Exclusives
TV Veteran Directs CW Zombie Pilot ‘Awakening’
“Walking Dead” watch out! Bloody Disgusting got the exclusive drop that David Von Ancken will helm the pilot episode of the CW’s “Awakening”, a new zombie series shooting this March in Toronto.
Bill Laurin and Glenn Davis’ hourlong spec centers on two combative sisters who come of age amid the beginning of a zombie uprising. Word has it that the series follows thousands of zombies living “normal lives” among the living (also known as the “pre-dead”). The two worlds collide and cause war between the living and the dead.
Ancken has directed episodes of “Californication,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “Heroes,” “The Shield,” “OZ,” and “Memphis Beat”, along with the TV movie “Hell on Wheels”. Quite impressive, no?
Out today in select theaters and on digital platforms is heartfelt and playful documentary Mockbuster, which sees a director cold call a studio and ask to helm a lost-world dinosaur epic.
Inexplicably, they say yes.
Our exclusive clip below highlights both the comedic nature of this bizarre scenario as well as the pressures of shooting dino feature The Land That Time Forgot in a mere six days, with no real feature experience.
A dino attack scene causes friction on set in this scene.
In the documentary, “A struggling filmmaker’s opportunity collides with chaos and compromise when Sharknado’s notorious studio, The Asylum, invites him to direct a ‘mockbuster.’ With six days, a micro budget, and mounting pressure, Mockbuster is a comedic, behind-the-scenes documentary exploring the balance between low-budget filmmaking and creative ambition.”
More than just an inside look at filmmaking via low-budget film studio The Asylum, it doubles as one man’s pursuit of his dreams to charming, humorous effect.
“Mockbuster is a documentary about my own journey, but it’s also a love letter to one of the last grindhouses still functioning in Hollywood. We get to meet the characters and creators of some of the most infamous (and most hated) B-movies of the last few decades. People who make movies purely for profit – no pretension, no artistry, just monsters, C-listers, and chaos. A film that both genre fans and cinephiles can enjoy. But Mockbuster isn’t just about filmmaking, it’s about losing sight of your dreams, and reclaiming them in your own twisted way,” Director Anthony Frith said in a statement.
From Executive Producer and famed documentarian David Farrier, Mockbuster opens in select theaters and on digital platforms beginning July 10.