Imbroglio Meets Girl Meets Roach

This was a very exciting weekend for King Fish Productions, because BOTH of our short films screened at the same festival! Imbroglio and Girl Meets Roach were both Official Selections of the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival, right here in good old Los Angeles at the Regal Cinemas LA Live. And Imbroglio was even awarded Best Action Short Film!

Since the festival was local, we were lucky enough to have a bunch of our cast and crew in attendance. Here's the Girl Meets Roach gang:

Editor, composer, actress, director, writer/producer/actress, and actor. Oh my!

Both films have screened at a number of festivals by now, but this is the first time we've been able to appear at the same one, so it really felt like something special. Many thanks to HRIFF for making this happen!

Imbroglio update!

Time for some updates about Imbroglio! It's been a while since I've mentioned the action short Christopher wrote/directed, and I produced, last year, but we've been hard at work on it these past few months. Now, at long last, the editing, sound mix, color correction, etc etc etc are all done - and it looks GOOD. We're so happy to have it finished and to finally be able to share it with the world.

And fortunately, that's going to happen soon! Imbroglio will be making its World Premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal this July. Fantasia is a very cool genre film festival, and we're super-excited to be part of it. Looks like a few trips to Canada are coming up!

Post-production update.

The holidays are approaching, and we're busy over here at King Fish Productions. Post-production always takes longer than I'd like (it will be so nice to have finished films to show people!) but we're making a lot of progress on both Girl Meets Roach and Imbroglio. We're starting to show rough cuts of both films to our community of trusted advisors, and so far the reactions have been positive and extremely helpful. Next step, picture lock! 2017 is going to be an exciting year!

Summer break!

Our pick-up day for Imbroglio is done, and we're officially heading into post-production. Woohoo! But first, it's time for me to take a much-needed vacation - a trip to Texas for a wedding, and then to New Jersey for some fun in the sun.

I'll be back soon with more shenanigans to write about, but to tide you over, here are a few more photos from the set of Imbroglio...

In between takes. 

Kiralee & Robert, two of the sweetest actors ever...despite appearances here.

The (nearly) full cast and crew of Imbroglio!

And last but not least, here's one of me and our wonderful lead actress...

Just a normal afternoon.

Imbroglio: Tales from the Set

Hello from the other side! Our initial week of production on Imbroglio is complete. One rehearsal day and five shooting days later, we are very nearly done. And what a week it was!

Our location was a run-down old house, near Downtown LA, owned by a very friendly gentleman we met while working on a previous production. He's redoing the entire property later this summer, so we were allowed to use the whole house and the back lot however we needed to - graffiti, holes in the walls, blood splatter, you name it! It was ideal for our purposes.

The back lot was perfect for filming - if a bit sunny.

Our cast, led by the wonderful Zoë Bell, was professional, kind, and amazingly talented. I could not be happier about the actors we chose, and they all worked so well with Christopher.

Director Christopher gives notes to our lead actress Zoë.

As producer,  my days were filled with paperwork, phone calls, emails, and coffee - lots and lots of coffee. I spent most of my time in our production office, which was at the front of the house, but I managed to sneak out to set now and then to catch the most action-packed scenes. Between our Stunt Coordinators, Weapons Master, FX team, and extremely capable group of actors, we were able to create some fantastic action sequences.

Our Stunt Coordinator Tim and part of our amazing cast!

Of course, as with any production, there were some bumps along the road - but that's all part of the experience! Nothing that couldn't be overcome with a positive attitude and some quick thinking - and did I mention the coffee? Our entire crew was great, but I'd like to particularly mention the awesomeness that was our female-driven production team. I am both so proud of and so inspired by those amazing ladies.

Amy and Zhandra, our beyond-amazing PA and 2nd AD.

We have one final day of shooting scheduled for later this month - there's just a little more to film, and then Imbroglio will be complete! To be continued...

Imbroglio: T minus 2 days

It's been a busy couple of weeks, with lots of ups and downs both personally and professionally, but we finally start filming Imbroglio this coming Tuesday morning. So much has happened recently - we found a location (at last! It's different than what we originally imagined, but weirdly perfect); the crew list is complete; and our CD Kate has once again proven herself to be amazing by confirming a seriously awesome cast with whom Christopher and I could not be more thrilled.

The past days have been a complete blur of emails, phone calls, equipment lists, permit fees, contracts, and more - and I'm sure there will still be plenty to do once we're on set! I'm really looking forward to seeing where the actors take their characters, and to working with the amazing crew that we've assembled - some of whom I've known well, and for a while, but many of whom will be brand new to King Fish Productions.

As with any project, it feels like there's more to do than there is time to do it. We've done our best, though, and I think that it's going to turn out really well. It will certainly feel good to see this script come to life! See you on the other side of production!

Auditions from the Other Side

Today we held the first round of auditions for Imbroglio. Well, the first round was a self-tape, so I suppose today was the second round - but it was the first in person! Our Casting Director, Kate, put together an amazing group of actors, and we had such a great time meeting everyone and seeing their takes on the characters.

As always, when I'm behind the table instead of in front of it (in this case a figurative table, but you get the idea), I'm reminded that CDs and producers really are on the actors' sides. Every single person who came in today was brought in because we already liked them, and we went into every scene just waiting and wanting to like them more. Sometimes it's so easy to psych oneself out and get nervous - I know I do! - but I've honestly never met a CD who wasn't wishing all the actors the absolute best. A good thing to remember.

We saw so many talented people today, and have another round of auditions coming up next weekend. I can't wait to see how the cast takes shape!

Pre-production, my old friend.

Girl Meets Roach is in post-production, which means it's time for a new project to begin! Pre-production is one of my favorite stages of filmmaking (so much to organize!, so much to plan) and I'm excited to be back at it alongside my brother Christopher. Today we went on our first location scout for King Fish Productions' upcoming short film, Imbroglio. Christopher wrote the film and is directing it, and we are co-producing.

Imbroglio is a short crime drama about two rival groups of criminals, divided by a past betrayal. The film follows them as they meet to exchange hostages, each side unaware that the other harbors a deadly secret. Dun dun DUN. There are tons of stunts and blood and action - it's definitely the most ambitious project that we've taken on, technically speaking! Auditions are coming up, but first we need to nail down a location. Today we saw a few possibilities, but I think it's going to take a bit more time before we find the perfect spot.

And because all work and no play makes for a boring blog, we spent the morning at Universal's The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on an early access pass that Christopher got from work. (Thanks, Supernatural!) Here's a photo of us enjoying our time in Hogsmeade:

We solemnly swear that we are up to no good!