In LA? You Can Still Be Squashed By Mike Mendez's MEGA SPIDER!

Just when you thought it was safe to venture into downtown LA and hit the taco truck, SyFy and director Mike Mendez make the streets of angels dangerous again. It's an orgiastic arachnid attack, and you still have a chance to fall victim to the fanged menace of Mega Spider!

Here is word from the official press release -
The film, which is being described as a "TREMORS-style creature feature about a towering mutant arachnid on an 8-legged rampage across Los Angeles," is being directed by Mike Mendez (THE GRAVEDANCERS) and was written by Gregory Gieras (DARK ISLAND).  Shooting began September 6th.

Battling the beast are Greg Grunberg (HEROES, ALIAS) and Lombardo Boyar (THE BERNIE MAC SHOW) who star as an exterminator and his security guard sidekick. The unlikely heroes team-up with an elite military unit that includes genre vets Clare Kramer (THE GRAVEDANCERS) and Ray Wise (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS).

Mendez explained what drew him to the project "The script was hilarious, and as we got into the creature design and the casting we had one objective in mind: Fun.  I love the tone of this movie and think audiences are going to have a wild time."

Greg Grunberg couldn't agree more "They say never work with animals and babies; I want to add giant spiders to that list.  Having such a blast, laughing everyday and yet the movie is scary as sh*t!"

The film is being produced by Patrick Ewald and Shaked Berenson of worldwide sales and financing outfit Epic Pictures Group (Darren Lynn Bousman's 11-11-11) along with Travis Stevens of Snowfort Pictures (A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE), and Klaus von Sayn-Wittgenstein of Wittgenstein Ventures. Epic Pictures Group will handle worldwide sales.

"We have a phenomenal cast, interesting characters and an amazing VFX team. Mike is going to knock this one out of the park," said Shaked Berenson of Epic Pictures Group.

Ewald adds "This creature is bigger than King Kong, deadlier than the Alien Queen and has the burning vengeance of a betrayed woman.  MEGA SPIDER is a flaming, flashing, crashing blow-'em-up movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end."

Snowfort's Travis Stevens added, "This is a movie about killing a big-ass bug.  There's a lunacy to the concept that we're really having fun with.  You look at classics like TREMORS or STARSHIP TROOPERS and the humor is just as important as the mayhem. I think we're finding a great balance between the two."

The project first generated press when it was announced that willing participants could be terrorized on camera by contacting:THIS EMAIL ADDRESS. Since then hundreds of extras have participated in the on-screen mayhem with requests being accepted until September 15th, 2011.

Having spoken directly with a super secret Big Time source that is on the set of Mega Spider , Buz "Danger" Wallik (oops!) says that director Mendez and the cast are having a great time, have a deep understand of the content they are working with, and are putting a knowing spin on already humorous material. I am a big fan of star Grunberg, and actually expect big things from him post-Heroes. I guess Big Things around him is close enough to start, eh? I've followed Mendez as well, since his Night Of the Demons-esque debut feature The Convent, and thought his film Gravedancers was one of the commendable contributions to the very iffy output of the After Dark's Horrorfest.