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Diana Naser’s “Amplified,” Adam J. Graves’ “Anuja,” Nina Gantz’s “Wander to Wonder” and Ben Proudfoot’s “The Final Copy of Ilon Specht” have qualified for Academy Awards in the short-film categories by winning the top awards at the 20th annual HollyShorts Film Festival, which took place this week in Hollywood and held its awards ceremony on Sunday night.

HollyShorts is one of about 150 Oscar-qualifying festivals whose top winners automatically become eligible for Oscars in the three shorts categories. It is one of only 15 festivals that qualifies as many as four films for Academy Awards.

“Amplified” won the Best Short Film Grand Prize, the festival’s top award. “Anuja” took the award for live-action short, “Wander to Wonder” for animated short and “The Final Copy of Ilon Specht” for documentary short.

Ben Proudfoot, the director of the last of those films, is the reigning Oscar champ in the Best Documentary Short category,...

Welcome to Creators on the Rise, where—in partnership with global creator company Jellysmack—we find and profile breakout creators who are in the midst of extraordinary growth.

Greg Francis was 19 when his friend’s irate boss showed up at his front door.

Said friend had met a girl and gone incommunicado, and his boss was, to put it frankly, pretty pissed off.

Francis couldn’t help–at least, not with locating his friend. But when the boss asked what he was going to do now that he had no one to work the day’s jobs, Francis’s obvious answer was, “Well, I’ll work.”

You don’t become a pro sealcoater in one day, so all Francis did was lug around buckets of sealants for the guys who knew what they were doing. By the time the day wrapped, though, the boss was so impressed that he paid...

The Motion Picture Sound Editors are out with nominations for the 68th annual Golden Reel Awards, which recognize sound artists in 22 categories spanning film, TV, toons, computer entertainment and student productions.

Eight films will vie in the marquee Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Underscore category: The Invisible Man, The Midnight Sky, News of the World, Sound of Metal, Tenet, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Wonder Woman 1984.

Winners will be announced during an international virtual trophy ceremony on Friday, April 16.

The Golden Reels also will honor Mad Max franchise director George Miller with the 2021 Mpse Filmmaker Award.

“We’re very excited about this year’s Mpse Golden Reel Awards,” Mpse president Mark Lanza said. “It will feature a dynamic, virtual format that will be great fun and allow people from around the world to participate. We will have presenters from every part of the globe along with many other surprises.

Darius Marder’s innovative “Sound of Metal” and Paul Greengrass’ “News of the World” western each grabbed three sound editing nominations at the 68th annual Mpse Golden Reel Awards (which will be held virtually on April 16). “Sound of Metal,” the frontrunner, captures Riz Ahmed’s heavy-metal drummer slowly losing his hearing, while “News of the World” creates the shootouts, sandstorms, and rainstorms that assault Tom Hanks on his journey in post-Civil War Texas. The Academy has consolidated sound editing and mixing onto a single category for the first time this season.

Several features scored two nominations: “Tenet,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and “Greyhound.” Also making the cut were “Mank,” “The Midnight Sky,” “The Invisible Woman,” “Nomadland,””Wonder Woman 1984,” “Emperor,” and “Cherry.”

Feature musical nominees included “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” The Prom,” “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of the Fire Saga,” “The High Note,...

The Motion Picture Sound Editors (Mpse) have announced the nominations for the 68th Annual Mpse Golden Reel Awards.

“Sound of Metal,” “News of the World” and “Wonder Woman 1984” are among the nominees. “Sound of Metal,” a frontrunner in the Oscar race for best sound, leads the way with three nominations for outstanding achievement in sound editing including feature effects/foley, feature dialogue/Adr and feature underscore.

Elsewhere, Netflix’s “Better Call Saul” landed three nominations, and freshman shows “The Queen’s Gambit” and “Ted Lasso” also scored nominations.

“We’re very excited about this year’s Mpse Golden Reel Awards. It will feature a dynamic, virtual format that will be great fun and allow people from around the world to participate,” said Mpse president Mark Lanza. “We will have presenters from every part of the globe along with many other surprises. Most importantly, this will be an opportunity to celebrate...

Charlotte Nicdao and Gemma Bird Matheson in ‘Content’ (Photo credit: ABC/Mia Forrest).

Ludo Studio’s vertical comedy Content and Endemol Shine Australia’s documentary Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, both ABC commissions, will fly the flag for Australia at this year’s International Emmy Awards.

Produced by Meg O’Connell and written by Anna Barnes, the comedy starring Charlotte Nicdao as Lucy, an extrovert chasing Internet fame and Gemma Bird Matheson as her best friend Daisy, is nominated for Short-Form Series.

“I love this show so much and I’m so proud of the team,” Ludo Studio’s Daley Pearson said on social media. “This is Ludo’s 4th Emmy [nomination] and I’m so happy for everyone at the studio.”

In April, the Brisbane-based studio’s Bluey won the International Emmy Kids Award for best preschool program, following wins for interactive comedy #7DaysLater in 2015 and animated series Doodles in 2016.

The Esa documentary,...

Denis Estimon never felt more lonely than when he was surrounded by noisy classmates in his elementary school lunchroom, afraid to join in on their spirited conversations and draw attention to his broken English and Haitian accent.

Feeling alone in a crowd was the worst emotion imaginable for a 6-year-old boy, he says today. That’s why he was inspired to start the “We Dine Together” club with several friends at his high school last year, hoping that none of his classmates would have to eat lunch in isolation.

“Long-lasting relationships are built from across the table,” Denis, now 18 and...

What is generally considered as a dying genre of late, poker films have seen their popularity dwindle in recent years. With big budget Hollywood films like the recently released Paramount Pictures flick, The Gambler flopping amid stiff competition from Unbroken and Into The Woods, many have questioned its staying power in today’s movie landscape.

Cue, writer and director Greg Francis, who was acutely aware of this, but having the cunningness to market his film in a different way, he has garnered ‘Poker Night’ an altogether different audience.

As the movie may well have drawn in a crowd from the exasperated niche, the film doesn’t just rely on this audience for viewing figures alone. Although centered round a poker table, there’s very little poker play to contend with in this crime, horror thriller.

The film’s lead character, Stan Jeter played by Beau Mirchoff is an upstart cop...

In this twisted thriller, a young detective is caught in a sadistic game of cat-and-mouse when he is kidnapped and tormented by a masked serial killer. In order to survive, the rookie must use the wisdom imparted to him by senior detectives on their regular poker night.

Available on Blu-ray and DVD: February 10, 2015

Directed by: Greg Francis

Written by: Greg Francis

Cast: Ron Perlman, Giancarlo Esposito, Beau Mirchoff, … Continue reading →

Horrornews.net...

Emphatically trying to understand the emotional and powerful motivations that drive people to commit devastatingly drastic and brutal acts can be a difficult process for many people to take on. But through his diligent rehearsal and preparation process with his co-stars and writer-director, Greg Francis, on the new independent action crime film, ‘Poker Night,’ versatile actor Michael Eklund grippingly created a distinctive and powerful serial kidnapper and killer. The resourceful performer effortlessly infused his character with a continued emotional pain, due to his sense of betrayal that has continued on from his childhood, while enthrallingly wearing a mask, in an effort to cover his distress that would have otherwise showed [ Read More ]

The post Interview: Michael Eklund Talks Poker Night (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.

Title: Poker Night Director: Greg Francis Starring: Beau Mirchoff, Michael Eklund, Ron Perlman, Ron Eldard, Titus Welliver, Giancarlo Esposito, Corey Large and Halston Sage Engaging in numerous and versatile attempts to emulate the success of respected professionals in your field, as you try to achieve your own accomplishments in your newly launched career, is a major key element in prevailing in your job. But following in their triumphs can also help in protecting your life in dire situations. The protagonist in Greg Francis’ feature film writing and directorial debuts, the action crime thriller, ‘Poker Night,’ creatively and determinately relied on the powerful advice he garnered from his new colleagues. He [ Read More ]

The post Poker Night Movie Review 2 appeared first on Shockya.com.

Title: Poker Night XLrator Media Director: Greg Francis Writer: Greg Francis Cast: Ron Perlman, Giancarlo Esposito, Beau Mirchoff, Titus Welliver, Michael Eklund, Ron Eldard, Corey Large, Halston Sage Running time: 1hr 44 min, Unrated (Language, Violence, Rape) In Theaters, VOD And iTUNES: December 20, 2014 Detective Stan Jeter (Beau Mirchoff) of Warsaw Indiana is welcomed to a poker game by a few of the city’s best detectives – Calabrese (Ron Perlman), Bernard (Giancarlo Esposito), Cunningham (Ron Eldard), and Maxwell (Titus Welliver). The rules of the poker game is that once the rookie wins, he can start asking questions. The guys meanwhile tell him tales of their most memorable cases in [ Read More ]

The post Poker Night Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Poker becomes more than a game of skill and wit in the Xlrator Media thriller “Poker Night,” coming to theaters Dec. 20. The film, which is already available on iTunes and VOD, is directed by Greg Francis and stars fan favorites such as Ron Perlman, Giancarlo Esposito, Beau Mirchoff, Titus Welliver, Michael Eklund, Ron Eldard, Corey Large in a tense story of survival. “In this twisted thriller, a young detective is caught in a sadistic game of cat-and-mouse when he is kidnapped and tormented by a masked serial killer. In order to survive, the rookie must use the wisdom imparted to him by senior detectives on their regular poker night.” [ Read More ]

The post Exclusive: Clip from Poker Night Revels in Moodiness appeared first on Shockya.com.

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting the recent independent news sent our way. Today’s feature includes new photos of Megafoot, DVD release details for Coyote, a trailer for Muck and Red Christmas, a look at The Real Housewives of Horror Post Mortem show, and more:

First Photos from Megafoot Released: “Megafoot is a top-secret killing monstrosity (half Machine, half Bigfoot, all Terror!), which has recently escaped from the highly covert laboratory where it was created. An elite squad of soldiers has been sent to track and destroy the sadistic sasquatch before it wreaks its horrific vengeance on the human race. Expect action, suspense, creative kills and gore-soaked thrills in a movie that’s bigger than big… it’s Megafoot!

After months of rampant excitement, Ship To Shore Media, in connection with studio Epic Pictures, have finally given us a look at the Megafoot beast in anticipation of the upcoming creature-feature!

In theaters December 20th, and currently available on VOD and iTunes right now, we have an exclusive clip from the upcoming thriller Poker Night. This sneak peek takes a look at wisdom and hindsight, two pieces of knowledge that lead to an understanding of life experiences. Watch as the story begins to unfold in this scene from early in the movie.

A young man (Beau Mirchoff) discovers why his wife has been encouraging him to stay on the nightshift. After finding her in bed with someone else, he goes on a bender and crashes his car. We soon discover he's done something much worse. Waking up on a lawn covered in blood, the narrator decides we must look at his actions in hindsight. What has happened here, on this dark night now awash in the red and blue lights of a police cruiser?

In the twisted thriller Poker Night, a...

As an avid Texas Hold’em player, I’ve honed my ability to read statuesque poker faces concealing the slightest tell (a subconscious sign revealing your rival’s hand). Sure, developing such a sleuthy skill has helped build a nice bankroll for my casino trips, but I’ve also carried this talent over into my film criticism as well. Just because a movie isn’t human doesn’t mean there aren’t tells scattered about the script and screen, as filmmakers unintentionally show their hand long before the cards are flipped. Foreshadowing, heavy-handed-dialogue, condemning red herrings – it’s not that hard to spot a tell.

Squaring off against Greg Francis’ Poker Night, I didn’t expect to face an opponent with Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu’s swagger. Establishing itself as a criminal thriller, we meet a police officer named Jeter (Beau Mirchoff) the night he’s abducted by a masked...

Greg Francis' thriller, Poker Night, will be coming out on VOD and iTunes this Friday, December 5th and in cinemas on December 20th.In this twisted thriller, a young detective is caught in a sadistic game of cat-and-mouse when he is kidnapped and tormented by a masked serial killer. In order to survive, the rookie must use the wisdom imparted to him by senior detectives on their regular poker night.To drum up some interest in the film we have a clip from the film to share with you. In this clip Maxwell, played by Titus Welliver, is coaxed into telling a tale about a serial killer known as The Pinky Thief. The clip may be short but it does give you a sense of Francis' directorial...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

*an online screener of this film was provided by XLrator Media. Director/writer: Greg Francis. Cast: Beau Mirchoff, Ron Perlman, Giancarlo Esposito, Corey Large, Titus Welliver and Halston Sage. This reviewer has been patiently waiting for an opportunity to review Greg Francis' Poker Night, for over a year. This film, which was shot in this critic's hometown (Victoria, B.C.), is set to release in late 2014. Poker Night is a blend of genres, including those of: horror, crime thriller and even comedy. Though, the comedic moments are often very dark and involve the film's central killer. Poker Night is also well produced and the film offers a recognizable cast. This viewer enjoyed the complex story and many film fans will find something to like here. In the story, Jeter (Beau Mirchoff) is a rookie cop, invited to a game or two of poker. His fellow co-workers and police detectives...

Poker Night is a creepy new horror-suspense film from the mind of writer/director Greg Francis, whose previous work was in the realm of television. According to his IMDb page, he has a knack for putting together series of the eerie and dramatic variety, such as "Devil in the Details" and "A Haunting." And, he is embracing those same ideas in his first motion picture, which had its artwork and trailer revealed recently. As noted by XLrator Media, the film centers on the story of a young detective (named Jeter) and his girlfriend. At some point in the film, Jeter is "caught in a sadistic game of cat-and-mouse when he [and his girlfriend are] kidnapped and tormented by a masked serial killer." His only way out is to use the knowledge he learned from the older detectives in his precinct—played by the likes of Ron Perlman and Giancarlo Esposito, who regularly share their...

Greg Francis` thriller Poker Night will be on VOD and iTunes on December 5th and in Theaters on December 19th. We have the premiere of the key art as well as a bevy of stills from the production. I have include the rather taut trailer for your perusal as well. In this twisted thriller, a young detective is caught in a sadistic game of cat-and-mouse when he is kidnapped and tormented by a masked serial killer. In order to survive, the rookie must use the wisdom imparted to him by senior detectives on their regular poker night.Poker Night stars Ron Perlman, Giancarlo Esposito (Revolution), Beau Mirchoff (I Am Number 4), Titus Welliver (Sons of Anarchy), Michael Eklund (The Divide and Errors of the Human Body), Ron Eldard...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Poker Night was shooting earlier in 2013, in Victoria, British Columbia. Victoria is this film fan's hometown and it is interesting to see some of the local settings in the first trailer for this title. Poker Night is in post-production and thriller fans can preview the film here. The story of Poker Night involves a serial killer and a missing girl. A young detective must glean information from other detectives on the force to find out who the killer is. Much of the action in the film originates from a late night Poker game, where characters might be using deception in both their cardplay and stories. The trailer for the film is below. And, the clip shows some of the cat and mouse chase sequences from the film. Thriller fans are encouraged to take a look at the clip and there are elements of horror here too as one detective confronts a masked murderer.

• 24′s Dennis Haysbert is in talks to play Manute in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, the role originated in 2005′s Sin City by actor Michael Clarke Duncan, who passed away earlier this year at 54. Haysbert will join Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Jaime King, and Rosario Dawsome, who are all reprising their roles in the first film; Jamie Chung is taking over Devon Aoki’s role. As with the first film, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller are sharing writing and directing duties on the film, based on Miller’s series of Sin City graphic novels. [THR]

• Timothy Olyphant (FX’s Justified) will join Kurt Russell,...

We have another detective! In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, I will first remind you that we already had a little chat about the upcoming indie project titled Poker Night, which comes from director Greg Francis and will have quite interesting cast on board. The movie already stars Ron Perlman, Titus Welliver, Ron Eldard and Beau Mirchoff, and now comes the word that Giancarlo Esposito has joined the cast as well!

So, according to the latest reports, Esposito comes on board to play Detective A.J. Bernard in a movie which will follow a newly promoted detective played by Mirchoff, who is being tracked by a serial killer.

Thanks to the card game he regularly plays with wiser and older detectives like Bernard, he will find his way to survive.

Corey Large and Alan Pao are producing the film, and Wingman Productions stands behind Poker Night,...

Giancarlo Esposito has joined the Ron Perlman, Titus Welliver, Ron Eldard and Beau Mirchoff in the indie thriller, Poker Night, which will be directed by Greg Francis. Esposito will play a Detective A.J. Bernard in a story of... ... a young cop who is being tracked by a serial killer. Only the stories and tall tales he hears at the card game he regularly plays with veterans like Bernard contain the clues to his survival. Corey Lange and Alan Pao are producing the film. The acclaimed thespian (Esposito) can currently be seen on NBC’s Revolution.

Exclusive: Giancarlo Esposito has come to the table for Poker Night. The Emmy nominee will play Detective A.J. Bernard in the indie thriller. Ron Perlman, Titus Welliver, Ron Eldard and Beau Mirchoff co-star in the Greg Francis-directed film, which is in production in Victoria, Canada. The film tells the tale of a young cop who is being tracked by a serial killer. Only the stories and tall tales he hears at the card game he regularly plays with veterans like Bernard contain the clues to his survival. Corey Large and Alan Pao are producing. Known for his Emmy-nominated role role as soft-spoken meth drug lord Gus Fring on AMC’s Breaking Bad, Esposito is currently starring on NBC’s Revolution. He plays militia Major Tom Neville on the J.J. Abrams-produced drama. Esposito is repped by Domain Talent and Thruline Entertainment.