A Brief History of ASTRON-6

So who are Astron-6?  I like to compare them to the "Voltron" of Canadian genre filmmakers. While every member is multi-talented, they become a supreme galactic force with their powers combined!

Matthew Kennedy, Conor Sweeney, Adam Brooks, Jeremy Gillespie, and Steve Kostanski - with your powers combined, you are ASTRON-6!*

It all started with the Winnipeg Film Massacre, a festival started by Jeremy Gillespie and his girlfriend. In the beginning, the future members were in competition with each other, and hated each other!

Astron-6 was the brainchild of Adam Brooks and Jeremy Gillespie. The intention had been to create a fake 80's video distributor to release their sketches under. They chose the name out of the love for Vestron - and were going to go with Astron Video - but that existed, so it became Astron-6.

But before Astron-6, there was first GOREBLADE - a web series.  Here is perhaps the earliest relic of Astron-6, the little known Goreblade website!  Goreblade can also be found on their shorts DVD, and the astron site, but the above website was basically never used. So after seeing Kostanki's effects in the shorts he had submitted to Winnipeg film massacre, Adam and Jeremy brought him in to make Goreblade. In return, Matthew Kennedy and Conor Sweeney brought in the others to help them make HIZ, an oldschool dubbed itallian style zombie flick.

HIZ was the first official Astron-6 short! Everything after HIZ was tagged with  the Astron-6 Logo.
Soon after that came Laser Ghost 2: The return to Laser Cove….  And the films kept coming!  At this point in time, all the members lived near each other, and the projects already started to grow in scope.

The action packed, ultra violent sci-fi comedy Manborg was their first feature, and was shot over the course of a year - largely a on green screen's in Steve's parent's garage - as well as pretty much anywhere else that a green screen could be set up.

As they wrapped that, their comedy horror film Father's Day came right after. During a film class workshop, shooting at Matthew's apartment, They were putting glasses on the actor who would become Chris Fuchman -when they said he looked like a rapist. Conor and Matthew started joking with him about only raping dads, and the plot was born in a matter of minutes! It began as a trailer, but after teaming up with Troma, the feature became a reality. A joke made up on the spot became a premise to build a feature upon!

A still from what just might be one of many hilarious dubbed conversations in The Editor

After this the members became scattered, with Jeremy and Steve moving to Toronto, and Conor and Steve moved to Vancouver (but have since returned), renuniting with Adam.  Today, the Astron-6 spirit endures, and the team all intend to keep up the collaborations; with The Editor being the most recent, and largest scale film they've done!

Source:  Matthew Kennedy

* what, how come there are 5 named members, but it's called Astron-6?   Google says:  You are the final member.

THE EDITOR screening times:

Thu., Sept. 11th, 11:59 PM, RYERSON 

Fri., Sept. 12th, 9:15 AM, SCOTIABANK 3 

Sat., Sept. 13th, 6:15 PM, SCOTIABANK 4

The Team behind THE EDITOR are still COOL GUYS

ASTRON-6 is a proud homegrown Canadian filmmaking force like no other! This year we welcome the co-directing team of Matthew Kennedy and Adam Brooks, who this time lead the charge with their new film and Midnight Madness selection The Editor.

With movies like Manborg, Father's Day, and a plethora of unforgettable bizarre ultra-violent and ultra twisted shorts on their resume, I'm always excited to hear there's a new release on the horizon from Astron-6.

However, the film that first captured my heart was Cool Guys.  Cool Guys (2008) is a 28 minute 80s style screwball comedy, that drastically deviates from its expected path.

 I thought I'd catch up with Matthew Kennedy, Adam Brooks, Steve Kostanski, Jeremy Gillespie, and Conor Sweeney online, to hear their thoughts of this early, yet resolutely twisted signature film.

The Anti-After School Special

Midnight Madness Blog: Gentlemen of Astron-6,  what are some of your memories of making Cool Guys?

Matthew Kennedy: My first thought is one we've all had. At one time, we thought Cool Guys was the hardest movie we had ever made. It was supposed to be a fun short that we shot over a weekend at the beach but slowly everything went wrong. Locations pulled out on us over and over again. The heat was unreal that summer, we shot all through the night in an awful motel room blowing fuses and eventually the air conditioner. We ended up not getting a bunch of beach footage and had to shoot on a vacant beach in September to finish the movie. it was cold. It almost destroyed Astron-6.  But every film since that one has been one hundred times harder and it only gets harder.  AND HARDER.

Steven Kostanski: It had a few high points, that snack shack on the beach was probably the easiest time we ever had being on location. The owner was super chill and let us do whatever. That was the one fun day. But it was all downhill after that.

Jeremy Gillespie: The first cut of the movie was twice as long, totally unfunny, and was deemed "the worst thing we've ever done." Somehow Matt saved it in editing.

MMB: I'm glad you guys saw it through; it's really funny, great acting, and once you're lulled into the perceived safety of 80's style screwball comedy, it goes off the rails into hilariously twisted insanity and never stops surprising. I think it's a rare achievement.

Adam Brooks: I think it was a tiny bit ahead of its time to get as dangerous as it does, but now that's kind of the norm.

Conor Sweeney: I don't talk to these guys anymore.

Adam Brooks: Who invited that guy?

MMB: Awesome thanks for your time fellas! I'll always cherish your friendships in Cool Guys!

Adam Brooks: You may not have seen the last of the cool guys...

MMB: (I do a grinning emoticon)

Conor Sweeney: (does sunglasses guy emoticon)

MMB: Yeah, was gonna say, wrong emoticon...

Conor Sweeney: The movie is based on that emoticon

If haven't caught the film yet, you can watch Cool Guys here. Be sure to catch Astron 6's NEW giallo-comedy The Editor at Midnight Madness!

THE EDITOR screening times:

Thu., Sept. 11th, 11:59 PM, RYERSON
Fri., Sept. 12th, 9:15 AM, SCOTIABANK 3
Sat., Sept. 13th, 6:15 PM, SCOTIABANK 4