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We started Last Breath over a year ago and I've got to say that it's been a long time coming! We are proud to finally announce that our film has been selected to be screened at the International Film Festival of Manhattan on October 23 at the Producers Club in NYC. Time and tickets info will be announced in the coming days. In the meantime, check out the IFFMNY Official Selection Trailer below. For updates visit www.iffmnewyork.com
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Last night we screened the trailer for our film Last Breath at the Dumped screening event in Long Island, NY. Special thanks to Joe Ammendolea of I Like To Play With Toys Productions. Last month we had an ADR session with our female lead, Lyndsey Wurch. This time around our lead actor, Sean LeeRoy, stops by the studio for an ADR session.  Our female lead for Last Breath, Lyndsey Wurch, stopped by the studio today for an ADR session. For those who don't know what ADR is, it stands for Automatic Dialogue Replacement. It's basically a fancy term used for dubbing audio in film. The purpose of ADR is to fix any audio problems, particularly scenes with dialogue. Unexpected things can rise on set such as background noise or audio equipment malfunctions, or sometimes issues arise in post production and ADR helps to fix that. Back in May of 2014 we started production for our film LAST BREATH. Even though we've been producing films for almost ten years, this has been our most ambitious film to date. We've put our creative minds together to come up with the best story and film we possibly can. LAST BREATH is self funded and truly is a labor of love. We plan on releasing the film in the Summer of 2015 in select film festivals. We are now in the process of post production and you can find the synopsis and trailer below. Stay tuned on our progress. LAST BREATH
Director: Jake Ramos Writers: Jake Ramos, Jan Bodeta Cinematographer: Justin Festejo Actors: Sean LeeRoy, Lyndsey Wurch, Jake Ramos, Dan Stagliano, Nash Ramnauth, Vincent Bonfanti, Cornell Pearson, Mike O'Brien, Niko Deslate, John Gernade, Jan Bodeta Genre: Drama, Suspense Synopsis A man wakes up in the middle of the beach with no recollection of how he got there and no memory of who he is. The only clues left behind is a photo of a mysterious woman and an engagement ring. Determined to know the truth behind his mishap, the man seeks out to find the woman. However, he soon discovers that the truth becomes even more unbearable. The crew at Eternal Lion Studios are hard at work in the post production process of Last Breath. Stay tuned for more behind the scenes content.  For those who know me best know that I love going to the movies. To me there's no better experience than being emersed into a whole new cinematic world. It's my drug, my therapy and my escape from reality, even for just a few hours. I've had a great year watching movies in 2014. Many I enjoyed, and some not so much. Below are my top ten picks, in no particular order, based on the films I've seen so far.
TOP TEN FILMS OF 2014 1. INTERSTELLAR Director: Christopher Nolan Writer: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine Studio: Paramount, Warner Bros. Ever since Batman Begins, I have come to respect and become a big fan of Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker and storyteller. With so many filmmakers shooting on digital and relying on 3D for cheap thrills, Nolan is a breath of fresh air that reminds me of the great directors of old whose films have played on a grandeur scale. Interstellar is shot beautifully on IMAX and tells the story of a father and daughter, whose relationship takes us on an emotional journey throughout time and space. The set pieces, the practical effects, the cinematography, the soundtrack and strong performances are what makes Interstellar one of Christopher Nolan's best. Sorry Gravity, but Interstellar totally threw you out of the galaxy! 2. FURY Director: David Ayer Writer: David Ayer Starring: Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Shia LeBeouf, John Bernthal, Michael Pena Studio: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Fury tells the story of a five-man crew operating a Sherman tank in the midst of Nazi Germany during World War II. As usual, Brad Pitt dishes out a great performance as Staff Sargeant Don "Wardaddy" Collier. But the one performance that really stood out for me the most was Shia LeBeouf as Boyd "Bible" Swan. The storytelling and the cinematography takes us on the grittier side of war as well as the comradery between soldiers. 3. GONE GIRL Director: David Fincher Writer: Gillian Flynn Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Pattrick Harris Studio: 20th Century Fox Gone Girl is based on the novel by Gillian Flynn and tells the mystery of a missing wife and her husband's nonchalant approach of finding her. The film is dark and intelligent and kept me guessing all throughout. 4. NIGHTCRAWLER Director: Dan Gilroy Writer: Dan Gilroy Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo Studio: Open Road Films Jake Gyllenhaal gives one of his best performances yet in the neo-noir film Nightcrawler. The film takes us into the cut-throat world of video journalism where anything goes and one has to push, pull and even kill to get to the story. What I like about independent films is that the story and performances are brought front and center and doesn't get washed up behind heavy special effects and multi-million dollar budgets. You'll know for sure that the movie you are seeing is good or not. Nightcrawler to me, is a really good film! 5. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Director: Anthony & Joe Russo Writer: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie Studio: Marvel Studios, Disney I loved the first Avengers film. While Captain America had his time to shine in that film, I felt he was heavily overshadowed by his fellow teammates and he seemed a bit lost in the crowd. Being that he is considered the first Avenger, I felt his role should've been more prominent. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers AKA Captain America is finally where he belongs - as a soldier on a mission. The film has the look and feel of a spy thriller featuring a number of awesome stunts and action sequences revolving around a string of government secrecy. The Winter Soldier is undoubtedly my favorite film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far. Looking forward to Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man in 2015! 6. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Director: James Gunn Writer: James Gunn Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper Studio: Marvel Studios, Disney Guardians of the Galaxy was a big risk for Marvel Studios. Like many others, I entered the theater not knowing a thing about the Guardians, and boy, was I in for a treat! All I have to say was that this film was the most fun I had at the movies this year and the best part of the film... the soundtrack! Hooked on a feeling! 7. X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Director: Bryan Singer Writer: Simon Kinberg Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence Studio: 20th Century Fox, Bad Hat Harry Bryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise based on the Marvel Comics story arc. Days of Future Past brings together the new and original cast of the X-Men films. It was awesome to finally see the sentinels on the big screen and my favorite scene of the entire film is when Quicksilver breaks Magneto free from the Pentagon. Days of Future Past rewrites the history of the original X-Men trilogy and rights the wrongs of the third installment, X-Men: The Last Stand. Looking forward to the follow up, X-Men: Apocalypse. 8. THE LEGO MOVIE Director: Chris Miller & Phil Lord Writer: Phil Lord Starring: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Will Farrell, Liam Neeson Studio: Warner Bros., Village Roadshow The Lego Movie is so much fun to watch with the whole family. It brings me back to the good old days when I was a kid building spaceships and robots with my Legos. Oh wait, I still do that today! The message of this film is clear: Your imagination can take you very far! 9. GODZILLA Director: Gareth Edwards Writer: Max Borenstein Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe Studio: Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures Godzilla is a force to be reckoned with. While many complained that the film didn't feature much of the titular monster, I actually like the idea of Godzilla seen through the perspective of the people surrounding him. I also love how it pays respect to the original Japanese films. Here's hoping that we get to see Mothra and other monsters in the eventual sequels. Or maybe a Godzilla / Pacific Rim crossover? Yeah, I know, it's wishful thinking! 10. EDGE OF TOMORROW Director: Doug Liman Writer: Dante Harper Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton Studio: Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Edge of Tomorrow is a science fiction film based on the Japanese novel, All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. It features Tom Cruise as Major William Cage who is forced to wear an exo-suit and do battle against invading aliens. After dying in the battlefield, he finds himself waking up the moment before the battle and the events of that day repeats itself as he dies and resurrects over and over. Even though the timeline repeats itself throughout the film, they seem fresh each time as Cage finds other ways to get himself killed and some are even quite humorous. The film also features a strong female lead in Emily Blunt who plays the badass Sargeant Rita Vrataski. HONORABLE MENTIONS: Films I enjoyed that didn't quite make the list but still worth mentioning. THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (Dir. Peter Jackson) BIG HERO 6 (Dir. Don Hall & Chris Williams) JOHN WICK (Dir. David Leitch & Chad Stahelski) THE LAST STAND (Dir. Kim Jee-woon) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (Dir. Noam Murro) TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION (Dir. Michael Bay) SNOWPIERCER (Bong Joon-ho) THE EQUALIZER (Dir. Antoine Fuqua) THE RAID 2: BERANDAL (Dir. Gareth Evans) THE INTERVIEW (Dir. Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg) FILMS OF 2014 I HAVE YET TO SEE There were so many great films that came out in 2014 that I wasn't able to see all of them. These are the films I plan to see eventually in the coming year. BIRDMAN (Dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu) SELMA (Dir. Ava DuVernay) AMERICAN SNIPER (Dir. Clint Eastwood) INTO THE WOODS (Dir. Rob Marshall) DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (Dir. Matt Reeves) THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (Dir. Wes Anderson) UNBROKEN (Dir. Angelina Jolie) THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1 (Dir. Francis Lawrence) FILMS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2015 STAR WARS EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON ANT-MAN MAD MAX: FURY ROAD CHAPPIE TAKEN 3 FURIOUS 7 IN THE HEART OF THE SEA JURASSIC WORLD TERMINATOR GENESYS KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2 TOMORROWLAND MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 5 PAN So there you have it! My elaborate list of films that I both love and wished to see. Happy New Year and see you in 2015! What's up everybody? It's definitely been a while. Here's a little peek at what we're cooking up next at Eternal Lion Studios. Be sure to keep a look out for Justina Soto's new music video MOONSHINE from her new album ASTOR and JADE.  Today we got to try out the Canon C100 on a music video shoot. After the shoot we headed over to Long Beach, NY to test out the low light sensitivity of the C100, which is far superior to our Canon DSLRs. The camera definitely offers what we have been missing since we started shooting with DSLRs four years ago such as built-in ND filters and zebra patterns. The Canon C100 would be a great choice for aspiring filmmakers looking to upgrade their gear and have a more theatrical look.
Early this morning we set out to shoot one of the last scenes for LAST BREATH. At around 4:15AM we hit the road and arrived at Long Beach, NY at about quarter to the five. Being there this early in the day allowed us to scout the location and set up the camera and equipment. And by quarter to six, the sky began to light up. It was the perfect time to capture this amazing shot below.  We've had talks of shooting this scene on green screen due to time constrains and the possible consequences of having a prop gun out in the open. But after shooting this scene and seeing how beautiful it looks on camera, I realized that you should never sacrifice quality or take short cuts. Shooting this scene on green screen would have been a different scenario in terms of performance. We would have gotten something totally different. Shooting on location gave our actors a real life scenario where they have to interact with their surroundings, which greatly affects their performance both emotionally and physically. While I do love shooting green screen, it was not the way to go for this scene. To turn your vision into a reality, you have to make sacrifices. For me it meant losing a bit of comfort and a whole lot of sleep. But in the end, it was worth it. After shooting, I took some quick shots of the sunrise from my camera phone. |
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