Angelic Pictures announces:
They say, “Practice like you’re Performing, and you’ll Perform like you Practiced.”
THE CONFESSION:
For 29 years, people watched me make seemingly random movies. Beach comedies. Golf Movies. Immigration dramas. They’d see me at festivals, checking out other’s projects, at Universal meetings, at Paramount meetings, and finishing my project post-productions at Warner Bros. They’d pull me aside with that look–half confused, half concerned.
“Mark, what’s your strategy?”
“Why these small movies?”
“When are you going to do something… bigger?”
My own DP told a documentary crew during MUSIC HIGH: “The director looks crazy, like he’s playing chess while we’re playing checkers. But there’s some master plan here. I just can’t figure out what it is.”
He was right. There was a plan. Every single movie was calculated training for one goal: the Space Samurai, Trilogy.
I wasn’t making random Movies. I was building a Hollywood laboratory, turning each production into an experiment. Learning what I needed to know for the moment that’s finally arrived.
THE TRUTH ABOUT FILM SCHOOL:
Film school teaches you to make an indie film that screens at Sundance to 200 people. I needed to learn how to make a $100M trilogy that plays to 38 million viewers worldwide with 70-year revenue streams.
You can’t learn that in a classroom. You can’t even learn it from a mentor unless you’re already successful – Hollywood’s ultimate Catch-22.
So I hacked the system. Started with $200K ultra-low budget productions. Then $0.5M. Then movies and sequels for $1.5M. Each movie a semester, each distribution deal a master class. Building my way up, mistake by mistake, victory by victory, until I was ready for the real thing.
THE BUILDING BLOCKS:
Movie #1: THE MONTH OF AUGUST (1996)
Everyone thought we were making just another beach comedy. We stuffed it with product placements – energy drinks, sunglasses, tech gadgets. But the real innovation was invisible. We built our own software that could edit 24fps movies on computers that only understood 30fps video.
Apple sent a skeptical engineer to our lab screening. We showed him the “impossible”– our 24fps movie playing perfectly on a projector, edited entirely on a computer. One phone call to Cupertino: “They did it.”
Apple bought the software that became Final Cut Pro.
That’s when I knew – movies aren’t just entertainment. They’re innovation laboratories.
Movies #2-3: HOLE IN ONE & BEACH BAR
Now I had Universal’s attention. Time to master prosthetics and special effects on shoestring budgets. But the real lesson? Every movie should be pregnant with its sequel.
HOLE IN ONE wasn’t just a golf comedy – it was a universe that demanded BEACH BAR. Same world, double the return. Studios love franchises but fear commitment. Show them you can build one without permission?
Now you’re dangerous.
Movie #4: MUSIC HIGH
One location – a school. Tiny budget. So we innovated “flipping the world.” Shot from every conceivable angle, and we turned one building into twelve different “unique locations.” We’d shoot the ending on day one, the beginning on day twelve.
The crew thought I’d lost it. “This makes no sense!” But when you flip the traditional model, you find gold in the chaos. We came in under budget with a movie that looked like it cost millions.
Movies #5-6: LA MIGRA & FEARLESS–The Hat Trick
Two movies. Same cast. Same crew. Same time. Everyone said impossible.
Here’s the secret: You’re already paying for 30 days of crew, equipment, locations. Why make one movie? Several days, we shot LA MIGRA by day, FEARLESS by night. Two completely different stories, same resources. Cut costs, increased profits.
This was trilogy training–learning to think in multiples, maintain momentum, keep teams together for the long haul.
THE PROJECTS THAT PREPARED US:
While others were watching our movies, we were building our skills:
Final Cut Pro Development → Technology integration mastery
Universal Relationship → Distribution with a minimum-guarantee
Product Placement Network → 13 revenue streams
Block Shooting Innovation → Trilogy efficiency
The Hat Trick Method → Maximum ROI strategy
This wasn’t random. This was architecture.
THE SAMURAI PHILOSOPHY:
A samurai doesn’t just swing a sword. He practices 10,000 cuts before the battle. Each cut more precise than the last. Each movement building toward perfection.
That’s what these 29 years have been. 10,000 cuts. Every movie a practice swing. Every production a step closer to mastery.
And now, after three decades of preparation, the blade is sharp. The stance is perfect. The strike is perfected and ready.
Space Samurai isn’t just another movie. It’s the culmination of everything. Every lesson learned. Every relationship built. Every innovation discovered.
Practice like you’re Performing, and you’ll Perform like you Practiced.
29 years of preparation. One perfect strike.
The machine is built. The team is ready. 2026 is the year.
New SPACE SAMURAI fans can glimpse Oasis, here is our Pre-Vis Promo Teaser:
Space Samurai: Oasis Featurette:
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2749348121
IMDb – Space Samurai: Oasis:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1312240
Instagram – Space Samurai.Oasis:
https://www.instagram.com/SpaceSamurai.Oasis
Questions about SPACE SAMURAI investment opportunities and Vendor Affiliate positions?