Each year Comic-Con chooses a trio of judges to view the submissions of genre films we receive for the CCI-IFF. These judges, respected individuals in the fields of film and popular arts, decide which films will be screened in the festival. The judges for 2016 are Matt Atchity, Eric Jacobus, and Nick Murphy.
Matt Atchity
Matt Atchity has set the editorial direction for Rotten Tomatoes since 2007, and he and his team have made the site an essential part of movie discussions worldwide. Matt has discussed movies, TV and the entertainment industry on ABC News, NBC News, CNN, FOX News and many other major outlets. Every week, Matt's Tomatometer roundups are broadcast on TV, web and radio around the country on outlets such as Adam Carolla's podcast, FOXnews.com and Good Day LA On KTTV. Matt also produces and hosts the popular Rotten Tomatoes podcast, a weekly deep dive into the hottest movies and TV shows, with guest appearances from A-list Hollywood celebrities and filmmakers.
Eric Jacobus
Eric Jacobus is a stuntman, martial artist, and actor based in California. He wrote, directed and starred in Rope a Dope 2, the 2015 CCI-IFF winner for Best Action/ Adventure film and the Judge's Choice Award. Known for his hard falls, fast hands, and wide variety of kicks—coupled with his penchant for physical comedy—Eric is like a martial arts version of Buster Keaton. Eric is also founder of the San Francisco-based stunt team The Stunt People, with whom he has produced and performed in over 200 short films and multiple feature films. His ability to produce, shoot, and edit entire fight scenes within 24 hours makes him a force behind the camera as well. Eric speaks conversational Cantonese and Spanish, with some Mandarin and Japanese to boot.
Nick Murphy
Nick Murphy started making movies in 1993 on VHS in the small town of Jackson, MO. Several films and several years later, Nick ended up in Los Angeles to continue making micro-budget indie movies. He graduated from the Los Angeles Film School in 2002. In 2006, with the help of a talented cast and crew, Nick and producer/star Valerie Perez, finally completed the first Tomb Raider fan film, Tears of the Dragon, after two and a half years of production. It garnered attention from G4's Attack of the Show, all the way to being featured in Empire magazine as one of the top fan films. Overall, Nick and his friends at Spoon Pictures have made over 40 projects in the past 23 years. From shorts to comedy sketches to music videos and commercials to feature films and documentaries. His latest short film, the action/comedy Pizza and Bullets, is currently in development for a television series.