By CARLOS PEDRAZA
Writer-Producer

LOS ANGELES — Blue Seraph Productions stages a table reading Saturday, May 19, for its two features in development, Something Like Summer and The Dark Place. The event represents an important milestone in the films’ development process.

SECOND DRAFT scripts for Blue Seraph's two new feature film projects are ready for their table reading in Los Angeles on May 19.

WE ARE MORE fortunate than most independent filmmakers, in that investors put their faith in us early in the process, fully funding development for these two independent films. Development for our first feature, Judas Kiss, took place over the course of more than three years. That effort was aided by funders who knew our work in Star Trek, and wanted to support us as we moved into producing our own original work.

With The Dark Place and Something Like Summer, we’re applying what we’ve learned about development, financing and pre-production to move more quickly, more efficiently, through the process, to get to principal photography much faster than we did with our first feature.

THE DARK PLACE is a mystery-thriller written by Jody Wheeler. J.T. Tepnapa will direct.

With Judas Kiss, we walked into its table reading in spring 2008 (!!) with a 120-page script (by comparison, the shooting script  was 104 pages; the final cut of the film was the equivalent of 94 pages). Though the actors were seated, we recorded the reading with a three-camera setup, edited in real time like a live television show.

The readings for the two new screenplays will be staged similarly, using the resources of our production partner, Butterknife Network.

We have gathered an ensemble of 14 actors, including Sean Paul Lockhart, who has won raves for his co-starring role in Judas Kiss, and who is attached to star in The Dark Place.

Why are table readings so important?

• It’s the first time the story comes to life. Try as one might, a writer can only guess how a script might actually look and feel to an audience. Hearing the words spoken by actual people, feeling the pace of how the story unfolds — these are valuable insights that help refine a screenplay into a final shooting script.
• You can’t estimate how much a movie will cost without a final screenplay. Everything is based on the shooting script. When you consider that it costs thousands of dollars to shoot each page of a script, every line of dialog, every piece of narrative should be there because it must be there to move the story forward. You can’t afford to waste the dollars you raise on scenes or dialog you shouldn’t have shot.
• When you begin the casting process, the images of live actors who voice the script help producers and the director imagine what actors eventually may play these roles.

At this point, it’s important to move these stories out of our heads, off of the paper, and a step closer to reality.

SOMETHING LIKE SUMMER is based on the acclaimed novel by Jay Bell, adapted by Carlos Pedraza. J.T. Tepnapa will direct.

As we prepare to pitch these projects to investors, the recorded table readings give us something tangible to show them. Each film becomes more concrete — more real, if you will — to the people whose support we need to bring the stories to full-fledged life.

With Judas Kiss, this process took two years, from reading to principal photography. This time, we aim to reduce that timeframe to months.

THERE WAS NO Facebook, and little in the way of effective social media, when we started Judas Kiss. Today, we can leverage that technology, and new federal legislation that facilitates crowd funding, to help us make the case for financing our next projects.

We’re chronicling this journey on the Blue Seraph website, and on the Facebook pages for The Dark Place and Something Like Summer, and shortly on new websites for each of the films.

If we learned anything from our experience with Judas Kiss, it’s that a lot of people want to be a part of the stories we want to tell, and we plan to give them every opportunity to do so.

Related Links

• Something Like Summer Facebook page
• The Dark Place Facebook page

Indie faves Sean Paul Lockhart and Timo Descamps signed to star

2011 RISING STAR Award winner Sean Paul Lockhart

LOS ANGELES — Fresh off the successful debut of their acclaimed scifi-fantasy, “Judas Kiss,” Blue Seraph Productions announces its second follow-up feature, an original mystery-thriller called “The Dark Place.”

Based on an award-winning script by Jody Wheeler, “The Dark Place” tells the story of Keegan Dark, who returns to the the heart of California’s winery valleys to make peace with his long-estranged family. Instead, he finds a harrowing mystery that endangers his family’s lives and livelihood.

The film stars Sean Paul Lockhart and Timo Descamps, up-and-coming actors who appeared in 2011’s “Judas Kiss.” Lockhart, also known by the stage name of Brent Corrigan, won the 2011 Rising Star Award, while Descamps is a Belgian television and pop star.

“The Dark Place” will be directed by “Judas Kiss” helmer J.T. Tepnapa, and includes “Judas Kiss” writer Carlos Pedraza as a producer.

With Lockhart and Descamps on board, the search now focuses on casting the lead, Keegan Dark, in time for principal photography to start later this year, eyeing a 2013 release.

ABOUT THE STORY “‘The Dark Place’ is a twisted thrill ride of betrayal, hope, greed, love — and mommy issues,” Tepnapa said about the script. “We were looking for a follow-up to ‘Judas Kiss,’ and realized we had it right in front of us. ‘Judas Kiss’ enabled us to bring something fresh and exciting to the marketplace, and we want to do that again, but in a new genre.”

The screenplay is by Jody Wheeler, an established Los Angeles writer-producer of film festival favorites “Tell Me” and “In The Closet.” Wheeler also co-produced “Judas Kiss.” “The Dark Place” script won UCLA’s Carl David Memorial Screenwriting  Award in 2007. Wheeler recently joined Blue Seraph Productions as a partner.

“Having a gay main character makes familiar worlds and genres become brand new landscapes,” Wheeler said about the project. “As with ‘Judas Kiss,’ ‘The Dark Place’ appeals to our core audience’s desire for unique, well-told stories, while also garnering mainstream interest in an interesting and entertaining tale.”  

BELGIAN POP star and actor Timo Descamps

INDIE BREAKOUTS ON BOARD “The Dark Place” has already landed two talented actors, international actor-singer Timo Descamps and 2011 Rising Star Award winner Sean Paul Lockhart. Both stars broke out in  Tepnapa’s “Judas Kiss” and were eager to work with the talented director again.

“I’ve worked with J.T. and Jody on several projects,” Lockhart said. “When they told me about the new film, I didn’t even ask about the story or my role. I just said, ‘Count me in.’ When I read the script and the leading part, I was totally glad I did. It’s a wicked script that will make a fun movie.”

Descamps echoed those thoughts.

“Of course I said yes when they asked me to be in “The Dark Place,” he said. “I get to play a character completely different from the one I did in “Judas Kiss,” which is an even bigger bonus.”

While the names and nature of their roles are being kept under-wraps, their presence is key to the hunt for the lead for the film, that of Keegan Dark, Tepnapa said.  “Finding the perfect anchor for a film like this is always the challenge. We need an actor with the right chemistry to be able to pull off the contradictions at the heart of the role.”

“The Dark Place” is the second scheduled in-house production from Tepnapa, Pedraza and Wheeler’s Blue Seraph Productions. “The Dark Place” joins “Something Like Summer” as follow-up projects to the producers’ festival hit, “Judas Kiss.”

“Something Like Summer” is a co-production with Seattle’s Jade Knight Productions and is based on author Jay Bell’s award-winning book.

“The Dark Place” is completing casting and financing, with a view to shoot later this year for a 2013 debut. “Judas Kiss” is currently available for purchase through Amazon and iTunes.  Blue Seraph Productions is a Los Angeles company headed by Tepnapa, Pedraza and Wheeler. Their previous work has been featured in the New York Times, BBC, Variety, The Advocate, Edge Magazine, ATV Network, Frontiers, Fab magazine, the Today Show, MSNBC and other international news outlets.

Links

• Director J.T. Tepnapa’s IMDb profile
• Writer Jody Wheeler’s IMDb profile
• Producer Carlos Pedraza’s IMDb profile
• The Dark Place Facebook Page
• Buy Judas Kiss

(Photo credit: Vineyard photo by Nine Sisters Photography. Used with permission under Creative Commons License.)

THE COVER for Jay Bell's acclaimed novel, ‘Something Like Summer.’

‘Judas Kiss’ director, producer re-team for adaptation of one of 2011′s Best Books

SEATTLE — The makers of this year’s acclaimed scifi fantasy, Judas Kiss, are teaming with Seattle-based Jade Knight Productions to adapt the bestselling coming-of-age love story, Something Like Summer, for the screen.

The new project will be helmed by director J.T. Tepnapa, with screenwriter Carlos Pedraza penning the screenplay, based on the book by author Jay Bell. Tepnapa’s and Pedraza’s Los Angeles-based company, Blue Seraph Productions is a co-production partner.

“I’m honored that Jay Bell and producer Tom Ly have asked Blue Seraph Productions to turn the critically acclaimed novel into a movie,” Tepnapa said. “The life of the main character, Ben, mirrors so many moments in my own life, I cannot help but want to treat his own journey with care. I love this story, and I want to see it come to life.”

ABOUT THE BOOK Something Like Summer traces the tumultuous relationship of Ben and Tim, secret high school sweethearts who grow over the years into both adulthood enemies and complicated friends.

The novel is Bell’s second and most acclaimed, earning a spot in Amazon’s Best Books of 2011 list, with a customer rating of 4.7 out of 5, and outstanding reader reviews on the popular literary site Goodreads.

BEST ROMANCE 'Something Like Summer' is one of five novels nominated for a prestigious Lambda Literary Award.

UPDATE  Something Like Summer was named a finalist on March 20 in the prestigious 2012 Lambda Literary Awards. The other books nominated in the Best Romance category were: Every Time I Think of You, by Jim Provenzano; Settling the Score, by Eden Winters; Split, by Mel Bossa and Tinseltown, by Barry Brennessel.

The awards celebrate achievement in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender writing for books published in 2011. Winners will be announced June 4 in New York.

Queer Magazine Online said the novel “not only has lots of passion, humor, angst and twists and turns, it also takes an in-depth look at how the choices we make in life affect not only ourselves, but everyone around us.” The Alpha Reader review commented: “Jay Bell has written one of the most heartfelt and sincere romances I have ever encountered.”

The book was optioned by Jade Knight Productions of Seattle and producer Tom Ly. With Blue Seraph Productions on board, the project moves into development immediately.

KEY ART for Blue Seraph Productions' 'Judas Kiss,' distributed in North America by Wolfe Video.

IN DEVELOPMENT “We are on track to have the screenplay ready by Spring 2012,” screenwriter and co-producer Pedraza said. “J.T. and I are looking forward to translating the magic of this story from page to screen.”

“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work with J.T. and Carlos,” Jade Knight producer Ly said. “I was so impressed by what they accomplished with Judas Kiss. I know they’ll take us to the next level with Something Like Summer.”

Author Bell had similar praise for Judas Kiss.

“I was blown away after seeing the film in Germany this year,” he said. “My heart was pounding when I left the theatre and I knew that this was the right creative team for a Something Like Summer movie. Ben, Tim, and Jace are in very safe hands, and I can’t wait to see them on the big screen.”

Something Like Summer will be Tepnapa’s and Pedraza’s second feature film, following quickly on the heels of their debut, Judas Kiss, the genre-bending scifi fantasy released in 2011, garnering critical acclaim and multiple awards from film festivals around the world. The film is in distribution worldwide, and continues at the top of the sales charts in its genre.

Blue Seraph Productions is a Los Angeles company headed by Tepnapa and Pedraza. Their work has been featured in the New York Times, BBC, Variety, The Advocate, Edge Magazine, ATV Network, Frontiers, Fab magazine, the Today Show, MSNBC, and other international news outlets.

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LINKS

• Something Like Summer Facebook page
• 24th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced
• Amazon’s Best Books of 2011
• Goodreads reviews: Something Like Summer
• Jay Bell Books
• Director J.T. Tepnapa’s IMDB profile
• Writer Carlos Pedraza’s IMDB profile
• Judas Kiss reviews | press kit

'Cowboy Creed' shoots this fall, directed by Runic Films' Ben Alpi, and produced by Blue Seraph Productions' J.T. Tepnapa.

LOS ANGELES — Runic Films and Blue Seraph Productions are proud to announce their first collaboration, a Western short film entitled Cowboy Creed.

Lead by writer-director Ben Alpi and producer J.T. Tepnapa, the film goes into production in November. To support the film, the co-production will launch a fundraising campaign Wednesday, September 28, 2011, on Kickstarter.com.

Alpi said about the film: “Cowboy Creed is about Phineas, a young man coming into his own in the strange new world of the California Gold Rush. Social changes from immigration, world cultural convergence and the American Civil War make this an incredibly rich period to set a film in.”

The production brings together a tight-knit group of filmmakers including Alpi, Tepnapa and cinematographer David Berry who all worked together on the award winning Star Trek: Phase II web series.

“J.T. and David just completed a feature, Judas Kiss, which is doing fantastically at festivals. It’s great to be working with them again,” Alpi added.

“I’m really excited about working with Ben and David again, this time on a Western.” Tepnapa said.

Phineas is an 18- year-old who has looked up to the gruff old Sheriff since the boy’s father was murdered. He wants to follow in the lawman’s footsteps, but Phineas’ world gets turned upside down when his lady love is kidnapped.

The filmmakers said they are thrilled to be fundraising with Kickstarter, a great platform that allows anyone to donate to worthy creative projects.  The campaign for funding Cowboy Creed launches September 28, and will introduce some very cool rewards for donors.

“Our Kickstarter companion video will include an exclusive announcement,” Alpi said. “We can’t wait to share the news.”

Stay tuned for more great announcements and don’t forget to check out http://runicfilms.com for the link to the Cowboy Creed Kickstarter.com campaign starting Wednesday, September 28, 2011.

# # #

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bob Alpi, 818-588-6880
email

Runic Films is an Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company dedicated to upholding the traditions of mythic storytelling.

WHAT IF the Right One turned out to be very, very wrong?

Love Minus Zero is a short film about a peculiar couple on the verge of breaking up and the hapless restaurant patrons who suffer the fallout as internalized tensions break free.

Writer-Director P.K. Eiselt, a graduate of UC Santa Barbara’s film program, describes the motivation behind his project:

P.K. Eiselt

THERE IS A RUSH, almost a panic, to find the “right one,” or face a destiny of being unlovable. … The threat seems more acute in the gay community, where options are limited … a sort of desperation that sets in, especially in the over-30 crowd.

Blue Seraph is now in pre-production for Love Minus Zero. P.K. has received script consultation from Carlos Pedraza (Judas Kiss, Blood and Fire). We have also been assigning crew, including Director of Photography David Berry (Blood and Fire, The Child). J.T. Tepnapa (Begging for Change, Drag Queen Heist) will be line-producing the project. Blue Seraph will also handle production meetings and casting at its Los Angeles production office. If you have any interest in contributing to Love Minus Zero, or any of our projects, please contact us.

Link

• Minus Zero Productions