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This is the place to check out for late-breaking info about the movie. Check in often for updates!
Got news? Email us at: webmaster@drawingdownthemoon.com.
August 26, 2002
Another Review Posted
Another sparkling review of "Drawing Down the Moon" has appeared on the Internet! Please check out Molly Lambert's review of the movie by clicking here.You can explore Molly's great web site, Moonlover's Celestial Emporium, by clicking here.
Thanks for your thoughts about our movie, Molly!
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August 11, 2002
DDTM Interviews
Check it out! Have you seen the latest issue of PanGaia magazine at your local bookstore? A major feature about "Drawing Down the Moon" appears in the summer 2002 issue! The article features interviews with stars Walter Koenig and Karina Krepp, plus an extended interview with writer/director Steve Patterson. You can see the complete interviews by clicking here.PanGaia has been nominated for The Utne Reader's 11th Annual Alternative Press Award for best spirituality coverage. PanGaia is a thought-provoking and wonderfully well-written magazine. You can check them out online at www.pangaia.com.
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April 10, 2002
DDTM Review Posted
A glowing review by Jeannie "Faren" Byrd from the April 2002 issue of The Candle and Cauldron has been posted here.top of page
October 29, 2001
Price Drop!
To celebrate Samhaim (Halloween) and the approach of the holidays, we’re lowering the price of “Drawing Down the Moon” to only $19.95! Get your own copy of the movie everyone is talking about!“Drawing Down the Moon” was received very enthusiastically by several standing-room-only audiences this past weekend at the Real Witches Ball in Columbus, Ohio. Special thanks to A.J. Drew and Salem West for sponsoring such a wonderful program. (You can learn more about the Real Witches Ball at www.neopagan.com.) After the screenings Steve Patterson, director of “Drawing Down the Moon,” discussed the film with many interested audience members. They expressed their support and vowed to request the movie at their local video stores. A groundswell of “grassroots support” is building, so be part of it by asking for “Drawing Down the Moon” wherever you rent videos!
Thanks very much to all who attended the Real Witches Ball!
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August 30, 2001
DDTM Director Goes to a Ball
Steven Patterson, writer/director of "Drawing Down the Moon," has been invited to attend the Real Witches Ball in Columbus Ohio as a special guest! The Real Witches Ball attracts a large number of people each year -- and in this, its ninth year, the celebration keeps growing. It is one of the premiere gatherings in the nation for people who celebrate alternative religions. "Drawing Down the Moon" has been very well received by the Wiccan and Pagan communities, and Steve is happy to have the chance to talk about the movie to a group that has become such avid supporters of the film.You can learn more about the Real Witches Ball, including the schedule and other special guests, by visiting --
www.neopagan.com
If you plan to attend the Real Witches Ball please check out a screening of the movie and feel free to ask Steve questions about it!
Special thanks to A.J. Drew, Robert Clark, and Rebecca Estel King for their invitation to attend the Real Witches Ball!
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July 25, 2001
Another DDTM Review
Have you seen the WitchVox.com review of "Drawing Down the Moon"? WitchVox.com ("The Witches' Voice") is the most prestigious and popular Pagan/Wiccan web site in the world, generating almost 10,000 visits per hour. Their glowing review of the movie means a lot to us! Please follow their advice and request the movie at your local video store!(Click here for the full review)
From WitchVox.com, review by Daphne Stephanotis:
Witches everywhere, it's time to cheer. At last, a movie that you can recommend to your friends without wincing at what it shows about your religion!
"Drawing Down the Moon" (unrelated to the book of the same title), is an independent action-adventure tale of a wandering witch who embodies the phrase "she changes everything she touches."
This story is ... fun, moving, balanced, and occasionally hilarious: the number-2 bad guy, Eddie, delivers some wonderful howlers. Moving performances come from Karina Krepp (Gwynyth, the witch) and Bruce Bearman (Eddie).
Like many pagans at some special gatherings, I was privileged to see a rough cut of this movie a few years ago. At last, the final thing ... and it's better than ever, with KIVA soundtrack, polish, and a commercial release on video.
Ask your video rental store to pick up a copy or three: we, the community, can encourage better media depictions of us by supporting such quality film-making. If you want better witchy movies, make this one a success.
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January 13, 2001
DDTM Review
"Drawing Down the Moon" continues to get glowing reviews! Check out the following, published in the latest issue of PanGaia! PanGaia is a thought-provoking, fascinating magazine. You can learn more about them at www.pangaia.com.PanGaia Magazine
#26 Winter 2000/2001
Review by Elizabeth Barrette
In an age almost totally dominated by Hollywood cinema, it's rare to find anything worthwhile coming from alternative sources. That's why it's so great to find a noteworthy little movie, "Drawing Down the Moon."
Read the entire review...
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November 3, 2000
Interview with DDTM Director and Review
Word is spreading quickly about "Drawing Down the Moon!" Major reviews of the movie will soon be appearing in PanGaia, Green Egg, and SageWoman magazines.In addition, the Wiccan/Pagan Times has published a lengthy interview with director Steven Patterson online. Check it out at --
http://www.twpt.com/patterson.htm
A review of the movie can be found on their site at --
http://www.twpt.com/drawingdownthemoon.htm
Thanks to Imajicka for her interest in the film. The Wiccan/Pagan Times is a wonderful site devoted to art, literature, and music in the Pagan community. Please take a look!
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September 24, 2000
Another Review
The following review will be published shortly in the Triskele Pagan Newsletter, which you can visit online at http://triskele.faithweb.com."Drawing Down The Moon"
A Movie By Steven Patterson
Ya know what everyone? Get out there and get this movie!!
For the first time in my life, I have seen a fictional movie that is not dripping in special effects, hoodoo sounds, and flashy "Goth" witches. This movie portrays the real witch, in a real situation, without the Hollywood-ized crap that pretty much all the others come with. Much as I love Practical Magick, it's still pretty untruthful.
The movie features the musical talents of KIVA, the band popular amongst pagans, and the acting talents of Walter Koenig, who does a much better job here than on "Babylon 5." Other than the original "Star Trek" series, this is the first time I have seen such good acting from this man.
Also, newcomer Karina Krepp does superb justice to the role of Gwynyth McBride. Me-thinks Ms.Krepp knows of what she acts!
All in all, this movie is worth renting, or buying. Chaos Entertainment has a winner on its hands!! If you don't find "Drawing Down the Moon" at your local outlet, ask the manager to check the catalog, and get it in from Tapeworm Video Distributors.
###
Rating: 5 athames (out of 5)
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September 20, 2000
Review
"Drawing Down the Moon" has been getting glowing reviews in various magazines and websites around the world! Below we've copied a major new review by Deborah Snavely. (And you're seeing it here first, before it is even published!)Reprinted with permission from the Winter 2001 issue of SageWoman Magazine. See SageWoman at www.sagewoman.com.
Review: Drawing Down the Moon
(an independent film, released on video)
Submitted by Deborah Snavely
Heady news for the Pagan community: a movie starring a witch who acts like some witches we know! This fact alone makes Steven Patterson's independent adventure film "Drawing Down the Moon" worth watching, but it might be subtitled "Glinda NewAge Goes Kung Fu." The mysterious Gwynyth McBride (Karina Krepp) first appears on a bus, pendulum-dowsing her destination on a map while curious cancer patient Faith Shields (Linda Merritt) watches. Gwynyth becomes Faith's de facto protector and, with her help, founds a homeless shelter in an long-vacant Elks lodge. They run into competition from the local crime boss Joe Merchant (Walter Koenig, of "Babylon Five" and "Star Trek" fame), a second-generation but unsuccessful hood deep in hock to The Corporation, which wants the building to complete a massive redevelopment scheme. Merchant, whose heart is in mathematics rather than crime, spends his time and money computer-modeling an elusive fractal at the end of the chaos-theory rainbow, and can't be bothered with the details. He leaves them to his main man, Eddie (Bruce Bearman, who "think[s] better when I exercise" and flaunts the tattoo "Satin Rules" on his shoulder). Gwynyth keeps surprising her enemies and friends alike in the story, and handles a broomstick with flair and vigor.
This lovingly crafted but distinctly B movie runs the gamut from lyrical to stilted, saccharine to violent (though not particularly gory). It's fun, it's suspenseful, and features surprisingly good performances from Bearman and Krepp and several character and repertory actors. Koenig, as the villain with a vision, turns in an uneven performance with moments of brilliance. The pagan group Kiva recorded the soundtrack, lending continuity and subtle nuances to an occasionally imperfect flow of story.
In a feature that will satisfy many pagan viewers, the sequence run under the opening credits is simply breathtaking, though poorly connected to the story. And the shots of onscreen workings provide some of the most lyrical and accurate presentations of neopagan witchcraft ever seen in films. Dozens of times during my first viewing, I found myself nodding in recognition, or smiling at one of the many accurate touches that connect to pagan viewers, as when Gwynyth glances up smiling at the mounted elk head in a room she converts for ritual use.
This film paints the truest picture of today's witchcraft I've ever seen. We're not all martial artists, nor footloose, nor do-gooders, no. We're not all wand-slim and dancer graceful, either. It's still a movie. But it's a movie that portrays us and our motives and our interests and our hearts and our magic accurately, and occasionally well. And it's fun to watch -- what more could you want in a movie?
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August 29, 2000
Help Us Spread the Word!
Sales have started out very well on "Drawing Down the Moon!" All those sales have come through our website and the word-of-mouth generated here.The big marketing push now is for our distributor, Tapeworm Video, to make sales to video rental stores like Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, and all the "mom and pop" video stores across the country. Tapeworm (yes, they have a funny name, but they are well known and have been in business for 16 years) has been sending out preview copies of the film and making presentations to major buyers. The people at Tapeworm have explained it will probably take two or three months for orders to start coming in, so we are now in the heart of the critical ordering period.
I wonder if you could do us a huge favor. Wherever you rent videos to watch at home, could you request "Drawing Down the Moon?" Requests make a big difference at video stores. If most video stores in the country carried just one rental copy of our film, "Drawing Down the Moon" would be a HUGE success.
Tapeworm feels the video will really stand out on video store shelves, so it should be a good rental title for store owners to carry.
If you could, just tell the store manager that you've heard it's a good action-adventure movie starring Walter Koenig from "Star Trek" and "Babylon 5," and that you think it'd be a great rental title for them to carry.
If the store owner asks how to get hold of it (which he/she probably will) tell him/her it is being released by Tapeworm Video Distributors. In case the store owner needs a contact number, Tapeworm's phone number is 661-257-4904.
In case the manager tells you they buy their titles through a "video software supplier" like Ingram, Major Video Concepts, or Baker and Taylor, inform them that those companies are major clients of Tapeworm's and that Tapeworm will be supplying them with copies of the film. So if the store manager requests the film from his supplier, they'll be able to get it.
Requests from individuals in this informal "grassroots marketing campaign" can make all the difference in the film's financial success or failure.
Thanks for taking the time to help us out!
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August 27, 2000
Reviews
Here are a few brief review quotes we have collected from websites, magazines, and the emails and snailmails we have been receiving. We'll continue to post more as we receive them.If you haven't ordered your copy of "Drawing Down the Moon" yet, do it today!
Columbine, a Wiccan from Massachusetts, says of the film " 'Drawing Down the Moon' is not only faithful to the spiritual realities of Witchcraft, it's a rare and highly entertaining illustration of precisely what makes magic—and humans—tick."
Scott Sumers of Summerland Grove, a Pagan church in Memphis Tennessee, says "In this day and age, it is difficult to find a movie or TV show which portrays witchcraft in such a way that practitioners of the Earth Religion can be proud. There is a lesson to be learned [in this movie]. A lesson of sacrifice and kindness. Hopefully others of our faith out there will take note and perhaps make a difference in their community."
Toby of www.wiccan-refuge.com believes "This movie is going to help our public image a lot, so let's do our part to help. Do whatever you can to see this movie! IT'S FANTASTIC!"
Jodi Wetherup, editor of the Triskele Pagan Newsletter, says "This movie portrays the real witch, in a real situation, without the Hollywood-ized crap that pretty much all the others come with."
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August 10, 2000
More fan sites online!
We have found several more fan-based web sites devoted to "Drawing Down the moon!" Please check out the following URLs --http://www.wiccan-refuge.com/ddtm/
(Thanks to Toby for his kind words about the movie!)
http://www.geocities.com/ddtmoon/
(Thank you to Brian Baldwin for the glowing review!)
http://home.fuse.net/jburik/ddtm.html
(Thanks to John Burik for giving our film the nickname "The Good Witch Project!")
Sales of the film are going extraordinarily well! Please join our "grassroots marketing campaign" by requesting your local video rental store to carry one or two rental copies of the film. Requests make a big difference!
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July 19, 2000
It's official!
The home video release of “Drawing Down the Moon” has begun!You can order your own copy of "Drawing Down the Moon" for $22.95 (plus $3.50 shipping) through our secure online ordering system (you’ll find links to the ordering page throughout the website). If you prefer to order by phone, you can call toll free 1-800-606 9642. We accept Visa and Mastercard.
So far at least 500 people have seen the film at test screenings conducted at Pagan gatherings and science fiction conventions around the United States. The film earned an incredible 90% “high approval rating” on our audience response forms. The Pagan audience has embraced the movie as “the most positive portrayal of a witch ever seen on film!”
Tapeworm Video Distributors has begun their efforts to sell the movie to video store chains like Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, Tower Video, etc, throughout the U.S. and Canada. If you'd like to help us with our "grassroots marketing" campaign, please request that your local video stores carry one or two rental copies of our movie. Requests have a big effect at video rental stores (especially the non-chain, locally-owned stores) when it comes to smaller films like ours. Most store owners are pressured to carry lots of copies of the latest Hollywood hit to guarantee that it will be in stock. The store's budget gets chewed up buying these multiple copies, and they have little left over for the smaller independent films like ours. So requests really do matter.
It is particularly hard for distributors like Tapeworm to reach all the locally owned, non-chain video stores. There are still many more of these locally owned stores than all of the chain stores combined, so it is a huge market for our movie... but it’s hard to get the word out to all of them. Any help you can give us with spreading the word about our movie to the locally-owned stores in your area would be GREATLY appreciated.
Tapeworm Video will have the movie listed in the master catalog of available titles -- a copy of which all video store owners should have. So if your local video rental store isn't carrying the film, request that they carry one or two copies. The store owner should be able to look it up in the catalog of available titles to find out how to order it for their store. (Our film might not be listed in the catalog till the end of August or so, depending on how quickly Tapeworm gets it into the catalog.)
Owners of video rental stores are welcome to buy copies of the movie through our website, our toll free phone number (1-800-606 9642), or through Tapeworm Video (1-661-257-4904).
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