Trailer

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Synopsis

Steel Web Studios presents an all new macabre tale:

Kelly receives a mysterious rag doll for her 6th birthday. Over time she learns this doll has the power to grant wishes, but often with horrific consequences. After being imprisoned for years in a mental hospital, she has learned to master the unpredictable art of “wish making” with deadly precision.

The Cast

Vanessa Mitchell - Kelly (Adult)

Vanessa is an actress in Los Angeles studying at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan, this San Diego native is truly one who "does it all"--an actress, singer, model, writer, jeweler & graphic designer.

Contact Vanessa on MySpace

Alicia Randolph - Kelly (Child)

Alicia has starred in several theatrical productions including Annie Jr. (starring as Annie), Beauty and the Beast (Babette), The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd (Starlight Theater), Fiddler on the Roof, Alice in Wonderland, and Annie. She is also a successful child model and has appeared ad campaigns for Land's End and Sally Foster.  Mr. Buttons is her first film project.

Grant Price - Shane (Adult)

After many years of devoting himself to a rewarding career in Information Technology, Grant recently rekindled his passion for acting. In the past year, he has been featured in several independent films in San Francisco and San Diego, as well as in print advertising for several major companies. He is currently honing his acting skills through film acting classes and performing in a variety of principal roles for film schools. Grant is also an accomplished martial artist and spends several hours a week practicing kung fu and tai chi.

Will Morgan - Shane (Child)

Will is an aspiring childhood actor and model. He has starred in several school theater productions and is looking to expand his experiences. Mr. Buttons is his first film project.

Jennie Olson - Mrs. Ridgecrest

Jennie has her B.A. in Theatre Arts from University of California, San Diego.  She last appeared in Steel Web's Mail Order Bride.  In addition to acting, she is also a playwright and produced her play "The Dating Pool" last spring.  She recently had a staged reading of her play "Welcome Home" as a part of an Aspire Playwrights Collective production. 

Contact Jennie on MySpace

Criston Mitchel - Mr. Ridgecrest

Criston Mitchel was born and raised in San Diego, CA. He has worked in many local and national cable commercials, in addition to numerous independent short and feature films. He has performed and directed for stage, as well as some of his own original short screenplays.  He has trained extensively with Robert Wald Actors Studio over the years and now teaches on occasion. Criston appreciates the support of his family, and his loving wife and son. He will continue to work towards a career in major motion pictures and even small indie films, in hopes of working with the great actors and directors of today.

Contact Criston through his website

Roger Gobin - The Orderly

A film and theatre veteran, Roger completes his third horror film, Mr Buttons, for Steel Web Studios. In addition to acting, he enjoys writing, reading and sports. Also, catch him soon at film festivals in his recently completed short drama Glitch, also from Steel Web Studios.

Contact Roger through his website

C.J. Lassiter - Crystal (The Witch)

C.J. is a drama major at UC Irvine.  She performed in many theatre productions with Coronado School of the Arts, including Songs for a New World.  She has also done background work for TV shows filmed at Stu Segall Studios, including Veronica Mars.  In addition to acting, she enjoys singing and dancing.  This was one of her first film projects and she is very excited to be a part of it.  She would like to thank God for every opportunity He brings into her life.

Contact C.J. on One Source Talent

Acasia Bloxton - Kelly (Teen)

Acasia is an aspiring actress and she is a skilled makeup artist specializing in special effects for theater and film. Her favorite passtimes include reading, working with make up, and napping.

Contact Acasia on MySpace

Also starring:
Colleen Roum, Jonathan Allen, Chis Spoto, Angel Lacy and Rodion Alifanov

The Crew

David Quitmeyer - Writer & Director

Numerous critics have proclaimed that David Quitmeyer is a "filmmaker with balls" after his directorial debut with the splatterpunk feature Slaughter Disc. At early age, David discovered his love of horror movies; today he is an award winning writer and filmmaker. David's films have been featured in numerous film festivals, TV programs, radio shows and magazines around the world.

Contact David on MySpace

Peter J. Gorritz - Composer & Musician

Mr. Buttons marks Peter’s sixth film score and his fourth project for Steel Web Studios.  Peter is an accomplished musician, the bassist for The Last Dance and a talented sound engineer. Peter lives with his wife in San Diego County.

Peter used Digital Performer on a Mac G5 to compose the original motion picture score for Mr. Buttons. The music was inspired by classic 80’s horror movies, circus music and children’s TV shows of the 70’s with an evil twist.

Peter's other film scores include KGB Productions' Deadly Obsessions, Steel Web Studios' Slaughter Disc and Lifeline Entertainment's Hallowed.

Contact Peter on MySpace

Supporting Crew

Screen Shots

Director's Statement

I love creepy toys. I have a small collection of them myself and it seems to grow every time I go to a convention. While I love the killer toy movies like Child's Play, I've always wanted to take an indirect stab (yes, the pun was intended) at making a creepy toy film. I'm also a huge fan of W. W. Jacobs "The Monkey's Paw", so when I started thinking of a creepy clown doll film, the two naturally came together. Mr. Buttons, the doll himself, has a very polarizing effect on people. Their either think it's cute or they say it is creepy as hell. Personally, I think he is a little of both.

- David Quitmeyer
Read my Production Blog

Behind the Scenes

Production Notes

The story behind Mr. Buttons was based on a concept for a silent, black and white project that David Quitmeyer had been working on in early 2006.  After several attempts at a script for a silent film it was decided that there was too much story to tell and that a full-color short would be the best way to tell the world the tale of a little rag-doll named Mr. Buttons. David found inspiration for the story in the classic W.W. Jacobs tale The Monkey’s Paw and his love for horror-themed toys.

David drew a sketch of Mr. Buttons while brainstorming for plots in the script.  After showing a number of people the sketch to confirm that the doll did indeed have a “creepy” look, David trusted in the services of Desiree' Bradanini to help him bring the doll to life.  Two versions of the doll were constructed along with a separate head that was used for effect shots.

Knowing well that any good horror film needs a good amount of blood and gore, David enlisted the help of Lisa Keeping, a talented special effects artist.  She has created some impressive work for TV shows such as Supernatural and the Blade TV series. Planning for effects and makeup began approximately two months before filming started.

Mr. Buttons was filmed over a 5-day schedule that was scattered across various Saturdays from October 2006 to December 2006.The cast was assembled from a combination of casting calls and actors who had previously worked.  Over 380 actors submitted their head shots for the auditions and more than 50 attended the auditions.  Auditions and rehearsals were held at Activity Road Studios, a rental space that is also home to the Independent Film Group of San Diego.

The budget for Mr. Buttons was approximately $2,500. The majority of the budget was dedicated to makeup effects, wardrobe and prop fabrication.  All of the actors volunteered their time for the film and all of their sacrifices are greatly appreciated. Production costs were kept to a minimum in part because David owns his own camera, lighting gear and editing equipment.  David was also aided in production efforts by his wife Kristen and several of his close friends who love to watch him film.

Principal photography was completed with a Sony VX2100 using MiniDV media. David edited the film with Adobe Premiere Pro on an HP computer running Windows XP with 4 GB of RAM and an AMD Dual Core processor.  David also used SoundSoap, Magic Bullet and Adobe Photoshop for various effects throughout the film.

Gag Reel

Our videos are hosted by YouTube. Please visit our YouTube Page if you do not see the video above.