Awesome news here if you live in Southern California or plan on being there this weekend: A Haunting in Salem (written by me, directed by Shane Van Dyke) is getting its FIRST EVER SCREENING, and they're showing it in 3D!!!
Courtesy of Shannon Benna, the film's stereographer, and the fine, permissive folks at The Asylum, this horror spectacular launches onto the big screen THIS SUNDAY NIGHT at 7pm at the Downtown Independent Theater, thanks to the Stereo Club of Southern CA (SCSC). There will be a Q&A session featuring Shannon and anyone else she can round up, but the most important thing to recognize here is the FIRST EVER SCREENING - IN 3D!!! - OF A HAUNTING IN SALEM!!!
So get off your couch, cancel your other plans and see this Asylum-classic in a way it should always be seen - in giant-size 3D!!! And if you do go, snap some pix and email them to me; I'm stuck way up here in rainy Oregon and won't be in attendance.
Thanks again to Shannon Benna, the SCSC and of course The Asylum for setting this up!!!
Continuing to shine the Committed spotlight on the creative talent behind The Asylum's upcoming horror-spectacular A Haunting in Salem - (ahem) - we turn today to the youngest member of the cast, one Nicholas Harsin, a promising young actor making his feature debut here as "Kyle," youngest child of the unfortunate family afflicted by the titular malady.
And, well, that's all there really is on young Mr. Harsin. Salem is his first feature, though he has also appeared recently in a short entitled Fairies and Faun, described as: A playful chase by a modern faun to a fairy in the magical setting of the Yosemite National Park, surrounded by wild buffaloes and horses.Sounds pretty trippy, and pretty good, apparently, as it won the Best Shorts Competition at the Milano Film Festival back in May of this year.
Other than that, Harsin's IMDB page says he plays both the French Horn and the trumpet - pretty rad - and he also studied photography at the Glasgow School of Art; sounds like we got a real Renaissance guy on our hands here. High hopes, then, for his performance in A Haunting in Salem. All indications are of Harsin as a young man with a wisdom and breadth of emotion greater than his years would belie, which makes him the perfect casting for "Kyle." See for yourself this coming Tuesday, October 4th when A Haunting in Salem conquers the world on DVD and Blu Ray.
That's right, this one's as self-indulgent as they get: since I wouldn't dain to do observation notes on A Haunting in Salem - no spoilers from this camp - but as I have now seen it (!!!), I did want to do a post about the experience of sitting down to watch the very first movie made because I wrote something down.
In a nutshell, it was pretty fucking awesome. Truthfully, it was a little weird at first, I felt kinda like Albert Brooks in Broadcast News: "I say it here, it comes out there. Huh." When lines I remember writing and tweaking and ditching then resurrecting and tweaking some more came mellifluously spilling from the talented lips of the cast, my stomach flipped a little bit. Certain scenes, certain silent moments, they gave me chills that had nothing to do with the (incredibly frightening) ambiance.
I've been writing a very long time, since I was 11, and until now, any characters I've created have existed solely in my imagination. To have some of them walking around on my TV was surreal to say the least, and my wife was required to punch me gently on the arm every quarter hour to ensure it was real; she became less gentle as the film went on, as she's not one for being scared.
The actors - Bill Oberst Jr., Courtney Abbiati, Nicholas Harsin, Jenna Stone, Carey Van Dyke, Gerald Webb, Sonny King - did things with the roles I never could have written, things that transformed ideas into people and brought dimension to what had been a scary story, now just plain scary.
Composer Chris Ridenhour's score was spot-on - chilling, ferocious, chaotic, mind-bending. It augmented every scene, heightened every scare, and became very much an alive thing, another menacing character all its own.
I could go on and on; for me, an admittedly biased viewer, everything about the film - the camera work, the lighting, the make-up, the casting, the HOUSE - was brilliant. But that's how I'm supposed to see it, right? That's how it's supposed to feel, how you imagine it feels when you daydream about it: you're write a script, some incredibly talented people take it and turn it into something amazing you can be proud to be a part of.
And I am proud. I really really really am. Director Shane Van Dyke has made a great movie, a horror film with classical sensibilities and modern, innovative scare tactics. It's intimate and quiet one moment, cacophonous and violating the next, a terrifying whirlwind of cinema. I'm honored to have contributed.
And as for The Asylum itself...I'm just very grateful for the opportunity - ridiculously, massively grateful - and hope everyone is as happy with the film as I am, though I'm pretty damn happy, so that's a high bar.
Sure, I'm gushing a little bit, or a lot, but I wrote a movie because of all these wonderful people, and to me, that's a dream come true, so I've earned being eternally grateful and (perhaps childishly) emotive. I realize that I'm probably more lucky than I am talented - though I am quite talented; ask my wife, my mother, my 8th grade English teacher Mrs. Bradford or my bartenders, Glenn & Chots - and I know that my contribution is but a cog in the machine of this film, I just wanted a chance to say how happy I am to have been along for some of the ride.
So, to wrap it up, there's a really awesome horror film soon to be on DVD - Shane Van Dyke directed it, Alex Yellen shot it, Shannon Benna made it all 3D, Christopher Ray & Randy Carter assisted direction, Bill Oberst Jr, Courtney Abbiati, Nicholas Harsin, Jenna Stone, Gerald Webb, Carey Van Dyke & Sonny King gave it life, Chris Ridenhour made it scream, James Condelik cut it up, Alexa Roland, Spencer Brennan, Amber Hamzeh & Valerie K. Garcia made the fear tangible, Devin Ward managed the crap out of unit production, so many other fine folks sweated for it and I got to write it, all under the eyes and wings of B-movie royalty, the fine folks at The Asylum, specifically Mr.'s Rimawi, Latt & Bales and Ms. Brown - A Haunting in Salem, October 4th on DVD and Blu Ray, in 3D if you got the equipment.
That's right, exactly one month from today, on October 4th, 2011, A Haunting in Salem - my first produced script, directed by Shane Van Dyke and starring Bill Oberst Jr., Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone, Nicholas Harsin, Gerald Webb, Carey Van Dyke et al - will be released by the venerable peeps at The Asylum on DVD and Blu-Ray, in 3D if you have one of those fancy 3D TVs. For those fine folks looking to purchase the film, you can pre-order it from Amazon here, or if you're on the Netflix, add this shizzle to your queue now to ensure you're near the top of the list.
Today also marks a month chock-full of blatant plugging and hyping of the film by yours truly, including profiles of the creative personnel behind the film, links to press and advance reviews, an in-depth and exclusive interview with actor Bill Oberst Jr., possibly a surprise or two, and, of course, up-to-the-minute accounts of my general freaking out over what is easily the biggest deal in my life (until January 17th, that is.). Should be, at least, entertaining.
But fantasy fans don't fret, I'm well-aware that the next actual release from The Asylum is Mark Atkins' Dragon Crusaders, and rest-assured I'll be giving that film it's full due as well, including more profiles, an exclusive interview with actor Simon Lloyd-Roberts and my patented blend of objectivity and fanaticism in the form of Observation Notes.
It's gonna be a pretty rad and hectic month here at Committed; drop by often...
...but as I'm going to be out of town through the end of the week, you'll have to entertain yourself with my posts past for the next few days (that is, of course, unless some major news breaks, like, say, set pics or an IMDB page revealing the cast and crew of 2 Headed Shark Attack or Amityville Haunting). But definitely come back next week, when things really start popping off: we got fiveAsylum films coming out in the next two months - Dragon Crusaders, A Haunting in Salem, 3 Musketeers, 11/11/11 and Born Bad - so there's gonna be plenty of set pics, trailers, posters, cast and crew profiles and even a few interviews to satiate your hunger for all things Asylum.
And expect hella hyping for A Haunting in Salem, my very first script - directed by the venerable Shane Van Dyke and performed by Bill Oberst Jr, Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone, NIcholas Harsin et al - before its DVD release on October 4th. Consider this week the calm before the storm; a very, very good storm. As for where I'll be, I'll only say it rhymes with Stas Megas. Follow me on Twitter for updates of my drunken and hopefully lucrative exploits. Have a good week, gang!
I've been trying to make it as a writer since I was 11 years old. That's going on 23 years, or more than 2,000 days of writing, waiting and hoping. Today is the first day I actually feel like a real writer. Behold, the first official trailer for A Haunting in Salem the film I totally wrote for The Asylum, available on DVD October 4th of this year. Shane Van Dyke directed, Bill Oberst Jr, Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone, Nicholas Harsin, Gerald Webb, Carey Van Dyke et al star, and The Asylum made it all happen.
I'm gonna go weep tears of joy for seven or eight hours while playing this on loop. I strongly suggest you do the same.
Exclusive news here: I received word this morning from the fine folks at The Asylum that A Haunting in Salem - the film I wrote for them being directed by Shane Van Dyke and starring Bill Oberst Jr, Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone, Nicholas Harsin, Gerald Webb and Carey Van Dyke, among others - has been pushed back from its original release date of August 23rd, to OCTOBER 4, 2011.
I for one am a big fan of this move. October is the perfect spot to release this hair-raising, spine-tingling, blood-curdling horror masterpiece (if i can say so myself, which, as it's my blog, i totally can). Yes, there will be a lot of horror releases that month, but that's just an opportunity for the incredible work done by Van Dyke, his actors and crew, to outshine all the others. Are you sensing my confidence here? Yeah, that's because this movie (the brief teaser I've seen of it, at least) is AWESOME. Tell everybody. Twice.
And yeah, it means I have to wait a little longer to see my first script brought to life, but I've been waiting since I was about ten; after 23 years, 6 more weeks won't kill me.
After all, anticipation only heightens the pleasure. And the horror.
So, amidst the shameful practice of googling myself - not myself, per se, but A Haunting in Salem, the horror film I wrote for The Asylum - I discovered this article on Shannon Benna, the film's stereographer, who just happens to be Hollywood's 1st female feature film stereographer. 1st. That means ever. The film's not even released, and already A Haunting in Salem is helping make history!
Now, I could attempt to explain to you exactly what a stereographer does, but I'm a writer, so, not too technically inclined, and probably half of it I'd be making up. So I'll let the article do the explaining.
Then a hearty personal and professional congratulations to Ms. Benna are in order, and add her name to the long and talented list of others working on A Haunting in Salem: the director Shane Van Dyke, Alex Yellin the cinematographer, Chris Ridenhour the composer, Christoper Ray at 1st AD, not to mention a stellar cast that includes Bill Oberst Jr., Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone, Nicholas Harsin, Carey Van Dyke and Gerald Webb plus countless others I owe a little bit of my life to. Check out the fruit of their labors August 23rd when A Haunting in Salem drops on DVD and Blu-Ray. In 3D!!!!!!!!!!!
With only a few months to go before the release of the impending horror classic A Haunting in Salem - produced by The Asylum, directed by Shane Van Dyke (Titianic II, 6 Guns) and written by Me (that's how I know it's an impending classic) - things are really starting to ramp up. Last week The Asylum released the second, more-gory wave of production stills, and this week, the film's IMDB page added another name to an already stellar cast that includes Bill Oberst Jr, Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone, Nicholas Harsin, Carey Van Dyke and Gerald Webb. That name? Josh Roman.
Roman started his career nearly fifteen years ago with some television roles, then took a ten-year hiatus from acting last decade, only to reappear late last year as "Elliot Snipes" in the immortal Titanic II.
In A Haunting in Salem, he'll be playing the role of "Kevin," about which I will reveal not a single thing. You'll simply have to see for yourself on August 23rd of this year when the film is released on DVD and Blu-Ray. And for those of you with 3D televisions, this one's got an extra dimension of scares.
Now that production has wrapped on The Asylum's next horror film A Haunting in Salem - directed by Shane Van Dyke from a script I wrote - we're getting more details about who will be supporting the principle cast of Bill Oberst Jr., Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone and Nicholas Harsin. We already know the great Gerald Webb (Battle of Los Angeles, MSvC) will be playing Mayor Collins, and Carey Van Dyke (MPvG) will fill the role of Deputy Mike; now we can add two more names, in albeit smaller roles, but it's my firm believe - since, again, I wrote the script - that there are no small parts in A Haunting in Salem, just one with fewer lines. And screen time. Anyway...
First up is the lovely Catherine Lidstone (left) playing the role of "Sarah Good," about which I will divulge no spoilers. In addition to acting, Ms. Lidstone is also a singer/songwriter, and spent her college years at beautiful Middlebury College in Vermont. This will be Ms. Lidstone's first film, but as tremendous a film as A Haunting in Salemis going to be - think The Others meets Paranormal Activity with better camerawork and a more classical narrative approach, plus that extra dimension - no doubt this time next year she'll be a household name :)
And then there is Ashley Barron (right), another relative newcomer (she played "Pretty Girl" in Transylmania, which is kinda funny), who will be featured in the role of "Bystander." I can give a little spoiler on this one - sidewalk - but that's it. Again, as record-breaking a cinematic accomplishment as A Haunting in Salem is destined to be, I have every confidence that Ms. Barron's career trajectory just shot straight up (out? whichever way's good...). Check out the work of these talented actresses, as well as the rest of the exemplary cast and the efforts of the greatest collection of filmmakers and crew members known to man when A Haunting in Salem drops on DVD August 23rd of this year.
If you're feeling particularly antsy, pre-order the DVD or BLU-RAY on Amazon. It's 3D!!!
Three articles went up today for The Asylum's next horror film, the Shane Van Dyke-directed and me-scripted A Haunting in Salem, starring Bill Oberst Jr, Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone, Nicholas Harsin, Carey Van Dyke and Gerald Webb. Read and spread the good word!
Man oh man oh man oh man...here I am so in the midst of preparing for tonight's Almighty Thor blog that I almost missed this...The Asylum has put up the first stills and the poster for A Haunting in Salem 3D!!!
The poster is above and the stills can be seen here, and from the looks of everything, director Shane Van Dyke and principle cast members Bill Oberst Jr, Nicholas Harsin, jenna Stone and Courtney Abbiati are doing an awesome job! The image on the poster I want tattooed, full-color on my back, and the stills from this scare the shit out of me, and I wrote the script!
A Haunting in Salem drops on DVD August 23rd, aka the Best Day Ever.
Courtesy of A Haunting in Salem's IMDB page, another cast member of the upcoming Asylum ghost story has been revealed. The film already stars Bill Oberst Jr, Nicholas Harsin, Courtney Abbiati, Gerald Webb and Jenna Stone, and now, at last, the identity of the last major character, "Mike," deputy to Mr. Oberst's sheriff, is out in the open: none other than Carey Van Dyke.
Carey is the older brother of Salem director Shane Van Dyke, son of Barry (6 Guns), and is best known - to me, at least - for his awesome work in Mega Python vs Gatoroid as Tiffany's intended, Justin. Dude had a great (SPOILER) death scene in that one. He also appeared in notable roles in both films Shane directed last year for the Asylum - Titanic II and 6 Guns.
Having a little insight to the character - as, if you didn't already know from my incessant mentioning of it, I wrote this script - I think CVD is an excellent choice for the character I consider the most likable of the film. Another score for the Asylum casting department.
A Haunting in Salem is filming now in Pasadena, CA for an August 23, 2011 release. Rest assured I'll remind you. Constantly.
Courtesy of a twitpic by actor Nicholas Harsin, I give you the house that is haunted in "Salem," aka Pasadena, California:
Beautiful property, and creepy, to say the least. Whoever scouts locations for The Asylum, my cap's off to you.
Also courtesy of Twitter, this time from actress Jenna Stone, "Ali," in the movie, this hint at a pivotal scene:
Jenna Stone: Best. Sport. Ever. I won't give anything away about the scene this is for, but I knew when I wrote it someone would have to pull it off, and by all accounts, Miss Stone pulled it off with aplomb.
A Haunting in Salem wraps production in a couple weeks for an August 23rd DVD release. The great and powerful Shane Van Dyke directs. And oh yeah...it's in 3D.
Yesterday in lovely and creepy Pasadena, California, The Asylum entered production on their latest film, A Haunting in Salem, a ghost story set in the titular Massachusetts town renowned for its witchy ways.
Salem stars Bill Oberst Jr. (Princess and the Pony) as a new Salem sheriff who inherits a very old curse. Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone and Nicholas Hardsin play his beleaguered family, and Gerald Webb (Titanic II, Battle of Los Angeles) also appears as Mayor Collins.
The film is being directed (in 3D) by Shane Van Dyke (Titanic II, 6 Guns) from a script written by H. Perry Horton, your truly.
Salem is scheduled for a two week shoot, meaning hopefully we'll get stills from the set by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. The DVD comes out August 23rd.
Anything else I could tell you about this one? Besides tell everyone you know to watch it? Twice? Oh yeah:
So, The Asylum has posted the webpage for A Haunting in Salem, the ghost story directed by Shane Van Dyke and written by yours truly, H. Perry Horton, and in addition to revealing the rest of the principle cast and the release date, there's another bit of interesting news I gave away in the headline: they're gonna make it available in 3D!!!
If I'm right, this will be the third 3D production by The Asylum, behind Haunting of Winchester House and Sex Pot.
Furthermore, the rest of the principle cast has been revealed: Courtney Abbiati ("How I Met Your Mother," "Girlfriends") will play the wife to Bill Oberst Jr.'s sheriff, and Jenna Stone "Miss Behave" joins Nicholas Harsin as the other child. Gerald Webb is also in the cat as Mayor Collins. Also revealed, the film will be shot - in 3D!!! - by cinematographer Alex Yellin. The official synopsis: "When the new sheriff of Salem, Massachusetts discovers that he is the victim of a centuries-old curse, he must protect his family from the vengeful ghosts that torment his home."
The DVD streets on August 23rd of this year, four days before Committed's one-year anniversary.
The good news just keeps on coming in regards to the casting of the next Asylum ghost story, A Haunting in Salem: just added to the cast is none other than Gerald Webb (Battle of Los Angeles, Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus). Webb will be filling the role of "Mayor Collins."
Personally, I think this is another great choice. Most of my experience with Webb is in action flicks, so it will be nice to see him in another light. For more on Gerald Webb, come back this Tuesday for my exclusive interview with him, in which he discusses his days as a lauded DJ, his experiences with The Asylum as both an actor and a casting director, and the unexpected difficulty of keeping a kickball low to the ground. Nothing's off limits!
Congrats to Mr. Webb on the role! No doubt he'll knock it out of the park. Add him to Bill Oberst Jr. and Nicholas Harsin, and this is shaping up to be one fine cast (in addition to having a great director, Shane Van Dyke, and me as a writer). Wonder who's next...
You can just go ahead and assume any time there's any news whatsoever about A Haunting in Salem, I"m going to blog about it. Cuz I wrote the script (I'm probably going to mention that every time too, sorry, I'm still learning to believe it.).
With production starting on Monday, April 25th, the cast is starting to be finalized. Already this week it was revealed that the film is being directed by Shane Van Dyke, and the lead would be played by Bill Oberst Jr (who, btw, the more I think of in the lead the more I am convinced he is PERFECT for it), but now there's word on one of the children, to be played by actor Nicholas Harsin.
Young Mr. Harsin is a relative-newcomer with a good bit of work on his resume, but this looks to be his first feature (mine too.). Again, having a little bit of insight into the role he's playing, I think this is another solid casting. He's a good-looking, clean-cut kid with a bit of unsuspected depth, at least in photos. Consider my hopes quite high.
Still a few roles left to cast, and the second I know about it, you'll know about it. Congrats, Nicholas!
