News

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.

A big surprise to us here thanks to Cowboy Creed actor Doug Drexler. StarTrek.com has a great interview with our favorite digital innovator/Western fan about his career so far (and his career change.) Thanks for mentioning your role in Cowboy Creed, Doug!

Read this great interview here:
(Part 1) : http://www.startrek.com/article/doug-drexler-from-makeup-to-design-part-1

(Part 2): http://www.startrek.com/article/doug-drexler-from-makeup-to-design-part-ii

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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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 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.

Yeehoo! “We surpassed our Cowboy Creed Kickstarter goal— all thanks to our generous backers!” Many thanks go out to all of you! It’s not over yet though!

With Thursday and Friday remaining in our campaign, we have time to continue to raise funding. With the pledges from our current backers we can afford to make the movie in large part, but there is one element we still cannot afford: FILM. When David (Berry) and I first talked about the look of Cowboy Creed, we agreed that we’d love to shoot on 16mm film to capture that legendary look of a Western. Since then, we’ve researched and tested and have found that film, with its rough, organic texture tells us, ‘Yessir, that there’s a Western. The nick or rub is, film is indeed expensive– upwards of $1000 a day.! Our new goal– or should I say, our new QUEST is to raise enough funds to film our film… on film!  It would be amazing if we can continue to raise funds though our Kickstarter to help take our film to the next level. Are you with us?

Sweet Backer Rewards await you!  Let’s make some Western movie magic… on film!  Our Cowboy Creed Kickstarter ends Friday, October 28th at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runicfilms/cowboy-creed-short-film

Thanks again, pardners!
Ben, JT, David and the whole Cowboy Creed posse!

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.

As announced on our Kickstarter campaign, Florida-based composer Joseph Terrana will be scoring Cowboy Creed and performing much of the music.

Ben said about the score, “Cowboy Creed is really a blend of world elements. The Gold Rush brought folks from all over and I really want the music to reflect that. I didn’t honestly know if I’d be able to find someone when I asked ‘Well, I’m looking for Western meets Asian meets Native American’ and one of my very good friends replied ‘I know just the man!'”

Joe Terrana studied music at the University of North Florida and after graduating was awarded artist grants from the Pinellas County Arts Council for recording and composition. He plays numerous flutes and whistles, erhu, piano, dizi, sitar, saxophone and various other instruments.

“When Ben approached me about doing music for the film with Celtic, Chinese and Native American influences, I said ‘You know, I could absolutely do that!’ And let me tell you how much fun it is to get all those spices to blend just right,” Joe added. “It’s like a musical gumbo!”

Joe continues to be an active performer in the Tampa Bay area and in the past has won Best of the Bay People’s Choice as best instrumentalist. His various projects have performed with artists such as Men at Work, Alana Davis and The Chieftains.

“Joe’s created the music for our Kickstarter campaign which really started as a sketch called ‘A Cowboy in Beijing.’ When I first heard his erhu (Chinese violin) I said ‘I’ve never heard an erhu sound like that!’ It was haunting and mixed with drums, guitars and flutes, it’s exactly the unique blend we need in Cowboy Creed,” Ben said.

To hear a touch of Joseph’s music as well as a tune from Cuban Sandwich Crisis, check out our Cowboy Creed Kickstarter 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.

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.
 

“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.