RECON 2020

I’ve got a bit more info on the film I mentioned earlier, and it’s looking pretty hot. Hopefully they’ll indulge me with a review copy, so I can see the finished product.

Behind the [more] you’ll get to know the characters and actors, see screen shots, contact names, crew/cast profiles and what equipment was used (to name but some items).

A Movie Seals film

Running Time: 89 minutes
Not Rated

Further Information:
Blood & Bullets Productions or
Movie Seals Productions
5291 Ste-Clotilde
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Email: bloodNbullets@sympatico.ca
moviesealsproductions@sympatico.ca
www.movieseals.biz

RECON 2020

Seargant Sharp (Anderson Bradshaw) Prepares For The Scavenger’s Attack

Caprini’s Deadly Cyborgs: Andrew Cambell, Randy Bak, Nadja Scantamburio

The Recon Unit

Formerly Human Colonists Turned Into Zombies By The Deadly Ma’hars

Seargant Sharp (Anderson Bradshaw) Leads His Unit Inside The Devastated Caprini Compound

The Galactic Marine Infrantary Dropship Approaches Caprini

Fooks (Gillian Leigh) Awaits Her Fate In The Scavengers Camp

Powerful And Deadly Gunbots Still Patrol The Remnants Of The Destroyed Colony…

Distribution:
Critical Mass Releasing
William Alexander

CREW

DIRECTED BY
Christian Viel

PRODUCED BY
Benoit Hamel
Christian Viel

WRITTEN BY
Christian Viel

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
William Alexander
Benoit Hamel
Denis Longpré
Nic Sulsky

LINE PRODUCER
Jean-Pierre Ménard

EDITED BY
Christian Viel

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Jean-François Fontaine

PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Anderson Bradshaw

MUSIC COMPOSER
David Findlay

STUNT COORDINATOR
John Walsh

SPECIAL EFFECTS MAKE-UP
George Tucci

GUN WRANGLER
Andrew Campbell

SPECIAL EFFECTS COORDINATOR
Marc Reichel

CAST
Anderson Bradshaw: Sergeant Sharp
Kevin Kelsall: Sergeant Tibbs
Patrick Sabongui: Sergeant Gums
Gillian Leigh: Fooks
Valerie Wiseman: Kara
Johnny Goar: Anton
Kyra Zagorsky: Trish
Christian Tessier: Faulkner
Charles Mellor: Buzz
Marcus Champagne: Daimon
Richard Zeman: Major Harris
John Walsh: General Walsh
John Fallon: Mercenary
Neil Napier: Mercenary
Heidi Hawkins: Jesse
John Topor: Android
Randy Bak: X-109
Nadja Scantamburlo: X-209
Andrew Campbell: YGO-6
Natalia Chtchekotikhina: Malik
Ian Paterson: Exobiologist
Marco Von Moos: Private
Craig Kerwin: KermZ
John Topor: Werewolf
Howard Rosenstein: Marco
Yves Langlois: Scavenger #1
Gilbert Larose: Scavenger #2
Sylvania Yau: Mother Zombie
Kwan Morot: Child Zombie
Allan Chou: Zombie
Natalia Chtchekotikhina: Zombie

RECON 2020: The Caprini Massacre

The Earth is a barren rock of radioactive devastation. The human species has taken to the stars in their struggle for survival against an evil, unseen race from a distant galaxy, the Ma’hars.

The ongoing battle is getting desperate — good thing the humans have their Galactic Marine Infantry to step into the fray. An elite squad is prepped for what has to be a suicide mission in the Caprini system, deep behind enemy lines.

Their goal is to reconnoiter the disused colony factories, where there have been indications of mysterious activity. Sergeant Sharp and his team are horrified when they discover part of the Ma’hars sinister plan: Bio-weapons based on human mythological creatures. Zombies, werewolves, vampires…

Attacked by unstoppable cyborg assassins left behind to patrol the grounds, confronted to giant mutated beasts and the former colonists turned into mythical monsters straight out of an old Hammer film, Sharp and his team struggle to bring to light what really happened on Caprini.

That is, until a brand new enemy surface. A former soldier with a grudge against the Space Marine Corps. has become the leader of an apocalyptic horde of barbaric scavengers and now works for the deadly Ma’hars. Someone who is determined not to give Sharp a single chance to leave Caprini alive…

And all Sharp and his team have going for them is their guns, their guts and a mouthful of tough-guy talk…

RECON 2020 was part of the Official Selection of Fantasia 2004:

Recon 2020 is nothing short of an all-dressed, deluxe pizza of the sci-fi action genre. Moreover, it’s a testament to what wonders can be worked on a shoestring budget. Made at a fraction of the cost of its Hollywood equivalents, it outdoes most in sheer entertainment value. Recon 2020 gleefully trots out all the iconic elements of the genre—high-tech ordinance and gung-ho tactics, cyberpunk grunge and exquisite monster mayhem. A showcase for nearly every F/X trick in the book, Recon 2020 is the work of director Christian Viel, who previously thrilled us with Samhain, a horror jaunt that featured the celebrated Jenna Jameson and Ginger Lynn. Keep an eye on the cast of Recon 2020, though—it’s got a heavy local angle, so you may see some familiar faces in there!
—Rupert Bottenberg

THE FILMMAKERS
Christian Viel (Writer/Director/Producer/Editor): Montreal underground filmmaker Christian Viel began shooting films when he was 12 years old. At the age of 21, Viel directed his feature length debut, Lines of Life, with a budget of only $50,000. In addition to features, Viel has directed music videos, ads, corporate videos, shorts, and medium-length films. His second feature, Samhain, got him a lot of attention for its gruesome nature (and its bevy of porn stars) and Viel recently helped create Blood & Bullets Productions, a company dedicated to making low budget horror, sci-fi, and action films. Recon 2020 is Blood & Bullets first production.

Benoit Hamel (Producer): Other than being a producer, Benoit Hamel is also a first assistant director with more than 15 years experience in the movie business. He worked on over 50 features & TV series, and on close to 200 TV commercials. He is very skilled in scheduling and organizing a shooting time schedule for any type of production. All this experience will serve him very well when he will begin his directing career for Blood & Bullets Productions in 2005.

Jean-Pierre Ménard (Line Producer): Jean-Pierre Ménard brings to any project his exceptional capacities of organizer and planner, and especially of motivator. His vast experience in theatre, show business and television in general and in cinema in particular, make him a key element of any successful production event. Jean-Pierre’s honesty and devotion is a priceless asset especially when producing a film in the conditions under which Recon was produced.

David Findlay (Music Composer/Associate Producer): David has scored many feature films, MOW’s and television shows. He wrote the score for “The Gift” (Windhorse Entertainment) and, “Life in the Balance” (with Bo Derek and Bruce Boxleitner) for Blackwatch and scored the Daniel Baldwin film, “Tunnel”. His TV credits include the weekly TV series, “Dark Dreamers” for Critical Mass, “Student Bodies” for Telescene and he is currently developing and producing the feature film “The Boys are Back”. Now recently relocated to Toronto, he has been active in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and England as a musician, composer, recording engineer and music producer for over twenty years. Having received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from McGill University, he has played, recorded, produced, written and arranged music for numerous recordings, jingles and live theatre productions.

Anderson Bradshaw (Production Designer/Sgt Sharp/Ass. Producer): A trained soldier who has spent 11 years in the Canadian military with tours of duty in the Middle East and the Balkans. Upon his retirement from the military, Anderson got involved as a stuntman and actor and has never looked back since, landing numerous roles, typically as the usual suspect, hood or gangster. Some of his recent achievements include Gothika starring Halle Berry, Taking Lives opposite Angelina Jolie and Steal, directed by France’s Gérard Pirès. He also acts regularly as a military adviser and consultant for film productions. Another facet of Anderson multi-talented nature is his passion for costume design, primarily within the sci-fi genre. He has created custom suits and sets for many futuristic and sci-fi productions.

Kevin Kelsall (Sergeant Tibbs/Ass. Producer): Kevin studied communications and creative arts at Vanier College. His first appearance was as a stunt actor in the TV series Largo Winch, directed by David Woo. Soon followed more roles in film such as Timeline, Nouvelle-France and Taking Lives. Look for him next in Darren Aronofksy’s The Fountain, opposite Hugh Jackman where he will play the principal role of Rivera.

Patrick Sabongui (Sergeant Gums): Born in Montreal, Canada in 1975 to Egyptian immigrants, Patrick graduated from Concordia University in Montreal with a BFA in Theatre in 1999. Patrick began work in theatre, later working as a stunt performer and actor in TV and in films. He has appeared in the TV series Largo Winch (2001), the Richard Donner film Timeline (2002), and Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal (2004), amongst others. He lives in Southern California and is completing an MFA in Acting at the University of California, Irvine.

Gillian Leigh (Fooks): Born and raised in a small town on the outskirts of Toronto, Gillian Leigh developed a love for performing at a very young age. Upon graduating from high school Gillian re-located to Toronto in order to begin her university studies specializing in cinema and drama. It was at this time that Gillian began her professional acting career, appearing in Susan Seidelman’s TV movie “Power and Beauty”, and Timothy Hutton’s television series “Nero Wolfe.” Christian Viel’s “Samhain” marked Gillian’s feature film debut, which led to her appearance as a guest speaker at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival in 2003.

Valerie Wiseman (Kara): Valerie has been featured in several films such as “The Barbarian Invasions” directed by Denys Arcand, ” Heist ” directed by Gérard Pirès and ” Karmina ” directed by Gabriel Pelletier. Valerie became involved in the industry only a few years ago, upon being discovered in the gym where she trains on a daily basis. She is presently in training for a “Figure” competition and also enjoys downhill skiing, water skiing and her passion for her sport biking. Valerie started her acting career by filming action demos and training with stuntmen and martial artists in Montreal. At 6′ 2″, blond and statuesque, Valerie’s on screen presence captivates any audience.

Marc Reichel (Special Effects & pyrotechnics supervisor): A Montreal native with over forty films, television shows, numerous music videos and commercials under his belt, Marc started his career in 1996 overseas on such films as the Cique de Soleil’s Allegria, and When Trumpets Fade as assistant director. Returning to Montreal, in 1998 to explore other film ventures, he entered the art department as assistant decorator. In 2000, he pursued his true love for Special effects. His SFX career to date includes such films as Abandon, The Reagan’s, Note Book, Head in the Clouds, to name a few.

George Tucci (Special Effect Make-ups supervisor) – Montreal-born George Stephen Tucci began his endeavors when he was 7 years old and stumbled on his aunt’s copy of Evil Dead. He watched it and he was hooked. While studying make-up with the famous Dick Smith, he got his first job for Infliction films on the movie Divided into Zero, a short film by Mitch Davis (co-founder of the Fantasia film festival). Since then has worked on numerous film and television shows. His credits include The Day After Tomorrow, Taking Lives, Secret Window, Timeline, A&E’s Napoléon to name a few. Along with the make-up effects, George also strives to write and direct his own horror and sci-fi films.

John Walsh (Stunt Coordinator/Stunt Rigger): After too many years in college, John became a Deep Sea Diver, working for 13 years all over the world. Marriage put an end to that, so to pay for his new career as a husband he fell into the emerging (in Canada, at least) world of Film Stunts. Over the last 20 years, John has managed to support himself, first as a Stuntman and Stunt Actor, and then as a Stunt Coordinator and Stunt Rigger, in over 120 productions. You may remember him from such films as “FX2” (Rado, the Bad Guy), and “Body Parts”(also The Bad Guy).

PRODUCTION NOTES
“Recon 2020” is collaboration between over a dozen professional actors, stuntmen, special effects artists as well as filmmaking crew (all based in Canada and collectively known as Movie Seals) who set out to accomplish four primary goals:
a. Do an action packed science-fiction film;
b. Create a feature film that the general audience may actually WANT to see
c. Celebrate our love for science fiction films by paying a broad homage to the films that haunted our youth.
d. Provide an opportunity for everyone involved to practice and hone their filmmaking skills and respective talents.

The film was shot on the Sony Mini-Digital Video format and edited and composited on a Macintosh editing suite utilizing Final Cut Pro, a bevy of third party plug-ins and AlamDV Special FX software. 3D animations were farmed out all over the world, from Ukraine to Australia to Switzerland and England. The movie was “film looked” using Graeme Nattress revolutionary plugin for Final Cut Pro, G Film.

The entire production was completed over 13 days, ranging from six to over fourteen hours of shooting. Most of the props were created using stuff found at the Salvation Army or donated toys. Sets were created from scratch and lighting was either natural light (we scouted locations for days to spot the positions of the sun and scheduled accordingly) or, when it was absolutely necessary to have lights, equipment was borrowed. Locations were either hired or shot guerilla style. The movie was shot entirely within Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The film won the Best Sci-Fi/Action Movie at the Sci-Fi London Film Festival in February 2005.

MicroCinema Scene wrote:
“Montreal underground filmmaker Christian Viel and his team of over a dozen professional actors, stuntmen, special effects artists who make up Movie Seals Productions all have something to celebrate: their sci-fi action movie Recon 2020 has earned the award for Best sci-fi/action movie at the Sci-Fi London Film Festival. A movie that looks as muscular and big budgeted as anything that comes out of Hollywood, Recon 2020 was made with an incredibly low budget of only $30,000 and was shot in only 13 days! Lensed on MiniDV and edited and composited on a Macintosh editing suite utilizing Final Cut Pro, a bevy of third party plug-ins and AlamDV Special FX software, Recon 2020 may be the most ambitious low-budget production we’ve ever heard of. Set in a future that finds the Earth devastated by an alien race, a band of Galactic Marines who are Earth’s last hope embark on a suicide mission that leads them to a horrific discovery: the aliens are manufacturing bio-weapons based on human nightmares. Zombies, vampires, werewolves, they’re all here, as is new enemy, a former soldier that has pulled together a band of savages Hell-bent on destroying the Galactic Marines. The Sci-Fi London Film Fest is now in Fourth year and award winners for the fest are determined by judges from Japan, the United States, Germany and Britain. For more about Recon 2020, visit www.movieseals.biz.”

Trivia Stuff:
The film was formerly known as Power Corps until Fusion International changed it to RECON 2020.

Director Christian Viel has a cameo in the beginning of the film as a human torch, along with the gaffer, Daniel Goyens. Both were set on fire under the supervision of Stunt Coordinator John Walsh.

Horror critic, journalist, actor and screenwriter John Fallon, of Arrow in the Head fame (www.joblo.com/arrow), has a cameo in the film as a Mercenary with Montreal’s “Scream King” pal Neil Napier.