Ay caramba! It’s been too long! They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and, oh, how true that is! I’m brimming with excitement to be here once more to catch you up on all the goings-on and what-have-you’s in the world of Two Jackets Productions.
When last we posted, the gang had just wrapped principle photography on Meanwhile, at the Citadel of Superheroes…, our latest short film project and entry into Z-Fest Film Festival V. Eric spent most of late January and early February in front of his computer, editing and whipping up some awesome visual effects. Marcus and I covered most of the sound mix (to varying degrees of success) and provided moral support to Eric, which mostly consisted of Taco Bell offerings. Fueled by Baja Blast and the sheer force of will, Eric wrapped up the cut at about 4 A.M. on the due date and collapsed.
The Z-Fest screenings arrived in March, and we were very pleased with the film’s reception. We received many kind remarks from our friends, family, fellow filmmakers, and combinations of those. The judges enjoyed the film enough to vote it into the Best of Fest screening alongside many other great projects. At the awards ceremony, we were honored to take home awards for Best Hero (for Katie Vannelli’s brilliant performance as Lizzy Lectric), Best Fantasy/SciFi, and Fourth Runner-Up overall!
Suddenly, April. Two Jackets flee to neutral territory and hole up for a full weekend. Three guys. One hotel room. All business. Yeah, it was pretty hott. But we had a future to discuss! And folks, we’re happy to report: the future is bright.
For starters, we’re creating an extended cut of Meanwhile for the festival circuit. We’re proud of the cut we submitted to Z-Fest, but the content we’re adding back into the film will elevate it with more humor and stakes. We’ll have the extended, no-holds-barred cut wrapped up before the Fantastic Fest deadline on May 29th. However, due to some immediate festival deadlines, we’ve been submitting the current cut to a few places, and we’re already seeing results!
Just this week, we were informed that Meanwhile and You Only Die Once! (starring our pal and local wunderkind Tyler Michaels) will be screening at Minneapolis Comic Con on Friday, May 2nd. Our very own Marcus Mann will be in attendance. If you’re at the Con, seek out the Film Festival! You’ll find a bunch of details about the Con on the Wizard World website. Zip Zap Zow!
Aside from finishing up and sending off Meanwhile, Two Jackets Productions will be participating once again in the Minneapolis 48 Hour Film Project, being held June 6-8 this year. Some may call it masochism; we call it good practice. What’s a little sleep-loss compared to the thrill, creativity, and collaboration that transpires in those mere 48 hours? It’s such a huge weekend for local filmmaking. Totally worth it.
Lastly, before you run off to your next cat video, I have one more little news item. On behalf of Two Jackets Productions, I am pleased to announce that our feature film, Limpwings, will be available on DVD and digital copy via Amazon this fall. You heard that right, folks! After almost three years, we’re finally ready to share the story of Daniel Hall and his nasty case of stigmata with you all. We’re very proud of this project; we learned a lot about ourselves and the art of filmmaking in the process. We’ll announce the exact release date later this summer after all the prep work is wrapped. Until then, God help us.
Look at that! You made it through. How lovely! Thanks for reading and for stopping by the Two Jackets site. Now go watch dem cats!
Andrew