August 1, 2012

Holy crap.  It's August.  Of 2012.  It's pretty clear that I have once again fallen out of the whole "blogging routine".  Oops.  BUT, (and here's hoping I'm sincere this time) I'M BACK!!  I truly intend to utilize this tool more often, and keep you all up-to-date on what I'm doing out here in Los Angeles.

So where to start?  So much has happened in the last year... wait... TWO plus years, that I'll make it snappy:

I've been working hard on the production side of filmmaking these last few years.  My credits have grown tremendously (IMDb), and I've become a very adept and experienced 1st Assistant Director, as well as a working and moderately successful Producer.  I've worked on everything from short films, to features, to commercials, to workout videos, music videos, TV shows... you name it.  I've built credits on IMDb, as well as credits for projects that don't fall within the guidelines of that site (Read: commercials). Yeah, it's been good.  And yeah, it's been a lot of work.  But I always need more, and it's always an uphill battle.

Segue...

Speaking of "battle", I was fortunate enough to spend the final three months of 2011 in my hometown(ish) of Madison, WI filming the Hulu Original Series BATTLEGROUND.  What an awesome experience!  To go back home near my family and friends, and be able to do the job I love was really something special.

After returning to LA, I was hired on a commercial for Cabela's Dangerous Hunts video game franchise.  The commercial I produced was played at 2012 E3, and that was certainly an early highlight of the year.

OH, and I still am acting!!  A short film I starred in called CURTAIN has made it's way around the festival circuit, having good success at a number of festivals around the country- including the highlight of being an official selection in Fantastic Fest 2011.  Wow!  What an honor.  The film was written and directed by Dennis Widmyer- an awesome dude, with a crazy brain.  Go to his site at parallacticpictures.com and check out his stuff.  You won't be disappointed.

So there you have it.  My last two years in a nutshell.  Thanks for reading, thanks for visiting my site, and please stick around and browse awhile!  And if you like what you see, head over to my contact page and reach out to me.  I'd love to hear from you- whoever you are!

January 7, 2010

First of all, Happy New Year! It's been awhile since my last post, so let me get you up-to-date.

On October 4, THE LAST TENANT screened at the Valley Film Festival in North Hollywood. Our film screened alongside other local films and was judged by the audience to be the best short film in our block. The audience award marks the second award won by THE LAST TENANT, the first being the Silver Ace award at the Las Vegas film festival earlier in the year.

Shortly after the Valley Film Fest, Michael Halper, director of THE LAST TENANT, was interviewed by FilmThreat.com. This followed an extremely favorable review of THE LAST TENANT by Amy Handler of FilmThreat. Currently, the website for FilmThreat.com is experiencing difficulties, but once it is back up and running I will post the links to the review, as well as Michael's interview.

In November, Ascentia Films went to the American Film Market (AFM). There, we pitched our latest scripts in an effort to secure funding and/or co-production assistance. We met with many great companies, made some great contacts, and continue to keep on touch with a majority of them. We are crossing our fingers!!

On a personal note, the new year begins with a new demo reel for me! Check out my "Videos" page to watch or download my reel or quick reel!

The more news I have, the more frequent my updates. So I'm obviously hoping to post soon!

July 29, 2009

Well, at the request of my fantastic cousin Dave, I will post an update despite the fact that the problem outlined in my previous post remains... I need some dough! DEAD SOULS, the feature length film that I co-wrote, is still badly in need of financiers. Through discussions with our attorney, I have learned that publicly asking for money is a no-no, so this is not a "request" but rather a "indication" of the lack of funding necessary to produce the film. Perhaps someone with an idea on how to solve this problem could contact me. :)

Information on DEAD SOULS can be found on my Production company's website: www.ascentiafilms.com.

In the meantime, Michael Halper and I have been brainstorming some new ideas that can possibly be done quickly, easily, and most importantly- cheaply. This year has been extremely slow, for a variety of reasons, and we're both itching to make something happen. In our defense, a large amount of our time and effort has gone into DEAD SOULS, building an attractive investor package, and making sure it's legally sound. Which restates the problem- money out, no money in.

The reality show I worked on earlier this year, BRIDGETTA:SASSY AND UNCENSORED, remains in post-production due to unfortunate circumstances in the editing department, but the latest timetable on that is mid-September. So cross your fingers. Information on that show can be found at: www.bridgetta.com.

Last, but not least, both myself and Ascentia Films can now be followed on Twitter, I am @Hermn8r4, and Ascentia Films is @AscentiaFilms.

June 11, 2009

I have been working over the past few months on completing a feature-length screenplay. The good news is that the screenplay is complete. The bad news is that I now need money to film it!

Michael Halper and I have been diligently working on getting all our pieces together in order to move forward with this film. It's been frustrating at times, because things don't always move as fast as we'd like. BUT, that's the nature of this business, I guess, and we're both thankful we've been able to put together what I believe to be a very strong story.

We have just recently locked in our Director of Photography. We've attached a Casting Director and Music Composer, and we've got a very good idea who the Director will be, and who the lead actor will be. :)

So for now, if you've got $1 Million sitting around that you feel like using, let me know.

May 25, 2009

Tonight I attended a private screening at Universal Studios for the film IN THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY. This is a film I both acted in, and worked on late last year. Both credits can be seen on my imdb page.

IN THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY has received recognition from the Gene Siskel Film Center and BBC, and has appeared in numerous film festivals around the World... meaning the US, Africa, etc.

The screening was a success, and it was great to see how the audience reacted both to the film, and the filmmakers. It was definitely an honor to work with all these guys- Taylor Wigton, Joey Sylvester, and Tony Amara.

April 13, 2009

Whoa. It's been a long time with no updates, which clearly is not keeping up with my plan of "more frequent updates". Oops.

Anyways, the Las Vegas International Film Festival took place this past weekend, and it was great. Not only did we get to meet some awesome filmmakers, but we had the privilege of standing up in front of our peers to accept our award. That's right, THE LAST TENANT took home the Silver Ace Award in Las Vegas, and I'm thrilled and honored!

The next step for me is to continue working my the latest script, a feature length film that I will discuss in more depth soon. Until then, no more news.

February 7, 2009

THE LAST TENANT is now an Award-Winning film!!! We just got notice today from the Las Vegas International Film Festival that THE LAST TENANT will be honored with the Silver-Ace Award! Over 2000 films were entered into the festival, so this is truly an honor. The judges felt that our film "demonstrated superior and standout filmmaking". The festival takes place in Las Vegas April 9-12, and the award ceremony is April 12. There's a very good chance that we'll be there to accept our award, in case any of you want to plan a trip to Vegas. I'll keep you posted.