Aug 26 2011

It’s Curtains for Murder Afloat!

Category: Behind-The-Scenes,Show Info — Jack North @ 2:03 pm

After 22 years of committing mayhem in the name of entertainment I have decided to hang up my hat!

Okay, I have no idea what that means, but I will tell you simply that my wife and I have decided to retire (for the time being, at least) from the murder mystery business. Thanks to all the crew members, staff and management of the River Street Riverboat Company for making the last 14 years very enjoyable for our company.

Thanks, of course, to all the actors and actresses through the years. Some were only in the show for a season or two, but most of the actors were with me for more than 10 years. It’s been a pleasure working with all of them.

Thanks to the audiences over the years for making Murder Afloat a success. The Girl Scouts of America who visited Savannah and made sure that the show was included in their activities were especially loyal.

I haven’t given much thought to what I should do with the website; whether to devote it to a discussion of riverboat mysteries, fiction content, or to turn it into a company where you could order real-life hits on your enemies. I’m not sure of the legalities of that, so if you have any other suggestions please contact us. We’ll still be getting our messages from here. (You can leave comments below.)

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Sep 08 2010

2010 Season Ends – Time To Write for 2011

Category: Behind-The-Scenes,Murder Afloat Schedule,Show Info — Jack North @ 4:46 pm

Thanks to all who attended this year’s show. We had another great season, and enjoyed seeing so many of our repeat audience members.

Because of the two major films shot in Savannah last year, Miley Cyrus’ The Last Song, and Robert Redford’s The Conspirator, the script for this season’s show centered around the film industry. It was particularly rewarding to have a select few film fans comment on the many little film-related “inside jokes.” Particularly, the two who recognized one character’s name, Carl LaFong, as a nod to the immortal W.C. Fields. Other name references in our script included Alan Smithee, a pseudonym used by directors who do not wish to be connected with a film, and Wilhelm Scream, a particular sound effect used in scores of films. Each of these references were caught by two other attentive film fans.

I’m not sure what the theme of the 2011 show will be just yet, so be sure to check back later. As usual, I probably won’t spill the beans, be as I indicated above, we like repeat visitors. ;-)

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Feb 19 2010

Murder Afloat’s 2010 Season

Category: Murder Afloat Schedule — Jack North @ 10:34 am

The new season for Murder Afloat has begun. This is our 21st year of production; the last 13 years have been aboard the boats of the River Street Riverboat Company. Our public shows are scheduled for every Thursday night from April through August. Hope to see you on the river!

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Jan 16 2010

Murder Afloat Provides Inspiration for Novelists and Film Makers?

Category: Behind-The-Scenes — Jack North @ 12:37 pm

In the past couple years Murder Afloat has been contacted by both novelists and screenwriters who have been researching interactive murder mysteries for their various projects. Both projects, as it happened, have been put “on hold” for the time being. This is very common in the creative arts. For reasons of professional privacy I will not reveal the names of the writers, as there is still a possibility that one or the other may yet be produced.

A published author with several books to her credit contacted us to provide information about how our cruise worked. Her intention was to have a large part of the story take place during a Murder Afloat cruise. Her main character was to have become involved in a real life historical mystery as a result of the show. The author even traveled up to Savannah to meet with us and take a cruise to experience the show first-hand. This novel has been outlined, but the author has shelved the project for now.

A very successful Hollywood writer/producer contacted us through one of her researchers for information about these types of mystery shows. She was working on a screenplay which would have used a similar cruise as a backdrop for a romantic comedy. This project, likewise was shelved.

Man, this show business stuff is heart-breaking!

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Jan 04 2010

Miley Cyrus, Robert Redford in Savannah

Category: Behind-The-Scenes,Savannah Happenings,Show Info — Jack North @ 9:19 pm

With Miley Cyrus shooting her first non-Hannah Montana movie, The Last Song, here last summer, and Robert Redford directing the civil war drama The Conspirator this past fall, it seems we were a little premature in doing a paparazzi storyline a couple years back. (Before Miley’s project was even announced we even had a reference in the script to one of characters doing a Hannah Montana rip-off called  Dinah Carolina!) That’s us, though; always ahead of the curve :)

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