Bruce & René show Bloodline in Dallas and Arizona

Bruce and Rene completed a very successful tour of Dallas, Texas, and Tempe and Sedona in Arizona. The film played to busy houses at the Angelika Cinema in Dallas, as well as the Harkins Cinema in Tempe and the Dream Theater in Sedona.


Bruce and Rene did Q&A sessions in all cities on the opening two nights.


To arrange a screening in your city or town call Robb Wood; (818)783-0440 or email robb@1244films.com We look forward to hearing from you.



Check back with us next week for more exciting news.

Priory of Sion Dossiers Book and Bloodline DVD on sale NOW!

We are very excited and happy to announce that the long-awaited Bloodline DVD release date is finally here! From the Home page click on the DVD RELEASE link, pre-order the DVD and receive a special pre-order price of $18.95! That is $6 off of the regular sale price of $24.95!


Also, on sale TODAY, the brand new Priory of Sion Dossiers Book!
This is a very special unique 114 page collection of correspondence and documents from Nicolas Haywood and the Priory of Sion. The emails include never before released information about the Priory of Sion, it's membership, history, as well insights into the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau, the Knights Templar, the Cathars, Mary Magdalene, Alchemy, and the hidden messages in Renaissance art.


The documents also include copies of the famous 'Dossiers Secrets' which were anonymously deposited at the Bibliotheque National in Paris in the 1960's, and which include Merovingian and Carolingian Royal lineages, as well a list of the Grand Masters of both the Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar.


The Priory of Sion Dossiers is a unique and extraordinary insight into the world of secret esoteric societies. Forward by Nicolas Haywood and introductions from Bruce Burgess, Rene Barnett and Robert Howells! Never before released and only available here!

Order your Dossiers Book before August 31st and pay only $29.95!
That is a savings of $5 off of the regular price of $34.95!

Click here to get yours today!

NEWS – July 9th

René and Bruce wound up a hugely successful tour of the Pacific Northwest, where they opened the film in Portland, Oregon and Yelm, Washington.

The first stop was a private screening for 100 invited guests at the Hotel Deluxe in downtown Portland. The next morning Bruce and Rene drove 2 hours up Highway 5 into Washington State, to the small town of Yelm, to meet and greet a crowd of over 700 Bloodline fans who had gathered at the town’s new $6 million cinema complex to watch the film.

The special screening was organized by JZ Knight, the world famous motivational speaker and head of the Ramtha School of Englightenment (RSE). JZ is a huge fan of Bloodline and hired the cinema to show all her students. In fact, there were so many of them, they hired four screens at the cinemas, translating the film in four different languages!

In fact JZ was also instrumental in opening a number of well known documentaries in Yelm, including An Inconvenient Truth and What the Bleep do we Know?

Bruce and Rene spent about an hour meeting and talking to everyone, before heading off to RSE for a tour of the facility with Steve Klein, the school’s head of Special Events. That evening Bruce and Rene were dinner guests of JZ, her partner James, former Vatican theologian Miceal Ledwith, and the actress Salma Hayek. After dinner, Bruce and Rene did a ‘Q&A’ in the school’s great hall with 700 or more of their students.


It was then back down to Portland and a series of radio and TV appearances to promote the opening of the film at the Living Room Theaters on Friday June 27th. These included the hilarious Cort & Fatboy show on KUFO, and interview with Inessa at Kink FM, ABC’s NorthwestAM breakfast TV show on KATU, and a special live radio broadcast with Clyde Lewis on his Ground Zero show.



Bloodline also garnered good reviews from the two main papers in Portland. Matt Davis from the Portland Mercury said: "Bloodline is as hypnotically engaging as a well-executed magic trick", and Stan Hall from The Oregonian said: "Well-made, full of spy-movie intrigue."

Finally, on Friday June 27th the film opened at the Living Room Theaters, and Bruce & René did ‘Q&A’s’ on the first two nights to packed houses, and on Friday night they appeared on the Coast to Coast radio show hosted by George Knapp for two hours discussing the film and their research at length, and taking calls from listeners.


Bloodline was held over in both Yelm and Portland, and will be opening Friday, July 11, in Bellingham, Washington as well as Dallas, Tempe and Sedona. That means more traveling this weekend for Bruce and René, but in order to cover more territory, they are heading off in different directions. Bruce will be appearing at the Dallas Anjelika Theater on Friday and Saturday nights following the 7 pm showings of Bloodline, and René will be in Tempe, Arizona at the Harkins and Friday night and Sedona Saturday night at the Dream Theater immediately following the ‘prime time’ screenings for Q & A.

René will be appearing among a list of distinguished speakers at the Third Annual Magdalene Gathering in New Haven, Connecticut July 18-20. For more information and to register for the event, which includes, among other notables, authors Timothy Wallace-Murphy and William Henry, go to www.gloriaamendola.com. There may be room for a few more registrations.

Oxford University dates priest's papers to 19TH century

Oxford University’s Radio Carbon Lab have carried out a ‘carbon 14’ dating analysis on a sample of one of the ‘clue’ papers, signed by Berenger Sauniere and discovered in a series of glass bottles by Ben Hammott, and confirmed that the paper and ink dated from before 1919. They said the mostly likely date was somewhere between 1867 and 1919, almost exactly the same dates that the priest was at Rennes-le-Chateau. This further rules out the possibility of them being a modern forgery or hoax.


Bruce said: “This is great news for all of us who believe in Ben and his discoveries. There has been a lot of speculation about the provenance of the messages left in the bottles, but now even the staunchest critics will have to eat their hats!”

Rene added: “I think we’re slowly peeling back more and more layers of the Rennes-le-Chateau mystery, and getting closer and closer to what made the priest break with his faith and with Rome. The results of this carbon 14 analysis means it very likely that Sauniere did write those clues and confessions, which in turn adds weight to the fact that the priest did bury the relics Ben found, and that they both discovered the same tomb in the mountain.”

Ben Hammott said: “I’m thrilled with these results. I always believed that they may have been written by Berenger Sauniere and now, in addition to the handwriting and signature analysis, we have proof that they were written during the same period that he was at Rennes-le-Chateau.”






For more in-depth analysis of the process and results go to www.benhammott.com.

Bloodline opens in more US cities & is a hit at CANNES !

Due to the outstanding success in NEW YORK CITY & LOS ANGELES, we are very pleased to report that the film is opening in more cinemas over the coming weeks in PASADENA, CA, in NEWPORT BEACH, California, in YELM, Washington State in BELLINGHAM, Washington State, in PORTLAND, Oregon in DALLAS, Texas, in TEMPE, Arizona and in SEDONA, Arizona. Please click on the THEATER icon on the Home Page to get exact details, and if you live in those cities go to the GET INVOLVED page, download the flyers & posters and help spread the word.

And as we have said before, if you want Bloodline to play in your town, send us and email, give us the name of the town and your local cinema details and we’ll see what we can do. Better Still !!! contact the cinema yourself and tell them you want to see Bloodline playing there !! The best marketing is by word of mouth.

In addition the film was screened to buyers from around the world at the Cannes Film Festival, and the first round of distribution deals are being negotiated with Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Poland, Brazil, Japan, Germany, Korea, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, France and Italy. We will give you more details on release dates in each territory as soon as we know it.

Finally we expect the long-awaited STORE page to be open soon on the website.

The Film everyone is talking about !

The crowds continue to come in to the screens in New York City and Hollywood, and we open at the Laemmle Santa Monica 4-plex on Friday 23rd, with more cities opening next week.


“Move over Harrison Ford THIS INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE is the REAL INDIANA JONES…” - Stacy Gualandi, Fox 5 News

"If the Catholic Church fumed over the 'The Da Vinci Code' wait until it gets a load of 'Bloodline', an AMBITIOUS, sharply INTRIGUING documentary..." - Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times

“A FASCINATING FILM !” - Roseanne Barr

“So people will call it CONTROVERSIAL, I call it INTRIGUING and FASCINATING…it’s the kind of picture you will be talking about long after you leave the theater.” - Sandy Kenyon, WABC, New York

"RIVETING...the year's MUST TALK- ABOUT film !" - Kev Lewin, WENN

"A COMPELLING and FASCINATING documentary" - Henry Senecal, Campus Circle Magazine

"A discovery that could prove to be one of the most EXPLOSIVE and CONTROVERSIAL of the century…" - Elizabeth Snead, LATimes.com

"UNPARALLELED REVELATIONS deposed front and center render the picture A GEM that unpretentiously swings for the fences and lands in the alleyways the next town over.…FOUR STARS” - Mathew Nestel, Boxoffice.com

“ROLLICKING…GOOD DRAMA…a GROUNDBREAKING work on a story that can possibly change the future of our world.” - Greg Kaczynski, SOCAL.COM

“a cloak and dagger mystery, complete with secret passages and ancient scrolls..”
- Robert Holguin, ABC7 News, Los Angeles

“a fascinating film that dares to ask the questions whose answers unsettle so many.” - Todd Havens, belief.net

Bloodline hits Hollywood !

After a successful opening in New York City, Bloodline opened in the city of angels on May 16th to packed houses at the Sunset Laemmle Cinema, on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and at the Culver City Plaza Cinema.

As in New York City, the local ABC News channel came to the opening night screening, and gave the film a great review this weekend, as did Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times : "If the Catholic Church fumed over the 'The Da Vinci Code' wait until it gets a load of 'Bloodline', an ambitious, sharply intriguing documentary..."

Read the full review here:
http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-capsules16-2008may16,0,6258235.story

The film also got a FOUR STAR review from Mathew Nestel at Boxoffice.com: "UNPARALLELED REVELATIONS...a GEM that unpretentiously swings for the fences and lands in the alleyways the next town over...pulling the curtain wide-open forcing some to question their faith and dosing a bad case of insomnia upon the Pope. "

Read the full review here:
http://boxoffice.com/reviews/2008/05/bloodline.php

Bruce, Rene and Dr Gabriel Barkay from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, gave a talk at the Bodhi Tree Bookstore in Beverly Hills on Saturday, where they discussed the film, its discoveries and the relics to a packed audience.

Bloodline continues to do well in New York City as the highest grossing film at the Village East Cinema.

Producer Rene Barnett said: “The reaction from the public has been staggering, we always hoped for this response, but this is even better than our wildest dreams. Bloodline has one of the highest per-screen grosses in the USA right now, which is phenomenal for such a small marketing budget. We’re all thrilled!”

It’s been quite a week for Bloodline in New York City

On Monday May 5th we held a Press Conference at the Jewish Museum, to announce the film and its discoveries. Alongside Bruce & Rene on the podium were Dr Gabriel Barkay of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, former Detective Inspector Colin Taylor from the Metropolitan Police, Bishop Shelby Spong, Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe, and Renee Fratpietro from Lakehead University’s Paleo DNA lab. News crews and reporters from AP, Reuters, Fox, ABC, NBC, CNN, and CBS were also there. watch clips here:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bloodline

On Friday May 9th Bloodline premiered in New York City amid a fanfare of media coverage and controversy. The evening shows at the Village East Cinema were largely sold out all weekend, as was the afternoon screening on Sunday,and Bruce & Rene’s Q&A sessions were well received by the packed audiences.

The media coverage around the opening has been great. The film was reviewed by all the majors including The New York Times, Time Out New York, The New York Post, The New York Sun, The Village Voice, & The New York Press.

The film got a fantastic review from Sandy Kenyon, the film critic on New York’s ABC News, who concluded with :
“Intriguing and fascinating…it’s the kind of picture you will be talking about long after you leave the theater.”

Mathew Nestel of boxoffice.com gave Bloodline 4 stars and a glowing review :
“unparalleled revelations deposed front and center render the picture a gem that unpretentiously swings for the fences and lands in the alleyways the next town over”

Read the whole review here:
http://boxoffice.com/reviews/2008/05/bloodline.php

Bruce also appeared on the Fox News Channel’s Breakfast show on Sunday, debating with Father Jonathan Morris, live from Vatican City.

Bruce & Rene now return to Los Angeles where the film open at the Sunset Laemmle 5 Cinema on Friday May 16th.

Bloodline to air on ABC TV! Tonight!! and Sunday!!!

Bloodline Director - Bruce Burgess will be on ABC's Nightline and Good Morning America Weekend - this weekend.

Friday, May 2, 2008 (tonight!)
ABC’s Nightline
11:35pm PT/ET

Sunday, May 4, 2008
ABC’s Good Morning America Weekend

NYC 8:00am/ Los Angeles 6:00am

>>Check your local ABC affiliate for times near you!

Bloodline to hold News Conference on May 5th in New York City

We are holding a News Conference at 11am on Monday May 5th to announce the film and its discoveries to the world’s media.

The event will take place in the Scheuer auditorium at The Jewish Museum on 5th Avenue in Manhattan.

We are delighted to announce that Bruce and Rene will be joined by an impressive panel.

Dr Gabriel Barkay, senior lecturer, Bar Ilan University, Jerusalem
One of the world’s leading biblical archaeologists and the recipient of the prestigious Jerusalem Prize in Archaeology. Dr. Barkay will discuss his analysis of the 1st Jerusalemite relics discovered in the wooden chest by Ben Hammott and Bruce in the ‘Cave of the Magdalene’

Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe, senior lecturer, Cardiff Academy, Wales
A fully ordained Anglican priest, Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe is now a popular TV and Radio presenter, researcher and author of over 250 books, many on the Knights Templar, and the Rennes-Le-Chateau mystery.

Detective Inspector Colin Taylor, Metropolitan Police (ret)
A former Detective Inspector at New Scotland Yard, Colin Taylor was Commander of the Drug Squad and Deputy Divisional Commander of the Major Crime Squad. Taylor twice received the Police Commissioner’s Commendations for outstanding work. In 2007, Colin was asked by Ben Hammott to re-open the files on the unsolved 1897 murder of Abbe Gelis in Coustassa, and re-examine the facts, and the evidence through the eyes of a modern forensic detective.

The Right Reverend Shelby Spong, Bishop of Newark (ret)
The Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001 is considered the champion of an inclusive faith by many, both inside and outside the Christian church. A visiting lecturer at Harvard and at universities and churches worldwide, the outspoken Bishop will explain why he believes that traditional Christianity is ‘dying’, why the traditional story the Church tells about Jesus is ‘inaccurate’ and why Jesus and Mary Magdalene ‘were probably married.’

French Government and DNA Lab speak out about Tomb & Corpse

The French Government agency, Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles Languedoc-Roussillon (DRAC-LR) has issued a statement on Ben Hammott’s tomb discovery.

The DRAC Commissioner of archaeology in the region, Jean-Pierre Giraud said, “This is certainly a very intriguing discovery, but it's just too early to tell how important it is. We need to do a full survey of the site to determine the age of the corpse and the other items in the tomb. The archeology department of the DRAC-LR will be carrying out an examination of the site as soon as access has been made possible.”

Bruce Burgess said, “Everyone has been asking about the excavation of the site, but the next step is just working out how to get in. The access into the burial chamber right now is limited to a small air shaft, far too small for Ben, let alone me, to enter. But plans are underway with the DRAC spelios for a full scale survey of the site to determine the best way in. Once that is done, we can get into the chamber and really examine the tomb.”

As most of you know, Ben was able to extract a few hair strands from the skull of the corpse, which underwent testing by the Paleo-DNA Laboratory at Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada. They too have just issued a statement about Ben’s discovery. Renee Praymack Fratpietro, the analyst who worked on the sample said:

“Like most ancient or degraded samples, we knew our best chance for successful results would be to focus our efforts on mitochondrial DNA. Once we obtained that information, we were able to determine a Middle Eastern maternal origin of the individual based on haplotyping information. After we found out where this hair sample came from, we realized the significance of this work.”

Producer, René Barnett, said: “This is a really intriguing result. The haplotype indicates a Middle Eastern ancestry of the corpse, which is rare to find in Europe. We can’t wait until we can get total access to the corpse and then do a full DNA test to determine the age and sex.”

Bloodline to premiere in New York City & Los Angeles

Welcome to our new look website…created by Rob Flynn, known for his VFX work for Disney, Warner Bros and Sony.

The new Bloodline trailer was cut by Michael Horvitz, who worked on trailers for Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Blade.

The music you can hear is from our original score composed by the award winning composer, Miriam Cutler, known for her work on Thin, Amy's Orgasm, The Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, and the Terry Gilliam/Johnny Depp film Lost in La Mancha.

Also, see our new blog where you will be hearing from us as well as special guest bloggers and invited to comment; a new Screening Room, full of exclusive, never-seen-before footage ; and lot’s more.

We can now officially announce that Bloodline is being released on May 9th in New York City at the Village East, a week later, May 16th in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Sunset 5, and then across the US after that. Theater details can be accessed above.

Rather than an all-out release in week one, we have decided upon a ‘slow burn’ strategy that has worked well with other controversial documentaries in the past like What the Bleep Do We Know? and Super Size Me. The plan is to open in two major US markets first, build momentum, then open wider, in more screens, as each week goes by.

We will be marketing Bloodline as aggressively as we can, but we need, and appreciate, all the help we can get. A new section called ‘Get Involved’ will include posters, flyers, banners, screensavers which can be downloaded to help you help us spread the word, as well as special Bloodline items for purchase, like T-shirts, books, and more.

We will also be announcing details of Bloodline the radio show very shortly, which will be available to 40 million homes across the USA, and globally via the internet and satellite. Stay tuned for the launch date.

For those of you around the world, our distribution and sales team is working on releases in all major markets around the globe, both in cinemas, on television and on DVD.

Keep checking back here for regular updates.

Bloodline set for Spring ‘08 release

Finally, the news so many of you have been asking! We have signed a deal with a studio in Los Angeles, who have confirmed that Bloodline will come out in cinemas this Spring. We will post details of where and when on the site in a couple of weeks, so stay in touch. If you have not done so already, please register on this site for email notices about this and other Bloodline news and events.

In the meantime, the work continues as the team pursues analysis on some of their findings.

Hand-writing expert Confirms Hammott’s clues were written by Sauniere

Ben Hammott, (www.benhammott.com) along with author Rat Scabies (www.ratscabies.com)and Rennes researcher Andrew Gough of the Arcadia website (www.andrewgough.com) met with handwriting expert Emma Bache in London before Christmas for her analysis of the written clues that were inside the bottles Ben had discovered.


Ben Hammott, Rat Scabies and Emma Bache

Previously Emma had been approched by Rat Scabies to do analysis on Sauniere’s writing for his book Rat Scabies and the Holy Grail.


Ben brought some known samples of Sauniere’s hand-writing to compare alongside the clues.

Comparing the message found in the second bottle, purportedly signed by Sauniere, and another known letter of his, Bache said:

“…yes, these two do look like they were written by the same person. It’s very likely that they were….you've got the same down strokes and certainly the signature is the same...I’d say they were, yes....and given that the text (of message 2) fills the whole page, it’s indicative of someone who was very agitated and determined to get their point across to others...the whole obsessive compulsive nature of his manner is showing more than ever…he wants to get his message across.”


Pressed by Rat Scabies for more about what the writing says about the author’s character, she went on to say,

“I would say that he’s got a form of OCD, not an easy character, very stubborn, learned but very stubborn…strong willpower…and full of angst…the key strokes are heavy indicating that he held the pen strongly.”

Ben also showed Emma a selection of the priest’s signatures, some from the clues and some from other known documents, and asked her to pick the ones she thought were genuine.


After careful analysis, and without knowing which came from which source, she chose the signatures she thought as being genuine. Two of those came from the messages Hammott found.

Ben said :
“This is great news. We now have some expert analysis that these could well have been written by Sauniere. I’ve always said I thought all the clues and the bottles were left by the priest so someone could follow in his footsteps…”

Differences—and similarities—in style and execution can be very subtle for an untrained eye. Rat Scabies explained, “When you first compare Ben’s clues with the priest’s known handwriting, it’s hard to see the similarities, but Emma can look beyond that and analyze minute inflections, key strokes and other signs. She thinks it could be Sauniere.”

Bache, a well known UK graphologist, has worked with BBC Television and Radio as well as many independent programs and stations. Her journalistic work covers most of the UK's major newspapers and a wide range of magazines and publications.

Andrew Gough added
“I have spent some time with Emma and I have a lot of respect for the way she approaches her craft. She is very professional and totally unbiased” said Andrew Gough, adding, “This is a good result for Ben. The importance of the clues was always going to be subject to some examination, so this is a good first step.”

Top Israeli archaeologist dates chest contents to 1st Century

In early December 2007, Ben Hammott and Bruce flew to London and met with leading Israeli archaeologist Dr Gabriel Barkay of Bar Ilan University in Jerusalem. Gaby, as he is known, is one of the world’s most respected authorities on 1st and 2nd Temple period relics and, although they had already been examined and dated by the British Museum, they wanted him to analyze the contents of the wooden chest; namely the cup, the ointment jar, the glass vial and the collection of coins.


Dr Gabriel Barkay and Ben Hammott

Barkay confirmed that all three objects were 100% authentic ancient relics that had originated in or around the 1st century BC in Judaea, possibly Jerusalem.

He confirmed the British Museum’s view that the small pottery vase was an ungenterea or ointment vessel, which was mainly used to fragrance a tomb.


Dr Gabriel Barkay examining the Cup and Vase

Remember that the Serpent Rouge document which is held at the National Library in Paris, mentions ‘the sweet smelling perfume’ coming from ‘the tomb of a lost queen’ called “madeleine’.



3 Aries
In my difficult pilgrimage I was trying to hack my way through the dense vegetation of the woods with my sword. I wanted to reach the abode of the sleeping beauty in whom some poets can see the queen of a lost kingdom. Desperate to find the way, I was aided by the parchments of my friend, being for me like Ariadne's thread.


7 Leo
The scent of the perfume, whom I wish to liberate, which fills her tomb, , mounts upwards towards me. Long ago she was named Isis, queen of the benevolent spring, come to me all COME TO ME ALL YOU WHO LABOUR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL COMFORT YOU. Others knew her as MAGDALENE with the celebrated vase of healing balm. The initiates knew her true name: OUR LADY OF THE CROSSES.

Dr Barkay also said that the small glass vial was known as an alabastra which was early roman glass imitating alabaster. Inside was the small piece of rolled parchment. Of course Mary Magdalene is often depicted with an alabaster jar or vase.


The Glass Vial

Again, concurring with the analysis from the British Museum, Dr Barkay identified coins that dated back to 1st century BC, through to 1st century AD at the time of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, down to the 5th century in Constantinople, right through to a coin from the Crusades in the 12th century. There were 30 coins in total.



Close up of one of the coins showing both sides

(See images of some of the other coins below)

So now we know, thanks to the British Museum and Dr Barkay, that the objects are 100% genuine. But the question is, how did they find their way from 1st century Judea into this chest buried in a cave across the valley from Rennes-le-Chateau?

And why did the clue, possibly written by Sauniere, call them the ‘cup of Jesus and Mary’ & ‘the anointing jar’ ?

Dr Barkay said :
“It’s very interesting. I’m very happy that I saw it with my own eyes….it is possible, it would be not out of the question that artifacts excavated by the Templars in Palestine or even in Temple Mount would find a way to Europe. The finds in this chest are really intriguing and it is really something that inflames the imagination. But whether it is connected to the historical Jesus or not, time will tell…”