Hi everyone,

Well, this week we're airing "There Goes the Neighborhood" with my pal Tim Kazurinsky as star. It's a brand new story written especially for The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas by terrific writer Barry Richert. Tim plays a timid scientist who builds a device that transports a grotesque beast from another dimension. The scientist quickly learns though that the unsightly visitor has a kind, gentle nature and he must thwart his greedy wife’s efforts to exploit the creature. One of my favorite "Zoners" Meg Thalken plays Tim's nasty wife - you just love to hate her in this!

The next "new" TZ show that we've produced is one you'll be hearing the week of December 14th. It's one of the most intriguing short-stories in all of literature, "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce. It's the story of a Confederate spy who is inexplicably spared death when the rope meant to hang him miraculously breaks. In 1962, the story was produced as a French short-film by Marcel Ichal and Paul de Robaix called "Incident at Owl Creek" and it won first prize for short subjects at the Cannes Film Festival that year. In 1963 it won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. That same year Rod Serling attended a private screening of the French film and he liked it so much he agreed to have it shown on his Twilight Zone TV series, with the French dialog dubbed in English so that American audiences could experience it. The February 28, 1964 telecast offered this introduction by Serling: "Tonight on the Twilight Zone, a special event. A program made outside of the United States that seems to us to be so different, so effective, and so meaningful that we offer it to you now. A haunting study of the incredible from the past master of the incredible - Ambrose Bierce. What you will now see is the French production of ... "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

Because the short film had very little dialog, it posed a great challenge in being adapted for our radio series. Fortunately for us, British writer M.J. Elliott was up for the challenge. M.J. is a brilliant writer, who specializes in radio drama style writing. He has written a few "new" TZ stories that you will be hearing next year and recently adapted Richard Matheson's TZ story "Once Upon a Time." The televised version of that story starred silent film icon Buster Keaton. Our radio version stars the amazing John Rhys-Davies and you'll hear it the broadcast week of February 22nd, 2010.

With a brilliant radio adaptation of the Bierce classic by M.J. Elliott, I decided to leave the directing chores up to JoBe Cerny. JoBe directed my Word of Promise audio Bible - see www.wordofpromisebible.com - In the lead role of "Peyton Farquhar" I chose actor Christian Stolte, who can currently be seen co-starring with Gerard Butler and Jamie Fox in "Law Abiding Citizen." In that film Christian plays "Clarence Darby" a crazed killer that murders Butler's character's wife and young daughter. Don't worry, Butler makes him pay mightily for the crimes. Christian can also be seen as "Charles Makley" one of John Dillinger's gang in the Johnny Depp film "Public Enemies" and as "Jesse's father" in the soon-to-be-released "A Nightmare on Elm Street." In the supporting cast of "Owl Creek Bridge" we have: William Dick, Danny Goldring, Rob Riley, Gonzo Schexnayder, Susan Hart and John Hooganakker.

The incredible mix to this hallucinatory story fell to the amazing sound designer Craig Lee at Cerny American Creative. Craig never ceases to amaze me with his vivid design style (he headed up the sound design for Word of Promise) and it's evident in this story - so kudos Craig!

With all this build up you probably wouldn't be surprised if I say that this radio version of "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" is one of my favorite Twilight Zone Radio Dramas to date - and you wouldn't be wrong. I think it ranks right up there along with "Five Characters In Search of an Exit," "Long Distance Call," "Four O'clock," "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank" and "Long Live Walter Jameson" which are my faves.

I hope after you listen to this episode you'll blog or email me at camari@falconpicturegroup.com with your thoughts and comments. Well, that's all for now, I hope you'll join me next time for MORE NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Hi everyone,

Wow, I'm really sorry for missing all of September with my TZ blog! Where does the time go? The main reason for my being so crazy-busy is that I just completed a 4-year project of producing THE WORD OF PROMISE Full Audio Bible for Thomas Nelson, Inc. Here’s the resource site for it which features video and audio clips and detailed information:

http://wordofpromise.thomasnelson.com/

A few weeks ago I went to LA to tape a special on it for Trinity Broadcasting Network along with Michael York and Ernie Hudson. It’s 30 minutes if you have a chance to watch it. Here’s a link. Look for the one with (Michael York, Ernie Hudson and Carl Amari).

http://www.tbn.org/watch-us/podcast?view_all

I've never been more proud of a project than THE WORD OF PROMISE. Single reader Full audio Bibles run about 40 hours. This is a 98 hour audio Bible with more than 600 actors including Jim Caviezel, Jon Voight, Richard Dreyfuss, Malcolm McDowell, Gary Sinise, Marisa Tomei, Joan Allen, John Rhys-Davies, Jesse McCartney, Marcia Gay Harden, Stacy Keach, Sean Astin, Lou Gossett, Jr., and many other award-winning actors. It is narrated by the incredible Michael York. There is not one word of dialog being 'read' in this audio Bible, it is all 'performed' like a film with the actors interacting with each other, set to amazing music and sound effects. It's presented in 'dramatic audio theatre' style (word-for-word from the NKJ) and I promise you it will lift the words off the page. You've never experienced anything like this audio Bible.

JoBe Cerny directed it (he directed an incredible 175,000 takes). His amazing team of sound designers, headed by Craig Lee, at Cerny American Creative handed the Foley and mix. Maestro Stefano Mainetti and his 150 piece orchestra provides the original music score that was written for each scene in the Bible - no canned music here!

My friend Jim McClain and I are in the process of creating a 2-minute TV commercial for it which I'm hoping will be on national television in a few weeks. The Full audio Bible (from Genesis to Revelation) is 98 hours on 79 CDs, plus a Bonus DVD of the 'behind the scenes' making of this project, housed in a beautiful case with a travel tin. The retail is $124.99 but our special, money-back guarantee TV offer includes 5 additional CDs of The Christmas Story, The Easter Story and the epic Stefano Mainetti music score (the music score is not available anywhere else). This is a retail value of $150.00. On our TV, those that order will get the $150.00 value for two payments of $39.99. Our website will be up in a few weeks with this offer and will be at www.wordofpromisebible.com

If you want to order this for yourself or for a Christmas gift feel free to go to our website when it's up or email me anytime at camari@falconpicturegroup.com and I'll arrange to get it to you.

On the TZ front, since I last blogged you've hopefully heard new episodes of:

"Who Am I?" starring Sean Astin. Plot: A young businessman wakes up one morning and has a completely different face – but only “he” thinks it’s different from before.

"Nothing In the Dark" starring Marshall Allman. Plot: An old woman consumed with the fact that she will die one day soon, barricades herself in her cold, dark tenement apartment so that “Mr. Death” can not visit her.

"Steel" starring Lou Gossett, Jr. Plot: In the near future boxing has been outlawed and is performed by mechanical robots. The manager of a robot desperately in need of repair does the unthinkable to win a bout.

"The Amazing Dr. Kyle Powers" starring Sean Astin. Plot: A cold, unsympathetic physician is given the opportunity to change his ways when an extraordinary visitor gives him the ability to experience his patients’ symptoms. But will the good doctor change for the better?

Next up is "There Goes the Neighborhood" a brand-new original radio play written especially for The Twilight Zone by Barry Richert and stars Tim Kazurinsky. When a timid scientist builds a device that transports a grotesque beast from another dimension, he quickly learns the unsightly visitor has a kind, gentle nature. The scientist must thwart his greedy wife’s efforts to exploit the creature. I dare say it's one of the best shows we've ever produced, so I hope you enjoy it very much.

We just recorded "The Invaders" starring Kathy Garver ("Cissy" from the great TV series "Family Affair") and will be mixing it soon. I know you will be thrilled with how we pulled off a radio adaptation of the famous TV episode starring Agnes Moorehead that had NO DIALOG!

That's all for now, catch me next time with more ... NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Hi everyone,

I hope that you enjoyed "Passage on the Lady Anne" starring the amazing husband-wife acting duo Martin Jarvis and Rosalyn Ayres. Quite frankly I think it's one of the best shows we've ever produced. I hope you also enjoyed "Who Am I?" starring the brilliant actor Sean Astin. I will confess that the sound design for "Who Am I?" was not at the level that I wanted it to be. Unfortunately, we were faced with airing it as is or running a repeat so I let it air sub-par. That said, Cerny is hard at work remixing and making improvements/tweaks. The "Who Am I?" episode that we will sell for download and the show we air the next time around will be far better - I apologize for this.

Next up is "Nothing in the Dark" by George Clayton Johnson and adapted for radio by M.J. Elliott. This story is one of my favorites. The original 1962 TV version starred Gladys Cooper as Wanda Dunn and Robert Redford as Harold Beldon. A lonely old woman, Wanda Dunn, will not leave her dark basement apartment (in a soon to be demolished complex) because she's afraid "Mr. Death" is waiting for her outside. There is a commotion outside; Wanda peeks out fearfully. A young Police officer is lying on the ground just outside her door and he has been shot. After much convincing, Wanda finally opens the door and brings him in. While she does her best to nurse him, he talks to her about her fear, and she tells him she has seen Death before in the form of a man who took away the life of a woman on a bus just by touching her. Wanda has been afraid of death ever since and is convinced "Mr. Death" can change his appearance to mask his arrival. When there is a knock at the door, a man breaks into her apartment, and Wanda faints, thinking it's "Mr. Death." When she comes to, the man apologizes and explains he is a building contractor their to demolish the building the very next day. Soon after she meets "Mr. Death" head on and the twist ending is quite remarkable.

Our radio version stars Marshall Allman (Prison Break) as Police officer Beldon. I can't wait to hear the mixed version. In other news, my Word of Promise Old Testament and Full audio Bible will be released to the public by mid September. I just received finished goods of them both a few days ago and I must say the amazing packaging is only surpassed by the quality of the audio itself. My hope is that this audio Bible will become a helpful tool to spread the word of God in homes all over the world. To visit the resource center to learn more about this audio Bible and hear and watch audio and video on it, please visit:

http://wordofpromise.thomasnelson.com/

All of these Bible products are available wherever Bibles are sold.

Thanks everyone and I'll see you next time for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Hi everyone,

I hope you enjoyed "Bewitchin' Pool" starring Karen Black. It's a tough story to do on radio because it's so visual, with the kids splashing around in the water and the Norman Rockwell-esque country home of Aunt T. Even with these challenges I'm very happy with the way it came out and I hope you are too.

I hope that you also enjoyed "The Hunt" starring the incomparable Shelley Berman as "Hyder" with Karen Black as his wife "Rachel." I just love this story and what Shelley and Karen did with it. If you haven't heard this one, don't miss it, it's a heartfelt story and one you won't soon forget -- especially if you're a dog-lover.

Coming your way soon is "Passage on the Lady Anne" starring British actors Martin Jarvis and Rosalyn Ayres, who are real life husband and wife. They play "Mr. & Mrs. McKenzie" elderly travelers on the ancient British ocean liner "The Lady Anne." In this story, an unhappy American couple named "Alan & Eileen Ransome" (played by David Pasquesi and Ann Sonneville) take a 14-day cruise to England in the hopes that the trip will rekindle their marriage. They meet the McKenzies and other passengers who are ALL elderly and make it very clear that they do not want them aboard. This one is mysterious, moody and ultimately quite touching.

Martin Jarvis played "The Voice of God" in my Word of Promise audio Bible. Please see:

http://www.amazon.com/Word-Promise-Testament-Audio-Bible/dp/0718024249

He is a tremendous actor with incredible abilities. His lovely and talented wife Rosalyn has been in many films and TV programs -- you might remember her as The Bride of Frankenstein in the film "Gods and Monsters."

This Saturday (July 25th) on HOLLYWOOD 360 my guest is Radio Hall of Famer and Old-Time Radio Guru Chuck Schaden. I'll also have a recorded interview with Margot Stevenson the actress who played "The Lovely Margot Lane" opposite Orson Welles on "The Shadow." OTR shows include: The Phil Harris & Alice Faye Show, The Shadow, X-Minus-One and Casey, Crime Photographer. On August 8th, Shelley Berman will be my guest.

HOLLYWOOD 360 airs on Chicago radio station WIND AM 560 from 7 pm to Midnight every Saturday night followed by two episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE radio dramas beginning at Midnight. If you are out of the area, tune in via the internet at:

http://560wind.townhall.com/

Well, that's all for now, check back for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Hi everyone,

I hope you enjoyed the TZ radio production of "Execution" starring Don Johnson as a tough cowboy from the old West that is brought to modern times by a scientist. I think it came out great and Don was marvelous as the mean cowboy killer.

Next up is "Bewitchin' Pool" by Earl Hamner and adapted for radio by the amazing Dennis Etchison. As Dennis explains it: Of all the Hamner episodes, this one may have the most heart. This one was cut and somewhat short-changed on TV. But Dennis's adaptation is based on Hamner's full script. The TV version aired June 19th, 1964. It was program 156 in the series and was the last TZ television episode ever broadcast, which was cancelled abruptly. It contrasts a bitter, edgy present with a return to an idyllic rural fantasy past. Two kids are miserable because of their parents' bitter, unhappy marriage. They dive into the family swimming pool to escape and surface in another time and place, straight out of Tom Sawyer. A wonderful older woman named Aunt T runs her rural house as a kind of orphans' home. The kids eventually return to the present, only to learn that their parents are divorcing. So they swim back to Aunt T's to live happily ever after.

There is a dark, unspoken undercurrent to this story, almost as if the kids commit suicide to escape their unhappiness. Realistically, from the parents' point of view, that is probably what happens. Whether the children's bodies are actually found we never know. But we don't dwell on that possibility. Hamner's story is about salvation by escaping to a better place, and that is what most of the audience will hear: a happy ending. But the darker, sadder story is there for those who care to think about it.

In the TV version Georgia Simmons played Aunt T. In our radio version the incredible Karen Black owns the role. I directed Karen and she's just the sweetest person ever! Jeff Lupetin, an amazing voice over artist and director handled the supporting directing chores on this one and the soon-to-be-released "The Hunt" starring Shelley Berman and Karen Black. I can't wait to hear the first draft of "Bewitchin' Pool' which will be early next week.

This Saturday on HOLLYWOOD 360 I have the great Stan Freberg as my guest along with the producers and director of CHICAGO OVERCOAT an independent film shot here in Chicago starring Frank Vincent, Armand Assante, Stacy Keach and Mike Starr. Next Saturday I have the always hilarious Tim Kazurinsky and on the 13th, the brilliant Stephnie Weir of Mad TV fame. HOLLYWOOD 360 airs on Chicago station WIND AM 560 from 7 pm to Midnight every Saturday night followed by THE TWILIGHT ZONE radio dramas at Midnight. If you are out of the area, tune in via the internet at: http://560wind.townhall.com/

That's all for now, check back for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone enjoyed "Two" starring Don Johnson and Oksana Fedenuschen. I've gotten some very nice emails about it and it's always great to get your feedback. Next up is another show starring Don Johnson, it's called "Execution." The original story was written by Rod Serling and based on a short story by my good friend George Clayton Johnson. Dennis Etchsion adapted it for our radio play. A tough cowboy in the Old West is sentenced to death for shooting another man in the back. But just as he is hanged, he disappears from the noose. He wakes up in a lab in present-day-New York - the first successful time traveler. The scientist learns that the cowboy was about to be executed for murder and decides to send him back to face his punishment. The cowboy kills the scientist and flees. Unfortunately, the big city doesn't agree with him; it's too noisy and busy. He shoots up a bar, wreaks havoc and barely makes it back to the lab -- where he gets the surprise of his life -- or death. In the original TV episode, Albert Salmi played the unsavory cowboy and Russell Johnson (The Professor from Gilligan's Island) played the scientist. In its radio counterpart, Don Johnson plays the cowboy and JoBe Cerny portrays the scientist. This one, and "Two" were not mixed at Cerny, and the sound designer has told me this one is really rich with effects. I'm excited to hear a first draft of it this week, so I'll keep you posted. After "Execution" it's "Bewitchin' Pool" starring Karen Black.

I have a very special announcement: THE TWILIGHT ZONE RADIO DRAMAS will no longer be heard on WGN AM 720. So for those of you in the Chicagoland area that regularly tune in to TZ on WGN please tune your dial to WIND AM 560 at the same time, Saturday nights at Midnight (technically Sunday mornings). Please spread the word. And if you want to hear me as host of HOLLYWOOD 360, tune in to WIND AM 560 five hours earlier starting at 7 pm and going all the way till Midnight when TZ will be heard. As I said in my last blog, HOLLYWOOD 360 spans everything Hollywood, from today's most current showbiz headlines to radio, TV and Film Nostalgia. I present, movie, DVD and theatre reviews, celebrity and industry expert interviews, trivia contests, take calls and a whole lot more. For fans of old-time radio, I play four old-time radio shows each week, thanks to Radio Spirits so please support them at www.radiospirits.com I play one Comedy, one Detective, one Sci-Fi or Western and one Mystery/Horror show. Last Saturday I interviewed the great Michael York and Hugh O'Brian (Wyatt Earp of classic TV). This coming week May 9th I'll interview Thomas Lennon (Lt. Dangle from Reno 911). Tom is co-starring in two films right now "17-Again" and "I Love You Man." I will also be interviewing another celebrity (haven't confirmed him/her as yet) and playing four old-time radio shows, THE LIFE OF RILEY, BOX 13, HAVE GUN-WILL TRAVEL and THE WHISTLER.

We continue to improve the MYSTERY THEATER site and show at www.mysterytheater.com so I hope you're enjoying it! Well, that's all for now. Thanks for all your support and I'll see you next time for MORE NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Hi everyone,

Well, the TZ episode "Two" was recently mixed and I believe it airs very soon on the network. This episode, written by Montgomery Pittman and adapted for radio by Dennis Etchison stars Don Johnson as a weary soldier, sometime after WWII with Chicago actress Oksana Fedenuschen as a soldier from the opposite side.

This two-character drama starred Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery in the TV version. The TV version had very little dialog, in fact the continuity script (transcript of the soundtrack) from CBS archives is barely two pages long. Dennis had to do a lot of creative writing for this one to work.

Another challenge was that the man was the only one who spoke English, and the woman said a total of three or four words - in a foreign language. To do it this way for radio would mean that she almost disappears completely from the play, and merely adding more lines for him would make it an endless monologue for the man. The point to the story is that they are two soldiers from opposite sides who can't communicate. So Dennis created a sound transition at the beginning, wherein her words in a foreign language fade through to English. Thereafter we are able to hear her thoughts in English, though her spoken words to him remain in a foreign tongue. It's a remarkable story with that I hope you won't miss.

I've always been a big fan of Don Johnson, so getting to work with him on TZ was a thrill for me. Usually when I record a star, they do two shows. Don starred in this episode and in "Execution" which airs in a few months. He was simply brilliant and I could tell he was having a fun time with it. He loves radio drama and kept dropping his pages once he didn't need them (just like the radio stars from the 40s used to do : ) Don nailed both shows and I can't wait for you to hear them.

On the MYSTERY THEATER front, we've been making progress on the site, which is at www.mysterytheater.com

You now can hear the show streaming at 9 pm Monday through Friday and you can download episodes of the Mystery Theater shows for only 99 cents each if you order it the week after it airs. If you wait more than a week though, the price is $2.99 each, so make sure to order them when they are at 99 cents each. Christopher Lee is awesome as your guide to the best in mystery, detective and science-fiction that radio has to offer. Episodes of the Old-Time Radio shows should be available soon, so keep checking back. We got word that KFWB in LA will be airing Mystery Theater weeknights very soon. I'll make an announcement when that happens.

I am now hosting my own radio show. It's called HOLLYWOOD 360, heard every Saturday night LIVE from 7 pm till Midnight at Chicago powerhouse station WIND AM 560. If you are within earshot of the station, I hope you'll tune in. For those outside the Chicagoland area, you can hear it streamed on the web at http://560wind.townhall.com/

HOLLYWOOD 360 spans everything Hollywood, from today's most current showbiz headlines to radio, TV and Film Nostalgia. I present, movie, DVD and theatre reviews, celebrity and industry expert interviews, trivia contests and a whole lot more. For fans of old-time radio, I play 4 old-time radio shows each week, thanks to Radio Spirits so please support them at www.radiospirits.com. I play one comedy, one Detective, one Sci-Fi or Western and one Mystery/Horror show.

Last week on HOLLYWOOD 360 I interviewed Annette O'Toole. This week I'm interviewing Mike Starr and Chicago casting guru Claire Simon. Guests in upcoming weeks will include Malcolm McDowell, Stacy Keach, Sean Astin, Michael York and many others.

Well, I'm off for now. I hope you'll tune in all the radio shows we offer! See you next time for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!