Los Angeles, CA – April 14, 2009 – FEARnet.com, the web’s #1 entertainment site dedicated to horror, suspense and thrillers, will host the site’s first-ever live chat with acclaimed film director J.T. Petty on Thursday, April 16 at 9:00 pm (ET). Petty will treat fans to a never-before-seen four-minute online preview of his latest feature film “The Burrowers,” which will be released to DVD from Lionsgate on April 21. In addition, Petty will be chatting with fans as – together – they view the sneak preview as well as “Blood Red Earth,” the director’s short subject prequel to “The Burrowers.” Fans need not pre-register for the chat and sneak preview, which are FREE. This exclusive chat and online sneak peak is the latest example of FEARnet.com’s ongoing commitment to provide genre film fans with the quality, cutting-edge filmed entertainment they crave, backed by unique experiences that can’t be found anywhere else.
“Having J.T. Petty onboard for this chat and exclusive preview is a great opportunity for fans to check out both ‘The Burrowers’ and J.T.’s awesome prequel, ‘Blood Red Earth,’ said FEARnet President Diane Robina. “Viewers have been watching ‘Blood Red Earth’ at FEARnet.com for nearly a month and the response has been incredible. We realized we needed to bring J.T. and the fans together – directly – so we got to work and made this happen. We hope everybody turns out for what is going to be a great evening on the 16th.”
Filmed in a rich and sweeping cinematic style, “Blood Red Earth” begins as one Native American Lakota brave takes his younger brother on the boy’s first hunt. Desperate to make a kill, yet thus far unsuccessful, the young braves discover a half-buried doe, barely clinging to life. Ignoring the ominous slash marks on the doe’s neck, the braves complete the kill and drag the carcass home. Soon, however, the tainted flesh of the animal, bewitched by the creatures who first laid claim to it, exacts a revenge worse than death as an unstoppable evil is unleashed that brings merciless doom to all who encounter it. “The Burrowers,” which debuts on DVD on April 21, follows a band of courageous men who set out to find and recover a family of settlers that has mysteriously vanished from their home. Expecting the offenders to be a band of fierce natives, the group prepares for a routine battle. But they soon discover that the real enemy stalks them from below, an evil force they soon come to know as “The Burrowers.” The DVD for “The Burrowers” will feature audio commentary with JT Petty and actor Karl Geary plus two featurettes about the making of the film and the creation of the monster.
Writer and director J.T. Petty is a filmmaker’s filmmaker. His first film, “Soft for Digging,” was shot for only $6,000 when he was 20 years old, and was selected as an Official Entry at the Sundance Film Festival. HHHe went on to direct “Mimic: Sentinel” for Dimension/Miramax, and his documentary on the world of underground horror, “S&man” (pronounced “sandman”), was a popular entry at both the Toronto International and SXSW Film Festivals.
Petty is also an author of books and graphic novels, and is well-known in the world of videogames as well. Co-writer (along with novelist Tom Clancy) of the best-selling videogame franchise Splinter Cell, based on the best-selling novels by literary juggernaut Clancy, Petty went on to co-write two additional versions of the videogame. Most recently, he wrote and directed the videogame adaptation of Chris Nolan’s “Batman Begins,” and contributed to the videogame adaptation of Jon Favreau’s hit “Iron Man.” “The Burrowers” made its world debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, marking Petty’s second entry at the prestigious competition.
Launched in 2006, FEARnet offers free movie and video downloads, with high-quality original entertainment series unlike anything available for thrill seeking fans. Earlier this year, Academy Award Winner Whoopi Goldberg debuted in FEARnet’s sixth original series, Stream, a psychological thriller about a woman who remembers the future.
The network’s partnership with Ghost House Pictures – a venture between acclaimed director Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Mandate’s Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane – has produced to date three popular web-based mini-series. “Devil’s Trade,” “30 Days of Night: Blood Trails” and its sequel “30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust” starring “Saw” franchise scream queen Shawnee Smith have combined to generate more than 12 million views online and on demand. Most recently, FEARnet partnered with legendary music video director Mary Lambert for a vampire theme series “The Dark Path Chronicles,” which merged music and narrative with up and coming bands. Additionally, its six-week daily interactive series “Buried Alive,” produced by Sony Picture Television, yielded a large loyal fan base with millions of views.
