Local filmmaker Michael Taylor spent the last few years honing his film "There is a Monster," down to perfection but then took it to the next step promoting it and now the film is on the schedule at Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Vudu so everyone can see it.
When the film was ready, he reached out to distributors and was recommended to get in touch with Scott Moesta, a producer's representative who specializes in distribution for filmmakers. Taylor signed a deal and now has "Gravitas Ventures," behind the process and he's on his way up in the movie world. On Jan. 30, his film launched on several platforms so now the checks will start rolling in, right?
Not so fast.
"That’s the big mystery. This is my first feature film. I don’t know what to expect, but I’m hoping we can all make our money back and perhaps turn a profit. The movie business is very tough to predict," he said. Running to the mailbox every day like a kid waiting for his sea monkey kit is not out of the question.
It's a start though, and he's happy it's going this way. In fact, Taylor is working on his next film, which is something he wrote a few years ago and he's updating it for today's audiences. This film has a bigger budget and he's hoping to have more famous faces in it.
“I will shoot that either again in Northern Virginia or Richmond,” he said.
It all started with filming “There is a Monster,” in and around Alexandria a few years ago. In Taylor’s horror film, scenes were filmed around Alexandria and Mount Vernon, where he’s lived in the past. In December 2021 into 2022, there were scenes at the Southside 815 restaurant, Bradlee Medical Center, and a house in Great Falls to tell a story that is indirectly about a real-life disease that haunts many including his sister, who died of the disease.
Locally “There is a Monster,” premiered on March 20, 2023 at the AMC Shirlington 7.