Exclusives
Magnolia Pits ‘Splinter’ Against Molly Hartley?
We learned that Magnolia Pictures is planning to release Toby Wilkins’ Splinter in limited theaters on October 31st of this year. This would pit the creature feature up against Freestyle Releasing’s The Haunting of Molly Hartley. SPLINTER is set in and around a quiet gas station on a lonely freeway, where a terrifying virus-like monster inhabits the bodies of its victims and drives them with a relentless lust for blood. Wilkins’ CGI skills will be put to use with the virus monster in the film, which twists the bodies of its prey into the shapes best suited to carry out its unrelenting desire to infect more victims and kill again.
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.