George R. R. Martin’s ‘Night of the Cooters’ Adaptation, Directed by Vincent D’Onofrio, Wins at LA Shorts Festival

Manori Ravindran
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George R. R. Martin’s adaptation of Howard Waldrop’s short story “Night of the Cooters” won best sci-fi at this year’s LA Shorts International Film Festival.

Directed by Vincent D’Onofrio, who also stars, the short film — a “tall tale” about aliens invading Texas in the 1800s — is a passion project borne out of 60-odd years of friendship between Martin and Waldrop. The project is a combination of live action and state-of-the-art CG.

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“Night of the Cooters” was led by production studio Trioscope (“The Liberator”) and artistically steered by D’Onofrio, who directs and stars as “Sheriff Lindley.” Ramin Djawadi (“Game of Thrones”) composed the score.

“Night of the Cooters” also features Hopper Penn (“Signs of Love”), Harrison Page (“Better Things”), Luce Raines (“The Marksman”), Elias Gallegos (“The Marksman”), Cristin McCleary (“Westworld”), Martin Sensmeier (“Westworld”) and newcomers Jazzy Kim O’Brien (“The Creepers”) and Darius Eteeyun (“Rutherford Falls”).

“It was a thrill to be able to work with Vincent D’Onofrio, the team at Trioscope and the rest of our amazing cast and crew and an honor to bring one of Howard Waldrop’s wild and wonderful stories to the screen,” said Martin, executive producer of “Night of the Cooters.” “There is only one Waldrop!”

D’Onofrio added: “This adventurous little western, science-fiction short film was a kick to make. A small but large collaboration of talented people, the film was shot in five days. Then, we put it all in a big bag and shook it up, hoping something cool would come together. We did; it did.”

LC Crowley, CEO and co-founder of Trioscope, added: “This win is a true testament to collaboration at its best. Vincent had a very specific vision; his artistry drove this project, and we’re grateful that he chose our tools and technology to bring this wild sci-fi tale to life. We’re happy we could help him and George pay homage to Howard’s incredible short story.”

The film is produced by Trioscope, Lumenscapes and Fevre River Packet Company.

Trioscope’s other credits include “The Liberator” for Netflix.

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