Summary
ATTENTION all dog and cat lovers alike! We are the filmmakers of a new short film called Dog-Gone It! This is a beautifully crafted story about a man named Keith and his best friend/dog Rufus being torn apart due to unforeseen circumstances. Keith must go on the adventure of his life to reclaim his buddy before his relationships crumble.
This comedy will indeed pull on your heart. Even though we follow live actors in costume playing dogs and cats, the themes and emotion are very much relatable and real. Audiences will feel the emotional loss of a pet and the struggle to make the best of a situation. Hope that Keith will find his friend before it is too late.
The genesis of Dog-Gone It! came from an idea Hunter had about wanting to dress as a dog and pretend to be Paul's pet. What started as a joke, took off, and the next day Hunter had written the script.
Hunter and Paul are best friends in real life so this story had to be told! Truthfully, they never used any of their acting abilities because this is just them hanging out with a camera.
Meet The Team
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Hunter James Cox - “Rufus”/Producer/Writer/Director/Editor
Hunter won his first digital camera in a raffle and from there he started experimenting with short films at his church in Streator, IL. In high school he was fired from his mascot position because of a film he made. It went all over the Chicago news and prompted Hunter to consider a full time career in the movie business. He then turned toward crafting a controversial true crime documentary called The Starved Rock Murders. This project made appearances with Nancy Grace and several other podcasts/radio stations. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago in 2014, he moved to Los Angeles. Hunter put out several successful shorts, The Guitar, and One Thousand Cranes, whereupon he snagged awards from the festival circuit all across the United States. He is a member of the DGA working as a 2nd assistant director and also a member of IATSE Local 80 in crafts service. Hunter’s true passion remains behind the lens and is hopeful to continue his dream of directing.
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Paul Zecharia - “Keith”/Producer
When Paul was just a young lad growing up in Canada, he discovered his passion for storytelling. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago in 2014, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career as a filmmaker. His short film Last Call has been featured in several film festivals as a finalist and award-winner (even he couldn’t believe it). Paul has also acted in projects for Buzzfeed, 48 Hour Film Project LA, and was a recurring character on the web series Mr. Student Body President...also named Paul. When not on set, he enjoys photography and cosplaying as Wednesday Addams and Doctor Strange. Paul is currently developing his first feature film which he hopes will be his big break. Give Paul a call?
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Sreejith Nair - “Sebastian”/Director of Photography
Sreejith Nair is an LA-based writer, director and producer, best known for his award-winning short film, The Color of Me, now available on Amazon Prime. Born and raised in Chicago, and graduating from Columbia College Chicago in 2016, Sreejith has always had a passion for monster films and stories with non-human characters. The first film he ever saw was Disney’s Dinosaur, which changed his life forever. Sreejith centers his work around producing films with monster characters and hopes to bring them into a new light as actual characters and not just creatures. “I was so happy to get a part in this film as a mischievous black cat, I love playing non-human characters and adding my own spin on monsters and creatures”
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Val Cozzens - “Mandy”
A Boston native, Val grew up with a passion for acting. She realized her calling at only 12 years old participating in a production of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown”. With a desire to pursue TV and film, she moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Salem State University. Since moving to LA, Val has starred and co-starred in many independent short films and hopes to continue to practice her craft in the future. In her spare time, she enjoys playing soccer and snuggling with her pup.
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Madison Mojica - Makeup Artist
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Madison always had an interest in monsters and creatures of all types, which grew into a love of all things spooky, weird, creepy and odd! Elaborate childhood Halloween costumes turned into a love of cosplay and a desire to make her own monsters and creeps of the silver screen, so she went straight into formal makeup school with a focus on special effects makeup right out of high school, and has been a working professional ever since! When not working as a creature performer during haunt season each fall, some of her makeup work includes the web series Drunk Hawk Man, horror movie The Farm, interactive horror play experience Delusion as well as several short films and proof of concept pitches!
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Katrina Zemrak - Composer
Katrina Zemrak is an award-winning composer who has scored over 40 short films and a handful of features including the animated feature musical, “Bongee Bear and the Kingdom of Rhythm.” She currently works on Nickelodeon shows “The Loud House” and “The Casagrandes” as a music editor, and also composes for the shows short film projects.
Outside of Nickelodeon, Katrina composes various genres of music for many different projects. Her musical style has no limitations, allowing her to compose for all different types of ensembles, whether a film calls for an orchestral or electronic score. Katrina’s music has also been recorded by multiple orchestras and has been broadcast and featured by Chicago’s classical radio station, WFMT.
Since 2012, Katrina has also run the California Independent Film Festival International Film Scoring Competition based in the San Francisco area.
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EJ Lewis - 1st Assistant Director
Born and raised in Metro Detroit, this Michigander E.J. is an Assistant Director, actress, and filmmaker. After graduating from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!), E.J. moved to LA to follow her passion in entertainment. She has Assistant Directed/Produced an award winning 48Hr Film "Coercion," and has also worked on various music videos, web series, network shows and short films. She still continues to practice her crafts in filmmaking and acting. When not on set, you can find E.J. doing outdoor activities, baking, crafting, or playing with her pet tortoise named Sherman!
The Impact
Our objective for Dog-Gone It! is to bring audiences a laugh. An enjoyable experience for everyone, especially for pet loving families.