The Official AJ Epyx Productions Website
An NYC-based film & video production company.
We just received our shipment of the Vendetta Games Casino Chips for Indiegogo backers who had donated $25 or more! YOU can still get yours along with the T-shirts, posters, and a printed copy of the prequel comic book if you contribute a private donation via PayPal. Get more info by emailing ajepyx1@gmail.com.
This Thursday, August 27th at 2pm, Writer/Director/Actor Andre´ Joseph will be making his 2nd appearance on The Show with Kym Swain! The discussion will be focused on our thoughts on last week’s World Music & Independent Film Festival where Tempted and The Dinner had screened, Catie Carlton’s WMIFF award win for the latter film, and new updates on the upcoming production of Vendetta Games.
Everyone can listen to The Show live on IBNX Radio at the following link: http://atlantanx.ibnxradio.com/atlantanx
After a slight delay due to technical difficulties, The CineFiles Podcast is back with an all new episode discussing the effect internet entertainment has had on our ability to view media. We also delve into the the story telling potential of digital media. Additional new reviews include MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION, EX MACHINA, ANITA, GOING CLEAR, the WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER television series, and so much more. Rate and comment on us on iTunes!
We had just wrapped up a successful week in Washington, D.C. for this year’s World Music & Independent Film Festival. This past Thursday, we had our co-production with Crazy Daisy Films on the dark comedy THE DINNER had premiered, followed by our 3rd film festival screening of TEMPTED. Both films played in the main screening room of the National Navy Museum.
Then we had the WMIFF Awards show at the Crystal City Hilton this past Saturday. It was attended by myself, my DINNER co-director Anna Snead, and star Andrew Agner-Nichols. 7 WMIFF award nominations in all (2 for TEMPTED and 5 for THE DINNER). We had two highlights of the day starting with Catie Carlton’s win in the Best Actress in Short Film/DMV (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) for her role as “Lois” in THE DINNER! Two years in a row where our actors received accolades for their hard work. Congratulations Catie for your amazing work on the film!
Though I lost in both Best Director categories, I still had the honor and privilege to present a WMIFF award with Shari Belafonte, daughter of the legendary Harry Belafonte. While on stage before we announced the nominees, I thanked her and the Belafonte family for breaking barriers for us as African-American artists. Then we briefly danced after the winner was announced! A very nice way to cap off a very good week.
Those of you in the Washington, D.C. area or traveling, please come see the World Music and Independent Film Festival back-to-back screenings of our short films: The critically acclaimed fraternity comedy Tempted and the social black comedy The Dinner at the National Navy Museum this Thursday at 6pm! Tickets are $10 if you order from the Eventbrite link below.
Also we’ll be attending the WMIFF Awards Ceremony at the Crystal City Hilton on Saturday, August 22nd at 1pm! Both films are up for the following awards:
Tickets for general admission for the awards show are also available at Eventbrite!
VENDETTA GAMES goes back into production next month! We will be sharing updates and pics from our upcoming photo shoot this weekend and also a new Facebook page will be made in the coming weeks. Though the Indiegogo has ended, for anyone who wishes to still donate privately via PayPal or personal check, please contact Andre´ Joseph at ajepyx1@gmail.com. We are also seeking actors, crew, investment opportunities and sponsorship from small businesses and special organizations devoted to law enforcement.
We also have news that the Vendetta Games prequel comic book by Brian Bicknell has been completed! For those of you who contributed $60 or more to Indiegogo, you will receive a digital copy of the comic as early as next week. If you have not done so already, please contact us with your email address so we can send it your way.
Lastly, for those of you in the Washington, D.C. area ONE WEEK FROM TODAY, please come see the World Music and Independent Film Festival back-to-back screenings of my short films Andre Joseph’s Tempted and The Dinner Short Film at the National Navy Museum on Thursday, August 20 at 6pm! Tickets are $10 if you order from the Eventbrite link below. Also we’ll be attending the WMIFF Awards Ceremony where both films are nominated for numerous awards including BEST DIRECTOR at the Crystal City Hilton on Saturday, August 22nd at 1pm! Those tickets are also available at Eventbrite and you can also see the trailers there too!
We don’t often plug other websites and podcasts besides The CineFiles and CosBlog. But in this case, I highly recommend any movie lover to check out Oliver Harper and his retrospective/reviews covering cult films and popular movies for his YouTube channel. He’s not the typical internet celebrity who pokes fun at a film’s flaws. Instead, he tackles the backstories behind the films, special effects techniques, soundtracks, and most unique of all the video game tie-ins! So much of what he does in his work reminds me of how I got started in filmmaking.
Oliver also does running commentary videos with his pals Richard Jackson and an amazing working actor named Duncan Casey. The time they put into dissecting a bad movie can be highly entertaining to watch!
Here are Oliver’s links to see his work:
Website – http://www.olivers-retrospectives.com/
Patreon for early access to reviews & commentaries – http://www.patreon.com/oliverharper
YouTube Channel – http://www.youtube.com/user/ollyh82
Lets Play Channel – http://www.youtube.com/user/retropodcasts
I highly recommend his new Back to the Future retrospective:
And his commentary on the Roger Corman-produced Fantastic Four movie from 1994:
Thank you to all of our supportive contributors (and those of you who just shared the link) to the VENDETTA GAMES Indiegogo campaign! While we didn’t meet the initial minimum goal we wanted, our campaign does not end here! We will continue to send updates on our progress as we will be holding a photo shoot with the cast next week as well as updates from the set this fall.
For anyone who wishes to still donate privately via PayPal or personal check, please contact Andre´ Joseph at ajepyx1@gmail.com. We are also seeking investment opportunities as well as sponsorship from small businesses and special organizations devoted to law enforcement.
“Perks” will begin to roll out in the coming weeks. We still need time for Brian Bicknell to finish the comic book artwork (which will be sent to $60+ contributors as a digital copy) and to have the posters, T-shirts, and casino chips manufactured. Please send your mailing info to the email address listed above in order to receive your gifts.
We still have a great movie to present to the world. We’re going to push forward now!
In less than 39 hours as of this writing, we will be at the end of the VENDETTA GAMES Indiegogo campaign. First of all, I would like to thank everyone and anyone who contributed to, shared, or liked the campaign and this film project in particular. Even though we get to keep what we make with Indiegogo through flexible funding in contrast to Kickstarter, it’s obvious that we did not make our initial minimum goal. There’s a lot of factors behind that, but I’m not here to point fingers. A lot of people don’t realize how much work it takes to promote a campaign and to get others to believe in it enough to contribute. I’d say this whole summer has been a challenge in that respect.
In spite of where we are financially with the film, my team and I will continue to push production forward this coming fall and actively seek potential investors, sponsors, and donors. We may have to nickel and dime our way through this efforts as I have done in the past. Except this time, I have a lot more experience to know our limitations and how best to find creative solutions to make sure every penny goes up on the screen. It won’t be fun going in that direction; however, it’s moments like these that force you to become a natural leader when all the odds are stacked against you.
As we get near the end, I encourage anyone at this point to watch our pitch video, followed by the opening scene for the film:
VENDETTA GAMES Crowdfunding Pitch Video from AJ Epyx Productions on Vimeo.
VENDETTA GAMES Opening Scene from AJ Epyx Productions on Vimeo.
If you like what you see and believe in us enough to get the rest of the movie made, here’s the link to our Indiegogo campaign:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/vendetta-games-feature-film/x/1858114#/story
All the perks/rewards you can receive for your contributions are listed right side of the page. These are the few things that you can get:
To contribute, type your amount, followed by clicking CONTRIBUTE NOW on the upper right hand side of the page. It will take you straight to the next page to continue to payment via PayPal.
Thank you all again for your support. Let the games continue…
