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ArtSpear Entertainment – Publicity

2013

Gold Class (2010)

http://www.scaryminds.com/reviews/2013/short24.php

February 12, 2013

Director Joe Bauer
Writers Rita Artmann, Joe Bauer, Mathew Wilkinson
Starring Rita Artmann, Joe Bauer, Jesse Harris, Mathew J. Wilkinson
Genre Urban Horrors
Tagline None Listed
Run Time (minutes) 6:00
Country


Review

“Now look it’s a really emotional film and I know you women get a little hysterical so I’m going to ask you to restrain yourself for the convenience of our other patrons” – The Usher.

Hoping to catch a later night screening of Australian Social Realism: The Movie, Josey attends the about to be closed Regent cinema. She should have known something was off with the Usher wearing a fez. Our gal is something of a hygiene freak, she uses one of those hand held vacuum cleaners to give her seat a once over, and the ever present hand sanitation gel makes an appearance. Satisfied all is right with her germ free environment, Josey settles in for a night at the movies.

Naturally things go wrong as two Bogans, Carl and Steve, take the seats next to her in the otherwise empty cinema. Carl and Steve are quite happy to carry out a conversation over the top of Josey, answer their mobile phones, and give away the twist in the movie. When Carl pulls out a baby and proceeds to change its nappy, Josey snaps. A cinema goer’s worse nightmare, let’s see if the movie was worth the ticket price.

First short movie review of the year, and given how slack the site was in covering shorts last year, probably the first of quite a few reviews of shorter movies. I actually ran into this one while I was looking for some info on Production company ArtSpear’s feature length movie The Killage. Awesome, got to love falling over something you were unaware of and then having a good time watching an above average short delivering the horror of the cinema goer all wrapped up in some solid Strine humour. Let’s crack into it, and see what Director Joe Bauer has served for our delectation.

The real horror being presented here, and it’s something we keep harping on about, is the cinema patron being confronted by the sort of selfish bogan who thinks nothing of disrupting other people’s enjoyment of a movie. With a whole cinema empty both Carl and Steve decide to sit down next to Josey, sheep like mentality I’ve experienced before, maybe your average bogan is scared to sit on their own in the dark? Equally we have all had the experience of someone hitting their mobile phone in the cinema, sorry if you can’t go 90 odd minutes without your mobile then you are clearly too important a person to be spending time watching movies. I’ve given up being a regular cinema patron due to the morons who have to check their texts every five minutes, and I’m sure I’m not alone. Equally people talking through movies and quite often giving the plot away, to be honest the death penalty isn’t enough for these cretins. Carl and Steve present your worst nightmare, two bogans who simply shouldn’t be going to movies. Naturally the Writers collective that got Gold Class to the screen take it over the top, I was actually grinning and grinding my teeth to the antics of our pair of disruptive units.

However Josey isn’t really playing with a full deck either, there’s something slightly off with this chick, and yes I know the whole point of the short is an overly uptight person being confronted with a nightmare beyond her endurance levels. Now I simply believe you should turn off your mobile when going into a movie, Josey goes one step beyond; she removes both her mobile’s battery and the sim card! She clearly has a few problems with public contact as well, and you would have to wonder if she should be catching a movie herself.

While Gold Class is clearly meant to be taken as a comedy, and we can all recognise something from the situation, there is perhaps something working subversively under what first appears to be a deceptively simple twist on the cinema patrons from hell. I may be reading a bit too much into this short, but am not surprised to learn that the cinema the action goes down in is shortly to close! As opposed to those claiming that the Box Office remains strong, simple research indicates the number of patrons through the doors is actually dropping. Revenue streams remain strong due to increased ticket prices, 3D, and IMAX, not due to the number of people catching movies. The Regent is closing, and it’s no wonder, why would anyone want to pay the best part of $20 dollars to experience the activities of patrons like the sort that haunt this cinema. As stated ad nausea around here, we’re no longer regular cinema attendees and we work for a movie review website! Maybe the Writers here are sending a salient message to the cinema chains in Australia, there’s better options that the local theatre, clean up your act and give the arse to the disruptive element ruining the joy of the silver screen for others. When you think about it, and as stated I might be over thinking things, not a bad wee message in six minutes./

To get down to tin tacks here, Gold Class is well written, romps along to a number of punch lines, and has some solid acting to keep us entertained. There’s a lot going down in six minutes, but nothing feels rushed, though for mine the baby was taking things slightly beyond the requirements. You get six minutes of solid cinematic entertainment, and that’s pretty much why we’re dialling in.

Overall I had a good time with Gold Class, have been in Josey’s situation more than once, though to be honest my hygiene levels aren’t so exacting. At six minutes the short has more to say than a butt load of Boredwood releases taking major time out of our lives, great achievement. I’m certainly going to be diving in to more of Production company ArtSpear’s work in the future, bodes well for Killage which I’ll personally get to before too many weeks elapse. Yeah I know, famous last words.

2012

Double feature

Brisbane News – November 21-27 2012 issue 909 – page 9

2011

Acting Graduate Turns Producer and Makes Her Own Luck

http://www.directionsmagazine.com.au/Story/AWS?fb_comment_id=fbc_10150437525204111_20036512…

Posted on 5th of Dec 2011

Rita Artmann graduated from The Actors Workshop in 2007 with an Advanced Diploma of Film TV and Theatre acting. After graduating, Rita worked on short films, TV series, educational/ training videos and independent features.

In 2009, Rita and her partner Joe Bauer formed their own production company, ArtSpear Entertainment and started work on their first feature film, titled “The Killage”, in which she plays the lead role of “Emily”.

“The Killage” has since won the Best in Festival prize at the Crystal Palace International Film Festival in London, and Best Trailer in the Spooky Movie trailer competition in Washington DC.

It has been accepted into festivals worldwide (New York, London, Berlin) and will screen on the Gold Coast as part of the Gold Coast Film Festival 2011. Most recently, ArtSpear Entertainment has released their first TV series “The Void” which aired on 31Digital.

Rita has this to say about her training:

“Although I have never studied film, the skills I learnt at The Actors Workshop more than prepared me for my role as a producer as well as an actress. Lyn Kidd always said to me: “If you don’t give yourself a job, why should anyone else?” And it’s true!
You need to be prepared to make your own work in this industry and stand behind yourself and your art. 80 percent of the actors that ArtSpear have used are from TAW. There is definitely a lot to be said about the high quality of talent that comes out of this school.”

More information on ArtSpear Entertainment is available at www.artspear.com

ARTSPEAR ENTERTAINMENT contains: graduate Rita Artmann (50%)

http://www.theactorsworkshop.com.au/ac_performers.htm

19 October 2011

Last year this little company produced 4 short films and a feature. It has already won awards. Property of the Grim Reaper won Best Visual Effects (2010 – 48hr film festival) and Gold Class came 6th in the international YOBI Film Competition. Artspear co-founder Rita Artmann (2007 Graduate) sat down with with the website team for a bit of Q&A.

TEAM: What advice would you give to newly developing artists and creators?

RITA: Two pieces of advice I learnt at the Workshop have been completely true in my case. 1. Make your own work. If you don’t want to give yourself a job, why should anyone else? 2. One audition really can change your life or career path.. So NEVER stop auditioning!

TEAM: What have you been up to since graduating?

RITA: I have worked on copious short films, educational videos, operations manuals, corporate role plays, theatre shows, independent features. I’ve had TV work, including playing the character of Sapphire on channel 9’s “The Strip”.

TEAM: So, how did Artspear Entertainment form?

RITA: In 2009 I auditioned for an independent feature film and was offered the lead role. Shortly after the shoot had begun, the production fell apart. I saw this as my first chance to produce. I could see great talent and enthusiasm within the film’s director, Joe Bauer, so I approached him with the idea that we redo the film. We decided to start from the beginning. We formed ArtSpear Entertainment an independent production company which focuses on comedy and bringing decent work to young Actors and Filmmakers.

TEAM: So, how did you tackle your first production?

RITA: I didn’t think I would be able to fill the shoes of a producer, especially starting with a feature film. It is a huge job and I haven’t even been to film school, but I found my training at The Actors Workshop more than prepared me for the huge learning curve I was about to take and ended up being all I needed. Our first feature film The Killage has turned out better than we could have hoped for.

TEAM: When can we see it?

RITA: It is set to be released in 2011 and we are ready to make waves.

Rated: MA15+

Brisbane Production Company Enters International Film Festivals + New TV Series

http://www.brisbane-australia.com/industrynews/brisbane-production-company-enters-international-film-festivals-new-tv-series/

Posted on September 26, 2011 by admin

Artspear Entertainment

ArtSpear Entertainment is an independent production company located in Brisbane, Australia. It was formed in early 2010 by Rita Artmann and Joe Bauer and specialises in film and visual media production.

In 2011 Artspear Entertainment produced the feature film The Killage – which has been accepted into a number of upcoming international film festivals, including but not limited to: Crystal Palace International Film Festival in London; Bram Stoker International Film Festival in Whitby, England; and Spookie Movie International Horror Film Festival and Trailer Competition in Arlingtion, USA. This year also sees their first brand new TV series The Void goes to air late October.

ArtSpear Entertainment aims to bring decent work to talented young actors and filmmakers in Australia and to employ people based on their ability and not on their renown. Their ultimate goal is to put the Australian film industry on the map by expanding the possibilities for what an Australian production can be.

Rita Artmann states “So many of our best and brightest go to America because they can’t get interest for the projects they want to make here. It would be wonderful if Australian filmmakers could focus on entertaining their audience and didn’t have to incessantly promote the “Australian identity” (whatever that is) or first consider the nation’s tourism industry just to get a grant”.

The Void

The Void is a new comedy series focusing on a group of unappreciated young filmmakers trapped by contract on a never-ending (12 years and counting) feature film project called The Void, under the direction of a woeful, yet inexplicably pretentious twat with a seemingly limitless supply of funding.

It is a sit-com that intercuts with skits – “a skit-com” and airs every Wednesday night at 9.30pm on 31Digital TV from the 26th of October for a six week series.

The Killage

First conceived in mid-2009, The Killage is a schlock-horror/comedy that pokes fun at films in the “slasher” genre.

A group of eleven recruits, composed entirely of excruciating social stereotypes, and one dorky camp instructor, embark on a weekend-long work retreat in the quasi-wilderness of northern south-east Queensland.

Based on the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel (sic), The Killage is a wacky, fright-filled journey into the darkest recesses of the human intestines. For more information on ArtSpear Entertainment log onto www.artspear.com

What: The Void
When: Wednesday 26 October 2011 6.30pm (first of a six week series)
Where: 31 Digital TV