inmate profile: Sherilyn Fenn

Continuing Committed's spotlighting of the talent behind the upcoming SyFy-Asylum joint awesomeness Bigfoot, we turn now to one of the loveliest actresses to ever grace the screen, Sherilyn Fenn.

Born in the Motor City, Ms. Fenn began acting in the mid-80's in films like the gender-bending comedy Just One of the Guys, supernatural biker movie The Wraith with Sir Charlie Sheen, skateboard drama Thrashin' opposite Josh Brolin, and the genre classic Zombie High with Virginia Madsen and Bridesmaids director Paul Feig. 

These projects led to Fenn's most widely-admired role, that of the sultry, sweetly devilish and darkly innocent Audrey Horne on David Lynch's cultural masterpiece, "Twin Peaks." There are femme fatales, and then there are Femme Fatales, and then there is Audrey Horne. Best good-girl-going-bad in TV history, hands down, and Ms. Fenn played her with subtly vivacious aplomb.

Behold, the reason I smoked as a teenager.

After ABC executives fucked up the greatest thing ever going on TV and cancelled "Twin Peaks," Ms. Fenn continued to work steadily in films and television, including Ruby, Of Mice and Men, Boxing Helena for Lynch's daughter Jennifer, "Tales From the Crypt," "Friends," "Rude Awakening," "Dawson's Creek," The United States of Leland, "Gilmore Girls" and scores more.

And add now to her esteemed resume Bigfoot, destined to be the pinnacle of the genre, and another jewel in her crown. Watch her sparkle this Saturday night at 9 o'clock on SyFy when Bigfoot kicks your ass.

observation notes: BIKINI SPRING BREAK

There would be some who might say the spring break movie is a well-trod and well-mined sub-genre of teen sex comedies, and that nothing new can be found there. To those people may I direct you to The Asylum's Bikini Spring Break, on DVD now, which manages to not only breathe new life into the category, but also manages a few new tricks along the way.

First things first, the plot: "A group of coeds from a small conservative college break out of their shells when their marching band bus breaks down in Ft. Lauderdale during Spring Break."

Simple enough, right? The best things in life are. Now, in the interest of remaining spoiler-free, I won't delve into plot specifics, other than to say BSB hits all the right notes. You have to wait perhaps 2.7 seconds for the first wave of nudity, which I believe might be a new Asylum record. Already things are off to a stellar start. 

The film is laced with inventive gags that reaffirm everything society prays is true about buxom college girls: they love to be naked, especially in the company of each other, and are itching for sexual experimentation. There's a real 80's sex-comedy vibe running through this, updated for today's raunchier standards, and it helps to create an endearing cast of characters you don't just want to see naked, you also want to see them triumph. BSB is like an actually-good American Pie sequel, or Revenge of the Nerds 2: Nerds in Paradise with female main characters (which, all apologies to the excellent Robert Carradine, woulda been cooler). And it has perhaps the greatest jello wrestling scene in all of cinema, shot in stunning slo-mo that reveals the beauty within the brutality of it all.

As for that endearing cast of characters, while all of the women are near-perfect for their roles - Samantha Stewart as the bossy, neurotic, hotter "Jessie-Spano" type "Whitney," Virginia Petrucci as the doe-eyed and bawdily naive "Zoe," Jamie Noel as spoiled-princess type "Franny" (nice Salinger nod), Erin O'Brien as the abrupt and gruff "Michelle" and Rachel Alig as blissfully daft, sweet-as-sugar "Alice" - it's Alig, for me at least, that really stood out; it's a funny role and she's funny in it, admittedly funnier than I was expecting. Other standouts in supporting roles include Erica Duke as the anti-spring break good girl "Constance" and Johnathan Nation as the pitch-perfect exasperated dean of the girls' community college. There's also a handsome mechanic to watch out for.


All in all then, writer/director Jared Cohn has turned in another fine effort: BSB is smarter than your average sex comedy, its tongue firmly in cheek, ripe with loveable characters and rife with scintillating scenarios that will keep fans of the genre - and of beautiful women - more than transfixed. Utterly rewatchable. Who knows, maybe this could become The Asylum's first comedy franchise? I'd watch six more of these.


Bikini Spring Break  is on DVD right this instant. Go get it.

inmate profile: Andre Royo

With the World Premiere of The Asylum's Bigfoot going down this Saturday night at 9 o'clock on Syfy, it's time to turn the Committed spotlight on the talent behind this impending masterpiece, and there's a lot of talent to look at. The film stars Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch, Mega Piranha) and Danny Bonaduce (The Partridge Family, Corvette Summer), both of whom are well known to just about everyone who's ever owned a television set, but this cast is deep, so I thought we'd take a closer look at some of the film's supporting players, starting with the awesome Andre Royo.

Royo was born in the Bronx in the hot summer of 1968. He didn't start acting until his thirties, but once he did, it was near-impossible not to take notice. His first feature film was John Singleton's Shaft remake, but it was TV where Royo really made a name for himself: besides guest spots in such varied shows as Law & Order SVU, CSI Miami, Law & Order Criminal Intent, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Heroes, Fringe, Criminal Minds and others, it was his portrayal of "Bubbles" in 52 episodes of The Wire - you know, the greatest TV show EVER? - that cemented this fine actor's place in the hall of fame. "Bubbles" - for my money - is one of the greatest characters ever committed to any screen, big or small, and 100% of that credit is due to Royo's cripplingly vulnerable and overwhelmingly empathetic portrayal of a man driven to bottom by his own vices. For real, the guy should have a shelf full of awards.

Since god decided to show his disdain for us and The Wire ceased airing, Royo has stayed busy as ever, appearing in films like James Gunn's Super - one of my top 10 theatrical releases of last year - and the George Lucas-produced, Tuskeegee-airman action-drama Red Tails alongside Terence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr.

After Bigfoot, Royo will next be seen in the horror films Hellbenders and The Collection, drama The Miracle of Spanish Harlem, the action flick Shoedog with Ethan Hawke, Heather Graham, Sam Shepard and Kris Kristofferson, and the thriller Remnants with Edward Furlong, William Baldwin and the very lovely and talented Monica Keena.

Andre Royo is an incredibly potent actor and his presence in Bigfoot is sure to escalate what is already one of the summer's most eagerly-anticipated entertainment events. Tune in for yourself and see this Saturday, 9 o'clock, on Syfy.

BIKINI SPRING BREAK on DVD Today!!!

It isn't really summer until someone puts out a raunchy comedy starring scantily-clad co-eds, and thank god, The Asylum today steps up to the plate with the DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD release of their latest sexy tryst, Bikini Spring Break, starring Robert Carradine and a score of lovely ladies. 

Written and directed by Jared Cohn - Born Bad, upcoming Asylum theatrical release Hold Your Breath - the film promises to continue the studio's delightfully-bawdy chain of raucous comedic outings. But don't take my word on it, get thee to a video outlet of any sort and get your hands on Bikini Spring Break ASAP, cuz with a cover like this, it's gonna fly off the shelves:

BIGFOOT Gets a Trailer

It's only five days until The Asylum's Bigfoot premieres on Syfy, and now at long last we have the trailer, courtesy of the network:

In a drawn out expletive: Ho-ly shit. Did you see that Bigfoot? Dude is massive! This just got ten times better than I was expecting it to be. You're a fool - a fool I tell you! - if you're doing anything other than tuning into this one at 9 o'clock on Saturday night. Ratings records shall fall.

Bigfoot stars Barry Williams, Danny Bonaduce, Sherilyn Fenn, Andre Royo, Howard Hesseman, Alice Cooper and Billy Idol, and is directed by Bruce Davison from a script by Micho Rutare and Brian Brinkman.

Dig This Asylum Article From the L.A. Times

This past weekend the venerable L.A. Times published an article spotlighting the success of independent studios who draft off the popularity of larger studio titles, and of course The Asylum was mentioned; two of the studios three partners, David Michael Latt & David Rimawi, are quoted. An interesting and informative read on the mockbuster business model. Enjoy!

inmate profile: the women of BIKINI SPRING BREAK

With less than a week before the release of The Asylum's next sexy romp, Bikini Spring Break from writer/director Jared Cohn, it's time, I think, to shine the Committed spotlight on the lovely and talented women that make up the cast, and the work that brought them here.

Let's go from left to right, shall we?

Erin O'Brien - Revenants (alongside an acting Jared Cohn, and the upcoming comedies Mamarosh, and Chlorine, co-starring Kyra Sedgwick, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Tom Sizemore.

Jamie Noel: uncredited roles in Hangover 2 and J. Edgar, then lots of upcoming stuff including Speed Dragon with Ron Jeremy and Bai Ling, Seven Psychopaths with Woody Harrelson, Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken and Tom Waits, and Smart Ass from writer/star Marlon Wayans. 

Samantha Stewart: one episode of I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, easily one of the most-awesome reinactment-reality shows on television.

Rachel Alig: a slew of upcoming films, including The Men Next Door, Officer Down, Heavy Makeup, Unlimited and Ask Me No Questions

Virginia Petrucci: The Best and the Brightest with Neil Patrick Harris and Amy Sedaris, Life at the Resort, Excision with AnnaLynne McCord, John Waters and Malcolm McDowell, as well as the upcoming films The Humdrummer and The Algerian.

inmate profile: Robert Carradine

In anticipation of The Asylum's next release - the scintillating comedy Bikini Spring Break, out on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD June 26th - it's time we turn the Committed spotlight onto the cast and crew of this production, and who better to start with than the film's celebrity star, a true living legend, Mr. Robert Carradine.

Carradine, of course, is part of one of the largest and most talented of Hollywood families: his father, John Carradine, was an actor of all trades who appeared in literally hundreds of films, including Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, The Ten Commandments, Around the World in 80 Days, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, House of the Black Death, Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, Hillbillies in a Haunted House, The Astro Zombies, Bigfoot and like a trillion more - look up "versatility" in the dictionary, and John Carradine's picture is what you get.

Robert's brothers - David and Keith - have also made significant contributions to the industry, David most notably in the TV series "Kung Fu" and the Kill Bill films, and Keith for his role in Robert Altman's Nashville, for which he won an Oscar for Best Original Song (he's also "Lundy" on a few seasons of "Dexter").

As for Robert, he began his acting career in the early 70's on television before progressing into major motion pictures, his first being The Cowboys with John f'ing Wayne and Bruce Dern, and his second being Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets; not a bad start. 

From there Carradine dabbled a little in the world of Corman with films like Jackson County Jail and Cannonball!, co-starring his brother David. Continuing to work with family, Carradine made The Long Riders in 1980, a bitchin' western about the James' Gang from director Walter Hill (The Waaaaaaaarriors) that co-starred both his brothers (the film also starred three other sets of real life acting brothers, James & Stacy Keach, Dennis & Randy Quaid, and Christopher & Nicholas Guest.).

And then came the role that would forever firmly inaugurate Carradine into the pop culture hall of fame:

 Ah, Lewis Skolnick, a role model for sooooo many of us.

From there Carradine continued to work steadily in film and television, hitting another popularity peak in the early 2000's as Hillary Duff's dad in "Lizzie Maguire." Most recently he's been in Slumber Party Slaughter with Tom Sizemore and Ryan O'Neal, Benefit of the Doubt, an installment of Tom Selleck's "Jesse Stone" TV-movie franchise, Worker's Comp with Morgan Fairchild and, of course, Bikini Spring Break from writer/director Jared Cohn (Born Bad).

Scantilly-clad coeds are no new thing to Carradine, so here's betting his fit into Bikini Spring Break is as snug as a thong. Find out for yourself on June 26th..

Photos, a New Trailer and 2 New Posters for 4 Different Asylum Films

Lots of media coming out of The Asylum today, including a new poster for Bigfoot, a poster for Super Cyclone, production stills from Golden Winter, and the trailer for 100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck. Let's do these in order, shall we?

First up, the Super Cyclone poster:

Looks like a lot of destruction going down, here. The film, out August 28th, stars Ming-Na (ER), Nick Tuturro (NYPD BLUE) and fan-favorite AnnaMaria DeMara (200 MPH).

Now, behold the Bigfoot poster:

Pretty rad, right? That is one angry missing link. The film gets its World Premiere on the SyFy network the last Saturday of this month, then hits DVD 6 weeks later on August 14th. It's written by Micho Rutare and Brian Brinkman, and directed by Bruce Davison.

Then there are the production stills from Golden Winter, which can be found at The Asylum's Flickr page, here. Along with this adorable photo set, we learn a little more about the inner workings of the story, in that actress Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) will be playing the mother of the boy who finds a litter of golden retriever puppies, and actress Haylie Duff (Hilary's sister) will be voicing the lead puppy. Too cute.

And on the complete other side of the coin from Golden Winter, the trailer for The Asylum's next found-footage film, 100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck, has also dropped today, and HOMG...

This wicked thriller will be on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD on July 24th...

So as you can see, there's a lot of great stuff still to come in this, The Asylum's 15th and possibly best year ever, and that's before we even get anything on Shark Week...

Asylum's Found-Footage Train Keeps A'Rolling; + Adorable GOLDEN WINTER Details!

With the release of Alien Origin, a found-footage sci-fi/action thriller that hits shelves today, you'd think The Asylum might wait a little while before unleashing another flick in the genre, but lo and behold, another title has appeared on the horizon, and this one takes the found-footage format back to its roots in good old-fashioned horror: 100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck.

For those of you unfamiliar with the name, Richard Speck was a real-life serial killer responsible for the death of 8 student nurses in Chicago in 1966. Dude was pretty heinous, so there's lots of scary material here. Check out the plot:

"In 2010, paranormal investigators tried to film Richard Speck’s ghost at the site of his heinous killing spree. The victims’ families have finally released the footage that documents their last days."

This one sounds like a guaranteed scare-fest. Find out yourself when the film drops on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD on July 24th.

Then there's Golden Winter, which we already knew was a tie-in to the Disney golden-retriever-puppy movies, but now we know the plot and stars. First the plot:

"A boy befriends a litter of homeless Golden Retrievers. Together, they help stop a bank robbery just in time for Christmas." 

Aww. The film stars talented beauties Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) and Haylie Duff (7th Heaven, Backwoods) and is written and directed by Tom Seidman, an Asylum newcomer. This one streets September 25th.

And as if all this wasn't enough, we also got a DVD date on The Asylum's star-studded movie Bigfoot: it'll be on DVD August 14th, following its SyFy debut on the 30th of this month. In case you've been living under a rock, the film - from director Bruce Davison off a script by Micho Rutare and Brian Brinkman - stars Barry Williams, Danny Bonaduce, Sherilyn Fenn, Andre Rojo, Howard Hesseman, Billy Idol and Alice Cooper. The plot:

"When Bigfoot attacks an 80s themed music concert, a concert promoter and a hippie burnout will do anything to protect the "endangered species."

So much awesomeness... 

The Asylum's SHARK WEEK Details Revealed

It's been a while we've been waiting, but The Asylum has finally revealed some details about Shark Week, and I, for one, am super stoked for the news, seeing as I wrote it. 

The film, which will be out on August 7th, is to be directed by the one and only Christopher Olen Ray, who with this film gets his shark hat trick, following Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus and 2 Headed Shark Attack. Dig the plot:

"A group of complete strangers find themselves isolated by a wealthy madman on his island compound. They are forced into a horrifying gauntlet where they must survive a barrage of ever deadlier species of shark."


Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. 

The cast for this one is pretty, pretty, pretty awesome, and includes Patrick Bergin (Sleeping With The Enemy, Patriot Games) as the madman in question, Yancy Butler (Witchblade, Lake Placid 3 & 4) as his femme fatale and Erin Coker (11/11/11, Air Collision) & Josh Allen (Nazis at the Center of the Earth) as two of the terrorized strangers.


Words can't describe how proud I am of this script - think of it as The Hunger Games meets Deep Blue Sea - and I for one can't wait to see how it turns out. More cast and crew details as they become available...

observation notes: ALIEN ORIGIN

I received a package in the mail the other day, a parcel of found-footage from a military expedition in South America that purports to have discovered the truth behind the origins of human life on Earth.

While the material is too sensitive to discuss openly like this, I've heard the footage will be made available throughout the country this coming Tuesday under the moniker Alien Origin, and distributed by our brave friends at The Asylum.

I warn you, though, this footage is not for the faint of heart. This is a pensive, intense, slowly-unfolding mystery whose ramifications change everything about our biology; it is truly mind-bending, pulse-racing, edge-of-your-seat information, rife with action, intrigue and suspense, and I for one think it's vital we spread the word as far and wide as we can, because this stuff is too history-altering to be kept secret any longer. So look for this cover - 

 - on Tuesday, June 12 on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD. This blogpost will self-destruct in 5...4...3...2...

Asylum Found-Footage Checklist

In honor of Alien Origin, a found-footage film that marks The Asylum's next release - this Tuesday, June 12th - I thought to put together a list of Asylum found-footage films to date, just to make sure you've seen them all. Enjoy.

Monster

2008

"After a massive earthquake in Tokyo, two American filmmakers document the true cause of the destruction."

Paranormal Entity

2009

"Actual footage of the events leading to the 2008 "murder" of Samantha Finley. This DVD, released against the wishes of the authorities, proves that nothing human caused Samantha's death."  

8213: Gacy House

2010

"John Wayne Gacy murdered 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978 in suburban Chicago. 26 bodies were found in a crawl space beneath his house and 3 others were buried in the backyard. Although the house was completely demolished during the exhumation of the bodies, on May 15, 2004 a group of paranormal investigators wired the home that was built in its place with paranormal detection and surveillance equipment. The outcome of the investigation was grisly, terrifying and disturbing. "

Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes

2011

"The shocking account of history's most infamous case of demonic possession, compiled from the actual videotape and film recordings from over 76 exorcisms. "

The Amityville Haunting

2011

"Actual found footage that documents the horrifying experience of a family that moved into the infamous haunted house."