It’s Official! Oscilloscope Laboratories and PERIODS. Films are getting married (or are they?) and their having a BREAKUP AT A WEDDING. You’re all invited June 18th on VOD and all Digital Platforms (iTunes, Amazon) as well a special theatrical release. Here’s the official announcement:

April 24, 2013—Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today that it has acquired North American rights to Victor Quinaz’s debut feature, BREAKUP AT A WEDDING.  A co-production of Zachary Quinto, Corey Moosa, and Neal Dodson’s Before The Door Pictures (MARGIN CALL, upcoming Cannes entry ALL IS LOST) and Anonymous Content (ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, WINTER’S BONE), the film will be released on June 18th across all cable VOD and digital platforms, with select event screenings and a college tour leading up to the release

Alison Jones & Phil Havemeyer vow to get through this.

Seen through the lens of an ambitious wedding videographer (played by the director, Victor Quinaz), BREAKUP AT A WEDDING gives us the nuptials of Alison Jones (Alison Fyhrie) and Phil Havemeyer (Philip Quinaz, the director’s real-life younger brother) in all of its sprawling, messy, and often wildly inebriated glory.  On the eve of their wedding, Alison gets cold feet and decides to break up with her fiancé Phil. But rather than face the embarrassment of calling off the ceremony, Alison suggests to Phil that they proceed with a sham wedding. Phil is more than game to try, secretly hoping that a surprise gift he has for Alison will ultimately change her mind.

BREAKUP AT A WEDDING was written and directed by Victor Quinaz. His then fiancé/now wife Anna Martemucci along with his brother Phillip Quinaz co- wrote the script and all three also appear in the cast of the ensemble feature. Quinaz and Martemucci said “We’re thrilled to be associated with a company we’ve long admired. Also honored that BREAKUP AT A WEDDING will have the distinction of being the Oscilloscope movie with the highest number of on-screen chocolate fountains.”

O-Scope’s David Laub and Dan Berger said, “BREAKUP AT A WEDDING perfectly captures the insanity surrounding most weddings and then amplifies it to the absurd and hysterical, yet somehow always manages to be both poignant and relatable.  Victor and Anna are wonderfully talented and creative filmmakers and we’re delighted to be dipping into their chocolate fountain.”

Producer Zachary Quinto, further added, “Victor and Anna are innovative, articulate, and passionate about their ambitions, both creatively and professionally, and we are honored to bring their work to a larger audience”

BREAKUP AT A WEDDING is a PERIODS. film, directed by Victor Quinaz and written by Anna Martemucci, Victor Quinaz and Philip Quinaz. The film was a co-production with Scott Robinson’s Robinson Films, Inc. Quinaz and Martemucci are repped by United Talent Agency and Anonymous Content.

Caleb and Aron are identical twins. Identical in every way but one. PERIODS. adapts an American Classic.

Dear You,

We here at PERIODS. think the end of the year is a time to reflect and generally give thanks we’re still alive.

2012 was a great year for PERIODS. We put out VIKING WIVES, RE:CREATION, our TALKING W. GOD series, FOPS featuring our good pal Willie Garson, and the epic that was EAST OF EDEN starring that kid from Gossip Girl. It all culminated with the brilliantly big screen debut of the PERIODS. feature presentation in which all of our shorts were edited into a cohesive story (can you believe that?) and shown at the opening of the HollyShorts Film Festival at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollyweird, CA. We were featured in the LA Times and the Huffington Post wrote about us, and our films got around, all over the inter-web (Jezebel, Movieline, Fail Blog, The Hairpin, NY Magazine, and yes, yet again, High Times.) And better yet, one of our performers, Mary Grill, booked a regular gig on The Mindy Project.

2013 looks to be an even weirder year. You’ll see our LIL WOMEN film drop in the early winter featuring our favorite YouTuber Grace Helbig (Daily Grace) and also our very gritty take on NYC in the 80′s called BIG CITY, BRIGHT LIGHTS. But probably what we’re most excited about is finally showing the world our first feature film, THE JONES/ HAVEMEYER WEDDING. We can’t say much right now but we can say that it’ll be coming to a theater near you! (Oh, no, Neal the producer just called and said I have to take this part out…)

Look, in the end, none of this, we mean absolutely none of this would’ve been possible if wasn’t for you guys. You keep watching, you keep goading us on, you keep asking us to stop posting on Facebook (just seeing who’s still reading.) We do it to make you laugh. And we love making you laugh.

But hey, as Phil says in DEC. 26, “F**k a list” who’s counting.

So much more soon! You are loved,
Anna Martemucci + vQ

Also a few BIG GIANT THANKS YOUS to the HollyShorts guys, Katherine Rowe and Simon Halls, Scott Robinson, Katie O’Connell, Craig Manzino, Mishka Brown, Meghan Currier, Damian Volpe, Yamin Segal and his family, the gents at Before The Door, Chad, Aaron, Paul at Anonymous Content, the godsend known as Randy Manis, and our own families. xo

Subscribe to our website, YouTube channel, or Facebook page.

PERIODS. very first podcast!

PERIODS. had quite the summer.

Following our  release of RE:CREATION at the start of May, we released two more films (FOPS & EAST OF EDEN) leading up to the big Hollywood premiere of our newly edited feature film presentation of PERIODS. for the Hollyshort Film Festival at Grauman’s Chinese. A mountain of press and good wishes followed.

(Giovanni P Autran, Mary Grill, Matt Hobby, Anna Martemucci, PQ, ZQ, Alison Fyhrie, Julie Ann Dulude, & VQ)

LA Times did a great feature on us and our favorite matador, Zachary Quinto. In the article Daniel Sol, one of the founders of the HollyShorts Festival, describes what we’re doing as “a really great case study of what modern indie filmmaking is all about today, utilizing the digital and social media tools to get high-quality content to the masses worldwide without having to spend an astronomical amount on overhead and marketing.”

It’s true we pay the crew and cast in pixie sticks and water.

The big night went swimmingly and the PERIODS. gang even learned a few things from the shorts that played beforehand like what Neil Labute thinks of homeless people (not good things) and how to kill a whorehouse full of hookers. Examiner.com thought “PERIODS. put an exclamation point on the night.”

We also dropped our latest short that same night, EAST OF EDEN, featuring everyone’s favorite twin, Penn Badgley.

The short was released exclusively on Movieline.com. “Sibling rivalry in pre-war Central California, the American dream, and… dick jokes? East of Eden is a staple tome known to every Lit major on earth, but the tale of two brothers caught up in family dramarama hasn’t been told quite like it is in Victor Quinaz’s new short film.” The short “breathes LOLs into Steinbeck’s heavy 20th century saga with a wink” and gives “Badgley a fantastic forum to flex his comic chops.”

(Co-creators Anna Martemucci and Victor Quinaz)

The Huffington Post also reported, “The PERIODS. film collective has been specializing in quality, re-interpreted historical comedy films for a few years now, finding viral and critical success online, but recently some more high-profile names have joined their fold.”

After that it was off to the races as the film got picked up by Jezebel, Buzzfeed, Crushable (“Things get a little Mamet at one point when Caleb and his dad just keep calling each other “dick””), Vulture, Just Jared (“Directed by John Steinbeck” RIP), Videogum, front page of Funny Or Die, and of course our favorite user comments on the Internet, The Hairpin.

But the real cherry on top is that we have finally announced and shown the trailer to our first official feature film THE JONES/HAVEMEYER WEDDING coming in 2013. The film was produced by Anonymous Content (Eternal Sunshine, 50 First Dates) and ZQ’s Before The Door Pictures (Margin Call). We can’t tell you too much about it but we can tell you that it is really funny movie that is a completely new and fresh take on the standard issue wedding movie.

Summer ’12 might have been the summer of love for us, but fall is looking to be an all out lovefest as we wrap up of God series, G-CHATS, release our newest short LIL WOMEN featuring our favorite YouTube star Grace Helbig (Daily Grace, Attack the Show), and set our release date for THE JONES/HAVEMEYER WEDDING.

Keep following along, subscribe, and visit us on Facebook for more updates and new content. Get Your PERIODS. People!

“Since the beginning of time, mankind has suffered…”

The official poster for PERIODS. premiering opening night of the HollyShorts Film Festival August 9th, 2012

Penn Badgley will join us in bringing to life one of America’s beloved classics.

The new PERIODS. starring Penn Badgley will premiere as part of our feature presentation that will open the 8th annual HollyShorts Film Festival that kicks off Aug. 9 at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Other tidbits include that Grace Helbig of Attack The Show and Daily Grace on My Damn Channel will be featured in a short later in the fall and we will finally be announcing the title to our first feature film and premiering the trailer in front of our presentation.

Go over to the Hollywood Reporter for the full story.

1789. French Revolution. Two Peasants aren’t gonna let them eat cake.

We’re packing our bags and heading to Hollywood!

On August 9th, 2012 PERIODS. Films will open the HollyShorts Film Festival with a feature presentation of our shorts at the world famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (no, they do not serve egg rolls, racist). The evening will be hosted by Before The Door Picture’s own Zachary Quinto and the night will feature all kinds of surprise guests and special events.

“The ‘PERIODS.’ crew exemplifies what modern indie filmmaking is really all about – working together to create high quality content for global audiences while utilizing tangible digital tools and social media to promote and release the works to the masses,” said HollyShorts co-founders and co-directors Theo Dumont and Daniel Sol in a statement.

The PERIODS. feature presentation will chart the progress of man through time and space and culminate in a World Premiere of our latest short (the specifics of which we are keeping under serious wrap).

Like the hookers on Hollywood Blvd we are honored by the opportunity the HollyShorts Film Festival has given us.

Peep the full story at The Wrap and get your tickets now!

PS Rumor has it the trailer and title for the forthcoming PERIODS. feature film will be revealed. Okay, it’s not so much a rumor as it is us telling, yes, we’re doing that.

Andy Basore Illuminates Star Making.

Superstar artists and stop-motion-teers Andy Basore and Anthony Johnson joined PERIODS. Films to create the universe for the short RE:CREATION as well as PERIODS. Films’ upcoming feature presentation (hush now, all will be answered).

Andy and Giovanni at work on the cosmos.

ANDY: I’ve been a big fan of the PERIODS. shorts and have wanted to collaborate with Victor and Anna for a long time. Having a background in stop motion animation not improv I wasn’t sure how our creative path would cross. When Victor emailed me and asked if I could help create the universe for his next short I had to hop on boards!

Where did the idea to do the cosmos the way you did come from?
ANDY: If you want to create the cosmos CGI and digital effects are the obvious tools. What excited me about this project is when Victor expressed that he wanted a more handmade approach. I love working with my hands, taking objects and finding ways to bring them to life with animation.  For this project Victor and I both were looking at films like ‘Tree of Life’ & ‘2001’.

In the 60’s sci-fi films relied on a lot of in-camera technique such as dropping ink into a fish tank of water to create the illusion of space.  Ink in water has the same environment as gases in space and create some stunning visuals.
Had you tried anything like this in the past? I have always been a fan on in-camera effects but had never worked with ink and water.  This was truly taking me to a place I had never been before but was excited to explore.

Giovanni contemplates the existence of man in relationship to the universe.

What was your approach?
ANDY: I had great support from Giovanni Autran and Anthony Johnson on this project. Together our approach for creating the cosmos was to see how different inks in different temperatures of water would react. Using a fish tank and just one drop of ink per test allowed us to isolate reactions we found visually interesting. Inks have different densities which allow some to slowly spread out creating stunning cloud formations while others sink to the bottom. When you drop pearlescent ink into warm water it begins to separate sending metallic shavings like glitter around creating the effect of stars floating in space. Giovanni had the difficult task of trying to find the link with light with out having reflections on the fish tank corrupt the images. We compiled our favorite reactions, layering them in post to compose the final shot (which were finally created by editor Charlie Porter).

Do you mind sharing the recipe for your special sauce?
ANDY: Time is the number one ingredient for creating the Cosmos!  The more time you give the ink to expand in the water the richer the image.  Over time we noticed that the ink would start bouncing off the side and bottom of the tank pushing clouds of color back onto each other.  This is where the real magic occurred!

What’s next for you?
ANDY: Right now I’m animating recycled skateboard jewelry for a company in Portland Oregon called MapleXO.
We’re creating a tour de force of destruction and creation with colorful wooden bits and pieces exploding, morphing and sanding down into beautiful pieces of jewelry all through stop motions. By creating numerous wooden models with slight changes has allowed us to make the wood appear to move and change like claymation!

Check out more of Andy’s work at www.andrewjive.com and his brilliant short 8-Bit Holiday.

Photos by Joy Andrews