Our Team's Festival Wins

This week, the judges at the Milledgeville+Eatonton Film Festival awarded "The Outsider" Best Editing in their 5th Annual Film Fest. The judges also named Lori Kay Allred as a "Best Screenplay" nominee for her short film "Conversations at 35,000 Feet."

"We are very honored," said director Scott Takeda. "This is our third consecutive year at this festival, and this year's selection of films are the best I've seen. So I'm very honored that the jurors singled out our film for editing.

"Best Screenplay" nominee Lori Kay Allred answers questions at the table read for her film "Conversations at 35,000 Feet" at the 2018 Milledgeville-Eatonton Film Festival

"Also, I couldn't be more happy for our Lori Kay Allred. Milledgeville-Eatonton does such a nice job honoring the nominees by having table-reads of all the scripts.  Professional actors read the scripts, and it's one of the highlights of the entire festival, packing the house. Lori Kay got a huge standing ovation, and a lot of interest from those wanting to see it produced, including producers from Canada."

2018 was the fifth year for the Milledgeville Film Festival – a Top-100 reviewed festival on Film Freeway.  Held in a small college town just east of Atlanta, it regularly attracts some of the industry's best filmmaking talent. This year's speakers included Oscar-nominated producer Rachel Winter (Dallas Buyers Club), television screenwriter Jesse Zwick (Parenthood), and Disney's Director of Production David Hartle.

Filmmakers Begin Production on 2018 Film

Filmmakers Scott Takeda and Lori Kay Allred on a recent shoot.

This month, we begin pre-production on our latest short film with a working title of "Remembering Us."  This film is co-written by Scott Takeda and Lori Kay Allred.  The two will also co-direct.  Filming will begin in February with shoots around the Denver area.

“Once again we're taking a universal story and putting our own personal spin on it” said Allred. “Our latest film is autobiographical, about a man who suffers from a traumatic brain injury, and how that injury affected his professional and personal life.”

“This is an intensely personal film, with Lori and Scott exploring a very dark time of their lives” said producer Annie Schlax. "This film is also our most ambitious so far.  We're going to be shooting this film over the entire year, to show the passage of time. Time is the only thing that heals a traumatic brain injury, so we will be incorporating that into our story."

1/8/18 UPDATE – Mike Ostroski has agreed to play our film's male lead "Steve Novak." Mike is a working LA actor who is recurring on Nickelodeon's "Henry Danger" as well as Netflix' "Fuller House."  He's represented by TLynn Management in LA.

1/21/18 UPDATE - Veteran TV actor Scott Takeda will again be pulling double-duty, directing and playing the supporting role of Mr Ozawa. Later in 2018, Takeda will be appearing in the Sundance darling feature film "The Tale" on HBO. He's represented by Metric Talent Management out of LA.

2/6/18 UPDATE - We are thrilled that Dani Payne has signed on to play "Kate Novak," the female lead of our film. She is best known for her guest-starring turn on NBC's "The Night Shift." She also recently appeared on "Graves" for the Epix Network. She is represented by Denver's W-Talent.

2/7/18 UPDATE - We're seeing Minions!  Nev Scharrel of "Despicable Me 3" has joined our cast and will be playing the daughter, Cassidy Novak. She is represented by her LA managers at Apex Talent Group.

2/12/18 UPDATE - Four additions to our cast and crew. Actress Kathryn Gould of The CW's "Easy Money" will be playing the Dr. Huddleson role. She's repped by Big Fish Talent. And long-time collaborators Dave Klein (cinematography), Jessica Chynoweth (hair and makeup) and Slade WIlliamson (sound mixing) will be behind camera. 

Script Shop Showcases Lori Kay Allred's Latest Screenplay

This week, Cincinnati-based radio hosts Allyson West and Jack Crumley are featuring the latest screenplay by Lori Kay Allred in their Christmas podcast Script Shop.  Allred's screenplay "Secrets" came to their attention while going through the festival circuit.

"Our show is totally focused on furthering the work of screenwriters," said West. "We loved having Lori on the show, and learning about her background and experiences that lead her to write "Secrets" that we'll hopefully see on the screen in the near future. And it's perfect timing because it's a holiday movie."

West is an award-winning producer director of narrative films who has a BFA in Acting. Crumley is an anchor/reporter for WLW 700AM and is a huge movie buff.  

To listen to the podcast click HERE to go to Script Shop.

Or click HERE to listen in iTunes.

Denver Film Festival Jurors Give "The Outsider" Special Recognition

This week, 303 Magazine released the winners of the 40th Annual Denver Film Festival. The list includes our latest film "The Outsider," which premiered at the 12-day festival. It won special consideration from the jurors for the "True Grit" Award, given to the best Colorado film.

"This year, the competition was very tight," said festival founder and "True Grit" juror Ron Henderson. "There was a lot of discussion among the jurors about the final three films. 'The Outsider' was one we really loved."

"We're excited," said director Scott Takeda. "Out of the 20 eligible films, ours was the only short film the jurors selected as a Top-3 finalist. The other films were feature length documentaries, and both had Oscar-winning producers behind them. The winner 'Lilyana' has already won the LA Film Festival and will likely be a front-runner for a 2019 Academy Award nomination."

"I'm surprised and very grateful," said producer Lori Kay Allred. "The two other finalists are amazing films. Simply beautiful documentary storytelling. And I saw so many other nominated films that were stunning, specifically 'Walden: Life In The Woods' starring Oscar-nominated Demian Bichir. I'm honored to be in that company."

Click HERE to read the story on 303 Magazine

Click HERE to read it as a PDF.

Denver Business Journal Highlights Filmmakers at Denver Film Festival

This week, Denver Business Journal reporter Ed Sealover chatted with filmmakers Lori Kay Allred and Scott Takeda during a screening of their latest film "The Outsider" at the 40th Annual Denver Film Festival. 

His focus was to see how this festival helps Colorado filmmakers get publicity, funding, and distribution for current and future films. 

Click HERE to read the article on Denver Business Journal.  (May require a subscription)

Click HERE to read it on a PDF.