![\"\"](\"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/piranhaconda16.jpg\" "\\"piranhaconda16\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nOnce upon a time, a “monster mash-up” referred to a film that featured two or more monsters taking part in a head-to-head punch-up. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man<\/em> (US-1943; dir. Roy William Neill), House of Dracula<\/em> (US-1945; dir. Erle C. Kenton), Kingu Kongu tai Gojira<\/em> [trans. King Kong vs Godzilla<\/em>] (Japan-1962; dir. Ishir\u00f4 Honda), Kaiju soshingeki <\/em>[aka Destroy All Monsters<\/em>] (Japan-1968; dir. Ishir\u00f4 Honda),\u00a0Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack<\/em> (Japan-2001; dir. Shusuke Kaneko), Gamera vs Viras<\/em> [aka Destroy All Planets<\/em>] (Japan-1968; dir. Noriaki Yuasa), Komodo vs Cobra<\/em> (US-2005; dir. Jim Wynorski), Mega-Shark vs Giant Octopus<\/em> (US-2009; dir. Ace Hannah), and Dinocroc vs Supergator<\/em> (US-2010; dir. Rob Robertson, Jim Wynorski) to name but a few.<\/p>\n Then something happened. Last year B-film legend Roger Corman hit on a title that mashed together two monstrous critters into one even more monstrous critter, and the world of B-film monsterdom gained a new paradigm.<\/p>\n News of Sharktopus<\/em> (US-2010; dir. Declan O\u2019Brien) first hit the internet in early 2010 and by September TV screens in the US and later around the world. Sure, the idea of the monster as a hybrid creature — an unnatural co-mingling of different species (man-and-wolf, woman-and-snake, snake-and-bat) — has been around for a long time, encapsulated in the ancient monster known as the Chimaera (Chimera).<\/p>\n The Greek monster Chimaera (above) had the body of a lion, the head of a goat (as well as the head of a lion), a tail that ended in a snake’s head, and sometimes eagle’s wings. Greek and indeed world mythology is replete with such hybrid monstrosities — the Sphinx,\u00a0 harpies, the Manticore (first image below), Lamia, Pegasus, the Minotaur, mermaids (Sirens), Naga Kanya (second image below), and goat-headed Devils such as Baphomet, etc. In fact, the epithet “chimaera” is now used by scientists to refer to hybrid animals that are a co-mingling of two or more genetically different tissue types, usually as a result of mutation or grafting. Of course they rarely look like these guys:<\/p>\n The idea of a combined shark and octopus wasn’t new with Sharktopus<\/em>. Lamberto Bava’s Shark: Rosso nell\u2019oceano<\/em> [aka Devouring Waves<\/em>; Monster Shark<\/em>; Devil Fish<\/em>] (It\/France) had done the same thing in 1984. But it’s the title<\/em> that counts. Success in the sub-genre of B-monster flicks has always attended enticingly ridiculous titles — usually in themselves the inspiration for making the picture. So knowing how popular giant monster films had become, Corman took Lewis Carroll’s lead and made a portmanteau word out of the monster’s two components. This caught the imagination of fans everywhere and news of the film provoked a rash of internet speculation, not to mention drawings of the hybrid beast. Subsequently, Sharktopus<\/em> was a mega-success for the SyFy Channel — and a new sub-sub-genre is born.<\/p>\n What’s next? We’re still waiting on the Chihuahua and Piranha mash-up Chihuanhas<\/em><\/a> (directed by Jim L. Clark). But in the meantime Roger Corman has been exercising his pop-savvy imagination on possibilities and has come up with this:<\/p>\n Yeah, that’s right. Corman has mashed together one of Asylum Entertainment’s biggest SyFy successes — Mega Piranha<\/em> — with a second successful giant monster: the giant snake, or more specifically the giant Anaconda. Jim Wynorski, another B-film legend, is set to direct Piranhaconda<\/em> with a cast that includes Rib Hillis (Dinocroc vs. Supergator<\/em>), super-model Rachel Hunter, Michael Madsen (Species II<\/em>, Die Another Day<\/em>, Kill Bill, vol. 1 and 2<\/em>, Frankenstein<\/em>, Chasing Ghosts<\/em>, 24<\/em>, Infected<\/em>), Michael Swan (<\/em>Dinocroc vs Supergator<\/em>)<\/em>, Diana Terranova (Californication<\/em>, Camel Spiders<\/em>), Terry Ivens (All My Children<\/em>), Shandi Finnessey (Sharktopus<\/em>) <\/em>and Kurt Yaeger (Dolphin Tale<\/em>, Camel Spiders<\/em>)<\/em>.<\/p>\n Though it’s probably fairly irrelevant, the plot or what we know of it, goes like this:<\/p>\n A low-budget horror movie crew, inept kidnappers and a reptile expert battle a monstrous anaconda\/piranha hybrid in the Amazon jungle.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Piranhaconda’s Characteristics:<\/p>\n [youtube LNMYk40XESU]<\/p>\n Filming took place recently at Polihali State Park on Kauai, Hawai:<\/p>\n [youtube Q6WQiOXP0Wg]<\/p>\n Roger Corman chats about Sharktopus<\/em>, Dinoshark<\/em> and Piranhaconda<\/em>:<\/p>\n [youtube ZODfWCAsEMM]<\/p>\n Interviews re Piranhaconda<\/em> from at Wondercon 2011, including the enthusiasm of Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead<\/em>:<\/p>\n [youtube OLWs8Jh-SZQ]<\/p>\n There’s also a heap of short videos on this YouTube Channel<\/a> purporting to be footage taken during the first expedition to capture Piranhaconda. It’s dated “1920”, but includes helicopters, 4WDs and other modern technology, so I don’t know what it all means. Check it out for yourself if it takes your anachronistic fancy.<\/p>\n The Gallery below includes a heap of pictures of the “life-size” Piranhaconda puppet used during filming (nicknamed “Bernie”) and the cast on location in Hawaii.<\/p>\n Piranhaconda premieres on the SyFy Channel on 11 October 2011 (source: Matchflick<\/a>).<\/p>\n Sources<\/strong>: Facebook<\/a>; via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood<\/p>\n Gallery<\/strong>:<\/p>\n There’s a new monster mash-up on the way. Once upon a time, a “monster mash-up” referred to a film that featured two or more monsters taking part in a head-to-head punch-up. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (US-1943; dir. Roy William … Continue reading <\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Roger Corman Talks About Piranhaconda<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>Above: Jim Wynorski on the job<\/span><\/h5>\n\n\t\t\t
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