Werewolves, vampire assassins, and government factions, oh my! After its run on the festival circuit, Seize the Night, starring the film's director and producer, Emma Dark, will have a limited DVD release. Also: Kickstarter news for HoloGrid: Monster's Battle, a look at the film Chaos Theory in its entirety, first details on Exhibits, and info on Todd Masters' (founder of MastersFX) 2016 Daytime Emmy win.
Seize the Night Limited DVD Release Details: Press Release: "SEIZE THE NIGHT has been one of the most talked about short films on the independent horror scene over the past year. In its time on the festival circuit the film has won creator Emma Dark a MMBF Rising Star award at Ireland’s The Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival, garnered favourable reviews from a multitude of respected genre websites including Dread Central, Starburst and UK Horror Scene, and featured in comprehensive national print articles in the UK’s leading horror magazine Scream, and indie filmmaking favourite Digital Filmmaker Magazine. Wearing many hats on the project up-and-coming female filmmaker Emma Dark both Produced, Directed and edited the film, as well taking a starring role.
The plot revolves around renegade vampire assassin Eva (Emma Dark) who's recently escaped from a secret bio-research compound and is hell-bent on taking revenge against those who put her there, including a pack of werewolves led by alpha Tobias (Carey Thring), and a secret government faction known only as Cable 9.
SEIZE THE NIGHT’s ambitious fight scenes were coordinated by semi-retired Hollywood stuntman Roy Scammell, who amongst a plethora of credits is responsible for fight coordination and stunt work on many of the James Bond films, Alien (1979), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Superman (1978). The film is further enhanced with digital visual effects from up and coming VFX artist Davy Simmons and a unique score from US-based composer Eric Elick.
Emma had this to say about the film’s release “After a very successful stint on the festival circuit and a lot of media and critic support it’s finally time to press the button and unleash SEIZE THE NIGHT upon the world! Myself and my cast and crew have put an absolutely incredible amount of work into the film so I do hope it’s well received, and that it does it’s part for raising awareness of female directors and filmmakers in a typically male dominated space.
There’s more to come with a limited DVD release for those who want to have their own copy of the film, and a whole host of behind the scenes extras I’ll be posting up over the coming weeks. Until then I hope everyone enjoys watching SEIZE THE NIGHT.”
The film can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/164918250"
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HoloGrid: Monster Battle Kickstarter Details: Press Release: "May 4th, 2015, Berkeley, CA - Today, Phil Tippett & HappyGiant announced the launch of a Kickstarter campaign for HoloGrid: Monster Battle, a new hybrid board game, CCG, and digital augmented reality game, recently named “Best Technology of PAXEast 2016” by http://www.MMOGames.com
“No other tech on the gaming floor combined so many cool, new ideas at once quite like this game. It managed to put together AR, CCG gaming, and mobile gaming into a mixture that engages with its personality and depth of play,” said MMOGames.com “HoloGrid could have easily leaned on its AR tech to make it simply a neat toy, but it has built a very compelling game in the process. It has managed to toe that difficult line between being accessible while also offering a strong level of strategy. In addition, it has a strong base to build on for more variety of cards. If HoloGrid can secure the right attention and make its game affordable, then Happy Giant has possibly caught lightning in a bottle.”
Phil Tippett
Phil Tippett is a 2-time Academy Award winning Visual Effects Supervisor and Director best known for his work on the original Star Wars films, Jurassic Park, Robocop, The Force Awakens, and many more. Tippett also created the “Holo Chess” scene in the original Star Wars, which he recreated for the Force Awakens.
“For years I’ve been making monsters for Directors to play with, and now for the first time, I’m making monsters for YOU to play with,” said Tippett. “We’re excited about the new fields of Augmented and Virtual Reality, and to be working with our friends at HappyGiant to create HoloGrid: Monster Battle.”
HoloGrid: Monster Battle’s gameplay is similar to Collectible Card Games (CCG’s) such as Magic: The Gathering or Hearthstone, but uses physical playing cards to trigger Augmented Reality creatures and a gameboard. Players will be able to play head-to-head, either locally or remotely, and offline, non-digital play is possible as well through a physical board that will come with the product. A “Hybrid” Board Game, Collectible Card Game (CCG), and Digital Game in one, it delivers to players a new type of gaming experience.
Creatures battle on your tabletop with AR
HoloGrid: Monster Battle is being built for next-gen AR and VR platforms, but will first release for mobile devices, giving players the feeling that the creatures of Phil Tippett are doing battle right in front of them.
“We’re excited to be launching this Kickstarter with Phil Tippett and his studio, and bringing to life a game so many of us have always wanted to play,” said Mike Levine, President of HappyGiant. “This is our first step into a new world of AR gaming, and while we are launching it on mobile initially so everyone can play it, our long-term vision is to bring it to emerging AR and VR platforms.”
Photogrammetry
Another exciting aspect of the project is the use of Photogrammetry to scan Tippett’s real life physical monsters into 3D digital assets for the game, giving them a level of detail and character unlike any other.
“We’d been doing experiments with Photogrammetry, but more on museum-level artifacts,” said Levine. “At the same time we began exploring doing projects with Tippett, we had the idea, ‘What if we tried this on some creatures?’ The results blew us away. That’s really where this idea was born.” “And it’s the exact same technique we used on The Force Awakens,” added Tippett.
Kickstarter Link - http://kck.st/21urzQB"
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Watch the H.P. Lovecraft-Inspired Film Chaos Theory: "In the wake of her best friend’s suicide, Erin must combat the violent premonitions and increasing paranoia that threaten to break her as she fights to find out… what really caused her friend’s death? Inspired by the stories of H.P. Lovecraft and the psychological horror of Polanski and Lynch, CHAOS THEORY explores the nightmare of grief… and the dark implications of insanity.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4765834/
Blog Site: https://smuckyproductions.wordpress.com/films/chaos-theory/"
Written, directed, and produced by Ben Larned, Chaos Theory stars Kat Solko, Michael Thornton, Wyatt Warner, Rachelle Wood and Chris Jenkins.
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Exhibits First Details and Concept Trailer: Press Release: "Paul Gerrard (Hellaraiser: Origins), Mike Clarke and Paul Griffiths are moving toward production with their horrific feature film EXHIBITS. Set to be shot in the UK, EXHIBITS is using a similar structure to an anthology film but with a singular director vision. Centered around a museum of the macabre. Each exhibit in the museum is a link to a story of untold horrors and dark secrets. The visitors all have secrets to be told. The museum is neither Heaven nor Hell. It isn’t even Purgatory. It is a timeless place of judgment set before thyself. The mirror, for which they see themselves through, is The Curator. You will either survive or die, he will decide. Each Story is a portal, a glimpse into worlds unseen. Provocatively visual, visceral, imaginative… EXHIBITS is dark Fantasy at its best."
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Todd Masters Wins Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Makeup in R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls: Press Release: "Los Angeles, CA, May 2, 2016 – Monster-Maker Todd Masters, Founder & President of FX Studio MASTERSFX, has won his second career Emmy Award.
On Friday, April 29, Masters and his team won a 2016 Daytime Emmy Award in the category “Outstanding Makeup” for the Netflix TV movie “R.L. Stine’s Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls.” Masters won the Emmy along with Debbie Lelievre, Key Makeup Artist.
Also sharing the Emmy Award team win are several make-up trailers full of fellow monster-making artists: Mike Fields, Holland Miller, Felix Fox, Harlow MacFarlane, Jason Ward, Sarah Pickersgill, Chris DeVitt, Yukiyo Okajima, Brad Proctor, Thomas Sosnowski, Julia Bors Dollinger, Jennifer Kipps, Courtney Frey, Darlene Brister, Lisa Strong, Amy Van Wormer, Natalie Cosco, Beth Boxall, Vanessa Giles, Judy Andreson, Ceiligh Dunn, April Boyes, Sophia Phillips, Shannon Coppin and Pearl Louie.
Masters, who won his first Emmy Award for his contributions to HBO’s hit series “Six Feet Under,” said, “The challenge on the ‘Monsterville’ project was bringing the immense amount of monster characters to life - on schedule and on budget, all while retaining a feature film-quality look. We were fortunate to be working again with director Peter DeLuise, who allowed us total creative freedom on the design and approach – which really made it a memorable show. We filled it with prosthetic monsters: witches, goblins, zombies and ghouls - as well as my sister-in-law’s favorite - the Demon Clown! (not!)”
Director Peter DeLuise adds, "I’ve done several shows with Todd and his MASTERSFX team over the years - and it’s always exciting to see whatever magic they deliver. This time, we gave them complete carte blanche to create a gaggle of monsters of nearly every type: Awful. Awesome. Amazing! They truly deserve the EMMY - outstanding work on our show!"
“Monsterville” Executive Producer & Writer Dan Angel continues, “Todd Masters and Debbie Lelievre’s teams provided some of the most amazing creature Makeup FX I have ever seen. These teams were top-notch and the makeup and creature work elevated our show. Congratulations on the well deserved Emmy."
ABOUT “MONSTERVILLE:”
Airing on Netflix, “R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls” was a 2015 comedy TV film directed by Peter DeLuise, starring Dove Cameron, Braeden Lemasters, Katherine McNamara, Casey Dubois and Tiffany Espensen.
The storyline: A small town Halloween festival finds itself intruded upon by an evil carnival with designs upon imprisoning and feeding off the souls of unwary teenagers. A group of teenage friends must resist the spell of an evil showman staging a house of horrors show in their small town. As the stroke of Halloween midnight approaches, who will wind up entombed in the carnival's dire “Cabinet of Souls” forever?
ABOUT TODD MASTERS & MASTERSFX:
Founded in 1987 by Emmy Award winner Todd Masters, MASTERSFX is a multi-award winning character and special FX house with studios in Los Angeles, CA, Vancouver, British Colombia and just opened in Toronto, Ontario. MASTERSFX's creative teams produce a unique blend of practical and digital makeup and special FX, prosthetics, and animatronics, through a process called “dMFX,” for hundreds of hit feature films, TV shows, and commercials.
Included among the TV projects to which MASTERSFX has contributed its work are True Blood, Six Feet Under, Tales from the Crypt and Fringe. Among the company's Film credits are RoboCop, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Haunting in Connecticut, Star Trek: First Contact, The Horse Whisperer, Slither, Snakes on a Plane, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Look Who's Talking, and many more.
In addition to his 2016 Daytime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Makeup” for the Netflix series “Monsterville,” Masters is also the winner of an Emmy Award in 2003 for the 2001/2002 Season of Six Feet Under in the category "Best Special Effects Makeup." In 2006, MASTERSFX won a "Saturn Award" for "Best MakeUp FX" for its work on the film Slither. See more at www.mastersfx.com"
Tamika hails from North Beach, Maryland, a tiny town inches from the Chesapeake Bay.She knew she wanted to be an actor after reciting a soliloquy by Sojourner Truth in front of her entire fifth grade class. Since then, she's appeared in over 20 film and television projects. In addition to acting, Tamika is the Indie Spotlight manager for Daily Dead, where she brings readers news on independent horror projects every weekend.
The first horror film Tamika watched was Child's Play. Being eight years old at the time, she remembers being so scared when Chucky came to life that she projectile vomited. It's tough for her to choose only one movie as her favorite horror film, so she picked two: Nosferatu and The Stepford Wives (1975).
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