ANOTHE PRE-RELEASE HONOR

With ON THE LAKE already accepted as an educational partner in the Geneva, Switzerland-based Stop TB Partnership, the world's leading fight-TB advocacy group, we have just been accepted as a partner with the United States advocacy group Stop TB USA. We thank the American group for bringing us on board.

Both the international and U.S. organizations are devoted to eliminating TB through treatment and research, and the public education and awareness required to support the End TB effort. Their recognition of us is in appreciation of the outreach/education role the film will play, beginning in February.

-- Wayne

EMOTIONAL FINAL TEST SCREENING

Following successful test screenings in October in Pittsburgh and last month at Harvard College in Cambridge, Mass., we showed the movie Wednesday, Dec. 3, for the last time before the Feb. 13 world premiere at the place where it all began: Zambarano Hospital in Pascoag, R.I. We went into production a year ago at this distant place on Wallum Lake, and we have been many places since then as the movie grew from a look at a Rhode Island institution to include a national and global look at tuberculosis today. More than 100 staff, patients and former patients came this afternoon to the auditorium -- the very same place that appears in the film several times, albeit in historical context of a half century and more ago.

We thanked everyone for their extraordinary cooperation in helping bring this together, and we recognized several former patients and residents who are in the movie -- and who made the trip to Wallum Lake today. And that list includes Emily Martineau and Sheila O'Brien, both of Harrisville, R.I., and the four people pictured in the photo below, none of whom had seen each other in years, left to right: John Lynes, of Pascoag; Drew Greene, of North Carolina; Barbara Parkos, of Newport; and Russ Denham, who summers in the Ocean State winters in Florida. There were tears and memories galore... we have touched many lives as we've been blessed by so many stories shared and now preserved forever...



And our special guest was the extraordinary Frank Beazley, who has been a patient at Zam for almost 42 years. With a round of applause and profound appreciation for this incredible man, we wished Frank an early 80th birthday (it's on Dec. 13)! That's Frank, in the photo below, wearing his Christmas hat:



Thanks, folks, and happy holidays!

-- Wayne

GOOD SCREENING, GREAT WRITE-UP

A crowd of some 75 people braced cold rainy weather to attend the second test screening of ON THE LAKE last evening at Harvard College in Cambridge, an event organized by our outreach coordinator, Katherine Miller (kudos, Kate!). We had several members of cast and crew in attendance, along with special guests Barbara Parkos and Gale Perkins, former TB patients who are in the film. It was awesome to watch them watch the film for the first time. They, like the audience, were moved.

And in the next morning's Harvard Crimson, we got a very nice write-up, check it out.

Dave and I took questions after -- that's us at the front of Harvard Hall 201 -- and we enjoyed the discussion. Got some good tips, too, from that discussion and the questionnaires as we move in on a final cut.

Here's a sampling:

"Overall, really, really good!" A woman in the 25 to 36 year-old group.

"So emotional. So moving." A woman in the 65-plus group.

Needs "more emphasis on global aspect of TB, relation to HIV, MDR/XDR-TB." A woman in the 18 - 24 group.

"You need to focus a lot more on global TB." A man, in the 18-24 group.

Indeed, the last two respondents hit on the major area where the film needs work -- and Dave and I are aggressively moving on that.

Thanks to all who came, and for all the great input. Third and last screening is a private viewing before an audience of some 200 people on Dec. 3... if you feel compelled to attend, send an email through the link at Eagle Peak Media, our production company and maybe we can sneak you in... next big date after that is the Feb. 13th premiere.

-- Wayne

SECOND TEST SCREENING -- PUBLIC WELCOME!

November 5, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. _ The second of three scheduled test screenings of ON THE LAKE: Life and Love in a Distant Place, a documentary movie about the tuberculosis epidemic in America in the 1900s and globally today, will be held will be at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, at Harvard Hall, Harvard College.

Filmmakers David Bettencourt and G. Wayne Miller will speak at the showing of ON THE LAKE, which is scheduled for PBS broadcast in March 2009. This showing is free and open to the public. The movie will premiere at the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket, R.I., on Feb. 13.

ON THE LAKE is the first production from Eagle Peak Media, a multi-media company founded in May by Bettencourt, the award-winning director of YOU MUST BE THIS TALL: The Story of Rocky Point Park, and Miller, journalist and author of seven books. Two more Eagle Peak documentaries are in pre-production.

The first test screening of ON THE LAKE was held last month in Pittsburgh, before an audience of nearly 100 people. The final test screening will be before a private audience on Dec. 3.

While less of a public health issue in America today than in the early 1900s, when much of the film is set, it remains epidemic on the planet. Tuberculosis is the number-two infectious disease killer globally today, according to the World Health Organization, with nearly two million deaths and nine million new cases in 2006, the last year for which data is available. The only disease with a higher worldwide mortality is HIV/AIDS.

Audience reaction from the Pittsburgh screening suggests that the filmmakers have succeeded in bringing powerful emotion and personal stories to the screen.

''Our aim was not to produce a 'disease-of-the-week' movie, but rather a compelling narrative of real people,'' Miller said. ''Against this tragic backdrop, against the many deaths, we found love stories and stories of triumph.''

Harvard Hall is located at the main entrance to Harvard Yard, which is in the center of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass.

For more information about the movie, visit the movie site.

OTL wide-screen showings set!

We are almost done the film. Lots of final editing and sound work, but we are almost there -- just in time for our first wide-screen showing, on October 16th at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Dave and I will present the film. The next showing will be on November 13th at Harvard College, in Cambridge, Mass., as part of Global Health Week. These showings are for students and faculty of the two schools. The official world premiere will be February 13th at the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

-- Wayne

on the lake: CLOSING IN

Labor Day weekend approaches, time for a quick update on our next doc, ON THE LAKE: Life and Love in a Distant Place. Last evening at Ben’s studio, we recorded our major voice: narrator Yemi Sekoni, who wowed us back in March during auditions and did the same in the studio. Yemi has a wonderfully distinctive voice that we adore, and she is a class act work with. She put up well with Dave's, Ben's and my shenanigans, and at the end of almost 2 1/2 hours, we had a thing of beauty.

We are doing some last-minute shooting tonight dictated by our progress on the rough cut –– not so rough any more. The URI band on Tuesday recorded Lonnie and Ben’s original bid-band composition, and it's outstanding. Once we lay Yemi's voice in, they can get to work on the rest of the sound.

With more editing last week and more scheduled for next, we'll soon have picture lock. This is all very exciting, watching almost 11 months of hard work by so many people finally coming together. The emotions seen in the trailer are only amplified here, and the story line remains strong. Cross your fingers, we think we have something here…

–– Wayne

Editing - OTL

Dave, Harry and me (with camera) editing the rough cut. Looks mighty fine...
-- Wayne

Staff BBQ

Sunday, July 20, found a bunch of us at EPM North for our first staff BBQ. A hot day, but good food and company, cold drinks, and a showing of a rough rough-cut. A good time was had by all. Pictured here are: David Jr., son of director Dave Bettencourt; Marisa Bettencourt, Dave's wife; and Kate Miller, my daughter and EPM promotions director.

-- Wayne

NOTED TB EXPERT JOINS OUTREACH

As Eagle Peak Media moves forward with plans to help raise awareness of tuberculosis today, we are pleased to announce that leading TB expert Dr. E. Jane Carter, senior consultant for the RISE tuberculosis Clinic at Providence's Miriam Hospital and assistant professor at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, has agreed to join the effort. Before heading off to Kenya last week, where she is engaged in the global battle against the disease, we met with Dr. Carter and found her to be not only knowledgeable (we expected that) but also excited about her cause and the role OTL will play through its TB Awareness Days program, which begins this fall at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and continues into next year. The program is still being refined, but Dr. Carter will bring great authority to it. So, welcome, Dr. Carter… and a safe trip to and from Kenya.

The RISE clinic, sponsored by the Rhode Island Department of Health, is the state’s TB treatment center, recording some 8,500 patient visits every year –– most by people who carry the TB bacterium, but have not developed the disease. But the clinic does treat active cases –– including a man who tell his emotionally powerful story of his cure in the movie.

-- Wayne

2010 movie in pre-production

Even as we edit ON THE LAKE: Life and Love in a Distant Place, we are into pre-pro for SISTERS, working title for our next. Here's assistant director Josh Fishlock on site, July 16, 2008.

WEB SITE IS UP

After some careful planning and great design, our web site is up. A few last-minute touches remain, but it's essentially done -- and it looks fantastic. Our designer is James Nicholas of EasyWebCreations, and we recommend him and his company highly.

Now we have one central point of entry for all of EPM's projects. Drop by, look around, and let us know what you think.

-- Wayne

Trailer to our first movie

Check it out -- the trailer to ON THE LAKE: Life and Love in a Distant Place, an EPM-sponsored production of a Midway Pictures film by Dave Bettencourt.

Welcome to Eagle Peak Media

This is a test blog for our new company. which can be found by linking here.