Local movie gets wide release
By Paul Morden, The Observer
A movie shot in Sarnia- Lambton is about to show up on video store shelves.
Mark McNabb, of Petrolia’s Skylight Films, said he has learned the Blockbuster chain will stock his film, “The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens,” following its official DVD release on July 21.
“It’s an exciting time,” McNabb said.
Starring wrestler-actor Roddy Piper and a cast of young actors from around the region, the film had its television debut on the Super Channel in Canada last fall.
“We made the film almost three years ago, so it took a long time,” McNabb said.
It’s the second locally produced film by Skylight to get a North American DVD distribution deal, McNabb said.
The first was “BLINDEYE,” an action film also starring Piper.
“It went out on DVD last year and actually did quite well,” McNabb said.
The Billy Owens film is a family fantasy-adventure with Piper playing a “wise, wizardly” role in a story about a boy who finds a magical wand.
“It’s a really family-driven sweet film,” McNabb said.
Piper returned for the sequel, “Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes,” which premiered locally last fall.
McNabb said the sequel is also scheduled to be released on DVD.
“We’re just really enjoying the fact that they’re getting out there.”
McNabb said the timing of the release of the Billy Owens films has matched up nicely with the release of the latest Harry Potter installment.
“It’s not a Harry Potter movie,” he said about his Billy Owens film, “but it’s kids, it’s magic, it’s a wand.”
Along with magic, there are themes of friendship and courage running through the Billy Owens films, he added.
Copies of the new DVD arrived from the distributor recently at the Skylight offices in Petrolia. McNabb said it was exciting to see that it includes a trailer promoting the upcoming release of the sequel.
Skylight also has two new family films shot recently and set to be released in the fall.
McNabb said one is a children’s western and the other is “Ghost Trap,” which he said is “kind of our own little junior ‘Ghostbusters.'”
After about 15 years of working in a wide range of styles, McNabb said he’s enjoying making family movies and working with young actors.
“They bring a lot of enthusiasm,” he said. “It’s never a bad day.”
Observer Article ID# 1660763
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