Christine Feehan's Blog - Posts Tagged "making-of"

I thought we could celebrate the release of the new cover for Dark Melody by taking a trip back to 2003 together.

COS Productions who created the book trailers for Dark Melody did a “behind the scenes” articles many years ago. The article is no longer available, but they sent it to me to use in order to celebrate the re-issue and beautiful new cover for Dark Melody. I hope you enjoy it!



The Making of the Dark Melody Book Trailer in 2003
(Use with permission) by Sheila English


For those of you who read Christine Feehan’s Dark series this is going to rock your world! Dark Melody is much different than the other Dark books and as a fan myself, I have to say that this is my personal favorite. I couldn’t stop thinking about it even after I finished reading it.

The book meant so much to me after reading it that the teaser scheduled to be shot July 21st became a full blown Book Trailer . It was so hard to choose the scenes that would adequately share with all of the other Dark Series fans what this book promises to be. All the elements that we’ve all grown to love about this series are there, but there’s more. There is something in this that will touch your soul.


Finding the right actors was not an easy task. We needed someone who could adequately portray the sweetness of Corrine, and Terese Aiello was perfect for the part. In one scene, Corrine lays on a table dying with a helpless Dayan looking on. When she called out his name I got goose bumps. By the end of the scene I had teary-eyed crew and a scene that was worthy of this wonderful book.


This book brings back some beloved characters and the part of Gregori is played by actor Mark Alexander. Although not exactly matching the description of the original Gregori, Mark had an essence that was Gregori that transcended onto to film. Mark was great! Once we started talking about the scene and what was happening to his good friend “Dayan” and Dayan’s lifemate, Mark got so involved in the story he wanted to know why Gregori couldn’t just “save her” or “bring her over” himself. Mark hadn’t read any of the books, but I would be willing to bet that he has by now. He loved the fact that he was playing a beloved Carpathian and took the responsibility of his role very seriously.

The hardest role to fill was that of our hero, Dayan. We needed someone who could be a rock star, look lost and forlorn, and convince us that he had just found the love of his life and would be willing to die or her. We held two auditions looking for the right person. In the end, we found him…sitting next to me at the audition table. Circle of Seven Productions own Isaac Hirotsu Woofter . Isaac, as many of you know, played Aden in The Gemini Keys and will play Aden again in the upcoming release of The Brethren this fall. Isaac is also the Artistic Director of Circle of Seven Productions and many of you have met him at the various book conventions over the last few months. Isaac was introduced to Christine’s Dark Series when he joined us and saw Dark Symphony. He met and became friends with Mrs. Feehan, learning a great deal about the Carpathians and lifemates. Playing Dayan was very personal for Isaac and he really put himself into the character. Not only did he want to do this for Christine Feehan, but he wanted the fans to really feel and see the kind of love and longing the Carpathians are capable of. And let me tell you…he delivered!



The day was going to be a long one. We had a band, three actors, a full crew and enough extras to make the tavern scene look believable. Thanks to the Feehan family and many of the wonderful people of Lake and Mendocino County, we got our crowd and the filming began.

The band that Dayan plays with, in the book, is a local band that he jams with. We wanted to have music that would be unique and we found a band with a very original sound – Modalities. This band has a sound that is hard to describe, but great to hear. They are a cross between rock, world music, and hip hop. The band plays two songs during the trailer and is currently writing a song just for Dark Melody. The music will be made available soon. All the music in Dark Melody is original music by Modalities.


As a special treat, Christine makes a cameo appearance in the trailer. You may recognize other people as well if you look hard. Screen play writer and director, Sheila Clover English, Dark Symphony’s Antoinetta - Domini Stottsberry, Shadow Game stars Jen Miller and Jay Henderson all make guest appearances in the trailer. You may also recognize Circle of Seven “Behind the Scenes” cameraman, Jacob Henderson and Feehan family members, Denise Feehan and Brian Feehan. It was so much fun to have so many people come back to participate in such a big production. It was like a family reunion! Or…a Carpathian one…like the book.

Isaac had to learn to play the guitar in less than an hour, so our band consultant, Wayne Miller, gave him a quick lesson. No, he didn’t really play, but he learned where to place his hands.

The band played a few songs to warm everyone up and it was like a great big party!