Feature Film · 2008

What Is Fissure, the Feature Film
Produced by Top Pup Media?

Fissure is a 2008 thriller and the debut feature film of Top Pup Media, LLC, the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas video production company founded in 1995 by Russ Pond. Directed by Pond and starring James Macdonald, it screened at AFI Dallas and FirstGlance Hollywood, won the Redemptive Storyteller Award, and is available on Amazon, iTunes, and YouTube.

Watch the Trailer

The Search for What’s Real
Starts Inside

  • Produced byTop Pup Media, LLC
  • DirectorRuss Pond
  • WriterNicholas Turner
  • StarringJames Macdonald, Jim Blumetti, Scarlett McAlister, Crystal Mantecon, Todd Haberkorn, Jane Willingham
  • GenreThriller
  • Released2008 · Festival premiere at AFI Dallas
  • Filmed inDallas and the Mid-Cities, Texas

Synopsis

A Detective.
A House. No Real Answers.

Detective Paul Grunning is trying to piece together his fractured life. When a routine disturbance at the Ulster House turns into an unexplainable death, all he has worked for will be tested.

James Macdonald (Phone Booth, Hollywood Homicide) plays Grunning, an ailing, addicted cop haunted by his own bad choices. He investigates the mysterious house, only to find shifting testimonies and perplexing new clues in every room. Sifting through the erratic claims of Emma, the victim’s wife; Rachel, the seductive grad student; and Andrew, a bitterly resentful son, Grunning uncovers motives but no real answers.

Ultimately, Grunning must navigate a fractured reality and his own insecurities to find what’s real.

Fissure key art: a cracked image of a detective's face and a young boy, with festival laurels from AFI Dallas, the Redemptive Film Festival, and FirstGlance Hollywood

Cast & Filmmakers

Made in North Texas

Fissure was chosen from more than 450 script submissions and shot around Dallas and the Mid-Cities with a largely local cast and crew.

Cast

  • James MacdonaldDetective Paul Grunning
  • Jim BlumettiProfessor Roger Ulster
  • Scarlett McAlisterSarah Grunning
  • Crystal ManteconRachel Claris
  • Todd HaberkornAndrew Ulster
  • Jane WillinghamEmma Ulster
  • Todd TerryTyler
  • Noah PodellMatty Grunning

Filmmakers

  • Russ PondProducer, Director, Editor
  • Nicholas TurnerWriter
  • Alan LeFebvreDirector of Photography
  • Shawn GoffExecutive Producer
  • Daniel MillicanCo-Producer
  • Blake CalhounCo-Producer
  • Eric WhitneyProduction Designer
  • Bryan E. MillerOriginal Score

Full cast and crew on IMDb.

Festivals & Recognition

From Local Premiere
to Hollywood

Official Selection

AFI Dallas Film Festival 2008

Screened at the Angelika and Magnolia theaters in Dallas.

Best Lead Performance

FirstGlance Hollywood 2008

Opening-night screening at Raleigh Studios’ Charlie Chaplin Theater in Hollywood.

Award Winner

Redemptive Film Festival 2008

Redemptive Storyteller Award in the Professional Category.

Critics

Fort Worth Weekly

Named “Best Locally Made Film” of 2008.

One of my primary goals for the film was to tell a story with a redemptive theme. Our philosophy from the beginning has been ‘movies with a message.’
Russ Pond — Producer & Director, Fissure

Watch Fissure

Where to Watch

Go Deeper

The Original Fissure Site

The film’s original website is preserved in full, including Russ Pond’s production notes, the filmmaker’s blog from the shoot, press coverage from the Dallas Morning News, Good Morning Texas, and Fox, and the screenplay drafts.

← All feature films by Top Pup Media

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