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--Click here to see the news archive!-- If you have a news item you would like to see posted please e-mail it directly to me at almaric@usa.net/.
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July 26, 2003
KILLER ME to be released on special-edition DVD & VideoKILLER ME gets inside your head with a gritty, first person feel recalling low-budget shockers like HENRY: A PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER and PEEPING TOM. KILLER ME challenges today's filmmaking structures with its retro ?70?s look, and a chilling sound design that used a child's toy camera, the Fisher Price PXL2000. "This original soundtrack has an unmistakable fresh feel to it...you can always close your eyes, but you can't close your ears," writes Mix Magazine.
Joseph Sturgeon awakes one morning, hands covered in blood, a badly infected wound on his ribcage. He doesn't know what happened. A dark trip through the tortured world of a criminologist who believes he has committed murder, KILLER ME is a blast of fresh air for fans of independent horror.
KILLER ME is the debut feature of director Zachary Hansen who also created the original score. Director of Photography Neal L. Fredericks (THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, THE STONECUTTER, DREAMERS) captured the atmospheric visuals (on Kodak 16mm) for the film.
KILLER ME premiered at The Telluride Film Festival, and won the "Festival Director's Award for Excellence?" at Methodfest.
Vanguard Cinema will release KILLER ME on special-edition DVD & Video on July 29th.
July 24, 2003
Slow News Months, eh? No ultra indi's shooting?Remember, you want to see news, you have to mail it to me. almaric@usa.net
***** ON MARK PRODUCTIONS is proud to announce their expansion into the DVD market with the May 13th release of their 2002 b&w thriller, RUNAWAY TERROR, followed by their latest, EXPENDABLE, in August. For its digital debut, the former has been RE-EDITED, RE-SCORED, and is now IN COLOR!
RUNAWAY TERROR is adapted from a 2000 screenplay by Mark Baranowski (DESPAIR), who also directed the film. When her twin sister is brutally murdered, Lydia Slowik teams up with Detective Luke Brennan to find her killer. As their list of suspects grows, so does the body count! When the psycho behind the featureless white mask is finally revealed, Lydia finds the truth most shocking of all! RUNAWAY TERROR breathes new life into the slasher genre, from its suspenseful opening to its tense and startling conclusion. Starring Baranowski himself, and model-actress Ryli Morgan ( www.rylimorgan.com ) in a dual role!
EXPENDABLE is a stylish and erotic entry into the vampire sub-genre. When drug dealer David finally decides he's had enough of the business, he sells off his remaining inventory and plans to leave town with his new girlfriend. On a whim, he pays Nicole, his ex-wife, a visit-unaware that she's now a vampire. Tensions rise and fall between the two as they get reacquainted, until David realizes that some things are better left in the past! Starring Ryli Morgan, Mark Baranowski, and lovely newcomer Rachelle Williams, with a special appearance by Brinke Stevens. Written, produced and directed by Mark Baranowski, who also provides the film's dark and sensual score!
For nearly four years, ON MARK PRODUCTIONS President Mark Baranowski has been deeply devoted to the independent film industry, starting as a screenwriter and then becoming a multi-faceted filmmaker himself. "I've had an obsession with horror, especially, for as long as I can remember," he states. "By late 1999, I decided it was time to turn that obsession into productivity." While establishing additional means of distribution, ON MARK PRODUCTIONS currently offers their films on videocassette and DVD at their official Website.
***** TruthSeeker TV, hosted by Jimi Petulla is an all new Reality Show that dares to go where other shows fear to tread.
During the course of each episode our truth seeker cameras will embark on a journey to get to the bottom of some of the many mysteries that haunt our popular unconscious. Mysteries such as:
Are extra-terrestrials already among us?
Who really shot JFK, and why?
Was September 11th a conspiracy?
Is the world going to end in 2012?
Our Mission Statement:
TruthSeeker TV isn't for the faint of heart. We won't sugar coat our fact finding missions. We are on the air for the people. The truth is our only advertiser. We will not stop until every human has the facts so as he or she can discern the true nature of the world for him or herself.
Truth Seeker TV
Petulla Pictures
***** MINDSCAPE PICTURES is proud to announce that the long-in-production Bent: Volume Three DVD is now available, one day ahead of schedule! Like the first two volumes of the Bent series, Volume Three features thematically diverse short movies bound together by the theme that life, like the path of water, can be suddenly, and unpredictably bent. Unlike the first two volumes, this third installment features four movies rather than just three, making the total running time a whopping 110-minute program!
In Aftermath, a group of teenagers cope with the loss of one of their friends in a high school shooting. In the disturbing, experimental picture Here Comes Your Man, a man maliciously spreads HIV to women he seduces. For the lead character in Again, the home of his wife's friends is an all-too-familiar and threatening place. And in the cute, cheerful, romantic comedy More Than Money's Worth, a college co-ed is paid by a group of preps to pretend she likes the captain of their school's golf team so he can get his game back.
The DVD presentation of Bent: Volume three features approximately 90 minutes of special features including animated menus, individual movie selection, 8 trailers for MINDSCAPE PICTURES releases, 3 behind-the-scenes featurettes and a special bonus commentary track for More Than Moneys Worth featuring the cast and crew of that movie.
After several months in post-production, the Boston-based slacker comedy Shady Business has wrapped! Starring co-writers Zach Lawrence and Chris Conte as two townies named Guy and Tommy that go to some pretty extreme measures to confirm suspicions regarding Guy's girlfriend's faithfulness, Shady Business was shot in various Boston locales back in September 2002. Co-starring Niki Sella, Dan Langdon, Neil O'Callaghan and Tiffany Ells, and directed by Frank Parker, the movie will be released in early September on MINDSCAPE PICTURES Presents #1 along with Sex & the Model Agent and the Frank Parker-directed SidEs.
***** Silver Current Productions recently completed a new sci-fi feature titled THE TWILIGHT CONSPIRACY produced and directed by Lance Barton and Evan Olman.
The Twilight Conspiracy is a film about documented events that were discovered in the Oregon State archives by a state employee in the Fall of 2001. The recovered documents were brought to us by this person after local television and newspapers declined to do a story on these events. After examining the documents we discovered that there was an intentional cover-up by state officials.
Over 250,000 reports of paranormal activity are filed with the government each year. 5% of which is explained by science. The remaining 95% remain unsolved. Government cover-ups are nothing new, however for us its never been this close to home.
After being presented with these documents we tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together. There was mention of a radio Disc Jockey named Eddie Lee in one of the documents. It claimed that he was working at 89.1 KMHD at the time of the incident and so we tried to find his whereabouts. We found him in a trailer park near Troutdale just east of Portland, he was franticly packing his belongings into a suitcase. We asked him if he would give us a few minutes in order to ask some questions. He paused quizzically, then suddenly his face turned from frightened consternation to relieved apathy. To this day I will never forget that look, it was a look of resignation, as if he was tired of running or that he knew his end was near. It explains why we have never seen him again since then.
For an ephemeral moment a hapless smirk crossed his face. He looked me in the eyes and said "You got some time?" "Sure, I got all night." I replied. He put on a pot of coffee and we sat down for the most far fetched four hours of my life. Eddie Lee began by talking about the reports that had been discovered. For the first hour he confirmed most of our theories then he began to tell the story of the organization referenced in the document, the FFF, he referred to it as the Triple-F. What I thought was going to be a entertaining and brief history of a cult group turned out to be a brazen attempt at retelling history.
He began...
"The 'Federation' has a history inextricable from American History. FFF stands for the Federation For the Future. The Federation is a group of luminaries among us that wield an invisible hand of power. Their operations infiltrate every economic, scientific, and political aspect of our lives. Their beginning in this country dates back to the late 17th century, but our story begins much earlier than that...
For me info on THE TWILIGHT CONSPIRACY, head to the official site:
The Twilight Conpiracy
Silver Current Productions
***** Wicked Pixel's THE UNDERTOW recently completed post-production and DVD authoring. THE UNDERTOW is an exciting, haunting, and gore-packed slasher, set on the rivers of Southeast Missouri. The story: A group of six friends enter the town of Old Mines and begin a float trip. They quickly discover how much the locals HATE outsiders floating their waters and camping in their woods! The screaming and the blood-gushing begin as the dwindling survivors try to unravel the sick secrets of this evil town. Horror fans who dig the '80's slasher films will thoroughly enjoy this movie!
THE UNDERTOW, a Sub Rosa Extreme production, is "currently" on it's way to DVD. The disc will contain a behind-the-scenes featurette, bloopers, deleted scenes, a stills gallery, and a nice stack of preview trailers... plus hidden easter eggs!
Taking a break from Wicked Pixel Cinema duties to work for "The Man" (Ron Bonk), Eric Stanze, Jeremy Wallace, and an outstanding cast shot THE UNDERTOW in the sweltering heat of summer 2002.
The movie stars Jason Christ (ICE FROM THE SUN), Julie Farrar (THE CHRISTMAS SEASON MASSACRE), Joseph Palermo (ICE FROM THE SUN), Chris Grega (INSANIAC), Emily Haack (SCRAPBOOK), Robin Garrels (INSANIAC), Todd Tevlin (ICE FROM THE SUN), Jeff Atwater (I SPIT ON YOUR CORPSE - I PISS ON YOUR GRAVE) and newcomer Trudy Bequette. The project was kept on track by the hard work of actor-turned-producer Chris Belt. Eric Stanze was executive producer, cinematographer, and editor. Jeremy Wallace was the writer, director, and creator of the music score.
There is a big ol' bucket of upcoming DVD releases from Sub Rosa Extreme and executive producers Ron Bonk and Eric Stanze. Be on the lookout for 'em:
ABSOLUTION, directed by John Specht. Shot and edited by Jeff Atwater. Music from Shawn Donoho. Featuring Chris Grega, DJ Vivona, Emily Haack, and Eric Stanze. There is a bonus short film by John Specht on this DVD!
CHINA WHITE SERPENTINE, directed by Eric Stanze and Robin Garrels. Produced by Jeremy Wallace and Chris Belt. Starring DJ Vivona. Music by Living With Demons, Burning Truck, Luxury Ture, and more.
BUZZ SAW, directed by Robin Garrels and David Burnett. Featuring Chris Grega.
INBRED REDNECK ALIEN ABDUCTION, directed by Patrick Voss. Story by Ron Bonk, Eric Stanze, and Patrick Voss.
KILLERS BY NATURE, directed by Eric Spudic. Featuring William Clifton.
BIZARRE LUST OF A SEXUAL DEVIANT, directed by Zert Sineca. Starring Jason Christ, Lisa Morrison, Emily Haack, and Angela Zimmerly. This underground exploitation movie will go to DVD in its newly re-edited and extended form! Now with extra deviance!
SAVAGE HARVEST 2: OCTOBER BLOOD has completed main unit shooting. The production is now ankle deep in the blood and carnage of effects unit.
Production suffered many delays due to weather, equipment problems, and worst of all, a car accident survived by director Jason Christ! Now Jason has a new vehicle and things are somewhat back on track. Wrap on this project is just around the corner.
SAVAGE HARVEST 2: OCTOBER BLOOD is a Wicked Pixel Cinema presentation and a sequel to Eric Stanze's indie horror hit released in the mid-90's. SAVAGE HARVEST 2: OCTOBER BLOOD is written, directed, and produced by Jason Christ. Eric Stanze is executive producer. The movie stars Emily Haack (SCRAPBOOK), Benjamin Gaa, Eric Stanze, and David Propst. Lisa A. Morrison returns to her role of "Mikki" for this sequel.
No post-production or release details are currently available.
Eric Stanze's epic sci-fi horror project, TEMPEST OF THE DAWN is currently seeking financing. Eric Stanze, Jeremy Wallace, and Patrick Voss are negotiating their way down several financing paths. But the project is far from a "greenlight" status.
An interesting array of persons have been, or are currently, associated with this project: Nico Mastorakis, Gunnar Hansen, Reggie Bannister, John Carl Buechler, Eileen Daly, Elite Entertainment, the Stuart Gordon camp, and Lion's Gate Films. Still, nothing solid has clicked into place for the financing... yet. Aspiring filmmakers take note: obtaining a proper budget for a film is ten times more difficult than actually making the movie!
***** Just a note to let you know that the horror feature THE FERAL MAN is coming to DVD and VHS this October from Dudez Productions. The release date is Hallowe'en!
THE FERAL MAN Synopsis: Danny James is down on his luck. His job stinks, his boss hates him, his relationship has stalled and his father has just died. While attending his father's funeral Danny is attacked by an unseen assailant. Is it man or best? And why is Danny undergoing...changes?
The DVD will feature the bonus short film "Good Dog, Dead Dog" as well as outtakes and a director interview. THE FERAL MAN stars Brett Kelly (of the Upcoming THE BONESETTER) and is being released by DUDEZ PRODUCTIONS.
***** Back by popular demand, Tempe Video is re-releasing the Full Moon horror favorites HELL ASYLUM and DEAD & ROTTING as Special Edition DVDs with all-new features, just in time for Halloween. Previously only available through the company's website (http://www.tempevideo.com), both discs include new features not released on the previous Limited Edition versions, and will be priced for sell-thru at $9.99 SRP each. They debut on September 16, 2003 (prebook Aug. 4).
HELL ASYLUM, starring WITCHOUSE 3: DEMON FIRE starlets Tanya Dempsey and Brinke Stevens in addition to Joe Estevez (SOULTAKER), Debra Mayer (TV's CHARMED) and Stacey Scowley (THE BROTHERHOOD II: YOUNG WARLOCKS), follows a group of models through the terrors of a reality television show, only they quickly discover the supernatural spectres with blood-soaked claws aren't the work of the producers! The updated Special Edition DVD features an additional commentary track by director Danny Draven, 23 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage, 7 minutes of makeup FX footage, the Fetish Doll music video "The Worm" and a Draven trailer reel.
DEAD & ROTTING, which headlines Debbie Rochon (AMERICAN NIGHTMARE), Jeff Dylan Graham (SELENA), and Trent Haaga (CITIZEN TOXIE) now features an extended behind-the-scenes segment (twice the length of the Limited Edition) and most of the disc has been re-encoded at a higher bitrate for improved quality. The makeup FX-heavy feature, which finds an old witch taking revenge on a trio of rednecks responsible for killing her son, streets on the same date.
Also arriving September 16, 2003 (prebook Aug. 4) from Tempe's Splatter Rampage label is the LORD OF THE RINGS spoof, QUEST FOR THE EGG SALAD. The riotous spoof directed by Chris Seaver stars cult actress Tina Krause (AN EROTIC VAMPIRE IN PARIS). The offbeat comedy is accompanied by two commentary tracks, an extensive behind-the-scenes and bloopers segment and more. (This title has moved from its original August street date.)
***** September's SHOCKFEST HORROR FESTIVAL will salute the careers of recently deceased Italian directors Joe D'Amato and Antonio Margheriti with screenings of two of their rarest movies.
Coming to the Veterans Memorial Building in Cookeville, Tennessee on September 28, 2003, the all-day SHOCKFEST HORROR FESTIVAL will be highlighted by 16mm screenings of Joe D'Amato's DEATH SMILES ON A MURDERER (starring Klaus Kinski and Ewa Aulin) and Antonio Margheriti's rarely-seen KILLER FISH (starring Karen Black and Margaux Hemingway). Capping off the festival's Italian horror marathon will be a screening of Italian director Armando (AUTOPSY) Crispino's THE DEAD ARE ALIVE starring Samantha Eggar, plus 30 minutes of rare 16mm horror and exploitation trailers.
Guests at SHOCKFEST will include:
Jonathan Thornton - special make-up effects creator for BLOOD FEAST 2, EIGHT-LEGGED FREAKS and the upcoming Bill Mosley gore film HOME SICK. Jonathan will display and demonstrate many of the elaborate props from his films.
Donald Farmer - director of EROTIC VAMPIRE IN PARIS, RED LIPS, COMPELLING EVIDENCE, VAMPIRE COP, and CANNIBAL HOOKERS.
Fanny Terjeki - E. I. Seduction Cinema actress from Germany and co-star of EROTIC VAMPIRE IN PARIS
More guests will be announced in the coming weeks! SHOCKFEST doors will open at 1 a.m., and the Italian horror film marathon begins at 6 p.m. All all-day pass, including admission to all three movies, is $5.00. The Veterans Memorial Building is located at 90 E. Spring Street, Cookeville, Tennessee 38501
July 8, 2003
Mike Russin checked regarding the post production of Creepy Tales: Girls Night Out . The first two segments are complete and editing has started on the third and final segment. We're close to schedule and will be finished shortly. The Mister Monster videos for This Night I Call (Bad Luck) and Gore Whore are complete. You will be able to view these videos as extras on the DVD.
***** Random Foo wants "to remind everyone that this FRIDAY starting at 7:00 p.m. we will be holding Random Foo's Summer Shorts at the Stoneham Theatre in Stoneham, MA.
"The event is FREE and will be a good time for sure.
Directions to the event, the official program for the night and all the other details can be found on the web at: http://www.randomfoo.com/summershorts
***** On September 2, MTI Home Video will bring the New Jersey Pine Barrens to home theaters, giving horror fans all of the thrills and chills they are seeking with the DVD and VHS release of the folkloric shocker 13th Child: Legend of the Jersey Devil.
The biggest independent film to hit theaters last Halloween, 13th Child: Legend of the Jersey Devil went on to beat out many major studio productions, including Ghost Ship, Truth About Charlie, I Spy, and Punch Drunk Love, in a head-to-head per-screen-average battle. Directed by Steven Stockage, and written by Michael Maryk (Spasms) and Cliff Robertson (writing credit - J.W. Coop), and produced by Patricia Marilla Reider and Michael Timothy Murphy (The Osterman Weekend, St. Helens), 13th Child: Legend of the Jersey Devil was inspired by Middle Atlantic Press’ book The Jersey Devil, by James F. McCloy and Ray Miller, Jr.
The horror/thriller stars Academy Award winner Cliff Robertson (Spider-Man, Escape From LA, Charly), Emmy Award winner Robert Guillaume (Lion King, TV’s Sports Night), and Golden Globe nominee Lesley-Anne Down (TV’s The Bold and the Beautiful, Saving Grace), along with Michelle Maryk (Happy Hour), Christopher Atkins (Blue Lagoon, Quigley), Ganno Grills (Shaft, TV’s Oz), Peter Jason (Adaptation, Dante’s Peak ), and John Wesley (Animatrix, Remember the Titans).
Shot entirely on location in Southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, 13th Child: Legend of the Jersey Devil zeros in on a series of vicious murders discovered in the Jersey’s Pine Barrens. The unmistakable location causes an investigator to question if the Jersey Devil – a winged beast that locals claim has haunted the area for over 250 years – is more than a myth.
The DVD is enhanced with special features including a behind-the-scenes historical documentary “13th Child: The Myth Behind The Movie” (featuring real eyewitness accounts of the Jersey Devil), deleted scenes, 16:9 widescreen, along with links and extensive information on the history and sightings of the Jersey Devil.
July 2, 2003
"TOWNIES" STAR STRIKES GOLD IN "AMERICAN SPLENDOR"Toby Radloff, the eccentric actor known to audiences for performing delightfully twisted roles in cult favorites such as the KILLER NERD films and the dark comedy TOWNIES (now available from Tempe DVD), is one of the characters in the upcoming AMERICAN SPLENDOR (http://www.americansplendormovie.com).
Winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize earlier this year, AMERICAN SPLENDOR is an original mix of fiction and reality which illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar, who based the film on his own life and those within it, including Radloff, who portrays himself in several on-camera interviews, then is portrayed by actor Judah Friedlander in the film.
An MTV News veteran and self-proclaimed "Genuine Nerd," Radloff began his career in the sensationally demented KILLER NERD and BRIDE OF KILLER NERD, then took on the lead role of "Dickie" in the deliciously dark comedy TOWNIES, which was recently released exclusively on DVD by Tempe Video (exclusively distributed by Ventura). The popular Special Edition DVD, packed with over 2 hours of extras including short Toby Radloff web segments, commentary by the director and stars, photo gallery and more is being prepared for its second pressing as the result of higher than expected sales upon its release May 27, 2003.
Radloff comments, "To me, AMERICAN SPLENDOR is my ticket to the big time, based on the awards the film won at Sundance and Cannes, and the overwhelming positive feedback received so far. If someone sees SPLENDOR, sure enough there will be rekindled interest in TOWNIES. [Director] Wayne Alan Harold did a very tasteful job portraying necrophilia...I had a great time doing TOWNIES."
Radloff will next headline ABBERATION BOULEVARD, reuniting him with TOWNIES creator Harold. The title will also be released by Tempe next year as part of its ongoing slate of edgy and provocative indie films that include remastered Special Editions of the horror titles WITCHOUSE 3: DEMON FIRE, SKINNED ALIVE (both currently available), the controversial BLOODLETTING (Aug. 19) and the Splatter Rampage DVD double feature MULVA: ZOMBIE ASS KICKER! & FILTHY MCNASTY (Aug. 12).
***** On July 28th, production wrapped on 'Casonetto's Last Song,' and post-production has begun in earnest in an attempt to get a rough cut put together in time for submission into the 10th Annual H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival later this year (the submission deadline is July 15th).
Also, as 'Casonetto's Last Song' was never quite a Best Destiny production, all information regarding the production of this short will be removed from the Best Destiny website soon, and a new website will be set up to track the progress of this movie. For a short time, there will be a link between the two websites to help avoid any confusion that might be caused from having 'Casonetto's...' listed at the Best Destiny website in the first place.
***** HYBRID EVOLVES INTO KOTTENTAIL
Nearly nine months ago Crazy Ralph Films began searching for the next generation of horror hotties by starting “I Want to be a Scream Queen”. Through the reality TV show, producers asked aspiring actresses to send in a videotape showing why they deserved to be in a horror movie. After being overwhelmed with more than 3,000 submissions, producers eventually selected five talented women to headline their horror/comedy “Hybrid”. With editing well underway producers recently renamed their movie KOTTENTAIL.
Described by Writer/Director Tony Urban as a raucous horror/comedy in the spirit of “Return of the Living Dead”, KOTTENTAIL boasts a bevy of beautiful women, a monster the likes of which has never been immortalized on film and copious amounts of gore which was accomplished, in part, with the aide of the top students from Tom Savini’s Make-Up and SFX School.
The movie gets its start when a genetically altered lab animal is released into the countryside where it bites a farmer – Hans Kottentail. The genial German soon transforms into a bloodthirsty mutant which wreaks havoc on the small town. Five women, played by Scream Queens Bridget Marquardt, Noel Francomano, Heather Darling, Patricia Bellemore and Kristin Abbott, band together to bring the bloody rampage to an end.
KOTTENTAIL will be released in October of 2003.
I Want to be a Scream Queen
Crazy Ralph Films
***** MTI Home Video along with their Studio Partner, Delta Entertainment, a supplier of urban entertainment, will release Joe Brewster’s THE KILLING ZONE, a gripping feature about an affluent Harlem psychiatrist who is confronted with his past, while searching for the eleven-year-old that gunned down his father. The film will be released on VHS and DVD August 26, 2003
THE KILLING ZONE stars Rony Clanton (The Royal Tenenbaums, TheDevil’s Advocate, Malcom X), Isaach De Bankolé (3 A.M., Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Night on Earth), and Sonja Sohn (The Wire, Shaft, Bringing Out the Dead Matt Servitto, The Soprano’s, The Siege, Crime and Punishment). The feature was written and directed by Joe Brewster (The Keeper), and produced by Michčle Stephenson (The Keeper).
Marking the second feature between the husband and wife team of Brewster and Stephenson, THE KILLING ZONE is a perfect fit, as it draws upon both their backgrounds. Brewster is a Harvard trained Psychiatrist, with more than 15 year's in private practice, and Stephenson is a documentary filmmaker and attorney who, until recently, ran Peter Gabriel's Witness Program for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. The couple is currently working on an affirmative action documentary about students at New York's Dalton School, where their son is enrolled.
THE KILLING ZONE is the story of a Harlem psychiatrist (De Bankolé) who is living an unexamined life, until his adoptive father – a doctor who plucked him from a Nigerian refugee camp as a child – is gunned down by an eleven-year-old in Brooklyn. In an instant, everything he's learned in America over the past twenty years is thrown into question, and his search for the boy resurrects memories of his own buried past.
Special DVD features include: A behind the scenes composer documentary on the features original music, Director's Commentary, Cast Bios, Director Bio, Interactive Menus, Scene Selection and Trailers.
MTI Home Video and Artist View Entertainment will release the psychological thriller HEART OF STONE, on VHS and DVD August 26, 2003
Gorgeous wife and mother Mary Sanders (Everhart), sends her beautiful daughter off to school as a deadly predator is stalking L.A. college coeds. While this crisis is going on, she faces another one at home… a dying marriage. She falls prey to the seduction of a hot young player (Wilder), whose sexual attention soon turns to violent obsession. As the slaughter of women continues to plague the city, Mary begins to suspect her lover, but her desperation to conceal her indiscretions forces her into a nightmare of blackmail and murder that places her daughter in the clutches of a serial killer.
HEART OF STONE stars Angie Everhart (The Real Deal, Point Doom), James Wilder (Man of the Year, TV’s Veronica’s Closet, Melrose Place), Peter J. Lucas (Cradle 2 the Grave, Independence Day), and Gregor Törzs (Gran Paradiso, Alles Bob). The feature was written by Emilio Ferrari and Dale Trevillion (Las Vegas Weekend, Timeless Obsession), with Trevillon also directing. and produced by Denis Shusterman, and Tony Didio (Love is the Drug, Killer Instinct).
The DVD will feature the following extras: Interactive Menus, Scene Selection, Cast Bios, Trailers, and Optional Spanish Subtitles.
***** From The Astounding B-Monster newsletter:
OBITUARIES
Alex Gordon
Legendary film producer Alex Gordon died in a Hollywood hospice following a battle with cancer. He was 80. Genre-film fans will remember Alex best for such classic B movies as "The She-Creature," "Day the World Ended," "Voodoo Woman," "Atomic Submarine," "Dragstrip Girl" and many others. Gordon was a producer, screenwriter, publicist, film preservationist, and perhaps most importantly, he was a movie fan. (At one point in the late 1950s, Alex claimed he was seeing an average of 700 pictures per year). His love for the films he enjoyed as a youth was often revealed by his casting choices. For his science fiction and horror films, Alex gave roles to such Western and comedy veterans as Dick Foran, Raymond Hatton, Bob Steele, El Brendel, Jack Mulhull and "Snub" Pollard. "In a way," Gordon told the B Monster, "I was paying them back for all the enjoyment they had given me through the years."
Alex grew up in Hampstead, London, where he, brother Richard (a famed B movie producer in his own right) and boyhood friend William K. Everson (the noted film historian) regularly attended Western matinees. All three were hooked on movies. In 1939, Alex established the British Gene Autry Fan Club, and published the club magazine, "The Westerner." He even met the singing cowboy who came to England on a personal appearance tour. Soon after service in WWII, Alex and Richard moved to New York. Alex eventually settled in Hollywood in 1952. One of his first West Coast encounters was with Western actor Johny Carpenter who introduced Alex to a young Ed Wood. "When I first came to Hollywood I had two things with me," Alex recalled. "A script for 'Atomic Monster,' which became 'Bride of the Monster,' and an outline for what became 'Jail Bait.'"
Just as he was beginning his career as a film producer, Alex landed a job as publicist for Autry, co-ordinating his boyhood hero's personal appearances. He worked off-and-on for Autry thereafter. Alex's first picture was the 1954 Western "The Lawless Rider," starring Carpenter. Within a few years, Alex had partnered with the recently established American International Pictures, going on to produce some of their best-known Western, science fiction and horror films, working with such directors as Roger Corman, Spencer Gordon Bennet and Ed Cahn.
One story typical of Gordon's generosity involves George Zucco and the casting of the part of the obsessed scientist in "Voodoo Woman." "I went to Zucco's agent," Gordon remembered, "who told me that, unfortunately, he couldn't remember lines and couldn't work anymore, but that if I would agree to at least talk to him about it -- offer him the part -- that would give him a real boost. I met with him and chatted for about an hour about all his old pictures. He told me that he greatly appreciated still being wanted, but he wanted prestige roles at that point in his career. He didn't realize that he would never work again."
After working with AIP, Allied Artists, Columbia, Embassy and 20th Century Fox, producing films and taking part in film restoration work, Alex made the decision to end his career behind the camera. "Finally, I just couldn't raise any more money," he recalled. "It was the same thing with my brother. It became too difficult to raise money independently for these smaller pictures, with television [taking our audience]." It was then that Autry offered Alex his dream job helping to manage the cowboy legend's many film and music properties. Alex jumped at the chance. He became vice president of Autry's Flying A Pictures and oversaw licensing for the Gene Autry Music Group. He worked the rest of his life in the Autry offices.
On a personal note, Alex Gordon was a great friend to the B Monster, and I have many happy memories of our lengthy conversations wherein Alex would enthusiastically jump from story to story, recalling the likes of Tim McCoy, Bela Lugosi, "Bronco Billy" Anderson, Chester Morris, Marla English, Peter Lorre, Sam Arkoff, as well as the films he loved as a boy. He never lost his love for the movies, and for this we are in his debt.
Alex's wife of 46 years, Ruth, would prefer that her husband be remembered with a donation to the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, Calif., 90027-1462, or to the American Cancer Society: 1-800-ACS-2345
William Marshall
The classically trained actor best known for his portrayal of "Blacula," William Marshall, died in a Los Angeles nursing home after suffering complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 78. Born in Gary, Ind., Marshall studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Actors Studio in New York, and later taught acting in college campus workshops. He won acclaim for stage portrayals of Paul Robeson and Frederick Douglass and received rave reviews in the title role of Shakespeare's "Othello," touring the U.S. and Europe. The London Sunday Times called Marshall "the best Othello of our time." He had supporting roles in many films and made numerous television appearances in such series as "Bonanza," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," Rawhide" and "Star Trek." But it is the 1972 shocker "Blacula," and its sequel "Scream, Blacula, Scream!" for which he is best known to genre-movie fans. The films re-imagined the Transylvanian Count as an African Prince stalking modern-day Los Angeles.
