Apple Colem

**Apple Maxx Colem [ay:pull]**, formerly **AM Colem**, is a Fickolean director, producer, and screenwriter and among the most notable Fickolean filmmakers in modern history. His unique style of filmmaking has made him a symbol of great acclaim and importance in the world of cinema.

Apple Colem was born in Macka Packa, Yo Jo, and showed promise from a young age as a screenwriter. He was brought onto the *Glovely Days* show as an assistant writer and displayed his skills at dealing with heavy themes. His short films, made during his days at university in the Macka Arts School, went on to win awards and make waves at various film festivals, and secured him funding to produce his own feature length film.

Colem's first feature film was *Anticipating Arthur (1984, Mt),* a dark comedy about a 17 year old whose life is derailed by the death of both his parents in a tragic accident. Colem went on to produce several other films during his university years, and founding his own film studio, Vent Sag.

## Upbringing

Apple Colem was born to Maxim and Judy Colem, two mothers who conceived him via IVF. His upbringing was relatively well-off, with Maxim and Judy being a doctor and a lawyer, respectively. Colem's filmmaking aspirations were well funded by his parents and by his grandfather, Monty Procter, who took a keen interest in his career goals.

## Career

In his late teens and early 20s, Colem directed and produced several short films, including *Cool it! (1973), Lastly, My Dear (1975)* and *The Magical Saint James Davis (1980)*, the latter of which won a Brandon Region award for outstanding short film and earned Colem a scholarship to the Mackan Arts School. There, Colem was discovered by a professor, Pontius Rox, who took an interest in Colem's filmmaking and co-sponsored several of his university projects, also offering writing and editing advice.

Colem's first feature film was *Anticipating Arthur (1984, Mt),* a dark comedy about a 17 year old whose life is derailed by the death of both his parents in a tragic accident. Arthur is a bullish character whose indignance and confidence amuse and inspire adults around him. The film, directed, produced and co-written by Colem, was extremely well received, and was nominated for the Comedy Award at the 1984 (Mt) Macka Packan University Film Awards. Colem then co-produced *Running with Bulls (1984)* alongside his friend and peer Jeremy DeCafe. DeCafe went on to be a three-time collaborator with Colem, working on *Don't Mess with Dusko (1985)* and *The Three Piece (1987)*, after both had graduated.

*The Three Piece (1987)*, an action film about an inventive vigilante killer, became a cult classic, and saw a cinema re-release after being discovered by critics and a niche audience. Eurontoll studios picked up the project and offered DeCafe and Colem to rework and reproduce a longer cut of the film. They both declined, and instead a remastered version of the film, of 88 minutes in length, was produced.

Greater critical and commercial success came for Colem when he founded Vent Sag studios and raised funds for a passion project, *Under a Difficult Moon (1991)*, starring Chicken Itza, a thriller about a man who is discovered at the scene of a crime and makes every attempt to cover his tracks. The film marked the first of several collaborations with Itza, and score-producer Virgil Broles.

In 1993, Colem half of his production company Vent Sag to CBFilms in exchange for stock. Colem would later buy back his share of the company and make Vent Sag an independent collaborator with other major studios. Also in '93, Colem wrote and produced Holy Tribunal, a mock religious courtroom drama about a tribunal of divine beings who puzzle over the deservedness of a several sinners to have eternal life. Moltisante Gorgonilla directed. The film was subject to mixed reviews, but grossed over 500 million square. In 1994, Colem was able to self fund *Fear of Death*, a film about a man born without fear who must uncover secret plots within the FSS. It was by far Colem's longest film, starrring Scrandanamo Brojaddson in the main role. The film received critical and commercial success, grossing over [sq]600million and firmly launching Colem's career. The film boosted the value of Vent Sag, and landed Colem an FMA nomination for thriller feature.

In 1995, Colem co-produced *Buttered Sausage*, a random, experimental film starring Robert Mourn. The film received dreadful reviews and barely made even at the box office. The film spurred discussion of whether Vent Sag was a 'one trick pony'. The following year, Colem produced and co-directed *Masters of the South Pole*, a film about explorers in Diverland. The film was met with mixed reviews, but received some commercial success. Colem was praised for his directing, as well as performances from Marco Dellargo and Bernard-Jon the Strong, but the writing of Christina Moina was criticised, as were performances from Henry Hogan and Clayton Burns.

In 1996 and 97', Colem produced several other features through his production company Vent Sag, including the works of childhood friend Mod Zukowski, who wrote and directed *Zukowski's Greatest Work* in 1996. Some of the productions were commercial successes, others failures. In late 1997, Colem began adapting an old script for *Bolga the Astronaut.* In 1998, casting was complete, with Kay Lombrex and Arny Penk to star. The addition of John Rainer to the cast, months later, would increase anticipation for the film, with Rainer's success in *Power to the People. Bolga the Astronaut* was released the following year, in 1999, and was met with generally favourable reviews and strong commercial success. Some considered the science fiction film to be deeply existential, introspective and interesting, whilst others complained of the film's long sequences, meandering and 'empty' storyline, and excessive 'indulgent' length. The film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 1999/2000 FMAs. The same year, Colem directed *Inspirations*, which earned him a best director nomination. The film saw Chicken Itza as a Council of Academics member mobilising his political influence in a plot to overthrow the monarch. The film received favourable reviews and was another financial success, but achieved more attention later.

In 2000, Colem directed *This Time Around*, a drama starring Hobo Bamboo as a prison warden facing issues with low morale in his prison and financial troubles, and reflecting on his own (secret) criminality in his youth. The film was relatively inexpensive and was all filmed in one month and in one location, at the abandoned Greyp Prison in Kanchapit, which Colem then repurposed as a studio for later films.

In 2002, Colem began filming his next work, which had been in the writing and workshopping phase the previous year. *All is False* starred Lala in his breakout acting role, as well as Rala Pinkroll, Soven Earl, and Hobo Bamboo. The film was a dark comedy surrounding a government enquiry into the start of the Second Evo War, which gets progressively darker. The film was exceptionally successful and established by Colem as a household name, and Lala as a serious actor, though critics noted the film's non-reliance on Lala's performance, and instead portrayed the emotions of the story through vignettes and side characters.

In 2005, Colem directed and produced *The Meadow*, a critically acclaimed romantic drama about two lovers, played by Elk Eiderman and Amy Paloine, who fall in love as children but collide during the events of the North East Alifcan Revolution. The film's acting was strongly praised, with Eiderman and Paloine both receiving best actor nominations, as well as the cinematography, writing, and directing. The film was nominated for best picture. Despite this, the film did not do well commercially. Though the film came out around the time of the FMAs, it lost out to *Jeans* and *Battle III* in an over-saturated box office, and had a short career in cinemas. It went straight to streaming for an estimated [sq]3billion for permanent rights.

In 2006, Colem directed and produced *Fuji Sanex,* initially titled *The Life and Times of Fuji Sanex*, which was set to star Hobo Bamboo as former Gonian President Fuji Sanex, who died in 2003 (Mt). Colem was initially producing it, with writer Karl Jehny to direct, but Colem took on board the picture after Jehny made other commitments. The picture, 2 hours and 46 minutes long, was extremely well reviewed, Colem's best work, according to critical consensus. Hobo Bamboo was awarded the Best Actor FMA for his role, and Colem won Best Director and Best Picture.

In 2012, Colem directed and produced *Futures,* a sci-fi starring Elk Eiderman, Kay Lombrex and Jamie Onic in his cinematic debut. The film also had great box-office success, and ensured that Colem's name became a 'money maker'. The film was a joint collaboration between Vent Sag and Skyline, and grossed over [sq]15billion, becoming the 4th highest grossing film of the year.