PRESENTS
A FILM BY J.T. PETTY
HELLBENDERS 3D
IN THEATERS NATIONWIDE AND ON DEMAND
OCTOBER 18, 2013
Running Time: 85 minutes
Rating: R
For Press Materials: www.lionsgatepublicity.com
For Further Information Please Contact:
Kevin McAlpine
Shelby Kimlick
MPRM
MPRM
kmcalpine@mprm.com
skimlick@mprm.com
323.933.3399
323.933.3399
Jennifer Sandler
Lionsgate
jsandler@lionsgate.com
310.255.4072
HELLBENDERS 3D
There are demons so terrible that no mortal man of God could successfully drive
them back to Hell. The only option is for the exorcist himself to invite possession and then
commit suicide, dragging along the demon to damnation - so the Augustine Interfaith Order
of Hellbound Saints - or Hellbenders - was formed. A group of elite, highly-trained
exorcists, they live in a constant state of debauchery so they will be ready to go to Hell at
any moment. When an infernal Norse demon called BLACK SURTR escapes into New
York City intent on cracking open the gates of Hell, the Hellbenders must use every ounce
of their debauchery to battle the demon and save the planet from eternal damnation!
The Brooklyn Parish of Hellbenders has six members led by cantankerous Lutheran
ANGUS (Clancy Brown), with clever but undisciplined LARRY (Clifton Collins Jr.), cynical
Unitarian ELIZABETH (Robyn Rikoon), New Age Southern Baptist marshmallow MACON
(Macon Blair), officious and sincere Catholic STEPHEN (Andre Royo) and joyless Polish
Catholic pessimist ERIC (Dan Fogler).
HELLBENDERS is written and directed by J.T Petty. Jon S. Denny, Lawrence Mattis,
David Moscow, Mark L. Pederson and Aldey Sanchez produced the film, with Gregor
Habsburg serving as co-producer. Director of Photography Ryan Samul, production
designer Russell Barnes, costume designer Abby O’Sullivan and editors Jacob Craycroft
and Joel Plotch led the creative behind-the-scenes team. Casting for HELLBENDERS was
done by Adrienne Stern and music was by Jeff Grace. Executive producers are David
Alpert, Miranda Bailey, David Engel, Matthew Leutwyler, Kelly McCormick and Jay Rifkin.
Circle of Confusion, Unreal Pictures, Un Ltd Pictures in association with Ambush
Entertainment present an Off Hollywood Pictures production of HELLBENDERS. The film is
distributed domestically by Lionsgate.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT:
I’m just barely old enough to have experienced the anxiety of possible nuclear
annihilation. In the early ‘80s we still had bomb drills at my Catholic school outside
Washington, D.C. I’ve always been grateful for the nightmares of slow, rotting death via
radiation poisoning, if only for giving me the context to later understand what an awesomely
inspiring movie DR. STRANGELOVE is.
Kubrick treats nuclear war as absolutely real, dangerous and terrifying, but still
manages somehow to laugh at it. It’s thrilling and cathartic, a premise filled with amazing
visuals and the kind of ecstatic, paradoxical misbehavior that pulls iconic performances from
its cast. I can only imagine what a frightening and inspiring movie it must have been in ’64.
I’ll let other filmmakers pretend they can grow up to be Stanley Kubrick, and I don't
think HELLBENDERS is as scary as STRANGELOVE - I'd rather face demonic possession
than nuclear annihilation, and to be honest, I'd probably rather face Hell than total oblivion.
(This is a director's statement about a comedy, I promise.)
It's now 2012, and more Americans believe in The Devil than they do the Theory of
Evolution, and by a widening margin. The Devil is real in America and exorcism is a film
conceit that can still frighten a jaded movie-going audience.
When the extended cut of THE EXORCIST made a theatrical run in 2000, I attended
a screening at Radio City Music hall and watched it with more than a thousand people. It
was still effective twenty‐seven years later, and I don't think anybody in the audience was
less than terrified. The most remarkable part of the experience for me, though, was how
much the audience laughed. I can't imagine anybody thought the movie was ridiculous; I
think it was laughter as release, a communal cry of “Uncle!” We had all just been so
thoroughly emotionally pummeled, so overstuffed with sensory input that we would have
opened any valve we could. As an audience, as a crowd of strangers at the mercy of the
same overwhelming spectacle, laughter was all we could reach for. (I laugh and cringe at
UFC fights by the same instinct.) But does that mean THE EXORCIST is a funny movie? I
kind of think it does.
I don't remember how the concept for HELLBENDERS first landed on me, the idea
that a preacher would necessarily need to court sin and debauchery in order to be spiritually
prepared for total war with Hell, but once I had it, it was impossible to think about an
exorcism story on any other terms. And I thought that was really, really funny.
There's been no shortage of exorcism movies in the past few years and the conceits
are starting to stretch pretty thin. But when you make all those ideas explicit ‐ all of the rules,
the discipline, the anti-spiritual bureaucracy of any church --‐ it gets ridiculous enough to be
fun.
And it's such an opportunity for character. It was great fun thinking of the kinds of
ministers and priests who would end up as Hellbound Saints; the compulsively--‐ sinful man
the church wouldn't take in any other branch, the overly‐pious man who hates sin and
sinning but will make that sacrifice to fight Satan, the female minister who wants to be doing
spiritual battle on a scale she couldn't with the Unitarians. The entire cast (Clifton Collins Jr!
Dan Fogler! Andre Royo!) was so good and so clearly got the fun and weird innocence of
the concept. I grew up thinking of Clancy Brown as the heaviest of the heavies; he spends
half this movie wearing nothing but a rug and a woman's purple bathrobe.
But HELLBENDERS isn't satire. I don't have any interest in camp. The hardest part of
the movie was balancing the gonzo characters and real idea of violence, both spiritual and
physical. From the few small screenings we've had so far, the hardest laughs and biggest
reaction we've had came from Catholics, people who were raised on a weekly diet of
church.
What I hope is funny about HELLBENDERS is what's scary about THE EXORCIST-Hell might be real. Our kind and benevolent Creator may be holding the threat of eternal
damnation and unimaginable suffering over our heads until the day we die. Hilarious!
ABOUT THE CAST
CLANCY BROWN (Angus)
This prolific and versatile actor emerged from the fertile Chicago theatrical scene of the
early 1980's. Roles such as "Jean" in August Strindberg's Miss Julie; "Aaron" in
Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus; and "Geisler" in Glen DeCoasta's A Constant Wish
brought him to the attention of critics and audiences alike. His film debut as "Viking" in Bad
Boys' starring little known actor Sean Penn, brought him to the attention of Hollywood.
It is hard to say for which roles Mr. Brown is best known as his career has been both
distinguished and quirky. Legions of Highlander fans know him as the prototype immortal
villain "Kurgan" in the initial film that grew into a franchise. Then there is the ferocious
"Captain Hadley" in the multiple Oscar® Nominated The Shawshank Redemption. And on
television Clancy found fans with his portrayal of the 1934 preacher, Brother Justin Crowe,
on HBO’s Emmy® award winning series, Carnivale.
His films have crossed the genres from thrillers (Pathfinder, Blue Steel; Pet Sematary 2) to
true-life drama (Desperate Rescue; Love, Lies and Murder; The Man Who Broke 1000
Chains); from family films (The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, Flubber) to social dramas
(Normal, The Laramie Project); from action dramas (Cowboys and Aliens, The Guardian,
Starship Troopers; Extreme Prejudice; Shoot to Kill) to animation (Spongebob Squarepants;
The Justice League; Super Robot Monkey). And some of his work defies conventional
classification (The Bride; Cast a Deadly Spell; and cult favorite The Adventures of Buckaroo
Bonzai).
In 2012 Clancy appeared in Vanity Fair’s March issue celebrating Hollywood’s great
character actors, and he’ll be on the big screen with five different feature films slated to
arrive in theatres in 2013 and 2014.
Clancy was born in the rural southwestern Ohio town of Urbana, where his family owned
and operated the local newspaper. He attended Northwestern University on a track
scholarship and remains an active alumnus. He was married to television news producer,
Jeanne Johnson in 1993 and is the proud father of a daughter and son.
CLIFTON COLLINS JR. (Larry)
Nurturing an impressive body of work, Clifton Collins, Jr. is one of Hollywood’s most
versatile talents and his career continues to evolve with exciting and challenging projects.
“Collins is mesmerizing…” and “Mr. Collins eloquent performance…” are just a few of the
accolades he received for his portrayal of Perry Smith in the director Bennett Miller’s
Academy Award nominated film “Capote.” Clifton was also received an Alma Award
nomination for Best Actor.
Clifton’s passion for the art of acting keeps him drawn to both studio and independent
features. As one of Hollywood busiest actors, Clifton has starred in films that embrace both
comedy and drama. Clifton just wrapped filming the Warner Brothers feature
TRANSCENDANCE opposite Johnny Depp and with Wally Pfister making his directorial
debut with as well as shooting two films back to back for Terrence Malick for KNIGHT OF
CUPS opposite Christian Bale and a yet to be titled feature. He was last seen in the Warner
Brothers / Legendary Films feature PACIFIC RIM directed by Guillermo del Toro and
starring Clifton alongside Charlie Hunnam, Idis Ilba and Charlie Day. Previously, Clifton
starred alongside Amy Adams and Emily Blunt in the Sundance hit SUNSHINE CLEANING
as well as starring in the Paramount 2010 Summer Blockbuster STAR TREK, in which he
played the Romulan ‘Ayel.’ Notable performances that year also included starring in
CRANK 2 for Lionsgate opposite Jason Statham, the Mike Judge directed Miramax film
EXTRACT alongside Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis and Ben Affleck, Jim Sheridan’s feature
BROTHERS alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman and Sony’s sequel feature
BOONDOCK SAINTS 2.
Clifton’s other notable film credits include “Traffic” directed by Steven Soderbergh where
Clifton played the unforgettable assassin ‘Frankie Flowers’ opposite Benecio Del Torro,
“Rules of Attraction” directed by Roger Avary for Lion’s Gate and “Tigerland” directed by
Joel Schumacher. Even at the beginning of his career, Clifton found himself working with
some of the town’s bright young filmmakers including the Hughes Brothers’ in “Menace to
Society” and “Dead Presidents”, John Singleton’s “Poetic Justice”, Kevin Reynolds’ “187”
and Antoine Fuqua’s “The Replacement Killers.”
No stranger to the small screen, in 2010 Clifton shot a starring role in NBC’s drama “The
Event,” an emotional, high-octane conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker, (Jason
Ritter) an ordinary man who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his would-be
fiancée, and unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in U.S. history. The series
ended after 26 episodes in early 2011. He received and Emmy nomination for his role in
highly acclaimed miniseries “Thief” in which he starred alongside Andre Braugher. He has
also recurred on some of primetime’s highest rated shows including “24,” “The Shield” and
“Alias.” In 2013, Clifton signed on to ABC’s 1 hour drama series RED WIDOW starring
opposite Radha Mitchell and Goran Visnic.
On the directing side, Clifton directed the video for Zac Brown Band’s single “Chicken
Fried,” which debuted on CMT to rave reviews and was nominated for two CMT Awards
(Group Video of The Year and USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year) and won the
CMT USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year award! It was awarded a Bronze for
over all Video and Editing at the Telly Awards. Clifton has also directed the music videos
for the Zac Brown Bands follow up single “Whatever It Is,” Jamey Johnson’s “High Cost of
Living”, the Counting Crow’s “You Might Think”, Chris Still’s “100 Year Thing” and Slash’s
latest video for “Gotten.”
From an early age, Clifton Collins Jr. was encouraged to pursue his artistic talents by his
actor-grandfather who allowed Clifton the opportunity to surround himself in the acting
community. Born to a Mexican mother and a German father, Collins realized his diverse
background coupled with strong intellect would provide for a unique quality rarely seen on
screen.
Clifton currently resides in Los Angeles.
DAN FOGLER (Eric)
Making an exceptional transition from theater to film and television, Tony award winning
actor Dan Fogler was most recently seen in the leading role opposite Josh Duhamel in
SCENIC ROUTE which premiered earlier this year at SXSW. Dan is also a recurring guest
star on NBC's critically-acclaimed new series, HANNIBAL. Prior to that, he was a series
lead in the ABC sitcom MAN UP!
On the big screen, Dan has starred opposite Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart in LOVE
HAPPENS for Universal Pictures and Ang Lee’s TAKING WOODSTOCK with Liev Shreiber
and Emile Hirsch. He was the lead in Relativity’s TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT opposite
Topher Grace and Anna Faris and Disney’s MARS NEEDS MOMS opposite Seth Green.
Fogler has also starred opposite Christopher Walken in BALLS OF FURY for Focus
Features and was heard as part of the voice cast in the animated features KUNG FU
PANDA for Dreamworks, alongside Jack Black and Jackie Chan. Earlier features include
Fox’s HORTON HEARS A WHO with Steve Carrell and Jim Carrey, as well as the
independent THE MARCONI BROTHERS. Prior to that he starred in Lions Gate’s GOOD
LUCK CHUCK, opposite Dane Cook and Jessica Alba.
Dan Fogler made his directorial film debut with HYSTERICAL PSYCHO, at the 2009 Tribeca
Film Festival. The film stars the ensemble of Stage 13, the film and theater production
company of which he is a founding member and Fogler makes a cameo appearance as well
as narrates the film.
Fogler won a Tony Award in 2005 for his performance in the Broadway production of
William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s musical, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling
Bee,” directed by James Lapine. Fogler was also honored with the Outer Critics Circle, The
Lortel, Drama Desk for Best Ensemble, and Theatre World Awards for his portrayal. He was
also awarded the New York Magazine Culture Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
that year. He reprised the role in the Spring of 2007 for the West Coast run of the musical. He returned to the New York stage in the fall of 2006 in Dan O’Brien’s “The Voyage of the
Carcass,” directed by Randy Baruh. Fogler had previously appeared in off-Broadway and
regional productions, including “Bobby Gould in Hell,” “Joe Fearless,” “Crepuscule,” “Bridges
and Harmonies,” “White Devil,” and “Dilettantes & Debutantes.” Fogler’s theatrical directorial
debut was for a play that he also wrote, “Elephant in the Room” (inspired by Ionesco’s
“Rhinoceros”). It premiered at the 2007 Fringe Festival in NYC. This play was also produced
by Stage 13. Fogler also passes time as a member of Second Rate - a rock band with his
friend Law Tarello.
ANDRE ROYO (Stephen)
Andre Royo has that rare ability to give the characters he plays depth and emotion without
overshadowing his cast mates. As evidence, see Royo’s amazing turn as Bubbles on HBO's
critically acclaimed drama The Wire, Henry Arliss Higgins on Fox’s Fringe and Stephen
Canfield in Heroes. Royo has also appeared on a diverse range of shows, including How to
Make it in America, Memphis Beat, Prime Suspect, The Whole Truth, Party Down, CSI:
Miami, Numb3rs and Criminal Minds.
The first time Royo appeared on the big screen was in John Singleton’s Shaft. He’s also
appeared in an eclectic array of features such as Red Tails, Hellbenders, Remnants, The
Collection, August, Super, and Calloused Hands. Most recently he will appeared in The
Spectacular Now which premiered in competition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and is
currently in theaters. Beyond acting, Royo executive produced the independent feature film
Would You Rather and is attached to produce two additional features.
ROBYN RIKOON (Elizabeth)
Robyn Rikoon was born in Roswell, NM. Her mother is a textile artist and her father is a
painter. She grew up in Santa Fe, NM which contributed to her great love of adventure and
the outdoors. After graduating from The North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA in
Drama, Robyn made her professional theatre debut at The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis,
MN performing the role of Catherine in Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge. She moved
to NYC in 2009 where she was cast in guest star roles on HBO’s inTreatment, playing
Debra Winger's daughter alongside Gabriel Byrne, NBC’s Mercy and Law & Order SVU,
FOX’s Fringe as well as CW’s Gossip Girl and ABC’s The Unusuals.
Robyn’s first Indie film experience took her to Portland, OR in 2009 where she co-starred in
Cold Weather, an Official Selection of SXSW in 2010 which earned distribution by IFC.
Currently Robyn lives in Brooklyn, NY where she is a founding member of the new theatre
art company, NowHere, experimenting with sprouts and is desperately trying to become a
member of the Park Slope Food Co-op.
MACON BLAIR (Macon)
Macon Blair is from Alexandria, Virginia. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
He has previously appeared in JT Petty's HELLBENDERS 3D, Jeremy Saulnier's MURDER
PARTY, Steve Collins's GRETCHEN and YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, and LAW AND
ORDER: SVU.
Writing credits include the screenplay for THE MONKEY'S PAW (Chiller Network), the
graphic novel HELLCITY (Image Comics), and various stories for AVENGERS: CLASSIC
and WOLVERINE (Marvel).
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
J.T PETTY (Director/Writer)
JT Petty is a writer and director of movies, video games, graphic novels, and children's
books. He shot his first feature film, SOFT FOR DIGGING, at the age of 20; it went on to
play at the Sundance Film Festival and dozens of festivals around the world. His other
films include the creature Western THE BURROWERS for Lionsgate and documentary
horror S&MAN (Sandman) for HDNet Films, both of which premiered in the Toronto Film
Festival's Midnight Madness Program.
He wrote the original SPLINTER CELL video game, and contributed to several of the
sequels. It's gone on to become a major franchise, earning billions. His CLEMENCY
POGUE series of children's books, published by Simon & Schuster, was optioned for film by
the Jim Henson Company. His most recent publication is the graphic novel BLOODY
CHESTER, out from FirstSecond.
RYAN SAMUL (Director of Photography)
One of the busiest and most respected cinematographers in New York
independent film,
Ryan Samul's work can be seen in Jim Mickle's STAKE LAND, Noah Buschel's THE
MISSING PERSON, and STEEL CITY.
RUSSELL BARNES (Production Designer)
New Zealand--‐born Russell is a genius of extraordinary results with limited means. His
production design work can be seen in THE MORTICIAN, and IN OUR NATURE. He is art
director for Nichola Wending Refn's ONLY GOD FORGIVES.
BRIAN SPEARS (Special Effects Makeup)
A lifelong gore aficionado, Brian Spears has more than forty credits to his name, including
the horror anthology V/H/S, Ti West's THE INKEEPERS, Mike Berbiglia's SLEEPWALK
WITH ME, Jim Mickle's STAKE LAND, and Glenn McQuaid's I SELL THE DEAD. He
previously worked with JT Petty on the BURROWERS tie--‐in short film BLOOD RED
EARTH.
JACOB CRAYCROFT (Editor)
A New York based editor whose credits include Jake Schreier's ROBOT & FRANK, Jesse
Peretz's OUR IDIOT BROTHER, George Ratliff's JOSHUA, Robert Altman's A PRAIRIE
HOME COMPANION, and Broken Lizard's SUPER TROOPERS.
JEFF GRACE (Composer)
JEFF GRACE is an award--‐winning composer who has scored films with appearances at
the Toronto, Sundance, Venice, TriBeCa, New York, Los Angeles and South by Southwest
film festivals. Jeff’s scores include Kelly Reichardt’s MEEK'S CUTOFF, Jim Mickle’s STAKE
LAND (2010 TIFF Midnight Madness Winner), Ti West’s THE INNKEEPERS and THE
HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, and Larry Fessenden’s THE LAST WINTER. His music has been
performed by
Flux Quartet, BBC Philharmonic, Lucia Micarelli, Kenny Barron, American Opera
Projects, and members of the Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic Orchestras.
From 2001--‐2004 Jeff worked as an assistant to Academy Award® winning composer
Howard Shore on such projects as Peter Jackson’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY
and Martin Scorsese’s THE GANGS OF NEW YORK.