Well, I guess it’s no longer a secret! In a bit of news leaked to Deadline.com, Universal Pictures has acquired Ghost from the Machine (nee Phasma Ex Machina) for a big-budget remake. The deal has been happening behind the scenes for quite some time and we’re very excited about the new project. The original film is doing very well in its third week of release, but a studio picture will allow the story we love (and the ultimately the original film too) to reach a much larger audience than we ever dreamed (and that’s what it’s all about, right?). Anyway, we’re EXTREMELY proud of the original, we’ll continue to exhibit and promote the hell out of it, and we fully support the new team.

At the end of the day, we made a $25,000 supernatural thriller, played festivals around the world, won some awards, got international distribution, AND sold the remake rights to Universal.  Not a bad little run if you ask me.

Here’s the first piece of coverage from Deadline.com

As always, you can catch the film on iTunes, VOD, Bestbuy.com, or directly from us at GhostfromtheMachine.com.  It should also be on Netflix very soon. Please save it in your queue!

Starting on July 15th, the film begins a weeklong run at the St. Anthony Main Theaters in Minneapolis, MN. If you happen to live in the area, I’d be honored to see you there.  This is likely your last opportunity to catch the film on the big screen and it’s truly the best way to view it. Tickets are going fast, so we definitely recommend that everyone purchase them online in advance. You can buy them here (scroll down to the “Purchase Tickets Online” box and select your date). And for those of you on Facebook, please let us know that you’re coming.

And on July 26th, the film receives its big domestic release and will be premiering on DVD, online, and On-Demand via almost every major cable operator. Please spread the word!

Well, we just sold the movie. The monkey above cannot believe it, but it’s true.  There’s even articles and stuff.

Via Indiewire:

Matt Osterman’s debut feature “Phasma Ex Machina” has been picked up by Screen Media Films by XYZ Films. Screen Media plans a second quarter 2011 roll out of the supernatural thriller on DVD/VOD with the new title, “Ghost from the Machine.” The film has played at the Fantasia International Film Festival, Telluride Horror Film Festival, and Arizona Underground Film Festival where it was awarded “Best of the Fest.”

In all seriousness, we couldn’t be more excited to be working with Screen Media Films and I am forever indebted to the entire Phasma team who helped make this happen. This has been a collaboration from day one and I am truly lucky to have such great colleagues, friends, and supporters.

You can check out the rest of article here.

And as you can imagine, we’re rolling out a new url - www.ghostfromthemachine.com. That site will be undergoing some major changes, so please make sure to check it out in the upcoming months.

If you’ve yet to see Phasma Ex Machina at a festival, we got a couple more lined up over the next few weeks. Check it out if you can!

Anaheim International Film Festival
Friday October 15th at 10pm
Saturday October 16th at 10:30pm
http://anaheimfilm.org/films/phasma-ex-machina/

Flyway Film Festival
Saturday October 23rd at 6pm
Pepin/Stockholm, WI
Select cast and crew will be present for the screening
http://www.flywayfilmfestival.org/

Driftless Film Festival
Oct 22nd at 8:45pm
Mineral Point, WI
Select cast and crew will be present for the screening
http://www.driftlessfilmfestival.com/

Telluride Horror Show
Oct 15th at 7:30pm
Telluride, CO
http://www.telluridehorrorshow.com/

I apologize for the recent rash of exclamation points in my titles.  How else am I supposed to communicate my excitement!!!!!

Here’s Jason Coffman at FilmMonthly.com:

Perhaps the film’s greatest strength is in its portrayal of what ordinary people might do under inexplicable circumstances (helped tremendously by excellent lead performances by Andreev and Feeney), and its heartbreaking observation that sometimes getting what we most want may be the worst thing that can happen to us. Phasma Ex Machina is one of the best films I’ve seen this year, and is the best filmmaking debut I’ve seen in quite some time.

Read the rest of it here.

And this one is from allthingshorroronline.com:

Unlike Tom, Cody is still mired in grief, and does not acquiesce – his goal is to bring back his parents. And maybe it worked – Cody and James are starting to hear things in the house. Footsteps. Shadows. Glimpses of people in their home. Eventually, Tom gets used to having his lovely wife back, while Cody’s not so lucky. It’s not his parents who are back home. It’s a couple far more sinister.  Without giving anything away, there’s a race to protect James, while Tom will stop at nothing to keep his wife.
… 
Phasma Ex Machina is a deftly-wrought drama with a science fiction backbone and a splash of the supernatural. There are some genuine moments of dread, and discovering these in cinema is what every horror lover lives for.

Read the full review here.

PS - I also have a couple more festival announcements.  Click here to find out where.

Great news: our Minnesota premiere goes down September 29th at 7pm.  Please join us at the Block E Theaters as part of the Twin Cities Film Festival.  And there will undoubtedly be a very fun party to follow at Brit’s bar in downtown Minneapolis.

Hope you can make it!!

Click here to learn more and purchase tickets.

Feeling pretty lucky right now.

TwitchFIlm.net
Phasma really is an excellent looking film and credit the great photography to Matt Osterman and his DOP Adam Honzl. Osterman’s film finds a balance between a healthy dose of scientific theory and spooky paranormal activity with his engaging screenplay. There are also an appropriate number of chills and scares but I also appreciated the unsettling moments created by what could otherwise be looked at as blessings or miracles. Phasma is a quiet and slowly chilling ghost story that lingers around the fringes of your nerves.
This is an impressive debut feature film. 

FilmSchoolRejects.com
Osterman’s film focuses more on the loss and desperation one feels after losing a loved one than on the scares and terrors of their eventual return. That’s not saying Phasma Ex Machina doesn’t have it’s fair share of chill-inducing scenes. It does, and they work beautifully, but they’re not of the violent and shocking Paranormal Activity variety. These are scares of what you once had and of what you may still lose. And of what’s walking around in your basement…

Variety
The rare contemporary screen ghost story favoring a slow build and minimal violence over blunt scare tactics, “Phasma Ex Machina” reps an impressive feature debut for writer-director Matt Osterman.

TheFirstAliCat.com (Audience Member at Fantasia)
This is a first film by writer/director Matt Osterman, who hosted this World Premiere (presumably outside of his immediate family circle and a few critics here and there), and I’ve got to say, it’s perfect. In every way, this is a perfect film - the writing, the direction, the framing of the story, the cinematography, the acting, everything.  

eFilmCritic.com
Andreev is particularly good at portraying this particular form of survivor’s guilt. There’s something a little deadened in his Cody, though not to the point of exaggeration. He presents us a guy who is smart, although not really obnoxious about it, and comes through just about perfectly when it’s time for the logical, scientific wall to crack. He plays very well with Hauser, who makes James feel like a real kid, able to hit the lines of a wiseass teenager without contradicting the more serious moments.

Filmbalaya.com
It also has a refreshing and more true-to-life (even in the supernatural realm in which it lives) ending seldom seen in bigger budgeted more conventionalized Hollywood type films. It would be interesting to see what this young filmmaker could do if given a bigger budget. I for one am looking forward to seeing what else he has to offer. 

From phasmamovie.com/blog:

We are ridiculously over-the-moon excited to announce our first three film festivals: 

#1.  Our World Premiere will be on July 16th 2010 at the awesome Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal Canada.  One of the biggest genre festivals in the world, Fantasia attracts over 90,000 attendees annually and consistently screens buzz-generating films from groundbreaking filmmakers. Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorius Basterds” had its North American premiere at Fantasia last year and we’re honored that Phasma Ex Machina has been selected to join the class of 2010.  Click here for the festival page.

#2.  The US premiere will be at the ultra-cool Another Hole in the Head Film Festival in San Francisco, CA on July 24th. Featuring the best new sci-fi, fantasy, and horror films from around the world, Another Hole in the Head Film Festival shines a light on the cool dark underbelly of global cinema.  Phasma screens twice (July 24th and 28th).  Click here for to buy tickets and/or check out the festival page.

#3. Our Midwestern and Local premiere will be at the brand-spanking-new Twin Cities Film Festival. A celebration of great independent films from around the region and around the globe, the Twin Cities Film Festival will bring together film lovers and filmmakers for five fantastic days in downtown Minneapolis.  We don’t have a screening date quite yet, but the dates to the festival are September 28th to October 2nd.  We’re really looking forward to celebrating with all the people and organizations that supported us all the way through! Click here for the festival page.

Thank you to the entire Phasma team and everyone who has supported us along the way!