Exclusives
Filming Begins on Action-Thriller ‘The Day’, Impressive Cast!
Filming is underway in Ottawa, Ontario on a new indie action thriller project that brings a vast collection of talented actors together for what’s described as an “apocalyptic siege warfare film.” Doug Aarniokoski, a Robert Rodriguez protege, best know for his second unit director work on Takers, Resident Evil: Extinction and even Once Upon a Time in Mexico, gets behind the camera for The Day that features the all-star cast of Shawn Ashmore (X-Men, Frozen, Mother’s Day, The Ruins), Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism), Cory Hardrict (Gran Torino, Battle: Los Angeles), Dominic Monaghan (“Lost”) and Shannyn Sossamon (Catacombs, One Missed Call)! Details inside.
Several of Hollywood’s noted rising stars are continuing their love fest with independent films, as apocalyptic siege warfare film The Day begins lensing this week. The original screenplay was written by tyro scribe Luke Passmore, and was developed and is being produced by Guy Danella.
The film is a visceral action thriller with moral depth spanning 24 hours during which the ensemble cast is pit against insurmountable odds. The intention is for this film to be launching pad for a franchise.
Michael Finley of Follow Through Productions, LLC, Tim James and Antonina Armato of Rock Mafia Records, and Ross Dinerstein of Parlay Media, are executive producing. Faction M will also have a producing role.
Aarniokoski comes out of the Robert Rodriquez camp, and has made a name for himself doing excellent Second Unit Director work. He is also attached to direct The Black Phantom for Screen Gems. He started his career as a First Assistant Director, working on such films as: The Faculty, Spy Kids and From Dusk Till Dawn.
Ashmore was last seen in the Sundance Film Festival selection, Frozen; Bell is fresh off the indie hit The Last Exorcism; Hardrict stars in the upcoming Sony release Battle: Los Angeles; Monaghan, of “Lost” and Lord of the Rings fame, most recently was on ABC’s “Flash Forward”; and Sossamon just premiered Road to Nowhere in Venice.
Aarniokoski is represented by WME and Principato/Young, Passmore is represented by Generate. Ashmore by Gersh and Paul Nicholls. Bell by Paradigm and Principato/Young. Hardrict by Gersh and Burnstein Company. Monaghan by APA. Sossamon by Paradigm and Jeffrey Dash.
A gnarly infection threatens to claw its way out of a moving camper in the first trailer for Shudder’s claustrophobic Hellcat.
The feature debut of writer/editor/director Brock Bodell, who previously edited the Fantasia title Ultrasound, makes its debut on Shudder on August 14.
In Hellcat, “Lena wakes up in a moving camper trailer with a horrifying wound. She’s warned by the driver that they have one hour to get to a doctor, or she’ll succumb to an unimaginably awful fate. As the pain sets in and reality begins to fray, who should really be afraid?”
Dakota Gorman (Natural Disasters) leads the cast that also includes Todd Terry (“Breaking Bad”), Liz Atwater (The Other People), Jordan Mullins (The Bikeriders), and James Austin Johnson (“Saturday Night Live”) in a voice role. Bodell also produces alongside Andrew Duensing and Nate Eggert.
Hellcat made its world premiere last summer at Fantasia. I wrote in my review, “Hellcat is a bit of a Trojan horror that defies easy classification, by design. Bodell’s sneaky debut feature is occasionally too sparse in its worldbuilding in its bid to preserve the mystery, but not enough to detract from the thrilling road thriller that transforms into a completely left-field type of horror we don’t get nearly enough of. The stripped-down tribute to a classic horror staple catches you off guard in more ways than one, marking Bodell as one to watch.”
In other words, there’s a lot more than meets the eye to Hellcat‘s simple infection setup, delivering plenty of surprises along its bumpy road of horrors.
Check out the trailer and poster below and add Hellcat to your watchlists asap.
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