Steve Wolsh’s horror trilogy will begin with sequel.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The upcoming Hollywood horror film Muck, starring rising actress Puja Mohindra, is aiming for a summer 2014 release date and will be one of the first feature films ever shot, finished, and distributed entirely in 4K Ultra High-Definition (UHD) resolution.
4K refers to the 4,000 pixels that comprise each frame of video captured and displayed by 4K technology, and offers roughly four times the resolution of current 1080p high-definition displays. With the majority of movies and television shows being shot on digital video formats these days, many of which shoot at resolutions as high as 5K, Hollywood and the major studios are beginning to feel the pressure for 4K-ready content.
Sony has been spearheading this initiative, releasing “Mastered in 4K” Blu-ray discs for some of its most popular film titles (such as the Spider-Man films), while Samsung and other electronics brands have begun rolling out UHD TVs. But films are still being down-graded to 1080p for Blu-ray consumption and being mastered almost always at 2K resolution during production.
Muck, however, is about to change that. The film’s writer/director Steve Wolsh, spoke to The American Bazaar about how the film is breaking barriers with both technology and its treatment of Indian American characters in Hollywood films.
“We shot the film with two RED Epic cameras,” said Wolsh, speaking about the relatively new digital cameras that helped revolutionize film industries around the world away from film-based technology towards the less expensive digital alternative. “We only had a budget of a quarter-million dollars, but we never really wanted for anything.”
Originally from Detroit, Wolsh graduated from the Georgetown University business school in 2003 with a double major in marketing and management. After working in finance for six years, he quit, sold everything he had, and dedicated himself to starting a film career. Wolsh started his own production company, “With An O Productions,” and now with Muck, Wolsh’s career is ready for take-off.
Wolsh explained that Muck is the first film in what will eventually be a trilogy, but chronologically comes second. “We wanted to start with this middle chapter, then next year we’ll release the prequel [Muck Offed], and then after that hopefully the third part,” he said. The final film, Wolsh revealed, has been given the tentative title Get the Muck Out.
Muck is about a group of friends who stumble upon an ancient burial ground from which they narrowly escape, but who are nevertheless haunted by two evil forces that will stop at nothing to claim their lives — unless, that is, they fight back or figure out how to appease the malevolent forces seeking to kill them.
Mohindra will play a crucial part in all three films, as the character Chandi. Wolsh said that the character was always meant to be of Indian origin, and was not originally a race-neutral or Caucasian character until Mohindra was cast.
“I always wanted her to be Indian,” said Wolsh. “It’s a really cool dynamic she has with Lachlan [Buchanan], and without giving too much away, their love story in the film is very original.”
Muck is aiming for a July 4, 2014 release, although Wolsh says that it will likely only play in select cities such as Los Angeles and New York. But the technological aspects and business implications presented by Muck’s 4K distribution has piqued the curiosity of some of the bigger studios, which could mean the future two films will see wider releases and bigger budgets.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com