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Mary:
Since receiving her Masters in Photography in 2001, Mary McIlwain has shown her photographs, objects, films, performances and creatures in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Minneapolis, New York City, and Los Angeles. She was a recipient of the Dayton-Hudson Artist Fellowship grant in 1999 and 2000, and landed a Redeye Collaboration grant and residency for a collaborative performance and film project in 2001. She currently works on Märon Studio films in the roles of producer, scriptwriter, costume design, prop design, actress, post-production effects, and still photographer.
Aaron:
Aaron Arendt is a sculptor and video artist who has exhibited in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, and New York City. He also co-wrote and performed in two original plays in Minneapolis in 2001.
Aaron started making films in 2000 when he directed and edited L.a.P.E. He added set design to his repertoire on Know Your Enemy, and is currently editing, directing and designing his newest project, Diamonds of Metro Valley.
L.a.P.E.
When a mystical genie lamp is discovered in the remote, smoldering hot sands of the Mojave desert, longtime friends Wizard and Patsy are thrown into a maddening struggle for power, fame and fortune.
Wizard and Patsy are monkeys, but polar opposites as far as their personalities and their struggles for happiness are concerned. Wizard is a ruthless and cunning opportunist, while Patsy is a more simple sort of beast. The story of Wizard’s betrayal of Patsy, by stealing a genie lamp they found together, runs simultaneously with a film Wizard is making about the first space monkey. Chase scenes, love scenes and dream sequences tie the two stories together, creating an over-all fast paced and entertaining experience.
This collaborative work was sparked by a love of travel, Americana, ridiculous masks in unlikely situations, and improvised scenes. Most all of the scenes were shot independently of each other, and the story was then woven together through dialogue and voice over.
Cast & Credits
Directed by : Aaron Arendt
Produced by : Mary McIlwain, Aaron Arendt and Aaron Morse
Edited by : Aaron Arendt
Make-Up and Special Effects : Corbin Booth
Costumes : Mary McIlwain
Cast
Wizard : Aaron Morse
Patsy : Aaron Arendt
Doctor : Jacob Lunderby
Genie : Mary McIlwain
Space Monkey : Aaron Arendt & Aaron Morse
Space Fighters : Mary McIlwain & Suzan Sengoz
Mer-Monkey : Mary McIlwain
Voice Over : Jacob Lunderby
Additional Cast
Brett Cothern
Tim Dowse
Alison Hiltner
John Knuth
Robyn Winters
Know Your Enemy
It is a time of uncertainty and rumors of war. The Russians and the Americans are on the verge of a cataclysmic confrontation involving the most fearsome of weapons. . .
Know Your Enemy is the story of three Russian pilots who become stranded in the enemy territory of North America. An inexplicable phenomenon has caused them to crash their aircraft before they can complete their mission: to locate their missing comrades and supply them the necessary means for survival. In a foreign wilderness, now having fallen to the same fate as their comrades, they must find a way to survive while confronting a menacing beast.
The project began after a discussion about the stereotypes of “enemies,” and why we were afraid of Russians as children. Growing up during the ’80s at the end of the Cold War, we only had an abstract idea of what an “enemy” was. We watched movies like Red Dawn, Top Gun, and The Hunt for Red October, all of which portray Russians as an undesirable bunch, but we didn’t really understand why we were afraid of them. We wanted to portray the idea of a faceless enemy that very little is known about or why they are even an enemy to begin with.
Know Your Enemy was shot on digital video and reworked in Aftereffects. This, along with the scale changes of the sets and models and the puppet-like characters give the video a cartoonish feel. Practically every element shown in the piece is hand-made, from the costumes, masks and small scale models, to the cockpit of the airplane, the sets and props. Numerous collaborators assisted with make-up and special effects, acting and voice-over, original music, scoring and special sound effects.
Cast & Credits
Directed & Edited by : Aaron Arendt
Written & Produced by : Mary McIlwain
Effects Make-Up Artist : Corbin Booth
Costumes : Mary McIlwain
Original Music by : Darienne Hetherman
Props and Models : Rob Poe, Jonboy Silsby, Chris Sickles, Bob Dornberger, Thad Howard, John Neill, Corbin Booth
Masks : Maron Studio, Aaron Morse
Body Doubles : Jacob Lunderby, John Knuth
Additional Camera : Mason Hall
Sound Design : Ben Getting, Bob Dornberger, Conner Earl
Production : Piper Lemons, Rebecca Morse
Explosion Footage : Detonation Films
Cast
Sputnika : Mary McIlwain
Yanovich : Jonboy Silsby
Soyez : Aaron Arendt & Voice by Kevin Kuzma
Akita, Crew Companion : Akeyta
Perverted Beast : Mason Hall
Floating God Heads : Conner Earl
Diamonds of Metro Valley Synopsis:
Notorious Metro Valley crime lord Jonas Caine has a deadly scheme in mind. To pull off this heist he needs a powerful weapon, one that only a mad, drug-addled scientist could create. . .
Jonas Caine is a gangster without remorse. Dr. Thadeous Price is a down and out, drug addicted inventor. Throw in Tokyo’s powerful under-world eccentric Takeshi Sagawas, several million dollars worth of stolen diamonds, a remote-operated, nocturnally aggressive lizard device, and the action begins!
The Diamonds of Metro Valley is modeled after a 1970’s-style diamond heist film, with a tinge of the futuristic. Shot digitally and almost entirely on green screen, the backgrounds are then created for the film, shot by shot, from existing imagery.
The Diamonds of Metro Valley is a feature length film currently in post-production. It was written, produced and filmed in 2005, and is scheduled for completion in November, 2006.
Cast & Credits:
Directed & Edited by : Aaron Arendt
Written & Produced by : Mary McIlwain
Cinematographer : Dallas Hallam
Key Make Up & Special Effects Make-Up: Corbin Booth
Costumes : Mary McIlwain
Lighting Designer : Amy Eckland
Assistant Producer : JJ Booth
Cast
Jonas Caine : Bennett Jones
Dr. Thadeous Price : Jordan Ender
Raphaelo Montecino / Sudsy : Rob Poe
Mr. Takeshi Sagawas : Takeshi Miura
Sagawas’ Bodyguard : Kevin Kuzma
1st Mate : Corbin Booth
Eva : Tifanie McQueen
Mayor Cole : Jonboy Silsby
Dale : Michael Price
Leche : Martin Alatorre
Dallas : Dallas Hallam
Vanda Vitale : Mary McIlwain
Officer Knudson : John Knuth
Officer Hall : Mason Hall
Cindy Stevens : JJ Booth
Bartender : Aaron Arendt
Post Production Effects & Compositing : Aaron Arendt & Mary McIlwain
Post Production Sound : Kyle Blair-Alton
Original Music by : Darienne Hetherm
Props and Model Car Design : Aaron Arendt, Mary McIlwain, Johnboy Silsby, Bob Dornberger, Thad Howard, Corbin Booth, Daniel Gellis, Peter Clarke, John Knuth, Dallas Hallam
Stock Explosion Footage : Detonation Films
Crew
Assistant Costume Designer & Wardrobe Manager : Luiba Belyansky
Lighting Assistant : Jonboy Silsby
Sound : John Knuth
Sound : Kyle Blair-Alton: 2nd Unit Cinematographer : Peter Clarke
Make Up : Margaux Frankel
Make Up : Claire Nach
Make Up : Jeff Small
Craft Services : Natalie Henderson-Alton
Craft Services : James Krone
Lighting Assistance : Sharan Gillespie
Production Assistant : Farley Burge
Production Assistant : Peter Wulff
Production Assistant : Miriam Zisook
Pirates
Julio Douglas, Joe Edelson, James Krone, Kevin Kuzma, Charity Navalesi, Jonboy Silsby, Peter Wulff
Jonas’s Girls
Toyia Brown, Sophie Clarke, Darienne Hetherm, Alexis Hunt, Gretchen Larsen, Allyson Lazar, Mary McIlwain, Starr Mertan, Charity Navalesi
Additional Cast
JJ Booth: Cop Dancer
Mary McIlwain: Cop Dancer
Todd Veneman: Surgeon
Jonboy Silsby: Elevator Man
Darienne Hetherm: French Girl in Bar
John Knuth: Mayoral Staffer
James Krone: Patient/Mayoral Staffer
Lia Trinka-Browner: Nurse
Peter Wulff: Mayoral Staffer
Police Officers
Police Radio Cop: Todd Veneman
Task Force : Aaron Arendt, Josh Beckman, Peter Clarke, Bill Dambrov, Karl Erickson, Thad Howard, James Krone, Chris Loomis
Car Chase Car Drivers
Peter Clarke, Arturo Guzman, Ricky Guzman, Ben Rogers, Hannah Rogers, Danielle St. Antoine, Eddy Sykes
Thank You
Oscar Alburne, Josh Beckman, Peter Clarke, Prelinger Archive, Dale & Sharon Arendt, Julio Douglas, Melisa Dragoo, Raoul Germain, Thad Howard, Bennett Jones, Pioneer Limo, Steve & Linda McIlwain, Aaron and Rebecca Morse, Wes Oakley, Jonboy Silsby, Very Be Careful, Terry Ward, Steve Yablock & Café Fais Do-Do
Filmed on Location in Los Angeles, California at:
Alburne Incorporated Studios
Café Fais Do-Do
Wunderkammern Workshop