Ryan Nicholson (pictured left), the filmmaker and FX artist behind LIVE FEED, GUTTERBALLS and HANGER, sent along a few fresh photos from his latest directorial venture, STAR VEHICLE, with word that an official website for the movie is now on-line. He also discussed the status of several forthcoming projects.

A co-production of Nicholson’s Plotdigger Films and New Image Entertainment, STAR VEHICLE toplines GUTTERBALLS and HANGER’s Dan Ellis as Don Cardini, a disturbed movie buff who works as a driver for low-budget productions. Increasingly ticked off by the egotism of the stars he chauffeurs, Don finally snaps when self-absorbed filmmaker Luke (Nathan Durec) pushes him too far. He becomes obsessed with Luke’s lead actress, scream queen Riversa Red (Sindy Faraguna), and is fired from the shoot—then makes the latter term literal when he returns to the remote location the next day with a handgun, forcing the cast and crew to perform in his own twisted home movie. The official site is open here, and you can see the trailer below.

“STAR VEHICLE is a more character-driven film, as opposed to my usual depraved, sleazy style of picture,” Nicholson tells Fango. “Don’t get me wrong, fans of our other work will have something to look forward to in the kill department, but the story of Don Cardini, his undoing, is what I really focused on. Working with graduate actors from the New Image College of Fine Arts, where they’ve done two years of study, made it more of a lesson for me too. These actors are taught what to expect on a film set, and the shoots of my past movies have sort of been my own style, with my own family of artists. So it was a chance to bring in new faces, eager faces—and some of them soon found out that it’s not all about bright lights and action! It’s down and dirty, mucking through the mud in blistering hot weather. I hope that their pain shows through!”

The movie will see DVD release in Europe later this month via Cult Movies Entertainment, and in North America this summer or fall. And Nicholson isn’t sitting still in the meantime, though one movie he has recently been working on is no longer in his hands. “EVIL FEED, the sequel to LIVE FEED, has moved back into development with a company in LA taking it under their wing,” he reveals. “I’m no longer involved, although I will still be credited as ‘story by’ and ‘written by.’ It’s kind of disappointing, but they want to spend a lot of money doing it with a director who has a ‘track record.’ I’m OK with it. GUTTERBALLS 2: BALLS DEEP has been written, and we’re going to put it into play in 2011.

“As for the remainder of this year, I’m directing my fifth feature, FAMINE, in August, from a script written by INSECTICIDAL scribe Jeff O’Brien. My son Taylor actually came up with the concept, and it’s killer! It’s a high-school slasher, in the vein of PROM NIGHT and SLAUGHTER HIGH, with a revenge scenario tied into a 24-hour ‘famine’ for the hungry that traps some unfortunate students in the school with a costumed killer—the school mascot, of course. It’s this awesome ‘Bob the Builder’-type character Jeff came up with, wearing a big old tool belt with an oversized hammer and nails! This will be very, very gruesome; I’m going back to the GUTTERBALLS style of splatter. FAMINE is also being produced by New Image Entertainment, and I don’t have casting news as of yet, but I’m sure we’ll see Plotdigger Films’ own mascot Dan Ellis in there somewhere!”

 

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