The Unofficial "Signs" Movie Site

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First stills

Those in the US will be able to get a first look at footage from the movie as "Entertainment Tonight" are running a feature on it tonight. We've grabbed some stills from the movie which you can view in our "About the movie" section. We get our first glimpse of the crop circle the production team created for the movie, and boy is it a disappointment, actually embarrassment might be a better word. I just can't believe they flew over it and though "yup that's just great"! Compare it to some of the formations that appeared here in the UK this year. Thanks to Raph for the tip off.

Site Update Nov 26 01: Still looking for those postcards with the codes to get you inside the hidden sections on the official site? Well, the first code is 1T4749. Go plug it in or jump straight to the hidden page here. Pictured right, taken from the first hidden section, Shyamalan talks about the movies title, click on the photo to view the quicktime movie. Pictured below is the first limited edition post card. © Touchstone Pictures.

first card

Site Update Nov 25 01: Hmmm, just been sent what appears to be the first page of the signs script, no idea of the source though so caveat lector!

Site Update Nov 22 01: Any idea where we get the codes from to use on the official site and unlock the content, no, me neither. But a good place to start might be this "Signs" discussion list that has just been set up by a "fan" - who is in fact someone from the films promo department, but lets play along.

The European release of the movie will come approximately one month after the US release. We only have the following release dates at the moment, Netherlands 5 September 2002, Germany 12 September 2002.

Site Update Nov 19 01: Just as the shoot wraps, the promotion begins! The "Official" Signs movie website launched today, so point your browsers at signs.movies.com. They list the official release date of the movie as August 2nd 2002.

Site Update Nov 11 01: Well, the shoot in Bucks County is due to wrap next week after two months on location. Wonder where they're having the wrap party? The production will then move on to Hollywood to add some "finishing touches".

We've had some insight into some of the filming thats been going on inside the - not so - secret studio built inside a warehouse in Bensalem PA. As well as shooting internal scenes they've been shooting what are referred to as "b-unit shots", which are fill in shots for existing scenes. They included the insertion of hands in one scene and the filming of a dog in another.

Gibson was recently interviewed in USA Today and talked briefly about the movie "What it boils down to is a story of a man who loses his faith and regains it... But the machinations of that small journey are so out there." He described Shyamalan as "pretty good at misdirection", whatever that means!

We've added an article by Lisa Tsering that recently appeared in the US newspaper India West about the movie.

The following bogus report recently went out over the Australian newswire. It's apocryphal and completely groundless, stemming from rumours that started here in the UK during the summer, fueled by crop circle researchers paranoia about the authorship of certain formations:

SYDNEY, Australia (Wireless Flash) -- An Australian paranormal researcher is accusing Disney Studios of faking crop circles around the world to promote an upcoming movie. Paranormal researcher Tim Bull -- better known as "Tim the Yowie Man" -- says there has been a tremendous increase in crop circles sightings in places that usually don't have crop circles, such as South Africa. Bull believes the bumper crop of mysterious circles is a publicity stunt by Disney to promote Signs, a new film starring Mel Gibson as a farmer who discovers a crop circle on his field. Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta insists the studio isn't planting crop circles, but is happy people are thinking about the movie which will open next summer.

Site Update Nov 06 01: We've created a new page in our "Behind the scenes images" section which has a few photos of the Bensalem set where the production are in the last stages of shooting internal shots.

The "Chino in the morning" show on Philadelphia Radio station q102 recently scooped an interview with Gibson. They had been stalking him at the Bensalem studio set so he decided to call their bluff and rang up the radio station for a chat. He spoke for a while about the movie but was very guarded. Unfortunately the presenter seemed so amazed that Gibson had actually rung up the show that he didn't managed to ask any probing questions about the movie, but Gibson did confirm that it will be out next summer 2002 "around July or August". You can download an mp3 of the whole six minute conversation here.

Site Update Oct 31 01: It's all gone very quite whilst the production continue to shoot on the closed set in Bensalem. But, they'll be venturing out into daylight again tomorrow to re-shoot some of the scenes they shot in Newtown PA at the beginning of October. Crew have been on set today in the Newtown Book and Record Exchange preparing for the shoot which will take place tomorrow (Thurs 1st November). But don't expect to see Mel or Joaquin onset as they're shooting without them.

They're apparently about a week behind schedule but filming is still due to wrap around mid-November.

Tyler Park

Site Update Oct 20 01: Talent scouts from the movie visited Bristol Township's Third District Volunteer Fire House in early September. They were looking for experienced fire rescue workers to appear as paid extras in the movie. They took ten headshots and decided to use four of the fire house's volunteers for the roles: 18 year old Ryan Cummings, 29 year old Mike Ferguson, 43 year old Greg Steele, and 25 year old Andy Taggart.

According to Steele, "These were not speaking roles, just acting." They filmed a 10 minute scene on a closed set at Tyler Park (pictured above right) in Newtown back on September 13th and 14th. "We weren't even notified about the location of the shoot until the morning we were to film," Ferguson said. In the scene Mel Gibson's character is having a flashback of a fatal car wreck had by his wife. "Our job was to make it look like we were extricating her from the wreckage," Steele said. He added, "When we arrived on the set, we showed them what we do on accident scenes and they used our input to make it work."

The group said they were well treated on set, dining and chatting with Mel Gibson as well as recieving an invite to the movies wrap party. In addition to the small salaries given to the extras, the Third District Volunteer Fire House received a $1,200 donation from the Production Company.

Site Update Oct 19 01: With the production moving back to shoot interior shots at their makeshift studio in Bensalem information about the movie has slowed to a trickle again, but undetered we've still managed to dig up some fresh facts for you.

Editor Barbara Tulliver will be cutting the movie. It's her first collaboration with Shyamalan. Tulliver is best know for her longstanding collaboration with director David Mamet. Their films include "State and Main," "The Winslow Boy," "The Spanish Prisoner," "Oleanna," "Homicide" and the upcoming "Heist," Tulliver was assistant editor on "Places in the Heart".

We've had word of another cast member, Michael Showalter.

Digital Domain were originally in the frame to create the movies visual effects, but it now looks like the job has gone to Industrial Light and Magic.

If at first you don't succeed... Thirteen year old Christopher Scott who hails from Newtown and was runner-up to Haley Joel Osment for 'The Sixth Sense', is one of the extras in "Signs". He was one of the people filmed walking in front of the pizzeria in Newtown while Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix dined inside.

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