Latest on Twilight’s Michael Welch in Lost Dream, Unrequited

Latest on Twilight’s Michael Welch in Lost Dream, Unrequited



Every so often a film pops onto my radar long before it's released, or even before filming begins. Such was the case with Lost Dream, the first feature from writer/director/editor Asif Ahmed.

It was shortly after I was blown away by All the Boys Love Mandy Lane at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival that I discovered Lost Dream while seeking out the latest work from Michael Welch (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse), who immediately struck me as a talent to watch for.


As soon as I saw that this rising young star had been cast in Lost Dream I began to follow its progress. Shaun Sipos (Final Destination 2, Melrose Place), Jeremy London (Party of Five, 7th Heaven), Patricia Richardson (Home Improvement, Strong Medicine), and the legendary Joseph Campanella round out the cast.

Readers of this blog have been able to travel with Lost Dream throughout its various stages of production ever since. In the interim Welch wowed audiences as Mike Newton in both Twilight and The Twilight Saga: New Moon, two of the most successful motion pictures of all time, and will soon be seen in the third film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Last spring I traveled to the Hollywood Premiere of Lost Dream at NewFilmmakers LA and posted an exclusive video interview I did with Welch that weekend as well as an audio interview and pictures from the event. Twilight castmates Justin Chon and Christian Serratos came out to celebrate and are also featured in the photographs. Next it was off to the Vampire Film Festival in October where Lost Dream was the Closing Night Film.

Earlier this year I was honored to be the first to announce that producer Reel Energy had signed a distribution deal with Osiris Entertainment to release Lost Dream on DVD. Presented in 16:9 Widescreen format with 5.1 Surround sound, the package includes the following special features:

•Making of Lost Dream

•Behind the Scenes
•Cast & Crew Interviews
•Trailers
•Audio Commentary with:
Director Asif Ahmed and actors Michael Welch and Shaun Sipos

Lost Dream is NOW available on DVD. It is not rated (NR) but includes some scenes of drug use, disturbing images, and sexual material for mature audiences only. The film has an official site at www.lostdreamfilm.com.

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In June 2009 I was pleased to announce that Welch would be starring in Unrequited, the first feature from Jason Epperson, runner-up on the Steven Spielberg-produced Fox reality series On The Lot. After coming in second among hundreds of would-be directors, Epperson searched for a script he could wrap his head around for his first film. He found it in Jeff Day's Unrequited, a psychological thriller about an 18-year-old (Welch) who snaps after a series of setbacks. Unrequited was shot in Epperson's home state of Kentucky. The independent film is produced by writer Jeff Day's Lucky Day Studios. Mark Freiberger is co-producer.

The filmmakers have now announced that Unrequited post-production will be completed on April 5. Arclight Films has acquired the film for distribution through their Darclight label and will be screening the film at the Cannes Film Festival and Film Market.