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From the director’s apple box…

As the director and writer of the short film Cowboy Creed, I’m very happy to announce that our mini epic is complete! With a Herculean effort by our post production staff including Jeff Handy our editor, Joel Bellucci our visual effects supervisor, Joe Terrana our music composer and performer, Ralph Miller our sound designer and foley artist, Chris Orazi sound mixer, David Berry color correction, and myself working a bit of movie magic as well, we completed the film in time for our first private screening at the Cahuenga Theater in Hollywood. Invited to the intimate showing were our high-level Kickstarter donors, cast and crew, and friends and family including an Oscar-winning producer, and cinema immortals Walter Koenig, Richard Bustillo, and Greg Jein amongst others. I’m glad to say without any bias (ahem!) that the film looks and sounds fantastic in the theater! We had a Q&A session after the screening with the attending cast and crew which was a lot of fun. The reception of the film was quite positive, one of the big questions being ‘how did you fit so much into the film on such a tight budget?’ That is of course thanks to a dollop of ingenuity and an amazing team who reduced their rates to help put as much quality on the screen as possible. Many thanks to the cast and crew for their efforts in helping bring my vision to fruition.

Our next step is to submit Cowboy Creed to festivals around the world. Keep your eyes peeled for opportunities to see the film in a fest near you!

Until next time!
Ben
Director/Writer of Cowboy Creed

Cowboy Creed is a Western short film from writer/director Ben Alpi, producer JT Tepnapa and Cinematographer David Berry. It’s a co-production of Runic Films and Blue Seraph Productions.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, Runic Films and Blue Seraph Productions are proud to release their highly anticipated trailer for their short Western epic, Cowboy Creed.

‘Cowboy Creed’ Official Trailer watch it in HD on Vimeo.

The period short film stars Kendall Wells, John Carrigan, Tara Platt, and Anthony De Longis with Doug Drexler, Leandro Cano, and Wayne Webb. Directed and written by Ben Alpi, Cowboy Creed tells the story of Phineas (Wells), a young man who must face the most harrowing showdown of his life when the international criminal ?Limey? (Carrigan) kidnaps his ladylove Miss Graves (Platt). The trailer will feature rich original music composed and performed by Joe Terrana and textured sound design by Ralph Miller. The film is produced by JT Tepnapa with cinematography by David Berry.

Also released today was their first official poster featuring artwork by Scott Deyett of inHouse Graphics.

Principal photography was completed in December and is currently in post-production bringing together composer Terrana and visual effects wizard Jo?l Bellucci.

A release date for the complete Cowboy Creed film has not been chosen, but as director Ben Alpi says, “Keep your ear to the rail for more.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bob Alpi, 818-588-6880
email

Runic Films is an Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company dedicated to upholding the traditions of mythic storytelling.

Blue Seraph Productions is a Los Angeles production company. Their previous work has been featured in the New York Times, BBC, Variety, Frontiers, Fab magazine, the Today Show, MSNBC, and other international news outlets.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, Runic Films and Blue Seraph Productions are proud to announce that on Tuesday, June 12, 2012, they will release the highly anticipated trailer for their short Western epic, Cowboy Creed.

The period short film stars Kendall Wells, John Carrigan, Tara Platt, and Anthony De Longis with Doug Drexler, Leandro Cano, and Wayne Webb. Directed and written by Ben Alpi, Cowboy Creed tells the story of Phineas (Wells), a young man who must face the most harrowing showdown of his life when the international criminal “Limey” (Carrigan) kidnaps his ladylove Miss Graves (Platt). The trailer will feature rich original music composed and performed by Joe Terrana and textured sound design by Ralph Miller.  The film is produced by JT Tepnapa with cinematography by David Berry.

When asked about the trailer, Ben noted, “We have some truly great footage thanks to the amazing talent of our cast and crew. Our special thanks go out to our Kickstarter Backers.” The team of Alpi, Tepnapa, and Berry, with the help of sound man Erik “Gooch” Goodrich, set out last September to raise funds via the popular creative fundraising platform Kickstarter.com and successfully exceeded their goal. Principal photography was completed in December and is currently in post-production bringing together composer Terrana and visual effects wizard Jo’l Bellucci.

A release date for the complete Cowboy Creed film has not been chosen but Ben added, “This film is a great balance of tradition and cutting-edge and brings together a brilliant group a creative people. I can’t wait to share the whole film! It’s going to a wild ride.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bob Alpi, 818-588-6880
email

Runic Films is an Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company dedicated to upholding the traditions of mythic storytelling.

Blue Seraph Productions is a Los Angeles production company. Their previous work has been featured in the New York Times, BBC, Variety, Frontiers, Fab magazine, the Today Show, MSNBC, and other international news outlets.

From the director’s apple box…

On behalf of all of us here at Runic Films and Blue Seraph Productions, I would like to thank, our top-notch crew and amazing cast!  Thanks to you we completed principal photography on December 11, 2011! We spent three days in the beautiful high desert of Santa Clarita, CA and everyone did an incredible job.

Day One: David Berry and I along with a skeleton crew headed out to our remote mountain location with a view that goes on for miles in all directions. Kendall Wells (as “Phineas Creed”) rode out with Anthony De Longis (“Sheriff Eli Graves”) and his horse team, including expert rider/wranglers Sara Warner and David Baker, to film some great riding shots. It was windy up there, but with Dave operating an Arri SR-3 16mm film camera we got some fantastic horse riding footage. The team, including Kendall on Latigo, were a sight to behold.

Day Two: The workday started before dawn with a full (albeit light!) crew compliment. Perhaps auspiciously, the day began with a lunar eclipse. With the sun up and the grip and lighting equipment being deployed, costumer Kelsey Morgan put the finishing touches on the excellent costumes, makeup artist Carol Crouse completed make making the cast look beautiful and otherwise! With all the pieces now together, we began shooting. The actors, including Kendall, John Carrigan (“Thomas Michael “Limey”‘ Lymm”), Tara Platt (“Miss Greta Graves”), Leandro Cano, and Wayne Webb, all settled into their roles immediately. (Our hero horse Latigo also performed very well again.) The weather was perfect. Wrapping at dusk, it was a great day.

Day Three: Today we added Anthony in his role as well as Doug Drexler, Peter Sherayko, Tellier Killaby, Mary De Longis and Mel Turner in front of the lens. Also, when the sun went down, production designer Meg Savage really got to bring her skills to bear and create a great rustic tent environment for our night shoot. It was a bit cold once the sun went down, but overall great weather and incredible work by all.

Thanks again to our wonderful cast and crew and to all our Backers and supporters!

Check out tons of photos on our Facebook page  and tell us what you think!  Of course if you haven’t already, please consider Like-ing us!

Keep your ear to the rail for more news!

Cowboy Creed is a Western short film from writer/director Ben Alpi, producer JT Tepnapa and Cinematographer David Berry. It’s a co-production of Runic Films and Blue Seraph Productions.

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The Captain America: First Avenger movie opened in theaters to a strong $65 million dollar weekend. Writer/cartoonist Rick Arthur viewed the film in Central New York and film producer/director Ben Alpi caught a screening in Los Angeles. In the tradition of movie reviews done for the Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth blog such as THOR and X-Men: First Class, the writing team produced two separate, non-collaborative reviews. Neither know what the other would write. Taken together, they form a complex analysis of the Cap film.

The reviews are posted and readers are invited to dive in at: http://www.mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com

The Cap reviews come closely on the heels of a highly successful five-part Red Skull series detailing the final conflict between Cap and Red Skull. This marks the end of almost four years of writing between the blog team and presents one possible outcome for a screenplay based on their writings.

Worth seeing for yourself!

One final note: Runic Films wishes to thank all the readers who tuned into the blog and made it successful. Visit any time: http://www.mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com

The blog between filmmaker Ben Alpi and cartoonist Rick Arthur announces that yet again records have been broken for June. The final figures won’t be in until July 1st yet personal records for Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth are already apparent.

“I am astounded by the response from readers,” said Arthur.

Records include:
1) Best Single Day Page Views – June 8th;
2) Highest Monthly Page Views – June (whopping 40% increase over May);
3) Highest Single Post – THOR movie review has more than doubled the post average and is 80+ views higher than the next most popular post.

http://www.mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com

“4th of July is almost here!” commented Alpi. Runic Films has helped plan a very patriotic Cap-style Independence Day for our readers. “Why wasn’t Cap released on the 1st of July?” The later date is too far away…

A powerful 5-Part Cap vs. Red Skull post series is being worked on to give readers an exclusive look at the loose draft of the final battle between our hero and one of the most evil villains of all time!! Don’t miss it!! Starts July 6th.

After the Captain America: First Avenger movie comes out, look for an exclusive double feature film review by Alpi and Arthur. “This will be done in the same double blind style as both THOR and X-Men: First Class” Noted Arthur. Alpi, writing from the west coast will have no knowledge of what Arthur is thinking on the east coast. See the review for the first time on Monday, July 25th!!

Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth can be read at:

http://www.mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com

Los Angeles-based, Runic Films, an independent film production company, congratulates filmmaker Ben Alpi and comic artist Rick Arthur for their blog Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth which continues like a juggernaut to break their own records for greatest number of single day page views, greatest single monthly page views and greatest recorded single all-time number of views of a post.

 
“The growth is explosive and exciting,” said Alpi before adding that his creative partnership with fellow blogger Arthur allowed for experimentation and constant tinkering.

 
“Watching the numbers climb is amazing. We are doing in two days now what we would get in ten days a short time ago,” Arthur said.

 
They noted that the” Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth” blog currently draws an audience from over 18 countries to read the three fresh posts that come out every week.?

 
Runic Films schedules new posts three times each week and can be accessed either on the blog site, on the Facebook companion page or Twitter. Do not miss a post and find out what a real Cap movie character could be all about. All posts are easily accessible and many readers like to start at the beginning or with favorite topics.

 
Alpi and Arthur discuss Captain America from all angles as a character for film and readers have responded strongly to a “THOR” double feature film review, three “Avengers” posts and a new movie review? “double shot” onX-Men: First Class. Not surprisingly anything with the Red Skull also draws a lot of interest according to Alpi.

 
The main goal of this series is craft a character for a two hour feature film and the topics go from WWII, comics, movies, Nazis, patriotism, Pearl Harbor, “Simon and Kirby” and much more. Additional Non-Continuity posts are under wraps at Runic Films.

 
Read all about it at www.mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com.

Runic Films, a Los Angeles based independent film production house, is pleased to announce that May 2011 set an all-time record for its blog Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth featuring in-depth conversation by filmmaker Ben Alpi and comic artist Rick Arthur.

Jump right in at: http://www.mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com

Based on the number of page views, the growth of the Cap blog not just set single month page view total records but also was predicted to easily be three times the number from two months ago. Interest in a coming Captain America film from Marvel as well as strong word of mouth has helped create a fast growing blog.

“It is a little scary how rapidly this has expanded,” said Arthur. “We expected a drop off after our initial opening in February. This current growth has been so fantastic that Ben and I are heartened by the fact that we now reach readers in more than fifteen countries. It is humbling.”

Strong posts on a variety of topics including the recent THOR movie, Red Skull, screenwriting, patriotism, and Steve Rogers as a boy have all contributed to extremely positive reader reaction. The blog was designed to explore and discuss the idea of creating Captain America as a character for film from the perspective of Ben Alpi, filmmaker and Rick Arthur, comic artist.

Runic Films schedules new posts three times each week and can be accessed either on the blog site, on the Facebook companion page or Twitter. Do not miss a post and find out what a Cap movie character could be all about.

Discover the discussion today at: www.mythdiscussionseries.blogspot.com
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Begun over two years ago with the participation of Carlos Pedraza, Ben Alpi, David Berry and many other courageous souls, the latest Star Trek: Phase II episode "Enemy: Starfleet" has released! Stream this episode right now on http://startrekphase2.com! Well done everyone!

From Ben: Happy New Year! I’m happy to announce that I’ll be working with writer Edward P. Morgan III on a yet-to-be-named science fiction film. Edward is a very talented prose writer that I met at Dragon*Con three years ago (along with his lovely wife Karen!) We got on immediately talking about novel writing and the many traps and snares set for writers these days. We come from very different backgrounds, yet have similar interests. We got to talking about screen writing, something Edward was very interested in learning about, and the seed was planted.

 
Edward writes, “It’s always a pleasure to work with (or just be around) someone who shares so many of the same creative interests and ideals. Since our first meeting, Ben has been a patient teacher regarding my (sometimes naive and simplistic) questions about the world of film, an alien landscape to me. His observations on storytelling continue to send me scrambling to remember all the pieces of writing theory I’ve once read. He has a quick and masterful eye. Attending a photography exhibition with him in January was like a lesson in lighting and framing in itself. I look forward to seeing where this journey will take us and how our different backgrounds will blend into a unified creative vision.”

 
I’ve been developing a new sci fi project over the winter and after Edward and I talked about it, we agreed a collaboration would be an exciting learning experience for both of us. Edward’s vision is so different from mine, I really think this will be a ton of fun. Tally-ho friends!

 
Read Edward Morgan!
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