Actor Sala Baker is no stranger to playing the bad guy; he appeared, after all, as Sauron himself in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies. Now he’s starring as the ‘lead heavy’ in a new movie, The Last Deal.
Director Jonathan Salemi was in touch with TORn, and let us know that ‘Sala’s character, The Boss, is the leader of a gang that loans money to our lead character, Vince [played by Anthony Molinari], and when Vince can’t pay him back, The Boss intends to get his money back at any cost.’ Baker is of course also well known as a stuntman, and his skills are put to good use in this film; Salemi told ComingSoon.net, ‘Actors that are also veteran stunt performers were casted in the leads so we could keep all the action on screen without cutting away, and keep it very real.’
The film sold out at the Boston International Film Festival, where Salemi was awarded Best Director. The Last Deal also sold out at Dances with Films in Hollywood, and Molinari was awarded ‘Best Performance by a lead actor’ at San Antonio Film Festival.
The Last Deal is scheduled for a select theatre release in February 2023; meanwhile, you can enjoy the trailer:
The exclusive The Lord of The Rings™ Roleplaying game live event for Extra Life, a charity uniting thousands of gamers around the world in support of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals — Only at LA Comic Con
For every Middle-earth fan attending L.A. Comic Con, this Roleplaying live event is the perfect way to end your Saturday evening. There will be an All-Star group of gamers and actors playing the game, all for charity, and you can be there to watch it live.
LIVE EVENT DETAILS: How: Redeem your free ticket at the Legion M booth (booth 1015) starting at 11 am PST on Sat, December 3rd, 2022 When: Saturday, December 3rd, 2022 Where: Only at Los Angeles Comic Con in room 301AB Time: Doors open 6 pm | Show starts 7 pm PT Donate to Extra Life at: https://www.extra-life.org/participant/lostodyssey
The full press release is below:
LOS ANGELES, Ca., Nov. 29 — One charity campaign to unite fans of fantasy and gaming alike. ‘From the mind of Kate Welch’, Lost Odyssey: The Red Scribe will see a fellowship of heroes come together in the World Premiere of the brand new The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying Game, in a spectacular, never-before-heard tale from Middle Earth. The game will kick off a first-of-its-kind digital marketplace, hosted by eBay, where both fans and companies can buy and sell products to benefit Extra Life, a program that’s raised over $100 million to fund critical life-saving treatments and healthcare services, along with innovative research, vital pediatric medical equipment, and child life services across the nation.
Join game master Kate Welch (Acquisitions Incorporated), alongside an all-star cast of players including Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood, Daredevil), Reggie Watts (The Late Late Show with James Corden), TJ Storm (Godzilla, Deadpool), Luke Gygax (GaryCon, GaxxWorx), and The Dark Lord Sauron himself, Sala Baker (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), for a tabletop roleplaying experience like no other. Free to attend for any LACC Saturday badge holder, the star-studded celebrity gaming series Lost Odyssey returns to a physical table after two years of webcam games for an incredible cause. People coming together and telling stories to help one another—gathering around the proverbial campfire, and telling a story as one. Be the first to get your free ticket at the Legion M booth starting at 11 am PST on December 3rd – A limited number of tickets are available! Attendees will receive exclusive Comic-Con giveaways like minis, dice, and more… they may even have a role to play in the onstage story itself!
Lost Odyssey: The Red Scribe is presented by The Lord of the Rings™: Rise to War (an officially licensed mobile strategy game based on the iconic trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien, developed by NetEase Games), and brought to you from sponsors including Free League Publishing (Creators of hit TTRPGs like ALIEN The Roleplaying Game, Blade Runner The Roleplaying Game, The One Ring™, and of course the new The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying Game), Legion M (the world’s first fan-owned entertainment company), Magpie Games (Avatar: Legends, Root The Roleplaying Game, and Urban Shadows), Spidermind Games (creator of the new technologically advanced, Dragon Eye Dice), Miniature Market (the online gaming superstore), DUST (a diverse platform for visionaries across the sci-fi community), GaxxWorx (veteran-owned company focused on creating well-designed and fun games and gaming accessories for everyone), and Syrinscape (the app that brings immersive sound effects and music to your tabletop roleplaying games, offering unique soundscapes that will elevate your game at home the same way you’ll see at-play in Lost Odyssey: The Red Scribe).
Stay tuned for more game details at: lostodysseyevents.com
Follow along on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/TikTok: @LostOdysseyLive
About LOST ODYSSEY EVENTS: From the production company INSIGNIS PICTURES, LOST ODYSSEY EVENTS is a TTRPG event series created by Douglisio DiMuccio and Rob D. Miller, a narrative multiverse bringing together the organizations and personalities of the TTRPG community behind common causes. Story saves.
About EXTRA LIFE: Extra Life is a charity uniting thousands of gamers around the world to play games in support of their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Since its inception in 2008, Extra Life has raised over $100 million to fund critical life-saving treatments and healthcare services, along with innovative research, vital pediatric medical equipment, and child life services across the nation. For Lost Odyssey Events: inquiries@insignispictures.com
What lessons can Amazon learn from the team that’s been there & back again? Let’s find out! Join TORn Tuesday hosts Cliff Broadway and Justin Sewell for an epic All-Star LOTR panel tomorrow! Joining us will be Mark Ordesky (Executive Producer), Sean Astin (Actor – Sam Gamgee), Rick Porras (Co-producer), Jim Rygiel (Visual Effects Supervisor), Michael Pellerin (Producer, multiple LOTR & Hobbit documentaries), Keith Stern (Ian McKellen’s Digital Manager), and Sala Baker (Actor – Sauron), as we all relive memories of filming LORD OF THE RINGS. What were those early days on set like? Did producers follow the fan discussion online? What made this effort so special? Get your deep knowledge questions ready for this multi-Oscar winning team and join the Live chat tomorrow 5pm PT. There are three options to watch the live stream, each of which let you comment and ask questions of your own:
It’s been almost a year since The One Last Party, but we haven’t forgotten it, and we didn’t want Peter Jackson to think we’d forgotten about him either. As you may remember, one of the promises we made on the Indiegogo campaign was that we would send Peter a “thank you” card. To be exact, we said, “Your name will go on an EPIC ‘thank you’ card we will present or send to Peter Jackson, from fans everywhere, to express our appreciation for the immense effort he and his cast and crew have put into the epic journey of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films.”
After the campaign ended, the TORn staff began brainstorming how to get all the names on one card – there were a lot of them! We decided to create a keepsake ‘Red Book’ for Peter. TORn staffer and designer, Mithril (Nancy Steinman), found a gorgeous leather journal and then designed and illustrated the interior pages and bound them into the book. Out of the 194 pages of the journal, 180 of them were the list of names!
Peter now has his journal, but we thought all of you deserved something to remember that fantastic night, too (besides your gift bags), so Mithril reached out with some questions to one of the party planners who was absolutely instrumental in making the party happen. Following is the interview with TORn Senior Staffer greendragon, and scroll down to see some photos of the journal and the party.
