Opening this weekend is Aftershock, a fictionalized disaster film loosely based on the 2010 Chilean earthquake, staring Eli Roth as Gringo, an American divorcée touring through Chile with his friends Ariel (Ariel Levy) and Pollo (Nicolas Martinez).  After meeting a trio of beautiful women (Andrea Osvart, Lorenza Izzo, and Natasha Yarovenko) the group heads out for a night of drunken debauchery, but when a devastating earthquake hits they must do whatever it takes to survive a night of recurring aftershocks, escaped convicts, and panicking civilians.  Directed by Nicolas Lopez, Aftershock takes a decidedly “genre” approach to the subject matter setting up death after bloody death and delivering on gruesome effects.  Aftershock is available in select theaters and on VOD May 10th.

At a recent press day for the film I sat down for a one on one interview with Lorenza Izzo.  We talked about her unique casting story, working with Eli and Lopez, working with practical effects, shooting The Green Inferno, and more.  Hit the jump to see what she had to say.

Eli Rothis one of those guys who seemingly never stops working.  Whether serving as director, producer, actor, or some combination thereof, he’s always got a bounty of projects on the table.  This year is no different and first up is The Last Exorcism 2, opening March 1^st, for which Roth returns as producer.  Part 2 continues where the first film left off, Louisiana farm girl Nell (Ashley Bell) is found alone in the woods with her family dead and no memory of what happened.  As she tries to build a new life for herself in New Orleans pieces of her past begin to resurface and she discovers that the demon inside her is in no hurry to let her go.

I recently landed an exclusive phone interview with Roth.  He talked about coming up with a new approach for the sequel, the difficulty of titling the sequel, and whether fans can expect to have their questions answered.  He also talked about getting back in the director’s chair with The Green Inferno, shooting in the Amazon, the status on Thanksgiving, stepping into television format with Hemlock Grove, and working with Ti West on The Sacrament.  Check out the full transcript after the jump.

Eli Roth has kept busy these past years with acting and producing roles, but his new film The Green Inferno will be his first feature directing gig since 2007′s Hostel: Part II.  Roth has released a brief synopsis for The Green Inferno on his Tumblr: “A group of student activists from New York City travel to the Amazon to protect a dying tribe, but crash in the jungle and are taken hostage by the very natives they saved.”  As you can see from the image, The Green Inferno looks like Roth’s spin on cannibal horror movies.  I didn’t care for Hostel, but maybe Roth’s new flick has eased up on the torture porn.

Hit the jump to check out the image.  The film stars Lorenza Izzo (Aftershock), Ariel Levy (Aftershock), Daryl Sabara (Spy Kids), and Kirby Bliss Blanton (Project X).  Click here for Steve’s interview at TIFF with Roth where he talks about The Green Inferno.

Steve walked the floor at the American Film Market (AFM) early this morning and managed to bring back some detailed synopses for the following films:

• Jane Got a Gun – A Western starring Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender
• Parkland – A drama about the JFK assassination starring Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Giamatti, and Jacki Weaver.
• The Green Inferno – The next directorial project from Eli Roth.
• A Walk Among the Tombstones – A crime thriller starring Liam Neeson.
• Agent: Century 21 – An action comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Benicio Del Toro.

Hit the jump to check out all the detailed synopses, which include production start dates.

Premiering at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival was the natural disaster thriller, Aftershock.  Co-written by star Eli Roth and director Nicolas Lopez, Aftershock centers on a group of young partygoers in Chile who find themselves surrounded by death and destruction when a violent earthquake brings the town down around them.  You can watch some footage here.  Also, Dimension just picked up the rights to Aftershock, so you can expect to see the film for yourself sometime next year.

Before the world premiere, I sat down with Roth and Lopez for an extended interview.  They talked about premiering at TIFF, how they ended up working together, the genesis of Aftershock and how the original idea was to make a sci-fi movie, being distributed by Dimension, and a lot more.  In addition, with Roth and Lopez involved in a number of other projects, I got updates on Clown, The Green Inferno, and RZA’s The Man With the Iron Fists which Roth called a “hip hop kung fu Avengers” and who did the soundtrack.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.