Well it has been a long time in the making!  But Australian Independent Feature film SLEEPER is finally in the final throws of post-production and will be screening for the first time in Australia at the 10th Annual Melbourne Underground Film Festival in late August.

Synopsis:
Enigmatically silent, and driven by love, the man known as Resnik (Scott (Raven) Levy) was imprisoned for butchering another man and kidnapping the young girl at the heart of his obsession, Kelly (Kym Jackson).  For the safety of his fellow inmates, Resnik was only ever allowed to wake, eat and exercise alone, after dark, he learned to like it.  Now having escaped during a midnight transfer, Resnik is headed back to Moonlight Bay, and Detectives Raynor (Bruce Hopkins) and Molloy (Ty Hungerford) have only 12 hours to stop him before the sun goes down, and the carnage begins, again.

CAST:
Adam Resnik - Raven
Det. Raynor - Bruce Hopkins
Det. Molloy - Ty Hungerford
Det. Duane Miller - Ray Sinclair
Kelly - Kym Jackson
Heather - Nikkii Payten
Sara - Lauren Orrell
Baker - Cory Robinson
Toby - Robert Reitano
Josh - Adam Fawns
Wace - Chris Hillier

THE FILMMAKERS:
Directed by - Dru Brown
Screenplay by - Dru Brown
Story by - Dru Brown & Michael Skelton
Produced by - Judd Tilyard
Co-Produced by - Dru Brown
Executive Producer - Christian McCarty
Director of Photography - Dan MacArthur
Production Designer - Tim Allen
Make-up & Hair Supervisor - Verity Fiction
Film Editor - Tani Budini

ABOUT THE FILM:
Brisbane Producer/Director Dru Brown came up with the concept for 'Sleeper' in 2007 when discussing ideas for a film with friend and business partner Christian McCarty.  The idea was to create a locally filmed feature with global interest, using the best of what Australia has to offer in regards to both talent and crew, and doing all this on a budget of $50,000.  At only 27 years of age, Dru Brown has had extensive experience behind the camera in all roles.  Although, finding his true talent in Directing, Dru was the automatic choice to direct the feature film.  A challenge in itself, it was Brown's first feature shoot as director.  A strong personality mixed with motivational attributes made him a perfect fit for the demanding shoot.

Judd Tilyard was introduced to the project shortly after the concept was moulded and the first draft was written.  Engaged in the project, Tilyard offered his years of experience in film making to the production, taking on a Producers role and assisting Brown and McCarty in keeping the production on track.  After initial scripting and locking down crew, the production was headed in the right direction, except for one position - Resnik's actor.  At the commencement of shooting, there had been a short list drawn up for the role.  Strategically making all of Resnik's shoots later on during principal photography gave the production team more time to work on carefully selecting one of the parties for the role. Nathan "Carnage" Corbett (World Kickboxing Champion) was interested in the part, and so was founder and president of the Australia Wrestling Federation, Greg Downdes.

Raven heard about the project through Downdes, and due to a strong script, Raven's natural flair for entertaining and a bit of luck, Raven passed on his interest to play Resnik.  Less than a week later, the first shot of Resnik was filmed.  As the WWE and TNA star has a massive fan base, the entire production knew there was a lot riding on the film.  Not just for aspiring film makers, but for Raven, himself.  Wrestling fan bases around the world don't want to see an action star in an emotional drama role, which is why the team of Sleeper had recruited the help of Darko Tuskan for his expertise in the realm of stunts.

Tuskan and Raven worked well together, choreographing all of the fight scenes within the film and making for some spectacular action-packed scenes.  Tuskan, working on such films as The Matrix, Matrix Revolutions, House of Wax, Mission Impossible II, and Stealth, proved his worth in every stunt scene.  Being the 2nd Unit director as well, it gave Darko the creative space to have input within the direction of the stunt sequences - an input that is clearly seen in the final product.  Bruce Hopkins was the other big name addition to the film.  Acting as GAMLING in Peter Jacksons' Lord of the Rings trilogy, Bruce came onto the movie as Detective Raynor - a cop who is tiring of the force and readying for his retirement.  On what could be his very last case, his partner and protégé, Detective Matthew Molloy, played by Ty Hungerford, certainly doesn't lend him any slack.  Although preying on the age difference, Molloy reveres Raynor and shows him a lot of respect.  Both actors took on the roles at full steam, and even worked off-set together.

Upon Hopkins arrival, Hungerford spent a lot of time with the Lord of the Rings star, building a rapport with each other so that it transfers on screen.  Not only did they build the connection, they also became quite good friends and respected actors in each others eyes.  From a directorial point of view, Brown was easily able to craft their performances due to this personal connection the two actors had developed.  Along with this ease of directorial creativity, the friendship also kept a very positive attitude on set which made it a pleasurable experience for everyone involved.

"Ty and Bruce were great together.  Being true professionals, they not only took on the roles very deeply, but also travelled to and from set with each other, met and discussed the script together outside of the movie and truly immersed themselves within the context of the screenplay."  Locational changes were the norm on the set of 'Sleeper'.  With three separate plot lines intertwining throughout the screenplay, it sometimes became difficult to organize the scheduled locations in time with only a minimal amount of office staff.  The film was extremely lucky to have no real delays in shooting due to locations, which is testament to the way the production managers and coordinators worked together and selflessly to make sure every detail of the days shoot went well and without delays.  Although, one thing the crew could not control was the weather.  On the second day of having Raven on set, the heavens opened and there came an eight day downpour of near torrential rain.  Having the majority of Raven's shots as exteriors, this was an event the film could have easily done without.  From then on, nearly every external shoot had to have rain in it - even when there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  Hiring out water trucks was an expensive affair.  Positively, the rain gave an amazing natural production value reminiscent of the genre the film was aiming for.  Director of Photography, Dan MacArthur, was a blessing for the entire production.  His on set creative chemistry with Dru Brown was obvious.  MacArthur's professional performance was outstanding.  Lighting entire setups within half the time allocated and directing the grips around set efficiently, he never disappointed in the outcome of the footage.  A minimal lighting specialist, MacArthur thrived in the low budget nature of the film and created some truly engaging visual compositions.

So keep a look out for SLEEPER!  Exact dates and location of screening to be announced shortly.

www.sleeper-film.com