Legendary released this trailer to their Facebook page about 15 minutes ago. This trailer features what looks to be the first front view of Godzilla, and a much more designated focus on Bryan Cranston’s acting. This film looks to be a solid release for May, and if you aren’t packing your kids up in dinosaur costumes and heading to the theatre, it is safe to say you’re a bad parent. Trailer is below!
With only 2 new movies opening over the weekend there wasn’t a lot of shake up in the top 5 and I don’t see “The LEGO Movie” losing the top spot any time soon. Maybe in the last half of March. The two newcomers were “3 Days to Kill” and “Pompeii” the former being a Costner flick directed by McG and the latter Jon Snow in a Paul W.S. Anderson movie. Neither of these were expected to do great things.
March will pick up a bit for box office competition and then starting in April things will get crazy.
The Super Bowl showed us some big budget movies to come but the box office was actually pretty slow this past weekend. “Ride Along” stayed at the top beating out “Frozen” by $3 million. Disney put out a sing-along version of “Frozen” that helped the ticket sales for the film that is in its 10th week. There were 2 new films opening, “That Awkward Moment” and “Labor Day.” Neither had much marketing behind them and only “That Awkward Moment” landed in the Top 5.
Next weekend “The Lego Movie,” “The Monuments Men,” and “Vampire Academy” so we might get a decent weekend. I still expect “Frozen” in the Top 5.
Here it is! The annual WIZEGUY BESTest…agree? disagree? Sound off in the comments below.
Movies:
Gravity
Every now and then a film comes along that makes you pull a Neo-like ‘Whoa’ when the lights go up. Gravity was like that for me, a modern classic in every sense of the term. A spectacle that is not to be missed (must see in theaters). Jaw dropping wonder, nerve racking vertigo, nail biting tension, spin tingling shots and visceral fear.
Upstream Color
Upstream Color is a film written, directed and produced by Shane Carruth. It is also possibly one of the most visually imagined films that I have ever seen. EVER. If Carruths other film, Primer, left you scratching your head than UC will get under your skin. It is a mind melt of intellectual mystery, philosophical science fantasy, astonishing original think piece and it is beautifully shot. Even if you don’t know exactly what’s going on, you really doubt that Carruth knows exactly what he’s doing.
The Worlds End
Edgar Wright has a chaotic style. He refuses to rest on mere genre convention. For some, It rubs them the wrong way, I think with The Worlds End he is as brilliant as ever. It is a meticulous crafted film, filled with offhand hipness, it’s anarchy vs conformity and bittersweet in its depiction of male arrested development. With a ton of heart, sentimentality, and a huge emphasis on friendship, The Worlds End puts a spin on the imperfections all humans have and delivers a film that is near perfect because of it.
Before Midnight
There is a scene in Before Midnight where director Richard Linklater basically eve drops on a convo between the leads (Hawke and Delpy) done in a single take, goes on for what seems like over ten minutes where they just talk and talk. However, the thing is…it’s all fascinating. Smart dialogue that never feels forced, excellent performances that transport the viewers into the moment and an authentic aura that debunks the notions of fairy tale endings.
Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim transports you into a world that could have been conceived by a 12-year-old boy. This movie is a total kick ass nerdfest that has nothing but love for the material it’s tackling. In many ways this is the best giant monster film ever made. And in many ways it should have been better. However…Del Toro is reveling in blockbuster clichés at the same time he’s pounding them into the pavement, and somehow that self-consciousness lets us all in on the joke. Pacific Rim tickles every Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion loving fiber in your body.
Honorable Mention(s): Sound City & Dallas Buyers Club.
Comics/Trades:
Mind MGMT Vol 1
(Matt Kindt, Dark Horse)
In another medium, Mind MGMT would be referred to as a ‘High Concept’ story. What if the US government had a secret program with weaponized mind control specialists?
In its particulars, Mind MGMT is the story of Meru, a successful author of a debut true-crime book, is the main character but she has amnesia that goes back two years, when her memories start, and hasn’t written a word since. This is the character we follow throughout the book as we meet many more strange and mysterious people she becomes wrapped up in the secret, dangerous world of the organization called Mind Management. Her investigation throws her into a spy story with psychics, immortal assassins, and former government operatives. It is a roller coaster of a ride which reads an awful lot like a spy thriller in the vein of the Bourne Identity with the added strangeness of the unknown and special powers of the agents. A perfect read for fans of Lost or those who don’t mind an X-Files element in their thrillers. A fun bonus at the end of the book is three short stories which take place prior to the events of book, giving the reader some background information on characters and plot. And Kindt’s watercolor artwork is too gorgeous not to call special attention to as well.
Saga Volume 2
(Bryan K Vaughn/Fiona Staples, Image Comics)
Saga volume 2 collects issues #7-12 and picks up right where volume 1 left off. Vaughan continues to write this series with everything he can throw at it and still succeeds immensely. The theme of volume 2 is more personal then volume 1, where it had every character doing something to create a massive world building book. Volume 2 has it where it slows the pace a little bit and focuses more on the family building between Marko’s parents coming into the fold (so don’t let the graphic, blood soaked Marko on the cover give you the wrong ideas). Their prejudice against Alana, Marko’s decision and lifestyle choices, and being grandparents (and parents themselves to Marko) evolve and play out wonderful, as well as emotionally organic over the course of the book. The theme that all parents want what’s best for their children is utterly prevalent. And further examination of how Alana and Marko first met and ended up with each other is also touching, humorous, and very Romeo and Juliet-like.
And of course art duties are by Fiona Staples, who again, continues to draw some of the most exquisite, colorful, organic/alien looking book on the market. She still stays strong with Vaughans scripts of human emotion and expressions, while giving touches of wit, organic plant life, and alien sci-fi to the pages. Even more the risqué art form that was in volume 1 is still here and will still surprise/shock you when you see it.
Much like volume 1, I have really no complaints here, but it still is a mature rated book. F-bombs, sexual depiction, innuendos, blood, violence, and some of the weirdest forms of imagery a person can imagine a alien universe are here in full glory. But if you read volume 1 and had no problems with Staples imagery, then you know what to expect. It’s still explicit and rough and pushing all kinds of boundaries, but Vaughan’s taking time to properly deal with things previously established instead of always rushing headlong into the next “oh my god” moment.
East Of West Vol 1: The Promise
(Jonathan Hickman/Nick Dragotta, Image Comics)
Jonathan Hickman has become a reasonably well known writer the past few years thanks to his work on Fantastic Four. The man has a knack for big and ambitious concepts that pay off over time, mixed in with some metafiction and surrealism. So most of Hickman’s work is all about building a story up, then at the very end, it all comes together. It can be long and grueling to sit through, but if you are patient, the wait is worth it.
East of West is a very condensed read in setting up this apocalyptic sci-fi western that is equal parts futuristic and mythological in scope. There are numerous characters set into play aside from Death and his two witches that accompany him, each of the Seven Nations of America representatives all have agendas in play, and even the Three Horsemen have their own roles on completing their goals. This makes for a strong character and world building book, with some action and emotions plays here and there. The sequences and placement of time and vague information can get jarring. Most of the plot is loosely explained within the first 3 issues, which might make the read confusing. But again, the motivations and back story start making sense by the end, with some revelations, more questions to come, and clearer motives.
The art by Nick Dragotta is well done, having a mixture of clean and detailed splash pages of desert fields and scrapping cyber cities, to graphic violence, and strong character expressions. Dragotta’s art is wonderful to see when he and Hickman did Fantastic Four together, thankfully it carries over well here for this series.
Honorable Mention(s): The Private Eye issues one through four (Bryan K Vaughn/Marcos Martin/Munsta Vicente, Panel Syndicate)& Batman Vol 3: Death of The Family (Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo, DC Comics).
Disclaimer: All of the comics reviewed in this column were either comped by the respective creators/companies, or purchased from Dr. Volts Comics in Salt Lake City.
We’ll be debating what kind of year 2013 was in terms of politics, economics, human rights and other personal and professional freedoms for years to come. But geekwise, it was a great year filled with movies, television shows, comics books and other popular media that were as just good or better as those from any year in their respective industry histories.
Big Shiny Robot’s Jerk-Bot, aka Jeff Michael Vice, offers up his best-of lists of the year’s big-screen, small-screen and small-press, independent publishers and Big Two comics releases:
MOVIES
1. THE WORLD’S END (2013, R, 109 mins.)
Edgar Wright’s third – and arguably, best – of his so-called “Cornetto Trilogy” turned sci-fi tropes on their ear and dealt with friendships and life relationships in a surprisingly deep, perceptive manner.
2. HER (2013, R, 126 mins.)
Touted as “A Spike Jonze Love Story,” this science-fiction romance tale features the year’s best voice performance (Scarlett Johansson) and will make you think twice about your technological dependence.
3. GRAVITY (2013, PG-13, 91 mins.)
Alfonso Cuaron returned after a years-long hiatus with this thrilling sci-fi tale that strands Sandra Bullock in space. And so far at least, there weren’t any cases of filmgoer hyperventilation.
4. THE HUNT (2012, R, 115 mins.)
An involving sometimes infuriating, innocent-man thriller from Denmark that fulfilled the initial promises that the similarly themed “Prisoners” failed to deliver.
5. BEFORE MIDNIGHT (2013, R, 109 mins.)
Director Richard Linklater and collaborators/stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy re-team for the third – and, yes, best – part in their relationship comedy-drama trilogy. Hilarious and smartly observant.
6. PHILOMENA (2013, PG-13, 98 mins.)
Co-screenwriter/co-star Steve Coogan and a never-better Judi Dench turned what should have been a Lifetime TV movie into a smart, funny and moving comedy-drama about motherhood and adoption.
7. THE CRASH REEL (2013, not rated, 108 mins.)
The Sundance 2013 hit sports documentary that addressed the issue of traumatic head injury in ways that endlessly shallow sports reporting couldn’t.
8. FROZEN (2013, PG, 102 mins.)
As blatant a case of false advertising as anything released in 2013, Disney’s latest animated hit was far more musical and more enchanting than the awful TV ads and trailers would have led us to believe.
9. PACIFIC RIM (2013, PG-13, 131 mins.)/THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (2013, PG-13, 161 mins.)
The two most geekily satisfying movies of the year: one, a cheesy but still endlessly enjoyable thriller pitting giant robots against equally gigantic monstrous threats; the other one, a fantasy that (very loosely) adapted the beloved J.R.R. Tolkien classic and improved on its predecessor in nearly every department.
10. THE ACT OF KILLING (2012, not rated, 115 mins.)
Joshua Oppenheimer’s crafty documentary gets its clueless subjects – Indonesian death squad leaders — to re-create their crimes and cop to their guilt in unique fashion.
TV SHOWS
1. JUSTIFIED (drama, FX)
Somehow TV’s most unheralded police thriller got even smarter in its fourth season. Better still, it completely cleared the characters’ slates to open things up to even-better story possibilities.
2. RAISING HOPE (comedy, Fox)
Though its network has done every it can to sabotage and kill this clever, human sitcom about poor white trash, the cast and creators gave their all. Catch it while you still can.
3. MOB CITY (mini-series, TNT)
Wondering what Frank Darabont and Jon Bernthal have been up to after leaving AMC’s Walking Dead? They teamed on a noir miniseries that thriller and left you wondering what they’ll do as a follow-up.
4. ALMOST HUMAN (science-fiction series, Fox)
Another show that Fox appears to want to kill, the buddy cop/sci-fi series finally gave Karl Urban a really meaty role, and paid homage to writer Phillip K. Dick with smart, sly references.
5. RAY DONOVAN (drama, Showtime)
Live Schreiber leads a terrific cast in an entertainment-business dramatic thriller with characters so unlikable that you have to watch them.
6. IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA (comedy, FXX)
Yep, the Paddy’s Pub crew managed to keep things fresh with an abbreviated season of episodes that were even more messed-up than any of us could have expected/hoped for.
7. ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (drama, Netflix)
Much like HBO’s Oz, Netflix’s “original” hit series explored personal freedoms in its prison setting, using the nonfiction best-seller as its basic and launching point. Thoroughly engrossing.
8. MODERN FAMILY (comedy, ABC)
Often imitated never duplicated (see NBC’s problematic The Michael J. Fox Show as proof), the long-running family sitcom kept chugging along, with customary style, laughs and heartstring-pulling.
9. ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (comedy, Netflix)
Yes, it wasn’t quite as funny and was a quite a bit meaner than the prior three seasons combined. But there were still a lot of wickedly funny moments from the beloved ensemble comedy’s return.
10. LONGMIRE (drama, A&E)
Maybe the best cop show no one is watching, the Rocky Mountain-set mystery-drama got even better in its second season. Plus, it has Katee Sackhoff in it, you nerds!
COMICS
1. RICHARD STARK’S PARKER: SLAYGROUND (graphic novel, IDW Publishing)
The fourth in writer/artist Darwyn Cooke’s crooks/noir-thriller adaptations was a design marvel, featuring some of his best-ever art. Unfortunately, it’ll be a long wait till 2015 for the next one.
2. DAREDEVIL (monthly comic series, Marvel Comics)
Somehow writer Mark Waid and artist Chris Samnee (with a couple guest fill-ins) redeemed Marvel’s most mistreated hero, and made his adventures fun to read again
3. HAWKEYE (monthly comic series, Marvel Comics)
If it didn’t feature one of Marvel’s Avengers as its title character, writer Matt Fraction and artist David Aja’s genre-defying title might be confused for an indie book. Without the pretentions and with more enjoyment
4. FATALE (maxi-series, Image Comics)
Writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips continue to explore noirish territory and characters. However, this project infuses some creepily welcome horror trappings.
5. THOR: GOD OF THUNDER (monthly comic series, Marvel Comics)
Heavy metal Thor, as imagined by writer Jason Aaron and various artists, including Esad Ribic, on the beautiful-looking, enthralling “God Butcher” and “Godbomb” story lines.
6. 47 RONIN (mini-series, Dark Horse Publishing)
Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson and Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai adapted the Japanese folk tale with a faithful, gorgeously rendered mini-series. Skip the movie, read this instead.
7. LAZARUS (maxi-series, Image Comics)
Greg Rucka creates yet another memorable, female action hero, this one a seemingly unkillable bodyguard for one of future America’s ruling families.
8. A MATTER OF LIFE (graphic novel, Top Shelf Productions)
Indie comics creator Jeffrey Brown ruminates on life, existence and family with a full-color GN that is among his best, most touching works.
9. MIND MGMT. (maxi-series, Dark Horse Comics)
Hollywood already wants to adapt Mat Kindt’s mind-bending maxi-series, a conspiracy thriller that reveals new layers with each issue and each subsequent re-reading.
10. CARDBOARD (graphic novel, Graphix/Scholastic Books)
Another always-dependable comics creator, Doug TenNapel, returned with a touching father-son tale with more imagination that almost anything else done in the kids-fiction realm.
Jeff Michael Vice, aka Jerk-bot, can be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (www.thegeekshowpodcast.com), as well as be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/BigMovieMouthOff).
I’m always scratching my head over why obvious duds are dragged unto the screen, while some of the best ideas are left to turn to dust. When I think of all the actors complaining about lines, and discussing if this ‘next big thing’ will be a flop, and probably ruin their career, I wonder which delusional exec signed for it, and why? Are there tax incentives to produce terrible films?
Note to studios: If a screenplay is good, make the film. If it sucks, don’t waste another minute on it.
The annual Blacklist was revealed yesterday. On it, are over seventy of Hollywood’s best? unproduced screenplays. Keep in mind, Best Picture Oscar winners The Kings Speech, Slumdog Millionaire and Argo were once part of this collective.
Here is the link: http://www.blcklst.com/
Some of these sound fascinating, and some sound like they’re going unproduced for a reason. Half of these sound like movies that have already been made, just with some of the nouns changed.
See this is my issue with The Black List…
You will only find them pick scripts that are Oscar bait, or the clever type (the ones with that indie feel) that would get into Sundance.
Because The Black List wants recognition and validation from the industry to become some kind of new entrenched Hollywood standard they can profit off of, rather than truly try and find a great story. One that can be a real four quadrant crowd pleaser.
In other words, you will never see a script like The Last Starfighter or Back to the Future or especially, a new Trek or Star Wars make the Black List final list, or receive good coverage at their site. You will never see an original Space Opera make this list, anymore than you can expect to see one get a best picture nomination.
The sad truth is, studios and the production companies that are left, don’t read original scripts anymore. Look how many of those on the list are either established or with the very best level of representation. If you’re an unsold/unproven writer, even with legitimate representation, it’s almost impossible to get your script not just read and considered and passed on, but just simply read at all. No matter how good a ranking the Black List may give it.
Why? Because of job security. If an exec pushes forward a story that gets greenlit into a movie, and that movie bombs, it’s on him or her. If it’s a story based on a property from other media, be it books, comics, games, then the exec can say it wasn’t their fault if the movie bombed or didn’t meet expectations. They chose the story based on the built in audience the property had already established. And of course, Money. Lots and lots of money.
IMO, the game has changed that screenplays are now only read after a shoot date is set. And that’s a shame. Because we all know that screenwriting is it’s own art form, and there’s some incredible original and successful franchises written for the screen and it is possible. If it wasn’t, the industry wouldn’t be in the process of remaking every hit from ’77-’97.
OR…two documentaries about Jaws? I know Jaws well enough that I’ve seen the making-of’s on the special features of the DVD, but did they really shoot so much unusable footage that they can cut another movie out of it?
I guess hindsight is for 2014.
-Dagobot
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Sony has announced – or in some instances, confirmed the a long-standing rumor – that they will be developing several new franchises based in the current film universe of the Amazing Spider-Man. Two films that are said to be in the works are to feature Venom and the Sinister Six.
Much like in the way a brain trust was formed for the cohesive Avengers cinematic universe, the five writers consisting of Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon, and Drew Goddard; producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach; and director Marc Webb are all combining their efforts to expand the Spider-Man universe beyond just the ol’ web-head. “The Amazing Spider-Man 3” is planned to go into production in about a year and it seems that at least one spin-off may not be too far behind. The plan right now is for Kurtzman, Orci, and Soloman to write the screenplay for Venom with Kurtzman directing; Goddard will write, and possibly direct, the Sinister Six film.
I enjoyed the first “Amazing Spider-Man” film. While not without its flaws, this version felt closer to the Peter Parker I grew up reading in comics, albeit, a bit different from the “Classic” version. I really like the idea of expanding on this cinematic universe to build a larger world and provide opportunites to introduce more characters from Spider-Man lore that we have not seen before (and I assure you, there is plenty to pull from). A Venom film makes sense to me, I think, if done right, the origin of this character (if that’s the route they choose to take) could easily carry its own movie; I think it would be fun to see a Venom film focusing on that character, but Spider-Man would most likely have to be involved since he is commonly so closely tied to this origin it would be interesting perhaps to see a film like this in which Spider-Man is merely a supporting character.
With regards to a Sinister Six film however, I’m not sure what exactly this film would entail. To my memory, we’ve never really seen a comic book film solely centered around the villains. Would this be two hours of them attempting to execute a dastardly deed? Would they somehow fill to role of anti-heroes for a time? This would definitely be interesting to see, but right now, my mind just can’t process exactly how this would be executed.
This is obviously good news to me, but what do you think? Do you want to see more from this Spider-Man cinematic universe? Are these character the best to start spin-offs with, or are there others you’d rather see? Sound off in the comments!
It took a few weeks but Disney’s “Frozen” finally took the top spot from “Catching Fire.” They are both technically in their third week but “Frozen” only opened in 1 theater its first week and I don’t think it is fair to count that. “Catching Fire” is also currently playing in about 500 more theaters than “Frozen” is. Let’s do the full top 5 and you can see how they add up.
The Coen Brothers newest film opened on 4 films in NYC over the weekend as well and made a little of $100k at each theater. Next weekend is going to bring us “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug” and we’ll see just how much cash that dragon brings in.
Halloween is the perfect time of year to binge on the terrifying movies. What can end up happening though, is that there isn’t always something that you’re interested in on Netflix or in that Redbox down the street. That’s when you start looking for the independent stories. The stories with girls, guts and gore are the ones that end up being great. Next year when that need to consume spooky video rises like the undead from the grave, I hope to see a local horror film that’s currently in production called Hellskate.
Sahna Foley is the writer/producer/actress and she has been pounding the pavement very hard to get the word out about her film. You may have heard from her on local radio and podcasts like The Fringe Radio Show or the Hello Sweetie podcast. Another place you may have heard of the Hellskate movie is from the first annual Salt Lake City Comic Con last month.
Sahna and the rest of the the Hellskate crew were out in force at the con. Dressed in full roller derby cosplay of their characters from the film, they were signing pictures and copies of a prequel comic book for their film. It was the prequel comic book that intrigued me. I knew the artist from the local Layton art gallery, The Hive, and I struck up a conversation with Sahna about the book. We decided that it would be best to continue that conversation later, outside of the hectic exhibition hall.
“We should write a comic book prequel to the flick!”
The traffic she and her compatriots were receiving was phenomenal. It was much bigger than she had ever expected but her first shot across the bow of local pop culture was perfectly targeted. That target was the convention attendee and the shot was a short comic book for a film due next year. It didn’t hurt that a pair of pretty faces in roller derby grrl (yes, it is grrl and not girl) costumes were signing each copy of the comic they handed out. It was clear to me that their idea for a prequel comic book was bottled lightning. I asked her about that and much more during a quick coffee break from another one of her Roller Derby promotions at the Derby depot.
Mark Avo: Why a prequel comic to promote the movie?
Sahna Foley: To go back to the beginning, the story is something I had come up with about five years ago. I was just coming out of roller derby and being a roller derby grrl. I was retiring and I had just started acting in film. So, the story and the script had been tumbling around in my head for about 5 years. Back in April of this year I felt that the time was right to start producing this film. It was about 2 days after I’d started production that I found out about the Salt Lake Comiccon. I knew this was my opportunity and if I missed it I’d be an idiot.
We had about two months to figure out how to promote the film and Carl Joglar, the writer, was having beers with me one night. He’s a huge comic book fan and he said, “We should write a comic book prequel to the flick!” I told Carl that sounded really cool and that I was onboard. I also told him that I knew just the guy to do the art.
I had worked with Chris Bodily a few months prior on a commission for an animal rights poster. So, it was Carl’s brain child – he came up with it. And, so far, it’s been really good for us. The only downside has been that I now have to explain to people that Hellskate isn’t going to be an animated feature. But, yeah, that’s how the prequel comic came about.
MA: What experiences from your past helped you as editor and producer on the prequel comic? Would you ever do another prequel comic as a promotion method for a film?
SF: Because this is my passion project and is my baby, I’m pretty critical of any ideas and what’s going on with it creatively. But, because this was Carl’s idea and he knows comics, I gave him free range to write it however he wanted.
He sent me the script and I’d say, “Hmm, no.” I did that very sparingly. I’m not a book editor and I’m not a writer. I’m not qualified, necessarily, but I know what my opinion is and we all love our own opinion right? I did what was more or less what I felt was right for the project.
I mean, you know what you want and, you can see it in your head. The process is collaborative so it’s nice to see everyone come in and through their own flavor into it but it’s my job to make sure everyone doesn’t’ branch out too far from the original vision.
I have discovered that horror films are the best ones to work on. They’re absolutely batshit crazy and ridiculous.
MA: Is Hellskate going to be a short or a feature film?
SF: It’s a feature, yeah. Short films are a great learning tool and are a process for new filmmakers to go through – and should go through. But, ultimately they’re a waste of money. That being said, I’m done with short films for me. I’ll act in one if the right people or project came along. But, as far as producing films, I’m done with short film.
MA: The movie’s derby connection is close to your heart, is that how you came up with the project? Did the story come out of your Derby Grrl days?
SF: Yes. I had gotten into acting about six months before retiring from roller derby. So, a couple of months before my final game I had actually worked on my first film ever. It was a local short film and it was a horror movie. I think it was the combination of it being my first rodeo, and everything being exciting and new and fun with the fact that it was a horror film. Also though, I have discovered that horror films are the best ones to work on. They’re absolutely batshit crazy and ridiculous. They’re so much fun.
I met so many wonderful people on that set and you find in the industry that once a project is done, you go into this depression about not being able to work with those same people again. You want something to work on and you end up sitting around in a dark place thinking, “It’s never going to be that great again, I can’t wait for my next project.”
So I was sitting in my house, thinking I really want to do another horror film. I was on my couch for a week with ideas tumbling around and it suddenly came to me. It was sitting right there in front of me the whole time. Roller Derby and horror were a perfect mash up of genres and it makes sense to throw them together.
Photos courtesy of Hellskate The Movie
MA: Besides being an actress in the film, what are your other roles in the production of Hellskate? I mean, it seems like you’re wearing a lot of hats.
SF: That’s the gross part of the film. I’m going to be directing, acting, producing – all of it. I may pull in a co-director. At a minimum I’m going to want a mentor director. It’s good to have a good team around you to help you maintain yourself and lookout for the things you don’t see. It is going to be overwhelming at time and very challenging but it is actually something I’m really looking forward to. I know I’m going to be pushing myself but I’ve done all of these jobs in some capacity on my past films so I’m confident in my abilities so why not do it?
MA: Where are you thinking of doing the filming? You’re going to have a built in community showing interest in Hellskate, are you going to film here?
SF: Yeah, we’ll obviously be shooting in the Salt Lake area but the film takes place in Southern Utah. So, there are some exteriors we have to shoot down there. But, I don’t know, we might throw a bone to Ogden too and film something up there if we can. I mean, if it makes sense. Logistically you have to do the affordable thing and the smart thing for the project.
MA: Ogden does have some history.
SF: Ogden does have some dirty naughty history (laughs).
MA: Where can new eyes go to learn more about Hellskate?
SF: Hellskatemove.com and they can go to our Facebook page, Facebook/Hellskatemovie. We’re on Twitter and Instragram @HellskateMovie. Our website right now is pretty basic so we’re still changing it up and we’re adding things to it as we grow and expand. We’ll be adding a lot more to it as we get further into the project.
MA: Can people still get a hold of the prequel comic?
SF: Yes they can! We’re hoping to have it available in some of the local comic book shops soon. For now, if people can get out to one of our events that we’re hosting or participating in we’ll have books with us there. Also, they can email us or message us on Facebook. We’re taking a donation on Paypal for it donor@hellskatemovie dot com. So, send us an email and we’ll send you some stuff.
Advanced tickets are now on sale for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” This is the second movie based off the trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. The movie hits theaters on November 22nd 2013. If you haven’t seen this exclusive trailer yet check it out.