With the much-anticipated hillbilly horror / giant monster film, The Millennium Bug, about to chomp down on us, producer James Cran has sent the Backbrain news of updates to an ongoing Behind-the-Scenes video seriesthat is appearing on The Millennium Blog -- as well as some intriguing images.
Already up is Part 1: The Script, detailing the development of the script, as is Part 2: The Monster, which offers insight into the monster itself and How It Was Done.
Also recently added is Part 3: The Storyboards, in which director Ken Cran talks about his Hitchcockian approach to creating ultra-detailed storyboards that were critical in ensuring that every shot was captured correctly for compositing later. Here are some pictures relating to the process, some of them exclusive to this site:
Just up is Part 4: The Warehouse. In this installment Cran recollects finding the 700 sq. ft. warehouse that would barely provide the space needed to shoot the movie. It provides fascinating insight into this intriguing project.
Dragons, giants, wizards, heroic quests, bad guys and flying swords! This film has them all. And they're all in the newly released trailer.
The One Warrior (US-2011; dir. Tom Stout)
The film stars Jason David Frank (Power Rangers), James Russo (CSI: Miami, Public Enemies) and Dominic Keating (Star Trek: Enterprise, Sherlock Holmes).
According to the IMDb outline, The One Warrior is a classic fantasy tale in which a fighter known as The One Warrior finds himself in a mythical world where he must destroy the Evil Lord Shoukata. To do so he must fight his way through many challenges. These include dragons, the cursed swords of Damacleus, the Samurai Six, the Amazon Warriors, a giant and much more. With each challenge met, the more powerful he becomes. Sounds like a video game? Maybe that's exactly what it is.... Or maybe not?
Lord of the Rings meets Tron?
Producer Fabio Soldani tells us that the film is almost ready for distribution. "We think it will be distributed this summer on DVD worldwide and probably will be shown on US TV."
Sources: Fabio Soldani; Facebook; IMDb. Via Avery Guerra.
There's another Sasquatch-style monster flick on the way, this one set and made in Alabama, thanks to State financial incentives -- and the inspiration of Polish producer Fabio Soldani. Soldani conceived the film and encouraged local filmmaker David Prior to write the screenplay and direct. Among Prior's 30 previous films lurk a wealth of genre B-flicks such as Deadly Prey, Zombie Wars and Mutant Species.
"Night Claws is a homage for a monster movies from the 80s," producer Fabio Soldani told the Backbrain. He noted that it was to be produced without the aid of CGI.
Night Claws (US-2011; dir. David A. Prior)
Synopsis:
A small town is being terrorized by a killer Bigfoot. One that is blood thirsty, vicious and kills without warning and without discrimination. A scientist by the name of Sarah Evans (Leilani Sarelle) shows up to help the town’s sheriff (Reb Brown) and his deputy girlfriend Roberta (Sherrie Rose) hunt this thing down and put an end to the killings. At the same time, Hunter Crawford (David Campbell) is a thug-like character who along with his two henchmen, is hunting the creature himself, for his own personal gain and he does not care who he has to go through to accomplish this. Enter Charlie Parker (Ted Prior) a tough east coast type who is on a survivalist camping trip, led by the seasoned survivalist Sharon Farmer (Tara Sanford Kleinpeter) at the behest of his young trophy wife (Alissa Koenig) and whom, by no fault of his own, winds up being used as bait for the creature, by Hunter. But there is more at work here than meets the eye. A sinister plot is afoot and at its centre is the vengeful Mister Testi (Frank Stallone). And in the end this plot takes a twist that no one will expect.
"I'm very excited about this project," Soldani told us. "Developing the storyline for it was a blast. I tried to put as much 80s in it as I could and hire some favorite actors of mine. All known from 80s."
The cast includes genre stalwarts Reb Brown (Howling II, Ssssnake), Leilani Sarelle (Neon Maniacs, Basic Instinct), Ted Prior (Deadly Prey, Bio Force), Sherrie Rose (Killer Crocodile), David Campbell (Scarecrows), Frank Stallone Jr. (Rocky Balboa, Rambo: First Blood II, Masque of the Red Death), Alissa Koenig (Zombie Wars) and Tara Kleinpeter (The Dead Will Tell). Bill "Splat" Johnson (The Walking Dead, Zombieland, Halloween II) and Bruce Larsen (The Patriot, Dead Birds) form the SFX team.
Night Claws was set to film at the end of March and from there will be set for a TV premiere. There are lots of production pictures on the film's Facebook page. A news piece on the film and its Alabama production appears on the WKRG News 5 website.
When you look into the woods, do you ever wonder
what's looking back?
Nice tagline.
Heading toward a premiere in New York City on April 30th, 2011 is the independent film The Bear (US-2011; dir. R. Jameson Smith) from Park Bench Pictures. Written by Pedro Francisco Marnoto and produced by Eamon Downey and Laurence Jacobs, The Bear is described as "a suspenseful story about the lengths a boy will go to become a man".
Synopsis:
The Bear is the story of 12-year-old Nathaniel Ford and his struggle to connect with a father who has become obsessed with a monster that has tormented him for years.
A monster that has left him crippled and alone. A monster that lives just beyond the treeline in the backyard of the Ford Farm.
With that Moby-Dick-in-the-backwoods ambiance and the effective outdoors photography of the trailer (see below), it looks like The Bear could be an excitingly dramatic coming-of-age horror drama.
I've always thought that if you're going to remake some old genre film, it's best to remake one that exists down the bottom rungs of the ladder, even (or maybe especially) if it's got a cult following. With remakes or sequels of B-flicks such as Attack of the Giant Leeches, The Horror of Party Beach, Fiend Without A Face, The Killer Screws [see the just announced Return of the Killer Shrews], The Swarm and Kingdom of the Spiders either recently made or announced as in production, surely the time is right for a remake of one of the most ludicrous franchises ever:
Yes, it's Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (US-1978; dir. John DeBello), which was followed ten years later by Return of the Killer Tomatoes (US-1988; dir. John DeBello):
... and then, as if those weren't enough, Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! (1990)and Killer Tomatoes Eat France! (1991), both still directed by Mr DeBello. On top of that there was an animated TV series, assorted video games, comic books, toys, merchandise and endless tomato-sauce splattered hilarity.
Pursuing previous information that suggested that John DeBello and 'Ask A Ninja' were intent on doing a remake, Kaiju Search-Robot Avery hunted the parties down and got confirmation that DeBello and 'Ask A Ninja' were no longer collaborating on this project and that the Ninjas were no longer attached to it. Undeterred, Avery asked DeBello if plans for a remake of his most famous classic were still on the cards.
Here is DeBello's reply:
No updates that I can share at the moment, Avery, but stay tuned ... I guess if they can remake The Horror of Party Beach, then Killer Tomatoes should be a lock, eh? Alas, even vicious veggies fall victim to the vagaries of Hollywood deal making. (Are the Coen Brothers busy?) Anything is possible with Killer Tomatoes ... while a remake remains a tantalizing possibility, to paraphrase William Goldman: "Ya Never Know".
What would be his preferred options for the film if it happened?
My personal preference is a $300 million 3D version helmed by James Cameron, with me receiving a $20 million consulting fee and a brief cameo, but I always wake up from that dream just as I'm cashing the check.
Seriously, the Hollywood route is probably most appealing, if for no other reason than that it'd be fun to see a big-budget remake of a no-budget indie ... sort of fits the Killer Tomato dynamic of infinite absurdity. But again...
Ya Never Know.
I'll be sure to keep you posted if/when the Vicious Veggies roll again.
So, you heard it here first. There might be a big budget remake -- and if you'd like to mis-read what we wrote and spread the word that James Cameron will be helming it, feel free to do so. Might make it happen.
Source: John DeBello via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood.
We thought The Night of the Chupacabras [A Noite do Chupacabras] (Brazil-2011; dir. Rodrigo Aragão) looked like a lot of fun when we came across it back in January (see earlier Brainspasm article), what with all those gorily extreme images and the generally weird ambiance. But that was nothing. Check out the newly released official trailer below. Things start out looking normal enough, but before too long normal goes right out the window, as a famous cryptid is reborn in order to encapsulate the evil energy unleashed by family rivalry. ...
The Night of the Chupacabras was produced by Fábulas Negras Produções for a July 2011 release date.
Director Jesse Blanchard has sent Undead Backbrain the first teaser trailer for his "ass-kicking, fun-to-watch" monster flick Chompers 3D, which we featured on Undead Brainspasm in February. The trailer is in 3D, so you'll need some two-colour anaglyph 3D glasses. If you need guidance in this regard, visit the Chompers 3Dwebsite, where you can learn how to get some.
Teaser Trailer:
The central concept -- of a creature that "starts out very small, hiding as a ring or a thimble, always something round, waiting for a victim to place her hand inside his mouth, but each time he feeds, getting a little bigger and a little better at camouflage" -- is a great one with terrific potential for a cult-fannish future, along the lines of films such as Gremlins.
Stay tuned.
Source: Jesse Blanchard via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood.
