The Horror: Liz Adams

Liz Adams: Filmmaker/Vampire

Filmmaker Liz Adams is an Award Winning Director/Writer for her controversial script for "Side Effect" which was selected to represent the American Film Institute in their prestigious Directing Workshop for Women, and is the first horror film to come out of the thirty-four year program.

She is also a hot genre director at the the film company "The Asylum" with two astute B-Movie disasters under her belt the well received "Air Collision" and "Super Cyclone".

Liz is a huge fan of Sci-Fi, Action and most importantly Horror...here with her Top 5 Horror faves of all time is Ms. Liz Adams...!

MS: Alright Liz, hit us with your 5 favorite Horror Movies and why you like them. 

LA: OK, five favorite horror movies and why. You know, off the top of my head I’m going to have to go ‘old school’ – first film that comes to mind as a fave is:

Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING – I love the performances, I love the visuals, and the wonderful ambiguous cocktail of crazy and supernatural. The scene that I always wonder about is when the freezer opens to let out Jack… other than that one moment I think you could make a case for the whole thing being in his head.

MS: I love this one too, I saw it at The Hollywood Forever Cemetery one year on Halloween, for at least the tenth time.

LA: What a blast that must have been!

MS: It was!

LA: Next I think I have to go with John Carpenter’s THE THING – superb storytelling,  great performances – the ‘blood test’ scene had such a huge impact on me – I still enjoy seeing the practical effects in that movie…plus sci-fi and horror together, I love it. 

MS: This is one of the few times I think a remake has been better than the original.

LA: I agree.

LA: Time to go a little off the beaten path I’m going to go with George A. Romero’s MARTIN – I love this movie because it deals with my favorite horror subject – humanity’s own violent impulses – it is a pretty obscure film about a young kid Martin… his Eastern European granduncle speaks of a family ‘curse’ and treats Martin like he is a vampire and even though he has no fangs or supernatural abilities - he begins to act like one – breaking into homes, drugging women and drinking their blood. If you haven’t seen it – check it out.

MS: I can't believe you have seen this, I love it too! Here I thought I was the only one who knew about this gem.

LA: Then, I have to go with another classic – Brian DePalma’s CARRIE – great performances and the ‘horror’ of going through adolescence and high school is relatable… I love the ending!

MS: Adolescence is a horror. The ending is awesome!

LA: To wrap it up I have to go with another combo – musical and horror and finish off with Frank Oz’s LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS – I love the music, I love the performances – who can forget Steve Martin as the Dentist, right? I love Levi Stubbs as the plant – what is not to love about this movie.

MS: Nothing. This movie is pure fun, I agree!

Freak out with Liz Adams at: 

http://www.sideeffectthemovie.net/Home.html

Reel Life: It's The "Super Cyclone"

Ming Na & Nick Turturro in "Super Cyclone"

"When a SUPER CYCLONE threatens the entire west coast, a brilliant meteorologist (MING NA) and a brave petroleum engineer (NICK TURTURRO) join forces to battle the elements"...

That is the synopsis for Writer/Director Liz Adams latest disaster opus from the hottest independent company around: The Asylum.

Liz Adams last disaster flick for them was the well received "Air Collision" with Jordan Ladd.

Much like "AC", "SC" is a fun B-movie ride because of it's savvy writer/director and the game actors.

"Super Cyclone was so much fun to make – Ming Na and Nick were really game to do anything we asked of them – running from flaming hail – floating in a fridge – you name it". - Liz Adams 

I love this type of thing, from the stock footage of horrible weather, to the nudge and wink special effects. 

"The entire shoot was done in 18 days – it was really fast work for such a effects movie". - Liz Adams

Wow! That is quick! Congrats to Ms. Adams who is an award winning director for the short film "Side Effect" and is now making her mark as an astute low budget movie director.

Note to The Asylum: You should actually market this movie as a combo fun B Movie thrill ride and a drinking game. If I had a shot, a beer...whatever for every time a character in the movie said: "It's the super cyclone" - I would be either laughing myself silly or passed out by the end of the film. 

P.S. I was not drinking and I DID laugh every time someone said: "It's the super cyclone" the degree of laughter varied, it was dependent on which actor was delivering it...I had a ton of fun watching this!

Check into The Asylum at: http://www.theasylum.cc/

Learn more about Liz at: http://www.sideeffectthemovie.net/Home.html

Get Ready For: Air Collision!

 

Writer/Director: Liz Adams

Remember my groovy chat with friend and "Entertain Me" favorite, writer/director Liz Adams?

Well in case you don't click on the link 3 times and say: Air Collision, Air Collision, Air Collision...

http://mshinafelt.blogspot.com/2011/11/checking-in-with-filmmaker-liz-adams.html

The trailer for Liz's directorial debut from The Asylum is out & it looks mega-eXciting! (not Mega Shark)

If you have a fear of flying, cover your eyes you wimp! Otherwise get ready for a bumpy ride this March 27th.

Checking In With: Jonathan Brett

It’s time, give you a formal intro to Mr. Jonathan Brett, an “Entertain Me” staple for his YouTube show “Mr. Meatballs Takes on Life”.

Well JB (as his friends know him) is an actor/performer with much more diversity and talent than just his “Meatballs”.

From guest starring on the CBS series “Cold Case” to the indie horror comedy “Stupid Teenagers Must Die” - J. Brett has proven himself a talented actor who can take on a variety of roles.

This is especially apparent with his two current projects, a role in a movie from The Asylum: “Celebrity Sex Tape” and a lead in the premiere play “Geeks - The Musical”.

OK - JB, let’s do it!

MS: Hey JB where are you right now?

JB: I just got finished with an audition for a Toyota commercial.

MS: Very cool, glad to catch you in the car, Mr. Busy! So you are in the Valentine’s Day video release from The Asylum “Celebrity Sex Tape.”

JB:  Yes I am!

"Celebrity Sex Tape"

MS: Why is that a Valentine’s Day release?

JB: Ya know, I couldn’t tell you actually (laughs) It’s a one of those “geek falls in love and gets his love” type of things…so, it kind of is a Valentine’s Day release, with a lot of sex in it! (laughs) A good Valentine’s Day for most people is sex so…

MS: Tell people a little about your character.

JB: His name is Ed, his nickname is “Sex Ed” he gets that nickname toward the middle of the movie. Basically if this were “American Pie” he would be the “Stifler” character. He’s always talking about sex, everything is about how he can get laid. Ed is a cool sex guy (laughs)

MS: Rumor has it The Asylum is a great movie company to work with.

JB: The Asylum is great, they’re a group of professionals. I never thought you could knock out a 120 page script in 10 shooting days. They knew how to do it, and they did it with class and integrity and I am sure it will turn out fantastic.

MS: My friend Liz Adams (Director, of The Asylum’s “Air Collision”) really liked working with them too.

JB: They were truly great people to work with, I made a lot of lasting friendships out of it. It was a lot of fun and these are people I will know for the rest of my life.

MS: It’s like the old Roger Corman system.

JB: Yes, they crank out a lot of good material for a low budget and are very successful, they know what they are doing.

MS: Well, I have a feeling you have told us as much about “Celebrity Sex Tape” that you are able to.

"Celebrity Sex Tape"

JB: Yeah, before something is out, you aren’t really sure what you can and can’t say, I don’t think I gave too much away.

MS: Nah, you didn’t - How excited are you to be the lead in a brand new musical BTW?

JB: I’m very excited about it! It’s called “Geeks - The Musical” which I think has the potential to go to, at least Off-Broadway. The concept has yet to make it to a Broadway stage, there are so many geeks in the world it’s about time they had a musical!

MS: When does it open?

JB: March 1st at Write Act Reparatory Theatre in Hollywood, CA. It’s up on Plays 411 now which is also very exciting!

MS: How many musical numbers do you have?

JB: So far I’ve got 9. They are also thinking about adding me to the opening number too, normally every character is in the opening number and that would bring it up to 10. I’m really excited for it, it’s going to be a lot of fun! It also takes place somewhere really geeky, the Comi-Con Convention.

MS: Perfect! You have done a lot of varied things in the body of your work. What would be your ultimate dream gig to have?

JB: My ultimate dream, and I am going to do this, is to be a cast member on “Saturday Night Live.”

MS: How cool!

JB: SNL is so influential, and they’ve gotten very political over the years, which is fine. But I would really like to be part of bringing SNL back to it’s roots, when it was good sketch comedy that was timeless.

Follow JB on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jonathanjbbrett

Check into The Asylum at: http://www.theasylum.cc/

Checking In With: Filmmaker, Liz Adams

Director-Writer Liz Adams made a diabolical little horror short titled: “Side Effect.” It made a killing (pun intended) on the festival circuit picking up many awards. “Side Effect” was in fact the opening scene for her full length, equally diabolical feature script “Blood Level.”

Ms. Adams recently wrapped production on her first feature as a Director-Writer on “Air Collision” for The Asylum…Congratulations Liz!

MS: Hey Liz congrats on recently wrapping and being in post-production on your feature debut “Air Collision.”

LA: Well I am making it for The Asylum, are you familiar with them?

MS: Yes, a friend of mine just starred in a film for them called “Celebrity Sex Tape.”

LA: Oh yeah, I knew about that, that’s right. So you know all about them they make like, 12-15 movies a year. They are basically genre films, they do action, horror and of course sex comedies. Their biggest hit is “Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus.”

MS: That’s the one with Deborah Gibson and Lorenzo Llamas!

LA: Yeah, they are really great people! It’s a lot of fun working there.

MS: Sounds fun!

LA: It is, the initial cut ended up being 82 minutes, but it seems the SyFy Network is interested in it. They need a 90 minute cut, I was working on that this morning before your call, I am writing up another 10 to 12 pages for the Producers and it looks like we are doing some re-shoots too.

MS: Can you tell everyone the storyline?

Liz & "Air Collision" star, Jordan Ladd

LA: There is a solar flare that screws up some computers and Air Force One and a civilian plane get locked onto each other in a collision course.

MS: That sounds better than the actual “Air Force One” movie.

LA: (laughs) It’s pretty wacky, there’s a lot of crazy stuff going on. Plus there is a lot of stuff going on with air traffic control trying to save the day.

MS: Dish on an on set experience.

LA: Well air force one fires this missile at the civilian plane & the missile penetrates the hull, so we got this huge fan, we called it “Katrina” because it blows hurricane force winds (both laugh). We blew it at the extras, it was really good fun!

MS: The Asylum sounds like the new Roger Corman factory.

LA: Yes, and I think one of the partners may be a Roger Corman protogee’ actually. It’s definitely in that tradition.

MS: I love that you don’t take yourself seriously.

LA: Not at all, I do genre movies, they should be fun!

Liz & Crew with "Katrina"

MS: Totally, you directed the horror short “Side Effect” at AFI (American Film Institute).

LA: I was the first horror movie to come out of the DWW (Directing Workshop for Women)  program there. It’s a 34 year old program so it was an accomplishment.

MS: That is an accomplishment. So how’s your feature script for “Blood Level” coming along?

LA: Still working on it, I am working with a producer right now, she’s looking for money, and we are trying to get a cast attached. It’s a tricky process.

MS: Keep me posted on “Blood Level” now that I’ve got some horror cred with my role in “The Summer Of Massacre” I would love to play a faculty member in it.

LA: Oh, that would be so fun! It's out there, and I definitely have a lot of interest in it.

Have a "collision" with Liz at:  www.sideeffectthemovie.net

Check into The Asylum at: http://www.theasylum.cc/