1.
The Asylum
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The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. The company has produced titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and these titles have been dubbed mockbusters by the press. Its titles are distributed by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, GT Media and they are perhaps best known for creating the Sharknado franchise. As of 2009/2010, The Asylum have never made any losses from their film productions, the Asylum was founded by director David Michael Latt and former Village Roadshow executives David Rimawi and Sherri Strain in 1997. In 2005, the company produced an adaptation of H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds. In 2007, similarities between the titles and those of major studios were reported. For example, the film Transmorphers bears a number of similarities to the film Transformers, according to Latt, Im not trying to dupe anybody. Im 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, in 2008, 20th Century Fox threatened legal action against The Asylum over The Day the Earth Stopped, a film capitalizing on The Day the Earth Stood Still. Similarly in May 2012, Universal Pictures filed a lawsuit against The Asylum for their film American Battleship, claiming infringement on their movie, as a result, The Asylum changed their title to American Warships. The Asylum claimed its movie is legally sound because its hobbits are not based on the J. R. R. Tolkien creations, the lawsuit resulted in a temporary restraining order preventing The Asylum from releasing the film on its scheduled release date. In February 2015, The Asylum signed a deal with Cinedigm Corp. The Asylum has been producing Z Nation for the Syfy Network since late 2014, the show about a group that attempts to get the only known person with immunity to a zombie virus from New York to the last operating lab in California. According to show-runner Karl Shaefer, the show is intended to bring a sense of hope to the horror of the apocalypse, ratings for Z Nation have been unexpectedly high, about 1.6 million per episode, and has been renewed for a third season. The Asylums usual budget for a production is well under a million dollars. The Asylum has never lost money on a film, the companys productions have been called B movies and mockbusters. Latt prefers the term tie-ins to mockbusters, stating that The Asylums productions, even those that capitalize on major releases, Latt states that the company plans its productions around the word of mouth of the financial prospects of upcoming films. The Asylums films are released on video shortly before the theatrical release of a major studio film with similar themes or storylines
2.
Michael Gross (actor)
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Michael Edward Gross is an American television, movie and stage actor. He played both comedic and dramatic roles, such as Steven Keaton from the sitcom Family Ties and the graboid hunter Burt Gummer from the Tremors film franchise. Gross was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Virginia Ruth, an operator, and William Oscar Gross. Gross was raised Catholic and attended St. Francis Xavier school in Chicago in his early years and he attended high school at Kelvyn Park High School on the north side of Chicago. He received his degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago before attending Yale University for his Master of Fine Arts degree. His younger sister, Mary Gross, is a former Saturday Night Live cast member, Gross is known for his roles as Steven Keaton in the 1980s sitcom Family Ties and as Burt Gummer in the Tremors movies and subsequent TV series. He guest starred in an episode of the sitcom Night Court, in which he played a sexual predator of Markie Posts character, in 1988, he portrayed a murderous bank robber in the true life movie In the Line of Duty, The F. B. I. His other television credits include Boston Legal, How I Met Your Mother, Batman Beyond, ER, Parks and Recreation, Law & Order, from August 2008 to January 2009, Gross appeared on the CBS soap The Young and the Restless as River Baldwin. Gross had a cameo in 2000 on Spin City as a therapist to Michael J. Foxs character on Foxs final show as a regular on that program. In November 1979, Gross originated the role of Greta in the Broadway production of Martin Shermans Bent, Gross has been married to casting director Elza Bergeron since June 2,1984, and he is a stepfather to her two daughters. Gross is a passionate railfan with a collection of railroad antiques. He is also the spokesman for the Worlds Greatest Hobby campaign sponsored by the Model Railroad Industry Association that promotes the hobby of model railroading and he has also been a spokesperson for Operation Lifesaver, a campaign promoting safety at railroad grade crossings. Beginning in 2009, Gross is the celebrity spokesman for the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore and he is also a member of the Santa Fe Railway Historical Society. Gross and his Family Ties co-star Meredith Baxter, were born on the same day, Michael Gross at the Internet Movie Database Gross at the Internet Broadway Database Michael Gross at Internet Off-Broadway Database
3.
Christopher Atkins
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Christopher Atkins is an American actor, who became famous in his debut role with co-star Brooke Shields in the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon. Atkins was born in Rye, New York, to German Americans Donald Bomann, in high school, he was a lifeguard and sailing instructor, where he was discovered for The Blue Lagoon. He had no previous interest or experience in acting, but an agent he knew persuaded him to audition for The Blue Lagoon, a role he won over 2,000 other actors. In the film, he and co-star Brooke Shields played two teenage cousins who have lived together since they were marooned as children in a tropical paradise. The film grossed over $58 million with a production cost of $4.5 million and he went on to star with Kristy McNichol in The Pirate Movie, an update of Gilbert and Sullivans operetta The Pirates of Penzance. From that movie, he sang How Can I Live Without Her which peaked at #71 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1982. In A Night in Heaven, also starring Lesley Ann Warren, Atkins played Rick Monroe, for one season, Atkins had a recurring role as swimming instructor Peter Richards on the CBS prime time soap opera Dallas in which his character has an affair with Sue Ellen Ewing. Atkins has been the boy of many teen magazines and has appeared in several television commercials representing Coke. In the 1990s and 2000s, he appeared in the made-for-network and cable movies Fatal Charms, Project Shadowchaser III, other projects includef Caved In, Spiritual Warriors, 13th Child, The Employee of the Month, Tequila Express, Quigley and True Legends of the West. Comic roles include Mortuary Academy, Shoot and he reunited with Shields on her series Suddenly Susan as a fellow journalist who is uninterested in her, in 2007, he starred in the direct-to-DVD sci-fi movie 100 Million BC. In 2009, he appeared on VH1s Confessions of a Teen Idol, Atkins married Lynne Barron Weber, of Sydney, Australia on 25 May 1985, the couple had two children, a son, Grant Bomann and a daughter, Brittney Bomann. He owns a sports company and has patented a fishing lure. Atkins was nominated for a Golden Globe Awards for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Male for The Blue Lagoon as well as Best Young Actor for the Young Artist Awards. He has also twice nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor. He is ranked Number 76 on VH1s 100 Greatest Teen Stars, Christopher Atkins on Facebook Christopher Atkins at the Internet Movie Database Christopher Atkins at AllMovie
4.
Greg Evigan
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Gregory Ralph Greg Evigan is an American actor known for the television series B. J. and the Bear, My Two Dads, P. S. Evigan was born in South Amboy, New Jersey, the son of Barbara Elizabeth, a homemaker, and Ralph Milan Evigan and he grew up in Sayreville, New Jersey, and attended Sayreville War Memorial High School, graduating in 1971. In 2007 he was inducted into the schools Alumni Hall of Fame for his contributions to the arts, Evigan is married to dancer Pamela C. His youngest daughter Briana is the actress in Step Up 2, The Streets and Step Up. Another daughter is actress Vanessa Lee Evigan, Vanessa was in the Christmas movie Holiday in Handcuffs, with Mario Lopez and Melissa Joan Hart. Evigans son Jason is the front man of an LA-based band called After Midnight Project, Evigan was a teen idol during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He auditioned for and landed roles in Jesus Christ Superstar and Grease, however, Evigan appeared in other productions as well. It was with B. J. and the Bear that Evigan reached pop-star status, in 1980 he posed bare-chested for a pin-up wall poster. A Year at the Top B. J. and the Bear as Billie Joe B. J. S, I Luv U as Cody Powell/Joey Paciorek Columbo, A Bird in the Hand as Harold McCain Melrose Place as Dr. Die
5.
Stephen Blackehart
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Stephen T. Blackehart is an American actor, author and producer. In addition to his work, Blackehart has acted in such TV series as Greys Anatomy, The Big Apple. He was a regular on the BBCs The Tromaville Cafe, where he originated the role of Felix and it was subsequently picked up for distribution by Troma and garnered DVD Talks distinction as a Collectors Series disc immediately upon its video release. It was also voted #2 by the editors of Amazon in their list of Best DVDs of the Year - Comedy, in 2008 and 2009, he produced hit comedy web series PG Porn and Humanzee. for filmmaker James Gunn. In November 2014, he published a collection of novellas entitled A Stranger to the Darklands and it has been reported that Blackehart was born as Stefano Brando and is the son of the late actor Marlon Brando, though he denies that he is any relation. Stephen Blackehart at the Internet Movie Database Stephen Blackehart at AllMovie
6.
Scorpions (band)
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Scorpions are a German rock band formed in 1965 in Hanover by Rudolf Schenker. Since the bands inception, its style has ranged from hard rock to heavy metal. The lineup from 1978–92 was the most successful incarnation of the group, and included singer Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Matthias Jabs, Francis Buchholz, and Herman Rarebell. The bands only constant member has been Schenker, although Meine has been the singer for all of the bands studio albums. During the mid-1970s, with guitarist Uli Jon Roth part of the line-up and their best-selling album Crazy World includes the song Wind of Change, a symbolic anthem of the political changes in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is one of the singles in the world with over fourteen million copies sold. Scorpions have sold over 100 million records in total and they have released 18 studio albums,27 compilation albums and 74 singles. Six of their singles have reached number one on the charts in different countries and their albums, singles, compilations and video releases have reached 200 times gold, platinum and multi-platinum status in different countries. Rolling Stone Magazine described the Scorpions as the heroes of heavy metal, the band was ranked number 46 on VH1s Greatest Artists of Hard Rock programme, with Rock You Like a Hurricane at number 18 on VH1s list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. Still Loving You ranked 22nd place among the greatest ballads, Scorpions have received prestigious awards such as three World Music Awards, a star on the Hollywood Rock wall, and a presence in the permanent exhibition of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2015 the group celebrated its 50th anniversary, Rudolf Schenker, the bands rhythm guitarist launched the band in 1965. At first, the band had beat influences and Schenker himself handled the vocals, things began to come together in 1970 when Schenkers younger brother Michael and vocalist Klaus Meine joined the band. In 1972 the group recorded and released their debut album Lonesome Crow, with Lothar Heimberg on bass, during the Lonesome Crow tour, Scorpions opened for upcoming British band UFO. Near the end of the tour, guitarist Michael Schenker accepted an offer of lead guitar for UFO, Uli Roth, a friend of Michaels, was then introduced to the band and he helped them to finish off the tour. The departure of Michael Schenker led to the breakup of the band. In 1973, Uli Roth, who had helped Scorpions complete the Lonesome Crow tour, was offered the role as lead guitarist, Rudolf Schenker eventually decided that he wanted to work with Roth, but did not want to resurrect the last Scorpions lineup. He attended some of Dawn Roads rehearsals and ultimately decided to join the band, Uli Roth and Buchholz persuaded Rudolf Schenker to invite Klaus Meine to join on vocals, which he soon did. In 1974, the new line-up of Scorpions released Fly to the Rainbow, the album proved to be more successful than Lonesome Crow and songs such as Speedys Coming and the title track established the bands sound
