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 "Angel Assassin 2: Halo and Goodbye"

2009

Written by:  A.H. Eckles

Directed by:  Frank Dunning

Art Director:  Allan Craig

 Genre:  Drama/Action/Thriller

Taglines:  Say Halo to Your Worst Nightmare

Plot Summary:

Following the successful $280M grossing original in 2005, fans immediately began clamoring for more of this action-packed cult classic from Sunset Studios. Production began in 2007 and tabloids could barely keep up with the on-set shenanegans and constant melodrama that plagued much of the production period. All four main stars were featured in scathing tabloid exploits at one time or another.  The first - and arguably most scandelous - was the apparent ousting of Alex Reynolds as lead female star, for the much younger and inexperienced Kelly Blackthorne, Reynolds' very own daughter-in-law.  On and off set sparring was widely speculated during the course of most of the filming. Second was the tragic death of the film's director, Frank Dunning, shortly before filming concluded.  Dunning was one of dozens who perished in the 2008 Hollywood earthquake.  Months before, Dunning was brutally beaten in the parking garage at Sunset Studios, a crime which is still reported unsolved.  Third in a long line of bad publicity, was the much publicized divorce of leading man Scott Kelly from his wife of four years, Shailene Summers.  An affair between Kelly and Reynolds was splashed across the papers for several months, an unlikely pairing that to this day neither one has disputed.  In a strange coincidence, Kelly was later also brutally beaten by an unknown assailant, rendering him with no short-term memory as he convalesced in a Pasadena private care clinic.  Lastly, but certainly not least, was the psychotic breakdown of leading star Victor Distefano.  A victim of reported multiple personalities, Distefano was revealed to have been the cause of Suzanne Rogers' mysterious disappearance in 1996, a revenge tactic as a result of Rogers' husband, Jordan Rydell's affair with Distefano's wife.  Under hypnosis by Distefano, Rogers accidentally killed Troy Beauchamp, son of aging star Lola Lamont.  After filming on Angel Assassin 2 ended, Distefano kidnapped Rydell and Rogers' daughter, Heather Armstrong, and wound up falling overboard his yacht in a fiery end to his reign of terror.  A body was never recovered.  No comments have been made by Sunset Studios, or its CEO, James Blackthorne.  A release date has been scheduled for late summer 2009, and critics speculate the mass of publicity could either hurt the film, or give it one of the best shots at blockbuster status of Blackthornes' career.

Cast overview, first billed only

 

Victor Distefano                     ... Flynn Hemmingway

Alex Reynolds                       ... Angel

Scott Kelly                             ...Stone Tinstman

Kelly Blackthorne                    ...Angelica

Trivia:  Aeriel Giddish, the star of the first film, was unavailable to reprise her role due to a court-ordered house arrest that overlapped with production schedules.  

Runtime: 128 min

Country: USA

Studio: Sunset Studios

Language: English

Color: Color

Sound Mix: SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:   USA:R (certificate #44271) | UK:15 | South Korea:15 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | South Africa:16LV | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB)