Monster Cruise, a Mid West family comedy, is wrapped
(Franklin, Indiana, February 15th, 2010)
Genre legend Jim Wynorski has just finished shooting a scene in Franklin which supposedly is set in Lapland. Shay Baker and Erin Neufer were just driving across the frozen tundra, fearing that somehow they took a wrong turn on their way to Baltimore.
Wynorski yells cut and the cast and crew scurry to find the nearest source of warmth.
Matt Borges, Art Director muttered, "I miss Lake Monroe" the location where the crew shot for 2 weeks during Indian summer in September.
Monster Cruise really has a three year old story, beginning when B Movie Celebration organizer Bill Dever invited Jim Wynorski to attend Franklin's B Movie Celebration. "When I arrived, I was immediately struck with the idea that somehow Mayberry was teleported to Indiana." says Wynorski. "Franklin was so beautiful that I knew one day I would make a movie here."
Fast forward three years later. Wynorski and Dever had developed a strong friendship and had worked together on FIRE FROM BELOW, a Syfy movie of the week. Wynorski was instrumental in bringing the movie to Indiana and wanted to do something else together. "Joe Gaudin and I really wanted to make a movie celebrating summer in Indiana," said Bill Dever. "I knew Jim was just aching to shoot something in Franklin so the time was right."
A script was hastily put together with long time collaborator Carl Salminen; locations were assembled in Franklin and Lake Monroe. Paul Wallace, Shay Baker, Kayla Gill and Erin Neufer, local actors from Indiana were cast in the leads. Veteran performers Gerry Pauwels from Bloomington, Vicky Richmond from Shelbyville, Jim Hardin and Bill Cothron from Louisville, and Stacey Dixon from Nashville brought depth and experience to this cast. Horror veteran Jim O'Rear and comedian Ervin Ross from Columbus fleshed out the cast.
So, on Setember 14th 2009, an earnest group of Indiana filmmakers and one of Hollywood's most experienced directors set out to weave a tale that celebrated summer in the Mid West. Monster Cruise tells the story of a boy, a boat, and a sea monster.
"The film turned out far better that we hoped" says Wynorski. "I think movie goers are going to come away from Monster Cruise laughing, smiling, and wanting to visit Franklin, Indiana."
It is anticipated that Monster Cruise will be released in September.
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World Independent Film Expo comes to Winchester Kentucky!
May 2010
The 2009 World Independent Film Expo will be held in Richmond KY! This years line-up will include several feature films, blocks for short film, concerts, seminars, panels, special guest stars, and a whole lot more!
FILMMAKERS! The festival is now accepting submissions for the event but hurry the deadline for entry is March 15th. Learn more at the official website: www.worldindependentfilmexpo.com
HELL-EPHONE TRAILER!
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The documentary on filmmaker Jim Wynorski: POPATOPOLIS will have its WORLD PREMIERE at the Dances with Films festival in Los Angeles!
7:15pm Wednesday, June 10th at the Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood
8000 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, 90046
323-848-3500
The film's been offered a limited theatrical release, but please invite any potential distributors to the LA premiere in connection with the Dances With Films Festival.
Here's a link to the trailer:
Tickets can be purchased early from the Dances With Film site by going here:
Directions :
From the 101 freeway exit Sunset Blvd. Head west on Sunset. The Theatre is on the corner of Sunset and Cresent Heights on the South side next to the Virgin Megastore.
You can also support Popatopolis on Facebook at:
And at Myspace at:
The man who created "Sci-Fi" has passed on.
-B Movie Man Nic Brown, December 7th, 2008-
It is with great sadness that I write this entry. Forrest Ackerman may not be the best known figure in science fiction, but he was one of the people who made the genre what it is today.
His list of credits is too long for me to begin to touch. Visit his page here to learn more if you don't know much about him.
I will say that Ackerman is the man who discovered talent such as Ray Bradbury and in the 1950's coined the phrase "Sci-Fi' after hearing a comercial for a 'hi-fi' radio.
Ackerman described himself as a human sponge soaking up everything sci-fi. He inspired many of today's great filmmakers including Lucas and Spielberg, but it's hard to say how many people he really touched in his life. He was a pebble dropped into the pond of our collective imagination and the ripples he created are still growing and spreading as other artists carry on his tradition.
Thank you Forrest Ackerman for what you have given our world. Though many don't realize it, you made it a better place to be for us all.
You may click here to read the news story of his passing on the BBC website
----- A live action version of
Robotech: The Macross Saga coming soon! The classic animated TV series Robotech will become a live-action feature film. The space epic is set in the near future when an alien ship crash landed on Earth. Mankind adopted the alien technology and built giant transforming robots to defend Earth against an alien invasion. Tobey Maguire will produce and presumably star as Rick Hunter, a pilot caught in a love triangle between Lisa Hayes and Lin Minmei. The original first saga was edited from the Japanese series "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross".
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The 1986 B-Movie classic "Troll" is on the road to a remake!
The film that first introduced us to the name Harry Potter (not the boy wizard, but the boy hero of the film) "Troll" told the story of an apartment building in New York that, like many in rent controlled areas, was home to magical creatures who want to change our world into theirs and a young hero and a good witch who have to stop them. Now the cult classic will get a big budget remake. Many original cast members will appear in small rolls and cameos, but two of the cast will have major rolls in the film. Noah Hathaway (Harry Potter Jr. in the original) will play a wizard and Phil Fondacaro will reprise his roll as Professor Malcom Malory.
The original film had an excellent cast and an interesting story, so B-Movie Man is excited to see what the filmmakers can do when working with a big budget! The new "Troll" film has a website, but there isn't much there yet (click here to hear the site's the forest noises and see some text...). Check back later for updates!