KAPA‘A — The head of a piranha with the body of an anaconda is loose on the island. A casting call for the latest film produced by Roger Corman was pulled together Monday evening for the film which starts rolling
KAPA‘A — The head of a piranha with the body of an anaconda is loose on the island.
A casting call for the latest film produced by Roger Corman was pulled together Monday evening for the film which starts rolling as early as today around various parts of the island, said Art Umezu, the Kaua‘i Film Commissioner.
This is the latest is a string of science fiction movies based on a Kaua‘i location, Umezu said, noting the final product will probably air on the SyFy Channel, although an anticipated date of release is not yet known.
“The crews should be here for at least a few weeks at different parts of the island,” Umezu said. “The last movie they filmed, ‘Supergator,’ was done at the Coco Palms in 2007.”
Prior to that, the crews utilized the Smith’s Tropical Gardens for “Dinocroc” in 2004.
Umezu said to date, Corman has produced about 400 films, and one of the first films he did, “She Gods of Shark Reef,” was done almost entirely at the Coco Palms resort back in the 1950s.
Umezu said the crews are anxious to take advantage of the good weather we’re currently enjoying to get as much done before another round of bad weather sets in.
“They are working to get all the permits in order, and want to start as early as (today), weather permitting,” Umezu said. “They plan to go full guns on Thursday and Friday.”
According to the AllMovie website, Corman saw an opportunity to make money and gain experience through low-budget films to feed the drive-in and neighborhood theater circuits, which had been abandoned by the major studios.
Online Internet Movie Data Base filmography credits Corman with 55 directed films and about 385 produced films from 1954 through 2008, “She Gods of Shark Reef” listed as a 1958 production.
Corman was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2005 New York City Horror Film Festival, the fourth recipient following George A. Romero, Tom Savini and Tobe Hooper.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Corman with an Academy Honorary Award during the inaugural Governors Awards in November 2009.
Jaye Youn of the Courtyard by Marriott at Coconut Beach where the casting call led by local casting director Angela Tillson took place, said once a date for the release is known, the Marriott might do a premiere event if the release is through television or DVD.
