CELLULOID WIZARDS IN THE VIDEO WASTELAND Trailer: Revisit The Rise and Fall of Empire Pictures

Re-Animator. Puppetmaster. Trancers. Ghoulies. If you grew up in the '80s and '90s and had any interest in schlocky horror films, you've probably seen the aforementioned movies and a handful of others from Empire Pictures, the production company/studio run by Charles Band. The rise and fall of that company is now getting the documentary treatment in a film called Celluloid Wizards in the Video Wasteland: The Saga of Empire Pictures, which is directed by Daniel Griffith. The project earned some of its money through Kickstarter, and unfortunately it doesn't have an official release date yet. Hopefully it'll at least be available to stream on Netflix sometime soon, because this looks like a great companion piece to docs like Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films and Not Quite Hollywood, which focused on Aussie exploitation films.

Check out some of the truly insane footage from the old Empire movies in the new trailer below (via /Film):

Join the adventure! Support our Kickstarter Campaign at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ballyhoomotionpics/celluloid-wizards-in-the-video-wasteland Scientists. Psychopaths. Aliens. Mutants. Cyborgs. Trolls. Valet Girls. Sorority Babes. These are only a few of the extraordinary characters that populated the cinematic universe of Empire Pictures, the short-lived film studio founded in the 1980’s by legendary B-movie producer Charles Band (The Puppet Master series). While other independent studios were targeting the growing home video market, Band was producing low-budget horror and fantasy features for multiplexes worldwide. But, while Band ambitiously exclaimed “2,000 movies by the year 2000”, his newfound studio was rapidly crumbling beneath him. His unbridled passion for motion picture marketing and distribution clashed with scandalous banking practices, largely due to a turbulent relationship with the infamous Crédit Lyonnais. But what really caused the youthful film company to crash and burn upon the sticky floors of empty movie theaters? From the immediate box office success of “Re-Animator” and “Ghoulies”, to abysmal failure of “Eliminators” and “TerrorVision”, this unique documentary chronicles the epic journey of Charles Band's Empire Pictures. Beginning with his childhood spent on the set of his father's productions, and ending in the controversial aftermath of his first motion picture company, "Celluloid Wizards in the Video Wasteland" reveals the true origin story of one of the last surviving B-movie producers in Hollywood! Join the adventure! Support our Kickstarter Campaign at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ballyhoomotionpics/celluloid-wizards-in-the-video-wasteland Visit the world of Empire Pictures at: www.empirepicturesdocumentary.com Produced and directed by Daniel Griffith A Ballyhoo Motion Pictures Presentation