Canadian short film shoots into the big show
TORONTO — A Canadian action short film starring Missy Peregrym and Peter Mooney of Rookie Blue fame is headed to Comic-Con.
The Proposal — which features Peregrym and Mooney literally kicking each other’s butts on a first date — will be screened at the annual comic book blowout Thursday in San Diego.
“It’s absolutely incredible,” said director Geordie Sabbagh in a phone interview. “For an action film, (Comic-Con) is kind of the pinnacle. It’s very exciting, especially among the Hollywood movies and TV shows that are being screened there.”
Peregrym and Mooney, who play star-crossed lovers in Global’s Rookie Blue, appear in The Proposal as Sara and Jack, who meet on a blind date. Instead of getting to know each other in the usual fashion, the pair test their romantic connection through gunfights and hand-to-hand combat.
The nine-minute film was shot in Toronto over two days for about $50,000, which mostly funded action sequences and stunts. Money was so tight that most of the furniture came from Sabbagh’s home.
“To get from that all the way to Comic-Con is a big leap for us,” he said.
Sabbagh, who produced Two Guys Who Sold the World and is working on a feature film called A Sunday Kind of Love, said being screened at Comic-Con is like a stamp of approval for an action film.
“If you say I did an action short that screened at Comic-Con In San Diego, people are much more likely to take an interest in it and take an interest in you. It gives you a little bit of a push,” he said.
“Because people are such fans of Comic-Con and of action and superhero films, the reaction I’ve gotten from cast and crew has been a lot more excitement than a normal festival,” Sabbagh added.