Recently I’ve done several poll on the SFF Facebook group to determine the Top 5 of lots of different things. For the 24 days leading up to the 25th Anniversary (and the day itself, of course) I will be posting a new Top 5 list each day, using the highly scientific and unbiased results from those FB polls. I’ll try to make these posts short but I’m pretty long winded and like to talk so…they’re probably all going to be pretty long. Enjoy?
Top 5 Short Films
Filming is fun and watching the production is fun, but short films are the best of both worlds for people who don't have a lot of free time (like all the company members who are adults now. Adulting is hard). Ever since filming The Cursed Destiny of Pandora's Gift Box in 2006 I have only made one movie - Spoon River Anthology in 2016 - which is basically twenty very short films strung together.
The reason is because all the SFF peeps have lives now and rarely have time to get together let alone film every weekend every month. Also, I have more fun when we can film in a single weekend, get everything done, and still have time to relax. When I asked the SFF group what their favorite short film was I did not specify if it was to film or to watch, because honestly it's both. Short films are fun.
FYI: A lot of people didn't vote in this one so the results are very biased, but oh well.
#5 - Twisted Tales: Little Red
There have been many retellings of Little Red Riding Hood with different twists to the basic plot of a girl getting led astray by a wolf and either being eaten by the wolf or saved by a hunter/woodsman. Twisted Tales’ version sets the tale in the modern world where innocent Red is led astray by an escaped convict and her only hope lies in the bounty hunter who is tracking him down.
This is the closest I've ever gotten to making an artistic noir film with heavy symbolism, a slightly confusing timeline, and dark sets with a seedy undertone. It's my one "art house" film. Despite the dark overtones and seedy undertones the actual film set wasn't very serious. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of goofing off and joking around, and a big problem with props that I know will be featured in one of the 25 Days of Bloopers.
#4 - is a tie between
TT: Hulde & TT: Charming
Twisted Tales: Hulde
Twisted Tales basically takes a twist on a fairy, hence the name. In Huld, the original tale features a wicked stepmother, a lazy step sister, and a hardworking heroine who chases a spindle down a magic well and meets Mother Hulde, a magical being who puts her to work as a servant but sends her home again with an apron full of gold. When the lazy sister tries to repeat the adventure she is sent home covered in pitch.
Twisted Tales’ version, written by Diana Neatrour, sets the tale in modern day and celebrates the idea that completing a task isn’t just about working hard, it’s about being smart. The sisters find themselves in front of a magic cabin where Hulde lives. The "hard working" sister, Dawn, does exactly as she's told including washes dishes with a toothbrush and chopping a huge pile of wood. The "lazy" sister Amelia using a dishwasher and calls a Woodchopper service to get professionals to do it right.
Filming Hulde was...a unique experience, after all we filmed most it during an actual blizzard. For more information about the filming process check out this Survivor's Club post. Honestly the best part of both filming and viewing it later was watching Annamarie MacLeod play the hillariously inept Dawn!
Most fairy tales end with Happily Ever After, but everyone knows life isn’t really like that. Also Prince Charming appears in a lot of Fairy Tales. Twisted Tales’ take on this is four fairy tale princesses getting together for a picnic years after they are married. Snow White, Cinderella, Briar Rose, and Belle talk about their lives and three of them discover their absent husbands have a lot in common. The twist is not a new one, but it’s told in a fun new way.
It's a cute movie to watch but it was even more fun to film with wonderful returning actors like Rachel Anderson, Brittany Ann Whalen, Syndi Eller, and the extremely entertaining Rachel Zoralee. I dressed them up in lovely costumes and crowns - giving two of them wigs for some reason - then we went out to film at the Urbana Arboretum. The shoot was actually not that long - two to three hours at most so that's good, especially since it was hot. It was so hot the chocolate covered donuts melted!
#3 - Twisted Tales: The Devil & Kitta Gray
There are a lot of folktales about people tricking the Devil, but the tales of Kitta Gray are unique because she challenges the Devil not to get out of a deal with him, but just so she can say she beat him. She not only beats him, she tricks him more than once and people start coming to her for help. The other unique thing about Kitta Gray is that she is not the beautiful young heroine found in most folktales, she is in fact an ugly old crone.
Twisted Tales’ version, written by Eleanore Stasheff, sets the tale in the modern world and in a way picks up where the folktales end. Kitta Gray (younger and prettier, but still not the boobs and butt on a stick that Hollywood perfers) suffers from the sin of pride once she wins bragging rights for beating the Devil, and the only way to redeem herself is to help people get out of their deals with him. The format is almost an introduction to a series of short films or a TV show.
This was also filmed in one day, although the shoot was a little longer, four to five hours, and it was filmed in the hot sun on a hot summer day with the guys wearing black suits. Ugh. Check out their misery on this Survivor's Club post. Despite the heat I loved filming this movie because I got to work with two of my favorite actors again - Rachel Zoralee and Tanino Minneci. I won't get into the details but just know that they are awesome.
Every goddess is immortal, but not every goddess is well known. Goddess Anonymous takes a glimpse into the world of the less-remembered and nearly forgotten goddesses who get together once a week at a support group. The premise is simple and the film is just a short look at one of those meetings. It's fun to watch, but like many short films, it was even more fun to film!
I've already talked about it in the
Top 5 Favorite Productions to Film where it took the #3 spot, so I won't say much here except that getting to film with this lovely group of ladies is still one of my favorite filming memories. Thank god I had a tripod -
I laughed so much there was no way I could have held the camera steady - otherwise the film would have been completely unwatchable.
Courtney and Caden Caldwell are sisters, and the best bounty hunters in the Criminally Cute Division of the Erinyes Agency - an organization that polices the mythic and folkloric communities. Their target is Kasimir - a crazy and eccentric Leshy - who has the power to confuse anyone who enters the forest controls. Can the sisters avoid getting lost or will Kasimir win?
I am not surprised this got the #1 spot because it's the only production that made it onto both the Favorite Film lists. It made it to #5 on the
Top 5 Favorite Productions to Film and #4 on the
Top 5 Productions to Watch. I've already said quite a bit about what it was like to film in in the Top 5 Productions to Film post so I'll spare you the details. Just know that it's still one of my favorite films to watch, has some of my favorite actors in as the main duo, and gives Dan Zangerl his first chance at a real part - which he did magnificiantly! Seriously he was a great as Kasimir. I had a ton of fun filming this.
For the record this may have also one the top spot because Brittany, Syndi, and I were all in it and all voted for it. Because it's awesome. I'm going to go watch it again now. Where's my watermellon? I need my snackies!
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