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HALO-8 Entertainment is an independent film company specializing in genre cinema, documentaries, midnight movies, music-driven lifestyle videos, and animation.[1][2] Its most popular releases include the films Pop Skull and Threat, the animated series Godkiller and Xombie, the fitness yoga franchise, Fitness For Indie Rockers, and the documentaries Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods, Your Mommy Kills Animals, N.Y.H.C., and Ctrl+Alt+Compete.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Formed in 2005 by Matt Pizzolo and the producer Brian Giberson as a film production studio, the company has grown to include a comic book/graphic novel publishing division and two DVD Premiere shingles. HALO-8 also has a fashion division, H8LA. HALO-8's film catalog is split between in-house productions and third-party acquisitions.

HALO-8 gained popularity by producing controversial films such as the animal-rights documentary Your Mommy Kills Animals. The film drew the attention of the Center for Consumer Freedom, who waged a legal campaign to block its release. HALO-8 has developed tech-driven production and distribution strategies such as designing the "illustrated film" format, a cinematic style of limited animation that merges sequential art with 3D CGI, motion graphics, and voice performances in the style of a radio play. HALO-8 has also developed the non-linear film format "Ether Films" which adds hypertext and multi-platform transmedia functionality to film.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]

Imprints and Partnerships

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Halo-8 comics

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In June 2008, HALO-8 debuted a new comic book publishing arm at Wizard World Chicago with Godkiller (written by Matt Pizzolo, illustrated by Anna Muckcracker).[21]

The following February at Wondercon, Halo-8 unveiled its "illustrated film" format that fuses comic books with cinema and explained Godkiller would be released simultaneously as a print comic book and as episodic illustrated films on shortform DVDs.

In April 2010 at C2E2 in Chicago, Halo-8 premiered the collected Godkiller illustrated film and announced several new comic book series: The Long Knives (a giallo-style revenge adventure written by Pizzolo, illustrated by newcomer Ana Ludeshka), Loaded Bible 2 (continuing the acclaimed Jesus vs vampires series by Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash)), Medusa: Year One (a re-invention of the mythic character as a misunderstood heroine), Godkiller 2 (reuniting Pizzolo and Muckcracker), and Black Sky (a Band of Brothers vs Cthulhu series by Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night)).

First annual Halloween multi-filmmaker showcase DVD

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In October 2008, HALO-8 debuted a unique, multi-filmmaker showcase project called Slumber Party Slaughterhouse: The Game, a horror DVD game where each death scene is directed by a different HALO-8 filmmaker and stars actors and actresses from various HALO-8 films. Participating filmmakers included Matt Pizzolo, Doug Sakmann, Joanna Angel, Ramzi Abed, and Kurly Tlapoyawa. Participating actors and actresses included Tiffany Shepis, Masuimi Max, Joanna Angel, Melissa Bacelar, and Katie Nisa. The project premiered at the Halo-8: Films That Kill Halloween festival in Hollywood, where live hosts Joanna Angel, Matt Pizzolo, and Daisy Sparks MC'd the event that mixed pub-trivia style gaming with Rocky Horror-style audience participation.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]

Partnership with Epic Level Entertainment for Xombie

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In November 2008, HALO-8 announced the acquisition of the Xombie web-series produced by James Farr and Epic Level Entertainment's Cindi Rice and John Frank Rosenblum. The March 31, 2009 release date of the Xombie: Dead on Arrival collected series DVD marked HALO-8's entry into distribution of animated films, which was followed by anime-style adaptations of the comic book series currently published under HALO-8's publishing arm.[31]

Illustrated films

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Pizzolo and Giberson began developing what they termed "illustrated films" in late 2007, citing influences Liquid Television, the MTV cartoon adaptation of The Maxx, the Berserk anime series, Chris Marker's La jetée, the motion comic Broken Saints, and the experimental cinema of Ralph Bakshi. Since Pizzolo started out as a playwright, he was interested in using voice performances to drive the pace and action, while composing the visuals from sequential art illustrations in an experimental cinema style utilizing only subtle pans and zooms. Giberson, an Emmy-winning TV producer, pushed Pizzolo to integrate more elaborate animation. The two developed a style that mixed simple limited-animation puppetry with moments of fully animated 3D-CGI. Pizzolo (a longtime comic book fan who previously worked at St. Mark's Comix and Village Comics in NY) decided the sequential art should be composed as a comic book because it was the ideal workflow for creating sequential art. Pizzolo has made clear that this was all theoretical and they might never have executed on the illustrated film style if he had not discovered Anna Muckcracker and recruited her to illustrate the first project, Godkiller.[32]

Pizzolo told Horror News:[33]

There are lots of reasons [Godkiller was made as an illustrated film], but I think the most important one was really being inspired by Anna Muckcracker's gorgeous artwork. Brian Giberson (my partner at Halo-8) and I had been experimenting with the illustrated film format for a while, but we might still have gone with traditional animation for Godkiller since it's really risky to experiment with a crazy story and a new filmmaking format at the same time. But once I saw Anna's art, I knew that no traditional form of animation could do justice to the grimy, textured, surreal aesthetic she created. It was really an artistic choice, because from a business point of view it's just so risky.[34]

Pizzolo has also clarified that the term "illustrated film" was not intended to be a snipe at motion comics, saying he was aware of Broken Saints and has always cited it as an influence but feels motion comics are only one element of the evolving illustrated film style, which is intended to be a constantly evolving multimedia format whose elements are determined by the story rather than the workflow.. He even told Bloody Disgusting that upcoming ill-films may incorporate heavily textured live action and be composed for 3D viewing. Pizzolo also says he is a fan of the Watchmen Motion Comic, but that it hadn't been released yet when he, Giberson, and Muckcracker were producing Godkiller. Pizzolo points out that the contemporary motion comics wave is largely influenced by the Watchmen Motion Comic, so motion comics and illustrated films developed simultaneously but separately from one another. He told Bloody Disgusting, "Godkiller was just a slower production than Watchmen because we had to create 200 pages of art and story from the ground up first, rather than starting with one of the greatest comic books ever made as source material. Plus, we had a dozen voice performers instead of just one."[35]

Wired asked Pizzolo to explain the differences between motion comics and illustrated films:

In illustrated films, we drive the pace of the storytelling with the dramatic voice performances and the sound design, so that allows us to showcase the illustrations in a way where you can really take a moment to absorb the art in the same way you can when reading a comic book ... Motion comics are closer to a form of limited animation that uses comics as source material. Illustrated films are closer to the experimental cinema of Ralph Bakshi's work, Chris Marker's La jetée or animation like Liquid Television.[36]

Pizzolo, Giberson and actresses Danielle Harris and Tiffany Shepis presented two exclusive preview clips of the Godkiller illustrated film at Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors in Los Angeles on April 18, 2009.[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]

Due to overwhelming retail demand far beyond studio expectations, the first episodic DVD's street date was delayed a week until October 6, 2009, allowing for enough DVDs to be manufactured to supply stores. Due to retail holiday conflicts, this delay rescheduled the entire release to: Episode 1 Oct 6 2009, Episode 2 Jan 26 2010, Episode 3 April 16, 2010 (with day & date theatrical release of full feature), Complete film on VOD May 25, 2010, and on DVD July 20, 2010.[48]

The complete 75-minute feature Godkiller: Walk Among Us premiered at the C2E2 comic con in Chicago on April 16, 2010, before playing theatrically in 10 cities. On May 25, 2010, it was distributed via cable VOD to 75 million homes.[49][50][51]

Growth of illustrated films division

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Following the success of Godkiller, HALO-8 ramped up the illustrated film line by growing the slate of its comic book publishing division while also entering into partnerships with other comic book publishers and creators. HALO-8 announced deals to produce illustrated film adaptations of Loaded Bible and Xombie: Reanimated.[52][53]

Shortly after HALO-8 announced the Xombie: Reanimated illustrated film, it was announced DreamWorks SKG is developing a live-action Xombie: Reanimated film to be produced with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.[54]

During Halo-8's panel at WonderCon 2010, Pizzolo unveiled a first look at his giallo animation The Long Knives, which had recently begun production.[55] Two weeks later during Halo-8's panel at C2E2, Pizzolo confirmed his collaboration with Tim Seeley on Loaded Bible[56] and then unveiled two new projects in development: Medusa: Year One[57] and Ben Templesmith's Black Sky.[58][59] In September 2010, MTV Splash Page announced that Pizzolo will direct an illustrated film adaptation of the popular comic book series Hack/Slash.[60] In December 2010, a teaser-trailer was released for the illustrated film Black Sky, illustrated and created by Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night, Welcome To Hoxford, Choker) and directed by Pizzolo.[61]

H8LA

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In November 2009, HALO-8 launched branded-apparel division H8LA, enlisting stylist Aubrie Davis (formerly of Hot Topic and H&M stores) to join the team as Creative Director. Davis began with a line of T-shirts based on Godkiller. Actors Bill Moseley, Danielle Harris, and Tiffany Shepis served double-duty on Godkiller, performing in the film and modeling the T-shirts for H8LA.[62][63]

Affiliated production companies

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Releases

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2006

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2007

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2008

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2009

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2010

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2011

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2012

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In development

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References

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  1. ^ Thill, Scott. "Post-Apocalyptic Comic Godkiller Emerges as 'Illustrated Film'". Wired. October 6, 2009.
  2. ^ Moore, Debi. "Halo-8 Launches H8LA Apparel Line". Dread Central. November 23, 2009.
  3. ^ Goldstein, Gregg. "Halo-8 Letting Animals Out Of Their Cages" The Hollywood Reporter. July 13, 2007.
  4. ^ Simon, Leslie & Tim Kanan. "Yoga For Indie Rockers Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine" Alternative Press #228. July, 2007.
  5. ^ Hays, Matthew. "Dealmakers scouting Fantasia" Playback Magazine. July 11, 2007.
  6. ^ Martin, Peter. "'Your Mommy Kills Animals DVD' Pulled by Amazon" Cinematical. November 14, 2007.
  7. ^ MSNBC Marketwire. "'Your Mommy Kills Animal' DVD Hits Shelves Today... Maybe? Archived 2007-11-22 at the Wayback Machine" MSNBC. November 13, 2007.
  8. ^ Mr. Disgusting. "Halo-8 Acquires 'Pop Skull' for Theatrical/DVD Release" Bloody Disgusting. March 23, 2009.
  9. ^ News. "Halo-8 gets Pop Skull" The Hollywood Reporter. March 23, 2009.
  10. ^ Dominie. "Halo-8 Acquires Award-Winning Psychological Horror Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine" Famous Monsters. March 24, 2009.
  11. ^ Miranda. "Halo-8 Releases Pop Skull on DVD July 28th! Archived 2011-06-15 at the Wayback Machine" Film Fanaddict. March 24, 2009.
  12. ^ Wray, James. "Halo-8 grabs US rights to 'Pop Skull' Archived 2012-09-30 at the Wayback Machine" Monsters & Critics. March 24, 2009.
  13. ^ Rotten, Ryan. "Halo-8 Pops Some Skull Archived 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine Shock Till You Drop. March 25, 2009.
  14. ^ a b Thill, Scott. "Sneak Peek at Ctrl+Alt+Compete, New Doc That Dives Into Startup Culture" Wired (January 11, 2012).
  15. ^ Spielvogel, Cindy. "Godkiller Varies Marketing Push". Video Business Magazine. October 12, 2009.
  16. ^ Moore, Debi. "Godkiller DVD will include Prequel Audiobooks". Dread Central. August 27, 2009.
  17. ^ Martin, Peter. "'Your Mommy Kills Animals' DVD Pulled by Amazon". Cinematical. November 14, 2007.
  18. ^ Yahoo! News. "'Your Mommy Kills Animals' DVD Hits Shelves Today... Maybe". Yahoo Finance. November 13, 2007.
  19. ^ Martin, Peter. "Indie Online: Netflix, Televandalism and Jaman". Cinematical. May 21, 2008.
  20. ^ Rosenthal, Phil. "Halo-8 Launches Digital Movie Portal 'TELEVANDALISM.com' with Controversial Flagship Archived 2008-08-08 at the Wayback Machine". Elites TV. May 21, 2008.
  21. ^ Goldstein, Gregg. "Halo-8 infected with 'Pink Eye'". The Hollywood Reporter. June 25, 2008.
  22. ^ Mr. Disgusting. "SDCC '08: Halo-8 Entertainment's Comic-Con Happenings" Bloody-Disgusting. July 23, 2008.
  23. ^ Graser, Marc. "Comic Con Sees Super Efforts in PR" Variety. July 25, 2008.
  24. ^ Mr. Disgusting. "Slumber Party Slaughterhouse Contest" Bloody Disgusting. September 23, 2008.
  25. ^ First Look. "First Look: Slumber Party Slaughterhouse Archived 2009-06-11 at the Wayback Machine" Femme Fatales Magazine. September 2008.
  26. ^ HR News. "Happy Halo-Ween" Hollywood Reporter. September 30, 2008.
  27. ^ Moore, Debi. "8 Films To Kill For: Halo-ween Fest Details" Dread Central. October 2, 2008.
  28. ^ Moore, Debi. "New name For Halo-8 Film Fest" Dread Central. November 7, 2008.
  29. ^ Laurie, Wes. "Halo-8 Films That Kill Schedule" Terror Tube. November 15, 2008.
  30. ^ Loh, Stephen. "Films That Kill Fest Archived 2008-10-27 at the Wayback Machine" LA.com. November 24, 2008.
  31. ^ ICv2 News. "'Xombie' To Get DVD Release". ICv2. November 13, 2008.
  32. ^ Anders, Jason. "The Making of Godkiller". Fulle Circle Magazine. November 24, 2009.
  33. ^ Horror, Joy. "Interview: Matt Pizzolo". Horror News. October 2009.
  34. ^ "Leap of Faith – Available on Shudder Nov. 19th". 22 November 2020.
  35. ^ THEoDEAD. "MAY SPOTLIGHT: Halo-8 PLUS An Interview With Founder Matt Pizzolo! Archived 2010-05-07 at the Wayback Machine". Bloody Disgusting. May 4, 2010.
  36. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-07. Retrieved 2017-03-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  37. ^ Gingold, Michael. "HALLOWEEN star and more join GODKILLER". Fangoria. March 26, 2009.
  38. ^ Moore, Debi. "Triple Threat: Danielle Harris, Katie Nisa, and Nicki Clyne in Godkiller". Dread Central. March 26, 2009.
  39. ^ Walkuski, Eric. "3 Join Godkiller". Arrow In The Head. March 26, 2009.
  40. ^ Morris, Clint. "Galactica's Cally in Comic Book Movie Archived 2009-03-28 at the Wayback Machine". Moviehole. March 26, 2009.
  41. ^ News Staff. "HALLOWEEN star and more join GODKILLER[permanent dead link‍]". Fear Asylum. March 26, 2009.
  42. ^ Meh. "Danielle Harris joins Godkiller Archived 2009-03-30 at the Wayback Machine". Horror-Movies.ca. March 26, 2009.
  43. ^ Mr. Disgusting. "Genre Vets Loads Up 'Godkiller' Cast". Bloody Disgusting. March 26, 2009.
  44. ^ News Staff. "Halloween's Danielle Harris, Battlestar Galactica's Nicki Clyne, Threat's Katie Nisa Join GODKILLER! Archived 2009-04-30 at the Wayback Machine". Icons of Fright. March 26, 2009.
  45. ^ Beiramar, Emmanuel. "Du beau monde pour Godkiller Archived 2009-05-01 at the Wayback Machine". Fantasy.fr. March 26, 2009.
  46. ^ Timpone, Tony. "IT’S ALIVE! First look at LA Fango con schedule". Fangoria. April 14, 2009.
  47. ^ Moore, Debi. "LA Weekend of Horrors: Choice Cuts Archived 2013-12-30 at the Wayback Machine". Dread Central. April 15, 2009.
  48. ^ Moore, Debi. "Godkiller DVD Release Pushed Back To Accommodate Demand". Dread Central. September 14, 2009.
  49. ^ Newsarama. "TEMPLESMITH/ PIZZOLO: Black Sky, God Killer & More @ C2E2". Newsarama. April 19, 2010.
  50. ^ Moore, Debi. "Details on the Godkiller Theatrical Tour and VOD Home Invasion". Dread Central. May 17, 2010.
  51. ^ THEoDEAD. "Halo-8 Announces Theatrical Tour For 'Godkiller' Including IMAX! Archived 2010-05-19 at the Wayback Machine". Dread Central. May 17, 2010.
  52. ^ News. "Hack/Slasher locks Loaded Bible deal with Godkiller team". Comic Book Resources. August 31, 2009.
  53. ^ Rotten, Ryan. "Divine Team-Up for Loaded Bible Film Archived 2009-09-02 at the Wayback Machine". Shock Til You Drop. September 1, 2009.
  54. ^ News. "DreamWorks Walking With Xombie". Reuters. September 23, 2009.
  55. ^ Douglas, Ed. "Halo-8 Tackles Giallo The Long Knives". Shock Till You Drop. April 3, 2010.
  56. ^ THEoDEAD. "EXCLUSIVE: Halo-8 Releases New info On 'Loaded Bible', Tim Seeley Talks Voice Casting! Archived 2010-04-30 at the Wayback Machine". Bloody Disgusting. April 21, 2010.
  57. ^ Hess, Michael. "Medusa: Year One Exclusive Image Archived 2010-04-29 at the Wayback Machine". UGO. April 20, 2010.
  58. ^ Parkin, JK. "C2E2 | Ben Templesmith working on 'illustrated film'". Comic Book Resources. April 20, 2010.
  59. ^ Khouri, Andy. "New 'Black Sky' Teaser Brings Ben Templesmith's Illustrations to Film Video Archived 2011-01-11 at the Wayback Machine". Comics Alliance. December 2, 2010.
  60. ^ Marshall, Rick. "Hack/Slash To Get The Illustrated Film Treatment". MTV Splash Page. September 10, 2010.
  61. ^ "Nice Art: Ben Templesmith's BLACK SKY teaser | The Beat". Archived from the original on 2010-12-08. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
  62. ^ Raffel, Lawrence P. "Genre Actors Hit Runway for Godkiller". FEARnet. December 11, 2009.
  63. ^ News."Harris, Moseley, Shepis Model Godkiller Apparel". Shock Till You Drop. November 24, 2009.
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