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Interview: Director Mike Flanagan and Actress Courtney Bell for Indie Horror ‘Absentia’

Mali Elfman — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:18:05 +0000

You start your day, take care of the family, drive to your day job, read the review written on you by Variety at lunch, go back to work, drive home, submit to more film festivals and then get ready for work the next day — just the average day for an independent filmmaker. The difference between the ones who make it and the ones who don’t, are the ones who never give up. Take Mike Flanagan and his work and life partner, Courtney Bell, they were able to gather a team of aspiring filmmakers and a mere $75 to make their feature film, Absentia which has now been praised by numerous film sites like Ain’t It Cool News, DreadCentral and Variety, been released by Phase 4 Filmsand has officially set them on their way as filmmakers…

Absentia was made with a small cast and crew, including Flanagan’s girlfriend Courtney Bell who didn’t only play the main role in the film, but also served as line producer and head of props while off the screen (and all while being several months pregnant).

Flanagan goal for this film, was to not only prove himself as a feature film writer/director but also to create something that would involve his group of talented friends that he had around him, with the hopes that eventually they could all create something that would kick-start their careers together. And it worked. He penned a horror story about a woman whose husband goes missing in a mysterious tunnel. The film isn’t you typical horror film, it’s driven by its characters and their fears of the unknown, making the audiences imagination their greatest enemy.

We had a chance to sit down and talk to Mike Flanagan and Courtney Bell recently to talk to them about how they put the film together, how they cast Doug Jones, what it takes to make a truly indie film and more importantly, their personal advice as indie filmmakers…

Absentia was released on VOD not along ago through Phase 4 Films and you can find it online now! The film is also still appearing at multiple festivals and you can find out more about where you can see it and the project itself at AbsentiaMovie.com. Let this film be an inspiration for your own project. They are living proof that hard work comes a long way.

Absentia was written and directed by Mike Flanagan and produced by Joe Wicker, Justin Gordon, Morgan Peter Brown. The film’s cast include Courtney Bell, Katie Parker, Dave Levine, Doug Jones, James Flanagan and Justin Gordon.

You can also check out our interview with producer/actor Justin Gordon.

Video Edited By: Laura Aguirre

Legion: Movie Review

Kara Stanford-Jones — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:01:04 +0000

Legion is the latest post-apocalyptic film to hit the market, and it stars Paul Bettany in an unconventional yet angelic role. The movie marks the first major release for writer/director Scott Stewart, who’s been on the visual effects side of filmmaking for years, but is now working on bringing his own projects to life. Legion is a Christian-themed movie, with a splash of zombie-horror, Western ideals, and a whole lot of action.

The Players:

Director: Scott Stewart
Writers: Peter Schink and Scott Stewart
Cast: Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Doug Jones, Kate Walsh
Cinematography: John Lindley
Music: John Frizzell

The Plot:

When God grows tired of humans and their disobedience, he sends the Archangel Michael (Bettany) to wipe them off the face of the earth. More specifically he needs to kill the one child that can stop God’s wrath and save mankind. The only problem is that child hasn’t been born yet, and the mother is a waitress at a small diner in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Michael defies God’s Will and decides to save the child, which turns the restaurant into a war zone between heaven and earth. He will have to combat an entire legion of angels led by the heavily favored, Gabriel.

The Good:

Entertaining: The film has plenty of action but it wasn’t filled with over the top gore. There was a decent amount of entertainment value within the characters and their interactions with one another outside of the violence.
The Dumb Moments: There is nothing more annoying than watching a girl run out into a sea of zombies only to meet her maker. The writers did a pretty good job of integrating the characters dumb actions with the story. Although it was clearly to create conflict, the purpose played out very well.

The Bad:

You Got The Guns Where?: Paul Bettany starts the movie on a mission to get guns, so he walks into a closed store and grabs a bunch. How does he know that this particular place has the goods? Who knows? It seemed like the shop owner wasn’t even aware that there was enough ammo to arm a small militia in the back room. Check that off things to explain to the audience.
The Acting: There were moments, flashes even, where the acting of the two main characters, Charlie and Jeep (Black), was some of the worse I’d ever seen. And even the ridiculously talented Charles S. Dutton found himself muttering in a bad southern accent.
The Names: This may be a little nit-picky, but the name Jeep is lame. Obviously the writers were trying to get creative, but that one was just a little too much. Every time the waitress Charlie screamed his name it sounded like, “Cheep! Cheep! Cheeeep!”
Defies Logic: Without giving too much away there are several issues with Charlie and all things related to her baby. First of all, a woman that is eight months pregnant will not be as agile as she is. Two, she smokes (enough said). Three, she has the superhuman ability of giving birth in a minute. Apparently, the key to easy childbirth is Paul Bettany coaxing you along. Finally, not only can she pop that thing out like a torpedo, but she is up and running around just minutes after without any sort of medical care or anesthesia. One can only suspend belief up to a certain point.
Miscasting: This problem is very closely related to the bad acting. A few of the casting choices were not as good as they could have been. Kate Walsh was irritating and not nearly old enough to have a teenage daughter. There were a few issues with Dennis Quaid as well, which is unfortunate considering his acting background.

Overall:

Surprisingly, this movie was actually enjoyable, and is a good popcorn flick to see over the weekend. The plot and parts of the film are certainly flawed, but all in all it was still entertaining, and that’s what you’re paying for.

Rating: 6/10

Legion hits theaters on January 22, 2010

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Legion Red Band Trailer

Krystal Clark — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:40:09 +0000

Finally the trailer that we saw weeks ago at Comic-Con (read our first look) for the upcoming religious epic Legion has been released and it looks absolutely amazing. The film centers on the archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) and his journey to protect a young woman (Adrianne Palicki) and her unborn child. The trailer is just as creepy as it is beautiful.

The best part about this trailer is that, even though Doug Jones is assisted by special effects, we finally get to see his face on screen! Jones’ is known for playing almost every interesting animal-like creature in Guillermo del Toro‘s films, such as Pan in Pan’s Labyrinth, Abe (the Fish-Man) in Hellboy, and many more.

Check out the red band trailer after the jump…

Set in a small diner in the middle of nowhere, a group of random patrons realize their pawns in a war between heaven and earth. The cast includes Tyrese Gibson, Dennis Quaid, Kevin Durand and Doug Jones. Legion is directed and written by second time film-maker, long time visual effects creator Scott Stewart. It looks like he’s really using his background to his advantage, the effects looks amazing!

Legion hits theaters next year on January 22nd.

What do you think of the red band trailer for the film?

Comic-Con 2009: Legion Panel Videos of Paul Bettany and Doug Jones

Kara Stanford-Jones — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:55:19 +0000

***Update: You can also check out our thoughts on Legion’s first look footage, which was shown at the film’s panel.

Check out the videos featuring the cast from Legion at the Sony Entertainment panel at this year’s Comic-Con. Doug Jones discusses his excitement about playing a character that didn’t involve him being covered in make-up and costumes from head to toe. Paul Bettany tells the audience about being the star of his first big action movie. You can check out the videos after the jump!

What do you think?

Comic-Con 2009: First Look at Scott Stewart’s Legion

Krystal Clark — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:47:46 +0000

**** Check out some footage from the cast and crew at the Legion panel at this year’s Comic-Con here.

We finally got to see some footage from Scott Stewart’s upcoming religious epic, Legion. I hadn’t heard much about the film besides the fact that Paul Bettany would be playing an angel, and Doug Jones would just be playing creepy……again. Either way I was excited when the cast came out to introduce the film. They showed the first official trailer which literally blew me away!

Check out my thoughts on the video after the jump.

Doug Jones appears in the film as a fallen angel of some sort, and even though he’s still using some make-up and prosthetics he’s not unrecognizable like he usually is in his other films.
Paul Bettany is shown as the arch angel Michael, who cuts his wings off and decides to help man kind from the impeding legion of angels that are coming to wipe them out.
Gabriel, another arch angel is played by Kevin Durand is leading the pack, and Michael says to him that he’s always been so eager to please.
Adrianne Palicki’s character is pregnant with a child that can save mankind, and Michael turns against everyone in heaven to protect her.
The cast includes Dennis Quaid, Charles S. Dutton, and Tyrese Gibson as a group of strangers who are stranded at a diner in the middle of the desert, with no help in sight.
The graphics are amazing! When the angels are shown possessing the bodies of humans it looks pretty terrifying. Their eyes go black, and they apparently have the ability to crawl up walls!

What do you think about these little tidbits?

Doug Jones On Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein

Anet Hovhanesian — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:00:35 +0000

Guillermo del Toro, the man who brought you monster movie hits like Hellboy and its sequel, is starting work on another big movie, Frankenstein. Although he is still working on The Hobbit which will be out in 2011 and The Hobbit 2 in 2012, they are starting to do tests for the movie since they have the luxury of time on their side. Doug Jones, del Toro’s go-to-guy says although it is not official, he will probably play the monster lead.

“Guillermo did say to the press that he’s already cast me as his monster, but we’ve yet to talk about it. But in his mind, if that’s what he’s decided, then it’s done.”

Jones continues in his interview with SciFiWire to give details of the movie and the monster itself. He says del Toro’s Frankenstein will be more of a skinny, skeletal, stringy muscled version of the monster. Of the director’s passion for the movie and the story behind it, Jones says:

“This is his dream. [Del Toro] was inspired by Frankenstein when he was a kid. It was the monster that made him want to make monsters. So because of that it’s been [a] lifelong [dream], and he wants to be perfect with him.”

As of right now, the buzz is that the movie won’t come out until 2012, after The Hobbit 2 is released but with them already starting make-up tests in a couple weeks maybe we’ll be able to see Jones in full Frankenstein mode before then.

What do you think of Jones as the Frankenstein monster?

Guillermo del Toro Talks Hobbit and Frankenstein Casting

Krystal Clark — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:28 +0000

Busy director, producer, and writer Guillermo del Toro recently opened up about a few of his most high profile projects. According to SciFiSquad del Toro gave up some goodies regarding his Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit, and his horror adaptation Frankenstein. It’s usually like pulling teeth to get this man to spill the beans, but he let us in on a few key castings for the two films.

In obvious but delightful news, the director confirmed three actors and characters that will be reprising their LOTR roles for The Hobbit. Del Toro stated that Ian McKellan, Andy Serkis and Hugo Weaving will be back in costume and ready to go for the film. This isn’t mind blowing, but it’s something to look forward to.

Next he spoke about his adaptation of Frankenstein, and revealed what actor will star as the title character. It will be long time collaborator Doug Jones, who’s already starred in every del Toro films in multiple different roles (he’s the creepy guy with eyes in his hands in Pan’s Labyrinth, as well as Pan, and most likely the rock he sits on as well). There’s no clarification on whether or not he’ll play the doctor or the monster creation, but I’m assuming the monster, since he’s so good at playing creatures.

Del Toro went on to say that he will begin testing things such as make up for Frankenstein within the next few weeks. He also said he’s “not in a hurry” and is content with shooting the film within five or six years from now. In my opinion wouldn’t that be his only option since he has 900 projects on his plate at the moment?

What do you think of the latest castings from The Hobbit, and Frankenstein?

ScreenCrave.com » doug jones

Interview: Director Mike Flanagan and Actress Courtney Bell for Indie Horror ‘Absentia’

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Legion: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 6/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

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Legion Red Band Trailer

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