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|[[Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008 Asylum film)|Journey to the Center of the Earth]]<ref>{{cite web|title=cinema-suicide Review|url=http://www.cinema-suicide.com/2008/08/06/rotten-to-the-core-journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth/|date=|accessdate= 2009-02-06}}</ref>
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Revision as of 00:25, 12 February 2009

The Asylum
Company typeFilm/TV DVD Distribution
Founded1997
FounderDavid Michael Latt
David Rimawi
Headquarters
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
,
United States
OwnerPrivately held
DivisionsFaith Films
Websitewww.TheAsylum.cc

The Asylum is an American film studio and distributor which focuses on producing low-budget, usually direct-to-video productions. The studio is best known for producing titles which appear to capitalize on productions by major studios. These titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press.[1][2][3]

History

The Asylum was founded by David Michael Latt and David Rimawi in 1997.[1] The company focused on producing straight-to-video low-budget films, usually in the horror genre, but were unable to find a market due to competition from major studios, such as Lions Gate Entertainment.[1] In 2005, the company produced a low-budget adaptation of H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, which was released in the same year as Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the same material. Blockbuster Inc. ordered 100,000 copies of The Asylum's adaptation, a significantly larger order than any of the company's previous releases, resulting in Latt and Rimawi reconsidering their business model.[1]

The Asylum became known in 2007 when similarities between the distributor's titles and those of major studios were reported. For example, the film Transmorphers, bears a number of similarities to the film Transformers, which was released theatrically two days after the release of Transmorphers.[1][2] According to Latt, "I'm not trying to dupe anybody. I'm just trying to get my films watched. Other people do tie-ins all the time; they’re just better at being subtle about it. Another studio might make a giant robot movie that ties into the Transformers release and call it Robot Wars. We’ll call ours Transmorphers."[1] In 2008, 20th Century Fox threatened legal action against The Asylum over The Day the Earth Stopped, a film believed to capitalize on The Day the Earth Stood Still.[4]

Output

The studio's productions have been called B movies[1] and "mockbusters".[1][3] Latt prefers the term "tie-ins" to "mockbusters",[1] stating that The Asylum's productions, even those that capitalize on major releases, contain original stories.[1] Latt states that the studio plans its productions around the word of mouth of the financial prospects of upcoming films.[3] The studio's films are usually released on video shortly before the theatrical release of a major studio film with similar themes or storylines.[3]

The Asylum has also produced films with strong religious themes.[1] For example, The Apocalypse was initially developed as a straightforward disaster film in the style of Deep Impact, but Latt states that certain buyers wanted the company to develop a religious film.[1] As a result, the company consulted priests and rabbis in order to incorporate faith-based elements.[1] The division Faith Films was created in order to distribute titles with such themes.[1]

The Asylum productions sometimes feature more overt sexuality or graphic violence than their major studio counterparts, because The Asylum's releases are not in competition with films rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America.[3] Rolf Potts of The New York Times described Transmorphers as having "no recognizable actors, no merchandising tie-ins and a garbled sound mix. Also unlike Transformers, it has cheap special effects and a subplot involving lesbians."[1]

Films released by The Asylum have sometimes involved well-known figures. For example, the 2008 release Death Racers featured the hip hop group Insane Clown Posse and wrestler Scott "Raven" Levy in major roles.[5]

Major Hollywood Movies and Asylum Counterparts

Template:Standard table

! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Hollywood Release ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Asylum Release ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Year |-- |War of the Worlds |H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds[1] |2005 |-- |King Kong |King of the Lost World[1] |2005 |-- |The Mummy |Legion of the Dead[6] |2005 |-- |The Da Vinci Code |The Da Vinci Treasure[1][2][3] |2006 |- |Halloween |Halloween Night[7] |2006 |- |The Hills Have Eyes |Hillside Cannibals[8] |2006 |- |The Omen |666: The Child[9] |2006 |- |Pirates of the Caribbean |Pirates of Treasure Island[3] |2006 |- |Snakes on a Plane |Snakes on a Train[1][3] |2006 |- |When a Stranger Calls |When a Killer Calls[10] |2006 |- |Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem |AVH: Alien vs Hunter[1][2] |2007 |- |Transformers |Transmorphers[1][2] |2007 |- |The Invasion |Invasion of the Pod People[11] |2007 |- |I Am Legend |I Am Ωmega[3] |2007 |- |Universal Soldier |Universal Soldiers[12] |2007 |- |2012 |2012: Doomsday |2008 |- |Cloverfield |Monster[13] |2008 |- |10,000 BC |100 Million BC |2008 |- |The Day the Earth Stood Still |The Day the Earth Stopped[4] |2008 |- |Death Race |Death Racers[14] |2008 |- |The Fast and the Furious |Street Racer |2008 |- |Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull |Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls[3] |2008 |- |High School Musical |Sunday School Musical[15] |2008 |- |Journey to the Center of the Earth |Journey to the Center of the Earth[16] |2008 |- |The 40-Year-Old Virgin |18 Year Old Virgin |2009 |- |The Terminator series |The Terminators |2009 |- |Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen |Transmorphers 2 |2009 |}

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Potts, Rolf (October 7, 2007). "The New B Movie". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 February 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e Caplescu, Romulus (October 24, 2007). "Invazia pseudoclonelor" (in Romanian). Bucharest, Romania: Adevărul. Retrieved 6 February 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Movie 'Mockbusters' Put Snakes on Trains". National Public Radio. December 8, 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Fox takes action against 'Day the Earth Stopped' ". The Hollywood Reporter. November 11, 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ McLendon, Gary (September 16, 2008). "Henrietta actor has had varied life". Rochester, New York: Democrat and Chronicle. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "STEVE ANDERSONs Weekly DVD Reviews". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  7. ^ "Cinema Crazed Review". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  8. ^ "Horror Talk Reviews". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  9. ^ "Slasherpool Review". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  10. ^ "Horror Talk Reviews". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  11. ^ "Slasherpool Review". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  12. ^ "Cinema Crazed Review". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  13. ^ "Cinema Crazed Review". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  14. ^ "4outof10 Review". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  15. ^ "filmcriticsunited Review". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  16. ^ "cinema-suicide Review". Retrieved 2009-02-06.

External links

Template:Asylum films

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