told the Chicago Tribune he is currently trying to find a way to fund the kind of renovations that the building will need which he estimates to be $70 million dollars.

“No private entity could afford to put that amount of money into a theatre”, he told the Chicago Tribune. “The Uptown can only reopen with the necessary funding from the city.”

Public funding could be a possibility with Emanuel’s support of the project.

“If you look at it from the big picture perspective, which is what I think Rahm Emanuel and a lot of people are doing, that seventy million dollars translates to millions of other dollars that are going to be invested in the Uptown area,” Jorge said.

THE FUTURE

Although the front doors may be boarded and the giant marquee is left with only rusty letters and empty light-bulb sockets, according to the Chicago Tribune, the new owners and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel see the Uptown Theatre as a way to rejuvenate the north side of the city. Eventually, turning Uptown into Chicago’s entertainment district.

In the past, the Uptown area has been considered a “rough” neighborhood. But, according to the Aragon Ballroom event coordinator, Alex Jorge, the view of Uptown has gotten better over the years because live music is getting more attention, which draws an audience to the area.

THE PAST

Located on the corner of Broadway and Lawrence, the Uptown Theatre was once considered to be the best place in Chicago to see a movie. When it opened in August 1925, it was the place to see and be seen.

After its role as a movie and stage venue for fifty years, the theater became the spot to see concerts in the 1970’s. Uptown theater hosted everyone from classical performers in its prime to cultural icons such as Frank Zappa and the Grateful Dead in the seventies.

It was a walk through memory lane for Mike Rytie, an employee at Shake, Rattle, and Read, as he reminisced about his experience at the Uptown Theatre.

“I use to see concerts there,” he said. “I saw Bruce Springstein, Prince, and Bob Marley and the Wailers. I always had the best times at Uptown.”

But in 1981, after the owners were unable to afford to sustain the theatre, the pipes froze and busted leaving nothing but years of maintenance and vandalism. The only thing the owners could do was shut the theatre down completely.

Since the theater closed in 1981, it has been used as a location for scenes in movies such as Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The interior for the “Duncan’s Toy Chest” was actually shot inside the Uptown Theaters lobby.

Photo by: Celeste Piraino

Listen to an excert from our interview with Alex Jorge here.

Friends, fans, and volunteers, such as Andy Pierce, are patiently waiting for the Uptown Theatre to throw open their doors to the people of Chicago.

“The project, when it begins, will take a year or more,” he said. “So we all will have plenty of time to pick out what we are going to wear to the grand opening.”

The historical building has sat empty since 1981, almost three decades ago. But with new ownership, some people question whether or not they will be able to restore the Uptown Theatre while still keeping its historical value.

According to Pierce, the intention of the present owners, Jam Productions, is to restore the building and use it for ticketed performances such as concerts and special events.

THE PRESENT

Jam Productions bought the building for $3.2 million at a forced judicial sale in 2008. According to Kathy McLeister of the Theatre Historical Society of America, the 46,000 square foot building needs a lot of work before it could ever reopen.

McLeister says the building is a hard hat zone. The terra cotta decoration on the outside of the theatre had to be taken down as the owners were afraid it would fall and hit pedestrians on the sidewalk.

With the excitement of the Uptown Theatre lighting up their neon sign once again, the buzz around the community is whether or not the new owners will rip out the original seats to make it a general admission.

The current auditorium hold 4,000 seats, all with very ornate siding.

“Personally, I would not be wild about that kind of concept but almost all theatres change with times to attempt to be successful in the market,” Pierce said. “No matter what, the Uptown will always be the Uptown.”

The removal or exchanging of the old seats for new ones might be necessary. As McLeister pointed out, seats made in the 1920’s were both shorter and narrower than seats concert goers are used to.

Besides the communities feelings towards the original seats versus new seats or no seats, Pierce goes on to say that the concept seems to have the support of local leaders and there’s been no recorded opposition.

Jerry Mickelson, of Jam Productions, told the Chicago Tribune he is currently trying to find a way to fund the kind of renovations that the building will need which he estimates to be $70 million dollars.

“No private entity could afford to put that amount of money into a theatre”, he told the Chicago Tribune. “The Uptown can only reopen with the necessary funding from the city.”

Public funding could be a possibility with Emanuel’s support of the project.

“If you look at it from the big picture perspective, which is what I think Rahm Emanuel and a lot of people are doing, that seventy million dollars translates to millions of other dollars that are going to be invested in the Uptown area,” Jorge said.

THE FUTURE

Although the front doors may be boarded and the giant marquee is left with only rusty letters and empty light-bulb sockets, according to the Chicago Tribune, the new owners and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel see the Uptown Theatre as a way to rejuvenate the north side of the city. Eventually, turning Uptown into Chicago’s entertainment district.

In the past, the Uptown area has been considered a “rough” neighborhood. But, according to the Aragon Ballroom event coordinator, Alex Jorge, the view of Uptown has gotten better over the years because live music is getting more attention, which draws an audience to the area.

THE PAST

Located on the corner of Broadway and Lawrence, the Uptown Theatre was once considered to be the best place in Chicago to see a movie. When it opened in August 1925, it was the place to see and be seen.

After its role as a movie and stage venue for fifty years, the theater became the spot to see concerts in the 1970’s. Uptown theater hosted everyone from classical performers in its prime to cultural icons such as Frank Zappa and the Grateful Dead in the seventies.

It was a walk through memory lane for Mike Rytie, an employee at Shake, Rattle, and Read, as he reminisced about his experience at the Uptown Theatre.

“I use to see concerts there,” he said. “I saw Bruce Springstein, Prince, and Bob Marley and the Wailers. I always had the best times at Uptown.”

But in 1981, after the owners were unable to afford to sustain the theatre, the pipes froze and busted leaving nothing but years of maintenance and vandalism. The only thing the owners could do was shut the theatre down completely.

Since the theater closed in 1981, it has been used as a location for scenes in movies such as Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The interior for the “Duncan’s Toy Chest” was actually shot inside the Uptown Theaters lobby.

On Wednesday, Friends of the Uptown‘s Andy Pierce will pair up with Jam founder Jerry Mickelson to show the 26 minute documentary, and after it will discuss “discuss the theater’s history and its planned renovation.” The free presentation is Wednesday, July 1st, 12:15 p.m., at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, 224 South Michigan.

So, do any of you guys and girls know this kick-ass Swedish Sleaze band?
Well, I do! Or at least, I have heard one song of them called “Dead Boy” which was on the free cd “Sons of Guns III” from Classic Rock magazine. To make things simple, that song just rocks as hell. It was a perfect opener for the cd.

Check out their website for more info: http://www.unitedenemies.com/