Archive for the ‘Films’ Category
With director Omar Naim’s supernaturally-tinged feature Dead Awake opening in limited release this Friday, December 3rd (the flick is set to hit DVD and Blu-ray on March 29 of next year), this writer caught up today with one of the film’s principals, actress Amy Smart, who dished on the movie, as well as the possibility of a third in the Crank series, and her potential inclusion in a future horror project.
Known best as a comedic actress for her turns in the films Just Friends and Road Trip (among others) and to genre fans for her roles in The Butterfly Effect and Mirrors (as well the gonzo action flicks Crank and Crank: High Voltage, in which she portrayed the girlfriend of actor Jason Statham’s adrenalized hit-man ‘Chev Chelios’), Smart appears in Dead Awake as ‘Natalie’, the long-lost love of young funeral parlor employee ‘Dylan’ (actor Nick Stahl), a young man who works diligently to piece together the events which shattered his life ten years prior. Rounding out the cast of Dead Awake is actress Rose McGowan (Planet Terror, Scream) as the junkie ‘Charlie’, a character who befriends Dylan, and who sets in motion an altogether surprising series of events.
Penned by Johnny Harrington, Justin Urich and David Boivin, Naim’s New Films Cinema flick (the director previously helmed the 2004 Robin William’s thriller The Final Cut) proves to be a bit of a cipher, which is one of the things – according to Smart – that attracted her to the project.
“I feel that the movies which are now being made are hybrid movies,” stated the actress, whose real-life persona proved to be just as charming and witty as her on-screen demeanor. “They have supernatural elements. They’ve got romance, and they’ve got drama and they’ve got comedy. I feel like they are starting to mingle the genres. It’s hard to market a hybrid movie though, because it looks like a horror film (on the surface), but after reading the script and seeing the final cut (of Dead Awake), I knew that it wasn’t, and that it was a hybrid. I just love Omar as a filmmaker, and I think he is really talented, and I really wanted to work on this project. I thought the story was really interesting, and now that I’ve seen it, I’m really happy with the way it turned out, because it’s the kind of film where you are hanging on to the last moment wondering what’s real and what’s not real.”
As for what attracted her to her Dead Awake character of ‘Natalie’, a RN who leads an emotionally conflicted life, ”I really liked her,” stated Smart, “because she has this past with her ex-love, and it was such a deep love that I don’t think that she has ever been able to move on from him. She settled with a new guy, and sort of decided to settle in her life, and she isn’t completely happy. So in rekindling the relationship with her past love, it makes her see that she had settled. I liked the nuances of seeing her struggle with her present-day life situation, and wanting to break free from it. The fact that she is a nurse and isn’t a doctor (is also indicative) too, because she didn’t push forward towards her dreams. I liked that she is awakened.”
Commenting on the project, Smart stated of co-stars Stahl and McGowan, who at the time were already attached to Dead Awake (the film shot in Des Moines, Iowa for an estimated 3.5 million), “It was funny, because the first acting role I ever had was in a “MTV Rock The Vote” (spot), and it was a vignette about gun violence, and it was with Nick. We played a boyfriend and girlfriend in that (too).”
While Smart hadn’t worked with Stahl since (interestingly though, Smart appeared in Alexandre Aja’s 2008 horror film Mirrors, while Stahl took the lead in that film’s Vincent Garcia-directed sequel Mirrors 2 – a fact the actress was surprised to hear), she stated of Stahl (whose other genre flicks include Disturbing Behavior, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and the venerated series “Carnivale”), “We stayed friendly, but not super close, but I was so happy to work with him again. I think he is such a solid, great actor, and he just brings a lot of weight to whatever project he is working on.”
According to Smart, she too enjoyed her working relationship with Rose McGowan.
“She was really fun,” said the actress. “She’s funny and witty and sarcastic, and while we didn’t have that many scenes together in Dead Awake, we definitely spent a lot of time together in Des Moines, and I think she’s really talented. It was the type of character she’s never played before. She’s known as the gorgeous bomb-shell who can act, and in this film it was so outside of anything she’s played, and I think she did a great job. I know that she was definitely pushed out of her comfort zone, and what’s fun as an actor is to take risks at things that you think you may fail at, and to go for it, and to grow and to expand.”
As for what else Smart has been up to, she revealed, “I just finished a film earlier this month called Blood Brothers. It’s another hybrid, a family drama slash comedy slash action film. It’s with Ethan Embry (Vacancy, Freakylinks) and the WWE wrestler John Cena. It’s basically about these four siblings – three brothers and a sister – who come together for their father’s funeral, and who have all been estranged, and the father’s wish is to bring everyone back together, so the sister sort of facilitates that, and lies about what’s in the will to bring everyone back together. It’s a great dysfunctional family that then has this incredible challenge that they must overcome.” (Produced by WWE Studios and directed by Michael Pavone, Blood Brothers recently wrapped in Albuquerque, NM, and also stars Michael Rispoli and Boyd Holbrook).
We of course weren’t remiss in questioning Smart as to her character of ‘Eve Lydon’ in the Crank films, and as to whether she’d be interested in returning to the franchise.
“A while back I heard that it was a possibility,” hinted the actress. “The second one was so over the top. It was like, ‘Let’s try to top the first one!’ It was pure entertainment value. I’m actually slightly scared to see what they would write for a third, but I would be interested in returning. I had such a great time working on both of them, and I love Jason Statham, and we’ve become friends since, and I really like (Crank directors) Brian (Taylor) and Mark (Neveldine), so it would be fun to work with them again. I’m just a little bit wary of where they would want to take my character in the third one! I’m not sure where they could – possibly to the insane asylum!”
And while the actress’ current personal interest lies in returning to comedy, Smart hasn’t ruled out the horror genre.
“There’s actually this one film called Glimmer that I am supposed to shoot early next year,” she concluded, “and that’s more of a horror film. It’s a supernatural thriller, but it has much more of a horror element. It’s a very original idea, but I think they just maybe switched the director. The script is really good, so that’s a possibility coming down the pike.” (Dread posits that Glimmer may perhaps be the feature which Farmhouse director George Bessudo has been rumored as attached to).
“Life in Flight” will be released on DVD on Tuesday, November 30th! You can still pre-order the film at Amazon.com for $22.49.
Amy Smart has signed on to a new film titled “House of the Rising Sun”. The movie will be filming throughout the month of December in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
An unrelated production titled “House of the Rising Sun” is also crewing up to shoot locally from Nov. 30 to Dec. 21. It’ll be directed by East Grand Rapids native Brian Miller, who also helmed “Caught in the Crossfire.” “House” will star Amy Smart, Dominic Purcell, Dave Battista, Danny Trejo, and Craig Fairbrass.
The trailer for “Dead Awake” has been released – you can watch it above!
New Films says it has acquired the worldwide rights for “Dead Awake,” a movie starring Hollywood’s Rose McGowan, Amy Smart and Nick Stahl.
The film is described as “a seductive supernatural thriller” set against the backdrop of a “mysterious tragedy that shattered (the characters’) lives a decade ago and which sets them on a path to uncover the truth that lies between the living and the dead,” the movie’s producers said in a synopsis.
“Dead Awake” is set for release in U.S. theaters Dec. 3.
The overall deal was finalized by Ron Gell, New Films chief content officer, and producers Jason Price, Lucas Jarach and Anthony Gudas.
“‘Dead Awake’ director Omar Naim has delivered a compelling film with strong performances that caters brilliantly to the fantasy thriller audience,” Gell said in a statement Friday.
“The film is a gripping and visually stylistic thriller blurring the line between fantasy and reality that will leave audiences guessing until the very end,” Price and Jarach said.
Amy Smart has signed on to a new film called “Blood Brothers” that is currently filming in New Mexico.
WWE issued a press release today in conjunction with the governor’s office in New Mexico with full details on WWE Studios’s “Blood Brothers” movie starring John Cena.
As we reported yesterday, production has begun in Albuquerque, New Mexico on the fourth WWE movie starring John Cena, who plays one of three brothers forced to start a business together upon the death of their father.
Notable actors recruited for the movie include Ethan Embry and Boyd Holbrook as the other two brothers, Amy Smart as their sister, and Michael Rispoli as an “embittered entrepreneur” masterminding a kidnapping plot.
In an early alert to retailers First Look has announced plans to bring the 2011 Omar Naim directed film “Dylan’s Wake” (also known as “Dead Awake“) starring Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan, and Amy Smart to Blu-ray Disc on January 18th, 2011. Tech specs and bonus materials have yet to be announced. The title is already available for PRE-ORDER over at Amazon with a $22.49 price tag. Stay tuned for further details on this release.
The release date for “Columbus Circle” in the UK will be August 27, 2010! There is no word about a US release date – but lets hope that it sometime close to the UK date.
I will post more information about the release in the US and other countries as I find it. 
