Press Release: "Amityville Horror Kid Challenges Movie Giants"

Hi, like most of you I'm still in this section of ATS, I need my 20 posts.

the first post I made here was a bit over a year ago, when I introduced myself in the following thread
www.abovetopsecret.com...


Recent developments in my life have put me in a "speak up now or forever hold my peace" position.... thing is, I'm not at peace about it, so really it is a "speak up now or it'll haunt me for the rest of my life" position.

Feeling Forced to act, this is what I have decided to do....
I've personally written this press release, and will be circulating it to media outlets. and other social networking sites. Please help by circulating the following information to people who would have interest.
The easiest way I can be contacted is on facebook . THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

release is as follows
_______________________________________________________________________________________________


“Amityville Horror Kid Challenges Movie Giant"

U.S. Army veteran and Amityville haunting survivor Christopher John Quaratino is taking a stand. Quaratino, is formerly known as (fka) Christopher Lutz, one of the three children of George and Kathy Lutz. The Lutz family lived through what became known as "The Amityville Horror." Now 43 years old, Christopher has read the recent news releases put forth by film companies, Hannibal Classics and The Weinstein Company. The companies announced new sequel movies, each taking a stab at their own versions. Hannibal, the first to make public its intent, is developing "Amityville Legacy" in 3D. Not to be outdone, a week later, Bob Weinstein in his joint deal with Miramax and Dimension announced at Cannes film festival that his company is moving forward with its new movie "The Amityville Horror: The Lost Tapes, to be released in theaters January of next year.

Bob Weinstein said, "We are thrilled to return to the mythology of the Amityville Horror with a new and terrifying vision that will satisfy our existing fans and also introduce an entirely new audience to this popular haunting phenomenon,"

Jason Blum who produced the "Paranormal Activity" films, which have grossed close to $400 million worldwide, is set to produce. Blum is quoted by Variety saying, "I'm thrilled to be working with Bob to reinvent one of the all-time great horror franchises, and I think this new instalment will really hit home with a new generation of moviegoers,"
Christopher John, who maintains the haunting was real, yet very different from how it has been portrayed to the public, has this to say in response to the announcements, “They want to reinvent the story? A whole new generation won’t know what really happened? Just as all those that don’t know, who have followed this story for the last 35 years. The time has come for me to set the record straight, a fresh look from an alternative perspective, through the eyes of one of the children who peered out from those iconic quarter round windows. An eyewitness to the actual events that occurred in the Amityville house and what followed.”
“Therefore, I am calling out The Weinstein brothers, Bob and Harvey, your producers and writers. And Hannibal Films who have already begun making the next movie sequels to the story that should have died so long ago “The Amityville Horror". To these companies, who are bowing down to the golden calf milking the story one more time allying themselves with the top horror writers and producers in the business”.
“I SAY THIS, at what you do, you are good, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO "AMITYVILLE and what happened after.... "I CAN TELL A CREEPIER STORY THAN YOU!"
I am challenging you to a contest. The contest should be judged in the vein of American Idol, where the public casts their vote to decide the outcome, and ultimate winner.
The specific categories to be judged, should be the very thing your audiences so desire.
The best stories of all time are what they are, because of the very things I am challenging you in.

The specific categories are as follows:
1. You keep it Realistic. I'll keep it Honest.
2. Thought Provoking
3. Genuine Chill Producing (shocking jumps, don't count)
4. Psychologically Impacting
If you choose to accept this Challenge, do so publicly. I await your answer!
The public is invited to follow along as I face the demons of my past and the movie giants of today by logging on to www.amityvillehorrorchallenge.com and by "liking" the challenge on www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Amityville-Horror-Challenge/164647713600246

With just over 7 months until the Weinstein/Miramax/Dimension film is set to release on January 27 2012. Quaratino has a lot of work to do, to present his story in a book, he is seeking a writing coach and a publisher. Christopher feels it is important that he author the book personally and will take full responsibility for the truthfulness and accuracy of its content. More information will be forthcoming at his website whether or not the companies accept the Horror Challenge.
In a rare comment from any of the Lutz children, Christopher at the time the 2005 Amityville Horror remake released in theaters said, “George Lutz, brought the troubles on himself (and our family) by dabbling in the occult, it wasn’t just the House that was the problem. That’s why it followed us.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________
end of press release

reply to post by Christopher J Quaratino


i always thought the 'this is based on a true story' bit was added for great effect.

if this is truly YOUR story, go tell it brother, don't worry about what anyone else is doing, focus on your own own magic...

(oh but sue the arse off everyone milking you in the mean time eh?)

Christopher,

Thanks for your comments, I read your other post as well.

I have a quick question for you, if you don't mind.

It is regarding the "ghostly" figure of a little boy at the top of the stairs, purportedly taken by a news crew while in the house alone.

I have always thought this was the most "real" ghost I have ever seen on TV, as compared to all the ghost hunting shows etc. I was curious what you think of the photo/video.

Thank you!

reply to post by Christopher J Quaratino
I read the book years ago before the movie was released(the original)again like most books and movies the stories are vastly different.I believe the true stories are creepier than all the dramatics they add for the screen.To me the more they add to the story the cheesier it becomes.It reminds me of other good haunting stories they have butchered like,A Haunting in Connecticut and the Bell Witch both awesome books that were butchered by Hollywood ,why do they think they have to dramatize them this?Anyway if you haven't read these books including the original book the Amityville Horror I recommend them on a stormy night!
here's a link to the Amityville horrorwww.amityvillehorror.com...and one for the Bell Witchwww.bellwitch.org...

One such haunting is the legend of the so-called “Bell Witch,” a sinister entity that tormented a pioneer family on Tennessee’s early frontier between 1817 and 1821. Unlike the blockbuster films and many other ghost stories, the "Bell Witch" haunting involved real people and is substantiated by eyewitness accounts, affidavits, and manuscripts penned by those who experienced the haunting first hand. This distinction led Dr. Nandor Fodor, a noted researcher and psychologist, to label the Bell Witch legend as "America's Greatest Ghost Story."

In the early 1800s, John Bell moved his family from North Carolina to the Red River bottomland in Robertson County, Tennessee, settling in a community, Red River, which became Adams, Tennessee many years later. Bell purchased some land and a large house for his family. Over the next several years, he acquired more land, increasing his holdings to 328 acres, and cleared a number of fields for planting. He was also made an Elder of Red River Baptist Church. The Bells also had three more children after moving to Tennessee. Elizabeth (Betsy) was born in 1806; Richard was born in 1811; Joel was born in 1813. John Bell house, home of the Bell Witch of Tennessee The Bell homestead. From Authenticated History of the Bell Witch, M.V. Ingram, 1894. One day in 1817, John Bell was inspecting his corn field when he encountered a strange-looking animal sitting in the middle of a corn row. Shocked by the appearance of this animal, which had the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit, Bell shot several times. The animal vanished. Bell thought nothing more about the incident, at least not until after dinner. That evening, the Bells began hearing "beating" sounds on the outside walls of their log house. The mysterious sounds continued with increased frequency and force each night. Bell and his sons often hurried outside to catch the culprit but always returned empty-handed. In the weeks that followed, the Bell children began waking up frightened, complaining that rats were gnawing at their bedposts. Not long after that, the children began complaining of having having their bed covers pulled from them and their pillows tossed onto the floor by a seemingly invisible entity

Hi Christopher,

It would certainly be interesting to hear your experiences at the house.

Like 'The Archaeologist' I too have always wondered about that picture taken on the stairs. It is one of the few purported ghostly pictures I have looked at that has given me such a strong physical reaction, as it did/does when I looked/look at it. It makes me wonder what the energy in the house itself was like, as pictures do not usually create such a strong response.

Just to clarify, this website should show the picture I mean:

slightlywarped.com...

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this

Mavis

reply to post by Christopher J Quaratino


You should really consider a couple of things here. Movies are make believe, they are not documentaries. Movies have a formula, the formula is law, like the syllables in a haiku, and cannot be changed even if the reality dictates the formula is wrong. There is no way around it, none. They are a product, the are for entertainment, they are not a forum for telling a story: books are best for that - maybe lectures. The formula is been tested since day one, it works, people buy tickets to things that fit the formula and hardly even pay for things that don't. Is it right? It is neither right or wrong, it is what a movie is, like what a dog is, or the sun is - it just is.

The reason this is important is you are wanting the donkey to be a racehorse. The story you experienced, is NOT the story that will be told for the reasons above. If you want to make your own movie, you are free to do so, but so are they. You will not be able to change a thing with regard to any aspect of the movie production business - ever. Not you, not anyone, and you will only hurt yourself trying.

You need to consider this as well. The "Amityville Horror" has become a brand. It isn't a real event anymore. The events became the book, which became a rather crappy movie, but after that, the line "Amityville Horror" become a meme. It took on a life of its own, totally independent of the story from which it was born. It is no longer about you and your family, but about what people THINK the story is about. It will be marketed at young people who have not and will never read the book and don't really care if it is real or not. The only two things that are important now are: does the story fit the proper formula, and can the meme of "Amityville Horror" be tapped into enough to get kids to go see it? That is all that matters, the meme is the name of the game in these sorts of efforts.

Your quest, while noble in theory, is probably misguided. To tell your story, make a documentary, even then, it won't be about you as much as it will be about fighting what the impersonal meme says to those who tap into it. In fact, I expect if you sat down with a seasoned doc maker, he'd demand your story fit his idea of what the story is.

My suggestion is let it go. The reason things got here, is the decision to make a book about the story and then sell the rights to be made into a movie. That was the choice that was made and this inevitable conclusion was as a result of that choice. Does it seem like a bad choice now? Maybe, but everything started in motion then, you are here now.

Frankly, you'd be better off suing about the way you are depicted in any new version, or suing on some copyright version as you were too young at the time to sell away your rights - while your parents could sell you off, at 18 you should have had the opportunity to revisit the agreements made on your behalf. You'll get more publicity there, and might even be able to make a deal where your outrage would serve to promote the movies - giving you a payday! The later suggestions are in gest, and I do not seek to make fun of you or your efforts, only offer a little insight from a place I know very well.


best

I'm behind you 100%. Get your story out there so those of us who appreciate history instead of hollywierd fiction can hear your story.

On that note: how have your personal experiences affected your life as an adult?

reply to post by TheArchaeologist


OK I'm not reading this thread anymore incase someone posts that pic. I swear it scares the crap outta me, its the most authentic ghost pic I've ever seen. Thanks for adding this to the thread!! You bugger!!! lol.

reply to post by Christopher J Quaratino


I really don't want to be rude, however, this is the same information you posted on your other thread, almost exactly a year ago. After posting it, you blew everybody off. I'm wondering if you are doing the same thing again?

Because at this point it looks like you are only pimping your book, or your business endeavors pertaining to your childhood experiences. You want an "American Idol-like" TV show? What?

Do you have something you would like to tell us, or are you making annual hit and runs on the same topic?

Just curious.

Peace.

Hey "Chris Lutz', kinda funny how youre here toting this and your dad ADMITTED the house was a hoax, he tried to sell the story of the house because because it was a money pit

www.snopes.com...

www.all-lies.com...

reply to post by Christopher J Quaratino


Is this true...you are the surviving family member?
I have always heard that nobody survived except the killer?
Maybe I am mistaken but maybe also it's because of Hollywood that I am mistaken. Who knows but I have always wanted to know the firsthand account. I'd buy the house if I had the money and if it was even on the market, which I don't think it is. I'd exorcise those spooks!!!! I just wanna see how good I am at my craft...it's a challenge and I love a challenge.

And now I see that that was the first family is the one all but the killer survived. My fault. It's been so long since I seen the movies/read the book. Lol.

reply to post by HomerinNC


100 percent correct.

Now its nothing but a scary ghost story and anyone who believes this story to be true really needs to do a little digging.

Originally posted by ldyserenity
reply to post by Christopher J Quaratino

 

Is this true...you are the surviving family member?
I have always heard that nobody survived except the killer?
Maybe I am mistaken but maybe also it's because of Hollywood that I am mistaken. Who knows but I have always wanted to know the firsthand account. I'd buy the house if I had the money and if it was even on the market, which I don't think it is. I'd exorcise those spooks!!!! I just wanna see how good I am at my craft...it's a challenge and I love a challenge.

And now I see that that was the first family is the one all but the killer survived. My fault. It's been so long since I seen the movies/read the book. Lol.

edit on 6-6-2011 by ldyserenity because: add

No challenge to be had. Nobody who has lived in the house since has reported any supernatural events. The only problems they have had is people wanting to see the house. That is why it has been completely remodeled and no longer looks like the house from the movie.

Fine then! See ya next June, 2012?

The op is as fake as his story....

reply to post by Becoming


This is true, I was one of the helpers that remodeled the house when I lived on LI