Some cool stuff...

I am a lucky man. I really am.. I get to do what I love to do, and I get to work with some amazingly talented people. Seriously. Not only talented actors, crew, musicians.  If I even got to work with one of those talented folk, I would consider myself blessed. 

I get to work with some great artists too. Back in April of last year, Deirdre Hughes held a photo session for the cast of Red Scare and whipped up an amazing poster for us. I have a copy of it hanging in my room. Later, in May of last year, Sean Feuer took a group shot of the main cast that we used for an indiegogo perk. Both amazing images are on the DVD of Red Scare which you may purchase for a donation of $20. And I have repeatedly said how much I love the work that Lisa Schwichtenberg did on the Red Scare Mighty Muggs. 

But there was one thing more that I wanted. One thing that I felt would be perfect for Red Scare. There is a painter named Drew Struzan. You have seen his work. He did the posters for the Star Wars movies, Indiana Jones movies, Back to the Future, and more. He is amazing. So, I wanted a Drew Struzan-esque poster for Red Scare. And now I am getting one. 

Cut to: One of our actors in Red Scare is Steven Defendini. He plays one of the preppy gang. He is an artist. I have seen his work over the years, and I have been a fan and I have bothered him relentlessly to work on something for me. And now, he is. 

Just in time for our Film Festival Premiere, Steve has worked some magic, and designed the poster you see above. Next, he will paint it.  I love the composition and detail of the poster. It is really quite something and I think it captures the spirit of the movie too. 

I am really excited. Steve did an amazing job, and I can't wait to see the finished product. Below are some sketches that he did. 

Updates

It has been awhile since I updated, so here are a few updates for you, dear reader. 

Next week, Billy, Isaac, and I will be going to beautiful Hawaii to accept the Gold Kahuna Award at the Honolulu Film Awards. Sadly, we will have to return to the mainland, because we have a lot of other things to do. 

In June, we open the Summer 2012 NJ IFF, which should be pretty great. The folks behind that festival have been nothing but awesome so far. While we are in Hawaii, the lovely and talented Christina Garced will be doing a television interview for Red Scare's screening at the festival (more details when I have them). Then, later in the month of May, we'll be doing a radio interview as well. So, that ain't bad. 

Beyond that, for Red Scare, we eagerly hope for and wait for news about other festivals. 

In the meantime, we are not just sitting on our asses. The success of Red Scare has greatly motivated us. The webseries, Loster, was always going to be our next major project, but we have pushed that back a bit for various reasons and plan to shoot that in the summer. Before that, however, we decided to knock out three short films. 

The first, Toilet Prayers, was written and directed by me and was shot two weeks ago. It is an existential comedy that takes place in a bathroom. It stars Dan Gregory, Isaac Platizky, and a cameo by Bill Farley. Joey Mosca DP'd and worked sound, while Tony Pineiro worked lights and camera. Devin Graham was in charge of locations. I am happy to say that the first rough cut has just been finished. Once this project is done, I will be putting it on youtube for people to watch for free. 

The second short film, Tell Me Something Good, was written by Dan Gregory and directed by Sean Feuer. It is a dark comedy about a hostage situation, and we filmed that last week. Starring: Isaac Platizky, Dan Gregory, Scarlett Santiago, and myself. Joey Mosca worked sound, Tony Pineiro worked lights. Blake Zawadzki was in charge of locations. 

The third and final short film, The Dare, was also written by Dan Gregory and will be directed by Bill Farley. It also stars Dan Gregory, Faith Sullivan, Ilana Seagull, Samantha Algieri (sp?), and myself. It will be shot in the very near future. 

All of the above projects are not only awesome, but they are a joint venture between Narrow Bridge Entertainment, XXIVK Productions, and Maniac Films... A great assemblage of talent if I ever saw one. 

Phew. Okay, I had more to say than I thought. 

Stay tuned, 

Sam 

Actor, Writer, Producer

Red Scare

NJ IFF... More Info

Okay, so I will post more information as we have it, but I was told that we were chosen to open the festival on Friday, June 1st. More information is below. I hope to see many of you there if possible.


Time:     All programs begin at 7:00 PM. Films are screened in the order listed with a brief intermission for double and multiple-bills between films.

Location: Voorhees Hall #105 (Near the corner of George Street and Hamilton Street),
71 Hamilton Street/College Avenue Campus, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
NOTE: Our primary screening location Voorhees Hall #105 features new comfortable seats, stadium seating, a state-of-the-art hi-definition projection and sound systems!

Admission:  $10=General; $9=Students+Seniors; $8=Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC Friends.  
All films are subject to change. Call our information number 732-932-8482  the day of show to confirm titles.

Tickets:    
Tickets are available on a “first-come-first-served” basis only and can be purchased at the door beginning a half-hour before the start time. Advance Tickets are available to groups of 10 or more. Call or email us for more info.

Directions:
Voorhees Hall #105=Take the NJ Turnpike to Exit 9 and then take Route 18N (New Brunswick direction) and go for 2 1/2 miles to the College Avenue Campus/George Street exit (immediately after the Route 27S exit) and make a left at the light at the end of the exit ramp onto George Street, then go to the next light and make a right onto Hamilton Street, then go to the next light and make a right onto College Avenue. Almost immediately on your right hand side there is an University Parking Lot (#9) which is made available for our patrons to park in. Voorhees Hall is adjacent to the Zimmerli Art Museum and is 100 paces across the Voorhees Mall from Parking Lot 9. Patrons can also park in Rutgers Lots #1 (next to Kirkpatrick Chapel) and #16 (next to Murray and Milledoler Hall).
Map and Directions are also here: http://rumaps.rutgers.edu/?q=bnum:3013

New Jersey International Film Festival.

I just received word that Red Scare is a finalist and an official selection at the Summer 2012 New Jersey International Film Festival. The festival will take place in June of this year, and I am pretty excited about it.

Last year, for BGR, we got rejected from this festival so it is nice to see Red Scare get recognition. It shows me that we have grown since our last project, and I think we will be growing further for our future projects.

I will post more information as I receive it. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who made it possible for us to get as far as we have. Cast, crew, donors, musicians, friends, families, etc.

The best is yet to come.

Stay tuned,

Sam
Actor, Writer, Producer
Red Scare

Gold Kahuna Award

Aloha! Yesterday I received an email from the Honolulu Film Awards saying that Red Scare had won a Gold Kahuna Award. Apparently, this is a pretty big award that they give. I had to re-read the email several times just to make sure we actually won, but we did.

 So, once again, I have to thank everyone who was involved in Red Scare from the most minor of roles to the tops. Everyone who worked crew. Everyone who donated. But especially Bill, Sean, Joey, Tony, Loarina, & Isaac who gave so much of their time, energy, & patience from Day 1 until the Bayonne screening.They were my rocks this summer (and beyond), and there would be no Red Scare without them. Fact. Also big thanks to Dan Granda who came on later than those folks, but whose music is an integral part of the DNA of the movie.

Now, the only negative at all here is that it isn't a film festival so they won't be screening the movie, but... We did win an award, and we will be able to network with other folks in the business, and... Hawaii! The place where Lost was filmed! And other things happened there!

So, that is pretty cool. I had to think about whether or not I wanted to go to accept the award, but after thinking about it and talking to Bill... Life is short. Who knows what other events like this we will be able to attend? I don't want to remember this as the time I could've gone to Hawaii. So, yeah, looks like Bill, Isaac, and I are going to have a Hawaiian adventure.

Ironically, the Award Reception takes place on May 5th. Cinco de Mayo. Last year on Cinco de Mayo, I was at the Bergenfield Film Festival for BGR, and we all remember how that one went =P So, yeah, pretty big step forward.

Here's hoping that the best is yet to come.

Stay tuned!

Sam
Actor, Writer, Producer
Red Scare

More festival submissions...

You gotta be in it, to win it. The more times you enter, the better your chances to win. I am entering 4 more festivals today. (You can see which ones below.) Fingers crossed, and all of that. 

So far, I have only heard back from one festival, and that was Tribeca. And that answer was no. It's not too surprising really. Tribeca is one of the biggest festivals around, and they do fill their plate mainly with films that can only loosely be called independent. For me, independent film makers are those of us who are trying to break into the business with films that cost $10,000-$20,000.... Not star studded movies that are "independent" because they cost under $1,000,000. But it is cool. I do not regret entering any big festival, because I have faith that Red Scare is just as good as many of the things that will screen at those bigger festivals... And I'll be damned if the reason I don't get into a festival is because I didn't enter. 

But I digress. 4 more festivals to enter, and more on the horizon. If you would like to see Red Scare before we get into any festivals, you can always have your very own DVD for the minimum donation of $25. Contact me at splatizky@gmail.com if you are interested. 

That's all for now. 

Stay tuned!

Sam

Actor, Writer, Producer

Red Scare

Quick Update

There is not much news to report on Red Scare progress, sadly. We haven't been rejected at all, but we haven't heard back from any of the festivals we submitted to. That's normal, and I expect I will be hearing back pretty soon from some of the festivals. It really depends when the festival is. The sooner the festival, the sooner I hear back. 

I haven't submitted anything additional until today, because I am (a) trying not to bankrupt myself and (b) a lot of festivals deadlines are aways away. Today, though, I am submitting to the following:

Festival de Cannes and the Toronto International Film Festival. Two major festivals.

I will report as I hear news, but in the meantime here is the link to a youtube video I just posted. It contains alternate improv takes from a scene in the movie. It can be seen along with the movie, deleted scenes, and other alternate takes on the Red Scare DVD, which is available for sale. Contact me at splatizky@gmail.com if you are interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqTaRHiOVsY&context=C3778ed0ADOEgsToPDskIYmQx4I6ATJ_gDmZhkB-8c


Stay tuned!

Sam Platizky
Actor, Writer, Producer
Red Scare