Information Page
Disclaimer: this is a fan-run site, and not affiliated with the production in any way.
Disclaimer: this is a fan-run site, and not affiliated with the production in any way.
WHAT'S NEW? {click to the left}
WHAT: An award-winning sci-fi thriller, shot in Bulgaria from May 19th - June 6th, 2004, finishing a day early. (That's FAST!!) It debuted on March 26th, 2005 on the Sci-Fi Channel in the USA, and became Sci-Fi's highest rated original film in its 12-year history (and still remains the runner up even now!) Most recently, it won the award for Best Direct-to-Video Film at the 2007 Gerardmer International Fantasy Film Festival! Screenplay by Josh Becker, based on an original story by Josh Becker and Rob Tapert. Budget: approx. $1.5 million.
WHEN: Sat. June 27th at 3:30 AM Eastern on Sci-Fi!
WHO: Bruce Campbell and Renee O'Connor, with Jonas Talkington, Michael Cory Davis, Peter Jason, Rosi Chernogova and Neda Sokolovska
Want to link to this page? Feel free to use the little banner below; just click on it and save to your website or hard drive.
Click here for my interview with Bruce Campbell.
Jonas Talkington Tribute page
Click here for my interview with Jonas Talkington.
Michael Cory Davis Website
Click here for my interview with Michael Cory Davis.
Written and directed by old pal Josh Becker (Running Time), Alien Apocalypse is the story of a manned probe that returns to Earth to discover the planet has been invaded and the people enslaved by awful exraterrestrial termites, feeding off our dwindling forests. Together with fellow Xena-alum Renee O'Connor, Bruce rallies humanity and rebels against the lumber-munching masters.
"Think Spartacus with aliens." -BC
From Sci-Fi Channel press releases:
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ALIEN APOCALYPSE: Another Bruce Campbell action fest, this time with Campbell playing a deep space explorer who returns to Earth years after leaving it, only to find the planet has been invaded by an alien race and mankind reduced to slaves. Campbell and his fellow astronauts try and mobilize a rebellion.
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ALIEN APOCALYPSE -- A team of deep space explorers returns to Earth after decades of travel, only to find that Earth has been conquered and all of mankind have been enslaved. The cruel Bounty Hunters force them to harvest Earth's most precious resource-wood-for the aliens to feed on. As the astronauts piece together what happened, they try to rally the spirits of their fellow men, and mount a resistance to the alien invaders. Production begins in Spring '04 with Franklin Waterman.
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Production Team:
Director: Josh Becker
Executive Producers: Jeff Franklin, Sven Clement, Philip von Alvensleben, Jan Korbelin
Producer: Bob Perkis
Associate Producers: Cindy Carroll, Ted Chalmers, Barbara Kearney, Jorg Westerkamp
Director of Photography: David Worth
Film Editor: Shawn Paper
Production Designer: George Costello
1st Asst. Directors: Joel Morales, Boris Taskov
2nd Asst. Director: Vessela Bannzurkova
2nd Unit Director/Practical FX Supervisor: Gary Jones
Stunt Coordinator: Raicho Vasilev
Visual Effects: Dan DiPierro
Production Controller: Rebecca Knowlton
Legal Affairs: Thomas Becker
Sr. V.P. - Finance: Thorsten Felscher
Composer: Joseph LoDuca
Production Company: Franklin-Waterman/Fresh Water Entertainment, for the Sci-Fi Channel
Cast:
Bruce Campbell..........Dr. Ivan Hood, D.O.
Renee O'Connor.........Capt. Kelly Lanahan, "a striking woman with short blonde hair, a tough streak and a somewhat goofy smile."
Peter Jason..................Ex-President Demsky - "an old man with a buzz cut; he was obviously once a big strapping, square-jawed guy, but now he's all bent over, shriveled and drawn, his eyes dull and lifeless."
Michael Cory Davis.....Capt. Charles "Chuck" Burkes - "a tall muscular, chiseled-faced man that looks just like an astronaut ought to."
Remington Franklin.....Alex - "19 years old, thin, dirty, long knotted hair."
Jonas Talkington........Bounty Hunter # 3(aka "Scumbag")
Neda Sokolovska.......2nd Lt. Aida Munoz - "a short intense Latina woman"
Vladimir Kolev ............Bob - a mountain man especially keen on fishing
Rosi Chernogorova
....Bizzy, "a very pretty 20-year old girl with freckles on her nose, her shapely body covered in rags." The director observes: "...the girl who plays the babe in this film, Rosi, is ridiculously pretty, and giving a pretty good performance, too....she sure is attractive, particularly in the sexy, Pebbles outfit she wears...."
Todor Nikolov..............Bill - "a (short, dwarf-like, hunchbacked) mountain man, garbed in bear skins, a long beard, and a longer rifle"
Valentine Giasbeily.....Tyler, a wounded man who gets advice on not tipping a canoe
Anton Trendafilov........Jeff - "a thin, gnarled old man with long white hair and a large nose"
Plamen Manassiev............Isaac - "a big man with strong arms and reddish hair"
...plus assorted bounty hunters, mill workers, and of course.....aliens, described as "seven-foot alien bug creatures that bite off human heads," "giant termites with humanoid bodies," and "aliens with misshapen heads, numerous tentacles, and mouths that open sideways like insects."
Note: descriptions above are from the old "Humans in Chains" script from 1990.
WHAT'S NEW! (all material in "quotation marks" are direct quotes from director Josh Becker's website unless otherwise specified.)
6/3 - Rosi Chernogorova can be seen in Shark Attack 3 on Sci-Fi Fri. June 5th at 3 AM. Jonas Talkington can be seen in the following films on Sci-Fi:
Sat. 6/6 - Mansquito at 3 AM
Sat. 6/13 - Alien Siege (with Michael Cory Davis) at 3 AM
Fri. 6/19 - Boa vs. Python at 3 AM
Sat. 6/20 - Harpies (directed by Josh Becker)at 4 AM
And then AA itself airs on Sat. 6/27 at 3:30 AM. Meanwhile, the 3rd season of Bruce's hit series Burn Notice premieres on Thursday, June 4th at a new time, 9 PM EDT on the USA Network. Here's a preview:
5/22 - Note that Geocities will be shutting down later this year. Details will be posted here as to where this site will end up. :)
4/6 - Look for Peter Jason in a major new commercial for T-Mobile cellphones - he's the husband of an older couple who has had 11 bulldogs, all named Steve.
And then look for Jonas Talkington in the following movies on Sci-Fi:
Sat. 4/11 at 1 PM - Manticore (with Michael Cory Davis)
Sat. 4/18 at 1 PM - Alien Siege (with Michael Cory Davis)
Sat. 4/18 at 1 AM - Alien Apocalypse
Fri. 4/24 at 3 AM - Wraiths of Roanoke
Sat. 4/25 at 3 AM - Raptor Island (with Michael Cory Davis and Peter Jason)
Wed. 4/29 at 3 AM - Phantom Force
Wed. 5/13 at 3 AM - Dragon Dynasty
Sat. 5/16 at 11 AM - Alien Siege (with Michael Cory Davis)
Sat. 5/23 at 9 PM - Lake Placid 2
Sat. 5/23 at 3 AM - Raging Sharks
Fri. 5/29 at 10 AM - Post Impact
Fri. 5/29 at 2 PM - Magma: Volcanic Disaster
Sat. 5/30 at 11 AM - Manticore (with Michael Cory Davis)
Additonally, look for Renee O'Connor in Monster Ark on Sat. 4/11 at 5 PM and again Sat. 5/30 at 1 PM, Freishia Bomambehran in The Curse of King Tut's Tomb Sun. 4/12 at 7 PM (no connection to this film, but she's hot!) Rosi Chernogorova in Shark Attack 3: Megalodon on Mon. 4/14 at 3 AM (and it was directed and shot by AA cinematographer David Worth) and again on Sat. 5/23 at 1 AM, and then on Sat. 5/30, the lovely Freishia in BloodMonkey, out-acting F. Murray Abraham at 3 PM. Later that night Michael Cory Davis can be seen in Cerberus at 3 AM. And several days later, Freishia returns in BloodMonkey at 11 Pm on Tues. 6/2.
3/14 - Jonas gets chomped by a giant crocodile once again in Lake Placid 2 on Sci-Fi tonight at 7 PM, and then gets skewered by the titular Harpies on Tuesday, March 17th at 9:00 AM.
2/22 - Jonas Talkington can be seen in "Lake Placid 2" tonight (Sun. 2/22) at 7 PM, and in "Copperhead" Sat. 2/28 at 5 PM, all times EST, both on Sci-Fi. And while she had nothing to do with "Alien Apocalypse," the lovely Freishia Bomambehran can be seen in "BloodMonkey" at 11 PM on Sat. 2/28, and again at 1 AM on Sun. March 8th. "Man with the Screaming Brain" will be repeated late Thursday night, March 5th, at 3 AM: it stars Bruce Campbell, and features Jonas Talkington, Vladimir Kolev, Valentin Giasbeily, Velizar Binev, Raicho Vasilev, Neda Sokolovska, Remy Franklin, and Todor Nikolov ... in other words, almost the entire cast of this film! And virtually the same behind-the-scenes team, incl. composer Joe LoDuca, cinematographer David Worth, editor Shawn Paper, 2nd unit director Gary Jones, and production designer George Costello. And then Renee O'Connor can be seen in the Raimi-Tapert opus "Boogeyman 2" at 10:30 Am on Sat. March 7th. Her climactic scene would appear to be the formal response from her and Rob to any viewers who complained about Xena's head getting chopped off. And then Jonas Talkington can be seen in "Raging Sharks" at 3 PM on Sun. March 22nd. And finally Jonas, Michael Cory Davis and Peter Jason can be seen in "Raptor island" at 11 PM on Sun. March 29th.
12/19 - Bruce is touring to promote his new film - details here, and many reviews here. The NY Times had a big article on him here. This is the poster:
Upcoming films with the AA cast and crew, all on Sci-Fi:
- Monster Ark - Sat. 1/3 at 5 PM
- Manticore - Sat. 1/3 at 11 AM
- Raging Sharks - Sat. 1/3 at 7 PM
- Boogeyman 2 - Sat. 1/10 at 11 AM
- premiere of The Immortal Voyage of Capt. Drake - Sat. 1/17 at 9 PM
- SS Doomtrooper - Sat. 1/17 at 3 AM
- Wraiths of Roanoke - Sun. 1/18 at 1 PM
- Harpies - Sat. 1/24 at 9 AM
- premiere of Planet Raptor - Sun./ 1/25 at 9 PM
- Rise: Blood Hunter - Thurs. 1/29 at 9 PM
- Captain Drake - Thurs. 2/5 at 9 PM
- Manticore - Sat. 2/14 at 3 PM
- Monster Ark - Sat. 2/14 at 5 PM
- Harpies - Sat. 2/14 at 3 AM
- Wraiths of Roanoke - Sun. 2/15 at 9 AM
- Boogeyman 2 - Sun. 2/15 at 11 AM
- Rise: Blood Hunter - Sun. 2/15 at 1 PM
- Alien Apocalypse - Sat. 2/21 at 9 AM
- Alien Siege - Sat. 2/21 at 1 AM
- Path of Destruction - Sun. 2/22 at 9 AM
9/27 - Just a reminder - Jonas and Michael are in "Manticore" at 3 PM today, followed by Jonas in Josh's "Harpies" at 5, and Renee in "Monster Ark" at 7, all on Sci-Fi.
8/27 - The commercial trailer for Renee O'Connor's Monster Ark can be seen here. The film scored a solid 1.7 rating, 2nd for the network for the week, and airs again at 7 PM on Sat. 9/28, preceded by Josh Becker's "Harpies," featuring Jonas Talkington.
Speaking of Josh, his second book continues to sell well, and gives crazed Xena fans plenty of fodder to gnash their teeth and rend their flesh over, which is the important thing. Additionally, he's become quite the entrepreneur, starting up a Pontiac, Michigan-based business to rent equipment (e.g. walkie talkies, cell phones, bullhorns, director's chairs, and director's viewfinders) "to the multitude of productions that are presently coming through Michigan," taking advantage of a 42% rebate incentive program.
Renee O'Connor will next be seen in the web series "Ark" (no relation to the movie above) - details here.
8/25 - Bruce Campbell will be appearing at the Deadmonton Horror Film Festival in Edmonton, Alberta, on Sat. 10/25 to showcase "My Name Is Bruce." His series "Burn Notice" ranked # 9 for the last two weeks on cable, opposite the Olympics.
Congratulations also to Jonas Talkington for a brief appearance in Copperhead, as member of a posse who shows up too late to save a western town beset by the titular beasties, and for on-screen credit as casting director for Rock Monster and Monster Ark!
Upcoming appearances by Jonas on Sci-Fi (scroll down for links and descriptions) :
Sun. 8/31 - Mansquito at 10 AM
Sat. 9/6 - Phantom Force at 3 AM
Sun. 9/21 - Boa vs. Python at 3 PM
Sun. 9/27 - Manticore at 3 PM (with Michael!) followed by Harpies at 5 PM, Monster Ark at 7 PM.
7/17: There's an excellent series of video clips, each 2-3 minutes long, from an interview with Bruce Campbell at EW.com. And the first image from Renee O'Connor's new film "Monster Ark" is now online at the Sci-Fi site, as well as below:
7/7: Josh Becker can be seen baring it all for his art in a rerun of Gary Jones' film "Mosquito" at 3 AM on Sci-Fi, Wed. 7/9. Gary's film "Jolly Roger" airs at the same time Thursday night, leading up to the world premiere of "Ghouls" at 9 PM Saturday!
7/5: The 2nd season of Bruce Campbell's tongue-in-cheek action/caper/spy series "Burn Notice" premieres this coming Thurs. 7/10 at 10 PM on USA, preceded by a marathon of most of the first season episodes during the day (including the one w/ Lucy Lawless,at 2:30 PM.) There's a wonderful commercial focusing on Bruce's character here. Some interviews relating to the show can be found here, here, and here.
Some pics of Bruce from assorted premieres can be found here.
And then Bruce can be seen on TV in the next few days in things like:
- The Ant Bully - Cartoon Network at 4 PM today (Sat. 7/5) - Bruce plays a 6-legged insect version of himself.
- Darkman, in which Bruce cameos at the very end, is on MoreMax at 5:20 PM, Mon. 7/7.
- The Woods, a poorly-received horror film in which he plays a supporting role, continues to run on Showtime, up next on Wed. 7/9 at 1:05 PM, and Wed. 7/16 at 3:35 AM.
- The X-Files - Bruce's guest appearance is on TNT at 3 AM, late Thursday night July 10th.
- Sky High - on Disney, Sat. 7/12 at 9 PM, and Sun. 7/13 at noon - Bruce plays Coach Boomer, the equivalent of Prof. Snape at a school for teenage super-heroes.
- Spider-Man 3 continues to run on Starz, including Sat. 7/12 at 10:40 AM and 6:35 PM, and Sun. 7/13 at 6:45 AM.
- Army of Darkness reruns on Encore, Mon. 7/14 at 12:10 AM (I think that means Sunday night though) and Sat. 7/19 at 1:45 AM (but again, probably late Friday night - check your local listings.)
6/29: Jonas made an unexpected appearance in last night's "Copperhead," a western filmed outside Sofia, believe or not! It will turn up in reruns soon. And look for the next rerun of AA on Thurs. 7/24 at 11 PM on Sci-Fi.
6/26: Don't forget to look for Jonas Talkington and Michael Cory Davis in "Manticore" this coming Sat. 6/28 on Sci-Fi, followed by Michael solo in "Cerberus" at 1 PM. And on Thurs. July 3rd, USA is running a day-long marathon of "Burn Notice," from start to finish beginning at 6:30 AM and running through 6 PM (the second half of the finale.) Then Lucy Lawless's guest episode airs once more at 1 AM, followed by both parts of the finale once again.
6/13: Thanks in part to the continuing success of this film, director Josh Becker has just published his second book on film making!
It's at Amazon, Target, and all the usual retail locations. Some verbiage from the PR material:
Josh Becker has been making movies since he was a teenager. His first film was made at age thirteen, and by 9th grade he was tackling Oedipus Rex with future cult-icon Bruce Campbell. Since then he has written and directed numerous short films, four feature films, several television movies and worked on successful tv shows.
RUSHES is at heart a passionate, honest and opinionated look behind the scenes of writing, producing and directing low-budget movies. From Josh's early days working with future Spider-Man director Sam Raimi on his original Evil Dead to his days writing and directing Xena: Warrior Princess in New Zealand and beyond, RUSHES is filled with stories. Whether you're a budding thespian, scriptwriter, director or you simply just love movies, you'll find insights, frustrations and answers to your questions in the experiences Josh has enjoyed and endured in his three and a half decades of filmmaking trenches. His supporting cast in these adventures include aforementioned Sam Raimi and frequent collaborator Bruce Campbell, as well as stars small and great like Anthony Quinn, Lucy Lawless, Rob Tapert, Renee O'Connor, Gary Jones, Scott Spiegel, Joe LoDuca, Rick Sandford, Mariah Carey, Stephen Baldwin, John Cassavetes and many, many others.
Product Details:
Paperback: 276 pages
Publisher: Point Blank (May 15, 2008)
List: $18.95
In other news, both Jonas Talkington and Michael Cory Davis can be seen in "Path of Destruction" tomorrow morning, Sat. 6/14 at 9 AM. Jonas can be seen in the very first scene of "Man With the Screaming Brain," along with Neda Sokolovska, Vladimir Kolev, Valentin Giasbeily, Velizar Binev, Remy Franklin, Raicho Vasilev, Todor Nikolov, and a couple of shemps named Ted and Bruce, at 3 AM late Tuesday night, 6/17. Jonas can also be seen in "SS Doomtrooper" at 7 PM the following Thursday 6/19 and in "Dragon Dynasty" Sunday, 6/22 at 9 AM; then both Jonas and Michael are in "Manticore" at 11 AM on Sat. 6/28. All on Sci-Fi.
Bruce's series "Burn Notice" is in the middle of reruns of the first season on USA right now, Mondays at midnight, Thursdays at 11 PM and 2 AM, and Saturday and Sunday mornings at 9 AM. The new season premieres Thursday July 10th at 10 PM. Meanwhile, some more PR photos from his upcoming film "My Name Is Bruce" can be found here, and a trailer can be seen at his site, www.bruce-campbell.com.
Renee O'Connor's response to online Xena fans' complaints about doing low-budget creature movies in Bulgaria for Sci-Fi is set to debut on Sat. Aug. 9th at 9 PM under its original title, "Monster Ark." It was fimed in Bulgaria on a budget of less than $1.5 million, and is directed by Declan O'Brian, the screenwriter for Josh Becker's "Harpies."
5/31: Don't forget to tune in tonight at 3 AM for AA!
2/1: Jonas Talkington can be seen in "Magma: Volcanic Disaster" (look for the sympathetic, George Stephanopolous-like FEMA exec) on Sci-Fi Sat. 2/2 at 11 AM EST, and believe it or not, his film "Behind Enemy Lines 2: Axis of Evil" is on A&E(!) at 10 AM EST Sunday 2/3.
1/25: Check out a couple of French dvd-release covers! Yes, you read that right - AA was named Best Direct-to-Video Film at the 2007 Gerardmer International Fantasy Film Festival.! Details here.
1/4: Saturday morning, January 5th has a double (creature) feature of Jonas Talkington: at 9 AM EST, Sci-Fi is rerunning Manticore, followed at 11 AM by Wraiths of Roanoke, the former also featuring Michael Cory Davis.
12/12: As above, AA will air this coming Saturday morning, Dec. 15th, at 9 AM on Sci-Fi. And Jonas Talkington also appears briefly in "Phantom Force" on Wed. Dec. 26th at 11 PM, and in "Dragon Dynasty" on Sat. Dec. 29th, at 3 PM, both on Sci-Fi.
11/13: Just in time for the holidays! As reported by IGN.com, there will be a new dvd-release of AA, as well as one for "Screaming Brain," bot at an ultra-affordable $9.98 each.
11/5: Upcoming films on Sci-Fi featuring Jonas Talkington:
1 PM, Sun. Nov. 11th - Post Impact
10 AM, Sat. Nov. 17th - Magma: Volcanic Disaster
3 AM, much later that day - Mansquito
3 AM, Wed. Nov. 21st - Phantom Force
9 AM, Sat. Dec. 15th - Alien Apocalypse
11 PM, Wed. Dec. 26th - Phantom Force
3 PM, Sat. Dec. 29th - Dragon Dynasty
10/25: Phantom Force, with a cameo by Jonas in the first 15 minutes will be on late Sunday night, 10/28, i.e. early Monday morning, at 3 AM.
9/6: Wondering who visited this page from right here in town in Lexington, SC? Hopefully not Miss SC Teen USA, such as students in South Africa, and the Iraq, and, such as. Sign the guest book, and make yourself known! Also duly noted is the dozens of recent searches for Neda Sokolovska. Sadly, little to nothing is known of her, part from her brief appearances in this film and "Man with the Screaming Brain," both of which were filmed more than three years ago. If you do know anything about her, use that guest book feature! And if you click on the alienapocalypse.com link above, you can see a few screen captures of her at least, such as this one. :)
9/5: Michael can be seen on Sci-Fi in Cerberus on Sat. 9/16 at 11 AM, and again on Sat. 10/20 at 1 PM EDT. Michael and Jonas can be seen together in Manticore on Sat. 9/16 at 11 PM, and then in Alien Siege on Sat. 9/29 at 3 AM. All times EDT. And then look for Jonas solo in the Adrial Paul thriller Wraiths of Roanoke (aka "Lost Colony") which is set to premiere on Sat. 10/13. Bulgaria doubles for 16th century North Carolina.
Meanwhile, be sure to check out Michael getting some serious media coverage for his directorial debut, "Svetlana's Journey" by clicking here. And Renee has posted a third video blog at her site; shooting has wrapped on "The Genesis Code."
Josh Becker was profiled a few months back in the Detroit Metro Times. The article was about his career in general, but also the closest thing thus far to an "official" premiere, in Detroit at The Magic Bag, of his long-awaited indie film about 1960's folk music and the death of American idealism, "If I Had A Hammer." There was a second screening at the Main Art Theatre last month, follwoed by a Q&A with the director.
You can see an excerpt from the film here, where a Dylan-esque angry young man does a searing blues version of "In My Time of Dying."
8/27: Labor Day Weekend is a bonanza for fans! At 9 AM EDT, "Tornado!" with Bruce Campbell is being rerun on Sci-Fi. Then at 5 PM, Jonas Talkington is featured in "Magma: Volcanic Disaster." Jonas and Bruce are both in "Man With the Screaming Brain" at 9 AM on Sunday 9/2, and then they're joined by Renee O'Connor and Michael Cory Davis (not to mention Rosi Chernogorova and Neda Sokolovska - not naked,but by typing those names and words together, the search engines will have a field day!) in "Alien Apocalypse." Jonas is then featured at 1 PM in "SS Doomtrooper," and at 5 PM in "Mansquito."
Also, as detailed a few weeks ago, the creative team behind Renee O'Connor's new film (shooting in and around Sofia even as we speak) are familiar faces indeed: making his directorial debut is Declan O'Brian, the screenwriter for "Snake King," "Savage Planet," and Josh Becker's "Harpies." The producer is veteran (and Unified Film Organization founder) Phillip J. Roth, father of the babelicious Natasha Roth.
8/15: This coming Saturday 8/18, Jonas Talkington can be seen in a brief bit as a soldier - not a snake - on a plane in Post Impact at 11 AM EDT, and then as a radar tech in Path of Destruction at 1 PM EDT (bonus: Michael Cory Davis is in this too - look for a heroic, muscular, braided guy who dies a horrid death!)
Renee O'Connor has filmed a second very brief video-from-the-set during the second week of filming of "The Genesis Code" - click here to see it, at the Creation Entertainment website.
8/10: Whoa. From USA Today: In its sixth week, USA's Burn Notice climbed to a series-high 4.4 million viewers, up nearly 1 million over last week.
It was number 8 for cable for the week (out of, oh, what, 100+ cable channels, times 20+ hours a day, times 7 days per week = 14,000+ cable programming hours?) surpassing even new eps of Monk, Psych, Army Wives and a Mets vs. Cubs game. :) To catch up on episodes, they now have 2-minutes recaps at: http://www.usanetwork.com/series/burnnotice/video/2minreplay/index.html. And you can see a number of video interviews with Bruce at: http://www.usanetwork.com/series/burnnotice/video/bruce.html.
8/7: Renee O'Connor is returning to Bulgaria, to shoot "The Genesis Code" (previously titled "Monster Ark") - shooting is under way as we speak. Check out her recent video blogs at her site, live from the set, by clicking here. Her co-star is Tim DeKay; the director and producer have not been formally announced, but look for some familiar names from the world of Bulgarian creature movies!
This film was first mentioned as having been greenlit in a press release from Sci-Fi dated April 26, 2006, discussing how the continuing success of "SCI FI's booming Saturday night original movie franchise, promises more action, thrills, creatures, cataclysmic disasters and mythologically-based subject matter in 2007 with 28 new film projects slated for premiere." These included the recent "Stan Lee's Harpies" (directed by Josh Becker) and "Supergator" (produced by Roger Corman) and what was at that point titled "Monster Ark." This was the description in the press release:
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A satellite image reveals an ancient ship buried in the ice at the top of Turkey's Mount Ararat. Believed to be the biblical Noah's Ark, an expedition is formed to find the lost vessel. When the group discovers two arks, they must contend with the deadly creature Noah had hoped to drown at sea thousands of years ago - a creature that still lives inside the ancient wreckage.
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This is the more recent, more detailed and revised description from AfterEllen.com :
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Buried under the sands of Iraq world famous archaeologist David Solomon has found a clue to the one of the ancient mysteries of the Old Testament. Solomon's discovery leads to a remote desert which contains the remnants of an ark. The team must fight off insurgents as they uncover the mystery. Things turn deadly as they discover this ark didn't carry animals, it carried something evil.
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Tim Dekay plays David (now renamed Nicholas) and Renee is his ex-wife, described like this:
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Eva is stunning and sophisticated. She's an accomplished scientist that specializes in carbon dating and translating ancient documents. She's confident, cocky and at the top of her game. She also can't stand David Solomon, even though they were married for five years. Now that they're divorced she likes him even less.
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Mary D now has a page at http://genesiscode.reneeoconnor.info/.
And just so we are clear clear: after assessing the value feedback from online Xena fans on low-budget, filmed-in-Bulgaria made-for-Sci-Fi creature movies, and after assessing the value feedback from online Xena fans on low-budget Rob Tapert-produced horror movies... Renee's next two projects are a low budget Rob Tapert-produced horror movie, and a low-budget, filmed-in-Bulgaria made-for-Sci-Fi creature movie. Next thing you know, she'll be acting in movies directed by Ted Raimi and Josh Becker! Wait a second..... (Up next... Gabrielle and Perdicas: Soulmates In Elysium.)
8/5: Harpies got a respectable 1.4 rating, or about 1.75 million viewers.
6/26: Reminder: Bruce Campbell's new Series Burn Notice premieres this Thursday June 28th at 10 PM EDT on USA. Bruce plays Sam Axe, "a Jimmy-Buffet-shirt-wearing former special ops warrior who has devoted his post-conflict years to drinking as many and having as much sex on the beach as possible." There's a video interview w/ Bruce at his character page at the USA site above. The first ep reruns at 1:05 AM that same night, then Sat. 6/30 at 5:30 PM, Mon. 7/2 at 11:05 PM ...and then presumably the next new ep would be Thurs. 7/5 at 10 PM again - all times Eastern.
Correction: Peter Jason actually was not in
Stan Lee's Harpies - his role was played by Scott Valentine. This film will repeat again on Thurs. June 28th at 9 PM EDT on Sci-Fi. Velizar Binev has a pretty good-sized supporting role as it turns out, and of course Jonas Talkington did a wonderful job as a big shaven-headed, musclebound goon who takes hold of his foes in battle and tosses them over his head. I hate to give away a crucial plot point, so don't scoll down if you don't want to be spoiled as to his character's fate:
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He gets chomped by the Harpies!!
I know, I know, it's hard to believe.
6/18: AA will be shown again at 11 AM EDT on Sci-Fi next Saturday, June 23rd, preceded by Man With the Screaming Brain, featuring Bruce, Jonas, plus AA cast members Neda Sokolovska (Aida) Vladimir Kolev (Bob the fisherman) Todor Nikolov (Bill the mountain man) Valentine Giasbeily (Tyler) and Velizar Binev (the lumber yard manager, and he also appears in "Harpies.") Jonas can then be seen in "Mansquito" at 1 PM.
And the Sci-Fi site is now up and running for Josh Becker's production of Stan Lee's Harpies.
6/6: Upcoming airdates of note:
Thurs. 6/7 at 7 PM EDT: Jonas and Michael in Path of Destruction, with Winnie from "The Wonder Years" all grown-up and fighting a plague of nanobots, with assistance from David Keith and a host of Bulgarian red-shirts. Followed at 9 PM by "Dark Storm" starring Stephen Baldwin as a scientist imbued with deadly Dark Matter disruptor rays... or something.
Sat. 6/9 at 5 PM EDT: The Snake King, starring Stephen Baldwin vs. a giant 5-headed serpent in the Amazon, with all the might, glory and power that a $1 million budget commands. Followed (eventually) at 3 AM by Spiders, directed by AA's Gary Jones.
Thurs. 6/14 at 11 PM: a rerun of "Ice" with Jonas in a bit part.
Sat. 6/16 at 10:30 AM - Alien Apocalypse reruns! Followed at 3 AM by Alien Siege, featuring Brad Johnson, Carl Weathers, plus Michael and Jonas!
Sat. 6/23 at 1 PM - Mansquito - Corin Nemec and Musetta Vander in a variation on "The Fly;" and if it's filmed in Bulgaria, you know that SWAT-team leader is Jonas Talkington! Followed at 9 PM by.....
the world premiere of Stan Lee's Harpies : "A museum guard, played by Stephen Baldwin, gets sucked through a time portal back to 972 AD where an evil wizard (Scott Valentine) is oppressing the people by use of evil harpies, winged female monsters. The guard, with the help of pretty girl (Kristen Richardsen), and a gang of loyal men, take on the wizard and the harpies, free the land and end the oppression." Also appearing are Peter Jason (the president from AA) Jonas Talkington and the babelicious Dessi Morales. It is rerun at 1 AM, and again at 9 PM the following Thursday June 28th at 9 PM EDT, all on Sci-Fi.
5/23: Lake Placid 2 became one of the biggest hits for Sci-Fi ever, ranking just behind AA. This year, the Oscar goes to...... the nation of Bulgaria, for its performace in the character role of ... rural Maine!!!
Extra kudos to Jonas Talkington, who played would-be-tabloid journalist and muckraker Cal Miner. I know this will come as a shock, and I certainly don't want to give away any crucial plot twists, so scroll down only if you absolutely are willing to be spoiled......
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He gets chomped by the giant crocodile!!
I know, I know, it's hard to believe. Lesson number one: when a crazy old lady is rumored to have raised killer crocs, then goes mysteriously missing.... and her even crazier sister urges you to stand on a dock next to the water..... DON'T DO IT!!!!
And remember - you can catch Jonas and Michael in Path of Destruction on Sat. May 26 at 2:30 PM EDT. Plus Bruce Campbell's classic "Army of Darkness" is airing at midnight on Fri. May 25th on AMC, and "Lake Placid" is re-running at 9 PM EDT on Sci-Fi.
5/22: In case you've been under a rock, Bruce Campbell is appearing in Spider-Man 3, which just broke virtually every record in existence, and has grossed over $747 million world-wide in its first couple of weeks. It's on its way to possibly becoming the highest-grossing film of all time (the first one is #7, and the sequel is #10.)
Bruce meanwhile has also done yet another Old Spice commercial:
Aaaaannnnddd...would you believe there is also a "Making of...." video, which can be seen here.
You can also see a very brief clip of him discussing his pivotal roles in the three Spidey films here, and a similar clip of Ted Raimi here.
Bruce's big-screen directorial debut "My Name Is Bruce" is currently showing at Cannes - not as part of the Festival itself, but to attract as big an audience of visiting bigwigs (who might want to pick it up for distribution) as possible. Check out a video interview of Bruce at the film's premiere last month by clicking here.
There's another interview with him at IESB.net, in which he touches on virtually everything, from his new series to the Spidey films, from his new movie to potential projects like "Bubba Nosferatu" and a fourth "Evil Dead."
He also goes into detail about "My Name is Bruce" in an interview with the Corvallis Gazette-Times.
Meanwhile, there is an Official Site for "Burn Notice," as well as an official air date: Thursday, June 28th.
Here's a publicity shot of Bruce for the series:
4/3: Bruce Campbell's classic Army of Darkness (featuring Gary Jones behind the scenes as SFX foreman, and Josh Becker as a Fake Shemp in a couple of scenes, and the soaring music of Joe LoDuca) is airing on Fri. April 6th at 11 PM EDT, and again at 2:45 AM. And....upcoming appearances on Sci-Fi by our dynamic duo, Jonas Talkington and Michael Cory Davis:
Thurs. 4/5: 7:00 PM - Magma: Volcanic Disaster (Jonas as the George Stephanopoulos of FEMA)
Sat. 4/7: 11:00 AM - Dragon Dynasty (Jonas as Lorenzo, helping Marco Polo fight dragons in Bulgaria, disguised as China)
5:00 PM - Manticore (Jonas and Michael as GI's in Bulgaria, disguised as Iraq)
Sat. 4/28: 9:00 PM - Lake Placid 2 : Giant crocs return to sleepy Lake Placid - two ferocious males and an aggressive female who is protecting a nest of eggs. The local sheriff, a big-game hunter and a wildlife officer team up to destroy them. John Schneider (Dukes of Hazzard, Smallville) and Sam McMurray (The Tracey Ullman Show) star. Jonas plays Cal Miner, with Bulgaria disguised as Lake Placid. What do we want to bet he gets chomped by a croc?
1:00 AM - rerun of Lake Placid
Thurs. 5/3: 9:00 PM - rerun of Lake Placid
Thurs. May 10: 9:00 PM - rerun of Magma: Volcanic Disaster (Jonas)
11:00 PM - rerun of Manticore
Sat. May 26: 2:30 PM - Path of Destruction (Michael as Eric, Jonas as Radio Operator, fighting nanobots in Bulgaria - disguised as the US - as well as resisting temptation to ogle Danica McKellar's ample assets)
3/21 - Remember, the film is airing on Sci-Fi tonight (Wednesday) at 3 AM EDT!
Additonally, on Saturday march 24th, at 11 PM EDT, Sci-Fi is rerunning "Cerberus" - commandos in Romania vs. the 3-headed hound of hell, with all the cgi that $1.7 million can buy. Michael Cory Davis plays a heroic handsome muscular braided demolition expert: one guess as to his fate. And at 3 AM, Josh Becker bares itr all for his art in the Gary Jones-directed "Mosquito."
2/18 - Alas, in spite of there being a significant number of internet "searches" for both "Rosi Chernogova naked" and "nude Neda Sokolovska" that have led the searchers to this page, there are no such images here. Yet. ;) Would love any additional information on either of these two Bulgarian beauties however. This site gets dozens of hits every day - c'mon, guys - sign the guest book!
2/5 - There are two more installments of Jonas Talkington's narrative on getting into the best physical shape of his life. Just click here and scroll down to weeks 9 and 10 of "The Husband Project."
Director Josh Becker meanwhile has many irons in the fire, including two potential films with Bruce Campbell and Ted Raimi (we must assume these are "The Horribleness," a sort of Victorian-horror spoof, and "Lost in the Dino World," aka "It's a Lost Lost World," a parody of the genre referenced in the title.) He has high hopes that Dark Horse, the company producing "My Name is Bruce" (see below) will be interested. The second edition of his book on low-budget film-making is coming out in trade paperback form (for $14.95) and his second book, "Rushes: Essays on Film and Filmmaking," will be published at some point in the first half of '07. His mid-80's film with Bruce and Ted, "Thou Shalt Not Kill, Except..." will be re-released on DVD this year along with his 90's thiller with Bruce "Running Time," with lots of new extras, and the distributor, Synapse Films, may be interested in releasing "If I Had A Hammer" as well. "Hammer" can now be seen in its entirety on YouTube, although broken down into 16 installments. The intro is below.
Plus Josh's next Sci-Fi opus, "Stan Lee's Harpy Slayer" (the new title) with Jonas will air later this year.
Jonas and Dessi Morales in a scene from "Harpy Slayer" (photo lifted from Josh's site)
Thursday Feb. 8th, Sci-Fi will air the David Worth-directed extravaganza Shark Attack 3: Megalodon at midnight, featuring Bulgaria pretending to be Cancun, and Rosi Chernogorova in various stages of undress. Sat. Feb. 24th at 9 AM will feature a rerun of Boa vs. Python (with Jonas) and a month later, Sat., March 24th, Sat.24th, Michael Cory Davis can be seen in Cerberus at 11 PM, followed by Josh Becker in the buff (see below) in the Gary Jones-directed Mosquito at 3 AM. AA itself is aring at 3 AM EST on Wed. March 21st.
Bruce meanwhile continues to be a whole industry unto himself. He is currently starring in a national commercial for Old Spice, which can be seen below:
The ad campaign has its own site at http://experienceoldspice.com/. And check out articles in both Ad Week and the NY Times.
In other news, Bruce's film "My Name is Bruce" (which he stars in, directs, and co-wrote and produced) is now in post-production. Below is a scene from the film; I'm told that "Cave Alien 2" (on the kid's T-shirt) is the name of the movie-within-the-movie that Bruce is shooting.
And here's another, more generic publicity shot of Bruce:
Aint-It-Cool News also posted a photo of Ted Raimi, in character, from the film. A cleaned up copy was posted by LizaMarie at the Daily Raimi LiveJournal site, and that's what I'm reposting below. Supposedly Ted plays a character called Wing, an elderly caretaker of the Chinese wargod Guan-di, who is the big bad of the film.
And there's even more Bruce news! Over the holidays, he shot a pilot for a USA Network tv series called "Burn Notice." Directed by "Hooves and Harlots" director Jace Alexander, it stars Gabrielle Anwar, Sharon Gless, and Jeffrey Donovan as "a blacklisted Special Ops agent who uses his elite training to find the reason the the "burn notice" that ended his spy career as well as to help those who can't go to the police. Bruce plays the hero's friend, a former Navy SEAL.
Renee O'Connor, meanwhile, has been cast in the Ghost House production of Boogeyman 2 as a psychiatrist whose mother had schizophrenia; the patients she works with have different phobias (like... oh...perhaps...being scared of... The Boogeyman!!) She's still in post-production on her first producing effort, Diamonds and Guns, which is co-directed by Ted Raimi (he does one segment, another director does the other.) She has a poster for the movie available for sale at her site . So in a classic example of Otto's Irresistable Law of Poetic Justice and Karmic Retribution, crazed online Xena fans who want to help Renee.... are forced to also support Ted's big-screen directorial debut!
And here is a shot of her role from Ghost Town, now in post-production:
11/12 - The holidays are fast approaching, and that can mean only one thing: plenty of movies with Jonas and Michael getting chomped by cgi-beasties!
Thurs. Nov. 16th - 3 AM - Jonas goes down before the credits, as he and Bruce Campbell both get stabbed by a murderous gypsy in Man With the Screaming Brain.
Sun. Nov. 19th - 7 PM - Jonas plays "Lorenzo," as Marco Polo fights dragons in Dragon Dynasty.
Fri. Nov. 24th - 7 PM - Jonas plays a radio operator, and Michael plays "Eric," as Danica McKellar fights a plague of nano-particles in Path of Destruction.
Sat. Nov. 25th - 11 AM - Jonas goes down early, as he and Michael play soldiers in Iraq, helping Chase Masterson, Robert Beltran and Heather Donohue fight the Manticore.
-- 3 PM - Jonas is a radio operator, Peter Jason is a ship's commander, and Michael is a commando in Raptor Island.
-- 11PM - Jonas is a Deputy who goes down early in Boa vs. Python.
Thurs. Nov. 30th - 4:30 PM - Dragon Dynasty repeats.
Sun. Dec. 17th - 3 PM - Path of Destruction repeats.
Sat. Dec. 23rd - 9 AM - Jonas goes down first vs. the incredible Nazi hulk-like SS Doomtrooper.
-- 3 PM - Michael plays a handsome, heroic, muscular, braided commando who gets chomped by Cerberus.
-- 9 PM - Jonas plays a sympathetic yuppie bureaucrat in Magma: Volcanic Disaster.
Sat. Dec. 30th - 11 PM - Raptor Island repeats.
Whoosh.org, the wonderful site where my interviews with Bruce Campbell and Michael Cory Davis were published, has sadly gone into hiatus. But thanks to modern technology, you can click here for a rough draft version of my interview with Jonas Talkington!
You can also read a first-hand account by Jonas called "The Husband Project" - his efforts to get into the best physical shape of his life, for general fitness, personal development, and chances to play even buffer and more athletic roles:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Weeks 4 + 5
Week 6
Weeks 7 + 8
In other news: Josh Becker has posted an essay (click here) on his impressions of filming in Bulgaria again. Bruce Campbell is in post-production for his big-screen directorial debut My Name Is Bruce, and in the very early stages of pre-production to reprise his performance as Elvis in Bubba Nosferatu and the Curse of the She-Vampires. Renee O'Connor has just wrapped shooting for Ghost Town, an Appalachian/western based on the famous theme park in Maggie Valley, NC; Renee plays a Calamity Jane-like cowgirl.
8/30: There's a really neat interview with Jonas Talkington in The Sofia Echo, a paper catering to English-speaking ex-patriates. The intro is classic: "It's funny - the thought that a redneck from Indiana would join the Peace Corps, come to Bulgaria, live in a village and make 300 leva a month for two years, come to Sofia and become a movie actor." The article goes on to describe his classic AA role: "Jonas played a bounty-hunter on a post-apocalyptic planet controlled by aliens, a part he describes as being like 'Yosemite Sam on crack.' "
Also, Jonas continues to expand his show business expertise, having now moved into the realm of casting, especially for UFO Films as well as Josh's new film below. Check out this prototype site at Casting.UFO-bg.com. Plus, he and his lovely bride continue their personal training business; check out their site at SpiderSport.com.
And there are a number of movies with Jonas as well as Michael Cory Davis airing on Sci-Fi over the next few weeks:
SS Doomtrooper - tonight, Wednesday, Aug. 30th, at 7 PM EDT - Jonas plays the doofus translator
Raptor Island - Saturday, Sept. 2nd, at 5 PM EDT - Michael plays a commando, w/ Jonas back in the control room
Manticore - Saturday, Sept. 2nd, at 7 PM EDT - both are GI's in Iraq
Mansquito - Sat. Sept. 16th at 1 PM EDT - Jonas plays a SWAT team leader
Post Impact - Thurs. Sept. 28th at 6 PM EDT - Jonas plays a soldier on the plane heaidng back to Berlin
Alien Siege - Thurs. Sept. 28th at 11 PM EDT - Jonas plays a security guard, while Michael is a resistance fighter
In other news, Josh Becker has posted some behind-the-scenes photos from Stan Lee's 'The Harpies' at his site.
6/29: BREAKING NEWS! Director Josh Becker has returned to Bulgaria to helm another Sci-Fi Original: Stan Lee's The Harpies, starring Stephen Baldwin, Kristen Richardson, and Peter Jason.
6/16: Sunday, June 18th, the day that Sir Paul McCartney turns 64 and proves that Heather Mills neither needs nor feeds him anymore, marks a made-in-Bulgaria marathon on Sci-Fi. Jonas has a small role in Boa vs. Python at 9 AM EDT, followed by
Also on Sunday, Bruce has a supporting role as the father of a disabled mountain climber in Touch the Top of the World," premiering on A&E at 8 PM EDT, and repeating at 10, midnight, 2 AM, and then on Thurs. June 23rd at 10 PM, 2 AM and 4 AM.... and then Sat. June 24th at noon.
5/26: Memorial Day Weekend offers a number of opportunities to see some of our favorites actors and directors at work. Rosi Chernogorova (Bizzy) gets naked in Shark Attack 3: Megalodon at 1 AM EDT tonight, Friday 5/26 on Sci-Fi (although most of her scene is cut out for tv.) David Worth (the cinematographer for AA and Screaming Brain shot and directed this one, with Bulgaria subbing somewhat credibly for Cancun.
Then tomorrow morning, Sat. 5/27, Bruce Campbell's old TV film Tornado! kicks off a natural disaster movie marathon at 9 AM EDT on Sci-Fi. Jonas and Michael both turn up in Path of Destruction at 3 PM EDT; Michael plays "Eric," and Jonas plays a Radio Operator. He's also in a bit part as "Airplane Soldier #3" in Post Impact, airing at 11 PM EDT.
Plus there's a double feature of
Mansquito (at 9 PM EDT on Sunday 5/28) and the Gary Jones classic Mosquito, in which Josh Becker bares it all for his art, at 11 PM EDT. Enjoy!
4/25: SS Doomtrooper was actually pretty decent, and scored a respectable 1.5 in the Nielsens on its initial airing, and a 1.0 on its Thursday night rerun; Manticore also scored a solid 1.0 as the 7 PM lead-in.
I think I can accurately describe the film as "The Dirty (Half) Dozen vs. the Incredible (Nazi) Hulk...While Saving PVT. Ryan."
65 years ago, this would have been made by Universal. George Zucco would have played the Nazi "Leutnant," Lionel Atwill would have been the mad scientist played here by Ben Cross, Ilona Massey would have played the blonde science assistant babe, Jon Hall would have played the lead, Alan Hale would have been the sergeant, and Evelyn Ankers would have played the French resistance leader. And Lon Chaney Jr. would have played the Doomtrooper!
3/20: Jonas Talkington's latest Bulgarian creaure feature premieres at 9 PM EST on Saturday, April 1st, only on.... Sci-Fi. The title? SS Doomtrooper!
The promo material describes it like this: During the last days of World War II, a team of Allied soldiers is sent behind enemy lines to destroy a secret Nazi atomic-weapons program. But they soon find that the Nazis aren't making an A-bomb; they're making an army of monster super-soldiers! With time running out, the Allied troops must marshall their eclectic skills to prevent the Nazis from unleashing a horror that will change the outcome of the war. Corin Nemic (Stargate SG-1, Parker Lewis Can't Lose) and Ben Cross (Chariots of Fire, Exorcist: The Beginning) star.
Jonas describes his role thus: "I was the dufus german translator soldier that had never seen the battlefield. Dumbass and dies horribly. It was hilarious actually!" Many of these films are just a little derivative, so to me this role sounds somewhat reminiscent of Upham, the translator in Saving PVT Ryan. It's preceded at 7 PM EST by a rerun of Jonas and Michael in Manticore (see below for a description.)
And in other news, Magma: Volcanic Disaster scored a very respectable 1.6 rating the weekend it debuted, beating out reruns of both Dante's Peak and The Mummy Returns, and still placed in the top ten on its 4th rerun in February. Likewise, the umpteenth rerun of Raptor Island still placed in the top ten for the network the week it aired as well.
2/22: My interview with Michael Cory Davis (mission commander Chuck Burkes) is now online at www.whoosh.org; just scroll down to "Articles."
2/18: Some more appearances by Jonas and Michael: Phantom Force is airing on Wednesday, Feb. 22nd, at 11 PM EST; Jonas plays a sonar tech in a sub in the first half hour of the film. Alien Siege airs on Thursday, Feb. 23rd, at 11 PM EST; Jonas plays a surly security guard, while Michael has a featured role as a resistance leader. Magma airs on Saturday, Feb. 25th, at 3 PM EST; Jonas has a decent-sized role (see below.) And Raptor Island airs on Saturday, March 4th at 7 PM EST; Jonas plays a radar tech on board ship with Peter Jason, and Michael plays a heroic commando on the island. Plus AA and Screaming Brain are coming up on Tuesday Feb. 28th!
1/27: Mosquito, directed by Gary Jones and featuring a cameo by Josh Becker (see below for details and screen captures) will be shown this coming Saturday Jan. 28th at 11 AM EST on Sci-Fi.
1/25: Magma: Volcanic Disaster, which premiered this past weekend, was pretty good! By and large a standard tv-movie - could easily have been on a regular network. Loved seeing Bulgaria fill in for Iceland, Japan, DC, Colombia and Yellowstone Park! For those who may have missed it, Jonas played the George Stephanopoulos of FEMA: a fairly young bureaucrat in a position of some authority with the "Bureau of Disaster Relief and Awareness" (wondering if that really exists.) He was the one "good" suit within the agency - not a whole lot of lines, but they always cut to him for reaction shots whenever anything important was announced. AND - he didn't get chomped by any cgi-monsters, which is always a good thing.
1/19: Just a reminder: Magma debuts this Saturday, Jan. 21st at 9 PM, with Jonas Talkington playing Stephen Daugherty (first and last name, so there may be some good screen time!) It's preceded that afternoon by Post Impact at 4:30 PM.
1/17: My interview with Bruce Campbell is now online at Whoosh! Soon to follow: Jonas Talkington and Michael Cory Davis!
1/13: There's a cool interview with director Josh Becker at IFMagazine. A nice condensed version of his thoughts on film-making in the new millenium, and it mentions AA, plus it plugs his soon-to-be-released book The Complete Guide to Low Budget Feature Film Making.
12/29: Sci-Fi notes that the year 2005 was their highest-rated and most-watched year to date. The network ended the year with its highest average viewership ever in key demographics and its highest household rating ever (1.03) in prime time. For the fourth year in a row, Sci-Fi averaged more than 1 million viewers in prime time. The channel also delivered a 1.0 household average rating in 2005, marking the third straight year SCI FI has maintained a 1.0 rating in prime time.
Now distributed to 85 million homes, Sci-Fi scored with viewers in nearly every key demographic, ranking within the top 10 of all basic cable networks for ratings among adults aged 25-54, men 25-54, adults 18-49, men 18-49 and women 25-54. The channel also ranked 10th for household ratings among all measured, non-news, non-sports, ad-supported basic cable nets in prime time. Sci-Fi continues to attract younger viewers, with 2005 marking the channel's fifth straight year of growth among adults 18-34.
12/27: Upcoming appearances by AA actors on Sci-Fi include:
Dec. 30th at 5:30 PM - Alien Siege - Michael Cory Davis plays Alex, a resistance fighter, and Jonas Talkington plays a guard at entrance to the the lab facility who gives star Brad Johnson a hard time.
Jan. 7th at 11 AM - Raptor Island - Jonas plays "Radar Technician" - he's the one reporting to Peter Jason, i.e. Pres. Demsky from AA, back on the ship, and Michael plays a commando who gets chomped by raptors. And at 7 PM that night, another airing of Manticore.
Sat. Jan. 21st at 9 PM - the premiere of Magma, with Jonas playing Stephen Daugherty (first and last name, so there may be some good screen time!) preceded that afternoon by Post Impact at 4:30 PM.
Thurs. Jan. 26th - Path of Destruction featuring Jonas as "Radio Operator" alongside Danica McKellar (aka Winnie from The Wonder Years ) at 7 PM, then Magma at 9 PM.
12/21: The Dec. 1st Thursday night rerun of Manticore scored a most-impressive 1.2 rating, beating out reruns of The Mummy Returns, Hollow Man and The Shadow ! Go Michael and Jonas!
Speaking of Jonas, you can spend your Christmas weekend with him, along with countless Bulgarian extras and some menacing cgi-beasties. On Christmas Eve, (12/24, if anyone needs that extra info) at 3 PM EST and again at 11 PM,
Post Impact airs, with Jonas playing "Airplane Soldier #3." And then at 7:00 PM EST on Christmas Day (well, night, actually) Sci-Fi is airing Boa vs Python, in which Jonas plays a Deputy (I think at the scene of the accident where the truck carrying the big snake is discovered.) LOTS of movies with our dynamic duo will air in the following weeks; I'll post times and dates next week. Happy Holidays to all!
12/12: The ratings are in - the dynamic, monster-fighting team of Davis and Talkington scored a respectable 1.6 rating with Manticore.
In other news, our duo can be seen in Raptor Island on Tuesday Dec. 13th at 6 PM EST; this is the one that also features Peter Jason (i.e. President Demsky) and behind the scenes work from AA's cinematographer and sfx crew. And on Thursday Dec. 15th, at 7 PM EST, Michael has a nice featured role in Cerberus.
11/27: Manticore was one of the better made-for-Sci-Fi "originals" that I have seen! With Bulgaria subbing for Iraq this time (and using many of those rocky, desert-like locations from the opening of AA) it revisits the time-honored theme of modern soldiers versus special-effects-beastie. (See Pterodactyl, Raptor Island, Cerberus, etc.) One might think this came originally from Aliens, but the idea has been around a looooong time: King Kong features sailors bringing down a stegosaurus with rifle fire, then knocking Kong out with "gas bombs," and a decade before that, Edgar Rice Burroughs had a submarine crew enter The Land That Time Forgot, and in Tarzan at the Earth's Core, he had a dirigible crew (complete with a biplane in tow) fight dinosaurs and menacing cavemen. And you can go back before that, to the crew of Jules Verne's Nautilus fighting that giant squid...and really, all the way back to the Argonauts fighting the Harpies. Ain't nothin' new under the sun.
At any rate, Heather Donohue has clearly been working out... and Robert Beltran clearly hasn't. The creature itself was pretty cartoon-ish - one of the least convincing of recent Sci-Fi creatures I've seen....but it wasn't on screen that much. What really impressed me was the way Bulgaria looked convincingly like Iraq, and how the interaction among the soldiers was very realistic. Michael and Jonas indeed met the fate that we knew was waiting them (with big nasty pointed teeth) but both get good screen time. Look for several touching scenes where Michael (his character is named....Davis!) records a video goodbye to his girlfriend Keisha, and then as he dies, he tries to make sure his comrades get his camcorder to her. Jonas has a comic scene towards the beginning where he crams a bunch of cookies in his mouth.
Honestly, if this had an extra $30 million attached to the budget, the manticore itself would have looked awesome, the main villain would have been played by Arnold Vosloo, the Sarge would have been played by Samuel L. Jackson, the Corporal would have been played by Michelle Rodriguez, and the GNN reporter would have been played by Mira Sorvino; the manticore would have looked "real," and critics would be applauding the return of the slam-bang action/horror movie. Script, direction, sets, costumes, etc. could have been exactly the same - all it would have needed was $$ for a bigger "name" cast, $$ for better sfx, and $$ for advertising to lure people into the theatres. In this day and time, that's the only real difference between an A-movie and a B-movie.
Look for this to repeat at 9 PM EST on Thursday, Dec. 1st, on PBS. Or maybe Sci-Fi, come to think of it.
11/21: Coming this Saturday, Nov. 26th (Thanksgiving weekend in the US) on Sci-Fi: In modern Iraq, a man of Persian ancestry attacks U.S. soldiers with an ancient "weapon of mass destruction" �?the half-lion, half-dragon monster known as the Manticore. Robert Beltran (Star Trek: Voyager), Heather Donahue (Taken), and Chase Masterson (Terminal Invasion) star. Sure enough, that dynamic duo of creature fighters, Michael Cory Davis and Jonas Talkington are featured! The film is called Manticore, and premieres at 9 PM EST. Sofia, Bulgaria fills in for Iraq, and Jonas Talkington plays a character named "Mouth" - we're guessing he's a loud-mouthed GI who gets chomped early on. BTW, Michael Cory Davis had a very nice featured role in Cerberus last month.
11/4: There is a fairly decent review (although again with some inaccuracies) of AA at Undergound Online.
10/31: Michael Cory Davis, the short-lived mission commander in AA ,can be seen in the new film Cerberus, airing on Sci-Fi this Thursday, 11/3, at 9 PM EST. Having played a heroic, handsome, muscular, braided commando who gets chomped by raptors in Raptor Island, a heroic, handsome, muscular, braided freedom fighter who gets zapped by aliens in Alien Siege, and a heroic, handsome, muscular, braided astronaut who gets chomped by aliens in AA....... I think we can guess what happens when he encounters the giant, 3-headed hound of hell.
10/27: There's pretty good review (although factually inaccurate in several places) of AA at Box Office Prophets.
10/26: According to the director, the AA dvd sales are performing at 117% of the producers' projections to date.
And Raptor Island is being rerun,on Sat. Oct. 29th at 11 PM EDT; it features Jonas Talkington, Peter Jason and Michael Cory Davis, photographed by David Worth, and has special effects by Dan DiPierro, all from AA.
10/3: Jenn has oodles of screen captures from the dvd here.
9/25: The good news is, the AA rerun on Sat. Sept. 10th (its 4th airing) drew approximately 1 million viewers, or a 0.9 rating. That's average to good for a rerun in the 7 PM timeslot on Saturday for Sci-Fi. Ratings for the network were down across the board the whole week for unknown reasons, and AA tied for 7th place. Not too shabby. The bad news is that Screaming Brain didn't seem to make the top ten at all, which is a disappointment. The upside of this is that the network may well decide that Bruce does best when working *WITH* Josh and Renee, which will bode well for future collaborative ventures.
9/25: Jonas Talkington, Peter Jason and Michael Cory Davis can be seen tonight at 9 PM EDT on Sci-Fi in Raptor Island, photographed by David Worth, and with special effects by Dan DiPierro, all from AA.
9/18: You can see Michael Cory Davis and Jonas Talkington in the upcoming made-for-Sci-Fi flic Path of Destruction on Saturday, Sept. 24th at 9 PM EDT, and again at 1 AM, and again on Thurs. 9/29 at 9 PM EDT. It stars David Keith and Danica McKellar, aka Winnie from The Wonder Years. It's directed by Stephen Furst (who directed Dragon Storm (and played Flounder in Animal House) and is produced by the people who've done most of the made-in-Bulgaria features over the last few years.
9/10: Just a reminder: Tomorrow night at 7 PM EDT, Sci-Fi is airing AA again, followed by the broadcast premiere of Man With the Screaming Brain. Sadly, AA is no longer the network ratings champ - last week's Pterodactyl featuring rapper Coolio managed to draw in a few hundred thousand more viewers. Yo, dog, what up wid dat? But I have every hope and expectation for Brain to set an even higher record. Be sure to look for AA's Jonas Talkington (aka the "scumbag" bounty hunter) as "Larry the Swinger."
BTW, director Josh Becker reports that "apparently, both AA and Brain already have pre-orders for about 125,000 copies (of the dvd.)" It can be ordered at Anchor Bay; here's a larger image of the cover artwork:
8/27: Sci-Fi is running the opus Shark Attack 3: Megalodon on Sunday night, August 28th, at 9:00 PM EDT. See below for details and a couple of screen captures. Why is this relevant for us? Because it's both directed and shot by AA's director of photography David Worth. Assistant director Joel Morales and production designer George Costello worked on both films as well, plus this is the movie where Rosi Chernogorova gets naked on the beach. We see about 3% of that in the edited-for-television version however. It is rather amusing to see Bulgarians pretending to be Mexicans, and the Black Sea coast doubling for Cancun. You can see a trailer here.
Bruce Campbell meanwhile has been quite the busy bee this summer, touring the country with appearances promoting his best-selling book, as well as screening Screaming Brain. Addiitonally, he has a plum supporting role in the Disney comedy Sky High. Click on the appropriate link below for relevant info on each.
8/10: The next air-date will be on Sat., Sept. 10th, at 7:00 PM EDT on Sci-Fi. They're doing an all-Bruce marathon, with Tornado! at 1 PM, Terminal Invasion at 3 PM, and Army of Darkness at 5 PM, leading up to the premiere of Bruce and co.'s follow up film, Man with the Screaming Brain.
7/23: Thanks to Jenn from the Xena Media Empire site, we now have details on the impending DVD release of the film from Anchor Bay:
Alien Apocalypse will be released onto DVD Oct 4, 2005.
Features:
Widescreen Presentation
Anchor Bay even has some promo cards for the film:
You can also find a brief review of the film at Movies Online as well as links to a brief interview with the director.
7/10: The New York Times had an extensive article today on the Saturday night creature-features and the success Sci-Fi has found with them, along with two quotes from Bruce himself! The article can be read in its entirety here. A classic quote from Entertainment Weekly is included: "There are better things on tonight, but none are called 'Mansquito.' " So true!!!
6/18: Jonas Talkington, the hardest-workin' American-born genre actor livin' in Bulgaria today, can be seen tonight at 11:00 PM EDT on Sci-Fi in Dark Waters, in which he plays a submarine officer. The plot is described as: Unusually vicious and aggressive sharks attack an oil rig in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Dane Quatrell (Lorenzo Lamas) and a team are sent to investigate, but the sharks are still on the prowl and now they have developed a taste for human blood.
Jonas, whom we remember as the scumbag bounty hunter, can also be seen tomorrow evening (Sun. June 19th) at 9 PM EDT on Sci-Fi as a Deputy in Boa vs. Python. Plot speaks for itself. ;) Both we assume were filmed in Bulgaria.
AND.... tonight at 7:00 PM EDT, Sci-Fi as airing Shark Attack 3: Megalodon. Directed *and* shot by cinematographer David Worth, and is interesting for two reasons: a) to see Bulgaria fill in for Cancun (who knew?) and b) to see Rosi Chernogorova. Her nude swim (during which she gets chomped by the titular monster) is almost entirely edited out for tv however. But Josh Becker observed: "I heard several male members of the crew, who had worked on 'Shark Attack 3,' proudly proudly telling others that they had worked on the beach scene where Rosi runs out of the water completely naked."
6/2: This was the blurb in my local newspaper for the Thursday 3/31 rerun of AA:
5/30: Mary D has 8 really good clips from the film - basically, the scenes that Renee O'Connor is in - at http://reneeoconnor.info/videos/. Scrll down 'til you see the film's title, then click on each, in order. They're in zip format, so if you don't have a handy un-zipper, you can click on "Open," then "Use Evaluation Version," and after each downloads, click on the name of the file, and choose "Play." Real Player and Windows Media both should work.
Here were the official numbers for Sci-Fi the week that AA aired:
Stargate SG-1 - 2.4
Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 3/21/05 - 3/27/05
And for comparison, here are some ratings for other original, Saturday night "creature feature" premieres on Sci-Fi:
Pterodactyl (8/22/05 - 8/28/05) - 2.6 - the new champ - yo dawg, what up w/ dat?
And, here's how recent reruns did, in the same week as "The Fallen Ones" (above) starring Casper Van Dien, who said "I thought it was intelligently written for a 42-foot-tall mummy movie." LOL!
The Fallen Ones - 1.7
What that says is that more people stayed up at 11:00 PM on a Saturday night to watch a 12-year-old Bruce Campbell movie, than watched anything else on the network all week long!
4/23: Sci-Fi continues to brag on this film by name in every press release, including one announcing their season of new films for 2006 (essentially they promised more movies like this one!) which plugged Bruce and "Screaming Brain" by name as well. And the amazing success of their Saturday night "creature features" inspired two articles in USA Today on the phenomenon, which you can read here.
The director has now returned the original screenplay to his site (click here) as well as posting a "Making of..." essay here. And in other news, he has also finally revealed that the mountain man Bob, who's especially keen on fishing, was indeed a nod to the real-life, fishing-obsessed Rob Tapert.
4/10: You can now find my review of this film here.
The director has posted part of a letter from the Sci-Fi network here, detailing the staggering ratings success of the film. Not only did it break records for an original, stand-alone film, it did better than average in both of the rerun timeslots. Josh now says that they are eagerly after him for another Campbell/O'Connor teaming, possibly his story "The Cascade Effect.
And in other news, we are now up to 89% - that's the percentage of searches that led to this site, as a result of looking for everyone's favorite Bulgarian bombshell, Rosi Chernogorova. I am pleased to announce that you can now find several screenshots of her here, at www.alienapocalypse.com, the well-done collaboration between Sherrie of ROCNet and Mary D of Ausxip.com. (And several hundred other screen captures of Bruce, Renee, et al.)
4/3: From a Sci-Fi Channel press release posted at The Futon Critic and reported at Mary D's site:
SCI FI's crowd-pleasing Saturday original movies have continued to deliver big audiences, averaging a 1.7 HH rating and 2 million viewers P2+ for the quarter. The March 26 premiere of 'Alien Apocalypse,' starring Bruce Campbell, was the highest-rated of any of SCI FI's Saturday originals to date - delivering an incredible 2.3 HH rating and 2.7 million viewers P2+.
4/2: I pulled out my calculator and did a little math. Each rating point represents approx. 1,096,000 households, so about 2.5 million households tuned in to see AA, which might be 3 or 3.5 million people. As near as I can tell, the film just barely missed out being in the Cable Top 15 for the week - # 15 last week was a kids' show on Nickelodeon called "Fairly Odd Parents," and it only got a 2.4. For comparison, Sci-Fi ecstatically announced last fall that it had reached an all-time high of a 1.0 average rating for the network. New episodes of "Stargate" usually get about a 2.0, and those Saturday night premieres usually get from 1.0 - 1.5. The movie also managed to beat last week's episodes of "Charmed," "Gilmore Girls," "Star Trek Enterprise," and "Smallville" on the networks (although, granted, many were reruns.)
And, for the first time anywhere, click here for a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Renee O'Connor, giving a thumbs-up sign as Michael Cory Davis stands nearby. Photo courtesy of Jonas Talkington, who will be spotlighted in an interview in the upcoming edition of Whoosh!
3/31: According to the director, "Alien Apocalypse was the highest-rated Saturday night movie on Sci-Fi in over a year, and the third highest ever." The actual Nielsen rating was a 2.28, which is more than double Sci-Fi's overall average rating, and a bit more than a typical new episode of "Stargate" usually gets. And in other news..... Josh has finally revealed something long suspected: "Ivan" Hood was indeed named after eldest Raimi brother Ivan Raimi (co-writer of "Army of Darkness," and ghost-writer on "Spider-Man 2") who is in fact.... a D.O.!
3/29: Curious about that scumbag bounty hunter who captures Bruce and Renee in the first scene, and sticks with them through most of the film? C'mon, you know which one I mean! Well you can see some more behind-the-scenes photos as well as headshots of the actor, Jonas Talkington, by clicking here.
3/27: If you haven't been able to view this site, it's because each of the last three days has set a record for number of visits, and we keep exceeding our bandwidth! Glad to see so many people from so many countries stopping in. Please feel free to sign the guest book - I'd love to hear from you! Interestingly, there are about a hundred different ways that this site has been accessed....but a whopping 39% were as the result of a "search" for "Rosi Chernogorova," which proves something, but I'm not sure what. Note: an additional 20% came from variations on the combinations of "Bizzy actress," "Bissy actress," and "Bizzy alien apocalypse." Come to think of it, I think I am pretty sure. AA will be shown again this coming Thursday, March 31st, at 9 PM EST in the US. And links to interviews with the cast will be posted as soon as they're online, as well as more behind-the-scenes photos, courtesy of everyone's favorite scumbag. In the meantime, spread the word. "Freedom... Freedom... FREEDOM!"
3/23: Thanks to the gracious help of Jonas Talkington (told ya to remember that name!) we now have our first behind-the-scenes look at the cast!
Stay tuned for more photos.... as well as interviews, to be published at Whoosh.org , with three of the individuals above!
3/16: Thanks to the EXTREME graciousness of the webmaster of warriorprincessnerd.com, we now have a copy of the commercial trailer, which can be seen HERE. You will need to use Winzip or something similar to unzip the file, and then I believe it has to be viewed in RealPlayer. As this is a free site, I doubt too many views will be allowed from this site, so a) don't link directly to it, and b) if we go over our bandwidth limitation, just go here (to the site mentioned above) - scroll all the way dow to the very bottom, and look for it on the right. My thanks to this site again! :)
3/15: Sure enough, the ads for AA debuted this past weekend. There's definitely an attempt to remind us of "Army of Darkness," as it begins with several shots of enslaved humanity, very reminiscent of "...My name is Ash...and I am a slave." We hear typically stirring LoDuca music with choral singing.....we see a tattered American flag... and then the voice-over announcer says "In mankind's darkest hour... the world needs a hero. (pause) This guy will have to do." There are shots of aliens pouring out of an armored vehicle, several action shots of Bruce fighting/shooting, assorted explosions... and then we see Bruce confronting Jonas Talkington (I told ya - remember that name!) as he leaves, saying "Hey scumbag - you forgot somethin'!" as he blows him away with a crossbow.
3/12: "Mansquito," a Bulgarian-filmed opus about...yep, you guessed it - a hybrid human/mosquito - debuts tonight on Sci-Fi at 9 PM EST (U.S. only - sorry!) followed by Gary Jones' "Mosquito" at 11 PM (see below) then "Mansquito" again at 1 AM. It was done by a different production company than AA, although it features a few of the same behind-the-scenes crew, including 2nd assistant director Vessela Bannzurkova. But it's notable for the appearance of one Jonas Talkington, who plays a police sergeant in this, and a bounty hunter in AA. Remember that name - you will hear more about him soon.....This will also probably be the first time we see commercial previews for AA. Also in the "Mansquito" cast is Musetta Vander, previously seen as Athena's favorite, Ilianis, on "Xena." Previous mutant insect roles for Miss Vander include the hot substitute teacher aka "praying mantis lady" in the first season of "Buffy," plus she was the sultriest of the sirens singing "Go To Sleep My Little Baby" in "O Brother Where Art Thou."
2/24: From the director: "... I finally saw the completed film yesterday, and given the limitations of TV, it turned out all right. Bruce and Renee are terrific, the physical and digital FX a quite good, the photography is nice, and Joe LoDuca's score is very good."
And the Sci-Fi Channel now has a page for the film at www.scifi.com/alienapocalypse/.
2/13: Sci-Fi will be airing Bruce's films Terminal Invasion and Army of Darkness at 5 PM and 7 PM respectively, prior to the premiere of AA.
In related news, Renee O'Connor's new short film, One Weekend A Month, won an Honorable Mention at the Sundance Film Festival, and can be seen in its entirety (all 11 minutes' worth!) via the links below. Just chooose your player and speed:
Windows Media Player
F_ONE_WEEKEND_A_MONTH_4x3_100.asx
Real Player
F_ONE_WEEKEND_A_MONTH_4x3_100.ram
(thanks to Joxcenia for the links!)
1/29: There is a new interview with Renee O'Connor at http://www.thestarscoop.com/renee.htm, and she mentions AA:
Q: How did you end up with the role in Alien Apocalypse?
O'CONNOR: I was hanging out with Rob Tapert - I don't know if I was at his house or with Lucy or what. But basically Rob who was the executive producer on Xena said that I should call up Bruce Campbell and Josh Becker - the star and director and let them know that I'm around and that I would like to do this because Bruce and Josh thought I was too young to play the part. But basically Rob just saw me and said you know what, you're perfect for this, you should call them up. And I did and it just went from there. But I've worked with these guys before, so it's like visiting relatives (laughs).
Q: When is it set to air?
O'CONNOR: The end of February. {ed. note: I'm sure she means March.} And it's going to be just fun, you know, it's like a cute little sci-fi flick from the sixties. It's just fun. It's all filmed very lightly and it's a lot of fun.
1/11: Not that it's any great work of art, but Mosquito is an early, low-budget B-movie effort directed by Gary Jones, who does both 2nd unit direction and "practical" special effects (i.e. non-computer-generated) for AA; Sci-Fi is going to air it at 5:00 PM EST on Saturday, Jan. 22nd. For what it is, the mutant-mosquito monsters of the title are actually pretty well-done. Gary Jones did 2nd unit during the first season of Xena too, and directed "The Greater Good," "Giant Killer," "Intimate Stranger," plus "Prodigal Sister" over on HTLJ. At his site, Josh Becker described how Gary first fell in with the Ren Pics guys:
Gary was just sort of hanging around our offices in Ferndale in 1983, and ended up doing some extra work on "Crimewave." Then we began putting TSNKE together and Gary came wandering into the office and said, "I do special effects." Scott Spiegel and I asked him a few questions, which Gary readily had answers for, so we hired him. Scott cut him a check for $50 for supplies and told him to make sure to keep the receipts, and that was that. Gary worked at the Lear car seat factory at that time making Fiero car seats -- 89 seats a day. I asked, "Why 89? Why not 90?" Gary replied, "Hey, you've got to draw the line somewhere." -- anyway, so Gary got off work at 3:00, then drove straight out to our location and did all of our squibs and explosions, which we'd save for the end of the day and Gary's arrival. That's why a whole scene will be in flat, gray light, then someone gets shot and the squib going off is in warm, sunset light. Gary then worked on "Evil Dead 2," and made the miniature cabin and the rubber trees that bang on it, which I think look really good. Gary was the FX supervisor on "Lunatics," which has a lot of all different kinds of FX: rear-screen, miniatures, full-size spider parts, giant brains, etc., and he pulled them all off for not a lot of money. Since I had been the original 2nd unit director down in New Zealand, when Xena started I got Gary the gig as 2nd unit director on the show, and he was really good at it, so he was promoted up to main unit director, did several Xena eps, then has been directing ever since. He did the FX and 2nd unit on "Alien Apocalypse," then did 2nd unit for Bruce on "Screaming Brain," is doing 2nd unit on "Puppet Master 8" right now, then main unit directs "American Black Beauty" next. Gary is a tremendously good-natured, extremely talented guy, who can handle anything you throw at him, and do it well.
Josh himself even has a cameo in Mosquito. He plays a vacationing camper - look for him grilling out early in the film, and then an extended scene with his girlfriend in a tent. He gets up to relieve himself, does some silly physical comedy worthy of Ted Raimi, realizes his girlfriend is getting chomped by monsters, and runs back to save her while not only never dropping his can of beer, but actually taking a swig from it as he runs to her rescue!
1/6: An epiphany of sorts: while there is no promotional material at their site yet, Sci-Fi is listing Apocalypse as premiering on March 26th, at 9:00 PM. It's then scheduled to repeat later that night at 1:00 AM, and again on March 31st at 9:00 PM.
12/23: According to the director, the movie is set to be *completed* in mid-January, with a tentative air-date in March.
12/21: The Sci-Fi Channel still has not added AA to its schedule for January, so we may not be as close to seeing it as we think. :(
Sharon Delaney has posted an interview with Renee O'Connor at the Oficial Xena Fan Club Site at http://www.creationent.com. You have to be a member to view the online edition of the fan club newsletter, but thanks to Cath at the Tavern Wall site, here's a summary of what Renee had to say:
Sharon asks what the movie is about...
Renee responds that it's about an astronaut and his team who come back from outer space after their mission is accomplished. Termite-like aliens have conquered the earth and enslaved the humans.
Renee plays "Kelly Lanahan," who started out as Captain, but was "demoted" to Lieutenant Kelly Lanahan, per Renee. (I wonder at that one...) She continues: "I'm the could-be love interest for Bruce and his right-hand woman."
"I'm also the damsel in distress because, of course, I get captured and thrown in the caves with all the other human slaves. I get beaten up. Yet another scene with my face just bloody and bruised. It reminded me of the Xena days... "
She discusses some of the problems with her costume:
"I looked like a marshmallow! ...they made it too small."
"I sent them my measurements...I guess I should have gone to a seamstress. I don't take my own measurements well. But the costume designer took every number I gave her and made the clothes to fit that. Not giving me any room anywhere! I saw them on the rack and I thought, 'Those are for a doll. They're not for me, surely!'"
Adjustments were made, but not before ROC had to spend a day filming in the too-small costume.
They also discuss Renee's love scene with Bruce Campbell... or lack thereof. Renee comments:
"In the script, there was quite an intimate moment between me and Bruce. When I got on set, Josh said, 'What we're going to do is we're going to find you and then you guys are gonna peck and it's going to be awkward and you'll kiss and we'll come off you and go to the fire. The fire will light and ignite and it will be a symbolic moment.' I was like, 'Damn! Where's my love scene!'"
Sharon now has a question for Director Josh Becker: "Where's Renee's love scene?"
Apparently another thing she mentioned was that the Bulgarian culture is a bit more verbally expressive, so that an American might see them as abrupt, even agressive. Accordingly, she was at first surprised when the crew would be shouting things at her, right in her face, when in reality, they simply wanted to take a photo or serve her some tea.
12/14: The director thinks this film may air on Monday, Jan. 17th. Since Sci-Fi usually debuts its films on Saturdays, though, my guess is either the 15th or the 22nd.
12/8: A quick shout-out to everyone who checks in to visit - there are quite a few links now at Renee O'Connor fan sites (feel free to e-mail me at joxerfan@yahoo.com if you'd like me to add a link to your site, and if possible, let me know if you have a linking banner available.) Plus we are getting an increasing number of fans of Michael Cory Davis and Raptor Island stopping by. All I can say is, if you enjoyed that movie, or similar ones on Sci-Fi recently, you are likely to LOVE what Bruce, Renee, Josh and co. do with Apocalypse!
12/4: A little clarification on what remains to be done, from the director: "All of the FX are cut in, but the sound still needs to be cut (at least I think it does, I'm out of the loop now). This is when all of the sound effects are put in, as well as backgrounds like wind, saws in the sawmill, crickets, etc., as well as the sound mix, where all of the sound levels are straightened out. But the mix can't occur until the score is recorded, and that can't occur until the picture is locked, which won't occur until SciFi signs off on it. This is TV, and everything is done right up to the last second. That's how Xena and Herc were, too." He goes on to say that his part of it is done, however. (Although the composer is his good friend who lives in the same city with him, so I bet we can anticipate some extraordinary LoDuca music as always!)
12/2: Slooooooooowly but surely. According to the director, "....the film is not entirely done yet. There could still be some last minute changes, and it hasn't been scored, and the sound hasn't been cut or mixed." And on Renee O'Connor, he observes "...she is cute and sweet, and (I) do enjoy the way she looks in her tight spacesuit every time I watch the film." LOL - who don't know that?
11/29: Hopefully no news is good news. :) For what it's worth, Raptor Island, filmed with many of the same cast, crew, and locations as Apocalypse, is going to be rerun this coming Saturday, Dec. 4th, in the US. on the Sci-Fi Channel, at 1:00 PM EST and again at 11:00 PM EST. See the comments below dated 9/14 for my observations on this film; you can see its official website at http://www.scifi.com/raptorisland/ but there's no details.
10/24: No updates in a while, but a major THANK YOU to everyone who's been checking in. We've had visitors from Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, the UK, Italy, Canada, France, Australia, Switzerland, Norway, and interestingly, the federal government in Washington, DC, and the United States Military Academy at West Point! Remember, there is a guest book if you'd like to make your presence known.
The first print media article about this film has been published in Fangoria, a veteran genre fan magazine that sharp-eyed viewers may recall spotting in the trunk of Ash's car in Army of Darkness. You can see a scan of it that the director has posted at his site Beckerfilms.com.
And if you *really* want to see Bruce and Josh (not to mention Sam, Scott Spiegel, John Cameron, and a certain "Rip Tappert") back in the day, Josh has now begin making some of their early Super-8 short films available at his site. The first is The Blind Waiter and...well, if you're a fan of our boys, you'll be in hysterics, but it makes Benny Hill look like Ibsen. So be forewarned! :)
9/24: Mary D has created another fan site for the film at http://www.alienapocalypse.com with some stunning graphics, and lots of space for futre screengrabs, wallpapers, etc. Plus, she's included a link to this site. THANKS!
9/20: Step by step...inch by inch.....
Josh: "The innumberable digital effects are coming along nicely on Alien Apocalypse. The voice replacement of Bulgarian accented actors to Americans went very well.... I just supervised the looping, and the American actors did a helluva job replacing the Bulgarians, considering that when Bulgarians speak English it looks like they've got marbles in their mouths. The only advice that we could give to the actors on many occasions was 'Good luck.' Joe LoDuca has the film and is beginning his process. The digital effects are being done and are coming in bit by bit, and they look pretty good, too. Yes, I have input on them, and have made a number of suggestions already, which the FX guys are very happy to deal with. It's all coming together."
9/14: According to the director's site, this film will now debut in January of 2005. Presumbaly, he is still preparing to do post-production work, such as dubbing, after which they will insert the special effects and score.
I caught Raptor Island last month. It won't exactly win any awards, but again, David Worth's photography was excellent, and both Peter Jason and Michael Cory Davis did fine in small roles. The biggest problem (apart from the wooden acting of Lorenzo Lamas) was the direction - it was set in the South China Sea, yet the actors were bundled up in sweaters and jackets, you could see their breath, and there were autumn leaves all over the ground! But for a Pacific Northwest setting, Bulgaria will serve just fine. Likewise, the special-effects raptors were seen far too often and in broad daylight, where their cgi-origins were all too obvious. Gary Jones's designs will look much better, and Josh Becker will know to keep all the aliens in the shadows, and/or how to "shemp" it with quick cuts and edits. Add a couple of awesome lead actors, and we have the makings of a fine film! :)
8/18: I watched Shark Attack 3: Megalodon last night, and was pleasantly surprised. It was quite watchable - as good as any old ABC tv movie-of-the-week, or any old episode of Flipper. Or one of those Hammer horror films of the 60's. It was pretty much a scene-for-scene rip-off of Jaws, of course, with the Black Sea doubling for the Mexican coast. Sadly, we got to see very little of Rosi, but I gotta give major kudos to David Worth. Visually, the film was really quite beautiful to look at, and given its budget, very well done. I'm not saying Spielberg or anything, but quite competent. And the SFX were fine. This bodes well for Alien Apocalypse.
Note: verified that one Dan DiPierro is indeed the cgi-guru for both the upcoming Raptor Island (see below) and Alien Apocalypse.
8/17: Tonight, Tues. Aug. 17th, at 9 PM EDT, Sci-Fi is running the opus Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (just after Shark Attack 2. ) Who cares? No one. But...........it was filmed in Bulgaria, and was directed by David Worth, who was the director of photography for this film too. Worth does double duty as director of photography, and at least one other crew member, 1st assistant director Joel Morales, worked on both films. I suspect the vast majority of the behind the scenes crew were the same for both films, and ditto for locations. Plus there's at least one cast member to look for: Rosi Chernogorova, listed as playing "Sherry" in this one, is in AA as well, and Josh went out of his way to mention how beautiful she was, especially in her "Pebbles Flintstone-like costume."
Then on Saturday, 8/21, at 9 PM EDT, Sci-Fi is airing Raptor Island, starring Lorenzo Lamas. Also filmed in Bulgaria, also shot by David Worth (although with a different director) and this time produced by the same guy/company that is producing AA, and featuring two of the same actors - Peter Jason and Michael Cory Davis. My guess is that the SFX on one or both of these films were probably done by the same people working on AA. This may be a good opportunity to look at sets, locations, effects, camera work etc. and get an idea of what Josh, Renee, Bruce and Co. had to work with when they arrived.
8/16: Welcome to all the Merpups who checked in yesterday - over a hundred of you! Set and stay a spell - make yourselves comfortable - take your shoes off. :)
Tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 17th, is director Josh Becker's birthday! In addition to this film, Josh directed (and in some cases essentially extent ghost-wrote) nine episodes of "Xena," co-wrote two others, directed two episodes of Bruce's late series "Jack of All Trades," and one of the Hercules TV movies - "Maze of the Minotaur." He's the man who gave us everything from the Joxer the Mighty song, to the "story about a gal named Gabrielle" song from FF&G, the Tyro-as-disco-dancer number from ITSF, Lucy in a whipped cream bikini, the X/G heart-to-heart in "Kindred Spirits," and the climactic zoom to Bruce's shocked face in "Evil Dead." There's a thread
here - come on over and share the love, and wish our favorite curmudgeon a happy birthday. Note: you don't need to register to post.
8/11: A few tiny little tidbits from the director (but at this stage, I'll take what we can get!) Apparently, editing is done, and the film is ready for the next stage(s) of post-production.
Josh: "I did one zoom shot in Alien Apocalypse, that's really a de-zoom, which some wags call a "mooz," as it pulls back with a guy walking toward a fence. In the fully zoomed-in mode you can't tell there's a fence at all, but as it zooms back the fence appears and comes into focus blocking his path. This is a wonderful trick of optics that you can only achieve with a zoom lens."
"I turned in what I sincerely believe is the best film ever made for SciFi, and it all went together wonderfully..."
8/5: I've added a few little touches here and there, like a more recent image of Renee at the top of the page, and some more cast/crew credits.
7/24: The director has posted MORE behind-the-scenes snapshots of Bruce, himself, and a closer look at the alien design here.
Josh: "(The late composer Jerry Goldsmith)...was brilliant. I've had the editor use quite a bit of "Planet of the Apes" for the temp score on Alien Apocalypse, and it's really terrific music." {Note: a temp score is what is often used in the editing process to give everyone an idea of what the finished product may look/sound like, until the composer inserts his own score. Josh did this in his "Xena" episode, "If the Shoe Fits," using Donna Summer's "McArthur Park" for Ted Raimi's disco dance number - so that Ted could have *some* music to dance to - until Joe LoDuca could add his own composition.}
7/5: Josh: "Alien Apocalypse, meanwhile, is nearly done being cut. The editor assembled the film and sent it to me, I made notes, he made the changes, I made more notes, and he's presently making those changes. It's really just fine-cutting and trimming now to get it down to its proper length."
6/28: The director has now said this film may not air until January 2005. :(
We seem to be getting a significant number of international visits to this site, especially from the U.K., Hungary, Italy, and Bulgaria. Won't you visit the guestbook and let us know who you are?
6/17: The director has posted some behind-the-scenes snapshots (including our first look at the aliens) here.
6/9: Michael Cory Davis, who has starred in other Bulgarian-filmed movies such as Raptor Island, as well as appearing on All My Children, The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless, plays the commander of the mission, Charles Burke.
6/8: Josh: "I'm supposed to get the editor's assembly in three weeks, then I'll probably have a week to do my director's cut. I'll also supervise the looping, which will be extensive, since every Bulgarian actor, which is most of them, will have their voices replaced, as well as the sound mix."
"I wrapped the film a couple of hours ago. It was scheduled for 18 days and I pulled it in in 17. The footage looks just fine, and now if it all cuts together, and the CGI FX look good, all will be well.
6/5: Josh: "I've had a great time making this film. It's been wonderful getting to bring a story I've had for 14 years to life, and I simply love this process, even if it's really kicked my ass this time -- I feel like I've been running a marathon everyday for the past six weeks.... I have one day left, so I can't fuck it too badly anymore, unless I already have, that is."
"...there is a sex scene between Bruce and Renee, but it's handled very discreetly, and I think it turned out rather sweet and touching. They both played it wonderfully. I have one more day of shooting and that's all she wrote. I will then have brought the film in a day early, too. Oddly, once I got ahead of schedule they used the money for day #18 elsewhere, so now I can't have it even if I want it. That'll teach me not to shoot too fast. I think it's all turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself, but we'll all see soon enough. The film is already being cut."
5/31: Josh: "I have 6 more days of shooting this week, one day off, then 2 more the next week, then I leave the next day. It's been a wonderful experience, so far (knock on wood). There sure are a lot of pretty girls in this neck of the woods. The girl who plays the babe in this film, Rossi, is ridiculously pretty, and giving a pretty good performance, too.....between takes, Bruce keeps playing (his) part as Kirk Douglas and making me scream with laughter...."
"The DP I'm working with right now, David Worth, is the ballsiest, fastest DP I've ever worked with and I admire him greatly...."
"Renee's a doll. She was wonderful to work with then, and she still is. This film is certainly not testing her strengths very much, it's just a silly sci-fi action piece, but she's doing great, as always.... Bruce and Renee are making this film a helluva lot easier for me, let me tell you. Bruce gets in there and knocks off 8 pages of speeches like they're nothing. He gets better and better as he gets older, like William Holden...."
"The camera operator on this film is Russian, so we've been discussing Russian films lately. His name is Andre, he's very tall, has wild grey hair, a big grey mustache, and is referred to as 'The Mad Russian.' He has a wonderful, happy vibe to him...."
"Let me tell you, Renee looks great in her NASA space suit, and she's just as sweet and wonderful as ever. I shot with her for the first time yesterday and we had a terrific time. I know she had a baby, but you certainly wouldn't be able to tell for her figure. It's very amusing hearing her do a Texas twang, which I asked for for the part."
5/24: Josh: "Renee arrived on the set today for the first time (she starts shooting tomorrow), in her space suit, and she looks terrific. It was wonderful seeing her again after 3 years. Five days of shooting down. Bruce is great."
5/21: Veteran character Peter Jason will be playing former President Demsky. He's appeared in over 140 films and television shows stretching from "Gunsmoke" to "Deadwood," from John Wayne's "Rio Lobo" to "Seabiscuit."
5/16: Joseph LoDuca will be composing the original score for this film.
5/3: Josh: "I've informed the casting director that I only want actors who can speak English well, but I haven't seen any actors yet, so this remains to be seen. I have a feeling there will be a lot of looping, or ADR, which is what they now call dubbing. The nice restaurants serve international cuisine, which, so far, has been very good. During the day, however, we keep ending up eating McDonald's on the road, which is just like MacDogDoos anywhere."
5/2: Josh:
"I guess it will air in or around September. We're just scouting locations, and it's going pretty well. Everyone is very nice here in Bulgaria."
"I'm not doing the CGI FX myself, and I've never worked with this company before, but they seem like reasonable folks, and they've done good work before. What I've done is: first, I storyboarded every effect so they know exactly what I want; second, I worked with the practical FX supervisor on the design until I was happy with it, then just gave it to the CGI guys, and since the practical, rubber alien was built first, the CGI alien must match it, which it will because the CGI alien will be created based on photos of the rubber alien. I'd venture that in most other cases it's done in the opposite order, and it much more difficult to make a practical effect to a digital effect. Also, I will rarely be using the rubber alien for anything other than over-the-shoulder shots, which will be slightly soft focus, as well as tight shots of alien hands, and close-ups of aliens getting stuck in the guts with knives and things."
Josh, On the Initial Deal:
"I had to adapt the script to get it to come out to eight acts, but that wasn't very difficult..... Bruce and I have these sales agents named Creative Light that handle overseas sales, and they had already done a project with Sci-Fi Channel, and wanted to go back to them, so Bruce offered up "The Man With the Screaming Brain" and I offered up "Humans in Chains." That was two years ago. After fermenting sufficiently, like a fine wine, the deal appears to have gone. I'll get my director's cut, as usual, but they can do whatever they want to it after that. The budget is $1.5 million, and I don't know how far I can go, not that the script really goes very far, because Sci-Fi is a commercial channel. There's no discussion of a theatrical version, nor of an R-rating, although I do hope to shoot wide-screen, 2.35:1."
On Re-writes:
"Sci-Fi just wanted some more aliens and more FX, which does make sense because there's a 30-page stretch without them, and on a basic, narrative level, you can't lose the other side of your drama for for a half hour."
"Bruce wants a few changes on a character set-up level, which I completely agree with, too. I'll end up cutting a few scenes due to time and budget restrictions, but really, I'm not fighting the monsterization battle this time. And you can't blame Sci-Fi for the title change, even if it's a title they like, because it was my sales agent that changed it, and quite frankly, I think it helped the deal. It's now called "Alien Apocalypse," since Sci-Fi loves having the word alien in their titles (last week two of their original films were: "Alien Fury" and "Alien Lockout.")
On How a Director Prepares:
"I'm very busily storyboarding the entire film right now. I've already boarded all of the FX scenes. So far I've drawn over 350 drawings, and I've probably got another 300 to go. ....I read the scene several times, then think, "What would be the easiest way to shoot this?" Meaning, can this scene be covered in one shot? If not, then what other shots do I need to convey the sense of the scene?"
"With most higher-budget feature films, where you have between 45-100 days of shooting, you can literally cover the shit out of a scene, shooting it from a hundred different angles (like Spielberg does now), but I think that's far from the best way to shoot a scene. In TV, where a big part of the director's job is to be the expediter, it's very important to have figured out the simplest way to shoot the scene, which frequently gives the actors the most freedom, and gives you the most freshness and spontaneity. If you keep shooting a scene over and over from different angles, you will assuredly kill the energy of the scene. So, shooting simply is actually a very good thing, I think."
"It will be a mixture of CGI and practical FX, but mainly CGI. There really isn't any other decent way to go. Guys in suits always look like crap, and CGI will actually work better for this than stop-motion would have. The design for the aliens is going quite well, and I think they should be cool."
On Lighting:
"I've got a very experienced DP, David Worth, who shot two films for Clint Eastwood ("Every Which Way But Loose" and "Bronco Billy") among many other films and sounds like he really knows what he's doing, so I'll leave the lighting to him. There will certainly be a few scenes where less will not be more, more will be more."
On Rehearsing:
"I like rehearsal, but I won't get any on this. Generally there is no rehearsal in TV, the schedule is too fast and the actors don't arrive until it's time to shoot."
On Pre-Production for the Sci-Fi Channel:
"SciFi doesn't actually produce many of their films, they sub-contract them out, as they've done in this case. There are no rules for prep, and I don't think any of these people have ever seen a director storyboard a film before. The last director they worked with, who apparently didn't do a very good job, didn't even make a shot list, which wouldn't have been tolerated on Herc or Xena. Most directors do a shot list, they don't bother to storyboard. The contract makes absolutely no reference to how I will direct the film, it's just the deal I've made. I don't even know who I'll be getting to play all of the secondary roles, let alone the creatures, and the practical effects guys are too busy building the full-size alien to make me little ones."
On Preparing For An Overseas Shoot:
"I do all the prep work that is humanly possible for me to do, like in this case I storyboarded the entire film -- every single shot. Now I have a solid plan for every scene, I know which effects are CGI and which are practical, and which are both, and I have a very specific, strong sense of what's needed in every scene. I then got my storyboards to everybody in the crew (that's been hired) about a month ago, so nobody can pretend they don't know what I want. If I know for a fact that I am more prepared than anyone else, and I have a visual schematic that can be understood in any language, I'm ready. And if I'm ready, then I can't get too frazzled. Besides, most of the department heads are American."
"The camera equipment comes in from Rome. Most of the department heads are American, like the Executive producer, the writer/director, the line producer, the production designer, the 2nd unit director, the 1st AD, and everyone else will be hired there."
"We are supposed to begin pre-production in Bulgaria in two weeks, then start shooting three weeks later, like May 9.....Creative Light, who are my sales agents, set up the deal, but are not actively producing."
On Casting:
"Bruce will be playing the lead, the astronaut doctor who leads the slaves to freedom. I've offered the second-lead astronaut to Lucy Lawless, but she hasn't said yes or no yet. I've suggested a number of older actors for the president, like William Shatner or Tony Curtis, but there's no word on that yet. Sci-Fi hasn't made any casting suggestions."
"I've offered up many names to potentially play the former president, such as Tony Curtis, William Shatner, Hal Holbrook, and James Whitmore, among others, but it's entirely up to the executive producer. The DP is part of the executive producer's regular crew -- as is the line producer, the production designer, and the editor -- and he's already shot four films in Bulgaria, so he clearly knows the ropes there."
On Budget Issues:
"They've budgeted eighteen days to shoot the film. If I bring it in in eighteen days, without going into overtime very much, it will be on budget. The line producer and a the 1st assistant director's main jobs are to make sure we stay on time and on budget. This is a non-DGA shoot, so I had to make my own directing deal, and the script is yet a whole different deal."
Audio Commentary with Actor Bruce Campbell and Writer/Director Josh Becker.
Behind-The-Scenes Gallery
Storyboard Gallery
Bruce Campbell Bio
Cross-Promo Trailers: The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Man With The Screaming Brain, Dead & Breakfast Lightning Bug 
Alien Apocalypse - 2.3
Battlestar Galactica - 2.2
Stargate Atlantis - 2.2
Target Earth - 1.2
Army of Darkness 1.2
Terminal Invasion 1.1
Ripley's 1.0
Indy and the Last Crusade 1.0
Primal Force 1.0
Path of Destruction (9/19/05 - 9/25/05 ) - 1.9
Dracula 3000 (9/12/05 - 9/18/05) - 1.7
Bloodsuckers - (7/25/05 - 7/31/05) - 1.7
The Fallen Ones - (5/9/05 - 5/15/05) - 1.7
Manticore (11/21/05 - 11/27/05) - 1.6
Cerberus (10/24/05 - 10/30/05) - 1.6
Maximum Velocity (9/27/04 - 10/3/04) - 1.6
Tidal Wave (8/1/05 - 8/7/05) - 1.5
Attack of the Sabretooth (7/4/05 - 7/10/05) - 1.5
Locusts: 8th Plague (11/7/05 - 11/13/05 ) - 1.4
Earthquake: Nature Unleashed (5/2/05 - 5/8/05) - 1.4
Anonymous Rex (11/29/04 - 12/5/04) - 1.4
Alien Express (8/8/05 - 8/14/05) - 1.3
All Souls Day (6/6/05 - 6/12/05) - 1.3
Return of the Living Dead, Pt. 5: Rave 2 Grave (10/10/05 - 10/16/05 ) - 1.3
Tornado! (8/1/05 - 8/7/05) - 1.1 {technically only a premiere on Sci-Fi, but marketed w/ Bruce's name as if it were new!}
Return of the Living Dead, Pt. 4: Necropolis (10/10/05 - 10/16/05 ) - 1.1
Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy (6/20/05 - 6/26/05) - 0.9
Man w/ the Screaming Brain (9/5/05 - 9/11/05) - presumably a little less than 0.9
Army of Darkness - 1.1
King Cobra - 1.1
Dragonheart - 1.1
Dragon Storm - 1.1
The 13th Warrior - 1.0
Dragon Fighter - 1.0
The Bone Snatcher - 0.9
Stargate SG-1 - 0.9
Ripley's Believe It Or Not - 0.9
(L-R)Jonas Talkington (aka "scumbag") Renee, Michael Cory Davis, Bruce
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Josh Becker baring it all for his art. Screengrabs by Nittany Lioness.
Michael Cory Davis
Peter Jason
