MAYA ENTERTAINMENT GETS “BETWEEN US” WITH FOREIGN RIGHTS

The Julia Stiles, Melissa George, Taye Diggs Film Hits EFM

LOS ANGELES, CA – Maya Entertainment Group, Inc., a leading independent multi-platform content and distribution company based in Los Angeles, has acquired from Slamdance Co-Founder, Dan Mirvish’s Bugeater Films, the foreign rights to “Between Us”, starring Julia Stiles (“The Bourne Trilogy”), Melissa George (“30 Days of Night”), Taye Diggs (ABC’s “Private Practice”), and David Harbour (“The Green Hornet”).  The film now in post-production will be available for sale at Berlin 2012.

The film based, on the hit off-Broadway play of the same name, was penned by Dan Mirvish (“Open House”) and playwright Joe Hortua.  “Between Us” is an intense drama exploring the bittersweet friendships between two couples who meet as old friends and discover their lives are tarnished by money, success, sex and children.

“This is our first endeavor with Dan and we couldn’t be more excited,” states Elias Axume, President, International Distribution for Maya Entertainment.  “Dan has adapted the play into a truly cinematic experience; that coupled with an all-star cast, is sure to bring us success at this year’s market.”

The film is produced by Dan Mirvish, Hans C. Ritter, and Mike S. Ryan and executive produced by Brent Stiefel, with cinematography by Nancy Schreiber, ASC.  Mirvish, who also directed the film, states “I’m looking forward to working with Maya to help bring the movie to a global audience. This powerhouse cast was amazing to work with, and I know their performances will blow people away.”

The deal was negotiated by Elias Axume and Tonantzin Esparza, Director of Acquisitions, on behalf of Maya Entertainment, and ICM, which packaged the film and continues to represent North American rights. ICM represents Stiles, George, Diggs and Harbour, and Mirvish is repped by Provocation Entertainment.

ABOUT MAYA INTERNATIONAL –  www.Maya-Entertainment.com/International

Maya International Distribution, headed by Elias Axume, sells rights to its entertainment properties worldwide and has a presence at key markets including Berlin Film Festival/European Film Market, Hong Kong FILMART, Cannes Film Festival, MIP-TV, Toronto International Film Festival, MIPCOM and AFM. Currently, Maya International is selling rights to Ass Backwards, starring Alicia Silverstone; It’s a Disaster, starring Julia Stiles and America Ferrara, Café, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jamie Kennedy; Without Men starring Eva Longoria Parker, Christian Slater and Oscar Nunez; Across the Line, starring Aidan Quinn and Mario van Peebles; A Bag of Hammers starring Rebecca Hall and Jason Ritter and The Last Rites of Joe May, starring Dennis Farina, among others.

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Directed by: Phil Lollar
Starring: Roma Downey
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Run Time: 33 minutes

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

This animated series is produced by Roma Downey, known best for playing the lead role in the TV series “Touched by an Angel” from 1994 to 2003. The show follows the adventures of preschool twins Alex and Zoe as they learn, laugh and play and accompanying them is are a group of animated guardian angels that assist them in guiding and teaching about life and God’s love. This is definitely a great tool for teaching basic lessons to your children and also Christian faith at the same time.

In “Animals”, the angels work with Alex and Zoe on spreading the message of “God Loves You”. The lessons are learned through stories like Noah’s Ark and Jonah and the Whale. This is aimed at the preschool audience and will definitely keep them entertained for the 30 minutes. What is also cool is that this DVD comes with a digital copy, so you can takes this stories with you on the go to keep your kids busy.

The DVD features three short stories, which can be viewed as a complete episode or as individual stories. The DVDs also include some decent special features. “Little Lessons with Roma Downey” talks about this series, what they have learned in the stories and gives tips for the parents to help their kids. There are fun sing-a-long music videos for the kids, including “Adam Gave Them Names”, “Noah Built An Ark”, “Jonah Was Fish Bait” and “Pomegranates, Penguins”. Lastly, there are downloadable activity sheets to continue the learning after watching the DVD.

Directed by: Phil Lollar
Starring: Roma Downey
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Run Time: 33 minutes

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

This animated series is produced by Roma Downey, known best for playing the lead role in the TV series “Touched by an Angel” from 1994 to 2003. The show follows the adventures of preschool twins Alex and Zoe as they learn, laugh and play and accompanying them is are a group of animated guardian angels that assist them in  guiding and teaching about life and God’s love. This is definitely a great tool for teaching basic lessons to your children and also Christian faith at the same time.

In “123’s”, Alex and Zoe work with the Angels to work together and learn to count to 12. The angels uses ideas from the Bible to help. The lessons are learned through stories like “David and Goliath” and “Walls of Jericho”. This is aimed at the preschool audience and will definitely keep them entertained for the 30 minutes. What is also cool is that this DVD comes with a digital copy, so you can takes this stories with you on the go to keep your kids busy.

The DVD features three short stories, which can be viewed as a complete episode or as individual stories. The DVDs also include some decent special features. “Little Lessons with Roma Downey” talks about this series, what they have learned in the stories and gives tips for the parents to help their kids. There are fun sing-a-long music videos for the kids, including “Goliath Didn’t Like Rock Music”, “Joshua, Get Those Trumpets” Blowin'”, “Be Sure to Say Thank You” and “All You Can Eat Fish Dinner”. Lastly, there are downloadable activity sheets to continue the learning after watching the DVD.

Directed by: Phil Lollar
Starring: Roma Downey
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Run Time: 33 minutes

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

This animated series is produced by Roma Downey, known best for playing the lead role in the TV series “Touched by an Angel” from 1994 to 2003. The show follows the adventures of preschool twins Alex and Zoe as they learn, laugh and play and accompanying them is are a group of animated guardian angels that assist them in guiding and teaching about life and God’s love. This is definitely a great tool for teaching basic lessons to your children and also Christian faith at the same time.

In “ABC’s”, Alex and Zoe work with the Angels to focus on learning to read by recognizing letters by their shapes and relating them to images. The angels uses ideas from the Bible to help. The lessons are learned through stories like Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors. This is aimed at the preschool audience and will definitely keep them entertained for the 30 minutes. What is also cool is that this DVD comes with a digital copy, so you can takes this stories with you on the go to keep your kids busy.

The DVD features three short stories, which can be viewed as a complete episode or as individual stories. The DVDs also include some decent special features. “Little Lessons with Roma Downey” talks about this series, what they have learned in the stories and gives tips for the parents to help their kids. There are fun sing-a-long music videos for the kids, including “Easy as ABC”, “G-H-I, Me Oh My”, “Q to the R to the S” and “W-X-Y-Z”. Lastly, there are downloadable activity sheets to continue the learning after watching the DVD.

Directed by: Michael Bay
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Josh Duhamel
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Distributed by: Paramount Home Entertainment
Running Time: 154 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 5 out of 5 stars

The “Transformers” series has really turned into a love it or hate it series. Fans have been doing nothing but fighting Michael Bay after the very over-producing and story lacking “Revenge of the Fallen”. “Dark of the Moon” definitely makes up for some the mistakes of the film prior but also presents a few new issues of its own. The major issue is that film needs to be a least 30 minutes shorter. When I originally saw this film in 3D IMAX, I wasn’t completely in love with the film at first. After letting it sit a while and especially watching it at home, I had a chance to really enjoy it a lot more.

The Blu-ray presentation on this release is absolutely fantastic. This honestly has to be THE most action packed Blu-ray in my library and also the best use of a Blu-ray to date. This film’s audio track also shines boasting Paramount’s Dolby TrueHD 7.1, easily one of the best I have ever heard on Blu-ray…and almost blew up my surround sound. The 3D on the Blu-ray really works well with the film since it was actually filmed in native 3D. There are no cheap tricks used in this film with the effect. I actually enjoyed the 3D quite more at home then in the theaters and thought it was a lot more focused. The story, well, that’s a another story but by this time in the series I think we have come to understand that these are movies about robots and visual effects.

Let’s discuss the other details of the release besides the 3D Blu-ray. This set also includes a Blu-ray disc of the film in 2D, as well as DVD disc. I am a big fan of the new digital copy service called, Ultraviolet. If you haven’t took advantage of this amazing digital streaming service, this is the film to start with.

The special features on this release are out of control and jam packed. The biggest feature on the release is “Above and Beyond: Exploring Dark of the Moon” is a super extensive five-part documentary that runs about two hours. The really dive deep into the development of the film ranging from the design to location filming to the stunts to the amazing post-production.  The next feature “Uncharted Territory: NASA’s Future Then and Now” runs about 30 minutes and focuses on exactly what its title suggests, no surprise here. “Deconstructing Chicago: Multi-Angle Sequences” is a visual effects featurette that is split in two parts.  The first is called “Previsualizations”, which allows you to view the visual effects raw with optional commentary by Director Michael Bay and Previsualization Supervisor Steve Yamamoto.  The second part is called “Visual Effects” which breaks down the VFX shots and also includes optional commentary by Visual Effects Supervisors Scott Farrar and Matthew Butler.  Both these features are able to be viewed individually or side-by-side with the final shots. “The Art of Cybertron” is a collection of still focusing on the world of the alien robots. “The Dark of the Moon Archive” is another production feature focusing on the 3D, the Moscow World Premiere and the stunt performers.  “The Sound of ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon'” is focused on the film’s sound engineering, which scores the film two Oscar nominations in Sound Mixing and Editing. Lastly there is a collection of teasers/trailers and other promotional material in “The Matrix of Marketing”. Overall amazing extras for an amazing release.

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Director: Richard Gabai
Cast: Sean Patrick Flanery, Natalie Zea, Adam Baldwin, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas Ian Nicolas, Veronica Cartwright, Juliette Landau, Max Perlich, Angeline-Rose Troy
Distributed by: Phase 4 Films
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 92 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars

It is rare that a film gets better with each viewing but “Insight” manages to do that.  Even though you know the twists, they still are able to entertain and surprise you.  The story is driven by a great script and a strong cast. The film is a non-stop thrill ride that keeps you guessing the whole movie.  You might not have heard of this film but you should definitely check it out, as it deserves some attention.

Kaitlyn (Zea) is a nurse that while attempting to save of a young woman is accidentally electrocuted in the operating room. After those events, Kaitlyn has memories that are not hers and are those of the young woman who died. She starts to question her sanity and seeks the help of a detective (Flannery) to try and help her figure out what is real and what is not. It is up to her to get to the bottom of what is happening to her before it is too late and the murderer strikes again.

The film succeeds with its all-star cast including Sean Patrick Flanery and Natalie Zea delivering good roles. The film also has notable appearances from Adam Baldwin, Christopher Lloyd and Thomas Ian Nicolas. The special features include a brief behind the scenes featurette and film’s trailer. Overall this is a fun thriller that really delivers some great twists.

Created by: Jack Thorne
Starring: Iain de Caestecker, Joe Dempsie, Natalie Dormer, Tom Ellis, Johnny Harris, Daniel Kaluuya, Lily Loveless, Sophie Wu, Daniela Nardini
Distributed by: BBC
No. of episodes: 6
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running time: 360 minutes

Series: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

“The Fades” is a new supernatural thriller from Jack Thorne creator of well known series “Skins”. This six-episode series is aimed for the horror genre, though its isn’t scary at all. The show started off good in the first two episodes but then it really took a dive in the middle till end. The show wants to act like a zombie show ala “The Walking Dead” but ends up playing more like an a teenage comedy/drama with some heavy religious aspects.  The show isn’t a total let down though but it definitely fizzles out quickly.

The show follows Paul Roberts (Iain De Caestecker) who is plagued with apocalyptic dreams pending the end of everything. Paul finds himself seeing strange spirits outside of his dreams called Fades. With the help of Neil Valentine (Johnny Harris), he finds out that he is one of the Angelics, a special team of people, and that he will lead them in the battle against the Fades.  When his friends and family are pulled into this mess, Paul needs to find a way to prevent this apocalypse from happening.

The video resolution on the Blu-ray is only 1080i but still looks good. The sound includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track but would have been better with 5.1 though. The special features include some behind the scenes footage, a few deleted scenes (nothing special) and outtakes that are spanned over two discs. There are also a few interviews with cast members Johnny Harris and Natalie Dormer. “Mac Explains” are the intros from each episode where Paul’s best friend fills us in. Overall decent but nothing special.

The Fades Season 1 available on Blu-ray & DVD on 2/21 at http://bit.ly/yproj3

Written by Jack Thorne (“Skins,” “This Is England ’86,” “Shameless”), “The Fades” is a coming-of-age fantasy drama showcasing the supernatural skills of a reluctant teenager named Paul (as played by Iain De Caestecker, formerly of “Coronation Street”). His best friend, Mac (Daniel Kaluuya, “Johnny English Reborn,” “Skins”), as well as his therapist, are completely stunned by the apocalyptic dreams that he’s been having. His twin sister Anna (Lily Loveless, “Skins”) is also unsympathetic of his socially awkward behavior.

Created by: Greg Weisman, Brandon Vietti
Voices of: Bruce Greenwood, Crispin Freeman, Stephanie Lemelin, Jesse McCartney
Danica McKellar, Nolan North, Khary Payton, Jason Spisak
4 episodes
Running Time: 90 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Join Robin, Miss Martian, Superboy, Aqualad and Kid Flash on their adventures to fight the bad guys. This DVD comes packed with four episodes from the first season. This release lands in the series between from episode 9 through 12.  There are 26 episodes in season one so expect at least another 4 volumes for this season. The series is really fun and exciting but these episodes have started to get a little more darker and intense. If you are a fan of shows like “Justice League” and “Teen Titans”, this is a good mix of both.

The episodes includes are “Befret”, “Targets”, “Terror”, “Home Front”. “Befret” deals with the team trying to recover their memories after their mission in Bialya. In “Targets” puts the team in between an assassinate plot against Lex Luthor. “Terror” focuses on Superboy and Miss Martian planning to infiltrate Belle Reve. Lastly, “Home Front” brings forward the attack from Red Inferno and Red Torpedo on Mount Justice. Definitely some of the best episodes in the series to date.  I will look forward to see what comes next especially with the cliffhanger it leaves off on.

Available on DVD 2/21 at http://bit.ly/xA7kld
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Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis have become YOUNG JUSTICE – The Justice League’s secret weapon against the forces of evil. The teen heroes will take on under-the-radar missions that would be impossible for the Justice League to handle covertly. Red Tornado will be their supervisor; Black Canary will be in charge of their training and Batman will hand out their assignments.

EVERYBODY CUT LOOSE!

To celebrate the Blu-ray release of “Footloose” on March 6th, 2012, Paramount Home Media Distribution is giving fans of the hit film Footloose the chance to win a dance inspired by the movie for their school! Just visit https://www.facebook.com/FootlooseMovie to vote for your school, then tell all of your friends and tweet using the #Footloose hashtag to earn extra votes. You can vote once a day and even download posters on Facebook to put up at your school and spread the word. Students at the winning school will get to kick up their heels with a DJ, professional dancers to get the party started, a dance contest with prizes, a photo booth, themed decorations and more fun and surprises, all courtesy of Paramount. Hurry, you’ve only got until March 2 to get your votes in!

Directed By: Amir Bar-Lev
Starring: Skrillex, DJ Premier, The Crystal Method, Pretty Lights, Mark Ronson, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, LeAnn Rimes, Dr. Ralph Stanley
Distributed by: D & E
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 90 minutes

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

In “Re:Generation”, acclaimed director Amir Bar-Lev (“The Tillman Story”, “My Kid Could Paint That”), has gathered an incredible amount of musical talent for a documentary that is well suited for the iPod era.

The main concept of this film is a simple one. Five popular DJs are partnered with musical genres they rarely if ever work with and each is expected to create a whole new track in a matter of days. This leads to pairings as unusual as electronic music artist Skrillex with the remaining members of The Doors and Pretty Lights with country legend Dr Ralph Stanley. The set up could be the conceit of a reality show to exploit the differences between generations but both the artists and filmmakers smartly recognize that this is not the goal here. Instead we see professionals getting honestly inspired by their collaborators. Taking on classical music, New York-based DJ Premier is especially fun to watch as he’s taught how to conduct the Berklee Symphony Orchestra. His piece stitches together rapper Nas with eleven classical works from Mozart to Brahms to wonderful effect.

The starriest of collaborations is the jazz work created by producer Mark Ronson in New Orleans with Erykah Badu, Mos Def, The Dap-Kings and Zigaboo Modeliste. In a piece themed to gumbo, Ronson perfectly captures the spirit of the project when he says “You mix it all up in a pot and see what works.” In an age where people walk around with entire musical libraries in their pockets, this sentiment is clearly already accepted by modern listeners. Using available technology to create actual seamless blends like these is the natural next step.

Adding to the talent on display is the fact that the doc is beautifully shot. You can feel the excitement of the working studio through Bar-Lev’s fly-on-the-wall footage. When the final products are eventually performed, the sense of accomplishment is palpable as Bar-Lev cuts between the isolated artists recording and the wild, entertained crowds. It’s remarkable to see concert goers open to artists they may never have encountered otherwise. One can only hope the DJs take the inspiration they found during this film and continue to work outside their comfort zones.

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Academy Award® Winner Angelina Jolie Makes Her Acclaimed
Filmmaking Debut with the 2012 Golden Globe® Nominee for
Best Foreign Language Film – IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY

Featuring Both Authentic Language Theatrical and Never-Before-Seen English-Language Versions of the Film Available March 27th on
Blu-ray™ + DVD Combo Pack. Get Both Versions Early on Digital and VOD – February 24th*

“Extraordinary! A total triumph!” -Danny Miller, MSN News

“Brilliant! A powerful, important, humane and uncompromising film.” – Pete Hammond / BACKSTAGE MAGAZINE

“Jolie is a startlingly effective director.” – John Powers / VOGUE

Culver City, CA (2/13/12) – From Academy Award® winner Angelina Jolie (Best Supporting Actress, Girl, Interrupted, 1999) comes the acclaimed war drama IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY, available March 27th on Blu-ray™ + DVD Combo Pack from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Jolie makes her stunning directorial and screenwriting debut with this gripping tale of love and survival set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War. Nominated for a 2012 Golden Globe® Award for Best Foreign Language Film, IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY has been hailed by critics as “the starkest, most relentless film about war since Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket.” (David Ehrenstein, Quarterly Review of Film & Video). Now, movie fans can experience this riveting film with a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack which includes two versions of the film –the authentic language film with English subtitles on the Blu-ray and the English language version featured on the DVD disc. Both versions of the film will arrive early on VOD and Digital on February 24th.

The Blu-ray combo pack includes a “Making of” featurette that goes behind the scenes of filming in two languages with a local cast, who share their painful stories of their personal conflict during the war. Exclusively available on the Blu-ray version is a Q&A with Jolie and Actress Vanesa Glodjo.

IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY is the winner of the Producers Guild of America’s 2012 Stanley Kramer Award, which honors films whose “achievement or contribution illuminates provocative social issues in an accessible and elevating fashion.”

Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that tore the Balkan region apart in the 1990s, IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY tells the story of Danijel and Ajla, two people from different sides of a brutal ethnic conflict. Danijel, a soldier fighting for the Serbs, and Ajla, a Bosnian held captive in the camp he oversees, knew each other before the war, and could have found love with each other. But as the armed conflict takes hold of their lives, their relationship grows darker, their motives and connection to one another ambiguous, their allegiances uncertain.

IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY features an all-Bosnian cast that includes Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic and Rade Serbedzija, cinematography by Academy Award® winner Dean Semler (1990, Best Cinematography, Dances with Wolves) and music by Academy Award® winner Gabriel Yared (1997, Best Music, The English Patient). It was produced by Angelina Jolie, Graham King, Tim Headington and Tim Moore.

The film has a run time of approximately 126 minutes and has been rated R for war violence and atrocities including rape, sexuality, nudity and language.

Blu-ray™ and DVD Bonus Material:
· “The Making of In the Land of Blood and Honey” Featurette
· Deleted Scenes
Blu-ray™ Exclusive:
· Q&A with Writer/Director Angelina Jolie and Actress Vanesa Glodjo

“Academy Award®” is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

* English-language version available on select providers.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; worldwide television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 142 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.

Kevin Tostado is the producer and director of new documentary “Under the Boardwalk: The MONOPOLY Story”. The film focuses on the =history of the game and World Championship of Monopoly. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Kevin about his new life, his love for Monopoly and what he has planned next.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your inspiration behind “Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story”?
Kevin Tostado: As a kid growing up, MONOPOLY was a game that always present in my house. It’s probably one of the first games that I played in which I had to handle cash as well as have to negotiate trades with my opponents. By the time I was 12, I could no longer get my family to play with me as they felt I took the game too seriously. It even got to the point where I was studying The Monopoly Companion written by Phil Orbanes, to try and prepare myself to be able to compete at the next US Monopoly Championship. “Under the Boardwalk: The MONOPOLY Story” arose out of my passion for the game of Monopoly as well as my desire to capture and create compelling stories to share with audiences.

MG: When was the first time you played the game Monopoly?
KT: It goes hand in hand with the first answer, but I can’t actually remember my first game as it was a game I just remember playing all the time. I imagine I started with Monopoly Jr, but think I was playing with the real game by 5 or so. It wasn’t until I was in my early teens that I started really learning all the strategies behind the game.

MG: Have you ever considered competing in the World Championship of Monopoly yourself?
KT: Most definitely! After I first read The Monopoly Companion, I started trying to train, but my family didn’t appreciate the game quite the way I did, so it was always difficult to find folks to play with. My senior year of college, I started training for the 2009 US Championship until I burnt out my suitemates on playing. I put my championship dreams on hold in order to make the film, but now since completing production, I’ve begun playing at local tournaments, and last April I won my first local tournament, beating several prominent players including Ken Koury and Lee Bayrd.

MG: How long did the project take to complete from concept to completion?
KT: I started initial research in Summer 2007 but you could argue that I started engrossing myself in the material when I was a teenager. We finished filming in early 2010, and was screening it at film festivals starting in September 2010. We then spent the next year playing at film festivals and running a limited theatrical release in a handful of cities around the country.

MG: What was the most challenging aspect of this documentary?
KT: It’s hard to narrow it down to just one challenging aspect. Obviously, getting one of the largest game companies in the planet to trust an unknown independent filmmaker with one of their prized games and allow us to film at the championships was a long road for us. Finding financing for a documentary about “a game that never ends” during a recession certainly wasn’t a cakewalk, and neither is negotiating complex world of international travel with film equipment and crew. But all of those struggles that we overcame gave us the motivation to see the project through and to get it out into the world for folks to enjoy.

MG: Tell us about bringing on Zachary Levi to narrate the film?
KT: We were able to attach Zac Levi to the project through our executive producer, Stephen Nemeth, who is one of the producers on this year’s Sundance hit The Surrogate. Steve has been a key player in Hollywood for the last 20 years (he produced Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas amongst many other notable films) and made the connection for us to get Zac!

MG: Tell us about what you have planned next?
KT: I’m helping produce a webseries called Research. starring Gabriel Diani and Barry Bostwick which we’ll be shooting in March and premiering online in the late Spring. You can learn more about that project at ResearchSeries.com. I’m also helping produce an 80’s rock star comedy called Todd Lucas: Singer/Songwriter which we are shooting in June, although we still have a big Kickstarter campaign coming for that in April to help us finance the film. Interested folks can follow me on Twitter (@Tostie) for the latest on my projects.

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Meagan Tandy started off in the business co-starring with Denzel Washington in “Unstoppable”.  Megan is currently co-starring in the TV series “Jane by Design” and will be in the upcoming film “Piranha 3DD” as well.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Meagan about “Piranha 3DD” and also what else see has planned for 2012.

Mike Gencarelli: What was it like getting to work with such a great cast on your first film “Unstoppable”?
Meagan Tandy: People were shocked that my first feature film was going to be a Fox feature with Tony Scott and Denzel Washington. I never thought my first feature film was going to be a studio film. I had the time of my life and it was so much fun getting to meet and work with everyone.

MG: Can you tell us about your next film “Piranha 3DD”?
MT: I was in Atlanta shooting for a show called “Single Ladies”. I was just doing my thing and my manager came to me and said I was being asked to read for the role of Ashley in what was being called “Piranha: The Sequel” at the time. I made a tape and sent it in not really knowing what I was auditioning for. Within about a week they notified me telling me I was the girl and they wanted me to be in Wilmington, NC the next day. I literally had no time to breathe. When I got there the entire cast was just so much fun.

MG: What can you tell us about the production?
MT: I can’t give away too much of what my character does but one day I was in the water filming a scene where I jump from a van into the water. We ended up only doing takes of this scene as during one of the takes I jumped and cut my foot. I had to go to the hospital and get stitches. Of course that’s the take I think they are going to be using. I have a lovely scar on the bottom of my foot and will always remember this film.

MG: Were you familiar with the first film?
MT: Absolutely! I did see the first one and the film did really well. I love a good horror film and being able to say that this is my first scary movie I am not complaining at all. I am very excited!

MG: What can you tell us about your upcoming role in “Jane by Design”?
MT: That will be my very first series. I play Lulu who is the exact opposite of my real personality as Lulu is the mean girl. The show is based around fashion and how the character of Jane balances the world of fashion and school. My character really likes to give Jane a hard time. I believe the show will be coming out January 2nd or 3rd.

MG: How did you become involved with the show initially?
MT: I auditioned for it in November of 2010. We shot the pilot and then waited quite awhile to find out if we got picked up or not. I found out that we did get picked up the same time I was getting ready to go to Wilmington. I really had no time to celebrate.

MG: How do you feel working on film and television differs from each other and do you prefer one over the other?
MT: I have always wanted to be an actress and I absolutely love movies and television. They are both great and I hope to get to do more movies in the future.

Whitney Houston, the Grammy award winning singer whose career saw a major decline due to a battle with drugs, passed away earlier today. Cause of death and location were not immediately reported. Her death was confirmed by her publicist.

Houston, the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston and niece of pop legend Dionne Warwick (and, as if she didn’t have enough musical karma, the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin), was one of the most popular female solo artists of all time. Over her career she received six Grammy Awards as well as two Emmy awards for her television performances. She sold over 170 million singles and albums.

In 1992 she made her film debut opposite Kevin Costner in “The Bodyguard.” The film’s soundtrack won that years Grammy Award as album of the year. Her hit song from the film, a cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” is the biggest selling single from a female performer of all time. She also made history when she became the first performer to score seven CONSECUTIVE number one hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart.

Jeffrey Reddick is known best for creating the successful horror “Final Destination” series.  Jeffrey also was involved writing the 2008’s remake of “Day of the Dead”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Jeffrey about the series and also what else he had planned for 2012.

Mike Gencarelli: You created the very successful horror franchise, “Final Destination”, tell us the origin of how to created it?
Jeffrey Reddick: The idea stemmed from a strange real-life incident. I was on a plane, flying home to Kentucky. I read an article about a woman who was on vacation, in Hawaii, I think. On the morning of her flight, her mother called her and told her not to take the flight she was booked on because she had a bad feeling about it. The woman changed her flight and the plane she was supposed to be on crashed. This story got me thinking…what if she was meant to die in that crash? What if she cheated Death? At the time, I was working at New Line Cinema and was trying to get an agent. I was told to write a spec script for something on TV. “The X-Files” was my favorite show and it was really hot at the time. So, I came up with an episode where Scully’s brother had the premonition. The script got me an agent. Mark Kaufman, a colleague at New Line Cinema, really loved the script and convinced me to try and turn it in to a feature.

MG: Why did you leave “Final Destination” series after the second film?
JR: After the first film, I thought I had a really clever way to expand on the original movie, without just rehashing the first one. It’s interesting, I’ve done two of films, James Wong and Glen Morgan did two, as did David Ellis and Eric Bress. But the studio decided to go with completely new folks on the last one. But I didn’t leave the series. Each movie is its own animal and the studio always waits until the last film does theatrically, and on DVD, before deciding if they’re going to make another one. So, it’s really their call. But I’d only want to do another one if I could bring something fresh to the table. Just redoing the formula doesn’t interest me.

MG: After your departure from the series, how do you feel the the series continued through the latest fifth film?
JR: I always remember how fortunate I am to have created a horror film that’s had such a long life, so I’ve found things I’ve enjoyed about all of the films. But when you get to a part 5, sequel fatigue always sets in. The studio doesn’t want to mess with the formula, so the movies tend to blend together and feel repetitive. But each of the films has managed to be a fun ride.

MG: I feel the fifth film did a nice touch are related to the first film, do you think the franchise still has steam left?
JR: I think the fifth sequel was great. I feel they really made that one for the fans and not just to cash in. They brought Tony Todd back and added some real depth, and twists, to the story. I think part 5 is a great way to go out with the current formula. But I think if they want to keep the series vital, they should do a reboot. Death is a crafty mother…and can always come up with a new design.

MG: You took on the task of writing the screenplay to the 2008 remake of “Day of the Dead”, what was you most difficult task?
JR: Steve Miner’s involvement was the main reason I signed on. The hardest task was trying to craft a film that was reverent to the original. Because of the rights, we could only use the basic story and characters from “Day of the Dead.” We couldn’t reference any of the other movies, so it had to be a standalone story. But the treatment I wrote, which got me hired for the job, was much closer to the original film. I really feel it paid tribute in a respectful way, while creating a fresh new story. But after I got hired, the studio started making me change things…and strip out everything related to the original. There were many arguments, but at the end of the day they usually win. So, watching the film turn in to something other than what I intended, was the hardest part. At the end of the day, I think it’s a fun film…but it shouldn’t be called Day of The Dead.

MG: Any truth to the rumor of a 3D follow-up to “Day of the Dead”?
JR: They just announced they’re releasing the remake on Blu-ray in 3D. I’m excited to see it.

MG: What do you have planned next in the works?
JR: I’ve got several irons in the fire, but nothing I can report right now, as you never know if, and when, things will pan out. But I can say they’re all genre projects and I’m hoping to direct one of them. I’ll keep you posted.