WarnerMedia OneFifty Acquires Oscar-Nominated Live Action Short Please Hold for HBO Max
WarnerMedia
PLEASE HOLD is the first Live Action Short Film Oscar-nominee this season to land with a major streamer. Following a successful festival run, the film was acquired by WarnerMedia OneFifty to stream exclusively on HBO Max, where it will launch on March 17. It is directed by KD D vila, who also wrote the film along with Levin Menekse.
Set five minutes into the future, PLEASE HOLD is a sci-fi dark comedy that follows Mateo Torres (played by Erick Lopez), a young man who is erroneously arrested by a police drone. Mateo finds himself trapped in a fully automated jail, where he must fight his way through the Kafkaesque labyrinth of a privatized justice system to find a human being who can set things right.
The idea for the film came to us after I read this article about a Latino man who got arrested and jailed by mistake because he had a common Spanish name. He was unable to convince anyone that they had the wrong guy. Even his public defender didnt believe him. Its not unusual for people of color to fall through cracks in the justice system, and we wanted to look at this all-too-common story through a sci-fi and dark comedy lens. PLEASE HOLD explores what it means for people of color when the remaining human element in our justice system slowly gives way to automation and privatization, filmmaker KD D vila says.
This film exemplifies what WarnerMedia OneFifty is all about: It is a powerful, unique, and bold vision from a talented creative team and an innovative filmmaker that perfectly juxtaposes art, science and culture, said Axel Caballero, Head of WarnerMedia OneFifty & Vice President, Artistic and Cultural Innovations.
KD D vila also wrote the feature film EMERGENCY which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews. The film earned D vila a Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, the festival's highest award for screenwriting. PLEASE HOLD was produced by Entertainment 360's Marc Mounier, along with Diego Najera, and writer Levin Menekse, in association with the Australian VFX firm Last Pixel.
Negotiations for PLEASE HOLD were finalized by Amanda Trokan, Director of Content Acquisitions for HBO Max.
KD D vila is represented by Management 360 and WME. Levin Menekse is represented by Lit Entertainment and Verve. Both are represented by attorney Stephen Clark. WME and Management 360 brokered the sale to WarnerMedia OneFifty for HBO Max. Joshua Jason Public Relations /JJPR oversees awards publicity for the film.
About WarnerMedia OneFifty
WarnerMedia OneFifty represents the natural complement to the industry-leading work of WarnerMedia and its brands HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC Entertainment, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, and others. Inspired by the nearly 100-year tradition of innovation at our company, WarnerMedia OneFifty is the content elevation brand for WarnerMedia, and the artist studio where content innovation happens. The brand seeks to amplify the best, most compelling untold and artist-forward stories to audiences. https://onefifty.com/
About HBO MAX
HBO Max is WarnerMedia's direct-to-consumer streaming platform, offering best in class quality entertainment. HBO Max features the greatest array of storytelling for all audiences from the iconic brands of HBO, Warner Bros., DC, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and more. The platform launched in the United States in May 2020 and introduced a lower priced, advertising-supported tier in June 2021. HBO Max began its global rollout launching in markets across Latin America and the Caribbean last summer, followed by its first European launches in the Nordics and Spain in the fall. Currently available in 61 countries, there are plans for continued expansion of HBO Max in 2022.
About WarnerMedia
WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands, including HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, and others.
WarnerMedia is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T).
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WarnerMedia OneFifty Acquires Oscar-Nominated Live Action Short Please Hold for HBO Max 
