Full service character effects company MASTERSFX has recently designed and produced a diverse number of makeup and special creature effects for a variety of recent or upcoming TV and feature film projects. Todd Masters, founder of MASTERSFX, made the announcement. These projects are:nnTRUE BLOOD For the fifth consecutive season, MASTERSFX delivers the goods as the exclusive monstermaker for this hit HBO series. The company creates the vampire makeups, demises, and other characters under the supervision of Dan Rebert for this Alan Ball production. nnFALLING SKIES MASTERSFX returns to Season 2 of the Steven Spielberg produced hit TNT series to once again create the multi-appendaged Skitters – a race of alien warriors. MASTERS FX brings these highly mobile and menacing beings to life with a ground-breaking technique that utilizes on-set puppetry combined with actual performers and animatronics. Originally, the production planned to create the characters entirely digitally, but the decision was soon made to use both computer-generated Skitters and animatronics in order to take full advantage of both techniques. The second season debuts June 17th.nnELYSIUM For this upcoming TriStar Pictures film, written and directed by Neill Blomkamp (“District 9”), and starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, MASTERSFX supported Peter Jackson’s WETA Workshop Supervisors Joe Dunckley and Sarah Rubano.nn7500 Directed by Japanese horror icon Takashi Shimizu, CBS Films’ upcoming thriller “7500” follows the passengers of a 747 crossing the Pacific en route to Tokyo as they encounter an unexplainable force. MASTERSFX created a series of effects for the film, as well as delivering a variety of makeup FX. The feature stars Leslie Bibb, Jamie Chung, Amy Smart, Ryan Kwanten, and Jerry Ferrara.nnVAMPS Director Amy Heckerling’s vampire comedy “Vamps,” stars her “Clueless” star Alicia Silverstone, Krysten Ritter (“Don’t Trust The B—in Apartment 23), Wallace Shawn, and Sigourney Weaver. The storyline for “Vamps” revolves around beautiful vampires Goody (Silverstone) and Stacy (Ritter), who have been enjoying the good life in New York City. As upstanding, politically correct Extended Life Forms (ELFs), the pair hit a support group, “Sanguines Anonymous,” to help curb the temptation of human blood in between their clubbing and dating schedules. When love steals into each of their lives, the pair’s destiny is set on a new course and they must make a choice that will jeopardize their immortality—and maybe much more.n nWritten and directed by Amy Heckerling, “Vamps” is a comedy-fantasy-romance that puts a fresh and hilariously upbeat twist on the vampire genre. The film was produced by Lauren Versel, Molly Hassell, Stuart Cornfeld and Maria Teresa Arida. Executive Producers include Stanislaw Tyczynski, Julie Kroll, Kamal Nahas, John Jencks, Lisa Wilson, Stephen Hays and Peter Graham, and Peter Fructman. “Vamps” was produced by Lucky Monkey Pictures and Red Hour Films. nnFor “Vamps,” MASTERSFX created and produced an assortment of Vampire and creature makeup special FX. Anchor Bay Films will release the film to theaters this October. nnAMERICAN MARY “American Mary” is the second feature film from Twisted Twins Productions, a Vancouver-based company founded by Jen and Sylvia Soska (“Dead Hooker in a Trunk”). Written and directed by the Soskas, “American Mary” is the bizarre story of a medical student who becomes increasingly disenchanted with medical school. The allure of easy money soon leads her to a world of underground surgeries which leave as many marks on her as her freakish clientel. MASTERSFX created a broad array of weird, prosthetic makeup FX, as well as several graphic surgery sequences. “American Mary” will be released during summer 2012. nn
nTo view the teaser trailer, on YouTube click here.nnAbout MASTERSFXnMASTERSFX was founded in 1987 by Emmy Award winner Todd Masters, and is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary. MASTERSFX is a full-service character effects company with studios in both Los Angeles and Vancouver, British Columbia. The company has created prosthetic and animatronic characters and effects for hundreds of movies, television shows, and commercials, including most recently: “Underworld: Awakening 3D,” “True Blood,” “Falling Skies,” “A Haunting in Georgia” and “Fringe,” among others.nnHistorically, the company has contributed makeups, characters, and an assortment of special FX sequences to such high profile past projects as “Stargate SG1,” “The Horse Whisperer,” “Star Trek: First Contact,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Six Feet Under,” “Tales From the Crypt,” “Battlestar Galactica,” and many more. Please see: www.mastersfx.com. Contact:Dan Harary The Asbury PR Agency Beverly Hills 310/859-1831 Contact Dan via email
“Ǝvolution” Comes Full Circle At The Chelsea Film Festival
The Chelsea Film Festival, running from October 16th through October 20th, 2024, at Regal Cinemas here in Union Square, is set to host the East Coast premiere of Ǝvolution, a thought-provoking experimental micro-short film that proves big ideas can come in small packages and in perfect circles.
In just 1 minute 16 seconds, this cinematic gem by Award-Winning Director Romina Schwedler, with original music by Argentine Composer Ignacio Montoya Carlotto, explores a cycle as old as time: life leads to progress, progress leads to destruction, and destruction, well, leads back to life. But is this vicious circle unbreakable? Ǝvolution suggests the answer is yes, unless we decide to open our eyes.
Inspired by the overwhelming number of recent events that threaten human existence, Ǝvolution, possibly the shortest film in this 12th edition of the festival, plays out entirely through the symbolism of circles, cleverly illustrating —in the blink of an eye— the repeating patterns of history, and confronting viewers with the uncomfortable truth that our so-called “progress” may, in fact, be guiding us to our own ruin.Premiering at the Regal 14 Union Square, New York City, on October 18, 2024, at 11 a.m., Romina Schwedler's micro-short, featuring Leah Young with cinematography by Alan J. Carmona, will be sure to spark conversations longer than the film itself! Forcing viewers to reconsider the true meaning of evolution, not just as a biological process, but as a reflection of our collective journey as humans.
With a string of festival appearances across the globe, including CineGlobe at CERN (Switzerland/France), Oscar®... Read More