News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

LOS ANGELES, Calif. Runic Films is delighted to announce that internationally acclaimed actress, Gigi Edgley, will star in their next project, “Hashtag” a thought-provoking science fiction drama that examines a future where social media dominates those who unknowingly push the limits of technology to achieve fame.

 

Ben Alpi, the director and co-writer of  “Hashtag” says “I can’t tell you how excited we are to be bringing this film to light. It is perfect timing for this subject and having the versatile Gigi Edgley to open the doorway to the future will be amazing.”

 

This sexy, sleek, sci-fi thriller will captivate audiences around the globe. The talented and beautiful Edgley, of Little Empire Productions, already has millions of online followers and fans around the world. She is most widely known for her role as Chiana on the critically acclaimed sci-fi television series, “Farscape” and had a leading role in the Australian series, Rescue Special Ops., In the U.S., Edgley recently hosted , Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge, an American reality television game show on the Syfy cable network. She also had appeared in the USA network TV miniseries, “The Starter Wife.”

 

In “Hashtag” Edgley will play “X”, the ultimate social media maven, a charismatic woman attracting the attention of tens of millions of online followers. “X” has everything she’s ever thought she wanted. She’s #famous and she’s #watched, but is her life #real

 

“I completely want to devour this script. I adore X. She is a complex, diverse and troubled soul. I am extremely excited to fall into her restless being. It is so refreshing to be wholeheartedly infatuated with this story,” says Gigi Edgley.

 

Ben Alpi was inspired by a TED talk to write a story that centered on our cultural obsession with speed and technology. The script for “Hashtag” co-written by Ben Alpi (Cowboy Creed, Silver Lining) and Kevin Rubio (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ben 10: Omniverse, Green Lantern: The Animated Series), is an insightful and imaginative tale that examines the consequences of the rapid rise of social media in our everyday lives. This story offers a unique twist of what could happen when those obsessed with virtual information and celebrity are unable to disconnect.

 

“Hashtag” will be funded through a Kickstarter campaign due to be launched next week, and filming will take place in December 2014/January 2015 in Los Angeles.

 

For more information visit:
https://runicfilms.com/
http://www.gigiedgley.com

 

ABOUT RUNIC FILMS
Runic Films is a Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company developing original properties for film and television. Runic was founded in 2001 and is dedicated to upholding the traditions of mythic storytelling. Runic Films harnesses cutting-edge technology and visual effects to create amazing worlds for dramatic tales grounded in humanity.

 

ABOUT LITTLE EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS
Gigi and Jake Edgley are the co-founders of Little Empire Productions. They have been certain every step of the way to create music, comic books and films that enlighten, intrigue and rock your world. They are internationally based as Jake is currently located in Australia and Gigi resides in Los Angeles. Little Empire Productions mission is to devise creations straight from the heart and soul.

 

Contact:
Robert Alpi
Runic Films
email
Ph: 810-771-8065

 

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From the director’s apple box?

 

All of us here at Runic Films and Blue Seraph Productions are proud to announce that we have found our Phineas Creed, actor and martial artist Kendall Wells! Kendall will play the young lead who sets out to save his lady love in our upcoming Western short film Cowboy Creed.

 

I can’t tell you how thrilled we are pardners! Kendall is another rare case of actor-warrior. His mentor Anthony De Longis, who plays Sheriff Eli, encouraged JT and I to look him up and we’re glad he did! Who better to play the prot’g? of Sheriff Eli than the prot’g? of actor and fight master Anthony De Longis?

 

On the screen, Kendall was a weapons expert on SpikeTV’s Deadliest Warrior, the lead in two episodes of 3Nets new 3D mini-series Scary Tales and co-starred in an episode of TNT’s Leverage. On the stage, he played the title role in Blue Monkey’s production of Robin Hood. In Northwest Classical Theatre Company’s Macbeth, Kendall played both “MacDuffe” (select performances) and “Seyton” for which he won a Drammy for fight choreography. He also worked as an action performer in LA Opera’s recent production Romeo et Juliette, directed by Ian Judge and conducted by one of the most famous names in world opera, Pl’cido Domingo. Kendall also stars alongside Anthony in an award-winning Western short film series Blood Trail, written by the pair and directed by Mr. De Longis. Their production company Palpable Hit Productions is currently raising funds via IndieGoGo HERE for part three in their trilogy entitled Trail’s End.

 

“When Anthony first told me about the film, I was immediately interested. And after meeting with Ben and JT, I felt we were on the same wavelength and that we could do good things with the character,”Kendall writes.

 

Kendall’s acting started at the Iowa Performing Arts Conservatory, a program founded and sponsored by Hawthorne Direct and Actor’s Playhouse teacher Jennie Lee. In addition to acting, Kendall is a Certified Teacher of De Longis Combative & Performance Arts specializing in empty-hand combat, sword, knife, whip, stick, staff including when he’s mounted on horseback. If he’s starting to sound like a silver screen actor of years gone by, he is! We consider ourselves lucky to have such skilled performers in Kendall, John Carrigan, Tara Platt, Anthony De Longis and Doug Drexler as well as a fantastic crew!

 

“I’m very excited to be working on Cowboy Creed. The role of Phineas is one of great depth and subtlety and a lot of physicality?my favorite!”

 

Thanks Kendall! I cannot wait to watch Phineas walk in front of the lens!

 

# # # 

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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Follow @RunicFilms on Twitter.

From the director’s apple box…

 

We here at Runic Films and Blue Seraph Productions are honored to announce that actor, director and weapons expert Anthony De Longis has joined the cast of Cowboy Creed! Anthony will play the venerable “Sheriff Eli Graves,” our hero’s mentor in our Western short film shooting this winter. (To help make this film happen, back us! Visit our Cowboy Creed Kickstarter online fund raising campaign now in its final hours!)

 

My friend visual effects (and bullwhip) artist Pony Horton introduced us and perhaps the first thing I thought when I first met Anthony was ? he is the genuine article. Cowboy Creed‘s title comes from an ideal where a person acts according to a high standard. It’s safe to say that Anthony is such a cowboy. And I can’t tell you how excited we all are to be working with him.

 

Fellow Star Trek Fans will recognize Anthony as Kazon leader “First Maje Culluh” from Star Trek: Voyager, and he has appeared on several other television series, a few including Grimm, Justified, Leverage, iCarly, ER, The Outer Limits, Queen Of Swords, Babylon 5, and Highlander: The Series, twice. He has also appeared in many popular movies Jet Li’s Fearless, Road House and cult favorites Masters of the Universe, and Sword and the Sorcerer.

Anthony is also a fight choreographer, 5th degree black belt, sword master, whip master and horse trainer. He trained Michelle Pfeiffer for her bullwhipping in Batman Returns and Harrison Ford selected Anthony to brush up his whip skills for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. As a voice actor, video gamers will recognize him as “Marshal Leigh Johnson” from the Red Dead Redemption series. I think you can see why Anthony is an amazing addition to our film.

 

Anthony writes, “I grew up steeped in the Western genre and have always loved the stories and the life lessons they teach. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Do what’s right, not just what’s easy. Friendship and loyalty are your treasures and your word is your most valuable possession.”

 

In addition to his many roles, Anthony formed Palpable Hit Productions in 1999 to teach, support and promote the use of safe and exciting fight choreography in theatre, film and television based on techniques true to each weapon. With a training facility based at Anthony’s Rancho Indalo, he teaches multiple disciplines including bladed and flexible weapons, knife and hawk throwing, archery, firearms and mounted weapons combat. Palpable Hit also produces a diverse line of period and weapons specific training DVD’s. JT, Dave and I have visited the ranch and got to meet the trained and set-savvy horses that we’ll be using for Cowboy Creed. You know I love watching cowboy movies, but I have to say so far, I love making them, too.

 

“Cowboy Creed is a good western yarn and I’m pleased to join the team to bring it to the screen,” Anthony added.

 

Thank you kindly, Anthony! I can’t wait to get on set and see your Sheriff Eli come alive!

 

Want to help make Cowboy Creed a reality AND get awesome rewards in return? Visit our Kickstarter online fund raising campaign and watch our video at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runicfilms/cowboy-creed-short-film

 

# # # 

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.

 

Join us on Facebook.
Follow @RunicFilms on Twitter.

From the director’s apple box…

 

Another amazing announcement this week, pardners! Doug Drexler, Emmy and Academy Award winning visual effects and makeup artist has joined the Cowboy Creed cast and crew.  In a word “Draw!”

 

My good friend and frequent collaborator Erik “Gooch” Goodrich worked with Doug on Star Trek: Phase II (then New Voyages) and introduced me to him almost a year ago.  I first read about Doug’s work when Dick Tracy was about to be released.  I’m not sure which magazine it was, but I ate it up.  I loved what they were doing to make the comic strip come alive.  I was really into special and makeup effects at the time and growing up in a small town (before the internet and DVD’s, kids) I cherished any tidbit of information, be it in a book, magazine, newsletter or on cable, I could find. I never got to work with Doug over my years at Star Trek: Phase II so it was great to finally meet him.

 

Doug started out in makeup effects under the legendary Dick Smith on The Hunger and Starman. He continued onto several films including Dick Tracy for which he won the Academy Award for Best Makeup.  He continued in makeup on Star Trek: The Next Generation, a personal favorite.  After that, he switched over to visual effects on Deep Space Nine, several of the Trek films, Voyager and Enterprise.  After that is when he was brought on as CG Supervisor on Battlestar Galactica which won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series and a Visual Effects Society Award.  They also did some pretty amazing stuff on Caprica.

 

So, Ben. Where does the “Western” come in? John Carrigan (who plays “Limey”) mentioned Cowboy Creed to Doug and found out how much Doug loves the Western genre.? I had seen Gene Roddenberry-written clips on Doug’s blog Drexfiles from Have Gun – Will Travel, but I had not seen this…

 

For iPhone and iPad users: Press Here

 

I asked Doug to explain a bit about the history behind his gun play and he writes, “Over thirty years in this business, and finally I get to slap leather on screen! Good Sir Alpi and company came along at the most opportune of times for me, as I just spent the last year nostalgically obsessed with the television western. I grew up in the era of the television Western, and frankly I’d had it with them. Thirty Westerns on TV, and they had to cancel Star Trek. I held a grudge for a long, long time. Then one day I found a picture of me in the first grade. I was wearing a Have Gun – Will Travel bolo tie. I remembered how much I loved Richard Boone as the superhuman “Paladin.” I decided to find out what it was that grabbed me so much as a child. Frankly, I didn’t expect much. By the sixth episode I was hooked again. Six seasons, forty shows each. I came out the other side changed. I delved into other wonderful old shows… Gunsmoke, Cheyenne, Maverick. I was blown away by how fast these guys were on the draw. I hit the Internet and discovered an esoteric subculture, and how these actors learned to be pistoleers. So I took lessons with Hollywood gunslingers. Had gunbelts made by Alfonso’s of Hollywood. Submerged myself in the lore, and when? I heard what Ben was up to, I was all in.”

 

I asked Doug if he might like to be in the film and teach our leads the art of the quick draw.? And he said “Count me in!”? We’re keeping his role under wraps as a surprise in the film, but I can tell you he’ll have a long arm.? We’re really trying to make Cowboy Creed authentic to the cowboy film tradition and Doug will be a big help.

 

Doug added, “I’m excited about Cowboy Creed, and can’t wait to drawdown on John Carrigan. Thanks Ben! ‘I’m yer huckleberry!'”

 

Thanks Doug! Let’s get shootin’!

 

Catch Doug at his truly wonderful Drexfiles blog where he shares great stuff from Star Trek behind the scenes and Ships of the Line to all sorts of amazing things. Check it out! http://drexfiles.wordpress.com

 

There are only 4 days left in our Cowboy Creed Kickstarter online fund raising campaign! To watch our video and learn more about the film visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runicfilms/cowboy-creed-short-film. Our Kickstarter ends Friday, October 28th!

 

# # # 

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.

 

Join us on Facebook.
Follow @RunicFilms on Twitter.

Runic Films and Blue Seraph Productions are delighted to announce that actress Tara Platt will be playing the lovely “Miss Greta Graves” in our Western short film Cowboy Creed shooting this winter.

 

Writer/director Ben Alpi said, “This is so great! Tara is a wonderful actress I met earlier this year. I had the pleasure of watching her live on stage in an excellent minimalist production A Streetcar Named Desire which was truly raw and powerful. Dave, JT and I are really looking forward to working with her on Cowboy Creed.”

 

Tara has appeared in many films and television shows (The Young & The Restless, The Gilmore Girls, Charmed.) She’s also a voice over artist who has voiced several roles in television animation (Ben Ten: Alien Force/Ultimate Alien, Legion of Superheroes), Anime (Naruto, Buso Renkin, Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn) and Video Games (Dragon Age: Origins, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, God of War: Ghost of Sparta.)

 

Tara said, “I am so looking forward to working with this team. I have great respect for Ben and JT and I am sure they will do justice to the genre. I’ve always dreamed of being in a Western! I can’t wait to go play.”

 

Tara received her BFA degree in theatre from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts including a semester abroad at the prestigious London Academy of Theatre. As a theatre actress, Tara has performed internationally at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has been seen in everything from Shakespearean classics to world premieres nationally.

 

To learn more about Cowboy Creed, visit our Kickstarter online fund raising campaign and watch our video at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runicfilms/cowboy-creed-short-film.

 

“I can’t wait to see Tara breathe life into Miss Graves. With Tara and John Carrigan, I don’t think you’ll want to miss this!” Ben added.

 

# # # 

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.

 

Join us on Facebook.
Follow @RunicFilms on Twitter.

Writer/Director Ben Alpi:

 

JT and I are overjoyed to announce that John Carrigan will be playing the villainous “Thomas Michael ‘Limey’ Lymm” in our upcoming short action Western film Cowboy Creed. As you’ll learn about in our Kickstarter video, John and I met while working on Star Trek: Phase II (then New Voyages) back in 2005. The first time I got to direct him was in David Gerrold’s two-parter “Blood and Fire” playing Captain Kirk’s nemesis “Kargh.” We always said we would love to work with each other again and I’m really glad we’re finally getting to.

 

John said, “I am over the moon to be working on Cowboy Creed. It is a little boy’s dream to be a space man or a cowboy. How incredible it is that as an actor I get to play both while being directed by my multitalented friend Ben Alpi. This is truly a fantastic project.”

 

John is a very fine actor and martial artist and he runs his own school in England teaching the art and philosophy of Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do. I asked John to have a look at an early draft. I didn’t tell him I was writing the part with him in mind at first, but it was pretty evident– a suave Englishman who isn’t afraid of a fight.
 

Cowboy Creed is set in the late days of the California Gold Rush, a very international time in the Wild West. People were coming from all over the world to strike it rich as Limey does albeit by more devious and deadly means. John is a joy to work with and I really can’t wait to start shooting!

 

“A western with this much depth of character and heart is very rare and I am so proud to be a part of it,” John added.

 

Thank you John! Stay tuned for more news and of course, to learn more about our Kickstarter online fund raising campaign and watch our video, please visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runicfilms/cowboy-creed-short-film

 

# # #
 

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.

 

Join us on Facebook.
Follow @RunicFilms on Twitter.

 

“Captain Kargh” image courtesy of Star Trek: Phase II and Retro Studios.