Hilarious Documentary About Aussie Director Taking On The Sharknado Studio

Us Festival Premiere At The Santa Barbara International Film Festival

MOCKBUSTER is a hilarious Australian documentary that plunges into the eccentric, fast-and-loose filmmaking world of The Asylum, the infamous B-movie studio behind Sharknado. Giant Pictures presents this official selection at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival now running through February 14th.

MOCKBUSTER marks the (double) feature directorial debut of Australian director Anthony Frith. With a once-promising film career flattened to corporate video gigs, Frith decides to shoot his shot — literally — by pitching himself to The Asylum to direct a lost-world dinosaur epic. Against all reason, the studio famous for its guilty-pleasure exploitation films, says yes. What follows is a madcap production of The Land That Time Forgot in suburban Adelaide, shot in just six days on a budget that could generously be described as “aspirational.”

Frith isn’t just directing the The Land That Time Forgot — he’s also helming the behind-the-scenes documentary that is MOCKBUSTER, capturing the beautiful mess of full-blown B-movie filmmaking. Between demanding LA executives, a game but bewildered cast, and his own self-doubt, the pressure builds. What emerges is not just a chronicle of chaotic production, but an unexpectedly tender portrait of chasing the dream through the absurd hustle of genre filmmaking — and finding a different kind of success behind the scenes.

Throughout the shoot, Frith navigates the gloriously chaotic orbit of Asylum producer Brendan Petrizzo and studio Founders David Rimawi, David Latt, and Paul Bales, as he attempts to keep a prehistoric adventure afloat amid rubber dinosaurs, last-minute rewrites, and caffeinated panic.

Though often written off as Hollywood’s B-movie renegades, The Asylum’s success is no laughing matter. Over two decades, the company has built a global empire of low-budget, high-concept hits, spawning international franchises (Sharknado alone became a cultural phenomenon), countless “mockbusters,” and a business model that’s as improbable as it is effective.

Credits

Co-written by Frith and Sandy Cameron, and produced by David Elliot-Jones, Cameron, and Naomi Ball, MOCKBUSTER is supported by Screen Australia, with the South Australian Film Corporation and Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund, in association with VicScreen. MOCKBUSTER was selected for highly-competitive national funding — proving Australia’s thriving documentary scene and commitment to sharing diverse stories. Executive Producers are Tickled filmmaker David Farrier, Nick Savva, Madeleine Schumacher, Alex West, Ty Morse, Phil Laboon, Ari Harrison, and Cam Rogers.

MOCKBUSTER is produced by Mostly True Media and Walking Fish Productions. Financed with support from KOJO Studios, Green Marble Productions and Time Horse Productions. 

Learn more at www.mockbustermovie.com.

*Special thanks to Sapkar PR for information and promotional images