Dear Indie Film Lovers,

I thought I might be a bit overdue for an update on my filmmaking adventures, so here is the latest goings-on in my crazy corner of the world:

- My feature film "Last Night on Earth" premiered in Beverly Hills at the end of May and was released in June to theaters across 50 US cities. It has now just arrived on home entertainment platforms, including Apple TV+, Fandango at Home, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video and Youtube Premium. I'm very proud of this one -- especially what we were able to do with the budget we had. You can see the official trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB_6ExXDZGs

- My Oklahoma-based feature "Will to Win" nears ever closer to production as we continue our capital raise. We have attached Sean Astin and Patrick Warburton to key roles, and have started early talks with Amber Midthunder to play the lead. While we're considering Vancouver, Manitoba and other areas to shoot the film in order to maximize our dollar, our top choice is still Oklahoma since the state is so central to the story, the world and the characters, especially Will Rogers. But because this is a baseball movie, if we don't go into production by September, we'll likely have to wait until next spring. The film will be directed by Sean McNamara, who most recently did "Reagan."

- Speaking of Oklahoma, I have separately been assisting Oktoberfest Tulsa as they seek a tax credit for their upcoming documentary on the event. Named one of the five best Oktoberfests in the US, the film will showcase the origins of the event and the impact it has had on the local area.

- My New Mexico-based feature "American Saviors," with the talented Jon Keeyes directing, has attracted strong interest from cast, including Anthony Hopkins, Luis Guzman and Michael Ironside. The focus now in order to complete financing and get a greenlight is to cast the two leads. If we get some bankable stars in those roles, this one could move very fast.

- I just got hired by a longtime client, Kugga Entertainment, to re-purpose a web series I did for them several years back called "The Offer" into mobile webisodes. This is a new form of content distribution pioneered by companies like ReelShort where you pay for small bite-sized episodes that are anywhere from one to three minutes. The goal is to have these new webisodes cut and ready for wide dissemination by the end of August.

- I also just locked a distro deal with ShortsTV for Kugga's short film "Stiffed," which will start airing on the platform soon.

- I recently completed building a website for my client, Fifty CAL Films, which you can see here: https://www.fiftycalfilms.com/. We have two great projects that we recently developed, both thrillers. The first one, "Icon," about the wife of a country music star who is suspected of killing him after he goes missing, has attached prolific director Brittany Underwood, with several potential production partners already considering the material for production. So fingers crossed there. The second project, "Follow Us," is about a fake kidnapping of two social media stars that gets wildly out of control. I'm just starting my search for a director on this one.

- I continue to write articles for numerous publications, with the goal of sharing my expertise so that others can apply it and find success in their quests. Some of my recent pieces include "Top 7 Things a Producer Wants From Your Screenplay" on Funds for Writers, "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Line Producing" on Medium, and "7 Reasons Why Commercial Production Accounting Needs a Revamp" on the RollCredits blog. Later this month, Funds for Writers will publish another piece of mine: "What Book Authors Should Know About Adapting Their Material for the Screen."

- A script I developed and helped ghostwrite called "The Odd Son" has been racking up laurels -- most recently receiving quarterfinalist status in the LA International Screenplay Awards and PAGE Awards -- so it will be exciting to see how far it advances in these two.

While I have various other projects in different stages of development, these are some of my top focuses right now. Hopefully, I 'll have some good news to share in the upcoming months as I progress. Thanks always for your support.

Mark