Let me tell you, I dig smart indies, I dig epic action franchises, and I dig ambitious storytelling. How pleasing, then, to leap into INFINITY, the bold new startup movie series in the vein of Lost, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and a female James Bond. The series is just getting started, yet already packing significant talent, starring Raquel Pomplun (2013 Playmate of the Year) in a role designed for acting and action. INFINITY also stars Jaylen Moore (Red Band Society, The Host, the forthcoming Fantastic Four film), French sensation Yassine Azzouz (La disintegration), and Kelly Albanese (the Buffy the Vampire Slayer motion comic).
The thing is, they're crowdfunding on Kickstarter, and they need some love, as they're aiming to create a big new entertainment property financed by fans, for fans.
INFINITY ACTION TRAILER from philippe casseus on Vimeo.
INFINITY emerges from HollyShorts, Hollywood's largest short film festival, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. I also dig bold, creative moves, and frankly it's quite cool that HollyShorts is branching out into production and distribution. The INFINITY web series follows "Nyla" (Ms. Pomplun) as she faces new nemeses and old friends. Her mission is to find seven mystical talismans, which, when joined together, harness the power to unite mankind. Naturally, Nyla confronts mysterious dark forces, bent on keeping these talismans hidden. Secrets and artifacts, quests and battles, globetrotting from the top of the city to every imaginable terrain -- it's really easy to like where this is going.
Daniel Sol, cofounder -- with Theo Dumont -- of the wildly popular HollyShorts Film Festival, offers: "We're ready to begin the next journey in our festival and business growth with HollyShorts Studios, a full-fledged distribution and production arm of the HollyShorts brand that will tap into the amazing talent pool of wonderful HSFF alumni over our 11 years thus far. We are excited to begin this process with the wonderful Philippe Casseus and Ben Andrews and the entire INFINITY team."
And L. Philippe Casseus, he's the man with the plan. The writer and director of INFINITY confidently lays out his objectives: "I want to present Raquel Pomplun fans with more than they're used to seeing from her. She's a very talented young woman and we've cast her perfectly. The Nyla character is an action-based badass who learns to appreciate her own duality, her light and dark side. She struggles with it, but does her best." He elaborates, "This example of a strong modern woman exploring her own spirituality, sexuality, and inner demons makes her awesome. The fact that she will share what she will find and learn to make the world a better place is visionary."
The first episode is nearly finished, and HollyShorts Studios seeks the crowdfunding support from fans, via Kickstarter, to complete the other five episodes of the first season, to launch the project. They promise the first season will have some never-before-seen action sequences dreamed up by Mr. Casseus, the acclaimed writer behind Lionsgate's film Freelancers, which stars Robert DeNiro, Forrest Whitaker and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. No small potatoes.
INFINITY also features solid behind-the-scenes talent from stunt coordinator Eddie Perez (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the Star Trek reboot, the Waters Brothers' magnificent Vampire Academy), as well as choreographer Chantal Robson (whose credits include Madonna, Usher, Christina Aguilera, and 'N Sync, to name a few). The web series is executive produced by Messers Dumont, Casseus, and Sol, plus Ben Andrews (Evil Slave Productions) and Lanre Idewu (FilmArtica LLC).
For INFINITY, HollyShorts Studios is teaming up with a consortium of filmmakers from the state of Washington (including Mr. Andrews), and plan on filming several episodes in the state. (I've lived there. It's big.) The filmmakers intend to create a series that rocks like a $100-million production, but for a fraction of the cost, due to their craftiness, experience, and of course the aforementioned crowdfunding support. Go on. Click it. And text your well-heeled friends. The clock is ticking.
Meanwhile, Mr. Casseus knows what he's doing. "I want INFINITY to entertain and inspire. Answer some, but also raise questions about who we are as people."
Visit the Kickstarter page for INFINITY
HollyShorts Film Festival Official Site
Raquel Pomplun Official Site