The Tale of the Heroine and the Cad

Produced by T.G.C. Films and Longlost Pictures - Run time 15 minutes Fantasy short film

Review snippets
Kudos to Claire and crew for putting out a film in a genre that's sorely underrepresented in the indie world today, and that has a story that could easily carry over into a real life setting, while not making it feel like it was out of place in its own time and setting. I would love to see more films like this out there, and this one is definitely worth checking out if you get the chance. ~ Duane L. Martin of Rogue Cinema Visually, this is beautifully shot, its accomplished cinematography the bees point-of-view shot in the opening sequence is a nice touch is made all the more sumptuous with production design and Lex Benedicts exquisite costumes It convincingly portrays diminishing love and a flagging relationship battling the conflict and cruelty of time; however, in this fabled form it is entirely magical. Down With Film Reviews Beautifully written, acted, filmed and the music was outstanding. ~ Jay Gobolos of Fantasy-Art-Workshop.com Loved everything about it, from opening to closing credits. Great costumes and effects. Cast and crew did an amazing job. Loved the story. ~Jeff Elwell of WebSeries2Watch

Selections and nominations:

What happens when love doesnt stand the test of time?

SYNOPSIS: Forever outshone by his famous half-elven wife, Tallulah; Himo the elf now seeks to escape her shadow in the final years of her life.

From the filmmakers

Any attempt at fantasy usually requires a bit more effort from us mere mortals. Whether its sustaining a dream, perpetuating a myth from the previous evening, or maintaining the faade of our perfect relationship, its rarely a snap-your-fingers-and-be-done sort of affair. (Despite what fantasy legends tell us). The Tale of the Heroine and the Cad would not have been possible without the belief and dedication put forth by its cast and crew. A fantasy cannot be rushed, it needs to be nurtured and completely indulged. From the very beginning every member of the team was willing to go above and beyond for this film and were eternally grateful. With work thats screened at a combined total of 40 film festivals, T.G.C. Films and Longlost Pictures are so proud to bring you this latest collaboration: The Tale of the Heroine and the Cad.

Production Notes
The Tale of the Heroine and the Cad first began as a short story about sibling rivalry. Dont let that sibling comment throw you off if youve actually read the synopsis. Going back to the days when I played Dungeons and Dragons in my mothers basement, I remembered my successful half-elven character Tallulah and her less-thansuccessful half-brother, a full elf, Himo. As Tallulah garnered fame, levels, attention, and riches, I believe Himo spent a lot of time in taverns and/or dead (dont worry, he was always resurrected by sympathetic party members). That sort of inequality can tear a family apart. I wondered then if the only place Himo could find superiority would be in his longer life-span? (For the non-dorks: full elves can reach about 700 years while half-elves are lucky to hit 200). After writing a short story around this I felt it lacked tension and actually put it away for a while until Fernando revived it by suggesting that Himo and Talllah be married (and not brother and sister, I should clarify). Suddenly there was the fear of divorce, infidelity, rejection, emasculation, all of those emotions so many people can identify with. The suggestion gave the short film the theme of one of the longest running battles of all time: the constant power struggle between couples. The amount of time needed to successfully create a fantasy film on a small budget is only out-matched by the amount of dedication needed by the crew. In this we knew there could be no better people there to produce this with us than Longlost Pictures who we had previously worked with on our web series Partners in Pretension. To save costs we spent over two months turning the office of our apartment into an elven nursing home, painting the plywood for the walls of the tree, building and painting the papier-mch bed, Greg constructed a bee-hive IV, and then we borrowed vines that grew around our apartment complex and glued them to the wall in order to completely transform our generic LA walls into a living and breathing set. In order to show the character of Himo was now desperately trying to move out of his dying wifes shadow, Lex painstakingly sewed a brilliant gold outfit for the planning-to-soon-to-be-single Himo to parade around in. We wanted this outfit to be in direct contrast to his darker outfits worn in the flashbacks. Next she and Greg created the leather armor and made the scale mail used for Tallulahs flashbacks. Jeweler Betsey Benedict added crucial flashy touches to our characters as they came to life. We didnt want flowing fantasy garb for these characters; we felt they were a bit more sophisticated (no offense to lovers of robes) and so decided to go with a more steampunk feel. Tallulah, we decided, should always be in pants in her youth: you dont fight dragons in a dress. We knew the short would be a failure (not to be dramatic or anything) without an excellent makeup team. Laura Lieffring and Tokiko Inoue were an absolute welcome to the group with their unmatched skill and patience. Melissa Malans makeup required five hours of application in order to transform her from her young and beautiful self into an aged half-elven woman. Every detail, every prosthetic was checked and double checked so that it would hold up to HD scrutiny. Every cast member got a pair of either green or purple contact lenses and took the time to learn how to wear them without blinding themselves. Because we felt the story was very human we needed actors who would respect and play their parts as real. There was no room for other-worldly whispered lines, wide-eyed mystical stares or doe-like poses, we needed the actors to be

genuine. Fernando has the rare gift of being able to play a less-than-perfect character, a cad, and still manage to make you feel empathy. Melissa has a fragile beauty but a steely undertone that can bring a real person to a heroine. As our nurse, we had Malia Miglino give an ethereal spunk to a fantasy mistress and for our doctor we turned to Tristan ScottBehrends for our serious sylvan practitioner. During filming we were so lucky to have Caley Bisson join us on set. A fantastic production designer, Caley has an ability to quickly assess a space and then add what may seem like small details that then make all the difference. My cousin, Elizabeth Lee, is an amazing artist who drew the pastel of Tallulah in her glory days Because a lot of the film takes place in one room, we tried to avoid shooting a new scene from the same set-up. This gave our actors room to move, made the space more engaging, and also let us show off all the hard work that we mentioned in the previous paragraphs. Every fantasy film requires music thats equally fantastical. We worked with Brandon K. Verrett on the feature The Grover Complex as well as Partners in Pretension and knew he would be the perfect composer to enhance our film. Brandon has the talent to create something dark and unique that draws you completely into another world without distracting you from whats going on on screen. The Tale of the Heroine and the Cad was a truly rewarding experience thanks to the talent of its cast and crew. Any time you make a film you leave little pieces of yourself in it and I dont regret any of the pieces of us left behind in the papier-mch, fabric and borrowed leaves for this project. It was, Boom! Magic.

Thanks for reading.

Cast
Fernando Noor (Himo), is an award-winning actor, writer, producer, and voice over artist originally from Tijuana, Mexico. Fernando wrote, produced and starred in his first feature film, "The Grover Complex", which was accepted into 16 film festivals earning Best Comedy, Best of Festival, and Best Actor awards, as well as a Filmmakers to Watch award for Fernando and producer Claire Wasmund. An active commercial voice over artist, Fernando can be heard on several Spanish language commercials including McDonalds and Liberty Mutual. He has also appeared in several short films and independent features including "Partners in Pretension", a web series currently featured on four online networks with over 400,000 views collectively. Fernando is the owner of production company T.G.C. Films, LLC.

Melissa Malan (Tallulah) started as a dancer in her hometown of St. Louis, MO and her love of the arts and the stage led her to acting. As an actor in St. Louis, Melissa was fortunate to be a part of many wonderful productions, such as To Kill a Mockingbird (Mayella) and Proof (Catherine). In 2005, she relocated to Chicago where she worked as both an actor and director in film and theatre. In 2010, Melissa completed two independent films with Chicago-based Herbivore Productions, A Loving Memory, which premiered in March, and Gless, which premiered in September. While in Chicago, she trained with Victory Gardens Theater and The Acting Studio Chicago. In October 2010, Melissa relocated to Los Angeles where she is currently studying with Second City Hollywood and working in theater and independent film.

Tristan Scott-Behrends (Doctor) got his start doing theater in his hometown of Monterey, CA. Since moving to Los Angeles, Tristan has studied at the Stella Adler Academy under Brian Riese. Tristan appears in the award-winning feature film "The Grover Complex" as "Ricky", a part that's earned him best-supporting actor nominations. He also stars in the independent feature "Jefferson" and can be seen on the web-series "Partners in Pretension" as well as several other independent projects.

Malia Miglino (Nurse) Malia is originally from Seattle, Washington where she started acting in commercials at age 3 and continued to be active in theatre until she moved to LA after graduating high school. A graduate of the Make Up Designory in Burbank, Malia is now actively pursing acting and freelance makeup work in LA and is loving the every minute of it! She may or may not know too much about medieval torture, Tim Burton and all things macabre and is rarely seen in heels less than 5" with a coffee in her hand.

Crew
Claire Wasmund (writer/director/producer/production designer) is a Midwest raised awardwinning screenwriter and filmmaker whose written work has appeared in nationally published journals including film magazine "Indie Slate Magazine". Claires film work has been a part of over 26 film festivals. Claire produced the award-winning, independent feature film "The Grover Complex" written by, produced, and starring Fernando Noor. The feature was an official selection of 16 film festivals, earning several Best Comedy and Best of Festival awards as well as an "Emerging Filmmakers to Watch" award for Wasmund and Noor. Claire is the writer and director of the web series Partners in Pretension which is a featured series on four online networks and has received over 400,000 views total. Shes also the creator of the award-winning web series "Delayed Teen Angst" as well as a director on episode six of the series Diary of a Wedding Planner. Claire recently worked in the story department of NBCs new show Fashion Star. Claire lives in Los Angeles where she works as a filmmaker with T.G.C. Films, LLC. Fernando Noor (Himo/producer/story/production designer), is an award-winning actor, writer, producer, and voice over artist originally from Tijuana, Mexico. Fernando wrote, produced and starred in his first feature film, "The Grover Complex", which was accepted into 16 film festivals earning Best Comedy, Best of Festival, and Best Actor awards, as well as an Emerging Filmmakers to Watch award for Fernando and producer Claire Wasmund. An active commercial voice over artist, Fernando can be heard on several Spanish language commercials including McDonalds and Liberty Mutual. He has also appeared in several short films and independent features including "Partners in Pretension", a web series currently featured on four online networks with over 400,000 views collectively. Fernando is the owner of production company T.G.C. Films, LLC. Lex Benedict (producer/cinematographer/editor/costumes/production designer) Lex is an award winning filmmaker, who was born and raised in the deep South and relocated to Los Angeles in 2010 with her husband, Greg Cruser and their trustworthy Australian Cattle Dog, Wrigley. They make up the husband and wife post production team that is Longlost Pictures with over 20 years of experience between the two of them. In the 2 and a half years she has lived in L.A., Lex has worked on several features, documentaries, short films, music videos, commercials, web series and several reality television shows. She recently finished a stint on Hells Kitchens Post Production Team and is currently finishing three feature films, a narrative romantic dramedy "Love or War" from Luminave Films and two documentaries, Sweet Dreams from Mattoid Entertainment which also recently won a Telly Award, and The Board of Education from Wide Open Camera. A short film she edited "An Apology" is currently making festival rounds and was recently selected to be part of Motor City Nightmares. Follow Lex on her blog, DSLRGirl, which focuses on her adventures with cameras, the craft of filmmaking and digital video editing.

Greg Cruser (producer/gaffer/editor/special effects/production designer) is a former Naval Officer from New Orleans currently working as a post-media specialist for Magical Elves, a production company based in Hollywood that creates broadcast, cable and premium programming for NBC, CBS, BRAVO and SHOWTIME. After six years of active-duty service in leadership, management and public affairs roles in the Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer, Greg moved to Los Angeles to start a production company with his wife, Lex Benedict, called Longlost Pictures. Since landing in LA, Longlost Pictures has worked on more than fifty different projects from music videos and short films, to feature length documentaries and narratives.

Brandon K. Verrett (composer and conductor) One of the most versatile and innovative composers in Hollywood, Verretts compositional voice is sought after by many collaborators seeking an authentic musical language and colorful score. His scores have been featured in various media including film, television, video games, internet, and movie trailers including Cinema Is Everywhere, starring academy award winning actor Tilda Swinton. Also Priest (Screen Gems), Drag Me To Hell (Universal), and The Grover Complex (T.G.C. Films). He is the recipient of several awards for composing including the BMI Scholar Award for Film Composition, the California State Fullerton Composition Award, and the William H. Taylor Memorial Award for musician excellence. Moreover, he has earned superior ratings in numerous competitions as a musician and conductor.

Laura Lieffring (special effects makeup) moved to LA from Duluth, MN to pursue her dream of becoming a professional makeup artist skilled & knowledgeable in all types of makeup; beauty, high fashion, avante garde, character, hair work (hand laying facial hair & working with wigs & other hair pieces) & hair styling, prosthetics, special effects (my favorite), airbrush, you name it. In 2007, Laura graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre with an Emphasis in Makeup Design. While attending UMD, Laura designed the makeup and hair for three shows ; "Kiss Me, Kate", "Handing Down the Names", & "The Heidi Cronicles". In September of 2008 Laura moved to LA to attend the Cinema Makeup School where she took the Master Makeup Course as well as the Digital FX Course. While at school, she won 1st place in special effects for makeup design and application.

Credits
Produced by T.G.C. Films and Longlost Pictures Written and directed by Claire Wasmund Story by Claire Wasmund and Fernando Noor Starring: Fernando Noor, Melissa Malan, Malia Miglino, Tristan Scott-Behrends Edited by Longlost Pictures (Lex Benedict and Greg Cruser) Original music composed by Brandon K. Verrett Production design by Lex Benedict, Greg Cruser, Fernando Noor, and Claire Wasmund Art Direction by Caley Bisson "Tallulah Pastel" by Elizabeth Lee Tallulah fan mail by Joshua Houston Special effects by Greg Cruser Costumes by Lex Benedict Jewelry by Betsey Benedict Special effects makeup by Laura Lieffring Special effects makeup by Tokiko Inoue Music featuring soprano Ashley Burkett Phiri

Filmed on the Canon 5D Run time 15 minutes Filmed in Studio City, CA