Be Kind Rewind, But For Real

In Be Kind Rewind, cinephiles Jack Black and Mos Def created ultra-low-budget versions of their favourite movies. The Asylum, a studio of B-movie mischief-makers, is their real-life counterpart, except they make gold like Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus and Transmorphers.

I’ve actually seen Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (it’s available at Netflix) and loved it, and John Herrman branded them “film heroes”, so it’s interesting to see Wired’s bio of the organisation. They’re not just making weird parodies in their basement; these are relatively successful little movies that sometimes play in theatres and can often be found in rental stores.

And though the majority of its films are sci-fi or horror, the company has lately expanded into biblical-disaster movies (The Apocalypse), teen-sex romps (18-Year-Old Virgin), and even family fare (Sunday School Musical). It’s a new kind of B movie: low risk and made to order. “I said, ‘Make me a T&A movie in 3-D,’ and they did that with Sex Pot,” says Keith Leopard, director of content acquisitions at Blockbuster. “They’re constantly delivering good little filler products for our customers.”

And, I mean, in Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, a giant shark eats a plane out of the sky. How much better can it get? [Wired]