T H E C R O W

Production Notes

In the beginning: Part 1

JAMES O'BARR'S THE CROW tells the story of a young man who, a year after his own tragic, death rises from his grave to seek vengeance for the brutal murder of his fiancée. Through painful flashbacks, he relives their deaths and remembers their life together. Then, donning a sinister mime-like visage, he stalks the murky alleyways and rain-slicked city streets, determined to exact a terrible and bloody revenge upon the gang that killed them.

Starring a cast of talented unknowns, including the directing/producing team of David Ullman and Matt Jackson in the lead roles, this is THE CROW that fans have always hoped to see. For them, Ullman and Jackson have created the most faithful screen adaptation to date of artist James O'Barr's gothic masterpiece.

A near panel-for-panel re-creation of the once underground comic book, JAMES O'BARR'S THE CROW is a product of IN-D FILMS, the combined effort of up and coming filmmakers David Ullman and Matt Jackson. Formed just prior to the completion of their first cut of THE CROW, IN-D FILMS was the new name chosen by Ullman and Jackson to represent this and future collaborations. In the years preceding their work on THE CROW, the two young men worked together on several original projects under the moniker SKYLARK PRODUCTIONS (Watchful Eyes, A Dying Breed).

In addition to starring in the movie, Ullman and Jackson wore many hats behind the scenes. “A crew there never really was,” Ullman states. “It was just myself and Matt. That was the crew.” With Ullman often in front of the camera playing the lead role of Eric, Jackson found himself framing and composing most of the shots, a task he quite enjoyed. "I really got into it,” he says. “Actually, most of the shots came from the comic book which we used as our script.” Jackson will be the first to tell you, though, that it was Ullman who would most readily assume the various positions they needed filled in lieu of their non-existent crew. “I knew it was his thing. He was more serious about it than I was, so at times I'd step back.”

It's interesting to note, however, that it was only at Jackson's urging that the project was ever undertaken. A week or so after attending two opening weekend screenings of Miramax's stunning film adaptation of THE CROW, starring the late Brandon Lee, Jackson convinced his partner that their next project should be a remake of THE CROW. Ullman was skeptical at first about remaking a movie with such dark themes and extreme settings, but after reading James O'Barr's comic, he was inspired to collaborate with Jackson on a new, more literal, adaptation of O'Barr's haunting work.

“There's this aura to the book,” Ullman begins. “When you look at it, you feel something. There's blood on the page, and you can sense that. It's very affecting. I think they captured that beautifully in the Miramax film, and it was our intention at first to make a hybrid of the existing movie and the comic book. But the more serious we became about the project, the more we wanted to really delve into the book, explore its themes and characters, create something more our own.”