Part 4 of our series of short interviews with the film’s key cast. You can find Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 here.
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Hi, I’m Bel Deliá and I play the role of Natasha Warner in The Tunnel. We had such an enjoyable time working together as a cast on such an incredible shoot, that I thought it might be fun, in the spirit of the role I played as a journalist, to interview my fellow cast – ‘the boys’. We wanted to give you a look into what it was like on set & some of our most memorable moments.

So I asked each of them about some of their fondest memories… enjoy!
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James Cailtin plays Trevor Jones

B: The team on this movie seemed to be able to have fun constantly, even in trying moments. I remember after a trying 8 hour long audio ADR recording session in the sound booth when trying my best to making average strangulation sounds, I looked at Carlo, Carlo looked at me & I said: “why don’t you get in here & strangle me. He happily obliged! Do you have any funny stories from your time on the film?
J: For me it was working out a way to let Enzo Tedeschi know that I had broken two ribs while filming Trev’s scene. It’s funny because even I didn’t know I had done it until two days later!

B: What about the scares? Any of those moments on set?
J: The most frightening moment for me during filming was reliving Trev’s horrific memories of what he saw in the tunnels.

B: I think the cast and crew would all agree that all in all we had a good time around a wonderful crew on an inspiring film adventure. What’s your fondest recollection?
J: My fondest memory is thinking back and realising, from day one, that I was surrounded by dedicated and committed people, all professionals in their fields. That I was part of something very, very exciting.

Learn more about the cast of The Tunnel here.

See a timelapse video of James Caitlin breaking a rib after the jump.
(continue reading…)

Part 2 of our series of short interviews with the film’s key cast. You can find Part 1 here.
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Hi, I’m Bel Deliá and I play the role of Natasha Warner in The Tunnel. We had such an enjoyable time working together as a cast on such an incredible shoot, that I thought it might be fun, in the spirit of the role I played as a journalist, to interview my fellow cast – ‘the boys’. We wanted to give you a look into what it was like on set & some of our most memorable moments.

So I asked each of them about some of their fondest memories… enjoy!

I loved, loved, loved working with Steve, from day one we had each others backs and Steve really helped myself and the guys achieve one of the most important things – a believable news team.
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B: So Steve, greatest moments on set?
S: For me the most enjoyable moments during the underground shoot, were the scenes where the ‘STALKER’ was chasing us through the tight Tunnels… it was exhausting doing take after take but I found it exhilarating …. from memory when Carlo called “Cut” we were all pumped but still managed a laugh.

B: Most frightening moment?
S: I think the scene where I was most in the moment and therefore the most frightening was when we were all hiding watching the security guard and stalker in the lake …. during the film that moment is heavy and I definitely felt it at the time.

B: That was a very eerie moment! Now, your first acting gig, I know you’ve got the bug, I mean I had to race you to the make up chair each morning! Tell me of your fondest memory on set.
S: My fondest memory was not one single moment but the feeling at the end of each filming day of excitement among the cast and crew ….. we knew we had done something good, Director and producers were stoked and that filtered through everyone involved. It was also enjoyable personally for all the encouragement I got from the other actors and Director helping me get through my first acting role….. amazing experience … I loved it!

Learn more about the cast of The Tunnel here.

See the on-set ‘Meet The Cast’ interview with Steve Davis after the jump. (continue reading…)

Bel takes up her character of Natasha once more for this series of posts featuring the key cast of The Tunnel.

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Hi, I’m Bel Deliá and I play the role of Natasha Warner in The Tunnel. We had such an enjoyable time working together as a cast on such an incredible shoot, that I thought it might be fun, in the spirit of the role I played as a journalist, to interview my fellow cast – ‘the boys’. We wanted to give you a look into what it was like on set & some of our most memorable moments.

So I asked each of them about some of their fondest memories… enjoy!

To me Andy is the consummate professional. With his experience in Film & Television, I was so excited to work with him. Being my debut in a lead role of this caliber, it was great to be amongst the best!

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Andy Rodoreda plays TV News Producer Peter Ferguson.

B: Andy, what was your funniest moment on set?
A: I think it was having to get my facial growth clipped back on set. We realised my stubble continuity was out, but as there was no clippers on location I was driven by Jules to nearest barber. While sitting in barber chair describing movie Jules was hounded by waiting customers, wishing to be part of the film, one bloke even broke into song. Jules was impressed, but had to inform the guy that squeezing a musical number into a horror film might prove a bit tricky! In the end, the hair (beard) cut was on the house.

B: I remember one particular day on set you were teaching me how to fake a fast run whilst moving in slow motion so the cameraman could keep up. We got a bit silly that day, I ended up in tears it was so funny. Do you have a favourite scary moment from the movie, or on set?
A: The first screening of the movie, seeing the first attack on the security guard.

B: That neck crack scene always gets me. And what about your fondest memory of the whole process?
A: Way back, my first meeting with Jules and Enzo at a café in on Darling Street Balmain: their passion and enthusiasm.

Learn more about the cast of The Tunnel here.

See the on-set ‘Meet The Cast’ interviews with Andy Rodoreda and Bel Deliá after the jump. (continue reading…)

We hit LA. It went well

Still plenty of frames of The Tunnel left to be had! Grab your personalised digital frame at www.thetunnelmovie.net/buyout now.

It doesn't end well for this guy.

Given David Sander‘s newfound Golden Skull trophy thanks to Screamfest’s Best Special Effects Award for The Tunnel, we thought we’d invite him to give us a little insight into some of his experience working on the film. If you read between the lines, you can see we didn’t quite make it easy for him at times!

- Enzo
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When I was first asked about doing visual effects for “The Tunnel”, I was excited enough, but hadn’t reckoned on a couple of the shots the production threw at me. One of them was what came to be referred to as the “Neck Break Shot”, a rather gruesome sequence witnessed by our heroic crew via their night-vision camera, as Stalker (Goran Kleut) slowly twists the head of an already blinded security guard (Ben Maclaine) far further than nature ever intended.
To achieve the vision in one unedited sequence, both Ben and Goran took a dive into Willoughby Aquatic Centre’s pool at night, surrounded by props that glimpsed in the dark implied the dank, water-filled tunnels under Sydney. Goran performed the sequence with Ben, but rather than actually snapping Ben’s neck, Goran let go of Ben and continued his action, finally dragging Ben below the surface and submerging himself only to emerge a moment later to rush the camera.

The trick was when Ben’s head could turn no further, the camera was stopped, and he was turned around, his clothing reversed, and by himself continued the head-turn move to its grisly conclusion. (continue reading…)

They’re here.

Go to the Frame Pickup page, enter your email address (the one you used to order) and your first name, and get a bright, shiny frame of The Tunnel with your name on it! Literally!

Feel free to drop by our Facebook Page and share your frames with other frameholders that have been doing the same. Tweet them out. Whatever you want to do – they’re yours!!

It’s been a long way since we first started this thing, and thanks to YOU, the fans and supporters, we have finally been able to release The Tunnel for all to see. Downloads to date on the official Vodo tracker promoted by BitTorrent.com are sailing past the 120,000 mark with no signs of slowing, and we’re cruising past 40,000 frames, well on our way to finish paying for everyone’s hard work on the film.

Don’t forget that as well as downloading the movie, you can also grab a copy of The Tunnel as a 2-disc Hard Copy DVD loaded with over two hours of extras. Grab yours at www.thetunnelmovie.net, or if you’re in Australia or NZ you can also nab yourself a copy at JB HiFi, Sanity, Leading Edge, Network, and Blockbuster.

See you online!!

Well, the secret’s finally out. After years of development  and months of speculation as to what on earth we’ve been actually doing,  our film is officially off to the races. There’s a mixed sense of relief and excitement in us being finally able to do so. Relieved because all the hard work we put in is finally ready for the viewing public, and excited because we absolutely cannot wait to hear what you guys think of the film. If last night’s screening is any indication, I think we did alright.

Photo by Tom Dyson

Last night was our world premiere screening at Popcorn Taxi. Having attended many of their events in the past I couldn’t help but get goosebumps being on the bright end of the stage as I sat for the Q&A session alongside producers Enzo Tedeschi and Jules Harvey, as well as Andrew Denton who provided much needed humour that helped diffuse our rookie nerves. (Thanks to Facebook fan Tom Dyson for the pic!)

The crowd was very appreciative of our efforts and I was approached by a few guys who complimented us on our decision to hold back on the creature’s ‘reveal’, which was good to hear because the less-is-more approach was always something I was keen on doing for this film, keeping whatever is down in the tunnels shrouded in as much mystery as possible.
An hour after the Popcorn Taxi screening I started getting excited text messages from friends saying “hey dude, your film’s on TV right now!” That’s right, a mere one hour after our Popcorn session, The Tunnel made its television debut on Showtime, where it will be screening several times over the next few weeks. You can view the TV schedule on the Showtime Website.

Whilst all this was going on, we also managed to get a special Cannes screening at Marche du Film for some potential investors and distributors and the buzz being generated on the shores of France was enough to get us mentioned in The Cannes Market News and the Hollywood Reporter, as well as Oscar-Winning Producer Ted Hope’s blog. Will distributors be able to look past our unorthodox methods and support us nonetheless? Time will tell.

But of course the big news is that The Tunnel is now finally available online, as we’ve promised all along. Thanks to BitTorrent.com and Vodo.net, you can download the film in awesome 720p HD quality right here.

Whew, I believe that covers all of it. So as you can see, our distribution strategy is as out-of-the-box as they come, but we’re pretty excited to see how it all goes.  At the end of the day what’s important to us is getting The Tunnel seen by as many people as possible, and rewarding you, the fans that have been kind enough to purchase frames back when the film was nothing more than a cool idea and a website.

You guys helped us make it, let us thank you by giving you the option to download our film for free, and if you like what you see, feel free to support us even further by purchasing more frames, donating on the Vodo site, and of course, buying the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD.

I’m pretty stoked with how the DVD turned out. We went to great lengths to make sure it’s packed with enough bonus material to whet any filmmaker and film buff’s appetite. Jules has cut together a terrific 70-minute making-of documentary which provides a great insight as to how we managed to get the film made despite the odds being stacked against us. If filmmaker’s commentary is your thing we’ve got that in there too as myself, Enzo, and Jules sealed ourselves in a soundbooth for a few hours and talked candidly about the film, our bromance chemistry clearly evident on the audio track.

So again, from all of us here at Tunnel HQ, thank you very much for the support and interest you’ve shown. What would have cost millions of dollars to do, you, the social networking masses, have graciously done for us.

Today (appropriately, Friday the 13th in the US) saw us lift the veil on possibly the most exciting piece of news we have had to share at Tunnel HQ so far.

Thanks to BitTorrent.com, Vodo.net and utorrrent.com, The Tunnel will be promoted as part of the Artist Spotlight Program to over 100 million users. Needless to say, for our humble little movie, that’s HUGE.

We’re very excited!

Check out the official blog post from BitTorrent.com here, and get ready to go underground!!

Less than 5 days to go!!

Don’t forget that if you pre-order before the release, you’ll get our 50-page “Inside The Tunnel” eBook absolutely free!

Hey everyone,

It’s been a while since we’ve had time to sit down for a bit of a chat. But Carlo and I found a couple of minutes this week to discuss what’s been happening at Tunnel HQ. From the sneak peek screenings of the film to launching pre-orders for the DVD. 

On another note:
We’ve had a few questions lately about some articles in the media that have misquoted the production budget for ‘The Tunnel’ at $435,000, which is whole a lot more than the actual budget of $135,000. We are not quite sure how people have reached this figure so we just wanted to make sure it was clear for everyone – straight from the horse’s mouth – all the money to make this film has come from you. So far that means we’ve raised just under $36,000 of our target. It is thanks to our incredibly understanding cast and crew we’ve managed to keep the ball rolling, get the movie finished and will soon be able to put it out for everyone to watch.

Not long now!