AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER: THE TOUR
Event on 2011-06-06 18:00:00
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
STARS OF THE HIT A&E TELEVISION SERIES “PARANORMAL STATE” TO DEBUT “THE MOST ANTICIPATED PARANORMAL DOCUMENTARY OF ALL TIME” ON JUNE 6TH AT KANSAS CITY’S “Q HOTEL”
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WORLD RENOWNED PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS RYAN BUELL AND CHAD CALEK WALK AWAY FROM THE HIT A&E REALITY TV FRANCHISE “PARANORMAL STATE” AFTER FIVE (5) SUCCESSFUL SEASONS, CHOOSE TO FOREGO SCREENING THE INDEPENDENT FILM TO STUDIOS AND FILM FESTIVALS, AND ATTEMPT TO MAKE HISTORY WITH “AMERICAN GHUST HUNTER,” A DOCUMENTARY 20 YEARS IN THE MAKING THAT DELIVERS THE MOST COMPELLING GHOST EVIDENCE EVER CAPTURED ON FILM!
LOS ANGELES, CA (APRIL 10TH, 2011) – On January 6th, 2011, in a sudden and surprising move to executives at the A&E Network, Ryan Buell, the star and Executive Producer of the hit A&E reality series PARANORMAL STATE, sparked controversy by announcing he would not be returning to the critically acclaimed franchise for a 6th season. In addition, PARANORMAL STATE Co-Star and Director Chad Calek, who also starred in, executive produced and directed the A&E hit special THE GHOST PROPHECIES, would not be returning either, as the two best friends walked away from the certain financial gain in order to focus on an experimental worldwide distribution plan to release Calek’s autobiographical documentary “AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER”, which due to the film’s massive Internet “buzz” and viral fanfare, is already one of the most anticipated independent feature films of 2011.
Without any promotional support other than online “word of mouth,” as Calek and Buell have yet to screen the film to single studio or film festival, AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER, which was also directed, written and produced by Calek, has already amassed a total of over 500,000 total views (and counting) of multiple trailers, interviews and sneak peak clips scattered through the Internet, which has led to fans and supporters crowning the independent film as “the most anticipated paranormal documentary of all time”. There’s even an AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER social network site created specifically for “hardcore AGH supporters” (www.aghnation.com) that currently has over 5,300 active registered members. Impressive when considering that the film yet to be released.
In 2010, after two private screenings to select Hollywood insiders and the country’s top paranormal investigators alike, AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER began receiving acclaim and praise worthy of the hype, with the likes of Robb Demarest, star of SYFY’s GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL, stating that AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER was “Certain to be THE definitive paranormal movie”.
Shot over the course of 20 years and presenting the most compelling and horrific ghost evidence ever captured on film, AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER promises to deliver “a powerful, emotional and shocking documentary unlike anything you’ve ever seen,” says Calek and Buell. In addition, the filmmakers have also pledged to redefine the entire movie going experience with AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER: THE TOUR – a national tour that will visit 41 notoriously haunted locations in 41 cities across the United States, in which each stop will feature a five hour “paranormal event” that concludes with the screening of AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER and a Q&A with the entire cast.
AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER: THE TOUR will be broken down into two parts, with the “summer leg” of the tour covering 16 U.S. cities, beginning on June 2nd in Long Beach, CA and wrapping up in San Antonio, TX at The Menger Hotel on June 18th, 2011. Two months later, the “fall leg” of the tour will begin on August 19th in Los Angeles, CA, and will cover 25 cities before ending in Austin, TX on September 19th.
TICKETS TO THE JUNE 6TH EVENT, WHICH ARE ALREADY OVER 1/2 SOLD OUT, ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT: www.aghthemovie.com
To set up an interview with Chad Calek, Ryan Buell or any member of the cast of AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER, please contact:
Mary Beth Wylie – AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER PUBLIC RELATIONS REPRESENTATIVE
EMAIL: AGHPRESS@me.com
PHONE: 931.722.8156
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ADDITIONAL NOTES AND COMMENTS FOR RELEASE
THE STORY BEHIND THE FILM
Former MTV NEWS writer and Yahoo! PRIME TIME IN NO TIME creator Corey Moss is one of a handful of people who were invited to a sneak preview screening of the AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER documentary (also known as “AGH”). In the very first line of his review, in the simplest of terms, Moss states that AGH is “The most brilliant, moving and remarkable look into one man’s soul that has ever been documented”.
The soul Moss is referring to belongs to Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker Chad Calek, who’s best known for his on-screen persona as a “fear nothing” paranormal investigator, who’s excitable and often “bleeped” reactions during his 26 guest appearances on A&E’s hit reality series PARANORMAL STATE, has made Calek a fan favorite of the popular franchise.
AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER (which Calek directed, wrote, co-executive produced and co-stars) chronicles not only the bizarre events that led to Calek becoming a paranormal investigator at age 12, but also Calek’s return to his childhood hometown of Persia, IA with Paranormal State star and best friend Ryan Buell, to attempt to bring an end to the over two decades of documented terrifying paranormal activity that has all but destroyed his family.
Despite having several offers from cable networks and production companies to buy the rights to Calek’s life story (AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER), Calek and Buell would pass multiple times, as the offers would not only strip Calek of all creative control, but would also force Calek and Buell to give up complete ownership of the project.
But there was another option. In order to ensure Calek had “final cut” of the project, in a bold and brave move, Buell, who also suffered his own horrific childhood encounter with the paranormal, took on the role of visionary by choosing to finance the film himself, believing that the true story of AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER would have a profound impact on the public, and that his best friend Calek, as the film’s director, would deliver a powerful paranormal documentary unlike any other before it. Shortly after, filming had commenced. And true to its promise, countless astonishing and emotional moments unlike anything ever before captured on film would unfold… moments that would change the lives of Calek and Buell, as well as every single member of the cast and crew.
In the end, AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER was everything that Calek and Buell had hoped it would become… and then some. Knowing that they had a special film on their hands, but having their time consumed with a new 20 episode Season 5 order of PARANORMAL STATE, the filmmaking team decided to release a few trailers and sneak peaks clips on the internet, which would allow them to gage the public’s interest.
Shortly after, without the benefit of any promotional machine other than “word of mouth”, the AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER teasers and trailers had gone viral by collectively logging over 250,000 views (and counting). Humbled and excited by the level of support from their fans, upon finishing Season 5 of Paranormal State, Calek and Buell began to discuss how they would release this film. Many options were considered, from the traditional method of film festivals and shopping to studios, to releasing the film via a television special to considering an online and DVD only release. But after months of thought and discussion, only one option felt right… an option that would take a lot of faith and bravery to attempt.
A REVOLUTIONARY PLAN OF WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION
Despite having fame gained from Paranormal State that would no doubt open the doors to countless film distributors, Calek and Buell instead created a revolutionary worldwide distribution model that had never before been attempted. While both were excited by the potential of the plan, on paper, the model admittedly looked scary, if not impossible.
With a move that some would call brave, and others would call arrogant, Calek and Buell chose to bypass the Hollywood system as a whole, which meant they chose to NOT screen the film for studios, film festivals and cinema chains. Instead, they opted take the film on tour across the country, where they would essentially build their own theatrical experience in each city on the tour. And furthermore, they would do this without ANY budget for marketing and promotion.
“All the promotional tools that we needed to promote the film were on the web, and best of all, they were all free, which greatly mattered to us. There’s no studio or cable network behind us, which means there’s no money. There’s just faith, destiny and our fans, pushing as hard as we all can to raise awareness for the film. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. In a very short amount of time, we’ve built a worldwide promotional machine that’s fueled solely by our supporters’ will to spread the word that a film with a message unlike anything you’ve ever seen is coming your neighborhood… and you don’t want to miss it. That’s profound on so many levels. It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it,” Calek said. “From the very beginning with this film, we were told that we couldn’t accomplish our goals unless we followed a path that existed before us. But what we quickly learned is that if we remained uncompromising in our vision for the institution that the AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER film has become, and if we just exercised faith in those who have supported us, then anything is possible. I mean that when I say it, too. It’s not a cliché’. Literally anything is possible.”
On February 1st, via Facebook and Twitter only (both popular free social network programs), Calek and Buell unveiled AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER: THE TOUR. It was also announced that at 12:18 a.m. on February 10th, tickets to each tour stop could be pre-ordered via paypal (a free internet merchant program) from the newly created website www.aghthemovie.com, which was designed Calek’s childhood best friend, business partner and AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER cast member Justin Holstein.
The site itself was crucial to the plan, as it was built to be completely interactive for and with supporters and fans of AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER, as Calek, Buell and the entire cast of AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER will be constantly web-casting from the road, in addition to uploading photos and videos via Twitter, while consistently writing blogs from each tour stop. They’ll also be “live broadcasting” via their iPhone’s U-Stream application (another free internet-based promotional program) so that fans at home can see first hand, immediate reviews of AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER from attendees who just finished watching the documentary. Each tour date would also include not only a screening of AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER, but also dual one hour “best of” paranormal evidence presentations from both Calek’s AGH CORE UNIT team, consisting of Justin Holstein, Mary Beth Wylie and Joe Ansley, as well as from Buell and PRS Tech Specialist Sergey Poberezhny.
In addition, at each tour stop, there’s also a meet and greet and a Q&A with fans that includes free photos, autographs and much more. And even more exciting for attendees, rather than theatres, the majority of the event locations on the tour will be held at historically haunted locations, such as The Congress Hotel in Chicago, IL, and the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, KY, where theatrical video and audio equipment will be staged for the exclusive event presentations.
“The plan is to redefine the entire movie going experience and get back to a place where going to see a movie was an ‘event’, instead of just an hour and a half screening with popcorn and soda,” said Calek. “It’s taking it to the next level. Imagine if you were able to go see ‘Inception’, and when the film is over, you could meet Cristopher Nolan and Leo DiCaprio while the film is fresh in your mind. Now imagine getting the chance to sit down with them afterwards to pick their brains about their inspiration for the film, or getting the chance to ask questions about the story itself, or just listening to all of the behind the scenes stories. I have my favorite filmmakers, and I can guarantee you if someone like Quentin Tarantino came to my home city to debut his latest film under this distribution model, I would not miss that opportunity.”
Buell added, “It’s going to be access on a national and international level that has never before been granted, and that’s very exciting. And AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER is just the beginning. Our plans are to continue to refine and redefine this experience with every film we produce, and enhance the experience every time we take a film out. Going to the movies isn’t just going to be fun again. It’s going to be an event unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.”
Currently, Buell and Calek are proud to announce that their experimental business model is proving itself to be reliable, as over half the tickets to the entire tour are already spoken for. But with each ticket sold, the filmmakers never lose sight of the reason why AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER is already making history… the incredible support for their loyal fans.
“That’s the key. If we didn’t have such a strong connection with our incredible friends, fans and supporters out there, then this plan doesn’t work. Everyone says this, but I truly believe that our fans are the best in the world. They are so committed, invested and involved with our work, which is not only humbling to all of us, but it drives us to be the very best that we can be for them.” says Calek. “The bottom line is that we view them all as family, as they truthfully are the only reason we’re able to accomplish any of this”.
As mentioned above, AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER: THE TOUR will be held between June 2nd – June 18th in 16 cities across the country, with a second 25-city U.S. tour to be announced in April, with additional plans currently underway to announce tours in Canada, The United Kingdom and Australia. For more info, please visit www.aghthemovie.com
THE ENTIRE CAST OF AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER CAN BE FOLLOWED ON TWITTER AT: CHAD CALEK: @AGHChad RYAN BUELL: @Ryan_Buell JUSTIN HOLSTEIN: @AGHJustin JOE ANSLEY: @AGHJoe MARY BETH WYLIE: @AGHMaryBeth SERGEY POBEREZHNY: @photoserg
To set up an interview with Chad Calek, Ryan Buell or any member of the cast of AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER, please contact:
Mary Beth Wylie – AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER PUBLIC RELATIONS REPRESENTATIVE
EMAIL: AGHPRESS@me.com
PHONE: 931.722.8156
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