inmate profile: Dylan Jones

Continuing to shine the Committed spotlight on the creative talent behind The Asylum's upcoming Dragon Crusaders (on DVD September 27th), this time it falls upon actor Dylan Jones, who plays "John" in the movie.

From North Wales, Mr. Jones is something of a phenomena in my book: here's a guy with two passions in life - acting and horses - and the dude figured out how to successfully combine them. In 1997, he got a job as a rider in the Sam Neill miniseries "Merlin" (Merlin #1), and from there it was a go. As an actor, Mr. Jones has appeared in five films, four of them with The Asylum: Merlin and the War of Dragons (Merlin#2), Sherlock Holmes, The 7 Adventures of Sinbad and now Dragon Crusaders. In the first two and last of that filmography, Mr. Jones also served as the films' Horse Master, something he did as well for ten episodes of the BBC's "Merlin" (Merlin #3; hat trick!). 

Furthermore - oh yeah, there's more - Mr. Jones has also served as a Horse Supplier to some pretty big-name productions: Ridley Scott's Robin Hood, Steven Spielberg's upcoming War Horse and the currently-in-production films Clash of the Titans 2 and Snow White and the Huntsman, the K-Stewart/Thor one. He's also appeared in each of those films as a Horse Rider. 

So as you can see, Dylan Jones is quite the go-getter, a man with a distinct vision of what he wants and the drive to obtain it. Well done, sir! Check he and his steeds out Tuesday, September 27th, when Dragon Crusaders roars onto DVD.

Observation Notes Catch-Up: EVERYTHING

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A Look Back, A Look Ahead

On this, the final day of 2010, I thought it appropriate that we take a look back on the work done by The Asylum this last year, as well as peek into the future at the projects already lined up for 2011, now only hours away. A reminder that every single film released by The Asylum this year is up for Best Picture in the 1st Annual Looney Awards for Excellence in Asylum Films (voting ends Feb. 2, 2011). 

For a word from The Asylum themselves on the great year they've had, check out this morning's message to us all and click here.

So, without further adieu, a look back at the films that made 2010 possibly the biggest, most successful year yet in The Asylum's illustrious history:

Sherlock Holmes
directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg
written by Paul Bales
starring Ben Syder, Gareth David-Lloyd, Dominic Keating


released 1/26/2010

Meteor Apocalypse
directed by Micho Rutare
written by Brian Brinkman & Micho Rutare
starring Joe Lando, Cooper Harris, Claudia Christian

released 2/23/2010

6 Guns
directed by Shane Van Dyke
written by Geoff Meed
starring Barry Van Dyke, Greg Evigan, Brian Wimmer, Sage Mears

released 3/30/2010

Mega Piranha
directed by Eric Forsberg
written by Eric Forsberg
starring Paul Logan, Tiffany, Barry Williams

released 4/27/2010

7 Adventures of Sinbad
directed by Adam Silver & Ben Hayflick
written by Adam Silver & Ben Hayflick
starring Patrick Muldoon, Bo Svenson, Kelly O'Leary

released 5/25/2010 

Airline Disaster
directed by John J. Willis, III
written by Paul Sinor & Victoria Dadi
starring Meredith Baxter, Scott Valentine, Lindsey McKeon

released 6/29/2010 

#1 Cheerleader Camp
directed by Mark Quod
written by Naomi Selfman
starring Jay Gillespie, Seth Cassell, Erica Duke, Harmony Blossom, Charlene Tilton


released 7/27/2010

Titanic II
directed by Shane Van Dyke
written by Shane Van Dyke
starring Shane Van Dyke, Marie Westbrook, Bruce Davison, Brooke Burns


released 8/24/2010

8213 Gacy House
directed by N/A (Anthony Fankhauser)
written by N/A (Anthony Fankhauser)
starring Mike Gaglio, Rachel Riley, Jim Lewis


released 9/28/2010

MILF
directed by Scott Wheeler
written by Jonny Haug
starring Jack Cullison, Phillip Marlett, Molinee Green, Jamie Bernadette


released 10/26/2010

2010: Moby Dick
directed by Trey Stokes
written by Paul Bales
starring Barry Bostwick, Renee O'Connor, Adam Grimes


released 11/23/2010

Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus
directed by Christopher Ray
written by Naomi Selfman
starring Jaleel White, Gary Stretch, Sarah Lieving, Robert Picardo


released 12/21/2010








And now a look ahead at the productions already on the docket for 2011:

Princess and the Pony

directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg

written by Bill Parker & Rachel Lee Goldenberg

starring Fiona Perry, Bobbi Jo Lathan, Ron Hajak

to be released 1/25/2011

Mega Python vs. Gatoroid

directed by mary lambert

written by Naomi Selfman

starring Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, A Martinez

to be released on SyFy 1/29/2011

Battle of Los Angeles

directed by Mark Atkins

written by Mark Atkins

starring Kel Mitchell, Nia Peeples, Theresa Jun-Tao

to be released 3/15/2011

Almighty Thor

directed by Christopher Ray

written by Eric Forsberg

starring Cody Deal, Richard Grieco, Kevin Nash, Patricia Velasquez

to be released 5/10/2011

Ballistica

directed by Gary Jones

written by Tony Kandah & Sean Rourke

starring Paul Logan, Martin Kove, Robert Davi, Andrew Divoff

to be released 5/17/2011

2012: Ice Age

directed by ???

written by ???

starring ???

release date TBA

Born Bad

directed by ???

written by ???

starring ???

release date TBA

200 MPH: Midnight Racers

directed by ???

written by ???

starring ???

release date TBA

And there you have it, the year behind us, the year ahead. Speaking as to the year ahead, there's only eight projects announced thus far, meaning we can count on at least three or four more coming to light as we proceed into 2011. And as always, rest assured that as soon as any news drops on these or any other projects, you'll know a minute or so after I do. Happy New Year, thanks for reading, be safe and viva La Asylum!!!

observation notes: 7 Adventures of Sinbad

"The Original Prince of Persia," boasts the box for this gem, though truthfully it's more a tie-in to the recent disaster in the Gulf than to the Gyllenhaal-Disney flick, if anything. Either way, The Asylum's take tells the story of wealthy, handsome, gadabout energy entrepreneur Adrian Sinbad (Patrick Muldoon), who, at the beginning of the film, at least, is a bit of an Ebeneezer Scrooge meets Jay Gatsby, a money-centric megalomaniac in serious need of being taken down a peg or two. When eco-terrorists take over one of his ships, Sindbad - fulfilling his CEO duties, I guess - takes actions into his own hands. But when the chopper he's taking to said ship encounters a freak storm en route, it goes down in the middle of the Indian Ocean, but not before Sinbad catches a glimpse of his ship being crushed and pulled under by a motherfucking kraken. Game on.

As one might expect, the survivors of the chopper crash wash ashore on an uninhabited(?), uncharted, unusual (or as Jules Verne might have put it, "Mysterious") island. It isn't too long before our uber-pampered, pretty-boy trust-funder finds himself in a situation in which his money and power don't account for shit, thus rendering him pitifully overwhelmed:

"Crab!..Crab!..Big crab!" - actual dialogue

 Our hero had better learn to get his panic in check however, as the strange goings-on are only going to get stranger thanks to a series - 7 - of travails - or adventures - young Mr. Sinbad must accomplish if he is to save his compatriots and indeed the world from the mechanisms of an ancient apocalyptic prophecy, return home again, to the real world, restore honor to his family name, and find within himself the better man he was meant to be. What these adventures are, or if and how he surpasses them? The things of spoilers, so I relent.

Overall, I found this to be a pretty inventive script - written, as was the film directed, by Ben Hayflick, a former scribe for the Onion News Network, and Adam Silver, an Asylum employee best known for his cinematographic work on films like The Apocalypse, Megafault and the upcoming Princess and the Pony - laced with twists and turns and homages to everything from The 7th Adventure of Sinbad to Mysterious Island to "Lost" to The Most Dangerous Game to The Odyssey. It was a little slow to start - to me, at least - but once Sinbad and crew find themselves on the island, things move more rapidly and grow more intense, unfurling into one action-packed sequence after another.

As such, a lot is required of the FX in this movie, and for my money, they don't disappoint: helicopters, flying creatures galore, winged fire demons, waterspouts and tornadoes, landmasses that turn out to be whales - that's right, fucking whales! - giant crabs and the Looney-award-nominated Cyclops (which moves like Ray Harryhausen must have imagined in his most lucid daydreams: fluid, formidable, palpable and perilous, A+ work for this market), they all look awesome. The actors' reactions to them, not always so awesome, but that's a minor flaw, and technical at that, so should in no way detract from what are otherwise mostly capable performances.


Patrick Muldoon ("Melrose Place," Starship Troopers, Ice Spiders) as Sinbad delivers the stone-coldest one-liners this side of David Caruso, and he's a little to slimy-seeming to ever be believable as a truly good guy, but say what you will, the guy looks the part, and he's got a helluva jawline. A kind of poor-man's Christian Bale, Muldoon strikes the right balance here between villain and hero, confident but uncertain, and as such is a triumph.

But the real spotlight-stealer here is Looney-award-nominated supporting actress Kelly O' Leary, who according to IMDB has only one other credit to her name, an episode of "Mad Men" in 2008. This is a travesty, as Ms. O'Leary portrayed the overburdened assistant to Sinbad as regal, adaptive, stern but relatable, potent and feisty and more than capable to stand her own ground in these adventures. She is much more than a beautiful face, and turns this role into one of the stronger supporting females parts in all of The Asylum's filmography. Please Asylum, get her back, and soon.

Rounding out the cast is the lovely Sarah Desage as Loa, the native islander girl who is harsh and hard but heart-breakingly human, a kind of evolution from the native women in 100 Million B.C., who were still a little primal in terms of expression; Ms. Desage not only supplies the more obvious eye-candy, but becomes more than that with her earnest portrayal of a woman out of her intellectual league but struggling to hold her own. And she looks a lot like Jax's chick on "Sons of Anarchy."

And of course, the other billed star here, Bo Svenson (Snowbeast, The Inglorious Bastards) earns his paycheck with aplomb as an adviser to Sinbad in the business world. Not really worth a billing, as he's not around much, but he is a name, so, you gotta do what you gotta do. 

To sum up, The 7 Adventures of Sinbad I found to be an intense, action-packed, at times psychedelic and truly original mythological thriller, full of creative visual FX, barbed dialogue, oodles of bloodshed, scantily-clad native women and, yes, even nudity. And the ending...all I'll say is that it's truly bizarre and even more bizarrely-touching. Enjoy.