Fresh on the heels of getting the SyFy Network’s “Imagine Greater” Award (which includes a deal to develop a science-fiction project of his choosing) at last month’s New York Television Festival, Al Thompson and his ValDean Entertainment will have his short film/pilot ODESSA make its Los Angeles premiere as official finalists of NBC SHORT CUTS this Wednesday, October 26 at 7:15pm (hosted by Craig Robinson from NBC’s ‘The Office’).

Of the four finalists, winners will receive: A $60k Panavision camera package deal, a development deal with NBC-Universal Television, meetings with NBC-Universal top Network and Studio Executives, NBC-Universal Talent Holding Deal for Best Actor, Post Production Media Services for Best Project and Best Director.

You’re familiar with Thompson already as a hard-working actor and the star/creator of already popular web series Johnny B. Homeless (as seen on Atom.com) and Lenox Avenue, the latter of which is still being developed at BET.com as a regular webseries along with Odessa.

Odessa itself was developed by Thompson and his long-time producing partner Brian Rolling at their ValDean Entertainment. The story follows a father and daughter migrating from small town to small town, escaping a “program” which performed experiments on them. It’s accurately described as Enemy of the State meets The X-Files, but with some more color to it. The series is slated for ten episodes, each about six minutes and the cast includes some of the sci-fi world’s most recognizable icons: Richard Herd (Star Trek Voyager), Fulvio Cecere (Battlestar Galactica), Clayne Crawford (A&E’s The Glades, Fox’s 24), James De Bello (Cabin Fever) and Thompson himself (The Royal Tenenbaums, Love Don’t Cost A Thing) along with the adorable Skai Jackson (Smurfs, Disney’s “Jessie”) in the title role.

I saw Odessa at the MVAAFF this past summer. It’s dope and definitely deserving of its accolades, so if you’re in LA you should definitely check it out. Go to: http://odessaseries.com/ to RSVP