Derek Mears

SXSW 2012: THE AGGRESSION SCALE Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 11th, 2012 at 7:50 pm

If the folks behind Funny or Die did an R-rated spoof of Home Alone, their parody would most likely bear a passing resemblance to Steven C. Miller‘s The Aggression Scale.  The home-invasion thriller isn’t owned by Chris Columbus’ 1990 family comedy, but when you make a blond pre-teen kid the defender of the home, the comparison is inevitable.  While a darker Home Alone with R-rated violence may seem like a promising prospect, The Aggression Scale seems stuck at “insane badass kid dishes out bloody vengeance.”  Although Miller opens his movie with a bravura opening sequence and manages to hold on to some semblance of tension, the thrills die down by giving Superboy all the power.

THE AGGRESSION SCALE Trailer and Images

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: February 12th, 2012 at 11:00 am

From director Steven C. Miller (Automaton Transfusion) comes The Aggression Scale, the story of a war between four heavily armed hitmen and two teenagers over $500,000 in cash. Though the action thriller is set to premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, Anchor Bay has preemptively picked up the rights. Screening as part of the Midnighter lineup, The Aggression Scale has been described as “A History of Violence with teens as the lead roles” and is “in the spirit of the 1980s canon.” Written by Ben Powell (Satanic), the film stars Ray Wise (RoboCop), Dana Ashbrook (Twin Peaks) and Derek Mears (Predators) in addition to an up-and-coming young cast. I wasn’t convinced to pay this film any attention until I watched the brutal trailer. Do yourself a favor and hit the jump to check it out.

VAMPIRE DIARIES Star Nina Dobrev to Play DEATHGAMES with Kellan Lutz and Samuel L. Jackson

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: May 25th, 2010 at 9:54 am

The Vampire Diaries cashed in on the undead teen craze in a big way with its debut season, and that kind of success is (at least in theory) a fantastic launching pad for young actors.  Star Nina Dobrev has selected one of her first post-Diaries roles in the rather cool-sounding Deathgames.  According to Heat Vision, the indie action flick centers on “a young man who is kidnapped and forced into the savage world of a modern gladiator arena, where men fight to the death for entertainment of the online masses.”

The “young man” in question is Twilight‘s Kellan Lutz; Dobrev will play his wife. Samuel L. Jackson, James Remar (Dexter), Derek Mears (Friday the 13^th), and Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) also star.  Jonah Loop will make his directorial debut on Deathgames after serving as visual effects supervisor on the likes of Collateral.

Derek Mears Talks PREDATORS, DEATH GAMES, and FRIDAY THE 13th Part 2 at the Premiere of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 28th, 2010 at 9:32 pm

Warner Bros. held the premiere of A Nightmare on Elm Street at the famous Chinese Theater in Hollywood last night.  While I haven’t covered a premiere in awhile, I decided to stand on the black carpet to try and land some interviews.  Thankfully, a lot of the cast and some of the filmmakers stopped to talk to me, and by tomorrow night I’ll have all of them online.

One of the first to stop was Derek Mears (resume here) and during our brief chat we talked about working for Platinum Dunes, what’s up with Friday the 13th Part 2, Comic-Con, Predators (he plays one in the upcoming film), and he told me he just signed onto Death Games alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Kellan Lutz.  Hit the jump to watch the interview:

New Images from PREDATORS and Dwayne Johnson’s FASTER

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 26th, 2010 at 8:29 am

Two new images have hit this net this morning.  One is from  director Nimród Antal’s Predators, and the other is Dwayne Johnson in CBS Films Faster.

As I’ve previously mentioned, I did set visits on both of these films and both look cool.  What’s great about Predators is 20th Century Fox gave producer Robert Rodriguez the creative freedom to make a cool movie and based on what I saw…he did just that.  And regarding Faster, it’s Johnson’s return to action as he plays a guy trying to get revenge on the people that killed his brother.  If you’ve been waiting to see Johnson fuck people up, you’ll be able to later this year.  Hit the jump to check out the new images:

Behind-the-Scenes Pictures from Nimród Antal’s PREDATORS

by Matt Currie    Posted: January 16th, 2010 at 3:31 pm

A batch of behind-the-scenes pics from Nimród Antal’s upcoming Predators has popped up on avpgalaxy.net.  A brief refresher: the Robert Rodriguez-produced film is a reboot of the cult sci-fi action series, which began with the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Predator.  It will center on a Blackwater-esque mercenary unit that’s hunted by a group of the warrior aliens…so basically, the original movie with more bad guys.

For the most part, the pictures are just shots of the cast and crew sitting around between takes and posing together for the camera. However, we do get a look at the sets, the new Predators, and a few of the actors in costume. I know some of you have been concerned about Adrien Brody playing a bad-ass commando; well, here’s your first chance to critique. I can tell you that while we don’t see any shots of him in action, he does totally manhandle some kind of wrapped sandwich. Hit the jump for the pictures.

Laurence Fishburne Joins Director Nimród Antal’s PREDATORS

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: December 17th, 2009 at 8:30 pm

If you’re a fan of Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) and the Predator franchise, I’m about to tell you some awesome news.  That’s because I’m in Austin right now, as I got to spend all day on the set of director Nimród Antal’s Predators movie – along with a number of other online journalists.  While I can’t tell you anything about what I saw or thought of the movie until my embargo lifts, I’m allowed to report Laurence Fishburne has just joined the cast and he’s playing a character named Noland.

While I would really like to tell you a lot more…since Predators doesn’t get released until next July, it’s going to be awhile before you can read my set report.  Saying that, here’s the synopsis that’s on IMDb:

A group of elite warriors are hunted by members of a merciless alien race known as Predators.

Predators stars Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Danny Trejo, Alice Braga, Derek Mears, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, and Louis Ozawa Changchien.  Predators is being produced by Robert Rodriguez.

FRIDAY THE 13th Killer Cut Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: June 16th, 2009 at 3:35 pm

I’m not going to lie, I think the Friday the 13th franchise pretty much sucks. I think that the fourth and sixth film have some good things about them, but Jason Vorhees the killer has very little personality, and often came off as a stuntman in a mask. The films work because you get exactly what you paid for: boobs and gore. On that level, I can’t really complain about the Friday franchise. They work on the level that they do. But I don’t understand being exceptionally loyal to them either. Though I can see how these films are more fun than the Saw movies, following both to me seems a bit silly, especially since quality comes off as an afterthought. Joseph Zito took it to the next level, and some of the directors tried harder than others, but it was a derivative franchise that owed a lot to both Halloween and Mario Bava.

And where I found the Platinum Dunes films lackluster until this point, I really enjoyed their take on Friday the 13th. With The Hitcher, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre they couldn’t compare to the originals (The Amityville Horror is a draw), but here they took everything that worked from the originals (boobs and gore) and then moved the story along at a quick enough clip. The film opens with a prolonged first act that establishes how Jason was born and his proficiency, and tells you everything you need to know: This is going to be slick exploitation that knows what it’s doing. More after the jump.

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