Photo by Angie Baan

Photo by Angle Baan

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Skeleton Factory publicist Carolyn Krieger-Cohen and husband, Jason

Cohen, of West Bloomfield doubled as extras on Little Red Devil.

for their performance of The Shadow
Box, in which Eric played one of the lead
characters. Eric, who in addition to being
an extra in Little Red Devil also has a
small speaking role, hopes to pursue a
career behind the camera as a writer in
the entertainment industry.
The Gildenbergs have been members of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek of Oakland
County for 17 years.
Recently, Alan Gildenberg left his
position as a stockbroker to become an
independent financial adviser as well
as a business consultant to the Skeleton
Factory on business matters. Both Alan
and Todd Brunswick are now working
for their wives, a fact they acknowledge
with a laugh, but not a hint of embar-
rassment.

Finding Financing
The Brunswicks began making movies
on a shoestring budget, aware they had
to take a leap of faith to pursue lives as
filmmakers outside Hollywood and still
make a living. Todd Brunswick recalls how
filmmaker friends, those who have yet to
get a movie off the ground, marvel at their
output. You must be working 20 hours a
week, they say, with Todd retorting, "Try
20 hours a day!"
"Instead of trying to get it all right
before doing that first one" he says, "we
were just putting the whole process out
there and were evolving with each film.

For one of the scenes in Little Red Devil, the Gildenbergs and other background performers gathered
at Club Confidential, a deco-style nightclub in downtown Detroit.

"Each one was getting bigger and bet-
ter."
Now with financial backing from the
Gildenberg family (including Alan's
brother Stuart, a physician, and his wife,
Suzanne), the Skeleton Factory is prepar-
ing a slate of films and planning joint
projects with Southfield native Warren
Zide, the powerhouse producer of the
American Pie and Final Destination
series who launched FlipZide Studios.
"Everyone's trying to take it to the next
level," explains Alan Gildenberg.
"We're going to set up our next year
and then decide how we're going to raise
money. We've had a lot of offers to put
money into this, and if you have a huge
success, and if you're making money
for investors, more people want to get
involved with it."
In addition to the Gildenberg family,
investors in Little Red Devil include Dr.
David and Jolie Altman of Birmingham
(brother and sister-in-law of Suzanne
Gildenberg) and Dr. Jeffrey Tamaroff of
West Bloomfield, a neighbor of Alan and
Arlene Gildenberg.
Everyone has high hopes for Little
Red Devil, which was shot for under $1
million on high-definition digital video.
(Precinct 13 Entertainment, a preemi-
nent FX company based in Ohio, will be
handling the special effects. After post-
production, the Skeleton Factory will be
meeting with sales agents and distributors

to plan a theatrical release.)
The film, which may have a different
title by the time it hits movie screens, has
the potential to go beyond the core audi-
ence already familiar with the Brunswicks'
films, according to Daniel Baldwin.
"If they do this right:' says Baldwin,
"and they get the right music involved,
this could be one of those little films that
makes a lot more money than they think.
Everyone wants to make The Blair Witch
Project, but certainly this film could get
an art-house release.
"This could be one of those things that
makes $6, $10, $15 million. From my
mouth to God's ears."
"They're really into the genre of horror:'
adds James Russo, the Devil's right-hand
man, "but with a sardonic quality, a bit of
humor mixed in, rather than playing it hot
and heavy."

Hot For Horror
Horror films don't have to reinvent the
genre every time, explains Eric Levin, only
display some originality to garner fans.
The Bloomfield Hills native loves hor-
ror movies of all kinds, and as director
of publicity and promotions in Chicago
for Terry Hines & Associates (one of the
major film publicity firms in the coun-
try), he's responsible for getting the word
out on movies like Pan's Labyrinth,
made by one of Tommy Brunswick's
favorite filmmakers, Guillermo del Toro.

Demonstrating the potential for the genre,
Pan's Labyrinth, which combines fantasy
and supernatural elements with the hor-
rors of the Spanish Civil War, recently won
three Academy Awards.
There has been a major resurgence
of horror films in the past decade, and
genre directors like Rob Zombie and Eli
Roth have been dubbed the Splat Pack.
Low-budget horror films now routinely
top the U.S. box office, and since this is a
genre that translates well around the world
(unlike comedies), overseas profits are
substantial.
The success of films like Saw, 28
Days Later, Hostel and The Descent
demonstrates that a clever take on famil-
iar themes draws audiences to theaters
in large numbers. And there's no stigma
attached if a horror film is a remake,
doesn't have a big name cast or comes
out direct to DVD. Creativity is what
matters most to horror fans, explains
Levin, and the genre always needs fresh
blood.
"It taps into something;' Levin says.
"Everyone likes being scared. Everyone
goes to the movies to feel something, and
horror movies definitely provide that.
When you sit there, and you know you're
going to jump, regardless of how good or
bad it is, it still gets you, and people love
that. You could tell the same ghost story
a thousand times, and I'm still buying a
ticket." LI

March 8 2007

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