Exclusive: Ben Rock Talks 20 Seconds to Live; See the First Episode Now!
Today ArieScope Pictures is launching its second original online series, 20 Seconds to Live, directed/co-created by Ben Rock (Alien Raiders), written/co-created by Bob DeRosa (Killers), and produced by Cat Pasciak (Atari: Game Over). We had a chance to chat with Ben about the project so read on for all the details, including how you can check out the first episode, entitled “Anniversary.”
20 Seconds to Live is a scripted anthology series where characters meet their untimely demise in various twisted, fun, and oftentimes gory situations. Seven episodes will be released consecutively each Friday through July 17th – completely free for fans to enjoy – on the ArieScope website.
Regarding the series’ background, Rock told us, “It started a little over a year ago when Bob DeRosa and I (we do lots of theater projects together) had the idea to do an anthology series where the ending was always some kind of death. The more we talked about it, the more we realized we could traverse pretty much every horror sub-genre we loved in a sandbox like this. We could work with any actor (like Derek Mears and Graham Skipper, who came on board to play with us) who was willing to give us a day, different locations, different looks, different tones, etc. Starting last year we brought on an amazing producer (Cat Pasciak) and just went out and began shooting them on our own dime to see if the idea worked. The best part is that there really aren’t any rules from episode to episode – we can go supernatural, dark fantasy, grounded in reality, slapstick comedy — pretty much anything as long as it ends with someone dying. And it’s a great challenge from a writing and directing point of view because we hit a point in every episode when there’s a countdown and the show has to play out in real time. So there’s an element of real precision we have to hit in every episode.”
20 Seconds to Live will initially be exclusive to the website rather than showing up on ArieScope’s YouTube page, and Green explained why, “If we were to try and shorten or censor 20 Seconds to Live to be suitable for all audiences, it would be a disservice to what Ben, Bob, and Cat have created.” With regard to how 20 Seconds to Live ties in with what else ArieScope does, Green added, “20 Seconds to Live… shares the same sensibility of fun that our brand has come to be known for. There are so many styles and sub-genres to horror, and while our various films and television shows have explored almost all of them so far, one thing we’ve never been about is punishing the audience with any kind of mean-spirited depravity. 20 Seconds to Live is tonally right in step with what we do and shares our philosophy that it’s okay to enjoy yourself while watching horror genre content and perhaps even laugh or smile sometimes.”
Enough chit-chat! Check out the 20 Seconds to Live trailer below, and then head over to the ArieScope website to watch Episode #1, “Anniversary,” starring Rebecca Larsen and Donal Thoms-Cappello, in its entirety.
“Anniversary” Synopsis:
A married couple celebrates a special day, unaware that someone is watching them.
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