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Why is James Marsters an alien-fighting cowboy in High Plains Invaders?
James Marsters (Dragonball Evolution) told SCI FI Wire that he's completed filming on the upcoming SCI FI Channel original movie High Plains Invaders, in which voracious alien bugs invade an Old West town.
Marsters plays a guilt-ridden, lovelorn man who's preparing to die when he's called upon to be a hero and help save the town.
"That was a fun shoot," Marsters said last week in an exclusive telephone interview to promote Dragonball Evolution. "We filmed that in Romania. It's a love story in a cowboy town. It's about a man who killed too many Indians. He burned too many villages and couldn't live with himself anymore. He comes into town to get hanged, because he's also been robbing trains, and he finds that the woman he abandoned is living in that town."
Just before Marsters' character is about to be hanged, the invasion happens, and he finds himself the reluctant leader of a small group of people trying to survive and get out of town.
The alien bugs come to Earth to gorge themselves on the town's uranium deposits. Richard Beattie (Cold Comfort, Almost Heaven) wrote the screenplay, and KT Donaldson (aka Kristoffer Tabori) directed the telefilm, which also stars Cindy Sampson as Marsters' love interest, a nurse named Abigail; Sebastian Knapp as Jules, the scientist who discovered the uranium mine; and Sanny Van Heteren as Rose, a fast-talking, fast-shooting bounty hunter.
"The SCI FI Channel had been sending me scripts for a while, and this is one that stuck out and that I thought could really move," Marsters said. "The director and I were really clear on [the idea] that the whole thing was all about propulsion, that it was about getting from A to B, that it was all about huffing and sweating and panic. We didn't want to be safe and calm about how we shot it. So, frankly, we really had to count on the camera crew to follow a lot of motion. It just meant a lot of cuts and bruises and dings. But I think we got it. I saw quite a lot of it when we went to do some looping, and it looks pretty panicked."
By Mandy at 4:24 AM ON 03/27/09
And the entire film's budget probably went to hiring James Marsters...
By Lovejames at 7:29 AM ON 03/27/09
Job well done then; go, James!
It will ensure that the film gets a lot more interest and all the fans will tune in - to say nothing of possible DVD sales
By DawnCC at 7:59 AM ON 03/27/09
As a UK bound, non satellite viewer I have everything crossed for a DVD already
By Marty B. at 8:47 AM ON 03/27/09
And this movie will air when? Will it still be a SciFi or will it be a SyFy offering? Actually looks kinda fun.
By sparrrownightmare at 9:04 AM ON 03/27/09
I can't believe that they got James Marsters to star in a Sci-Fi Original production. Given the stupidity of the storyline concept. Either Marsters is desperate for work (which I doubt.) Or Sci-Fi had to pay him an obscene amount of money to be in this pile of......... Nevermind.
By Jimmy at 9:28 AM ON 03/27/09
Surely James Marsters can do better than one of Syfy's stupid creature features. Maybe not. It's not like he's been has been burning up airwaves and movie screens.
By budgethero at 9:52 AM ON 03/27/09
getting from A to B to C sounds like the usual Scifi original crap movie. ur concentrating on moving the story along while avoiding achieving that breath and depth. but that's expensive. and a bunch of panicky movement and shaky cameras is cheep, senseless, empty action.
dont get me wrong. im a fan of James too. i know that this kind of filmmaking is beneath his acting ability.
By Where's my Remote at 10:11 AM ON 03/27/09
I've notice scifi has been trying to trick us into watching these B - monster mash by getting stars like Marsters and even Michael Shanks to appear in them. Sadly not even their talents can bring life to the dead (pun intended) well except maybe Marsters who can really Spike it ( again pun intended).
Yawn, I will not be watching this creature feature. I totally boycott scifi channel now on Saturdays when it becomes the Horror channel and doesnt even have a great host like Elvira to inspire you to watch.
By Captain Jack Harkness at 11:05 AM ON 03/27/09
I don't watch SciFi's Saturday snake/bug or any of their movies but I'll watch this one just because James Marsters is in it, good casting by them for a change. Sounds like Captain John Hart playing cowboy in the old west. Cool.
By Mandy at 2:11 PM ON 03/27/09
The Scifi Channel has been trying to get their hands on James Marsters for YEARS, after Buffy ended. Once or twice they tried to get him to appear on their original series' but at the time he was unwilling to travel and or was already committed to Torchwood (which is my opinion was the wiser choice anyway).
But no matter what he does he'll always be Spike to me.
By Mandy at 2:57 PM ON 03/27/09
Dragonball Evolution?! Never mind that he was on Buffy The Vampire Slayer for six seasons or Angel or Torchwood...
By Farscaper at 3:42 PM ON 03/27/09
Wow, first they say we're changing the channel and moving away from SCIENCE FICTION and into a broader range of crap ie: Reality. Now they blow a large wad to get him. He's a good actor but why get someone good for a crap genre movie that your channel is moving away from?
By Mandy at 3:50 PM ON 03/27/09
I'd have tried to get him for something better. Something with substance. Something that actually uses his talents as an actor. Not some corny cow boy / alien bug movie where the burnt out cow boy probably gains a sense of self-worth before dying at the end or resolving his emotional issues and walking off into the sunset.
James Marsters, what were you thinking? I propose we start a fund raiser and promise James the proceeds if he agrees to never do another film like this again.
By ecgordon at 4:40 PM ON 03/27/09
The only times I've ever watched their "original" movies it has been because of a certain actor, and even then I've been disappointed. I'll still check this one out, not just for Marsters, but also for Cindy Sampson. I have been hoping she would reappear on either Reaper or Supernatural, but so far she hasn't.
By Mary at 9:26 PM ON 03/27/09
I don't give a piss about the Sci-Fi channel or hell, westerns, but I *will* be watching this, and not judging until I actually see it, all because of James Marsters. It has to have some merit if he chose it--he isn't one to just go for the movie. He even turned *down* a regular role on Saving Grace cause it wasn't the one he wanted. So yeah, I'll be watching. I'm not going to judge something I haven't seen yet.
By Mary at 9:32 PM ON 03/27/09
Money--I meant "he isn't one to just go for the money."
By elainecleo at 6:29 PM ON 03/28/09
I don't care what kind of movie James is in, I will be there watching. The only reason I will see Dragonball is James. I don't think he picks movies he wants to do by the amount of money or he would be doing many more of them. Just wish Smallville still had him in that show, sure would improve it.
By elainecleo at 6:35 PM ON 03/28/09
BTW anyone that loves James' voice should try the audio books of The Dresden Files. James does such a great job, with all his voices and accents I forget it is not a cast reading them, until suddenly a work or two comes out sounding like Spike. He has signed to read all of them and the next 3 come out in May..they keep moving it later so hopefully in May. James is finished with them and now it is up to the people putting them together.
By shazzump at 12:19 AM ON 04/01/09
cant wait.. i love creature features with very low ratings :0
By BigDumbApe at 3:37 AM ON 04/03/09
The moment they described this as a movie set in the American Old Western that was actually filmed in Romania, I laughed out loud and said "Yep! That's the very definition of a Sci Fi Channel movie!"
By Veiriti at 5:17 AM ON 04/03/09
I’m totally agree with elainecleo – “I don't care what kind of movie James is in, I will be there watching”. But as a huge fan of the sci-fi and fantasy movies it would be a pleasure for me to see him on a movies or tv series like that. So I have no patience to watch this movie. But I still hope for Spike spin off tv series or Spike movie. Spike is my most favorite character ever and James was brilliant as Spike.
By jadrek at 12:46 AM ON 04/21/09
Does anyone have an idea of when this "alien western" is going to be on SciFi?
By CarolM at 4:32 PM ON 06/19/09
I'm with elainecleo and Veiriti, if James is in it, I'll watch it, at least once.
But from the promos and the synopsis this seems promising. I can't wait to see when I can watch it in the UK.
By GiantPygmy at 11:06 PM ON 07/12/09
I actually think more of actors who are willing to do low budget films more. I mean look at Bruce Campbell. He is the B rate king and I love watching anything he is in. I think that it shows that an actor isn't to full of themselves to star in movies like this.
By Nina at 10:55 AM ON 08/02/09
wow!I love westerns and now bugs.Something different!When will it be released on dvd??I want to buy it!!
By Liara-Shadowsong at 11:21 PM ON 08/30/09
I just saw the movie. I am a fan of sci-fi, but not westerns... which is overruled by being a huge fan of James Marsters. The only reason I decided to watch the movie was that I saw him in the commercial on SciFi (sorry, SyFy ;P), but I don't regret doing so in the least. I thought the rest of the main cast were solid actors, and the plot was surprisingly good for a simple made-for-tv B movie (which is a lot more than I can say for many other late-night creature features I've seen, with or without an actor I'm a fan of). And frankly, I respect an actor who is willing to do a low budget movie if it's something they think they'd enjoy working on. Way to go, James Marsters!
By ALEX1945 at 3:34 PM ON 08/31/09
These guys are carrying the wrong kind of revolver. They are toting double action smiths and colts. The correct gun would have been single action peacemakers etc., given the time period.
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ALEX1945:
These guys are carrying the wrong kind of revolver. They are toting double action smiths and colts. The correct g...More »