In an undisclosed location in beautiful downtown Burbank sits to ramshackle building that house that B Movie Juggernaut, the Asylum. Actually they list their address on their webpage so I guess it’s not much of a secret. Sitting outside these re-purposed garages are a fleet of post apocalyptic stock cars and assorted rubble. Without confirming the address I knew I had arrived at the newly baptized Vatican of Genre Cinema.

Most movie studios are very concerned about access. Amidst the rivers of vanilla mocha-chinos, the cacophony of the snapping of creases from the latest fashions from Abercrombie and Fitch and the zombie like stares of condescension and superiority, movie studios keep a tight rein on who and what they let into their rarefied midst. Security and elitism reigns supreme.

Not the case with the Asylum. They are down right friendly. Any girding of my frail Mid West ego was relaxed after being greeted by the affable receptionist.

The Asylum was founded by former Village Roadshow executives David Rimawi, Sherri Strain, and director David Michael Latt in 1997. The company focused on producing straight-to-video low-budget films, usually in the horror genre. In 2005, the company produced a low-budget adaptation of H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, which was released in the same year as Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the same material. Blockbuster Inc. ordered 100,000 copies of The Asylum’s adaptation, a significantly larger order than any of the company’s previous releases, resulting in Latt and Rimawi reconsidering their business model. They were later joined by writer, producer and director Paul Bales who would assume the mantle of Chief Operating Officer.

Paul Bales came out and warmly greeted myself and my associates. He took us into his office which he shares with his present partners David Rimawi and David Michael Latt. No pretense here, just an effective and solid flow of communication and management. As I shook Latt’s hand I could not but notice that he was decked out in a set of rollerblades. I later found out that in order to expedite his travel between the various pods of activity that are contained at the Asylum, Latt wore blades to make himself more efficient. In many ways that is a true allegory of the method at the Asylum.

The wall are tastefully adorned with framed posters of many of their films, the ceilings have two headed sharks suspended from it and other nightmarish creatures from many Asylum films. What immediately struck me was the comfortable nature at the Asylum and how damn clean it was. It was spotless. Paul Bales showed us the smallish space picture editors, the sound designers and the effects shop each shared . I had never seen such an amount of activity contained in such a small space.

When I enter the EFX area, I was warmly greeted by that affable pixie of CGI, Joe Lawson. Joe is a lead efx artist at the Asylum and as well directs features for The Asylum, his latest being the World War 2 epic “Ardennes Fury”. The elves of the phantasmagorical that is the CGI department looked up briefly when we entered their domain then hurriedly went back to work. The room was festooned with models and toys derived from these fertile imaginations.

What really amazed me was the intense work ethic that seem to emanate from the place. In other studios I had visited, water cooler mobs and intensive kibbitzing was the rule of the day, not at the Asylum, people were working and working very hard. No pretense, no wasteful overhead just people knowing they are at a special place and working hard to sustain that place. I had heard of many bemoanings that the Asylum did not pay what other studios paid, were cheap, did not allow inflated salaries. All true, but to sustain a genre film company in today’s volatile market, it is imperative that a market discipline be applied, What seemed to matter to Bales was that the Asylum provided an opportunity for many young talents to enter the film business, and the people who were working under the Asylum system one day like the progeny of Corman had done would would one day lead the film production industry.

Bales escorted our group across the street and brought us into a building that housed the recycled props and tools of the Asylum magic. In the middle of the building at the interior of a commercial passenger jet, all assembled and obviously used many times in various Asylum productions. Bales spoke of the hope of Z Nation now shooting in Spokane and the the many challenges of a shifting market. He spokes openly, honestly knowing full well that The Asylum in the ecosystem that is Hollywood is a stranger in a strange land.

We left The world of the Asylum knowing full well that we had just experience an anomaly, something different. In the world of video streaming, the need for compelling content will become paramount. The Asylum is working hard to build its space in this changing world. Seeing the ethic and the people behind the Asylum machine……if they stick to the plan, my guess is we will be seeing Asylum movies for many years to come.

For me though what warms me the most, is the knowledge that a production center exists to provide entry into the film marketplace and the environment to instill a work ethic that will define the film industry.

In many ways one can see that in world of hyper-inflated budgets and evolving markets, the method which is applied at The Asylum could be a way forward for re-defining the foundation of the film industry.

Thanks guys.