"Hobo With A Shotgun" teaser viz

Here's a project I'm rooting for: it's called Hobo With A Shotgun.   The film just went into production last week in Halifax, Nova Scotia with Rutger Hauer (ingeniously) cast in the title role.   This project began as a fake trailer that was made by Dartmouth filmmaker named Jason Eisener for a contest held by Grindhouse co-director Robert Rodriguez at the 2007 South by Southwest Festival.   Hobo With A Shotgun told the story of a hobo, fittingly equipped with a 20-gauge shotgun who goes around dispensing his own brand of bloody hobo justice.   Despite the film just beginning production a few days ago, director Jason Eisener has already assembled a little teaser reel and posted it on YouTube.  Check it out above.

After winning the contest the faux-trailer was attached to Canadian prints of Grindhouse and now, three years later, the feature film version is in production.  Eisener, 27,  scored a major coup when he landed Rutger Hauer in the title role giving this B-movie exploitation exercise a pitch-perfect actor to carry the picture.   If the original faux-trailer is anything to judge by, this movie will be a violent, over-the-top orgy of debauchery, exploitation, gore, comedy and chaos.   After making the trailer, Eisener helmed a short film called Treevenge, a violent, funny, dark take on a not-so Merry Christmas, told through the eyes of the trees that are ritualistically slaughtered each December for this Pagan ritual (two deities being worshipped: Jesus and his homeboy Santa.)  Check that film out here - it's quite clever and well made, but be warned: it is really really violent and includes a rather disturbing finale.

To check out the flavor of Hobo With A Shotgun check out the original trailer that won the contest below.  This version, of course, doesn't have Rutger Hauer, though the Hobo from this trailer will appear in the feature film version, just in a different role.  The only thing that concerns me is the full length version won't be able to keep repeating the line "Hobo... with a Shotgun" which is at least half the fun of the trailer.  Either way, this is a cool little Canadian project that I'm rooting for.