Grimm's Snow White Gets a Poster!

One of The Asylum films I'm really looking forward to this year is Grimm's Snow White, from screenwriter Naomi Selfman (Mega Python vs Gatoroid) and director Rachel Lee Goldenberg (Sherlock Holmes), two of my favorites.

A dark twist on the classic fairy tale, this one promises evil queens, reptilian monsters and hot chicks with bows and arrows. And now, behold the poster:

Looking at the creatures, they come off as pretty rad, and I like the fact that Snow White hasn't been cast traditionally, as a brunette, but rather as an "Alice in Wonderland" look-a-like. You definitely know you're in for a unique interpretation. 

The film, starring Jane March, Jamie Thomas King and Eliza Bennett, hits DVD shelves on March 13th.

First Stills and Poster From American Battleship! Van Peebles! Weathers! Really Big Guns!!!

Today, The Asylum released the poster, and on their Flickr page the first production stills, from their upcoming alien-naval skirmish/Battleship tie-in, American Battleship. From the look of things, we've got ourselves a full-blown action epic on our hands.

The film - written and directed by Thunder Levin, who penned last year's awesome 200MPH - boasts a powerhouse cast including Mario Van Peebles (New Jack City, Full Eclipse, BAADASSSSS) and Carl Weathers (Rocky, Predator, Happy Gilmore), as well as the lovely and surely talented Johanna Watts. Furthermore, the announcement gives us a little more details as to the film's plot: "Johanna Watts (left) plays Navy Lieutenant Caroline Bradley, who along with Mario Van Peebles and Carl Weathers, must use the United States last remaining battleship to fight an elusive and powerful enemy that threatens the entire planet."

Pretty rad, if you ask me. Especially since they used a real battleship, the U.S.S. North Carolina, and filmed in that same state, Wilmington, to be precise, which also happens to be the state I was born and raised in. So, count me doubly excited: a new Asylum flick, and bringing more entertainment jobs to the Old North State.  

American Battleship hits DVD and Blu-Ray on May 15th.

inmate profile: Carmen Electra

Up next in Commited's spotlighting of the cast for 2 Headed Shark Attack, the lovely and talented Carmen Electra, who plays "Dr. Anne Babish" in the film.

I feel stupid explaining who Carmen Electra is, because everyone in the world knows who Carmen Electra is; it's like trying to explain the sky, or water, to people who already know what it is. But in case this is your first day on the internet, welcome, and here you go:

Carmen Electra is an entertainment icon and possibly the greatest thing Prince has ever done. He discovered her fronting an L.A. rap group, signed her and took her on tour during his NPG phase (if you gotta ask, you don't deserve to know). From there, Carmen leapt onto television screens worldwide in a little show you might have heard of called Baywatch. Yeah, that one. 

From there girlfriend pretty much just blew up and became an instant fixture in the global cultural consciousness. Movies, TV, hosting gigs, workout videos, calenders, a Playboy photo-shoot - Carmen Electra has done it all and keeps rocking out. Dig a list of her accomplishments: Good Burger, Singled Out, Scary Movie, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Starsky and Hutch, Monk, Dirty Love, American Dad, Tripping the Rift, Date Movie, Epic Movie, Disaster Movie, Reno 911 and now the crown jewel of her filmography, 2 Headed Shark Attack.

Be sure to check her out in all her beautiful, shapely glory on January 31st, when 2 Headed Shark Attack swims onto DVD (oh yeah I did.).

inmate profile: Charlie O'Connell

The 2 Headed Shark Attack profile machine rolls on, this time spotlighting the film's male lead, the one and only Charlie O'Connell, a.k.a. "Captain/Professor Franklin Babbish."

A native New Yorker, Charlie O'Connell started acting in the late 1990's with a few roles in television - including a 19-episode stint on "Sliders" in which he played the brother of his real-life brother, Jerry O'Connell - but it was 1999's Cruel Intentions that marked the beginning of his film career. Since then, O'Connell has appeared in such films as Dude, Where's My Car? The New Guy, Devil's Prey, Kiss the Bride and one of my modern creature-feature favorites, Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep. If you're a lady or in a relationship, you might also remember O'Connell from a season of "The Bachelor" a few years ago, in which he was, obviously, The Bachelor.

For my money, O'Connell's perfect to play Babish: calmly capable, sharp and ruggedly frayed at the edges, knowledgeable without pretense; in other words, a good, honest, solid everyman, exactly the sort of guy you want to call Captain. See for yourself what all the buzz is about on January 31st when 2 Headed Shark Attack hits DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital.

inmate profile: Brook Hogan

We start our cast profiles for 2 Headed Shark Attack - on DVD January 31st, tell everyone you know - with rising starlet Brooke Hogan, for whom 2 Headed Shark Attack is her first (U.S. debuting*) film.

As if you didn't know, Brooke Hogan is the eldest child of famed wrestling icon (and, along with Scooby-Doo and Batman, one of my childhood heroes) Hulk Hogan, but started coming into her own fame in 2005 with the airing of her family's reality TV show, Hogan Knows Best. An instant media darling, Brooke has since branched into her own show, Brooke Knows Best (no longer airing) and two pop/dance/whatever-the-kids-are-calling-it albums, 2006's Undiscovered and 2009's The Redemption. Flo Rida's on that second joint. I hear clubs can't even handle that dude, so, score. 


It was only a matter of time before Miss Hogan forayed into acting, and how fortuitous that her first role, as "Dana" in 2 Headed Shark Attack, is destined to be a cult classic. Besides this film, and another shark film with Asylum ties I give info on after the asterisk below, Brooke has also been cast in a cannibal-high-school-thriller, Devour, which also has Asylum ties: her co-star is David Chokachi of Born Bad and 3 Musketeers. 


No doubt 2 Headed Shark Attack will be the launching point of what is likely to be a lively and lasting film career. A classic blonde with sass and intelligence will always do well, and Brooke Hogan proves herself rife with all of these attributes in 2 Headed Shark Attack, on DVD - can you tell I really want you to see this film? Yeah, cuz I wrote the script - January 31st. Go tell it on the mountain.


*Brooke also stars in Sand Sharks, directed by the very formidable Mark Atkins (Battle of Los Angeles, Dragon Crusaders), but we're still waiting for a U.S. release on that one; Brit Committed readers, it's on DVD where you're at.

Just a Reminder: Don't Forget to Vote for The Loonies!!!

That's right, gang, there's still time to vote for your favorites in the 2nd Annual Looney Awards for Excellence in Asylum Films before the polls close on February 8th.

Who do you think was the year's Best Actor? Was it the ruthlessly vile psycho-boyfriend portrayed by Michael Welch in Born Bad? Or did you prefer the pipe-swinging, zombie-killing stoicism of Ving Rhames in Zombie Apocalypse? Who won you over more, Debbie Gibson or Tiffany? And what was the best Asylum film of the year? Was it A Haunting in Salem? Hmm? Hmmmmm?

The answer to these and at least 8 or 9 other questions are all within your power to help answer. Simply visit the link above, peruse the nominees then email your list of winners to AsylumLoonies@hotmail.com before February 8th to have your vote count. Winners will be announced two days later, on the 10th, and my personal picks for the best of the year will be posted in-between, on the 9th.

If you've yet to see any of the nominees, all of The Asylum's 2011 output is now available on DVD, so get thee to a video outlet and remedy this oversight toot suite!

2012: Fifteen Years of Asylum Greatness and Counting!

A quick post here to acknowledge that 2012 marks The Asylum's 15th year in business, in which time they have produced 100 movies completely independently. How do I know this? A little poster The Asylum tweeted yesterday told me:

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be airbrushing that onto the side of a van real soon. I mean, dig it: Moby Dick, Mega Shark, Mega Python, Gatoroid, a Terminator, a Transmorpher, H.M.S. Titantic 2, a zombie that from here looks like Geoff Meed, a car going at least 200MPH and, oh yeah, a 2 headed shark. There's also a pretty rad accompanying video that hits on the company's highlights of the last 15 years that makes its debut on the 2 Headed Shark Attack DVD, out January 31st.

If this is what the last 15 years have given us, who can even conceive of how incredible the next 15 will be? 2012 is already shaping up to one of the busiest and most interesting years for The Asylum, and they've only revealed half a dozen flicks so far. As usual, come back here often for the lowdown on any and all things Asylum.

inmate re-profile: Director Christopher Olen Ray

So, with only three weeks before the DVD release of 2 Headed Shark Attack, I thought it time we start shining the Committed spotlight on the creative personnel involved, starting with the man in the director's chair of this impending classic, one Christopher Olen Ray.

That's Mr. Ray on the left there.

Ray has directed twice before for the Asylum - last year's Mega Shark Vs. Crocosaurus with Jaleel White and this year's Almighty Thor with Richard Grieco - as well as twice before that: in 2008 he directed Reptisaurus, a made-for-TV movie starring Gil Gerard, and a series called "Road to Rhythm." 

I've made mention here before of Mr. Ray's cinematic pedigree - his father is noted exploitation director Fred Olen Ray, who in more than thirty years of filmmaking has unleashed nearly one hundred titles, among them Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Evil Toons and Scalps. Ray honed his skills spending years as an assistant director, PA and coordinator on more than a dozen of his father's films, so you know he received a lot of firsthand, on-set training from a master of the field. In fact, C-Ray's still works as a first assistant director on occasion, most recently on two other Asylum films - A Haunting in Salem and Zombie Apocalypse - and also on an upcoming C. Thomas Howell film I've made mention of before, Camel Spiders.

Christopher Ray, therefore, is no stranger to the creature-feature game - as MSvC clearly and deftly proved - he is weathered, learned, and more than capable of delivering to us, the ever-expectant masses, simply one of the Greatest Shark Films of all time (please please please).

Decades from now when they mention the best B-Movies of the early 21st Century, I have every faith 2 Headed Shark Attack will be on the tip of every tongue, as well as the name of its director, Christopher Olen Ray. Watch the magic unfurl before your very eyes when the greatest story ever told hits DVD January 31st, 2012, only a few short weeks from now...

Air Collision Final Poster and First Trailer!

Courtesy of the fine folks over at 28 Days Later Analysis, we have our first look at the final poster and initial trailer for The Asylum's next disaster flick, Air Collision. Owing credit where it's due, you should follow the link to see the trailer, but check out the poster below:

Air Collision - which stars Reginald VelJohnson, Jordan Ladd and Gerald Webb - is written and directed by Liz Adams, and streets March 27th, 2012

outside the walls: January DVD Releases

So I'll admit it, there are films not produced by The Asylum. There always have been, always will be. These glasses I wear are not rose-colored. They are clear, and occasionally smudged with fingerprints. A sampling of non-Asylum films due soon and news that might spark the interest of Asylum fans. Just remember, Sweet 'n Low ain't Sugar.

JANUARY 3rd

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Don't Let Him In

 

Ice Quake

Red: Werewolf Hunter

Shark Night

JANUARY 10th

A Darker Reality

Killer Elite

JANUARY 17th

Cold Sweat

The Interceptor

JANUARY 24th

The Woman

 

JANUARY 31st

2 Headed Shark Attack

story by Edward DeRuiter

screenplay by H. Perry Horton (me!!!)

starring Carmen Electra, Brooke Hogan, Charlie O'Connell, Gerald Webb et al

Dream House

The Thing

A Look Ahead to Asylum's 2012...So Far...

With The Asylum's 2011 slate of films all but behind us - I say "all but" because there are still the Loonies yet to determine the fan favorites of last year's crop - I thought this would be an opportune moment to take a look ahead at the films The Asylum has already announced for 2012, which so far include two mockbusters, a disaster flick, a sex comedy and two wholly original horror films; let's take a look:

2 Headed Shark Attack

screenplay by H. Perry Horton (A Haunting in Salem)
from a story by Edward DeRuiter (3 Musketeers)
directed by Christopher Olen Ray (Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, Almighty Thor)

starring Carmen Electra, Brooke Hogan, Charlie O'Connell, Gerald Webb and a case of future household names

on DVD January 31, 2012

Celebrity Sex Tape

written by Jonny Haug, Pat Sheehan, Matt Short

directed by Scott Wheeler (MILF)

starring Jack Cullison, Emily Addison, Jonathan Brett

on DVD February 14, 2012

Grimm's Snow White

written by Naomi Selfman (Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, Mega Python vs Gatoroid)

directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg (Sherlock Holmes, Princess & the Pony)

starring Jane March, Eliza Bennett, Jamie Thomas King

on DVD March 13, 2012

Air Collision

written & directed by Liz Adams

starring Reginald VelJohnson, Jordan Ladd, Gerald Webb

on DVD March 27, 2012

Nazis at the Center of the Earth

written by Paul Bales (2010 Moby Dick, Legion of the Dead)

directed by Joseph Lawson

starring Dominique Swain, Jake Busey, Josh Allen

on DVD April 24, 2012

American Battleship

written & directed by Thunder Levin (script 200MPH)

starring Mario Van Peebles, Carl Weathers, JoHanna Watts

on DVD May 15, 2012

No 3,000 Followers, No Mega Shark 3...?

Well, over the last month the fine folks at The Asylum had given we faithfully committed the chance of a lifetime - the chance to earn the greenlighting of Mega Shark 3, and all we had to do to was pump their Twitter followers up to 3,000 by December 31st...

...and we failed.

That's right, at post-time, @theasylumcc only had 1,543 followers, barely half of the number required. So as it stands, as there does not seem to be enough interest, there will be no Mega Shark 3.

I'm going to say that again, so the finality of its weight might reverberate inside your soul: there will be no Mega Shark 3.

Doesn't sound good, does it? Doesn't sound like any kind of world one would want to be a part of, does it? How could we have dropped the ball like this? How could we have gone bald-faced right up to this gift horse and stuck our heads into its mouth? That's a gross analogy, I'll admit, but what we have here is a gross mishandling of opportunity. 3,000 followers. In social networking terms, that's next to nothing. One person tells one person who tells thirty more who tell three hundred apiece and bada-bing! We got the final installment to the greatest marine trilogy of ALL TIME.

But now, alas, all is lost...

...or is it? 

Probably, but Asylum partner David Michael Latt has issued the challenge that if @theasylumcc hits 2,000 followers by next Monday, they'll consider a third installment. No guarantees as before, but it is the tiniest sliver of hope, and sometimes, that's all you need.

So here's what we're going to do, gang: we're going to follow @theasylumcc on Twitter if we don't already; we're going to sign up for Twitter if we don't already have an account and follow @theasylumcc: we're going to take to said Twitter accounts and beg everyone who follows us to follow also @theasylumcc; we're going to repeat this begging on Facebook, Google+, our personal blogs and websites, any pertinent message boards we frequent, actual people met in the physical world et cetera until we acquire not only the 2,000 followers challenged to us, but then the extra 1,000 we were supposed to get the first time, because it's the right thing to do, and because it would result in a truly awesome movie; what further motivation do you need?


There is nothing rarer in life than a second chance; who would dare waste it?

The Asylum 2011: Ridiculously Popular

The greatest website in the world, IMDB of course, published this morning its list of the 3, 759 Most Popular Video Titles of 2011, and man, is The Asylum all over it; let's put it like this - if The Asylum's 2011 filmography was a high school student, they'd be a handsome, intelligent quarterback. Twelve titles - that's not a typo, twelve - in the top 100 are Asylum titles, 4 in the top 10. Check it out:

#2 - The Amityville Haunting

#5 - A Haunting in Salem (!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

#6 - Dragon Crusaders

#10 - 2012 Ice Age

#19 - 200MPH

#21 - Barely Legal

#23 - 11/11/11

#24 - 3 Musketeers

#32 - Battle of Los Angeles

#36 - Born Bad

#48 - Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes

#80 - The Princess and the Pony

Congrats to all the fine folks at The Asylum for the much-deserved recognition. And man, if 2011 was this good, I for one can't wait to see how 2012 plays out... 

and the nominees are: Announcing the 2011 Loonies!

That's right, Asylum fans, as another year draws to a close, it's time to look back over the last 12 months to determine our favorites among the year's harvest. I'm talking, of course, about the nominees for the 2nd Annual Looney Awards for Excellence in Asylum Films.

Invented by yours truly, the Loonies are an entirely fan-voted awards presentation across myriad categories celebrating the very best in The Asylum films of 2011. And this year has produced a lot of competition: 16 films hit DVD in 2011, up from 12 in 2010.

The deal is simple: below you will find nominees in 12 categories; all 16 films have been nominated for Best Feature (14 and 2, really, but you'll see), but in subsequent categories, the number of nominees drop, making those represented truly the creme de la creme. Write-in candidates are of course welcome.

The voting period will last for six weeks, giving you plenty of time to catch up on any films or performances you might have inadvertently missed, and will close on Wednesday, February 8nd, 2011. Winners will be announced right here two days later, on Friday the 10th. 

So email your votes to AsylumLoonies@hotmail.com and let your voice be heard, nay, counted! All these fine films are available on DVD for your screening purposes, and all can be acquired by a quick trip to The Asylum site, or Netflix. Vote once, but vote wise: winners will receive the undying admiration of we the committed, plus the worldwide esteem and jealous respect of their peers that comes with being a Looney-Award Winning Actor, Actress, Writer, Director, Non-Human, et cetera. 

Good luck to all of the nominees, and now, without further adieu, your 2011 Looney Nominees:

Best Picture

Mega Python vs. Gatoroid
The Princess & the Pony
200MPH
Barely Legal
Battle of Los Angeles
Almighty Thor
2012 Ice Age
A Haunting in Salem
3 Musketeers
11/11/11
Born Bad
Zombie Apocalypse
Ballistica 
Dragon Crusaders


Best Documentary Feature
Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes
The Amityville Haunting


Best Actor
Kel Mitchell...Battle of Los Angeles
Cody Deal...Almighty Thor
Richard Grieco...Almighty Thor
Patrick Labyorteaux...2012 Ice Age
Bill Oberst Jr....A Haunting in Salem
Xi...3 Musketeers
Michael Welch...Born Bad
Ving Rhames...Zombie Apocalypse


Best Actress
Tiffany...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Debbie Gibson...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Jeneta St. Clair...Barely Legal
Julie McCullough...2012 Ice Age
Bonnie Dennison...Born Bad
Taryn Manning...Zombie Apocalypse
Fiona Perry...The Princess and the Pony
Courtney Abbiati...A Haunting in Salem

Best Supporting Actor
Carey Van Dyke...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Bill Oberst Jr....The Princess and the Pony
Gerald Webb...Battle of Los Angeles
Gerald Webb...2012 Ice Age
Hayden Byerly...11/11/11
David Chokachi...Born Bad
Gary Weeks...Zombie Apocalypse
Martin Kove...Ballistica

Best Supporting Actress
Cecily Fay...Dragon Crusaders
AnnaMaria Demara...200MPH
Jenna Stone...A Haunting in Salem
Lisa Younger...Barely Legal
Michele Boyd...3 Musketeers
Aurelia Scheppers...11/11/11
Meredith Monroe...Born Bad
Lesley-Ann Brandt...Zombie Apocalypse

Best Screenplay
Naomi Selfman...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Mark Atkins...Battle of Los Angeles
Paul Sinor & Victoria Dadi...2012 Ice Age
Edward DeRuiter...3 Musketeers
Keith Allan & Kiff Scholl...11/11/11
Craig Engler & Brooks Peck...Zombie Apocalypse
Jared Cohn...Born Bad
Eric Forsberg...Almighty Thor

Best Score
Chris Ridenhour...A Haunting in Salem
Chris Ridenhour...Zombie Apocalypse
Chris Ridenhour...11/11/11
Chris Ridenhour...200MPH
Chris Ridenhour...3 Musketeers
Chris Ridenhour...Dragon Crusaders

Best Visual Effects
Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Zombie Apocalypse
2012 Ice Age
Dragon Crusaders
Battle of Los Angeles
Almighty Thor

Best Creature
Gatoroids...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Mega Python...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Zombies...Zombie Apocalypse
Witch-Ghosts...A Haunting in Salem
The Pony...The Princess and the Pony
Anneliese Michel...Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes

Best Cinematography
Alex Yellin...200MPH
Mark Atkins...Battle of Los Angeles
Alex Yellin...2012 Ice Age
Alex Yellin...A Haunting in Salem
Mark Atkins...Dragon Crusaders
Alex Yellin...Born Bad

Best Director
Mark Atkins...Battle of Los Angeles
Shane Van Dyke...A Haunting in Salem
Keith Allan...11/11/11
Nick Lyon...Zombie Apocalypse
Jared Cohn...Born Bad
Cole McKay...3 Musketeers
Mary Lambert...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Rachel Goldenberg...The Princess and the Pony