ZaneFilms: impactful storytelling and stunning visual design

From web short to feature film, ZaneFilms is in full-steam creation mode. In partnership with a number of talented Austin filmmakers and producers, R. Zane Rutledge is actively developing several dynamic film projects.

In late 2011, the Mad Hatter Collective (which Rutledge founded) released a short film trailer for the Electronic Arts sequel “Alice: Madness Returns.” The short was called “as cool as it is creepy, and it’s pretty damned creepy.” Buzzfeed said “This video is frabulously fantastically dark. Now this is a Wonderland movie I would watch.” Painstakingly evident in “Alice,” eye-catching visuals and a twisted storyline remain touchstones of the ZaneFilms aesthetic.

Rutledge is actively developing a number of feature projects with filmmaker Jeff Stolhand. Their latest screenplay re-imagines the gritty cop series “Do-Overs” as a feature film project. “Charlie Thunder” is now in the final script stages after a successful short film proof-of-concept was lensed last year. This screenplay is shaping up to be the next full-length feature for co-creators Rutledge and Stolhand.

Rutledge and Stolhand have a handful of other projects in development as well (including Rutledge’s AFF thriller/horror finalist “Static”), and are determined to build a lean-and-mean pipeline for production that pushes impactful, hard-hitting storytelling, rich character development, as well as eye-popping and unforgettable visuals.