BigFoot Entertainment in the News

If you have experienced a stroke or know someone who has, here’s a must see new film.

2009-10-18T23:09:00.000-07:00

9000 Needles, an award winning, new film from Bigfoot Entertainment, One In A Row Films and co-executive producers Stephen Nemeth and John Cusack, recountsthe story of stroke survivor Devin Dearth and what for many is a somewhat unconventional road to recovery. The film premiered two weeks ago at the Louisville International Film Festival, where it was runner up in the prestigious Audience Award category. It premiered last week in Los Angeles and appears Sunday, October 17 at The Other Venice Film Festival in Venice, CA. You can view the trailer through its Facebook fan page at: http://tinyurl.com/yl7zo5s

Stroke affects more than 700,000 people in the US alone each year and is the leading cause of disability in the US. Stroke recovery and rehab costs can exceed $100,000, so the course of treatment is often limited by health insurance coverage. Like Devin, many are left to fend for themselves after being told benefits are exhausted or they have gained as much as they need to live somewhat independently for the remainder of their lives. As Devin and his family learn, there are other options.
In concert with the producers, we can make the film available for private, corporate and community group screenings across the country. For more information, contact the producers through their Facebook fan page or China Connection Global Healthcare.
Don’t miss this opportunity to share a new hope of recovery for those who can realize it. Please share this with anyone you know who can benefit.

Source:
http://chinaglobalhealth.wordpress.com/

Your 100 Days Are Up Within the U.S. Health Care System! Former Mr. Kentucky, Devin Dearth takes on '9,000 Needles' in China.

2009-10-16T01:48:00.000-07:00

9,000 Needles: Faced with the confines of the American health system, both financial and scope of care, a stroke victim and his family travel to China for an alternative approach to his rehabilitation. How far would you go for a fighting chance?

Listen in as LaFern Cusack speaks with Devin and Stacey Dearth along with the producers of the documentary 9,000 Needles, Doug Dearth and Doug Busby. Photo ID: Producer 9,000 Needles Doug Dearth; Former Mr. Kentucky Devin Dearth and Martial Artist Benny "The Jet" Urquidez.

"My sister-in-law opened a letter from the insurance company today. It appears they have denied her husband's $20,000.00 life-flight claim. Apparently he should have taken an ambulance instead of the helicopter to the Intensive Care Unit." Doug Dearth (read more..)

9,000 Needles:

Director: Doug Dearth
Co-Producers: Doug Dearth & Douglas Busby
Executive Producer: Stephen Nemeth

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LaFern Cusack currently produces and hosts 710 ESPN's Experience (Sun. 5a-6a) and Radio Disney AM1110 Playground (Sun 6:30a-7a). With these shows LaFern delivers an inspiring, dynamic and insightful experience to listeners. She brings her humor, warmth and talent for tackling topical community issues with her unique style connecting with every aspect of the show.
Email: LaFern.Cusack@espnradio.disney.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laferncusack

Source:
http://laferncusack.blogspot.com

Bigfoot Entertainment Fund Behind Indie Film "3 Needles"

2009-10-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

All-Star Ensemble Drama to Premiere at Toronto Film Festival

LOS ANGELES, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 08/30/05 -- Bigfoot Entertainment announces the world premiere of its debut feature film, "3 Needles," as a Special Presentation at the Toronto Film Festival. The film, which is already garnering interest from top distributors, stars Chloe Sevigny ("Broken Flowers," "Boys Don't Cry"), Lucy Liu ("Charlie's Angels," "Payback," "Ally McBeal"), Olympia Dukakis ("The Event," "The Pentagon Wars"), Sandra Oh ("Sideways," "Gray's Anatomy"), Shawn Ashmore ("X2: X-Men United," "The Underclassman"), and Stockard Channing ("The West Wing," "Le Divorce"). Directed by acclaimed independent filmmaker Thom Fitzgerald, "3 Needles" is the latest production to be funded by Bigfoot Partners, the investment wing of Bigfoot Entertainment, and covers multiple storylines about the ways people deal with the AIDS epidemic, the relationship between parent and child and the sacrifices they are willing to make for each other.

According to Fitzgerald, "The film is about transformation. Each character sacrifices one seemingly insignificant belief about themselves, only to feel their entire identity unravel. It also exemplifies the challenges of simple people trying to seek education from an indifferent regime."

A porn actor Denys (Shawn Ashmore) hides his illness so he will not lose his job while his mother (Stockard Channing) makes her own death pact with the disease in order to care for him. A nun in South Africa (Chloe Sevigny) negotiates a dark deal to save the lives of disease-stricken children in her mission. And in a Chinese village, Jin Ping (Lucy Liu) buys blood from farmers who use the money to improve their lives, unaware that she is spreading death.

Tom Harting served as Director of Photography, and was produced by Bryan Hofbauer. Michael Gleissner is Executive Producer.

This project is part of Bigfoot Entertainment's commitment to help fund independent film projects along with their collaboration with Filmmakers Alliance.

"Bigfoot is dedicated to the community of filmmakers who possess the vision and passion to create critically acclaimed independent films," explains CEO Kacy Andrews.

Following the Toronto world premiere, "3 Needles" was also chosen to open the 25th Atlantic Film Festival. Bigfoot's upcoming film, "The Curiosity of Chance," a teen comedy written and directed by Russell P. Marleau, has begun principal photography this month in Belgium. For more information on Bigfoot Entertainment, visit www.bigfootentertainment.com.

Source:
http://in.sys-con.com/node/124093

Midnight Movie (2008) Movie Review

2009-10-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Written by: The Creature

Midnight Movie is very original film. A great plot, a small but great cast of characters(loved the biker, Harly), and a really cool iconic looking slasher.

The film is about a group of teenagers who attend a midnight horror film titled "The Dark Beneath" in a small dumpy little theature. What the teenagers don't know is that the director, and the main antagonist of the film, was a murderer who escaped from an institution five years ago and is still on the loose. After 15 minutes into the film, they see one of their friends murdered on screen. They think it's a prank, but soon find out it's not. They then realize that the star of the film has become reality, and soon each teenager, along with the teens in the horror movie, are being killed one by one. It's a struggle to survive.

I think of this film kind of like a supernatural slasher. Sounds interesting? It definitely is. Go buy this film, it's a really great, and fun ride.

Midnight Movie is brought to you by Bigfoot Entertainment (cool name huh?). Directed by Jack Messit on a budget of $1,000,000.

One more thing I want to comment on. The weapon that the slasher uses is very original. And very unique too. He uses a corkscrew like knife. He stabs it into his victim's and then pulls out a large chunk of flesh. Really cool.

So in conclusion, if you want to see a really cool underated bad ass horror film, watch Midnight Movie.

67% Score
by Horror Fans Based on 10 Reviews & 41 Quick Votes

Source:
http://www.horror-movies.ca/

The Key to Midnight Movie’s Most Striking Images

2009-09-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

A Director’s Storyboard Comparison

by Jack Messitt

http://www.moviemaker.com/ producing/article/jack_messitt_midnight_movie_storyboards_20090915/

When you are deep into editing a movie, you start to see all the shots you didn’t have time to get on set, as well as all the great ideas you now wish you had written into the script. Midnight Movie, my directorial debut, was no exception.

Midnight Movie follows the terror that emerges (literally) from the screen as The Dark Beneath, a fictitious film from the late ‘60s, is played at a midnight showing. Unknown to the audience, the film’s director, Ted Radford, has embedded his soul into the film—allowing the killer from the movie, armed with his signature spiral knife, to emerge from the screen and slay those in the audience.

The original Midnight Movie shooting schedule was for 20 days in May and June of 2007. With all the action sequences and effects we had planned, 20 days was not a lot of time. We really had to make the very most out of every day. And when we lost an actor halfway through production, we had to spend a day re-shooting scenes. So an already tight schedule was made even tighter. But we managed to get it done.

When we finally wrapped principal photography, I headed to the Philippines to start editing and, within a month, we had a pretty good cut of the movie.

In August, we had a test screening in Los Angeles to help gauge how the movie was playing to an audience. It was full of temp effects, score and sound. After the screening, we passed out questionnaires and asked for opinions about the movie. Even in its rough state, it went over pretty well, but the screening pointed out a few areas where we could have done better.

So I went home and watched the movie about a thousand more times, really nitpicking every last frame. It was during this Midnight Movie marathon that the genesis for additional shooting began. I started to watch the movie in a different way. Not only living with the footage we had, but dreaming of footage we had yet to shoot. It was liberating and I saw the possibility of smoothing some rough edges and amping up the tension level of the movie as a whole. But this feeling was short lived as our original budget was so slim and we had yet to get into the heaviest expense of post: The visual effects. My producers brought me back down to earth and said that it just wasn’t possible.

Not wanting to take “no” for an answer, I went back to the movie and devised a shot list that we could shoot in one day—and that would make a huge impact on the areas of the movie that were bothering me.

I storyboarded these new shots and, as a test, I roughly edited them into the movie to make sure they worked. Armed with this test and a will to get it done, I went back to the producers and begged them to find the money for one more day of shooting. Even though the test was severely handicapped by my bad drawings, it had just the impact I was hoping for.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

As you can see, I am a terrible artist and should probably apologize to Rebekah Brandes for her portrayal in these storyboards (really, she is so much better looking in real life!).

Much to their credit, the producers saw the benefits to what I wanted and they found the money—where, I don’t really know, but I wasn’t going to start asking.

While I wrote one completely new scene, the main portion of the additional day of shooting involved shots specifically designed to be seamlessly edited into already existing scenes.

1 - Bobby Walks To The House: This scene from The Dark Beneath (our movie within the movie) needed something more. It was the introduction to the mystery house and was falling a little flat. It needed a little something weird or creepy that we just didn’t have.

One of the producers suggested that I add Bobby finding a dead animal. I wasn’t buying the idea until I took that idea a level further and added a cow that had been gutted by Radford’s signature knife. I storyboarded a sequence that we could shoot without revisiting the actual house location and it worked pretty well.

We shot this sequence in a parking lot, dropping a load of dirt to mimic the dusty house in the middle of nowhere. And while the rotting cow remains, the signature knife wound proved to be too expensive and was dropped (much to my disappointment as that was the reason I ran with the idea in the first place). But the giant maggots (especially a suicidal one) made these shots pretty cool and added just that bit of weirdness we were missing.

2 – Radford Sharpening His Knife: While probably the signature shots of the movie, these were actually pick-ups. The shooting script had included a great knife “introduction” in the scene where Bobby is killed. But due to some safety issues on set, I was not allowed to shoot them. So when I got to the editing room, this was an expected hole that I thought I would have to live with.

Once I started dreaming up new shots, this was a hole that I was really excited to fill and these storyboards were a lot of fun to come up with!

Because we had broken all the original knives by the end of principle photography, Lunar Effects made me two new signature knives. The first was another “hero knife”—this one for close-ups—and the second was designed specifically for the grinding effect.

Being an aluminum alloy, the hero knife did not send as many sparks during the grinding as we wanted. So the FX guys welded several magnesium plugs into the blade of the knife. When that plug hit the spinning grinder wheel, we had the effect we wanted.

Seeing those sparks fly really sold how sharp that knife was. And the shot of Radford’s eyes being lit up by the flying embers was just what I was looking for.

I devised several set-ups around Radford’s basement grinder. To really give the knife some edge, I originally planned for Radford to test his knife on a dog he had hanging in his workshop. It was going to be a gruesome introduction to the power of the knife.

But again, our budget became my enemy and the dog went away. Too expensive. But even without canine intestines, we were able to give the knife the hero introduction it deserved.

And more than that, I was able to intercut this footage to enhance several more scenes in the film: The Dark Beneath‘s introduction to the Killer became a lot more fun and upped the ante on Bobby’s walk through the mystery house. And Bridget’s walk through the basement at the end of the film was brought to a whole new tension level by intercutting that footage.

3 – Bridget Alone: After Josh dies (sorry for the spoiler but… well everyone dies; it’s a slasher movie after all), the original script leapt to Bridget finding Timmy in the theater. While this felt right on paper, it seemed way too abrupt when watching the movie.

So I penned the scene where Bridget falls apart in a storage room while Radford stalks her in the hall. Inspired by the scene in The Silence of the Lambs where the FBI rushes Buffalo Bill’s house in Chicago, only to realize that they are not at the right house, this scene is a trick of editing meant to play with the audience’s expectations.

Through this scene, I was able to emotionally bridge the gap between Bridget’s loss of her boyfriend and her finding the courage to save her brother. Rebekah’s great performance really sells this transformation. And within this scene, I was able to give the audience a look at the mystical way Radford appears and disappears from our world—a much needed missing element to the film. Previous to this, it is only seen in a shadow just after Harley gets killed in the closet, and that just wasn’t enough.

The VFX featurette on our DVD shows some of our early “film burning” entrance/exit effects. While I loved this concept, we ultimately went something more effective for our budget (a recurring theme, isn’t it?).

For his entrance, Jan Leung, my effects wizard in Cebu, Philippines, came up with some great alternatives for us. When Radford enters our world, his broken skull mask appears and starts to drop to the floor, leaving our killer in it’s wake. For his exit, Radford turns into the black-and-white film version of himself and melts away. They weren’t our initial ideas, but adaptation to challenges is the key ingredient to making a movie.

Note: As you can see in these storyboards, when we actually shot this scene I reversed the screen direction (what was left in the storyboard, is now right), but everything else stayed pretty close to what I had planned.

The additional day of shooting went really well—and really long: Somewhere around 15 hours. But it was worth it. The additional scenes we picked up made a huge difference to the film.

Looking back, I can’t imagine Midnight Movie without them…

Midnight Movie is now available on DVD (Peace Arch).
The Blu-Ray disc will be available on October 13.
For more information visit www.midnightmovie.com.

Source:
http://www.moviemaker.com

Fatally Yours Review of Midnight Movie

2009-09-17T01:42:00.000-07:00

Cult or midnight movies are usually not known or recognized by mainstream audiences for good reason. They are usually the anti-thesis of the big, glossy Hollywood blockbusters. Midnight movies are usually gritty, subversive films catering to underground audiences who are looking for something different than the same old big-name flicks the studios peddle. Though most of the time these films have low budgets, they make up for that in heart and soul. Midnight movies let the audience experience something more than what studio films offer. They have that something extra that pushes the envelope, whether their aim is to disgust, titillate, awe or just plain have fun!

To put it plainly, midnight movies hold a special place in many a fan’s heart, no matter how cheap, cheesy or sleazy they are. So when I sat down to watch a film called “Midnight Movie” after our beloved cult flicks, I was a bit skeptical that it could deliver the goods. The synopsis did sound promising, though. From the box:

“At a run-down theater in a sleepy suburban town, a group of friends attend the midnight screening of a 1970’s cult horror film. These unsuspecting teenagers are unaware that the director and star of the movie made a bloody escape from a psych ward five years earlier and may still be on the loose.
As the midnight movie begins, the kids heckle the old black-and-white scenes. But they are jolted when the killer butchers one of their friends…on screen! They soon realize that the killing is not a prank. They are locked inside the theater and the killer from the movies is after them!
Caught between reality and the screen’s flickering shadows, are they becoming the unwilling stars of the very horror movie they are watching?”

If that doesn’t peak a horror fan’s interest, I don’t know what will! Much to my delight and utter fascination, Midnight Movie pays homage to the cult film while at the same time creating a completely original story. Along with the original plot, the film boasts likable characters, enough twists to keep things interesting and a very scary killer! I was blown away by how quickly I was sucked into the world of Midnight Movie and once there I didn’t want to leave!

First off, the film looks absolutely amazing! I’m not sure what the budget was, but the film is so clean, crisp and professional-looking that it could be put in theaters tomorrow and no one would bat an eyelash! The production values are extremely high, including the direction, cinematography and editing.

The direction, by Jack Messitt (who also wrote the script) is tight and shows us the story exactly how it was meant to be seen. I never felt like I was missing anything and everything was shown just enough to titillate without going overboard. I also loved how the film’s style switched from the colorful, modern day point-of-view to the film-within-a-film’s point of view of a gritty ‘70s, black and white horror flick.

As the modern-day world and the horror-film world begin to collide, we the audience understand that this is no standard slasher, but a highly original script, penned by Jack Messitt. Messitt weaves supernatural elements into the story that tie everything together and make the story very unique. There are echoes of other films, like Demons (being stuck in a theater with no way out), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the ‘70s style midnight movie is very reminiscent of the seminal TCM), Ringu (with the idea that a supernatural force is able to get you even through a television/movie screen) as well as being influenced by many slasher films. These familiar styles are reconfigured in a new, unique way and combined with an original story had me glued to the screen for the entire running time!

The characters are also developed adequately enough (without sacrificing the quick clip of the pacing) that the audience can sympathize with them. I did feel that the girls were a bit stereotypical (why is it always the girls in movies who don’t like scary movies?), but that’s a small quibble compared with the overall achievement of the film. Messitt even managed to create a new icon of horror with his spooky, skull-mask wearing psycho killer. It just doesn’t get any better than this!

Even the acting, which I can usually find some fault in, especially in independent productions, was top-notch, with every single one of the actors delivering big time. Even the actors who didn’t get that much screen time did a commendable job with their characters. Let’s put it this way, if I began mentioning names, I would have to go down the entire cast list to credit every single actor for a brilliant performance.

Now, I know you are all wondering about the blood and guts in the film, but first I must mention the iconic tool of terror that the killer does his dirty deeds with. It’s a razor sharp hand drill that must be seen to be believed! With this device of destruction the killer leaves some nicely bloody and gaping holes in his victims. Despite the killer weapon, don’t expect loads of gore in this film…it is restrained, but with good reason. The audience is teased with the kills in the beginning and much is left to the imagination (which is the preferred method, if you ask me). As the body count mounts, though, things begin to escalate and get bloodier and bloodier. There is a very rich scene featuring a human slaughterhouse of sorts where the killer stores all his victims. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

I gotta say, Midnight Movie blew me away with its smart, engaging script and the iconic horror movie villain we’ve all been waiting for! It certainly lives up to its moniker and is certain to make midnight cult movie fans very happy! For me, Midnight Movie is definitely one of the best films I’ve seen all year!

Midnight Movie will be released on DVD January 9th, 2009.

Check out Midnight Movie’s killer website!

Watch the Midnight Movie trailer:

Source:
http://www.fatally-yours.com/

Bigfoot Entertaiment in Mactan Cebu

2009-08-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

We and my friends were to going to a house in Mactan, but we had to stop by to take shots of Bigfoot Entertainment in Mactan. I used to work in Bigfoot Global Solutions located in F. Ramos St. in Cebu City.

Fashion TV and Bigfoot Entertainment are sister companies.

The controversial light post.

Source:
http://cebucity.org

Bigfoot Entertainment Gives 'Curiosity' A Chance

2009-07-28T23:51:00.000-07:00

Newcomers Tad Hilgenbrinck (Meet the Fockers) and Brett Chukerman (Crush) (also credited as Brett Charles) topline the teen comedy "The Curiosity of Chance" for Bigfoot Entertainment and first-time helmer, Russell P. Marleau. The film began principal photography this month in Antwerp, Belgium.

Setting the film in Europe with local actors surrounding our American talent gives this project an interesting and fresh approach to the classic coming-of-age story," explains Kacy Andrews, CEO of Bigfoot Entertainment.

Described as a John Hughes teen movie from the '80s meets Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the story follows Chance Marquis (Hilgenbrinck), as he starts his sophomore year at a new high school in Europe. At the height of his teen-angst, Chance is targeted for on-going abuse by the schools resident bully, but he enlists two oddball friends, a popular jock and a drag queen, in his never-ending effort to find a way to fit in and be accepted - as long as its on his terms.

What makes Chance stand out among recent teen films is its nostalgic feel and musical element.

Even though the story is set in the '80s, the things Chance goes through in navigating the terrors of high school are universal to any time and person," says Marleau. And although I wouldnt go so far as to characterize the film as a musical, the aspects of both soundtrack songs and performances will take us into territories that a lot of teen comedies never cover."

Hilgenbrinck recently starred as Matt Stifler in American Pie 4: Band Camp. He is repped by the Gersh Agency and Nine Yards Entertainment. This is the first starring feature role for Chukerman. Recent credits include Return to Innocence and MTVs Undressed". Chukerman is repped by AKA Talent.

Marleau (3-Way) will direct from his original screenplay, with Lisa Schahet (Cloud Nine) producing. Andrews and Michael Gleissner serve as executive producers. Marleau is repped by the Gersh Agency.

The Curiosity of Chance is Bigfoot Entertainment's first active producing endeavor of a full-length feature film. Bigfoot Entertainment currently has another film, 3 NEEDLES, premiering at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. With offices Los Angeles and Southeast Asia, the company produces quality, independent feature films, television programming and educational content for an international audience.

Source:

http://lion.cn350.cn/low/323773

MIDNIGHT MOVIE: Jack Messitt's old school horror homage

2009-06-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

Jack Messitt's Midnight Movie released by Bigfoot Entertainment

As the horror industry is a killer, more and more horror films are being released straight to video. This short-life span has made much of the public overlook the rare great frights that you can come across in the video store. Such is the case with 2008's Midnight Movie that is helmed by first time director and 2008 Chicago Horror Film Festival Best Feature award winner, Jack Messit.

The film is your typical slasher. Psycho stalks a group of individuals, knocking them off one by one as they scurry around hallway corners and the dark alleyways of the night; clearly making the cover of the DVD case make you immediately wanting to put it back down due to the typical straight to video slasher prototypes . But fans of horror should think twice.

This unique horror tale is about a crazed committed man that is obsessed with a film he directed over 40 years prior. With a unique developing premise, the film begins with stylish shots (2008 Chicago Horror Film Festival best cinematography) of the insane man twitching furiously as his film "The Dark Beneath" is presented to him as the nearby doctors rant, "Should we really be showing this to him?".

With your typical cliche opening, encompassing your casual Saw franchise style, fast-cutting graphics and heavy metal music, fans might immediately get turned off. Although the film picks up by showing the hospital a blood fest of a building, we see "five years later" at the bottom of the screen and notice the man that has been presented the film has been missing for nearly half a decade now. The film that he watched, "The Dark Beneath" is now being presented at a seedy, downtown movie theater that excels in its midnight showings of cult horror films. With your typical WB styled cast, Midnight Movie is reminiscent of "the horror film that takes place in a movie theater" type fare as are Lamberto Bava's Demons (1985), Popcorn (1991), and the opening of Scream 2 (1997); making it a "shine" of the times type film.

Clearly a social commentary of the impacting effects of horror films on viewers, Midnight Movie is presented as tongue-in-cheek as many of the characters begin watching "The Dark Beneath" and declaring, "Betcha it's the blond chick that gets naked...Hey it's a horror movie somebody always gets naked!" The film becomes always predicable as they feature the dorky guy that knows all there is to know about the slasher genre as he cracks comments left and right. As the characters begin to watch the film we notice many of them coming out too blatantly with comments that will depict the rest of the film; i.e. "Like a roller coaster...scary but safe." and the rebuttal "But roller-coasters crash too..." Immediately viewers of Midnight Movie will begin to dive into the world that is created by writer Mark Garbett and get a sense of the non-existence character development and cliche characters it's 82 minute world possesses.

Soon enough it is revealed that "The Dark Beneath" has been directed by a crazed, murderous psychopath (remember the old guy in the first few minutes of the film?) and he is going to be coming back for more, but in this case what is shown on the screen allows the killer to jump out of the film and kill its victims, dragging them back into the celluloid. With an almost science fiction, twilight zone-ish tone, Midnight Movie at sometimes feels like it would of worked best as an episode of Tales from the Crypt or the latter.

With great, easy gore effects, from Lunar Effects, we have been presented a slasher killer that uses a giant cork screw styled weapon that pierces its victims. In a great shot where he kabobs two victims, Lunar Effects did a great job at presenting some classic old school styled gory moments, allowing Midnight Movie to still please the hardcore gore fans out there. The film also boasts elaborate, detailed set design considering the film is a low budget and was shot in a mere four weeks in LA.

With the "movie within a movie mythos", the latest horror crazed straight to video film Midnight Movie (2008) is the same old slasher cliche styled film but with an energetic twist that makes it an entertaining, rollercoaster-spookhouse-ride of a film, even if it does suffer the straight to video epidemic that is constantly taking place with thousands of horror films around the nation.

Source:
http://www.examiner.com

Boracay Playlist

2009-06-16T18:17:00.000-07:00

Shootings at Boracay

Videozap from Dailymotion

2009-06-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

VideoZap offers a new way to control video players on your website.
Think of it as a lightweight, image-driven remote control.

Videowall from Dailymotion

2009-06-15T23:42:00.000-07:00

Videowalls let you display a group of videos on your site with a slick interface.
You can display up to 81 videos in a Videowall.
You can create Videowalls from either a user or group profile page.

Bigfoot Entertainment Player

2009-06-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

Bigfoot Entertainment Player

YouTube

YouTube Playlist

2009-06-15T01:25:00.000-07:00

A YouTube Playlist with a selection of videos related to Bigfoot Entertainment

Bigfoot Entertainment YouTube Playlist

Midnight Movie Featurette

2009-06-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

Midnight Movie Featurette
Uploaded by bigfootupload - Independent web videos.

Falling for Grace at the 2009 Delray Beach Film Festival

2009-05-20T00:45:00.000-07:00

Gale Harold, left, and Fay Ann Lee in Falling for Grace.

Below is the review by Hap Erstein of "Falling for Grace" at the Delray Beach Film Festival (full schedule can be seen here):

* Falling for Grace: Under-appreciated Asian-American actress Fay Ann Lee jump-starts her career by writing, directing, producing and starring in an entertaining, if predictable cross-cultural romantic comedy about an ambitious New Yorker eager for acceptance.

Grace Tang (a name she chose for herself in admiration of WASPy Grace Kelly) wants in with the Metropolitan Opera Junior Committee so much that she never corrects them when they jump to the conclusion that she is the famous designer for the high-ticket Hong Kong couturier, Shanghai Tang.

That confusion of mistaken identity leads to Grace being pursued by monied bachelor Andrew Barrington Jr. (Gale Harold), a crusading lawyer trying to close down Chinatown’s sweatshops, but also Grace lying about her parents, passing them off as her personal immigrant charity cases. Yes, she atones for her transgressions and finds happiness, but there are enough fresh twists in Falling for Grace to make up for its clichés.

Lee is an assured director, even in filmmaking-unfriendly New York. As a performer, she is a natural audience empathy magnet. And as a producer, she somehow managed to lure the likes of Roger Rees, Christine Baranski and Margaret Cho to her calling-card project. (Friday, May 22, 7:00 p.m., Movies of Delray)

Source:
http://www.pbartspaper.com/2009/05/delray-film-fest-part-2-look-at.html

Bigfoot Entertainment takes first bold steps into China

2009-05-04T03:39:00.000-07:00

A scene from Hui Lu

MANILA, Philippines - Bigfoot Entertainment, through Bigfoot Films, made its first offering to Chinese movie audiences with the release of Hui Lu in over 700 theaters across China. The psychological thriller recently began screening in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu.

The release of Hui Lu is a milestone for Bigfoot, which hopes to create Asian films for international audiences. The movie was shot entirely in Hong Kong, and underwent post-production at Bigfoot Studios in Mactan, Cebu.

It follows the story of an overnight millionaire, Adam, and his wife Lynda. When Lynda finds evidence that suggests her brother was murdered by Adam, his reaction results in the perfect guilt.

Elliot Tong, one of the film’s producers, said,

“Hui Lu has an excellent new cast from across the region, including China’s hottest new actors Hawick Hau Wai Lau and Margaret Wang in the lead roles, and is unique as a psychological thriller in China, which is dominated by epics and urban comedies.”

“We are excited to present Hui Lu to the growing movie-going audience in China, and are aiming for more public screenings for our films. We would also like to work on more projects co-produced, or partnered with entertainment companies from other Asian nations,”

said Matt Lubetich, Bigfoot COO.

Bigfoot, with Chinese distribution partner Polybona, is embracing new distribution models for its films. Hui Lu is screening in digital theaters as well as standard film theaters.

The movie has two versions, with the same story portrayed by two different casts, maximizing its reach to the global audience. Hui Lu is produced in Mandarin with a Chinese cast; Irreversi, the English version, features actors Estella Warren (Planet of the Apes) and Philippine-born Mei Melancon (X-Men: The Last Stand).

Hui Lu Trailer

Behind the Scenes - Irreversi

Global creative entrepreneurs visit Bigfoot Entertainment

2009-03-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

A group of over 40 entrepreneurs from the creative industries of China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines and the United Kingdom have visited Bigfoot Entertainment's facilities in Cebu.

The visit was organized by the British Council as part of its Creative Cities project, which networks entrepreneurs from Cebu and other selected cities around the world.
The ultimate goal of the project is to maximize the contribution of the creative industry to the growth of these cities.

Matt Lubetich, chief operating officer of Bigfoot Entertainment, said:

We are delighted that the British Council selected Cebu as one of the region's Creative Cities, and honored that it chose Bigfoot as one of the city's representatives. Bigfoot is based in Cebu precisely for its potential to be a major filmmaking hub in Asia, and this latest initiative of the British Council affirms our choice.

Members of Bigfoot's management team toured the group around the sound stages used for the international entertainment company's feature films, and gave demonstrations of video editing, sound design and computer-generated animation.

The visit concluded with a screening of the trailer of "Hui Lu", Bigfoot's full-length feature film, which was recently released in theaters across China.

We hope to explore collaborations with some of the creative entrepreneurs we've met here in the near future. This is a unique opportunity not only for Bigfoot but for the entire Cebu creative industry to expand internationally and reach new markets for our products and services

added Lubetich upon concluding the visit.

Blood On Your Popcorn

2009-01-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

Since My Bloody Valentine week won’t truly be over until I review the new DVD release (hopefully this Friday), I submit to you this semi-related review. This one has stuff coming out of the screen as well, but things decidedly less harmless than 3-D effects. Check it out.

A group of theatregoers, taking in an old seventies-style horror flick, suddenly find they are being offed by the killer from the movie. Inexplicably locked inside the theatre, they must fend for themselves, or end up like their onscreen counterparts.

I had been looking forward to Midnight Movie for a while and it finally released on DVD last month. It’s a great idea, but ultimately falters a bit in its execution. I’ve definitely seen the movie-within-a-movie device handled better in films like Anguish, but what you do get is still a pretty fun slasher. Creators Jack Messitt & Mark Garbett of obvious horrorphiles, as the movie sports numerous references to the era it is aiming to emulate. I counted no less than six such shout-outs without even batting an eyelid – NOTLD, TCM, Psycho, NOES, Alien, plus a little kid who I’m sure was supposed to be Tommy Doyle.

That haircut looks strangely familiar.

This isn’t a knock however, as it was actually kind of fun seeing them pop up. I think a drinking game is in order! The killer’s mask and design were pretty cool, even if he was toting around one of the most impractical weapons ever used in a slasher.

I’m still not really sure how that works exactly.

The gore effects are well done and apart from a few shots here and there, they are top notch. Lastly, I have to say I was quite taken by cutie Rebekah Brandes, who plays Bridget. After looking her up on Imdb, it looks like she has clawed her way up from some pretty questionable fare that even I am in no hurry to seek out. You go girl!

Midnight Movie is a worthwhile venture that mostly succeeds in capturing that ol’ slasher feelin’.

Contact

2001-05-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

This Blog has been created by Rafael Minuesa at BigFoot Entertainment.

If you wish to submit any news related BigFoot Entertainment please leave a comment here and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Big mistake

1998-05-27T23:37:00.000-07:00

by Penelope Patsuris

When famed real estate financier Sam Zell got a call from friend Lenny Barshack telling him he wanted to start a business, all Zell said was "What took you so [expletive] long?" and wrote a check. Barshack, 39 and a former derivatives analyst, also secured backing from media dealmaker Herb Allen, and Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos.

Pretty impressive.

With backing like that, you'd think the company, New York City-based Bigfoot, would have to be onto something huge. Luckily for Zell, Allen and Angelos their investments weren't much--the first and second rounds they participated in totaled just $1 million and $2 million respectively--peanuts for these guys. Until recently, Bigfoot has been trying to make money in the fiercely competitive and largely unprofitable E-mail services arena. Now the company, which has yet to see a profit, is entering the bruising browser market with its NeoPlanet browser. Does Bigfoot have a prayer? Maybe.

Barshack spent 10 years at Salomon Brothers, working for Michael Bloomberg before joining Smith New Court, one of the U.K.s biggest brokerage houses. Intrigued by the Internet, he hooked up with partner Jim Hoffman, a retailer who brought PCs to markets like France and Africa and later created Virtual New York, an early web site guide to the city.

Does Bigfoot have a prayer? Maybe.

While trying to convey the wonders of the web to his unimpressed wife, Barshack came up with the idea of an E-mail directory, like a phone book for E-mail addresses. She wanted to E-mail a friend but didn't have the address, and he saw a fantastic business opportunity, which became Bigfoot's first product.

Hoffman and Barshack started the company in 1995, when there was just one other competitor, sled.com, which was renamed 411.com and purchased by Yahoo! Later, whowhere.com joined the fray and is now closely linked with web search engine Excite. As things stand, Bigfoot.com gets about a half a million visitors a day while 411.com and whowhere.com garner 2.8 million and 1.6 million respectively.

As Bigfoot continued to build up its services, adding a white pages directory and then free E-mail accounts, dubbed freemail, so too did its competitors. However, freemail has for the most part become a commodity offered by everyone from Microsoft-owned Hotmail, the biggest by far with 9 million users compared with Bigfoot's 1 million. AOL even has plans underway for providing web-based E-mail access for its subscribers.

By the end of 1996 Barshack and Hoffman noted that E-mail addresses were quickly becoming outdated as people switched Internet service providers and jobs. That spurred them to devise Bigfoot's "E-mail for life" offering, which gives users a Bigfoot.com address and forwards mail to their most recent address, but now pales in comparison to the many web-based freemail services that can be accessed from any PC online.

The plan is to generate revenue by getting users to pay for extra services like E-mail archiving, sorting and spam filtering, which they're hoping will catch on the way telephone services like call waiting and caller ID have recently. People have always been billed for phone service, however getting them to pay for something that's always been free could be tough.

But don't write off a loss for Zell, Allen and Angelos just yet, because Bigfoot has managed to dip its toe into one market where it can really make it.

The one leg Bigfoot has to stand on is its E-mail direct marketing service, which is shored up by the tremendous advantage of its partnership with Acxiom Corp. Acxiom, one of the premier direct mail outfits around, bought a third of Bigfoot for a reported $8 million. Together they do "opt-in" mailings, meaning they only solicit consumers who consent to being on a mailing list.

It works like this; a rubber duck catalog comes to Bigfoot with a list of customers who've asked to be notified about upcoming sales. The next time there's a sale, Bigfoot sends an E-mail on behalf of the company with a link users can click on to go straight to the duck company's page to shop. When they do, Bigfoot can track whether they're interested in yellow ducks or blue and tailor individual E-mails accordingly, sending people to the web catalog pages they're most interested in.

With Acxiom's marketing expertise and resources and Bigfoot's technology, there is an enormous potential to exploit the electronic marketing industry, which the Direct Marketing Association estimates will be worth $1.3 billion by 2002. Already the endeavor is promising.

"Bigfoot has very good [response] rates," says Boston-based Yankee Group's Melissa Bane, "and they do a good job at building customer relationships without annoying them, while remaining aware of privacy issues." Bigfoot services only three or four dozen companies along these lines, but it has clients like Eddie Bauer, IBM, 3Com and Omaha Steaks.

As Bigfoot hones its electronic marketing expertise, the company's sudden dive into the completely unrelated world of Internet browsers is tough to figure. "The distraction of entering this market is not in their best interests," says analyst Kate Delhagen, an analyst at Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research.

No doubt there is a real need for better navigation, organization and presentation which have yet to be furnished by Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape's Navigator, the two browsers that dominate 98% of the market. "They're designed by engineers, not marketers," says Bane. "There's a reason AOL is so popular. It has big buttons people can click on to go wherever they want on the web."

"Bigfoot does a good job at building customer relationships without annoying them, while remaining aware of privacy issues."

Equally obvious is the fact that this party started quite some time ago. Those attending include not just the aforementioned browsers but a long list of heavy competitors like Yahoo!, Excite and Lycos which are completely focused on becoming the portal, or front page, through which users access the Internet. It's the web business model du jour (Click for more about portals.)

NeoPlanet is a sort of browser/portal hybrid. It's actually designed as a more user-friendly interface that sits on top of Internet Explorer and, in a version soon to be released, Navigator, framing everything a surfer sees like a browser. (Interestingly, Microsoft has yet to hold Bigfoot up as a shining example of a competitive browser in its antitrust battle with the Department of Justice). Like a portal, NeoPlanet has channels organized by subjects like sports and entertainment preset to take users to major web sites, saving them the trouble of separating the wheat from the chaff and typing those pesky web addresses.

Bigfoot is much simpler to use than basic browsers, and lets users bookmark hundreds of the sites they visit regularly into those channels and any others they wish to create so that they're never more than a click away. And, unlike other portals which only organize the web as long as you're on its site, NeoPlanet goes with you wherever you surf on the net.

It's a pretty terrific idea that few will see for several reasons. Bigfoot wants to sell NeoPlanet to the thousands of Internet service providers (ISPs) who'll use it as their browser to entice customers to sign with them instead of big guns like AOL, MindSpring, EarthLink. Also in the act will be the ISP Yahoo! and MCI are forming, and AT&T, which has deals with Excite and Lycos. NeoPlanet and the ISPs would both have their logos on the browser and share in the revenue produced by the ads also displayed.

But advertisers aren't going to bite if the consumers they want to reach don't take the bait, and the outlook is not good.

Portal sites like CNet's Snap! and Planet Direct, owned by GeoCities and Lycos parent CMG, have similar schemes to provide ISPs with a front page and got to market first. Planet Direct for instance, has already signed 277 ISPs, significantly more than the 100 or so ISPs NeoPlanet has signed since its October, 1997 inception.

To complicate matters, ISPs are catching on to the fact that they can also generate some nice revenues by selling ad space on their front pages, making NeoPlanet a tougher sell.

Nevertheless, Bigfoot is poised to announce it's closed its third round of financing, hinting that it's got a very impressive venture capital firm on board this time. The question is, is Bigfoot smart enough to sink this cash into the electronic direct marketing sector it has a shot at and bail on the browser business?

Source:
Forbes