Slither

[FillionRules]

One of Troma's greatest success stories that of James Gunn, the plucky kid from Heartland USA who came to New York City and arriving on Troma's doorstep with nothing more than a dream. A dream to be a filmmaker. To make his own d**n movie. And on March 9, 2005, that dream came true, as James began production on his directorial debut, the sci-fi/horror comedy Slither, in Vancouver, British Columbia.



Reflecting the high opinion James Gunn has for his former mentor and friend, Lloyd was cast a sad drunk. Starring in the scenes with Kaufman are Greg Henry (Payback, Star Trek: Insurrection) and Nathan Fillion ("Firefly" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). Wearing a Troma Toxic Avenger "I Love the Monster Hero " T-shirt, Gunn made a brief speech on the Slither set to cast and crew, graciously crediting Kaufman with starting Gunn's movie career. "I owe my career to Lloyd Kaufman," stated Gunn. Sustained applause occured.


Plot Outline: A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters.


Credited cast:
Nathan Fillion .... Bill Pardy
Elizabeth Banks .... Starla Grant
Michael Rooker .... Grant Grant
Gregg Henry .... Jack MacReady
Tania Saulnier .... Kylie Strutemyer
Beverley Breuer .... Jo-Anne
Michael Cromien
Jenna Fischer .... Sherry
Lorena Gale .... Janene
Dustin Milligan .... Tad a.k.a. Drawing Boy

[FillionRules]

Nathan Fillion - ’Slither’ Movie - Chud.com On The Set Report

I am psyched about James Gunn’s directorial debut, Slither. It’s supposed to be a body horror film the likes of which we haven’t seen in about a decade or more. And word on the street is that the script is pretty damn good as well.

Filming on the picture has begun in the Great White North, and Troma honcho Lloyd Kaufman headed there for a cameo role. Gunn, who you probably know best for his work on Scooby Doo and the remake of Dawn of the Dead, got his start with Troma, on Tromeo and Juliet. Making a brief speech to the cast and crew, Gunn said, "I owe my career to Lloyd Kaufman."

Among the cast is CHUD.com fave Nathan Fillion, star of the upcoming Serenity movie (see, I didn’t say anything bad about it. Now whatcha gonna whine about, Whedonesque?) and one time evil priest Caleb on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He may be drawing on some of his Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place experience as well.

Lloyd came home with some snaps from the set, which I believe are the first - and the first especially to have Fillion in costume (that’s him in sherriff garb above, with a Troma tee-d Gunn). Head over to Troma’s site for the rest of the details, including Lloyd explaining how Scooby Doo wasn’t a big career leap for Gunn after Tromeo and Juliet.

[FillionRules]

Theres an interview with director of "slither" James gunn. You can find it here -
www.hollywoodnorthreport.com/article.php?Article=1015

[FillionRules]

The Rise Of Nathan Fillion - Serenity star signs for Slither
From Empireonline.co.uk - 2005-02-1st

In keeping with this week’s ‘ones to watch’ theme (which started yesterday with The Return of Virginia Madsen, in case you haven’t been paying attention), today we bring you news on another actor bound for greatness: Nathan Fillion. Coming off the back of Serenity, Fillion will next turned his hand to horror for James’ Gunn’s Slither.

Sci-philes among you will know Fillion as prickly cargo ship captain Malcolm Reynolds in Joss Whedon’s sorely missed Firefly series, a few more will recognise him as the maniacal preacher who put Xander’s eye out in the final series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but there’s more to Fillion than small screen success. While his previous appearances in cinemas have been forgettable (If you blinked at any point then chances are you missed his appearance in Saving Private Ryan, and if you exercise any judgement at all then you’ll have skirted his clerical turn in Dracula 2001 as well), the impending Firefly movie, Serenity, is should see his fortunes change.

Reprising the role of the smart-talking, six-shooting Reynolds, Fillion takes centre stage in Whedon’s film (due in cinemas this September) and early word is very good indeed. The series was one of the most interesting, original and downright enjoyable sci-fi shows to air in a decade, so while we still mourn its cancellation, the emergence of a feature film from the ashes of re-run oblivion is very welcome indeed.

Until Serenity hits though (and hit it will, mark our words), Fillion is keeping his irons in the fire with Slither. A sci-fi horror co-starring Michael Rooker and Adaptation’s Rheagan Banks, the film tells of an alien plague that spreads across a small American town. Residents (most notably Rooker) go on a killing rampage as a result and its falls to Fillion to put it all to rights.

What’s that you say? Straight to video? Don’t count on it. Remember, it’s Gunn who brought us the script for last year’s Dawn of the Dead remake, so the man certainly knows what he’s doing. Of course, he’s also responsible for the Scooby Doo screenplays, but let’s not dwell on that, shall we?

[FillionRules]

Nathan Fillion - ’Slither’ Movie - Fangoriatv.com On The Set Report
From Fangoriatv.com - 2005-04-21st







A few months back, my long-time friend Lloyd Kaufman from Troma told me James Gunn was starting to shoot a new horror film called "Slither" for Universal Pictures. 10 years ago, James wrote and co-directed a film I was in called "Tromeo and Juliet" with Lloyd. Ironically, I had just reestablished contact with Gunn because we’ve been tracking down folks for T&J’s 10 year anniversary edition DVD release. When I heard James was working on a horror movie in my hometown of Vancouver it seemed like the dream set visit for Fangoria TV! I emailed Gunn and he was all for it.

So my journey began with me working through all the channels necessary in order to get on a Universal Pictures film set. We were coming in with HDV cameras not just innocuous notepads. You see, it’s one thing to show up and write about the set experience, but it’s another thing for a film company to trust you with shooting actual footage of what they’re filming. Thanks to James, we had full access. It was especially amazing because the days we shot on the set, they were rehearsing and filming the big finale with all the monsters and FX makeup. And apparently, all the other media were coming the following week and they weren’t even going to be allowed to shoot their own still pictures! All the folks along the way were very kind and generous. Dan West and the people at Universal, especially Todd Zeller, made the whole trip a wonderful experience.

First let me say that when I heard the name "Slither," I assumed it was probably going to be a giant snake movie. Not the case. "Slither" is a story about a man who loves a woman, becomes a monster, but continues to love the woman. OK, it’s slightly more complicated than that, but that’s the heart of this film. There’s a definite sadness to it. Gunn, whose favorite filmmaker is the Canadian horror helmer David Cronenberg, is creating a real, 3 dimensional, character-driven, monster movie, reminiscent of Universal’s classics. My cohort, cameraman Ralph Pitre, and I witnessed the grand finale scene being shot, about which, for now, we have been sworn to secrecy. This was very important to James, and he made it a condition of our full access to him and the set. Our shocking footage of the making of this movie will ultimately be shown on Fangoria TV. In the meantime, I can tell you this...

We arrived on the set of "Slither" on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. Call time was 1pm. They had finished filming all of their exteriors for the movie at this point and the remaining scenes were being shot on two huge sound stages. When we arrived, we made our way through dozens of crew members running around like organized ants, creating the ultimate movie set ’home’ for the creature. There was easily over a hundred crew people working furiously. One of the first things Ralph and I discovered was that the cast and crew were absolutely thrilled to be there. James had said that the most important element to him was that everyone from the lead actor to the catering folks had to be very positive, hardworking and creative on set. There is no doubt in my mind that he succeeded. By the time we began our visit it was near the end of the film shoot, and while everyone was exhausted, they were all still completely stoked to be there. They all believed in the project and they all deeply believed in James.

A couple of hours into our first day, Ralph and I were shooting some great visuals of the set, including the monster being created, when all of a sudden the lights went out. People began singing Happy Birthday to lead actor Michael Rooker. While Ralph turned on his camera light to shoot it, James asked one of his assistants to turn on some lights so Rooker could see. That’s when James was informed that there was actually a blackout and the lights weren’t intentionally turned down. Thank God for Ralph’s camera light! Within a few minutes the house lights came back on and hundreds of sighs where released simultaneously. Once the cake was cut and Rooker’s 50th birthday was officially rung in, James rounded up the troops for a run-through of the big finale scene. With Rooker, Elizabeth Banks and Nathan Fillion on set, Gunn began to explain the scene. But he just didn’t verbally walk them through the climax, he vibrantly acted out every part with the infectious enthusiasm of Dr.Frankenstein bringing his monster to life. When he finished, the entire room erupted with applause. I looked at Ralph and was thrilled we got the entire sequence on tape. We covered the rest of the day’s filming including the 2nd unit’s scenes with glee, knowing we captured the essence of our subject perfectly.

Our second day turned out to be one of the most foreboding days on the "Slither" set. We arrived by 1pm and it was pouring rain. The first thing I shot with my HDV camera may have been an indication of how challenging the day was going to be. There was a large room built for some of the 2nd unit scenes and the crew had been instructed to strike it. They went through the entire painstaking process of dismantling this huge structure when a call came in from a ’higher up’ that it was still going to be needed for the day. So up it went from scratch. The carpenters never complained, just poured themselves more coffee, ate doughnuts and started rebuilding. Today’s shot list focused on Michael Rooker and his ’monster.’ By 5pm the crew, art department and make-up effects were ready to shoot. It was a very important day and you could feel it in the air. James was kind enough to give us about a half an hour for an on-camera interview before beginning his daunting night of shooting.

Afterwards, James walked onto the set and stood there looking at the image that was going to be the big closer for his film. He was silent. He sat down. He stood up. He closed his eyes. He shook his head no. Everyone, sans the special effects make-up team, was asked to leave the set by the assistant director. During the break the caterers could feel the tension, which was as thick as soup, and kept everyone busy by bringing out snacks and grilled cheese sandwiches. You would think on a multi-million dollar set, folks would indulge in the more gourmet aspects of the caterer’s offerings but everyone started grabbing the grilled cheese sandwiches like they were children all over again. So much so, that the caterers were getting nervous and halted the flow of grilled cheese. They needed at least a dozen of the sacred sandwiches to make it to the ’front lines.’ Luckily, Ralph and I had secured our portions before they were whisked away to the ’above the line’ people. FYI, ’above the line’ people includes the director, DP, lead actors, top producers and the studio executives. Pretty much everyone else is considered ’below the line.’ On this production the DP even had his own cameraman. I had never witnessed a movie being made where the DP never actually shot anything, just instructed the cameraman what to shoot. Ralph and I waited, along with everyone else, till 8pm to re-enter. It turned out James had not initially been pleased with the monster but by the end of the 3 hour overhaul, he had transformed it into what he had envisioned. I must say it was worth the wait. The monster was spectacular!

Ralph and I shot for a few more hours till we had enough footage to create an amazing ’making of’ feature on "Slither" for Fangoria TV. Just before we wrapped it up, while I was shooting James, he had been informed that some of the initial artwork for the movie had been posted on the internet without his or Universal’s authority. He immediately started pacing and making calls on his cell phone trying to correct the situation. James felt the artwork didn’t send the right message for what the film is about and that upset him. I can say, after seeing the artwork myself, that he is completely right. This movie will have so many layers and nuances to it. Like a Cronenberg flick, it will be so much more than just a horror movie. Fear not, however; from what I’ve seen, there will also be so many bloody, shocking and flesh-rotted scenes that even the most jaded horror fan will be wildly entertained!

[FillionRules]

according to UHM the release date for Slither is Halloween 2005. i didnt think we would see it this year, but its awsome if we will.

source- www.upcominghorrormovies.com/movies/slither.php

Darren

[FillionRules]

Ok, scrap that last bit.

according to the talented mr Gunn Slither should have its theatrical release in the States by Universal in early '06.

side note.. all hail the great universal how we love them... MORE THAN FOX ;D

Darren

[kispexi2]

>side note.. all hail the great universal how we love them... MORE THAN FOX ;D<

Damn straight.

[kewlhippiechick]

Here's a link to a pal's blog.
Um. One of the creatures looks like something from Blade.
It's kind of gross. Nathan however is still
adorable.

www.livejournal.com/community/fillion_daily/17109.html?#cutid1

[river]

Nice pix, thanks for the link!

[kewlhippiechick]

You are most welcome!
Here's a link over to iFilm where you can take a little look at the 2 minute long trailer.

www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2687934

Cheers!

[river]

Oh no, it's not working for me

[kewlhippiechick]

river said:

Oh no, it's not working for me

I just clicked the link and it worked for me. Is it loading at all for you? If it is, click on the green 'watch' tab that lies just next to a small heading that reads: IFILM Exclusive: Trailer - Mature.
Lemme know if you can view it.

[river]

It's taking forever to load and it doesn't seem to work at all

[kewlhippiechick]

Well, poo.
I'm sorry hun. I'll see if I can find it on a different website.