Amber's tv movie Gryphon

[molsongrrrl]

i will post this movie for folks who cannot see it ... this time around i will split the file into 2 or 3 pieces!

[Pinocchio1940]

Well, if it does well, I hope SCI - FI will release it on DVD

[molsongrrrl]

and i am sure they will - just saying if folks cannot see it on the scifi channel - can get a viewing in before the dvd is released!

[Alicepire]

I come bearing gifts. Here is some stuff that Amber said about it in an Australian interview:
(AB = Amber Benson, AC = Alice Clarke)

AC: Attack of the gryphon, Xena-esque apparently?

AB: yeah yeah it’s sorta like a sword and armour battle sci fi TV movie for the sci fi channel. I don’t know when it’s coming out, they keep telling me different dates so…

AC: do you reckon it’ll come out here?

AB: I hope so, I hope you guys get to see it, it should be fun. It was a lot of fun to make. Went to Romania, went to Bucharest for a month and a half and it was really fun. I got to sword fight, I got to learn how to broadsword fight. Not even duel.. it’s like full on like yeah and I had armour and riding horses and kicking butt, it was really fun.

AC: did you get to do many of your own stunts?

AB: um no. I didn’t I had this.. I did a little bit of stuff like with a sword, but and I definitely rode. But all the hardcore stunts I had a stuntwoman named Carmen who was just incredible, she’s like Romanian. One of only a few stunt women in all of Romania, and she was just awesome, like there was a scene where I had to pick this guy up and throw him over my shoulder, and get on a horse with him.

AC: As you do.

AB: yeah of course as we all do. And she just did it! She’s this little tiny girl and she just shwoop up on the horse, it was incredible, like a full grown man, she just picked him up and put him over her shoulder and got on a horse. It’s just like woah! I couldn’t’ve done it. I would’ve, yeah, fallen over.

[Hemiola]

This brings to mind a famous remark that Lucy Lawless made when asked about the stunts on "Xena". Someone remarked to her that the shots were so seemlessly integrated, that they could never tell when it was her [Lucy] or the stuntperson in the shot. LL thereupon replied: "If you can't see my face, you know it's not me."

[urnofosiris]

LL thereupon replied: "If you can't see my face, you know it's not me."

lol, very honest and amusing, bless her

[Hemiola]

Um, my TV listings show a film called "Gryphon" on the SciFi Channel this Saturday, but without any mention of AB!!!

Is this the same film???

[dlline]

It should be. There's not a lot of other stuff listed for this weekend on SciFi, especially with the same title.

[helpfulinformationperhaps]

I liked the clip - hee hee amber with a broad sword - cool!

www.scifi.com/gryphon/

[WebWarlock]

I have my TiVo set and ready to go!

Warlock

[ambercissism]

Would any kitten from the US be so kind and share/post the entire episode? Pretty please?

[molsongrrrl]

i posted up thread that i will be making the movie available for folks who will not have opportunity to see it tonight!

[dlline]

Hey Everyone!

I found these pics at tvguide.com. Check 'em out!

http://www.tvguide.com/detail/celebrity.aspx?tvobjectid=139319

Just click on the pics (halfway down the page on the right) to start the slide viewer. I'm sorry, but I couldn't figure any other way to link the whole pic.

I love how every pic seems to feature our heroine covered in grit and grime. I know we had the discussion earlier, but she still looks incredibly hot that way. And the off-the-shoulder action with the broadsword is the stuff that dreams are made of.

But I digress.

Little over an hour and the DVR is set.

[Roger Doger]

I'm watching it now. As usual, Amber does a wonderful job playing her role.

Unfortunately, the story is rather linear, and the special effects are definitely lacking. I would have liked more warmth and humor injected into the story (there's plenty of room for it).

If Amber had been writer/director, I think it would be a lot more entertaining.

[Willowtree252]

Can,t speak....think....only.......drool.....Hot......Sexy......Amber God I love that woman no matter what she,s in!!!!!

[YMKA]

Just done watching it....well....I actually liked it..... Of course visual effect are somewhat lacking....and you can pick on some things in a story, but overall, I really liked it....and I'd watch it again probably.... And Amber did a good job...

[BBOvenGuy]

Pretty cheesy... And all in all, I think I liked Holiday Wishes a little better, but this was still fun. It reminded me of all those D&D-themed movies I saw when I was a kid.

I couldn't help noticing that Amber lost her armor halfway through the movie. What was up with that? But I did like the "I will not be fought over" scene.

[dlline]

Well, I have to jump in here...

First, I thought Amber was great, especially considering the lack of any kind of good dialogue that she had to work with. She looked great (no, duh!) and I loved the way they dressed her.

Now, the rest of it.... weak (at best). I thought the story was predicatble. Jonathan LaPaglia was appearantly the Prince of North Jersey. And what was that with the slutty red witch with the boob job? I actually considered taking notes for the purpose of this post, but decided that the project would be far too involved, so I'll just stop for now.

I suppose everyone will think I'm a bitch, but the story was bad, most of the acting was bad, and the CGI was bad. I have been noted in several earlier posts wondering why Amber was always dirty... I guess, considering what was obviously a low budget, that the dirt was cheaper than actual makeup. OK, I really am a bitch.

I'd like to officially congratulate Amber on a job well done.... again, she was great. I wish she could have been the one to kick the gryphon's ass, because she definately deserved the opportunity to be the hero. Well, maybe next time (we can hope).

[Willow Watcher]

OK who writes these BAD parts for Amber? I mean c'mon! Anyway, other than her kissing, sleeping and getting pregnant by a MAN (no offence guys but she is Amber ya know) I thought she looked hot, sexy and totally large with the butch handling that sword. OH and the part where you see her naked back was a plus too and of course waking up wrapped in some kind of fur thing around her! That I will give points to the writers for. But as always Amber is fantastic and the loosing the armor wasn't a BAD thing considering you got so see more shoulder flesh...hehe!

[I'll_Always_Find_You]

I agree about the CGI being horrible, I couldn't help but to laugh at the Gryphon everytime it was shown. I think Amber lost her armor because it would have been too heavy to walk all that distance with it on. My two favorite scenes would have to be when she was trying to get him to tell her all about the sword thing and all the events that led to. The second hands down is the "I will not be fought over" scene.

[Kajun]

Where did that armor go anyway? A movie with adventure, magic and a happy ending starring Amber.. excellent. I really enjoyed Gryphon and plan to watch it again.. and again..

[Lucian]

Awful movie, just terrible. Bad writing, bad acting and bad effects. Just a horrible movie.

I'm actually embarrassed for Amber.

[xita]

I think the losing of the armor bothered me because there's some kind of implication that she had to be made more feminine after she slept with the man. As if it was not acceptable to walk around like that if you're now interested in some man. I don't know, maybe I am sensitive.

[BBOvenGuy]

I think the losing of the armor bothered me because there's some kind of implication that she had to be made more feminine after she slept with the man. As if it was not acceptable to walk around like that if you're now interested in some man. I don't know, maybe I am sensitive.

Actually, I think you're right on the money.

[mangled_monkey]

Jonathan LaPaglia was appearantly the Prince of North Jersey.

I made the mistake of reading the comments here BEFORE watching the movie, so, in addition to the horrid effects making me giggle, I had that running through my head.

It made for an enjoyable moviewatching experience.

I would say the movie needed more comic relief, but the gryphon WAS the comic relief.

I especially loved it falling from the sky and her just watching it. It reminded me of a sitcom, for some reason.

This left me feeling oddly jealous of Amber because she got to play knight!!! I spent my whole childhood trying to do that, and never got my chain mail.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie. It was unintentionally highly amusing, even if it did have a bit too much man chest for my liking. I'll definetely watch it again, if only for a good chuckle and geeky giggles.

[Kendahl897]

Well, it was a sci-fi movie. So cheesy is pretty much gonna be par for the course. And having watched old Xena tapes in my classroom on teachers records day, not too much cheesier than some of those. (Don't yell, I'm a Xena fan too) But I digress, yes it was a bad movie, Amber was good and cute in it, fun was had in Bulgaria and hey, we all have to make a living to allow us to do the things we really enjoy doing (like LLL and L. )

[Hemiola]

Well, I'm generally in line with the previous posters, but here follow a few comments of my own:

1) I certainly agree about the movie itself--nothing original here, essentially an eclectic assemblage of many old Sword-and-Sorcery elements, with a little bit of Tolkien and the Arthurian Legends (remember the "blade in the stone"? ) added for good measure. Still, as someone with fond memories of the many scifi/fantasy "B" movies from my childhood, it really wasn't that bad. I enjoyed it.

2) Of course, AB herself was outstanding. She worked hard in a physically difficult role, and made the best she could of the dialogue. She made a wonderfully convincing "Warrior Princess" (i.e. she never gave the impression of being "an actress in armor", but rather successfully portrayed the notion of a female raised with arms who was comfortable with the use of them.) I agree with a previous poster that Amelia should have been the one to kill the Gryphon--or she should have at least thrown the damn pike at the sorcerer.

3) This brings me to issue of the rest of the cast. I agree that we are dealing with a veritable goulash of accents--they should have picked one and stuck with it. The chap who played the sorcerer was competent, but I think miscast--in the "good ol' days" of the studio contract system, such a role would have gone to Basil Rathbone or John Carradine, either of whom would have brought tremendous "class" and believability to the role ( insert sigh of nostalgia here).

4) I was truly appalled at the spfx. Granted that this was a low-budget project, but both the "Xena" and "Hercules" series managed to produce more convincing CGI creatures/monsters on a weekly basis with even smaller budgets. For cryin' out loud, the gryphon that Ray Harryhausen created for "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" over thirty-five years ago using stop-motion animation was more lifelike!!!!!!!

5) One final funny thought--it seems that AB can never truly escape from vampires. As you know, the film was shot in Romania, and if you look at the exterior views of "Castle Vallon", you will note that it appears to be none other than Targoviste, one of the castles of Vlad Tepes, the model for Stoker's Dracula!

[Dana5140]

I thought this was pretty horrid, though naked back was nice. But I know Amber can do better, and in part I blame the directors. During Buffy, whenever Tara was on screen I would keep my eye on her, no matter where the camera was looking or who the speaker in the scene was- and Amber never broke character. In this film, if the camera was not on Amber, all she would do is stand there- she was not in character at all. The director was so novice that all he cared about was where the camera was pointed, and nothing else. And the actors, in their scenes with the poorly designed gryphon, did terrible acting- I mean, they were ducking and jumping as per directions, since there was no actualk gryphon in those scenes, but those were like film-making 101. And the mish mash of accents; even Amber slipped in an out of a pseudo-English accent. And the sorcerer- embarrasing- and his two women- boob jobs in ancient Romania? Oy!

[dlline]

I did have an idea, with my g/f's input of how the movie could have been better. Follow me, Kittens:

The woods at night, Princess Amelia in her off-the shoulder sweatshirt thing, braless of course. Something ghastly swoops through the night, startling the mighty Princess, who breaks into a run. Stopping to catch her breath, she turns to see what had been following her. Nothing, Just an extra-corporeal plot device. She turns, resolutely stomping back to her camp. She trips, falling over a rock, landing in the ice cold stream. She gets up, dripping wet and cold, costume clinging in that way that would make us all soooo happy.. We all swoon and feel suddenly better since we now do not care that the movie sucks. Our minds are elsewhere.

Still with me? Good.

[umgaynow]

Would you like some crackers to go with that cheeseball?!?!?!

OY!! What is it with the Sci-Fi Channel...their original series are top notch work but the original movies are just plain sad...could that Gryphon have been any more pathetic? I've seen more convincing CGI on websites!

I actually found myself laughing aloud on several occasions where it was certainly not intended...I realize Amber needs to make money to pay for Lovers, Liars & Lunatics but she really needs to get a new agent...making these cheesy made for TV movies for Lifetime and Sci-Fi is going to do nothing for her career...she needs to get into a real respectible indie film with decent production values soon...or we may never hear from her again...as deeply talented as she is, in Hollywood you are only as good or memorable as your last picture...and I really do think Amber was born to be an indie movie queen...that's the only place for any real acting these days and as we know...the girl can act without even speaking!

I don't fault Amber for this performance...I just think she was horribly miscast...yes, our girl has proven time and again that she can play a strong determined woman...but the fact that she doesn't have a single butch bone in her body made her a little hard to believe as a warrior princess type...all I can think is the director had to have said "don't act, just try to sound tough all the time...talk through gritted teeth, that'll work"

There is no way Amber would have made that choice herself...she did what she could with the part, but considering the script was apparently written by a retarded 12 year old illiterate chimpanzee there is only so much she could do to rise above the material...as for the movie itself, I really wonder if the network was looking for a tax write-off...I know, let's cast the retarded office boy from LA Law as the villian...yeah that'll work!! And what was the deal with The Porno Twins? They both looked like they stepped off the cover of a XXX video...and the acting was just as one dimensional...horrible...truly horrible...the "hero" was such a yutz I couldn't understand why the princess wouldn't just kill him instantly...but sleeping with him? That made no sense at all...although the ultimate wonder of nature that is Amber's naked back did keep me from changing the channel...My theory about the loss of the armour is that someone looked at the dailies and said "I think we need to get Amber into something a little more revealing and lose the armour so her boobies can bounce when she runs or no one is ever going to watch the whole thing"

And to agree with all others, she should have been the one to kill the horribly rendered gryphon and the villian as well...what was with that defenseless woman being caught with a knife at her throat and having to be rescued by a man crap at the end...what happened to the kickass warrior babe? Come to think of it, I think the retarded 12 year old chimpanzee was also drunk while writing the script...anyway, I'll still watch it again...because it has excellent potential for the MST3K treatment...and then there is Amber's lovely muscled back Plus I can take one look at her in the armour and chain mail and close my eyes and fantasize her in Joan of Arc instead

Sandi