This last weekend in Los Angeles the Universal Studios Hilton Oscar party was packed to capacity with celebrities, movie producers and eager fans excited to catch a glimpse of their favorite movie stars. Among those movie stars was actor Douglas Vermeeren.
The event featured a media frenzied red carpet and an awards gala celebrating the best of the best in independent films much like the same event sponsored by the Academy of Motion picture arts and sciences. (AMPAS) Some people even think of this event as an alternative to the televised Oscars. Each year this event attracts an increasing number of celebrities and eager spectators.
At this event, these awards celebrate significant achievements in the industry for a variety of skillsets from directing, producing and acting.
Douglas Vermeeren was the recipient of a Best Actor award for his role in the highly acclaimed movie Jackknife.
Jackknife premiered at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto earlier in March to a sold out audience and has continued to generate buzz on the film festival circuit picking up awards everywhere along the way.
Jackknife was written and directed by master filmmaker Adam Jack and has an incredible cast featuring Tivon Charles, Peyton Mills, Thain Welsey, Erica Sherwood and Douglas Vermeeren.
Jackknife is an incredibly relevant and powerful story that follows two young black teens from a mixed family try to navigate life in their primarily white community.
After accidentally stealing a bag full of drugs and a weapon involved in a murder these teens become the prime suspects in the fatal robbery. Worried about how they will be perceived by their racially charged community they decide to go on the run rather than face law enforcement.
But the law is the least of their worries. The actual murderers want their drugs back and set out on the trail of the youngsters. These two dangerous criminal brothers are portrayed by Thain Wesley (Guy Lachance) and Douglas Vermeeren (Billy Lachance).
Every moment of this film will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is a dangerous game of survival as the teens are stuck in the cross hairs of ignorant law enforcement, parents and friends who want them home safe and dangerous drug dealers who want them dead.
Raving reviews are coming in applauding the film and the performances by all involved.
But last Sunday night (March 10) was Douglas Vermeeren’s night. At the above mentioned Universal Studios Hilton Oscar event Douglas Vermeeren was honored and recognized for his portrayal of Billy Lachance winning a Best Actor Award.
It was a rather special event for Vermeeren. In addition to being recognized for his portrayal of the sinister elder brother Billy Lachance in Jackknife, Hollywood Weekly featured him on the cover of their Special Oscars edition.
It is expected that these accolades and awards are just the beginning for Jackknife. Critics are already calling it one of the most important films of 2024.
Later this year Douglas Vermeeren is appearing in two other films that are also sure to gain significant attention. Last November in Arizona, Douglas Vermeeren played another baddie in the western action movie Black Creek with martial arts legend Cynthia Rothrock.
The film also featured Richard Norton (Mad Max Fury Road), Don “the Dragon” Wilson (Batman forever), Patrick Fitzpatrick (Minority Report, Eraser), Keith Cooke (Alita: Battle Angel, Mortal Combat), Benny Urquidez (Con Air, Gross Pointe Blank) and others.
In Black Creek, Vermeeren portrayed slimy villain Hank Winslow. Winslow runs the fighting ring in the town of Black Creek and manipulates all of the gambling that happens there.
Black Creek is slated to come out to selected theaters this summer.
You’ll also see Douglas Vermeeren later this year on the big screen as Sheriff Rudy Bellamy in the creepy horror thriller Fresh Meat.
Fresh Meat is directed by horror writer and director, Daniel Turres. Fresh meat is the story of a group of influencers who break into an abandoned prison unaware of something creepy that has been locked in the basement. Sheriff Bellamy, Vermeeren’s character tries to keep them out of the abandoned prison but when that fails he tries to keep them safe from the evil that lurks within.
The film features Mika Amonsen (Thanksgiving, Reacher), Jorja Cadence (Priscilla), Joelle Farrow (Under the Banner of Heaven), Hannah Galway (Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities) and others.
Fresh meat is definitely going to be a terrifying slasher film that will reinvent the genre for todays generations.
2024 is going to be a busy year for Douglas Vermeeren with film productions back to back since the year stated and has a full schedule through to next fall.
