Two Pioneers in the Horror Industry Teams Up!

This just in! Two pioneers in the horror industry, Scream Team Productions™ and Blumhouse Productions™, are coming together to bring you the biggest scares of October 2012 with Blumhouse of Horrors™!

“Blumhouse is passionate about telling scary stories in entirely new ways and we are taking everything we have learned from our film production experience to create a one-of-a-kind Haunted House in downtown L.A. We are excited to kick-off October with The Blumhouse of Horrors,” stated Jason Blum, Blumhouse Founder and CEO. To ensure his haunt was headed in the right direction he called in Willie May, Scream Team Productions CEO, and his team for an initial consultation that has resulted in this a month long partnership and this horrifyingly immersive walkthrough.

Using their knowledge in storytelling, set design, and film production with the innovative mind set and years of haunt experience provided, they have changed the Variety Art Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles into the latest and creepiest hotspot for ghouls and ghosts alike. More than 40 actors will frighten and entertain patrons overwhelmed by ghastly smells and sounds. Scream Team’s Elite Monsters will be making nightly appearances on the street in front of the theatre.

“Visitors will tour the twisting corridors of an eerily haunted theater whose stage was home to one of the world’s most deranged, dark art magicians during the heyday of 1920s vaudeville. That is, until one tragic performance when his assistant climbed into a magical box and vanished forever. The theater was shut down instantly and permanently closed to the public … until now.

Filled with terrifying sights, sounds and smells, The Blumhouse of Horrors (www.BlumhouseofHorrors.com) will bring visitors face-to-face with the ghostly spirits of the magician and his disciples -all of whom continue to hone their craft, on the lookout for volunteers for tricks that could end in disappearance or death.”

Giveaways, special promotions, and contests will be held on the Official Blumhouse Facebook and Twitter pages: Facebook.com/blumhouse and Twitter.com/blumhouse.

The Blumhouse of Horrors will be open from 6 p.m. to midnight, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from October 4th through October 28th; and then Monday, October 29th, through Saturday, November 3rd. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at www.BlumhouseOfHorrors.com.
This event is recommended for children ages 12 and up. On certain weekends there will be daytime “lights on” experiences for younger children.
The Variety Arts Theatre is located at 940 South Figueroa Street, between 9th and 10th Streets in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles, California.

ABOUT SCREAM TEAM PRODUCTIONS AND BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS

Scream Team Productions™ has a firm grasp on the Haunted Attraction Industry in Southern California and continues to expand. Willie May, the CEO and Co-Founder, turned what started as a fundraiser to help those affected by September 11th into a small business in 2006 and made it into the trend setting company it is today. Their most recognized creations recently include Minds Terrors the Haunted Attraction in 2007 and Toxic Terrors at Storm Stadium in Lake Elsinore in 2008. Being a ground-breaking corporation Scream Team Productions has their hand in many other areas from giving consultations for other haunted attractions to graphic and web design. In 2010 clients were given access to a new shock service: The Scare Gram. People could now select one or more ghouls from the Elite Team to crash an event or terrify a specific person. The Elite Monsters have also loaned their scaring abilities to other haunts and events such as Coffin Creek in Corona, Balboa Haunted Trail in San Diego, currently Blumhouse of Horrors, and Halloween at the Hard Rock in San Diego with October 27th, 2012 going to be their third annual event.

Blumhouse Productions™ is the production firm best known for delivering blockbuster horror films such as the Paranormal Activity™ franchise and Insidious™. Founded by Jason Blum back in 2000, the multi-media company has at least 30 titles under its belt and in the works. Their most profitable film, Paranormal Activity™ (2007), made almost $200 million worldwide while being filmed for a mere $15,000. Paranormal Activity 2™ followed making $170 million. James Wan’s Insidious™ had a budget of $1.5 million and pulled in close to $100 million. Paranormal Activity 3™ was as popular as the first one making almost $200 million, but was made with $5 million. Later this year will be the premieres of Scott Derrickson’s Sinister™ and Paranormal Activity 4™.

EPIC SCARE GRAM

The Rob Dyrdek Scare Gram
By Elizabeth Garcia
January 31, 2013

On October 31st, 2012 the Elite Monsters of Scream Team Productions™ gathered at BlumHouse of Horrors™ to dress out for a secret Scare Gram. It was so secret all communication was banned with the outside world. The Scare Gram is a popular year-round service offered by Scream Team Productions™. Clients can select one or multiple monsters to appear at a specific location or event to surprise and terrify a specific person or group. The monsters given the honor to scare were Boinx with the Screaming Demon™, Whipstitch, Dr. Trauma, Butch, Izzabel, Sketch with the chainsaw, and Hubert along with their supervisor, Tim Deddeh. Once on the road they were informed of the mission before them: to scare Rob Dyrdek and the entire Dyrdek Enterprises™ crew. Only one person at the building knew of the excitement headed their way.

The Team’s insider at Dyrdek Enterprises Inc.™, Paul Vizcaino the company’s Urban Strategist, met them in the parking lot to finalize their entrance strategy. Paul wanted to be pursued by the monsters from the side hallway across the Fantasy Factory and into Rob’s office with the lead monster wielding the chainsaw. They followed him inside and stopped in the hallway. The chainsaw roared to life! Paul hightailed across the Factory floor with Sketch on his heels and the rest of Scream Team Elite not far behind. They burst into his office, but Rob wasn’t at his desk. They looked to their left and saw him sitting at a table completely shocked and trembling! They started having fun getting in his face and personal space making him squirm and squeal

The assorted freaks entered the indoor skate park. Noticing they were being watched by Rob’s team from the windows upstairs they started visibly taunting and scheming. Tim rallied their team together for a group shot in front of the World’s Longest Skateboard. Rob joined in, but not before getting a dose of the Screaming Demon™ courtesy of Boinx. On the second floor curiosity continued building for those witnessing the strange events below. The creatures were sprinting toward the stairway that leads to their offices!

As Jacob Kelley, one of Rob’s Website and Application Developers put it on YouTube™, “…all hell broke loose, literally.” Butch, Dr. Trauma, and Izzabel swarmed the receptionist, trapping her behind the desk with her hands over her ears and screaming. Boinx led the way up the stairs firing off the Screaming Demon™ . Sketch and Hubert trailed close behind with Whipstitch. They pressed themselves against the glass walls mocking the people who refused to leave their offices. As the rest of the team made it to the second floor they worked their way down the hall bouncing from person to person with Butch actually bouncing off a wall! Through a door at the end of the hall, one busy bee was trapped behind his desk with escape routes being cut off. Another guy crawled out from under his desk after they had left the room. During a short-lived reprieve Dyrdek’s Team tried to grasp what was happening.

Even Rob himself couldn’t believe it, “Yo, like I’m spooked and I know it’s like--it’s still spooky.”

The Elite Team rejoined their victims with the intention of giving each person their undivided attention. Sketch went after Jacob Kelley with his chainsaw cornering him against a glass wall behind a door. Hubert and Izzabel mocked him from the other side, but his focus was on the thunderous chainsaw. Sketch pulled back before getting in Jacob’s face again, then turned and left the room. Immediately, the frazzled target tried to close the doors to the office. “Come here!” Sketch called out, “who said I’m done? Huh?”

“Aw crap!” Jacob pulled the glass door open and the clown rushed forward just enough to make the poor guy flinch.

“I like this one!” Boinx walked in and blasted the Screaming Demon™ at Jacob before Whipstitch, Sketch, and Hubert pinned him against the wall. They took turns teasing and startling him. When the opportunity arose Jacob wasted no time and ran for the door.

Everyone moved back into the main hallway. Butch decided to change things up and began “literally climbing the walls” of the hallway with ease! Izzabel tried to get a kiss for her dolly, but her chosen Romeo couldn’t handle it. He pushed past her making the little girl pursue him into the next room. Meanwhile, Boinx and Whipstitch turned the focus to Talisha Romero, Director of Marketing and Events. Boinx snarled, she flinched. They lightly touched her hair, she started freaking out!

Then it hit her, “Wait, did Willie tell you guys to ge--”

“Who?” the monsters quizzically asked.

Talisha asked again, “Willie? Willie May?”

“Who?” “Who’s that?”

Meanwhile Dr. Trauma slammed his hand on the wall next to a young brunette making her jump. He then moved in closer, but pulled back when she started laughing nervously.

Boinx decided to get down to business and led some monsters into the Board Room. Sketch and Izzabel wanted to play with Jacob at his desk tapping his keyboard and running off with his hat to join the others. The Elite Team sat around the glass table posing for pictures. Hesitantly Rob joined them for a couple photos before moving back toward the door. ”Happy f***ing Halloween!” Whipstitch and Boinx closed in on Rob, who laughed uneasily in an unusually high pitch. Then he bolted for the door!

The Elite Team chased him down the back stairs, across the skate park, and into his office. Rob escaped and made it to the other side of the building, going up the stairs to the top of the skate ramp. With nowhere else to go he flipped into the foam pit. Whipstitch, Boinx, Hubert, Sketch, and Izzabel jumped in after him. Dyrdek and the Elite Monsters in the pit made their way out with little trouble, except Boinx whose foot was wedged between some tightly packed pieces of foam. With a little group effort he was freed in no time. Whipstitch, Butch, and Sketch ran back to the top of the ramp and slid down head first as Tim jumped over their heads.

When asked what he thought of the Scare Gram Rob answered, “I feel like I got the joy of my own haunted house without having to leave the house.”

In the span of thirty minutes The Elite Monsters of Scream Team Productions™ succeeded in making October 31st, 2012 a Halloween Dyrdek Enterprises Inc.™ will never forget.
That same day within an hour after the Scare Gram was over Rob and Jacob posted two teaser videos on YouTube™ and a photo of Rob Dyrdek with the Elite Monsters made rounds on the internet via Instagram™ and Twitter™. It became one of the most viewed photos on Instagram™ and still is to this day.

VIEW VIDEO HERE: http://youtu.be/6UlQPlDvkaQ

Sliding the Scare Factor

Sliding the Scare Factor by Andrew Lozano I have spent my life thus far exploring its many different avenues. I have been into the arts and music since an early age. As a result I’ve pursued the theatre Arts, and musical arts as an opportunity to discover who I am as a human being. This philosophy then caused me to realize to never be afraid of other possibilities and to step out of your comfort zone. It wasn’t long till I discovered the amazing world of the haunt industry and what it had to offer. My first experience ever with a haunt was with The Queen Mary‘s Shipwreck (now known as The Dark Harbor) in 2007. After my first year out in the field as a maze monster I became totally hooked and had so much fun creating scares and bringing what I had to the table. However it wouldn’t be until 2011 when I joined Scream Team Productions that I added another scaring tool to my world. That tool was the Art of Sliding which can be described as a quick smooth athletic maneuver on the ground to surprise the unaware stranger. Being observant and good timing are essential into pulling off a successful slide. If done right patrons are left with a memorable scare and will later talk about it to their friends. At first when I bought my sliding gear I was highly enthusiastic and couldn’t wait to start learning. I remembered working with the Queen Mary and how their sliders would have so much fun sliding. When I came to Scream Team Productions and found out they offer slider training to their elite monsters I knew I had to give it a go. It became clear to me shortly after how much training and dedication must be put into being an elite slider. For example, sliding takes a lot of lower body strength, physical endurance, and cardio endurance. This holds especially true during training sessions and more importantly during an actual event. Giving everything you have into a single slide and holding nothing back was a main thing to consider when going in for a scare. An out of shape person would not be able to handle a night of sliding and maneuvering as compared to a person who trains in the categories mentioned. My time during training sessions were at times stressful and at other times fun memorable moments. A typical sliding session would start off with a warm up run and then we would work on exercises that targeted the lower body muscles. This was necessary to build up the body’s strength to the hardships of sliding, as I found often working late nights performing on your feet takes its toll. While I had previous experience before Scream Team Productions knowing how to handle long hours. What I learned in my sliding sessions only brought me to next level. And it’s at moments like that I realize a person should never doubt themself greatness. They should always strive each day to get better than they were a day before. And I saw that philosophy engrained in the leaders of Scream Team Productions and I applaud them for that. The certain sliding exercises involved a run-down of a cone obstacle course. Requiring you to stop in an instant, and slide between cones without hitting them. We had other exercises involving committing to a slide while a partner walks ahead of you. This got us used to what it would be like in an actual haunt environment with patrons moving and blocking angles left and right. Those who look to first get into sliding won’t start out with exercises like these until a few weeks into the training season however. When it came to me first learning how to slide I actually found it a little easy. The hard though part was learning to control speed and momentum and quickly stopping. I wouldn’t let that dissuade anyone from trying this though as once you get comfortable it’s an awesome feeling. As I ended my 2011 season with lots of screams and frights I took with me another memory of my first active sliding scares as well. Getting such compliments as “You were the best monster out of the whole place” really brighten my night. I learned to slide and evolved my scaring game to another level. And Scream Team Production’s wonderful sliding classes helped me achieve that. But of course the next season awaits and I’ll be sure to be ready for it. So on that note, On to the next scare!

Lets Party with Celebrities!

Jak Prints, Scream Team Productions and Atrox Factory sponsors or Insane Shane Party is please to present 2012 party celebs; Matt Valentine from Global Fear Enterprises seen on SYFY, Danielle Harris (Scream Queen) and Tony Moran (Michael Myers). Special co-host with Shane will be horror Scream Queen, Danielle Harris! Danielle has appeared on various television and films such as “Halloween”, “The Last Boy Scout”, “Eerie, Indiana” and many more. Also in attendance will be Tony Moran who played Michael Myers in the original 1978 “Halloween” and Matthew Valentine from Season 2 of SyFy’s “Face-Off”. Matthew will be bringing his professional makeup experience as a guest judge for the costume contest! Scream Team Productions Staff is thrilled to be a part of the Haunt industry biggest party. If you would like to attend this party, you can purchase tickets at www.insaneshaneparty.com.

Sponsoring the Kick off Party for TransWorld

This New Year Scream Team Productions wants to challenge them and get recognition from their peers and from their fans for their work and products. This year Scream Team Productions stepped up to the opportunity to sponsor the biggest haunt conventions kickoff party ‘Insane Shane Party’. Insane Shane Party was started by Shane Dabbs owner and operator of Disturbia haunted house in Hunstville Alabama. Shane has started this network party five years ago in hopes to have top haunt industry companies to network and party together. This social event was well received and grows every year. Scream Team Productions has become an official sponsor of this event to be seen and network with the industries best. They felt that donating goods and becoming a sponsor can contribute more to this annual event. Shane Dabbs party will be providing a gruesome and exciting atmosphere while staying true to the meaning of Haunt parties in St. Louis Missouri at the Renaissance Grand Hotel Crystal Ball Room March 10th, 2012. Many patrons have get-togethers, charge fees to get in, and have door prizes. However, the TransWorld Kick-Off Party keeps the atmosphere inspiring and focuses on the most important value in our field: connecting! Where else can you hang out with great legends like Ben Armstrong from NetherWorld, Eric Lowher from Haunted Overload, or Paul Johnson from Atrox; just to name a few. There were over 200 people that attended Insane Shane’s masterpiece last year and everyone that I have interviewed have all had great things to say! Scream Team Productions and Jak Prints will team up and sponsor the party. $95 a head for hours of networking with Haunt Industry leaders, all-you-can eat buffet, a costume party with a $300 grand prize, thousands of dollars in door prizes raffled off throughout the entire night, two free spiked drinks, an Insane Shane T-shirt, and the invaluable story you can tell your friends the next day. Scream Team Productions is amp to be a part of this event and would like to help make this event a fun party to die for. If you would like to attend this event and buy a ticket please visithttp://www.insaneshaneparty.com/.

First Experience in Entertaining

First Experience in Entertaining by Elizabeth Garcia

Team member Elizabeth Garcia In high school I decided there’s only one thing I wanted to do with my life: be a performer on a stage! Oh, I did show choir and a couple musicals in those four years. I also took a couple acting classes my first year of college, but that was as far as my experience went. Then I saw a Haunt Ad on Craig’s List (yes the same one everybody else saw) and figured, “Why not?” It’s common to feel nervous when sitting down to be interviewed by someone you don’t know for what could be your first entertainment job. Thankfully, my jitters dissipated not too long into the first and second interviews. It felt like I was talking to average people instead of those (who at that moment) controlled the fate of my job status. Even when auditioning I think I was the harsher judge between myself and them. A few days after the audition, I received an email saying I was an Elite Monster. The first thing I learned in getting hired was how badly I wanted this job as I scared the crud out of Mom with a high-pitched squeal of joy I didn’t know I was capable of. I loved Orientation! Getting to meet the rest of the team and seeing familiar faces from auditions were exciting in that none of these people knew me from high school or former jobs. Also, I’d get to know the Scream Team Productions Staff and get a feel of what the next couple months would be like. I have to admit that I left Orientation somewhat intimidated, not because of the people though. I had never worked on something at this level before or in the haunt industry, except a couple small scale haunted garages at home. The physical training was brutal in the beginning—for me anyway. Granted I was out shape from a lack of exercise. Roger Leon Thompson III, our fitness coach, pushed all of us as hard as he could, using a positive attitude and encouraging us to encourage each other. I have to admit during our five weeks of preparation I have never felt that close to any groups I’ve been part of in my life. When running the mile, if one person fell behind we would cheer them on until they caught up. Sometimes one or two of us would run back to the other person to finish the last leg with them. It felt really good to see and be part of that. After our final run the (I guess we’ll call it) mental portion of training was engrained in our brains by Tim Deddeh, our talent supervisor. The first part of each session was decently easy even though we kept getting it wrong the first couple weeks. We had to have certain key things memorized (natural born fears, different scare types, etc.). It was a little harder coming up with creative examples that hadn’t been said already. The staff’s always telling anecdotes about past haunt seasons to reinforce the objective of safety as a number one priority or to illustrate how one scare is more effect in this situation than another. They were willing to work with our groups and adjust their teaching methods. See, in one of the sessions it was discovered that all of us understood the concepts mentally, but we seemed to have problems getting it down to physical movements. I know for a fact I’m both a visual and verbal learner. As a result our team participated in more activities practicing different scare tactics on each other. Willie May Creative Producer and CEO, and the rest of the STP staff would join in every now and then to show us what they were looking for. Patience and peer support are ideals adults try to instill in us while growing up to make us better people. It wasn’t until I worked for Scream Team Pros that I truly understood why. When the main attraction for October fell through all of us were thrown for a curve. I won’t lie—I was frustrated and a little pissed, but after thinking a bit I realized there was no point. I wasn’t the only one taking a hit from this, nor did I take the biggest loss. Besides, it’s an entertainment job. One of the things my teacher stressed in high school was, “You have to be in it for the passion, not the money or job stability. Unless you get a lucky break, there is none.” All I could do—any of us for that matter—was hope that some of the side gigs were still going ahead as planned. They did! We had work Halloween Weekend. For the first time in a while I felt that old, satisfying adrenaline rush I used to get in high school when on the stage! I can tell you I hadn’t experienced exhaustion like that since senior year weekends during choir competition season. I think I managed to get an hour of sleep Sunday morning before working the first of three events that day. It’s one of the best learning experiences I have had, the most enriching night being the Hard Rock Hotel event in San Diego that Saturday. I was the only female in a group of six monsters. I’ll start off by saying it was a good night, but not my best. When people have no fear as a result of alcohol or whatever else they’re on it’s harder to scare them and it did bring my confidence level down at a certain point in the night. During the “Dinner Break” I received a lot of encouragement and tips from the guys. I also got a little grief for not paying attention to a couple things I did. The biggest thing I pulled from it was just to stand tall, get back in there, and do my best. The remaining gigs were a breeze compared to Hard Rock. Overall, I came away from this experience with a slightly better idea of who I am and what it takes to be a professional performer. I plan on putting what I’ve gained towards my future endeavors, but for the moment I’m just looking forward to scaring again. For more information about Scream Team Productions visit us at www.screeamteamproductions.com.

Rosati’s spook up Temecula's Pizzeria with Scream Team Pro’s Monsters

Rosati’s a new authentic Chicago style pizzeria and pub is the newest pizza spot in Temecula California, attracting families, sports enthusiasts and hungry monsters. Ang and Steven Sillin, owners of Temecula’s very own first Rosati’s, produced the first ever pizzeria Halloween Spook Fest in Temecula. These Chicagoans and haunt enthusiasts wanted to attract locals with a fun atmosphere. Rosati’s Pizza and Pub located at 30680 Rancho California Road in Temecula California has just that! A relax and fun atmosphere with amazing food and great services. Scream Team Productions Ceo Willie May and Talent Supervisor Tim Deddeh had shown up to Rosati’s for nice hot meal, after they finished their meals they left with a great idea and plans to partner up with Rosati’s this season and future seasons. All four pizza eaten haunt fanatics, reminisced on haunts and haunts back east in Chicago and came up with the ideas to have Scream Teams top elite monsters to participate in Rosati’s first Halloween Spook Fest. Rosati’s Halloween Spook Fest was a success. Tons of locals showed up wearing their costumes to win Rosati’s top prize in the costume contest and to eat the famous Chicago pies. Split into two Scream Team Pro’s monsters showed up and showed out in giving Rosati’s customers a fright of a life time. Having a blast with the kids, messing around with the staff and scaring customers, the elite monsters had a fun time creating 3 dimensional scares and making a impact on the locals.

Rosati Girls with Scream Team Monsters Scream Team Productions is excited for their new partnership with Rosati’s and is already planning for future Halloween appearances at Rosati’s annual Halloween Spook Fest. In the meantime in waiting for the 2012 horrifying magic, Scream Team Productions urge families, friends and fans to visit Rosati’s for a nice dinner and entertainment. If you love good food and sports you will love Rosati’s Pizza & Pub. Rosati’s Pizza & Pub 30680 Rancho California Rd | Phone: 951-587-2500 | website: www.myrosatis.com