Interview with Drew Hall - Director of Sasq-Watch!

Drew Hall talks about his new comedy Sasq-watch!, out now on VOD and DVD, starring Paul Brittain.


Do you remember where you were when you came upon the project? 

D: I was visiting my buddy Jarrod Murray in Los Angeles. We were at a delightful Korean BBQ place. He emailed me the script and I read it on the flight home. I must have looked crazy as I was laughing out loud as I read through it.


Inspirations?

D: It all comes from my childhood. I grew up watching so many 80’s B movies and cartoons. I’m not a huge fan of nostalgia, but felt like this particular script really resonated with my early childhood.


How long of a shoot was it?

D: We shot for about 21 days. The best part of the film was that we all (cast and crew) lived together on top of a mountain for 3 weeks. It was like being at some really odd film summer camp – Wet Hot American Summer style. Relationships formed and ended. We ate 3 meals together. It was pretty foggy and dangerous at night so we literally just hung out around the fire. Couple of days I smoked a pork butt because we had the time. It was just a really different filmmaking experience. If you ask any of the cast and crew they all referred to it as Camp Cheaha.

Was it local? Or were parts of it filmed all over? 

D: The majority of the film was shot at the Cheaha state park in north Alabama, but we did shoot the less rural scenes in Mobile, Alabama.


How did the film perform in other territories?

D: We were released in China – which is pretty awesome. Its doing well. I mean every culture has some kind of bigfoot lore and the comedic elements of the film don’t really rely upon a ton of Americanized pop culture – so its purely funny in a mixed space.

Has it been marketed differently in other territories? 

D: I don’t actually know beyond the title change from Nigel and Oscar Vs. The Sasquatch. I’m sure the Squatch gets shifted as the names for bigfoot vary from culture to culture.


How important is a social media presence for a film?

D: That’s how it all works now days – especially for an indie film. We should probably have one.


What’s one thing people probably don’t realize about making indie films? It’s not easy, right!?

D: Making any sort of film is quite the feat. So I applaud any filmmaker out there willing to take the risk and just put themselves on public display whether it’s a film or on YouTube. I do feel like the big Hollywood machine is making it increasingly more difficult to hear/see new voices. I get that it is a business, but sometimes the best stories come from those who have fought against the odds to make their project happen. I think indie filmmakers typically have a greater appreciation for opportunity, cause it is so rare to them.

And when does the job end for you?

D: Never…I produce all of my own films so that means I’m on the hook for a very, very long time.


What’s the goal here? Make some money? Get another job? Give the world the next cult classic?

D: Can I say all of the above? One feeds into another and I’d like to keep my family fed, clothed, and housed. Its not a greed thing. It is just the idea that if we can keep going then hopefully it can inspire others to do the same.


What do you love about genre movies?

D: Genre films are like cheeseburgers – they are comforting, often innovative, and yet familiar. I think that a genre film provides the best platform for emerging filmmakers because in my experience as both viewer and filmmaker, that’s where innovation come from.

You can buy Sasq-Watch! from Amazon.com by clicking here.

Song of Granite - Official Trailer

SONG OF GRANITE revolves around the life of the great traditional Irish singer, Joe Heaney. The harsh landscape combined with the myths, fables and songs of his Connemara childhood helped shape this complex and fascinating character. Enigmatic and complex, Heaney’s devotion to his art came at a huge personal cost.

Joe Heaney was born just outside of Carna in 1919. From an early age, he was fascinated by the stories and music around him, ‘drinking (them) from the bottle when (he) was in the cradle”. By the time of his death in Seattle in May 1984, he was widely recognized as one of the most important figures in Irish traditional music, having won fans and admirers from every part of the globe and most particularly from the folk music scene in the United States. Joe’s life was also remarkably complex, challenging traditions with his way of life.

Utilizing documentary evidence, recreations and more abstract scenes that attempt to reveal the inner workings of Heaney’s psyche, Pat Collins has shaped a cinematic exploration of Heaney’s life and his music, tracing his strange, tragic and often inspiring journey from rural Connemara through Glasgow and eventually to New York City – but not always in that order.

Alita: Battle Angel - First Trailer

Visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY) create a groundbreaking new heroine in ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an action-packed story of hope, love and empowerment. Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita (Rosa Salazar) is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg Alita to his clinic.  When Alita awakens she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in.  Everything is new to Alita, every experience a first. 

As she learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield Alita from her mysterious past while her street-smart new friend, Hugo (Keean Johnson), offers instead to help trigger her memories.  A growing affection develops between the two until deadly forces come after Alita and threaten her newfound relationships.

It is then that Alita discovers she has extraordinary fighting abilities that could be used to save the friends and family she’s grown to love. Determined to uncover the truth behind her origin, Alita sets out on a journey that will lead her to take on the injustices of this dark, corrupt world, and discover that one young woman can change the world in which she lives.

Interview with Brett Bentman - writer-director of Apocalypse Road

Brett Bentman, writer-director of the new apocalyptic thriller Apocalypse Road (now available on VOD), tells us what he loves about filmmaking.


Do you have to be a fan of movies like this to want to make one? I imagine it helps?

Oh yeah. I love movie that carry a heavy dramatic narrative, then punch you in the gut with some action and slam your eyes with some uncomfortable gore. We were able to mix all of these elements I love into one film.


When did you come up with the idea?

I had just wrapped a western that went horribly wrong. When I came home I wrote AR and told my team we were going to make a film the right way, with the right producers behind it from day one. I wanted to re-invent myself with this script and I wanted to put the viewer in the shoes of Sarah and Natalie West. It’s one thing to make a movie where you go from scene to scene to scene, with actors who just read lines and move on, to a film like AR where the cast and crew are literally bleeding for the story. Makes you feel a sense of pride.


How much have post-apocalyptic movies like Mad Max or even The Hunger Games inspired the libretto here?

Not a lot, but some. I took more inspiration from The Road and The Revenant. We shot on one camera with two lenses on a gimbal 90% of the time. We had to use a ton of natural light and put thought into not having power most of the time. It was fun, tiring, but fun.


How did pitch it to your investors? What do you think led them to pulling the trigger?

Our sole investor was Bill Nicholas who is a close personal friend and has serves as my executive producer on all of my feature films. It wasn’t so much a pitch of the film, more of the idea that Bill believed in me as a filmmaker that brought him back in the fold. Plus, he gets a little cameo in the film, so everyone is happy!


Can you talk about the look of the film? What did you shoot on?

We shot on a sony a7sii. We kept the camera moving at all times. We wanted to give the illusion that the viewer is in the middle of the shot. Going through cars and things like that all while moving the camera on a ronin. We shot in real abandoned locations with no AC or heat. I wanted this film to have long takes with natural light. We did it all when others said we were nuts. We weren’t nuts, we just wouldn’t take no for an answer. Michael Ray Lewis, who shot the film, had to be exhausted every night. He would be running all day, he never sat down.


What do you love about filmmaking?

I love that at the end of the day we are telling a story and making it come to life. We keep it light on set. We have fun, but we work our asses off too. We aren’t curing cancer, we are making a movie. How cool is that?

Interview with Isabella Blake-Thomas

Isabella Blake-Thomas reconnects with her grandmother in the heart-warming new film Kepler’s Dream, currently screening in theaters and available on InDemand.


How did Kepler’s Dream come about, Izabella?

My mum took me to an open audition in London for a children’s TV show and out of a few thousand children l got the job alongside three other kids. This was just the beginning.


Sounds like you have some good support in your mum!?

My mum has always supported me and driven me wherever and whenever I’ve needed to go somewhere. She also helped coach me as she is a film director.


Fantastic. Has it been hard to break in? it’s competitive out there, I imagine?

The industry is still just as competitive but now there are multiple platforms for you to get spotted such as YouTube or any social media platform allowing everyone to be able to give the industry a go.

Was this movie shot a while ago?

Yes, it was shot three years ago. Sometimes it can take that long for films to come out though.


What was the main appeal of it, for you?

l loved the idea of being the protagonist in a family film. No swearing, no violence just a lovely story.


Did you get to know your co-stars before filming began?

There was only a day to rehearse altogether but we mixed as much as we could and I’m not supposed to know or like Holland Taylor, my grandmother, so it was important we didn’t get to know each other much. Once shooting started though we all became friends very quickly.


Was there a scene that was hard to film?

It was hard seeing my mum in hospital, l just imagined it was my mum and so it wasn’t hard to get upset.


What do you hope people get out of this movie?

l hope people are inspired to feel hopeful when dealing with difficult family or health situations.

Tomb Raider - Image, Trailer and Featurette

SYNOPSIS AND FURTHER INFO:
Lara Croft is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when she was scarcely a teen. Now a young woman of 21 without any real focus or purpose, Lara navigates the chaotic streets of trendy East London as a bike courier, barely making the rent, and takes college courses, rarely making it to class. Determined to forge her own path, she refuses to take the reins of her father’s global empire just as staunchly as she rejects the idea that he’s truly gone. Advised to face the facts and move forward after seven years without him, even Lara can’t understand what drives her to finally solve the puzzle of his mysterious death.

Going explicitly against his final wishes, she leaves everything she knows behind in search of her Dad’s last-known destination: a fabled tomb on a mythical island that might be somewhere off the coast of Japan. But her mission will not be an easy one; just reaching the island will be extremely treacherous. Suddenly, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Lara, who - against the odds and armed with only her sharp mind, blind faith and inherently stubborn spirit - must learn to push herself beyond her limits as she journeys into the unknown. If she survives this perilous adventure, it could be the making of her, earning her the name tomb raider.

Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel Hits Theaters

Los Angeles, CA - Surge of Power Enterprises is proud to announce the theatrical debut of the long-anticipated sequel to the groundbreaking and lighthearted superhero movie "Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes."  "Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel" will begin with a weeklong run in Los Angeles before fighting crime in additional cities.

Creator Vincent J. Roth returns to the cape-clad title role of Surge, cinema's first out gay superhero.  Roth is joined by a star-studded cast representing the forces of good and evil including "Star Trek" alums Nichelle Nichols and Robert Picardo, comedian Bruce Vilanch, "SuperFriends!" Shannon Farnon, Academy Award nominee Eric Roberts, The Exorcist's Linda Blair, "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" star Gil Gerard and the original Incredible Hulk Lou Ferrigno.  The award-winning film has screened at festivals and conventions across the globe, taking home prizes for Best Comedy, Best Villain, Best Special Effects and Most Inspirational Lead Character.

Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel will open January 5 in Los Angeles, expand to New York on January 19 and continue nationwide.

Synopsis:
Surge's nemesis, the Metal Master, is out of jail and trying to reconcile with his estranged parents (Blair, Gerard) and tempted to continue a life of crime by Augur (Roberts), archnemesis of the wise Omen (Nichols, Picardo).  Augur sends Metal Master to Las Vegas for mysterious crystals.  Needing more crime fighting help, Surge activates the artificial intelligence in the Surgemobile (Vilanch, Farnon). Augur emerges from the shadows back in Big City, causing Omen to step into the fray, which alerts The Council, a supervillain cabal bent on world domination.  Facing more enemies than ever before, Surge must do whatever it takes to save mankind.

SPENT, an award-winning dark comedy, in theaters and VOD 12/15

SPENT, the award-winning new dark comedy from writer-director Lisa Mikitarian, hits theaters and VOD December 15 from Indie Rights.

Winner Best Comedy at the American Filmatic Arts Awards, SPENT is a tale of greed, love, and most of all...rat poison.

Ruthless People meets Fargo in a delicious homage to ‘40s dark comedy about a wife and son that live it up while their miser-rat of a husband/father lies in a hospital bed--death by brain tumor imminent. It's all fun and games until he experiences a miraculous 4th of July recovery.

SPENT, featuring “a great story with good direction melded with the right cast and crew”*, opens December 15 in LA theaters and on VOD.