Dave Foley presides over the "Monster Brawl"

Ladies and gentlemen, the monsters are coming. And they're wrestling.

Writer-director Jesse Thomas Cook has just wrapped photography on Monster Brawl, a wrestling based horror comedy that sets eight classic monsters in a wrestling tournament to the death. Joining Dave Foley in the cast are Art Hindle (The Brood), Lance Henriksen, Jimmy Hart and more. Here's the official word:

"Foresight Features has released the first still images from their upcoming film Monster Brawl, a monster wrestling horror-­‐comedy starring Dave Foley, Robert Maillet, Art Hindle, Jimmy Hart, Herb Dean, Kevin Nash, Lance Henriksen and eight classic monsters.

The film depicts a fight-­‐to-­‐the-­‐death wrestling tournament in an abandoned and cursed graveyard. Eight monsters are divided into two conferences: The Undead and The Creatures. The film centers on a main event television program called "Monster Brawl", hosted by play-­‐by-­‐play announcer Buzz Chambers (Dave Foley) and former champ and color commentator Sasquatch Sid (Art Hindle). The show is interlaced with dramatic back-­‐stories that reveal the origins of each monster.

Writer & Director Jesse Thomas Cook: "Fans will want to see monsters fighting, as the title implies. But it was important to inject a dark and powerful storyline behind each monster. After all, the monsters are the main characters, and we want to know where they came from, how they got involved in this tournament, and for some, how they came back to life. The fight sequences will speak for themselves. Especially the grisly final showdown. But at the end of the day, the movie is about the story behind each fighter -­‐ much like wrestling. Betrayals, heels, baby-­‐faces, pre-­‐fight trash talking. Otherwise it would be pure carnage. You can have all the wrestling moves you want, but without the story you have nothing. It's essentially good versus evil. I wanted to make a film that I would watch over and over again with friends when I was sixteen. Everyone can cheer for their favorite monster and experience the highs and lows that come with defeat and victory."

We've got the first block of stills so check out the gallery below for the Wolfman in action, along with shots of UFC ref Herb Dean, and wrestlers Kevin Nash and Jimmy Hart!

Original article HERE

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SounDude

Greenjah

"Moster brawl" is in Fangoria!!! Wooot!!!

Creature fans look like they’re in for a real treat with MONSTER BRAWL, a Canadian feature that wrapped shooting last month. Writer/director Jesse Thomas Cook sent along a few exclusive pics sporting some impressive makeup work and let us know a little about the movie, and we also got the goods on production company Foresight Features’ next flick, EXIT HUMANITY.

MONSTER BRAWL is a horror/comedy set in an abandoned, cursed graveyard, which hosts the televised wrestling TV show of the title. The contestants are assorted classic fiends divided into two leagues—The Undead and The Creatures—and include Frankenstein’s monster (Robert Maillet, 1st photo) and the Mummy (R.J. Skinner, 2nd photo). Seen in the 3rd photo are (left to right) Dave Foley as play-by-play announcer Buzz Chambers, Jason Brown as graveyard owner and prophetic doomsayer Cyril Haggard and THE BROOD’s Art Hindle as former champ and color commentator Sasquatch Sid Tucker. The matches are intercut with flashbacks to the fiends’ origins; the cast also includes real-life grappler Kevin Nash, manager Jimmy Hart and referee Herb Dean, along with Fango fave Lance Henriksen.

“Fans will want to see monsters fighting, as the title implies,” Cook (who wrote and directed Foresight’s first flick, the cannibalism shocker SCARCE, with John Geddes) tells us. “But it was important to inject a dark and powerful storyline behind each creature. After all, they’re the main characters, and we want to know where they came from, how they got involved in this tournament and, for some, how they came back to life. The fight sequences will speak for themselves—especially the grisly final showdown—but at the end of the day, the movie is about the story behind each fighter, much like in real wrestling. Betrayals, heels, babyfaces, pre-fight trash-talking—otherwise, it would be pure carnage. You can have all the moves you want, but without the story you have nothing. It’s essentially good vs. evil. I wanted to make a film that I would watch over and over again with friends when I was 16. Everyone can cheer for their favorite monster and experience the highs and lows that come with defeat and victory.”

Editing on MONSTER BRAWL, which sports makeup FX by The Gore Brothers (Jeff and Jason Derushie) will begin later this year—but first, Foresight will get rolling on EXIT HUMANITY, which Matt Wiele and Cook are producing with Geddes at the helm. Hindle’s in this one too, joined by genre stalwarts Bill Moseley and Dee Wallace, with shooting scheduled to begin October 18 north of Toronto. It’s an undead opus set during the Civil War, and Geddes says, “I wanted to bring something new to the zombie genre that I grew up watching. EXIT HUMANITY explores the powerful theme of survival amidst catastrophe.” Keep your eyes here for more on both BRAWL and EXIT in the near future!

Original article HERE

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SounDude

Greenjah

Zombie for a day

It's the Monster Brawl, the fight of the living dead.
In the Monster Brawl, it's every creature for him(it)self, and it is important to always make sure you're on the attack and you leave your opponent lifeless.
And always remember, watch out for the zombies.
In the tradition of Clark Kent who transformed from mild-mannered reporter into Superman, I had the opportunity to change into an alter ego last Thursday.
However, I wasn't a super-hero in blue spandex who could leap tall buildings in a single bound or would save damsels in distress.
No, I was a zombie, back from the dead and hungry for human flesh.
I was invited to participate in the filming of Monster Brawl, a moving being shot in Collingwood.
The film is being produced by Foresight Features - a production company led by Jesse Cook, John Geddes and Matt Wiele.
The trio has experience in the film world. In 2006, they filmed Scarce - a horror film about a group of guys who were on snowboarding trip before getting kidnapped by cannibals in the woods.
The film was released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment - one of the top distributors in the horror genre. They also sold international distribution rights and the film is shown on Super Channel - a national digital channel.
Cook was the writer and director of Monster Brawl. He said the film is a horror-comedy, and is about a pay-per-view event that sees eight monsters battle to the death for the championship.
"I just wanted to do something fun. It's a love letter to monsters and to horror films. I wanted to combine my love of comedy, horror and my love of monsters and incorporate the wrestling and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) world into it."
The monsters include Frankenstein, Werewolf, Mummy, Zombieman, Witch, Vampire, Swamp Gut and Cyclops.
The film has a unique cast, combining veteran actors and professional wrestlers.
The most seasoned actors are Dave Foley and Art Hindle - who play the announcing team of Buzz Chambers and Sasquatch Sid.
Local professional wrestlers Rico Montana, PJ Tyler, Kelly Couture and RJ City play Zombieman, Witch, Vampire, Mummy and Werewolf.
Wrestling manager Jimmy "The Mouth of the South" Hart plays himself, veteran wrestler Kevin Nash plays Colonel Crookshank - manager of the Zombieman, while Robert Maillet plays Frankenstein.
When I was on set, Montana, Nash and Maillet were shooting their scenes.
Maillet is a former professional wrestler who stands six-foot-eleven. Since wrapping up his professional wrestling career, he has had some success in film - starring in 300 and Sherlock Holmes.
Maillet is the complete opposite of the character that he plays. When in make-up, he is scary and frightening, but in real-life, he is a soft-spoken man from New Brunswick.
He said he enjoyed the concept of the film because of the mix of genres. He says there are a lot of similarities between acting and wrestling.
"The ultimate similarity is trying to sell a story," he said. "I've got very comfortable on set after being in the wrestling world. You've got cameras, lighting."
Nash also stands about seven-feet tall and weighs well over 300 pounds - an impressive physical specimen. He was one of the most successful wrestlers in the 1990s.
Nash is a little more outgoing than Maillett.
Nash has also been in films, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Longest Yard and The Punisher.
He said growing up, he was a big fan of monsters, and feels this film will have a wide appeal. Nash said he likes the character of the colonel.
"He's just an SOB. He's stolen a top-secret military weapon and he's going to use it to enter this monster brawl. He's not a nice guy," he said. "People who like horror films are going to really like it. People who like wrestling are going to really like it."
As a big wrestling fan, it was a thrill to talk to Nash. He was more than happy to talk about his history in wrestling and share stories of his days on the road.
I arrived at noon wearing an old beige shirt, a pair of grey slacks with a rip in the knee and a pair of brown shoes that were torn at the seam.
I had no idea what I would be doing.
To be honest, I wasn't sure how it was going to go. The only experience I had on a movie set was when the film The Long Kiss Goodnight was filmed in Collingwood in 1997.
I was one of hundreds of Collingwood kids who got paid $500-$1,000 to stand in the cold and waive at a parade.
This time around, I was still going to be a face in the crowd - albeit an uglier face and a smaller crowd. I was one of seven zombies in the film, the others included Gord Young, Shelley Nobes, Cindy and Susie Crossley and Kevin Doner.
Olivia Sementsova outfitted me for my costume, which included a sweater vest and a tie.
After a few hours on set, it was time for my turn in the make-up chair. The Brothers Gore - Jay and Jeff DeRushie - were hired to do the make-up.
These guys do some impressive work.
Jeff had me in the chair first and put a prosthetic mask on me with glue. The mask had the basic outline of my zombie look, but it would be Shaun Hunter who would add to it later on.
He made me look like a burn victim, complete with red scars and boils. Hunter was really excited at the opportunity to create puss that was seeping from one of my boils.
The most difficult thing to get used to was seeing out of one eye. The zombie I played had one eye burned out. But after a while, I got used to it.
Hunter told me he has been working in the industry full-time since November, saying he prefers doing horror films because that's what he grew up watching. However, he just enjoys being a part of the film and doing special effects.
The filming took longer than expected but that was fine with me. I got a chance to see how the magic happens.
The set was amazing. The scenes were filmed in an old warehouse but it had been transformed to look like an arena in a graveyard, complete with crypts, headstones and smoke.
Collingwood resident Jason Brown, who is a friend of mine, was the one who had the biggest hand in designing and building the sets. In a lot of ways, I think he is the heart and soul of the film.
In addition to a lot of behind the scenes work he did, he also plays Swampgut and Cyclops.
However, hearing him talk about the film, it's easy to see he has a passion for it.
The biggest scenes being filmed were the in-ring competition. They would film a wide shot of the actions - doing multiple takes from different camera angles. They would then film close-ups of the action.
Cook was the director, and had the vision for the film. However, it was cinematographer Brendan Uegama's job to make certain everything was shot well.
In some cases, it took up to seven takes to get it right and he worked with the cameramen to make sure the angles were correct.
The most interesting part of the filming was watching the playback on the monitor and seeing how it will look on screen.
There was certainly an upbeat atmosphere on set, at least among the zombies. We were all just happy to be there. (And you thought Zombies were a dour lot!)
Even the cast and crew were in a good mood, despite the long day. Some of them would wind up being on set for close to 20 hours.
Cook said about 50 per cent of the crew are locals while the rest are from other parts of the country. He said it was important to find people with passion for the film.
It was about 1 a.m., when it came time for the zombies to shoot their scenes. There were four scenes shot and I was in two of them.
The zombies actually play a really important role in the film, which surprised me as I thought we would just play extras in the background. We didn't have any speaking roles - except for moaning.
Because we played an important role to the plot, I can't reveal exact details.
I will say I was told by one of the crew members that I did a good job, which I was pleased to hear because I was worried about embarrassing myself, as I am not the greatest actor in the world.
Doner probably did the best job as a zombie. He had the walk down to a science.
By the time the day was done and my make-up was off, it was about 3 a.m.
I then gave Nash and Montana a ride to their hotel as I was heading in that direction. Have you ever tried to fit a seven-foot monster in a 2000 Ford Focus Wagon? It's quite amusing. His knees reached my dashboard.
It was quite the experience being a zombie for a day and one I will not soon forget.

Reposted by Greenjah

Original article HERE

Filmmakers eye area for Monster Brawl.

Some of the area's most beautiful natural attractions, including Inglis Falls, could be taken over by blood, gore and death this spring and summer.

A production company has picked the area to film some scenes for their upcoming horror films.

Foresight Features, based in Collingwood, plans to shoot 10 films over the next five years, with Simcoe and Grey counties as the backdrop for much of their work.

Jesse Cook, the writer and director of the production company's upcoming film, Monster Brawl, said he hopes to use Inglis Falls for a film to be shot this summer and possibly for Monster Brawl in the spring.

"We are actually shooting 10 films in the local area, two this year," said Cook. "The first one, called Monster Brawl, will be gearing up in May."

Monster Brawl will be a horror comedy mockumentary about a monster fighting tournament including classic monsters such as Frankenstein, Dracula, the mummy and the zombie.

Canadian actor Art Hindle has signed with Foresight for Monster Brawl. Hindle is perhaps best know for his role in the movie Porky's, but has also appeared in other movies and television shows, including Dallas, Beverly Hills 90210 and Murder She Wrote.

"The bread and butter for the genre stuff is to enlist household names," said John Geddes, another writer, director and producer with Foresight.

The second film of 2010 will be shot sometime over the summer and will be a zombie film in the wilderness.

"We will be doing a good percentage of the shooting in and around the Grey County area," said Cook. "We want to use some of the stunning landscapes Grey County has to offer. Inglis Falls is one of the areas we are looking at."

Cook said there is a chance he could use the Inglis Falls area for scenes for Monster Brawl as well.

Cook said they are still raising the money needed to produce their films this year. So far they are about halfway to the $600,000 needed for the two films. They sell $5,000 units to individual investors.

"We can break even on a film in Canada just based on our broadcast deal, our DVD deal and our tax credit," said Cook.

Investors also get perks such as coming to the set, getting their names in the credits and invitations to the premiers and parties.

Geddes said they would also like to tap the local area for extra actors and crew positions such as production assistants.

Cook and Geddes, who are both Collingwood natives, said Foresight Features has been in the works for about a year, following up on the success they had with their first film, Scarce, which was taken to the Cannes Film Festival in France where it was sold to over a dozen territories. Scarce also appeared on the Super Channel.

Geddes and Cook began making short films together in 2004 and went to Los Angeles trying to raise money for a feature, but nothing materialized so they returned to the area to try to ply their trade locally. They managed to raise about $250,000 mostly from the Collingwood and The Blue Mountains area for Scarce, which was shot in the winter of 2007 at Metcalfe Rock in the Blue Mountains.

"We are hoping theatrical. We are hoping we can get the next indy hit and bring some press up to the area and maybe develop a local film festival or something like that," said Cook.

Geddes said the idea is to set up a studio in Collingwood and shoot all their films in the area, where it is a lot cheaper to produce movies, both logistically for the duo and because the Canadian government provides a tax credit for doing work outside of Toronto.

"We have the four seasons here. We have water, we have mountains, we have woods, we have town settings so it is a good place to shoot," said Cook. "There is a lot of infrastructure up here and a lot of talent up here and it is our home."

Reposted by Greenjah

Original article HERE

"MOSTER BRAWL" IS FINISHED.

Ready for the Monster Brawl?

Dave Foley, Jesse Thomas Cook and Art Hindle on the set of Monster Brawl, which is being filmed in Collingwood, Ontario.

Dave Foley and Art Hindle have fond memories of the Georgian Triangle. The pair of actors were in Collingwood last week, filming scenes for the movie Monster Brawl, a picture being produced by local film company Foresight Features. The concept for the movie is a wrestling tournament between eight different monsters, including a Vampire, a witch, a mummy, Frankenstein, a zombie, a werewolf, Swamp Gut, and Cyclops.

Producer Jesse Cook called the movie a "fast-paced comedy."

Foley is best known for his work in television on CBC' s "Kids in the Hall" and the NBC series News Radio. Hindle is a veteran actor who has starred in a host of movies and television shows including Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Beverly Hills 90210, JAG, Due South, Porky's and Matlock.

Foley said he lived in Creemore for five years when he was a teenager. He said his family was always moving but the village felt like home.

"Creemore is the longest we lived in one place," he said.

In the film, Foley is Buzz Chapman, the play by play announcer for the tournament. Cook describes Foley's character as a "drunken Foster Hewitt."

Foley said he is combining the work of Hewitt and legendary sportscaster Howard Cosell for the role.

"I am using Howard Cosell's emphasis," he said. "When he has no control, where he puts the emphasis in a sentence."

Foley said he enjoyed the filming and likes the mixing of film genres.

"I love that with technology, it's possible for movies to be made like this," he said. "You don't have to have a big studio budget. It used to be, if you didn't have the money to make a movie, you couldn't."

Hindle's ties to Creemore go through his children. He said when his career was taking off and he'd have to spend a lot of time in Los Angeles, he wanted them to live in a place where they would be comfortable.

A friend sold him on Creemore.

"I bought a house in Creemore," he said. "My kids wanted to live out in the country."

Hindle said he's enjoyed coming back to the area, where he has spent a lot of time. He said he visited with friends he hasn't seen in years.

Hindle plays Foley's broadcast partner, a former wrestler named Sasquatch Sid.

"He's an ex-wrestler, he's seen it all," Hindle said. "He's a very colourful character."

Hindle praised the script, and is hopeful the producers of the film have success.

"This is a big step for the area," he said. "There is going to be a lot more films being made in the area."

Cook was part of the group who filmed the horror movie Scarce in 2007, which is currently being shown on Super Channel in Canada and is distributed on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment - one of the top companies in the horror film industry. He and partner John Geddes also visited the 2008 Cannes Film Festival to sell the film internationally.

Monster Brawl is the first two films Foresight Features will be making in 2010.

The movie also stars Robert Maillet - who has starred in 300 and Sherlock Holmes, and professional wrestlers Kevin Nash and Jimmy "The Mouth of the South" Hart.

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Sincerely yours,
SounDude - Greenjah