Well, last week I received in the final tweaked version of TZ episode "The 16 MM Shrine" starring Kathy Garver and Charles Shaughnessy. It came out great! I hope all of you reading this have a chance to hear it. The next TZ show that Cerny is working on is "The Mirror" starring Tony Plana. As Dennis Etchison describes it: That's the one that Peter Falk starred in on the original TV show. The original was an anti-Castro tract, with Falk made to look like a clone of Fidel, who becomes a ruthless, bloodthirsty dictator as soon as he takes over. It was very much of its time, expressing America's hostility toward the new regime in Cuba. An angry, one-sided propaganda piece. Serling called him Clemente, with D'Allesandro as a stand-in for Che. Rather than arguing the pros and cons of Castro, the radio version is less specific. It is set in what could be any Latin American country ruled by a dictator. The basic point is sound - that fear and paranoia can make any new leader a dictator himself. It is a cautionary tale about the corrupting dangers of power.

I was so happy to have cast the amazing Cuban-American actor Tony Plana in the lead role. You can see him each week as the dad on "Ugly Betty." What a pleasure it was working with him, not only on this story but on "Young Man's Fancy" too. I think he had a really fun time getting to play two completely opposite characters and he totally knocked them out of the park. I can't wait for you to hear them.

We're close to releasing TWILIGHT ZONE collection 14, which will have 10 shows on 10 CDs. The shows are:
Night Call – Mariette Hartley
Kick the Can – Shelley Berman & Stan Freberg
A Game of Pool – Wade Williams
A Penny For Your Thoughts – David Eigenberg
Free Dirt – Eric Bogosian
Number 12 Looks Just Like You – Bonnie Somerville
On Thursday We Leave For Home – Barry Bostwick
Third From the Sun – Fred Willard
The Trouble With Templeton – Michael York
The Mirror – Tony Plana.

We're hard at work producing MYSTERY THEATER hosted by Christopher Lee which launches March 2nd and will be a showcase for the best of the best in radio mystery, detective and science-fiction -- so be sure to listen. Well, that's all for now, HAPPY HOLIDAYS and join me next time for MORE NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

We're getting ready to mail out our MYSTERY THEATER flyer and CD demo to prospective radio stations across the country. My hope is that we sign up 50 to 75 stations to start and build it to 200 or more stations by the end of 2009. MYSTERY THEATER officially launches March 2nd, 2009.

I've had the great pleasure of working with Christopher Lee as host. He's voiced the first 50 shows (from London), which is the first 10 weeks. We're in the process of building a wonderful website for the series at www.mysterytheater.com (not up yet). Eventually, listeners will be able to find thousands of mystery, detective, and science-fiction radio shows available at our site for download or CD sale. The site will be a great place to visit and I'll keep you posted on the progress.

On the TZ front, this week I received in "The 16 MM Shrine" starring Kathy Garver and Charles Shaughnessy. It needed some tweaks here and there and is back in the capable hands of Matt Sauro at Cerny American Creative. I'm told that the final version will be here today, so I'm looking forward to that.

Recently, I've received in TZ radio drama scripts for "Eye of the Beholder" by Barry Richart, "Once Upon a Time" and "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" by Matthew Elliott, " and a fresh 'never before seen or heard' episode called "And Cauldron Bubble" by Christine Watson. I'm looking forward to producing these shows in 2009. We have scripts out for consideration to Billy Zane and Christopher Lee and Tim Kazurinsky is going to come in, in a few weeks to star in two great shows. It's always so much fun working with Tim, he's simply amazing.

On the Old Testament audio Bible front, we just recorded Max von Sydow as "Noah" from the South of France and he was absolutely brilliant. Also, we recorded my good friend Malcolm McDowell as "King Solomon," Wade Williams as "Gideon" and we just signed John Rhys-Davies as "Saul." I can't wait for everyone to hear Malcolm, Max, Wade and all the cast in this epic Old Testament audio project to be released in October 2009.

Well, that's all for now, join me next time for MORE NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Well, I can finally reveal who the host of MYSTERY THEATER will be! I'm very proud and honored to announce that the host of MYSTERY THEATER will be the legendary film star Christopher Lee! Special thanks to Gemma Cox, Donna Cannatella and Juan from Mr. Lee's official website for helping make this possible. Mr. Lee's website is: http://christopherleeweb.com/

Last Thursday, Mr. Lee recorded the first month's scripts. He lives in London and London is 6 hours ahead of Chicago so I had to phone in at 5 am for the 3 hour session. We'll record approximately 10 sessions per year. At each session Mr. Lee will record slightly over one month's worth of scripts. He was absolutely brilliant and so very gracious and just wonderful to work with.

I think listeners will really enjoy MYSTERY THEATER, which will be a showcase for the best in radio mystery, detective and science-fiction. They'll love Mr. Lee as host, but they'll also be impressed with the quality of the radio episodes that we'll be presenting. Mostly the shows featured on MYSTERY THEATER will be from the 1940s and 1950s; shows like: Suspense, Escape, Sherlock Holmes, The Whistler, Johnny Dollar, X Minus One, Ellery Queen and so on but we'll also have newer mystery, detective and science fiction shows too. For example, we just licensed the Peabody award-winning series Bradbury 13 produced in 1984 by Michael McDonough. Bradbury 13 was originally broadcast on NPR and has never been broadcast on commercial radio - but you'll be able to hear it on MYSTERY THEATER.

I'm working on licensing many other "newer" radio shows as well. I'd very much like to include the great Himan Brown's CBS Radio Mystery Theater and although we do not have rights to include it at this time, I am in contact with Mr. Brown and hope that he'll allow us to do so in the near future. MYSTERY THEATER will launch March 2nd, 2009 and I'm hopeful that a radio station near you will carry it. If not, you'll be able to hear it streamed at our official website at www.mysterytheater.com (the site is not up as yet - it will go live in March 2009).

In other news, please look for THE NEW ADVENTURES OF MICKEY SPILLANE'S MIKE HAMMER starring Stacy Keach. It's at bookstores near you or click this Blackstone Audio link.

And THE WORD OF PROMISE NEXT GENERATION AUDIO BIBLE is in stores everywhere so I hope you'll pick up a copy. Here's Amazon's link to it: http://www.amazon.com/Word-Promise-Next-Generation-Dramatized/dp/1400313279

The next TZ show that Cerny American is working on is "The 16 MM Shrine" which stars Kathy Garver and Charles Shaughnessy. I'm hoping to hear it and make tweaks by next week as it airs in December. Well, that's all for now friends. Check back with me next week for MORE NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

This week I received in the TZ radio episode "The Four of Us Are Dying" starring Eric Bogosian. Eric does an amazing job on this one, as he did previously for us in "Free Dirt." He plays FOUR roles and has to change his voice for each role and does so flawlessly. It airs this week so I can't wait for all of you to hear it. Matt Sauro at Cerny American Creative handled the Foley and sound design on this one and kudos to Matt for doing a brilliant job with it - thanks Matt!

On Wednesday of last week Martin Jarvis and his lovely wife Ros Ayres starred in the TZ radio episode "Passage on the Lady Anne" penned by Charles Beaumont and adapted for radio by our very own Dennis Etchison. "Passage on the Lady Anne" is, in my opinion, one of the best episodes of the series. It was one of the hour long TZ shows so it is seldom seen on TV.

Martin and Ros play Mr. & Mrs. McKenzie a British couple aboard a cruise ship who encounter an unhappily married young American couple (played by David Pasquesi and Ann Sonneville) who are taking the cruise from NY to England in the hopes of rekindling their marriage. The McKenzie's and all of the other passengers aboard the "Lady Anne" are elderly Brits and for some reason they seem to not want the young couple to sail with them. It's mysterious, moody and ultimately quite touching.

This one is tough to produce though because everyone other than the young couple and the travel agent (played by JoBe Cerny) are British. There just are not that many British actors (in their 70s and 80s) here in Chicago so this one has its share of challenges. We've managed to record most of the characters with British actors here but there are still a few parts that need to be recorded and I'm thinking we'll need to reach out to actors in LA or London.

I'm hoping that the new host of MYSTERY THEATER might like to play a role in this TZ episode as he is a mature actor and is British - not to mention one of the greatest actors of all time. Any guesses as to who he might be??? I am days away from signing an agreement with him for MYSTERY THEATER and will be able to reveal who he is very soon, sorry for the wait.

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

Well, this week I received in a terrific radio adaptation of the famous Rod Serling TZ script "Eye of the Beholder" by Barry Richert. Barry has written a few TZ scripts this year and I'm looking forward to producing them as he is a brilliant writer. "Eye of the Beholder" is an especially difficult show to do on radio as it is very visual but Barry nailed it as I knew he would. I'm a firm believer that "anything" can be done on radio. This was taught to me by my close friend Stan Freberg before I had ever met him -- let me explain: When I was a DJ on my college radio station, RRG-Triton College 88.9 FM, I heard a PSA (Public Service Announcement) written, produced and starring Stan Freberg (little did I know that he and I would become close friends years later and he would host my "When Radio Was" radio show and star in several episodes of TZ). In this PSA Stan uses sound effects of heavy industrial equipment to build a gigantic ice-cream sundae, including a crane to put the cherry on top. At the end of the PSA Stan says in his one-of-a-kind "Stan Freberg" voice: "Try doing that on television." His point was, sure, you could build a gigantic sundae on TV but it would cost a fortune and be a monumental task. But on radio, with a few perfectly placed sound effects, the right music for tension, and a narrator, you could do it quickly, easily and cost efficiently. So, in a nutshell -- ANYTHING can be done on radio! And the truth be told, he is right. You can do anything on radio and I can't tell you how many email I get from listeners to our TZ radio show that ask: Are you going to do "The Invaders" and "Eve of the Beholder?" And my answer is always a resounding YES, yes, we are going to do them. I have faith in my writers that they will figure out how to turn extremely visual scripts like these into brilliant radio
adaptations.

On another subject, I am "this" close to announcing who will be the host of MYSTERY THEATER so hang in there with me, I am hopeful that I will be able to announce it on my next blog.

And a correction from my last blog: The Chris Canniff script that he delivered is not called "Back For the Holidays" it is called "Back for the Fourth" and I plan to produce it in time to broadcast it prior to Fourth of July 2009. It's going to be a
riveting show.

Well, that's all for now my friends, join me next time for
more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Well, last week I got around to reading some TZ scripts that have been coming in from some of our excellent writers, including one from first time TZ writer Christine Trowbridge called “Child’s Play.” It has to do with cloning of animals .. and humans. Quite riveting and scary and I’m looking forward to producing it.

Matthew Elliott sent in “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” which, as TZ fans know, was a short film presented as a TZ episode in the last year of the series. Matthew is a brilliant writer and he did a marvelous job with it. Matthew’s next assignment is adapting for radio the classic TZ story “Nothing in the Dark” which originally starred Robert Redford as “Death.” This was one of my favorites and I can’t wait to see what Matthew does with it.

Barry Richter who has written two terrific original TZ stories for us informs me that he’s putting the final touches on “Eye of the Beholder” which was my all-time favorite show from the TV series. Like “The Invaders” and “The Masks” it has unique challenges to adapt for radio as it is very visual. But Dennis Etchison, who adapted “The Masks” for us dug deep down and delivered a brilliant rendition and I’m certain Barry will do the same.

I’m happy to say that a script that I wrote in collaboration with Matthew Elliott called “A Heated Premonition” is finally complete. It is based on the classic story “August Heat” by W. F. Harvey. It’s the story of a pencil sketch artist who draws a man on trial for murder and then meets up with the man in a bizarre way on the hottest
day of the year. I am very happy with the final script and I can’t wait to cast it and produce it sometime next year.

Speaking of new scripts, first time TZ writer Christopher Canniff delivered an excellent adaptation of the John Collier story “Back for Christmas” that he calls “Back for the Holidays.” I plan on producing it in time to broadcast it at Christmas time next year.

In other news, I’m honored to announce that the great Max von Sydow is joining our cast of The Old Testament in the iconic role of “Noah.” I have been a Max von Sydow fan all my life and I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with him. He is one of the greatest actors of all time and I’m so thrilled that he will be such a huge part of The Word of Promise audio Bible.

Well, that’s all for now, join me next time for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Well, yesterday I received in a rough draft of the TZ radio drama “A Piano in the House” starring Michael York. I was completely blown away by it, and by Michael’s performance, and I can’t wait for all of you to hear it. I had only minor tweaks to it and those have already been made so I will get the finished show on Monday. Michael York plays an evil character, which is so completely different from his real identity. I was with Michael two weeks ago in Los Angeles, interviewing him for the “behind the scenes” DVD for The Word of Promise Old Testament audio Bible I am producing. As with the New Testament, Michael is the Narrator and he is absolutely amazing. In “A Piano in the House” he plays a sinister theater critic who suspects his young wife is cheating on him and finds out for sure when an old player piano is a sort of truth serum to those who hear it play. I believe “A Piano in the House” is scheduled to air the week of October 20th so please listen for it.

I’ve been working night and day on the Youth edition of The Word of Promise New Testament Audio Bible. It hits store shelves mid October and I hope you’ll pick up a copy. It will be available in a 20-CD set (with a behind the scenes DVD) or in an MP3 version. All of the Word of Promise products are available at www.thewordofpromise.com or at Amazon and at major retail chains and all Christian bookstores.

We’re hard at work on a radio station marketing kit for Mystery Theater, the series that we’re going to launch next year. This kit will be mailed out to about 3,500 radio stations in the hope that they’ll want to carry the series. If you missed my previous log, Mystery Theater will be a 2-hour per night showcase for the best in radio: mystery, detective and science-fiction programming. The series will be aired on most stations Monday through Friday and within each 2-hour show, we’ll present 3 half-hour radio dramas. I’m negotiating with a major Hollywood personality right now to star in the series – I hope to be able to announce who that star is, very soon.

Last week I received the first two Mike Hammer radio dramas “Oil & Water” and "Dangerous Days” in from Cerny American Creative. Each episode runs approximately 90 minutes. Stacy Keach reprises his role as the hard-boiled detective created by Mickey Spillane and he doesn’t miss a beat. I had a few more tweaks for the geniuses at Cerny but what I’ve heard is outstanding. Both episodes will be sold in a 3-CD set called “The New Adventures of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer.” It will be released by Blackstone audio in stores this November. They won’t be broadcast on radio anytime soon and the retail price for both shows on 3-CDs is only $19.99 so I hope you’ll give this a try. The future of the series will depend on how well this first double-feature set sells, so I’m giving a shout out to the Hammer fans for some help : )

Well, that’s all for this time, see you next week for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Well, I mentioned last week in my blog that I would have a very special announcement this week -- so here it is: I will be launching a new, nationally syndicated radio series beginning January 5th, 2009 called “The Mystery Theater.” It will be two hours each night, Monday through Friday (10 hours per week) of mystery, detective and science—fiction radio programming originally broadcast from the 1940s through today. It will be hosted by a very well known Hollywood celebrity. The scripts for the host will be written by acclaimed mystery writer Dennis Etchison, who also is the script supervisor for the TZ series. "The Mystery Theater" will have a dedicated website at mysterytheater.com (which will also launch in January 2009). The website will offer thousands of radio shows for sale and/or download. Each offering will be 2 half-hour radio episodes. The download price will be 99 cents or you can buy the 2 shows on CD for $1.99.

A top priority with this new series will be “sound quality” – we will only be broadcasting and selling radio episodes of the very highest sound quality – no radio episodes will be broadcast or sold on our site that are not absolutely top quality sound. For example, there is a terrific mystery series from radio’s golden age titled “Quiet Please.” It was written and produced by Wyllis Cooper, the man who originated “Lights Out!” There were more than 100 episodes produced but I’ve only found a handful of episodes from the series that would meet the sound quality standards to be aired on “The Mystery Theater” or sold at its site.

What you will hear each night on “The Mystery Theater” will be radio episodes of mystery, detective and sci-fi that are “direct from the master recordings” (or episodes very close to the source material) and then digitally remastered. Show's that are not excellent sound quality simply won’t make the cut.

Over my 30-year career in the radio business, I have made wonderful and long-lasting relationships with individuals and companies that not only own rights to the radio episodes, but have the master recordings. Each night you’ll hear 3 half-hour episodes on “The Mystery Theater.” Radio episodes like: I Love a Mystery, Boston Blackie, Dragnet, The Hermit’s Cave, Dangerous Assignment, Adventures By Morse, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, The Adventures of Sam Spade, Nightbeat, X Minus One, The Adventures of Nero Wolfe, Sherlock Holmes, The Weird Circle, Dimension X, Philo Vance, Detective, The Fat Man, The Weird Circle, Mystery Is My Hobby, Mr. District Attorney, Mystery In the Air, I Love Adventure, The Thin Man, Casey, Crime Photographer, Zero Hour (hosted by Rod Serling), The Mutual Radio Theatre (hosted by Vincent Price), The Adventures of the Falcon, Murder At Midnight, Ellery Queen, Mike Hammer, Detective, Bold Venture, The Clock, The Hall of Fantasy, True Detective Mysteries, Molle’ Mystery Theater, Michael Shayne, Detective, Mr. & Mrs. North, and many others.

I expect to launch the series on 100 stations by Monday January 5th, 2009 and by year three to have it placed on as many as 300 stations. You will be able to find a local station by checking the “tune-in” section of the mysterytheater.com website. And I can’t wait to share with you who the host will be! Hopefully I’ll be able to reveal that to you very soon.

Thanks for checking in, I’ll be back with you with more news on this series; "The New Adventures of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer" and of course TZ, next week.

So sorry about not writing a blog in almost a month. A project that I've been working on for the past year has a deadline of next week and I' ve been completely fixated on finalizing it. It's The Word of Promise Next Generation New Testament audio Bible.

About a year ago I was having dinner with Wayne Hastings, Senior VP of Thomas Nelson, Inc. and he shared with me a startling statistic about how young people are moving away from the Bible more and more each year. An idea hatched during that dinner of creating a youth-oriented audio Bible with teen and young adult stars playing the major roles. The hope is that if youths of today had access to an audio Bible with stars they look up to, it might help get them back to the Bible. Wayne liked the idea and so I collaborated with Dan Lynch of the family division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. to set out to making it a reality. Like the current New Testament that I produced with Jim Caviezel as "Jesus" www.wordofpromise.com this youth New Testament audio has over 100 actors, music and sound effects to create a "you are there" feel.

Now a year later, we've just about completed production on it and I'm very pleased and proud of it. The stars include: Cody Linley as Jesus, AnnaSophia Robb as Mary Magdalene, Corbin Bleu as Peter, Marshall Allman as Paul, Luke Benward as Mark, Tahj Mowry as John, Charlie Stewart as Luke, Emily Osment as Mary, Mother of Jesus, Andrew Lawrence as Matthew, Alyson Stoner as Martha, Jordin Sparks as Elizabeth, Sean Astin as our Narrator, with Martin Jarvis as the Voice of God.

It's 25 hours on 20 CDs as well as an MP3 version. I'm very excited about this project and its impact I pray it will have on today's teens and tweens. It releases this coming October in stores everywhere.

On the TZ front, I've received several new scripts in from our very talented pool of writers. I'm looking forward to reading them once I get past my deadline of September 10th to turn in the Next Generation audio Bible. I'm looking forward to receiving a rough draft of the TZ episode "A Piano In the House" which stars the great Michael York. That should be here any day. Then after that will be "The Four of Us Are Dying" with my good friend Eric Bogosian. Next week I'm going to have a very special announcement (I promise not to be late with my next blog) so be sure to log on for it.

Thanks everyone. Talk to you next week.

Last week I received the final version of The Twilight Zone Radio Drama “Third From the Sun” and I think listeners are going to be really pleased. Fred Willard is awesome as William Sturka and the rest of the cast is great too. Fred is such a talented actor and he’s so much fun to work with. He’s starred in four Zones now and is great in all of them. Listen for “Third From the Sun” to air on stations this month.

I also just received in a rough edit on “The Trouble With Templeton” starring Michael York in the role of Booth Templeton, portrayed in the televised version by Brian Aherne. Booth is an aging Broadway star who has lost his zest for life. Now cuckolded by a younger wife, all he has is a loyal valet and memories. Once he was married to the beautiful and vivacious Laura, who died long ago, as did his best friend, a playwright named Barney Flueger. Only their memories seem real. When he walks out on the rehearsal of a new play, he finds himself transported back to the 1920s. But he doesn’t fit in at all and therein lies the tale.

In the original TV episode, Sydney Pollack portrayed the “boy wonder” director of the Broadway play that Booth is to star in. He affected a faint Southern accent and spoke slowly and methodically with an air of humorless self-importance. I cast one of my best Zoners, Mike Starr, in this role and he plays it to perfection. What can I say about Michael York’s performance other than he absolutely and totally nails this part. He has the bulk of the dialog and at all times keeps the listener totally and completely on the edge of his words. Michael is a close friend and the Narrator of my Word of Promise audio Bible. Somehow Michael is able to make the difficult-to-pronounce names and places of the Bible sound effortless. I’m absolutely thrilled that he’s agreed to star in Zones for me. In this one he plays a good guy but in “A Piano in the House” he gets to switch gears to play a bad guy.

By the way, our Word of Promise New Testament audio Bible just won the 2008 Christian Book of the Year award. In the 30-year history of the award, neither a Bible OR an audio has ever won it. Click here for more info on the win. JoBe Cerny, who is President of Cerny American Creative is the amazing Director of The Word of Promise so kudos to JoBe! On the “Mike Hammer” front, we’ve recorded the first two shows and are now in the editing stages and bringing actors in for pick-ups. What I’ve heard so far is excellent – more on that later.

Well, that’s all for now, check back with me next week for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Well, I just got a rough edit in today of "Third From the Sun" starring Fred Willard and it's very good. I've started writing my notes on it and will send them over to Cerny American for tweaking. Fred Willard does an awesome job in the lead role of William Sturka, played in the TV version by Fritz Weaver. Zoner Tom McElroy plays Sturka's friend Jerry Riden and Doug James (who is also our TZ announcer) plays the ominously gregarious Mr. Carling. "Third From the Sun" was from the Twilight Zone's first TV season and is a remarkable episode. It was written by Rod Serling based on a short story by the great Richard Matheson. It's the story of two men and their families who discover the world is going to be annihilated by nuclear war within 48 hours. One of the men is an experimental aircraft pilot who can fly their families to safety in a rocket ship to a distant world similar to their own. But their escape is almost foiled by a man who learns of their plan to rocket off to another world. This one will air in August so I hope you'll be able to tune it in.

I received two terrific TZ scripts in this week ­ both of which are brand new story ideas, not based on original TZ episodes. One is by writer Chris Canniff. It's based on the John Collier story "Back For Christmas." I'm hoping to produce this one later this year. The other is by Dennis Etchison; it's called "The 25th Hour." It's the story of a busy man for whom there are not enough hours in the day. He meets a mysterious stranger, an older, retired fellow who has more time on his hands than he knows what to do with. Soon, as you might imagine, they strike a deal and therein lies the tale.

Well, that's all for this week, see you next week for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

This week we completed the final mix of the TZ episode “The Prime Mover” starring David Eigenberg in the Dane Clark role of “Ace Larsen” the pushy but ingratiating owner of a roadside diner. David is fabulous in the role. One of my top Zoners, Kurt Naebig, gives a stellar performance in the Buddy Ebsen role of “Jimbo Cobb” Ace’s cook and right-hand man – who has a talent he’s kept hidden all these years: the ability to move objects with his mind. Once Ace discovers what Jimbo can do, it’s off to Vegas to try their luck at the tables. This TZ radio drama came together a little easier than most – probably because the star of the show (David Eigenberg) was here in Chicago with the rest of the cast when we recorded it. When we have the star record their performance in LA, NY, etc. it takes longer - and more tender loving care - to fuse it together properly. The geniuses at Cerny American Creative are true masters at this technique though and if I didn’t know it myself, I’d think the star was with the supporting cast on them all.

Today I have the supporting casts for MIKE HAMMER episode 2 “Oil & Water” coming in as well as the TZ episode “Who Am I?” It will be a long day of rehearsing and then recording both shows. We’ll do a table read of the TZ show first, and then record it, then break for lunch and do a table read of the HAMMER show and then record it. During the table reads the actors take direction from me; we all take notes; make tweaks; all get on the same page with name pronunciation, etc. I’ll have a great crew in here today including Franette Liebow, Ric Peeples, D.J. Howard, Meg Thalken, Oksana Fedunyszyn, Norm Woodel, Ilyssa Fraden, Nick Sandys, Tom McElroy, Kurt Naebig, Ric Vargas, Heidi Klefstad, Jamie Baron, Sara Court, Tracy Hernandez, Brandon Beard Reed and Maestro Harrell. I’m looking forward to a productive day – then when it’s all over – collapse from exhaustion : )

Next week, I should be hearing the first rough mix of MIKE HAMMER episode 1 “Dangerous Days” so I’m excited about that. Well, that’s it for now, join me next week for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of directing Sean Astin in two TZs ­ "Who Am I?" and "The Amazing Dr. Kyle Powers." Sean was a blast to work with and a real pro. He wanted to voice the lines over and over to give me different shades of color. Sean is also narrating the Youth Bible I'm producing and portraying the role of "Joshua" in my Old Testament. Our New Testament is available now in stores or at www.thewordofpromise.com. I'm excited about mixing these shows that will star Sean Astin, which will run later this year.

Last Friday we recorded the first episode of THE NEW ADVENTURES OF MICKEY SPILLANE'S MIKE HAMMER titled "Dangerous Days" at Cerny American Creative. I had 18 actors in to record the supporting characters to Stacy Keach's Mike Hammer. It was a lot of fun but A LOT of work. It took much longer than I expected as the HAMMER shows are a full hour in length where the TZs are only 40 minutes. That additional 20 minutes added hours of prep and recording time. I had all the actors do a table read ­ which just means all the actors sit around a table and perform the script in a leisurely setting. Then we took a break and went into the sound booth and recorded all the dialog ­ often times I had the actors perform their lines multiple times to have a safety. It took us about 5 hours just to record the dialog. Afterward, all of the sound files were separated and the sound design began being built. All of the music is composed and performed by Stacy Keach. M. J. Elliott who is writing the MIKE HAMMER scripts recently sent me episode two "Oil & Water" and Stacy Keach is recording that today in Hollywood. His wife Malgosia Tomossi, who played the role of "Maya" on the TV series is reprising her role for the radio series, so she's recording today too. I'm really stoked about this HAMMER series and I can't wait to hear it mixed by the geniuses at Cerny, headed up by JoBe Cerny who also portrays a regular character on HAMMER by the name of "Ozzie the Answer." Ric Vargas, one of my Zoners is stepping up as my assistant director.

Yesterday I received a rough mix in on the TZ episode "The Prime Mover" starring David Eigenberg. It's a lot of fun but it needs some tender loving care. I listened to it 5 or 6 times and took copious notes and faxed them over to Bob Benson at Cerny. He'll make these changes and then send me another copy. Then it will go into finer and finer tweaks until it's complete. Well, that's all for this week, see you next time for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Well this week I received an amazing TZ script written by Dennis Etchison from a story idea by Robert Patterson. It’s a brand new story (not based on one of the original TV shows) called “Mrs. Pierce Is Praying For Me” about a small-time hustler who’s down on his luck and running from the mob. When they put the squeeze on him by beating and nearly killing his brother, he learns a lesson about what really matters. His brother always got him out of jams when they were kids, but this time it’s his brother who needs help. Seems there was an old woman, Mrs. Pierce, who lived down the hall in the building where they grew up who had a special power - but that’s all I can tell you without ruining it. I’m hoping to cast and record this one sometime this year. Listen for it on a radio station near you.

And speaking of radio stations: Last week we mailed out a very cool TZ CD promotional mailer to 2,500 radio stations in the hopes of adding some of these stations to our growing list of about 150 stations right now. We haven’t mailed anything like this in a few years and it was time. If you don’t mail a promotional flyer out on your syndicated radio show just about every year the station count will degrade. The reason for losing stations for the most part is due to a format change. If we’re on a “Talk” station and then that stations suddenly decides to go all “Spanish” well, guess what?...we don’t offer TZ in Spanish so TZ and the station has to part ways. Even without a TZ promotional mailer we’ve managed to add quite a few stations over the past year, thanks to the great work by Westwood One and in particular, Stuart Greenblatt our affiliate coordinator. Stuart and his staff at Westwood One have done a stellar job of adding stations to our list and syndicating our show. Radio stations are a life’s blood to the continued success of TZ. The radio stations broadcast the show and the show has commercials inviting listeners to visit our website at www.twilightzoneradio.com where CDs and downloads of our episodes can be purchased. This revenue helps support the continued production so I greatly appreciate each and every one of you who has bought our shows and supported what we’re doing.

In other news, I’m thrilled to report that the week of June 23rd, Sean Astin is recording and starring in “The Amazing Dr. Powers” an original story (again not based on one of the original TV shows) by Barry Richert (who is a first time TZ writer but if this story is any indication of what will be coming -- it will be the first of many) and “Who Am I?” by Jerry Sohl. “Who Am I?” was an original Twilight Zone TV script that was never produced because the series was cancelled before it could be. In “Who Am I?” a man awakens one morning to discover that he has a different face, though no one else seems to notice that he has changed. It’s similar in feels to the Charles Beaumont story “Person or Person’s Unknown” yet very different. Both of these shows are going to be great and I’m psyched that they will both star one of my favorite actors, Sean Astin.

On the MIKE HAMMER front, our amazing writer Matthew Elliott has turned in the first script entitled “Dangerous Days” and it is fantastic. I’m in the process of casting the parts and we’ll be ready to record this in the next 10 days or so. Stacy Keach is not only starring as Mike Hammer and executive-producing the series, but he’s also composing and performing all of the music.

Well, that’s all for now, I’ll see you next week for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Well, I’m proud to announce that TZ won a very prestigious award last week - it won an “Audie Award” for “the best audio adapted from another medium.” It was up against some major competition including “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” and TZ came away with the prize! The Audie Awards are to audio what the Academy Awards are to motion pictures so I’m very honored that it won such a coveted award.

Last year TZ won 8 radio awards of excellence including AFTRA’s highest honor “The American Scene Award.” It also won The XM Nation Award for best radio drama on Sonic Theatre, channel 163 (which is XM’s radio drama channel). It’s really great to win awards but what makes me most happy is to see that TZ is finally getting its due. Last year, besides winning so many awards, it was picked up for national syndication by Westwood One and we got the green light from CBS to begin adding new story ideas into the mix - - that’s what I’m really jazzed about. It’s funny, but being so close to it, I just expect everyone to love TZ as much as I do but it’s like anything else, things take time and success doesn’t happen over night.

Being so “into” radio drama (old & new) it’s so rewarding to begin to see the series finding its fan base and carving out its own little niche. One of the things that has helped us find an audience is that some of our radio shows appear as bonus material on DVDs of The Twilight Zone TV shows sold in Image Entertainment’s Twilight Zone Definitive Collection of 28 DVDs. This is the most amazing collection of The Twilight Zone TV show you will ever find. My friends at DeepDiscount.com sell this complete collection of the Twilight Zone TV series on DVD for the incredibly low price of $164.89 (I don’t believe anyone, not even Amazon sells it for less). The retail price is $299.96 so you save a whopping $135.00 off the sticker! Here’s what DeepDiscount.com says about it: “Explore the depths of the unknown in this complete collection of TV episodes from THE TWILIGHT ZONE. Funny at times, heartbreaking at others, THE TWILIGHT ZONE was one of the most unique and inventive television shows ever created. Rod Serling developed the series on the premise of watching people experience things so bizarre they can only be part of a fifth dimension. Serling appears at the start and finish of each episode, acting as the viewer's guide through the TWILIGHT ZONE. Consistently compelling, moral, and thought provoking, the series still inspires remakes and contemporary spin-offs. All 156 episodes from the classic show are collected here.” And for those of you that might be interested in purchasing this amazing series on DVD from DeepDiscount.com, here’s the link: http://search.deepdiscount.com/dvd/Twilight%20Collection

Well, that’s all for this week, catch me next time for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Today I received an excellent TZ script from prolific radio drama writer Michael Elliott. Michael lives in London and writes many of the “Harry Nile” scripts for radio producer Jim French. Jim is someone that I admire very much. He’s the producer behind “Imagination Theatre,” “Harry Nile,” and “Sherlock Holmes” three excellent examples of radio drama being produced today. Jim’s website is www.jimfrenchproductions.com.

Michael is one of the writers working on original TZ story ideas. He just delivered “The Time of Your Life” a truly great script that I’m hoping we can produce later this year. Without giving anything away, it’s the story of a woman who’s husband is killed and she gets him back after making a pact with the Devil who’s not interested in her soul, but he is interested in something else – what that is I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until it’s produced. The Devil character has some great dialog and I have just the actor in mind to play that part. The star of the show is the woman character and I’m hoping to cast a great actress. My first choice would be Mena Suvari. I think she’s an amazing actress and one that would put a special spin on this character. I first became a fan of Mena Suvari after watching “American Beauty” which won best picture in 2000 but I became a confirmed fan after watching her as a semi-regular on the HBO series “Six Feet Under.” Alan Ball, who wrote “American Beauty”, produced and often wrote “Six Feet Under” is an absolute genius and if you’ve not seen either of these, I highly recommend that you do.

Next week I’m planning on spending the day with Bob Benson at Cerny to put the final tweaks on “On Thursday We Leave For Home” starring Barry Bostwick, so I’m looking forward to that and for you to hear it soon. Well, that’s all for now, see you next time for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Still working hard on “On Thursday We Leave For Home” starring Barry Bostwick. It’s about 3⁄4 finished and Bob Benson who is heading up this one over at Cerny American Creative said I should have a first draft of it by Friday of next week. From this first draft I make copious notes and send them to Bob and then he makes a second draft and then more notes and by the third round or so it’s usually time to come out of the oven. : )

After “On Thursday We Leave For Home” we’ll be mixing “The Prime Mover” starring David Eigenberg. For those of you who are “Sex and the City” fans, David played the role of “Steve Brady” Miranda’s love interest. David came in to the studio to star in this show and “A Penny For Your Thoughts” which we aired earlier this year. It was a lot of fun for me and the cast to work with David, he’s a really talented actor and very genuine person. I’ve kept in contact with him and he’s going to play a role in my Old Testament audio project, The Word of Promise. For those of you who are not familiar with The Word of Promise, it’s an audio Bible starring Hollywood celebrities.

The New Testament (20 hours on 20 CDs) is already released, you can order it at www.thewordofpromise.com or buy it at any retail stores that carry Bibles. The Word of Promise is not only star-studded, it is produced in dramatic audio style with sound effects and a full music score by prolific Italian composer Stefano Mainetti. The New Testament stars Jim Caviezel as Jesus, Michael York as the Narrator, Stacy Keach as Paul, Louis Gossett as John, Marisa Tomei as Mary Magdalene, Terence Stamp as the Voice of God, John Heard as Matthew, Lou Diamond Phillips as Mark, Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Mary, Mother of Jesus, Chris McDonald as Luke, John Schneider as James and many other wonderful stars.

It’s word-for-word from the NKJ translation and is distributed by Thomas Nelson, Inc. I’m very happy to say that it’s the #1 selling audio Bible in the world. Currently I’m producing The Old Testament, which will be 60 hours on 55 CDs. It stars Jon Voight as Abraham, Richard Dreyfuss as Moses, Gary Sinise as David, Marcia Gay Harden as Esther, Malcolm McDowell as King Solomon, Michael York as the Narrator, Stacy Keach as Job and many other wonderful stars.
I’m also producing a Youth edition of the New Testament with wonderful youth stars as well. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

But getting back to David Eigenberg – you can see David in the new “Sex and the City” movie coming out later this month so my hat’s off to him! Well, that’s it for now, check back with me next week for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

This week we continue to work on “On Thursday We Leave For Home” and it’s coming along just fine. Barry Bostwick gives a stellar performance as Captain Benteen. This episode has some great supporting players in it as well, including Mike Starr, Christian Stolte, Elizabeth Ledo, Richard Henzel, Kurt Naebig, JoBe Cerny, Jennifer Joy, Meg Thalken, Tracy Hernandez, Jeff Lupetin and of course Doug James, our series announcer who almost always takes on a role in each story. Two of my kids are in it too, Amanda and C.J. Amari. Both have appeared on other TZ radio dramas. Amanda played opposite Stan Freberg in “The Fugitive” and C.J. played opposite Hal Sparks in “Long Distance Call.” They have the acting bug and so I’ll do my best to not have them end up someday on a True Hollywood Story : )

In other news: I’m also about to launch a new radio series based on Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, Detective. Stacy Keach and I have talked for years about producing a radio drama series on the detective that he portrayed in TV and films. Well, I’m happy to say it has finally taken shape. Here’s some info on it:

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF MICKEY SPILLANE’S MIKE HAMMER

Nobody writes mysteries like Mickey Spillane … and nobody solves them like MIKE HAMMER! The no-holds barred Private Eye returns! This time in fully dramatized “theatre-of-the-mind” audio adventures starring acclaimed actor Stacy Keach, complete with a full supporting cast, sound effects and music.

While other detectives bend and manipulate the law, Hammer holds it in total contempt, seeing it as nothing more than an impediment to justice, the one virtue he holds in absolute esteem. Produced in association with The Mickey Spillane Estate, these brand new audio adventures follow the New York-based Mike Hammer in his self-appointed role of judge, jury and executioner to an assortment of bad guys.

Hammer is supported in his quest for justice by his gorgeous secretary Velda along with Police Captain Pat Chambers, District Attorney Clarence Spencer and Mike’s collection of New York City street people including: Ozzie the Answer, Maya, Mike’s next-door-neighbor and extremely hot yoga teacher, Benny the Knife, Philly Brock, Moochie Burns and Dahlia – the buxom bartender of the Lite ‘N’ Easy Saloon. Even the show’s jazzy theme song “Harlem Nocturne” by Earle Hagen is back, which features a deeply melancholy saxophone, and sets the gritty tone for each episode.

This collection features a trilogy of brand-new Mike Hammer mysteries:

Dangerous Days – When Hammer rescues a crazed young woman clad only in a medical gown, he's flung into the shadowy world of secret ops and international terrorism. New York is the target, and Mike Hammer is the only man who can prevent a massive catastrophe. But will he find out who the real enemy is before it's too late?

Oil and Water – The one woman Mike Hammer might have married is back in town. But when she's murdered after making an appointment with her ex-lover, Mike winds up investigating a massive conspiracy involving a powerful oil company. Hammer thinks he's close to the truth, but has he been played for a sucker all along?

Proof Positive – Mike's secretary, Velda, is seriously injured, and her elderly neighbor is killed when a package containing a memory stick is sent to the wrong address. Who is willing to kill to get their hands on the stick? With Mike's friend Maya in charge of the office, Hammer goes on the trail of America's most explosive secret.

“I don’t want to arrest anyone. I just want to shoot somebody” – Mike Hammer

___________________________________________________________________________

The first collection of 3 stories will be available through Blackstone Audio this Fall. Look for Volume 1 at book chains everywhere or at the Blackstone Audio site at www.blackstoneaudio.com

I know that talking about Mike Hammer is off the subject of TZ but since it is dramatized radio, I thought you might want to know about it.

Well, that’s all for this week, catch me next week for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Today I spent most of my day down at Cerny American Creative sitting in on the final mix and helping tweak “Number Twelve Looks Just Like You” starring Bonnie Somerville & Charles Shaughnessy. I’m happy to say it’s finally finished and just in time as it airs the week of June 2nd and we have to send it out to Westwood One at least two weeks prior to airdate. I think it came out great and I’m hoping listeners will enjoy it. Bonnie and Charles do amazing jobs in roles that have tremendous range so “bravo!” And you’ll hear some other familiar voices in it too like Mike Starr, Linda Reiter and David Darlow. Next up to be mixed is “On Thursday We Leave For Home” starring Barry Bostwick. This one is about a group of settlers on another planet who have been waiting for 30 years to be rescued and taken back to Earth. Their leader, Benteen, originally played on television by James Whitmore, is reluctant to give up his position as the center of their lives and so actually resists the rescue when it finally does happen. The character of Benteen is very complex and James Whitmore did an astonishing job with it on television. The actor taking on the role in the radio version needs to be sympathetic and project quiet decency and kindness yet at the same time have the rigidity of a seasoned military leader. I chose Barry Bostwick to star as Benteen and I’m very happy to say he knocked it out of the park just as he did in the lead role of “And When the Sky Is Opened” a show we produced last year. On the original TV show “On Thursday We Leave For Home” was one of the hour-long episodes so with the radio versions being about 40 minutes, Dennis Etchison had to carefully reduce the show’s length. He does this by shortening some of the lengthy speeches and editing or omitting dialog that will not take away from the show’s meaning. If you’re a regular listener of TZ radio you may notice that in our radio shows that are adapted from the 30-minute television scripts (the majority of them) Dennis has to carefully “pad” the shows to make them 40 minutes. This is usually accomplished by an added lead-up scene to the main storyline or an additional scene in the story and also by adding pertinent dialog to the current scenes. I think that often times Dennis’s added dialog and new scenes help the listener understand the story better because, after all, this is radio and we don’t have the advent of any visuals. I think “On Thursday We Leave For Home” is going to be a great show from what I’ve heard so far.

Well, that’s all for now … catch you next time IN THE ZONE!

Well, this week we're in the throws of mixing "Number Twelve Looks Just Like You" starring Bonnie Somerville, Charles Shaughnessy and Mike Starr. I'm really happy with the way it's turning out and Bob Benson at Cerny is heading this one up. It's a really spooky one and I'm excited for listeners to hear it on the air very soon. The mix process for most TZ's takes about 100 hours of production with generally one main engineer (in this case Bob Benson) and then several assistant engineers ­ one to edit the dialog, two to create the Foley (sound effects), one to add the music and the main engineer who oversees and engineers the final mix. Generally the first thing that is recorded is the star's dialog in Los Angeles (or here in Chicago if the star is in town). That way the supporting Chicago actors and I can listen to the star's performance and get a feel for the pace and style ­ and so we can take notes as to how the star pronounces character names. For example, a name like "Dana" can be pronounced with a hard "a" or a soft "a" and it wouldn't be good if the star said it one way and the supporting cast said it another now would it??? So before I direct the supporting cast we do our prep work. The entire supporting cast receives their scripts with their role(s) circled about a week in advance. When they come in to the studio we record a rehearsal and then take a break and then record "the show." We record the rehearsal because in editing the final mix together we may borrow pieces and parts and replace them from "the rehearsal." It just gives the engineers a safety.

Then after we've recorded twice, we take a lunch break before going through the same process on a second script. I make sure that everyone eats a lot of food and are full because the microphones are very sensitive and can pick up stomach noises. The only downside to that is everyone is so full they sometimes get sleepy : ) I like to direct the supporting actors while in the room with them and not from a director's booth. We have two Neiuman U-87 microphones set so that actors can work both sides of the mics, that way we can have as many as four actors having dialog with each another at one time. The actors are always standing at the mics and they move in and out per their scripted lines. I am very fortunate to produce and direct this series in a city (Chicago) that boasts some of the best vocal actors in the country. I have about 10 "Zoners" that appear in most of the shows and then I mix in new actors to give the shows fresh voices. We always tease the new actors about it being their first time and we sometimes put them through a friendly initiation : )

Ryan, our in-house sound engineer, keeps a close watch on the VU meters making sure that the actors are recorded at the proper levels. Then all of the sound files are sent to Cerny American Creative to be assembled and mixed. Stacy Keach records the Narration usually twice per year about 10 shows at a time. These sessions are either done in LA or in Chicago depending on his schedule.

Well, that's a little info on the process --- come back often to check this blog. I'll see you next time in THE ZONE!

Greetings Zoners! This week, most of the emails I received from listeners revolved around the anticipation to hear TZ Radio Dramas produced from new script ideas. Another words new shows that are NOT based on the original stories from the Rod Serling TV series. For years I’ve been pleading with CBS to allow me to commission writers to pen fresh story ideas and I’m thrilled to report that they have agreed to let this happen. Several great authors are currently writing brand new TZ Radio Drama scripts and as soon as I receive them, I send them off to CBS for approval. So the most asked question to my blog has been “when will we start hearing some?” Well, the answer is - you already have: A few weeks ago we presented “Free Dirt” tarring Eric Bogosian. Written by Charles Beaumont, “Free Dirt” was to be televised as a Twilight Zone television show in the mid 1960s but the show went off the air before it could be produced. Dennis Etchison, our script supervisor, wrote the radio adaptation based on the final draft of Beaumont’s Twilight Zone TV script and the original short story. I'll let Dennis explain, he writes: “Free Dirt” was my favorite Beaumont story. I found it inscrutable and struggled for years to figure it out. Now, with his script as well as the short story to work from, I think I finally understand it. Sort of. It’s still fascinating, which it’s supposed to be. The ending is utterly original, mysterious and haunting – all characteristics of Beaumont’s writing. This one is perhaps the most haunting of all. This is truly a “lost episode.” It’s really something special for the fans.” Thanks Dennis! In my opinion, this is one of the best shows in the series and I hope listeners had a chance to catch it, if not it will be available for sale and download soon.

And there have been two other radio episodes that were not seen on the TV series: “Gentlemen Be Seated” another Charles Beaumont story that was commissioned for The Twilight Zone but never produced. William Froug replaced Bert Granet as producer of the TV series in 1963 and this is one of the scripts that was shelved by the new regime, which had a different view of the show. So, our radio version, which stars Stan Freberg and Mike Starr, is the only TZ version of this show. It is currently available for download and sale. The other is “Pattern For Doomsday” a commissioned but unproduced script by Jerry Sohl. Our radio version stars Henry Rollins as “Jody Hallam” a tough but somewhat charming gambler who is chosen to be one of a group of citizens sent to a new world to colonize it (also available for sale and download).

In the months to come you’ll be treated to never before seen (or heard) stories called “Who Am I?” by Jerry Sohl, “Now You Hear It, Now You Don’t” by yours truly, “The Amazing Dr. Powers” by Barry Richert, “Beewinjapeedee” and “Snow Angels” by JoBe Cerny and many others. It never slows down here at Falcon Picture Group, LLC especially where TZ is concerned!

Well that’s all for now, check back with me next week for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Thank you -- I’ve really enjoyed your emails regarding my blogs – keep them coming and also feel free to email me directly at camari@falconpicturegroup.com I do my best to answer everyone as soon as I can.

In one recent post to my blog, a listener remarks that some of the music in our radio versions is music he remembers hearing on “The CBS Radio Mystery Theatre.” The mere mention of that series brings a smile to my face. I, like so many of our TZ fans, grew up listening to “The CBS Radio Mystery Theatre” produced by the one, the only, Himan Brown. I remember staying up late each weeknight to listen to this awesome radio drama series on my local CBS affiliate WBBM in Chicago. From the very first announcer’s words: “The CBS Radio Mystery Theatre Presents …” I was glued to the radio. Then came the sound effects of a doorknob being turned and the ominous creaking, squeaking door opening ever so slowly (the same door was used on Himan Brown’s earlier radio series “Inner Sanctum Mysteries”). Himan was a master at keeping listeners riveted!

For years I tuned in as many nights as I could stay awake; the series came on at 10:30 pm and ran till Midnight, so often times I fell asleep before the climax. I remember this series with very fond memories. As a pre-teen I wrote Mr. Brown a fan letter and to my delight he wrote me back a long handwritten response! Can you imagine my thrill when I received a return letter from HIMAN BROWN?! I remember that my letter asked him if I could act in his series and if I could help him produce the series. Mr. Brown was so sweet in explaining to me the ins and outs of the series – to this day he is one of my inspirations for becoming a radio drama producer. Years later I had the great pleasure of having lunch with him in New York. I was like a kid in a candy store :o) I learned so much from him from just that one lunch. I’ve kept in touch with him over the years. He’s 98 and still producing and going strong!

As far as the music you hear in TZ, yes, some of it is the same music heard in “The CBS Radio Mystery Theatre.” The reason for this is in the 1950s CBS produced a stock music library that they made available to many of their radio and TV productions. In fact much of the music that you hear in the original Twilight Zone TV program utilized much of this stock music. Years later when Himan Brown produced “The CBS Radio Mystery Theatre” he also used some of this music library. Now, years later I too am using some of this stock music for my TZ radio dramas. Factoid: If you’re an old-time radio fan you may notice that in the later “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” radio series, they also used this stock music.

Well, I should soon be getting rough mixes of the TZ radio drama “Number 12 Looks Just Like You” starring Bonnie Somerville and Charles Shaughnessy from the geniuses at Cerny American Creative. I can’t wait to hear what they’ve done with it. It’s one of my favorites from the series about a future society where 19-year olds undergo a kind of plastic surgery called a “transformation” which makes them beautifully identical to millions of others. One free-thinking girl resists having the procedure even though her family and friends are pushing her hard to have it. Next week I’ll be able to talk about this show.

Until then, I’ll see you next time IN THE ZONE!

Well, this week I got the rough mixes in from Cerny American Creative on “Night Call” which airs the week of May 5th. Aside from some sound effects tweaks, which are being adjusted, the show is one of my favorites to date. It stars Mariette Hartley who did an amazing job of playing a character much older than she is, the character of Elva Keene. Elva is an 80 year old invalid who lives alone in her house in Maine and one stormy night she starts to receive phone calls from - wait a minute, I’m not going to spoil it for you, tune in and find out! When I directed Mariette in this episode I was so taken by the way she wanted to record her performance. Usually the star of the show records in Los Angeles and the supporting cast records all-together in our studios here in Chicago at a later date (sorry if that spoils it for some of you : ). Then the two sound files are fused together by the geniuses at Cerny American Creative. Anyway, most stars in LA will read his or her line one by one and give me several “slightly” different takes of each line. Not Mariette -- she wanted to go through the entire script in one take only stopping to redo a line if she made a mistake (which wasn’t often). At first it kind of threw me but once she got going - wow - it was amazing! I didn’t want to throw her off from her flow so I just let her do her thing and I’m glad I did! I followed along with my script and
circled any dialog that I wanted her to give me a safety on later but overall, she performed the entire script in one take! I was really blown away by what she did and how she did it. She’s such a tremendous actress and she totally nailed the complex character of Elva Keen – I can’t wait for you to hear it. If you haven’t guessed already, I enjoy casting stars of the original TV show in these new radio versions. Past stars include: H.M. Wynant, Shelley Berman, Peter Mark Richman, Beverly Garland, Orson Bean, Morgan Brittany and Bill Erwin. I never cast them in the roles they appeared in on the original TV episodes -- I cast them in completely different roles in completely different episodes. Fans of the original TZ show know that Mariette Hartley co-starred with Robert Lansing in The Twilight Zone TV episode “The Long Morrow” written by Rod Serling, originally televised January 10th, 1964. Our radio version of “The Long Morrow” starred Kathy Garver in the role Mariette originated.

Well that’s all for now, check back with me next week for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Hi everyone, I hope all is well with my Zoners out there in radio land. This week was crazy busy: On Tuesday Lou Gossett Jr. was amazing as he starred in two shows for us, an updated, modernized radio version of “Steel” and “Probe 7 – Over and Out.” It’s so much fun to hear what an amazing actor like Mr. Gossett brings to these stories. Rod would be very proud I’m sure. I can’t wait to let the talented audio engineers at Cerny American Creative get a hold of these two shows and work their magic! Look (or should I say) listen for both these shows sometime soon as I know you’ll be quite impressed.

World famous mystery writer Dennis Etchison turned in his first script of a brand new TWILIGHT ZONE story – “Now You Hear It, Now You Don’t.” He wrote it based on a story idea by yours truly – a story idea that was inspired by my 80 year old mom’s slight hearing loss. My mom refuses to get a hearing aid and it’s a source of constant high jinx in our family gatherings. My mom is a wonderful spirit and she just won’t let us talk her into getting one so I decided to have a TWILIGHT ZONE story written about it. Only this story isn’t funny, it’s quite frightening actually. With all new story ideas being written by our writers, the story must pass muster with CBS as they have a very specific approval process. So before you’ll hear any new stories they have to be green lit by CBS. I’m hoping that this one will and you’ll be hearing it on a radio station near you later this year or early next. My hope is to cast Ann Francis in the starring role of Rose Lynbrook (my mom’s name is Rose) the rich and powerful owner of Lady Lynbrook Cosmetics. More on that later. I also received a terrific script in from writer Barry Richert called “The Amazing Dr. Powers” – I found it fascinating and I’m hoping CBS will accept this one as well so we can produce it later this year.

Also this week I sent 2 scripts to David Carradine for his consideration and next week I’m sending Sean Astin 2 scripts for his consideration.

Well that’s all for now, check back with me next week for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Hi listeners of THE TWILIGHT ZONE RADIO DRAMAS, thank you for checking out our website and my producer's blog. Here's what's happening new with the series.

The big news is that we're about to begin producing brand new stories, ones you've never heard (or seen) before. Let me explain: Since we launched the series back in 2002 we've been creating radio versions of the original 156 TWILIGHT ZONE TV episodes which aired on television from 1959 through 1964.

We've produced over 130 radio versions of the original 156 TV shows with an occasional radio version of an "unaired or unproduced" TV script. For example: "Gentlemen, Be Seated" (our version starred Stan Freberg and Mike Starr) "Free Dirt" (our version starred Eric Bogosian) and "The Time Element" (our version starred Bobby Slayton) a Rod Serling teleplay that aired on "The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" that Rod had hoped would be used as the pilot episode for THE TWILIGHT ZONE TV series. Factoid: The eventual pilot was "Where Is Everybody?" starring Earl Holliman (our radio version starred John Schneider).

So, I'm very excited to announce that even though we have close to 30 more of the original TV shows to convert to radio, I've been commissioning writers of today to create fresh new stories -- I'm in the process of writing a few myself so go easy on me will ya : )

If you are a published WGA mystery/science fiction writer and you're interested in learning more about how you could submit a script, please send your professional writing resume to me at camari@falconpicturegroup.com - please: published WGA writers only need apply.

Some celebs we've recently had in the studio starring in our shows include: Karen Black in "Bewitchin' Pool," and "The Hunt" (co-starring Shelley Berman), Mariette Hartley in "Night Call," and on April 2nd Lou Gossett, Jr. is starring in "Steel," and "Probe 7 - Over and Out."

Please check back with me next week for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!

Carl Amari