Massify Studio

Massify/Killer branded content helps promote Ace Hotel Group - The New York Times

Kenneth Woo — 2010-12-21T00:00:00Z

In this character-driven suspense comedy short, filmmaker Dee Austin Robinson weaves a story about a dysfunctional relationship where a stronger bond seems to exist between the woman and her cat (Charley) than between the couple themselves. Courtney and Ryan check into the Ace Hotel in New York for a weekend getaway, yet fail utterly to connect despite the romantic setting. Courtney can't stop talking about Charley, and Ryan's advances are frustrated. When Courtney and Ryan later discover that Charley has hitched a ride in their luggage, the plot takes an unexpected twist.

A Conversation with Maya Kazan & Production Stills from Lulu At the Ace Hotel

Kenneth Woo — 2010-04-01T14:17:43Z

Maya Kazan's "Lulu at the Ace Hotel" has just wrapped principal photography as one of the selected films for our collaboration with Killer Films and the Ace Hotel. We caught up with Maya on the set to talk about her thoughts on Lulu as well as her plans as one of Massify's most promising filmmakers.

LOOP PLANES Announced for SXSW 2010

Kenneth Woo — 2010-02-12T14:19:18Z

We are thrilled with the news that Loop Planes, our first collaboration with Killer Films, has made it to SXSW this year.

Thanks again to the Massify community for making this such a successful program, and congratulations to Killer, Robin, and the entire Loop Planes team!

SXSW Announces Shorts Lineup

Killer Films Announces Ace Hotel Selections

Christine Vachon — 2010-01-15T19:56:39Z

Killer is extremely excited to finally move into the preproduction phase of our project with Massify and the Ace Hotel. We've selected three films to produce from the final twelve. We chose these projects based on a number of factors; we selected films we believed were most makeable on a micro-budget, films we were confident we could shoot on short schedules, and scripts that all offer a strong, fresh point of view, that are tonally and thematically diverse.

Killer's Notes on the Ace Hotel Shortlist Finalists

James Sehring — 2009-12-11T12:34:45Z

Hello Readers/Writers! Please take a brief moment to review these brief notes and initial thoughts. Then, if you can, take more time to work on your scripts! We'll sit down with all twelve writers in the next week, to discuss artistic vision, the practicalities of making these films, and what sort of ways they can tweak their script to realize each story's potential. Following our meetings, we'd love to see 2nd drafts of each script by 12/23. We'll select our final set of shorts in the new year based on the quality of writing over both drafts and the meetings/discussions we have over the next two weeks. Thanks so much again for participating, and we look forward to sitting down with everyone very soon. If you have any questions, feel free to message David Kaplan or James Sehring at your liberty!

In no way are these notes intended to be seen as instructions or directives. Instead, treat them like prompts... we intend for this to be a collaborative process and are looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts. Thanks!

- The Killer Team

Killer Announces the Shortlist for the Ace Hotel Pitches!

James Sehring — 2009-11-24T18:57:16Z

We're thrilled to finally announce our 12 favorite pitches! Many apologies for the delay in announcing... I wanted to make sure that Killer gave each pitch a proper review. After much deliberation, we've pulled together a collection of diverse stories, all with the potential to be memorable little shorts, all taking advantage of the Ace's wonderful aesthetic. The quality of scripts was so high across the board, and to know that so much original content is at our finger tips is really exciting for us. We feel that each of these scripts represents a strong perspective, a unique point of view - Some are fresh takes on classic stories, others are nuanced character portraits. More than anything, they're all great ideas and we can't wait to sit down with the filmmakers and figure out how make it all work. Thanks so much to everyone who submitted. We REALLY enjoyed reading, so keep writing!

Killer Films & Ace Hotel Underway

Christine Vachon — 2009-10-20T11:29:35Z

We've already gotten some strong pitches for the new Killer/Massify collaboration, but we're hoping for so many more. To be clear, this is not a commercial for Ace Hotel. We conceived of the hotel setting as a means of focusing the project on one type of film, ensuring that we have the means to produce multiple shorts simultaneously. Yes, the scope is narrow, but we hope that this will provide an opportunity for writers in the community to be truly creative, use unconventional narratives, stand out visuals, to create something unique - something that can be a personal calling card. PLEASE take a chance and submit your script.

Episode 4: What's Wrong With Chloe?

Amy Allen — 2009-10-16T19:55:03Z

Robin and her team have a bit of a scare when their lead actress starts to overheat while shooting a scene.

Massify & Killer Films Team Up With Ace Hotel

Amy Allen — 2009-10-02T17:26:24Z

We had a lot of fun making this promo video for our latest production with Killer Films. What does everybody think of it? Learn all about the opportunity here and if you know any talented writer/directors, please let them know that Killer Films wants to read their work.

Episode 3: Racing Against The Clock

Amy Allen — 2009-09-25T13:23:34Z

Director Robin Wilby and her team race to get all the shots they need before SAG rules for children force them to wrap for the day.

Episode #2: Casting Loop Planes

Amy Allen — 2009-09-02T07:00:43Z

Massify + Killer Films Episode 2 from Massify on Vimeo.

Director Robin Wilby is on a quest to cast the leads in Loop Planes. But casting turns out to be a bigger challenge than she expected! Watch to see who ended up being cast in the lead roles of Nick (formerly Sam) and Katie.

Loop Planes, Day 2

Julie Buck — 2009-08-31T12:43:23Z

Things are going smoothly. Well, relatively smoothly, as smoothly as shooting entirely daylight exteriors in the middle of August at an amusement park can go. The face that small children make when you’ve told them that they can’t go on their favorite roller coaster for the next two hours is hopelessness distilled. The pressure to keep everybody happy, from park owners to ride-goers to cast and crew means timing and organization are essential. Luckily, we have a pretty incredible “production office” set up in the Birthday Party Room here at Quassy, which serves as our control center. I spend the majority of my time here, keeping the peace.

Episode #1: Killer Films Chooses Loop Planes

Amy Allen — 2009-08-24T16:19:28Z

Since being hired by Massify to document the creation of Loop Planes, Brooke Sebold has been trailing Director Robin Wilby, Producer Christine Vachon, and everyone else working on the project, armed with a camera. We hope you enjoy this first documentary episode, which begins with Killer choosing Robin's project. More footage from the set of Loop Planes - which began shooting today - coming soon.

LOOP PLANES Update

robin wilby — 2009-06-30T11:25:47Z

I would like to thank everyone on massify.com – for your support of LOOP PLANES as well as your cast and crew submissions. Already, this has been such an extraordinary experience.

I also want to thank the amazing people at Massify and Killer Films, who have literally been working non-stop to make this dream a reality.

We recently secured a really cool amusement park near Waterbury, Connecticut. If you are from the area, I’d like to encourage you to apply as soon as possible, and for those of you who are not local, please let me know if you’re willing to travel. Also, due to the availability of the location, we will be filming in late August, which is why we have extended the deadlines for cast and crew submissions until July 15th.

Honorable Mentions from Killer Films

Christine Vachon — 2009-06-18T17:27:15Z

Once again, thank you for taking the time to submit your screenplays and pitches to the Massify website. I, along with the rest of the Killer Films staff, thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the submissions that flooded in. There are a few excellent, thought-provoking entries in particular that we feel deserve acknowledgment. Killer Films would like to award Honorable Mention to the following scripts: Half a Stop, Backflip, Tuesday, Looking Glass, and Song of a Fifth Grade Samurai. Please take the time to read these memorable projects written by your peers. Commentary after the jump.