By Lauri Neff
NEW YORK (AP) --Eli Roth says one of the best things about his new movie “Aftershock” is that it creates a “real, new business model” that could help independent films hold their own against studio blockbusters.
Roth co-wrote, produced and stars in the horror film opening Friday about a group of people who are in a Chilean nightclub when a massive earthquake strikes, resulting in deadly chaos. It is inspired by real events that occurred after the South American country was hit by a magnitude 8.8 quake in 2010.
Roth has directed, produced and appeared in his share of big-budget films including “The Man with the Iron Fists,” “Inglourious Basterds” and his “Hostel” series, but in an interview Wednesday, he said he and co-writer/director Nicolas Lopez set out to make “Aftershock” in a different manner. Roth said they decided, “instead of doing a $40 million movie, let’s do this as a $2 million movie and see what we can do.”
They opted not to film in Hollywood but rather in Chile, where not many big movies are shot. “So they’re not thinking about how to do stuff. They’re figuring it out. They don’t know that you need 10 people to do this job, so two people do it,” Roth said.
“Aftershock” was filmed with inexpensive SLR cameras fitted with very good lenses. Roth said the result was footage that looks just like what you see in a “Spider-Man” movie and that audiences couldn’t tell the difference. “You just need to know how to light, you need to know how to shoot, but the future is here and you don’t need all the bells and whistles that Hollywood thinks they need,” he said.
Roth noted that even the biggest blockbusters are in theaters for only weeks before they’re released on video. “So instead of spending $40 million in advertising, hoping it makes 80 million,” ”Aftershock” is being released in theaters, iTunes and Video On Demand on the same day with minimal advertising, he said.
He predicted that if this “everywhere release” works with “Aftershock,” others will follow, allowing them to get their films out to a targeted audience without the backing or the budget of a big studio and still turning a profit.
Alec Baldwin Urges Judge To Stand By Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Case In “Rust” Shooting
Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Friday to stand by her decision to skuttle his trial and dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
State District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin halfway through a trial in July based on the withholding of evidence by police and prosecutors from the defense in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
The charge against Baldwin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be revived once any appeals of the decision are exhausted.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey recently asked the judge to reconsider, arguing that there were insufficient facts and that Baldwin's due process rights had not been violated.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on "Rust," was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
The case-ending evidence was ammunition that was brought into the sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers alleged that they "buried" it and filed a successful motion to dismiss the case.
In her decision to dismiss the Baldwin case, Marlowe Sommer described "egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct" by law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as false testimony about physical evidence by a witness during the trial.
Defense counsel says that prosecutors tried to establish a link... Read More