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.Dan Harary The Asbury PR Agency Beverly Hills 310/859-1831 Contact Dan via email
Asian World Film Festival Reveals Asian Vision Program Lineup, Snow Leopard and Bruce Lee Honorees, and Jury Members
The 10th Annual Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) is proud to announce the lineup for its inaugural Asian Vision program, which was conceived to showcase new and exceptional Asian features that have participated in major A-list film festivals and/or garnered international acclaim. The program of eight motion pictures (see list below) will be held November 17-19, 2024, with the top film receiving the Asian Vision Best Film Award. The 10th Annual Asian World Film Festival takes place November 13 - 21, 2024, at the Culver Theatre in Culver City, CA. This year’s Snow Leopard Lifetime Achievement Award, the Festival’s highest honor, will be presented to acclaimed director, screenwriter, and producer Sergei Bodrov in celebration of his remarkable 50-year career. Bodrov established his reputation as a visionary filmmaker with “Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan” (2007), nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film, and “Prisoner of the Mountains” (1996), also an Oscar® nominee as well as a Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize-winner. The Snow Leopard Outstanding Cinematic Achievement Award will be presented to director, producer, and screenwriter Peter Ho-Sun Chan, one of Hong Kong’s most critically acclaimed and accomplished filmmakers. Known for his versatility and the scope of his work, Chan’s landmark films, including “Comrades: Almost a Love Story” (1996) and “The Warlords” (2007), have earned him a remarkable 233 awards from more than 400 nominations. As previously announced, AWFF will screen “Comrades: Almost a Love Story,” followed by a Q&A with Chan. Multi-award-winning actress Kathryn Bernardo will receive the Snow Leopard... Read More