As many of you are aware, for the past two years I have worked as director and editor alongside James Benson, the producer, on a feature film called The Rig. For those perhaps unfamiliar with this project, let me fill you in. The Rig is a science-fiction thriller that takes place on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The story concerns a skeleton crew of roughnecks, left behind during a tropical storm to secure the rig while the majority of the personnel are evacuated to safety. Through the course of the night, they realize they’re being stalked and picked off one by one, hunted by a terrifying creature from below. Their communications cut off, trapped on board the desolate rig and surrounded by nothing but hundreds of miles of raging ocean tempest, they must try to survive the night. It’s a fun, suspense-filled movie, the kind of Saturday night  genre film that has entertained audiences for years.

The film was quite an experience to make, as we got to shoot on an actual oil rig in Louisiana. The owner of the Charlie rig, a retired offshore submersible drilling rig now used as a training facility on the coast of Morgan City, was gracious enough to grant us full run of the facility, which lent a realism and production quality to the film that we simply could not have achieved by building a set. We were pleased to find many people in Louisiana who were equally hospitable, and were granted access to locations like the busy Patterson airfield, as well as given use of helicopters and watercraft to get some truly amazing shots, composed masterfully by our brilliant DP, Douglas E. Davis.

In fact, from the beginning of the project, we’ve been very fortunate to attract some very talented people to the cast and crew. The film stars vaunted character actor William Forsythe, who has starred in movies like The Rock, Raising Arizona, Dick Tracy, and many, many more. The film also features other recognizable actors such as Art LaFleur and Marcus Paulk, plus showcases some great up and coming names like Stacey Hinnen and Serah D’Laine. Behind the scenes, our beautiful score was composed by Bruce Fowler, a legend in the film music world. Bruce is best known as the orchestrator on films such as The Dark Knight, Gladiator, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, and too many more to list, not to mention serving as composer on films such as Robert DeNiro’s directorial debut, The Good Shepherd.  Bruce conducted a 41-piece orchestra comprised of the best musical talents in the studio system to record our score, and the effect the music has had on our movie is tremendous.

We also had many other talented people who worked on the film, including our amazing one-man post sound department, Lisle Engle, who served as sound designer, editor, and mixer. Lisle put many months of work into ensuring we have incredibly rich and detailed sound for the film, all mixed in 5.1 surround sound that is theater ready. Co-producer Lori Chavez, visual effects house Bling Imaging, and many other experienced people have all contributed greatly to this film as well, and without their creativity and expertise it would not be what it is today.

So of course, it is with a great deal of pride that I’m announcing the completion of the film, as well as the launching of a brand new website and trailer to be used in the promotion thereof. That website, on which you can also find said trailer, is:

http://www.TheRigMovie.com

Now, the reason that I’m sending this website url to you today is very simple. I need your help. I need you to watch the trailer, I need you to send it on to people you think might be interested in watching it, I need you to post it on your blogs or website, and I need you to talk about it to your friends and associates. I need you to do this because The Rig does not currently have distribution. This has always been a conscious choice on the part of myself and Jim, as we decided to forgo exploring distribution options until we had fully completed the film, in order the ensure that we were as happy as possible with the finished product before sending our baby out into the world to be viewed. The end result is that today we have a fully completed, fully financed film that is completely free and clear to be sold for any and all worldwide distribution rights, and we are depending on some positive word of mouth to help get people interested in the film. That’s where you come in. With your help, we’ll find the perfect home for The Rig, because we feel that with the right kind of marketing effort behind it, it can be a film that does very well for all involved parties. Plus, once we’re beyond that, we’re really looking forward to making another film, and plenty more after that, and are certainly interested in building a lasting business relationship with people who take an interest in The Rig.

Now that this trailer and website are live, our next step is going to be to put together a screening in Los Angeles at a date to be determined. We feel that the film is best experienced in a theatrical setting, and so we’ll be making this an open screening for any interested parties or distributors to attend. For information on this upcoming screening, or for any information or questions you may have regarding the film, you can contact info@therigmovie.com . This does not mean we won’t be sending out screeners, just that we’d prefer to get people to see the film for the first time in the setting and at the level of quality presentation for which it was intended. We also want our friends and loved ones to see the film in this context, to see just what it is that we’ve been up to for the last couple years, so of course you are all welcome to attend this screening as well. I’ll be letting you know when the details are worked out so that you can RSVP.

In the meantime, if you’re not already familiar with my work or haven’t checked in on what I’ve been up to beyond this particular film, you can view a good majority of my other recent endeavors on my website, http://www.PeterAtencio.com . I’ve had the good fortune to direct some really fun and interesting projects over the last couple years while also continuing work on The Rig, so if you haven’t seen some of my newer output it’s worth checking out. It’s been a pleasure to work on this film, and it’s an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world. Now, the only left to do is share it with others. Thank you for reading, and thank you for doing even a small part to help us get word and information about The Rig out into the world.

-Peter Atencio