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.

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 BIGFOOT Gets a SyFy Premiere Date

Buzz has been building for a while about The Asylum's next SyFy Original Movie, Bigfoot, mostly because of its AMAZING cast: Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch, Mega Piranha), Danny Bonaduce (The Partridge Family), Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks, my dreams beginning in 1989), Howard Hesseman (WKRP in Cincinnati, Head of the Class), Andre Royo (The Wire, Super), Alice Cooper (duh) and Billy Idol (double-duh). Whew; it's gonna be like the wackiest episode of Hollywood Squares ever all up on your television screen. And as if all this star power wasn't enough, the film is being directed by Academy-Award nominated actor and Asylum vet Bruce Davison (MegaFault, Titanic II) from a script by Micho Rutare and Brian Brinkman, the team behind Meteor Apocalypse. This could sincerely be the biggest project yet from The Asylum.


And now we know when we get to lay our greedy little eyes on it: Saturday, June 30th, 9 pm on SyFy. No word on a DVD release as of yet - my guess would be by the end of the year - but have no fear, this being an instant classic, I'm sure SyFy will rerun the shit out of it for decades to come.
 

A Closer Look at BIGFOOT...

What with those great pics released to Entertainment Weekly, the cat is out of the bag on The Asylum's upcoming SyFy original movie, Bigfoot. All there is to know about the plot is that some dudes are hunting Bigfoot, but thanks to IMDB we know a great deal about just who is involved, and it's pretty awesome:

Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch, MegaPiranha), Danny Bonaduce (The Partridge Family), Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks), Howard Hesseman (WKRP in Cincinnati, Rubin and Ed, Head of the Class), rockers Alice Cooper and BIlly Idol, Andre Royo ("Bubbles" from The Wire, no shit!!!) as well as Bruce Davison (MegaFault, Titanic II), who's also directing the film from a script by Micho Rutare and Brian Brinkman, who together previously wrote Dragonquest and Meteor Apocalypse; Rutare also wrote the story for Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, while Brinkman has worked in the editorial department on a handful of Asylum films and has appeared as an actor in three. 

Translation: there are some seasoned pros at play in this one, promising an all-Asylum take on the ripe legend of Bigfoot. No air-date as of yet, but probably sometime in the next couple of months this one will grace TV screens nationwide. As soon as more details are available, I'll post 'em up. Until then, salivate along with me over the greatness to-be that is Bigfoot!

inmate profile: Cole S. McKay

Take a look at the picture up there, a good look: the penetrating stare, the awesome fucking mustache, the jacket; that, ladies and gentlemen, is what a Badass looks like.

Cole S. McKay: stunt man extraordinaire turned director. Kinda like Colt Seavers, but real. Earlier this year he directed 200 MPH, The Asylum's white-knuckle racing flick. His latest project? You guessed it, the upcoming Asylum release 3 Musketeers. 

There isn't a lot of biographical info on Mr. McKay online, but his resume more than speaks for itself. Since 1986 he has served as a stunt man in one capacity or another for 221 films and television productions. 221. Even cooler, know what his first film was? Three Amigos. Uh-huh. Badass.

Other films Mr. McKay defied death in include Star Trek VI, Demonic Toys, Leprechaun, Super Mario Brothers, Lost Highway, Wishmaster 1 & 2, The Devil's Rejects, American Pie Band Camp, a driving double for Kyle Gass in Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny, and Cloverfield. He's also worked with The Asylum several times as the stunt coordinator for The Terminators, Ballistica, Titanic II and Battle of Los Angeles. Badass, badass, badass.


McKay started directing in 1988, and among his more notable films are Star Hunter, co-directed by Fred Olen Ray (father of MSvC, Almighty Thor and 2 Headed Shark Attack director Christopher Ray) starring Roddy McDowell and Stella Stevens, and his last non-Asylum film, 2006's Special Ops: Delta Force, which featured Titanic II and Mega Fault's Bruce Davison.

And the best of all this background is that McKay's storied career path has led him to present moment, on the cusp of releasing his second directorial effort for The Asylum, 3 Musketeers, on DVD next Tuesday, October 25th. His next effort is also kinda Asylum-related: he'll be directing Blackgate, a film written by and starring Asylum vet Paul Logan.

One more time: Badass!

Titanic II Gets A SyFy Premiere! Soon!

So the in wake of Mega Python vs Gatoroid's ratings success, SyFy announced the television premiere of another Asylum flick, the much-loved Titanic II, written, directed by and starring Shane Van Dyke; this Sunday, February 6th, at 9 p.m.. The lovely and talented Marie Westbrook guest stars, as well as Bruce Davison and Brooke Burns. There's a special place in my heart for T2, as it was the first Asylum film released after I started Committed, therefore the first new release I got to review. You never forget your first.

In all seriousness, though, this is a great film - very inventive and action-packed - and definitely the best thing going on a Sunday. So if you've got cable and no inescapable plans, tune into SyFy this Sunday and show your commitment!

observation notes: Megafault

This one's kinda hard to pinpoint, mockbuster-wise. As far as the plot goes, it's a lot like 2012 in that it deals with a whole lot of tectonic plates shifting at once, threatening to rip the planet apart; but it also shares a plot, and a poster tagline, with the classic sci-fi film Crack in the World. So perhaps it's better not to think of this one as a mockbuster at all; truly, to do so takes away from what it actually is, and that's a rocking and rumbling action pic with real heart.

The story breaks down like this: a routine demolition blasting triggers a real fuck-up in the tectonic plates, producing not a major fault, or even a super fault, but the dreaded megafault. This megafault's ripping up shit left and right all across the country, racing from east to west, headed for California, and god help us then, because once megafault meets the San Andreas fault and all its ornery tributaries, the West Coast is going to drop into the ocean like a greased fat guy dumped into a hot tub from a wheelbarrow, also greased, sending megatsunamis across the Pacific. It's up to three people, apparently, to find a way to thwart the megafault before it can destroy the world: the director of FEMA (Bruce Davison), a feisty seismologist (Brittany Murphy) and the blaster who started this in the first place (Eriq LaSalle). And as if all this wasn't enough, at the same time they're also trying to find the seismologist's husband and young daughter, whose plane went down somewhere in Kansas. It's a cross-country adventure we're talking about here, people, pack your trail mix.

I really didn't find much not to like about this film. The first thing that usually detracts me is too much science, not enough chaos, an unsatisfying balance of exposition versus action. But not so here. There was plenty of science to back up the chaos, but the balance felt right, felt like ultimately Megafault knew what it was, and that's an action movie.

And man what action. The visual effects done by Tiny Juggernaut are among their best work for The Asylum. An especial hats off to the Washington Monument scene, and the petroleum truck sequence. Top-fucking-notch, no matter what studio has their name on it. Furthermore, the widespread, aerial shots of destruction were frighteningly realistic, and though not as intense as a Hollywood spectacle like 2012, somehow they felt more realistic, for its focus not on the major cities, but the heartland, destruction on a local level, and thus easier to relate to, for me at least.

Make no mistake people, there's no camp to this one. It's a full-on, balls-out, mega-disaster pic, and a pretty fucking good one, too. Throw Don Cheadle and Amanda Seyfried in this (you can keep Davison where he is) and you've got a $27 million opening weekend, at least.

And that above statement is not meant at all to detract from the performers that do inhabit these roles, merely to show how popular perception is often more influenced by who's in a movie than what it's about, or how well it's made. Bruce Davison - what can I say? The guy's an ace, every time. And it was nice to see Eriq LaSalle again; I'm sure he's been working, but I haven't seen him since "ER." He brings that same sort of brooding intensity to this role, that burdened, soulful, weary resilience, an unflappable Job. Brittany Murphy, honestly, is the weak spot. I feel bad saying that (you know...). She was capable at most things, exceptional at others (I've always thought that was her Oscar from Girl, Interrupted), but here she's just out of place. She's believable for half of the movie, where she plays a concerned mother desperate to be reunited with her family, but as a seismologist, and an ace one at that, she sounded like she was just reading words to me. Well-written, well-spoken words, I just didn't see her in the role. But this does not detract from the overall enjoyment of the film one bit. Nice work also by Paul Logan (Mega Piranha), who, I've decided, has the best run in The Asylum universe, and Justin Hartley (Green Arrow on "Smallville") as Brittany's husband, a guy who survives a plane crash, multiple earthquakes and a petroleum tanker explosion, among other hardships, and never takes off his tie. That's commitment.

Megafault was directed by The Man, David Michael Latt, who perfectly balances the precision of individuals' fears with epic, sweeping panoramic portraits of the rioting landscape, the film's villain after all.

Engaging, thrilling, and all around pretty fucking awesome. Megafault's the real deal, and a real fun way to spend an hour and a half.

observation notes: Titanic II

There is a certain absurdity that must be overlooked if you're going to enjoy Titanic II, by all other accounts a highly enjoyable film: no shipbuilder in the world would ever, ever, ever name their ship Titanic II. Ever. It's like christening a new space shuttle the Challenger II, or building a summer camp on a Native American Burial Ground - you're just inviting disaster. Seriously, every time they same the name of the ship, I instinctively winced. But this could just be me. However, as it's my blog, I figured this was the spot to voice that grievance. Moving on...

On the 100th anniversary of its namesake's fateful journey, the Titanic II - the brainchild of a young trust-funder - is set to retrace the original route, going backwards this time, from New York to England. Cuz, you know, that's not tempting anything.

The side-story is the impending collapse of glacial shelves in the Arctic, colorfully demonstrated in the film's opening sequence when a adrenaline junkie surfing the waves created by breaking glaciers (classy) is thoroughly fucked when a little too much breaks off.

Enter Bruce (MegaFault, X-Men, Mother Jugs and Speed)Davison, concerned Coast Guard glaciologist, via whose daughter(Marie Westbrook, 100 Million BC, Dracula's Curse), coincidentally a nurse on Titanic II, we meet the myriad supporting cast members who compromise the passengers, a.k.a. the victims, including the trust-funder (writer/director/legacy Shane Van Dyke, who's also responsible for Paranormal Entity and the scripts for 3 other Asylum films), who coincidentally enough has a past with Davison's daughter. Lots of coincidences.

The film alternates between the ship's lavish journey and Davison's dour discovery that shit's going down in the Arctic. Enter Brooke Burns, the hottest scientist since Denise Richards played a Bond girl, spouting a lot of "state-sized" this and "mega-tsunami" that, driving home some Al Gore hit points and otherwise just rocking a fur-lined parka. The gist is this: the ice shelf is set to collapse, and when it does, it's going to ripple the shit out of the North Atlantic, sending killer waves and killer ice toward the Titanic II. Yikes. (nice segue back to ship here via a single ice cube being dropped into a glass of water. subtle.) Basically our villain here is a super wave throwing icebergs. That's pretty fucking cool, and a pretty fucking smart way to tie-in to the original ending and the current ecological state while still being inventive. Hats off on this point, Mr. Van Dyke. I mean, it's the natural equivalent of the speedball, that move the X-Men used to pull with Colossus as the ocean and Wolvie as the iceberg. Fucking insane.

From here the action unfurls, and I'll leave that spoiler-free but to give kudos on the Vernesian lifeboats and triage with a credit card. Nuff said.

Bruce Davison is the perfect choice for his role, curmudgeonly concerned and looking permanently constipated, which works. Brooke Burns is believable, and brought her pink lipstick to the Arctic, which is a nice variation to the color spectrum. Truthfully she's not on screen that much, it's like, "Oh yeah, Brooke Burns," kinda like life.

Titanic II rests its burden mostly on Van Dyke, Westbrook and a strong supporting cast including Wittly Jourdan (Allan Quatermain..., Alien v. Hunter), Myles Cranford (MegaPiranha, MegaShark...) and Matt Lagan ( Princess of Mars, Meteor Apocalypse).

Bottom line, Titanic II is a taut, suspenseful, strangely believable film with great FX, not at all the campfest mainstream media was expecting it to be based on the title. This is no scenario to scoff at, and it's deftly handled by the fine folks at The Asylum. Shit, I liked it more than Titanic, story-wise. And it took half the time to watch, so, there's that.