SDCC Reveals New Asylum Production!

One of my favorite sites, Dread Central, is sharing some awesome art they picked up at Comic Con, including the previously-seen Bigfoot poster and the Shark Week poster I showed you a couple days ago (on SyFy 8/4 @ 9pm, DVD 8/28), but the real score here is the revealing of a new Asylum production, as well as its stars!

The film, Dead Walking, is also set for a SyFy Premiere, this one on October 27th, just in time for Halloween. The films stars Mariel Hemingway (Manhattan), Levar Burton (Duh) and Danny Trejo. Yep, The Asylum landed Trejo. In a zombie movie. Oh shit is this gonna be good. One thing I can add to this story is a director. If my Facebook feed is to be trusted, Nick Lyon, director of Zombie Apocalypse, is back behind the camera for this one, and since Zombie Apocalypse was pretty damn awesome, I'd expect the same thing from Dead Walking. Hold your breath til October to find out (but don't forget Shark Week in less than three weeks!!!)

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.

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.

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...