Burn Notice, Bruce Campbell at Comic-Con 2011
Burn Notice, Comic-Con 2011
Comic-Con is one of the convention favorites, Burn Notice, with Bruce Campbell, and executive producer Matt Nix with a panel to recap of the series’ signature movie, Burn Notice: THE FALL OF SAM AXE. The prequel film to USA’s smash hit series takes place in Columbia 2005 when Lieutenant Commander Sam Axe (Campbell) is sent to advise a local military platoon. It’s there he discovers deep layers of deception and ultimately realizes he may be allied with the wrong side. Shot on location in Bogota, Columbia, the two-hour movie is directed by Burn Notice star Jeffrey Donovan. Burn Notice: THE FALL OF SAM AXE also stars Ron Reaco Lee, Kiele Sanchez , John Diehl and Chandra West. The prequel is written and executive produced by Burn Notice creator Matt Nix. Donovan and Campbell also serve as executive producers on the Fox Television Studios project alongside the show’s Mikkel Bondesen.
'The Fall of Sam Axe' Coming to Blu-ray Disc and DVD
Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe
Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, would be coming to DVD on July 26. At this time we’re still waiting on the formal announcement from Fox Home Entertainment for this title, but the folks at Amazon.com have begun taking pre-orders for it on DVD, discounting their cost from a list price of $19.98 SRP. Additionally, however, Amazon also displays a Blu-ray version of this title, too, also up for pre-order at $24.99 SRP. Both show the same late-July street date mentioned above, and a 108-minute running time. No other details are available so far, nor has package art been made available. Stay tuned, though, for updates!
Burn Notice: THE FALL OF SAM AXE also stars RonReaco Lee (“The Good Guys,” “Madea Goes to Jail”), Kiele Sanchez (“Lost,” “The Glades”), John Diehl (“Miami Vice,” “Stargate”) and Chandra West (“John From Cincinnati,” “The Gates”).
Pre-Order Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe at Amazon.
Kiele Sanchez Interview, The Fall of Sam Axe
Kiele Sanchez discusses the USA Original movie The Fall of Sam Axe.
Burn Notice: The Fall Of Sam Axe, Reviewed
Sam Axe
Burn Notice: THE FALL OF SAM AXE is set five years ago, only roughly two years before Michael is burned and dumped in Miami. While the movie centers on his best friend Sam (played by the inimitable Bruce Campbell), there are plenty of fun stylistic references to the show. Yet for those Campbell fans out there who haven’t been able to sink their teeth into his portrayal of Lt. Commander Sam Axe, there’s a fresh opportunity to get attached to his loveable beer-loving sailor with a heart of gold.
Sam’s story begins in Virginia, where he’s caught with his pants literally down during an abbreviated sooner with the wife of a superior officer. After getting some advice from his best friend Michael (which is one of the best moments of the movie, with the easy chemistry of Campbell and Jeffrey Donovan on full display). Sent off to supervise a Colombian mission to protect a Doctors Without Borders-esq hospital from a pro-ported terrorist group. Sam quickly finds out that the men working under his command are both traitorous and willing to blow up the hospital with its patients still in it. He teams up with a bright, concerned doctor, and a pretty and impassioned aid worker (with whom Sam has a flirtation and ultimately shares a kiss) to blow up the hospital and save its patients. Seeking refuge, Sam teams up with the so-called terrorists to protect the hospital refugees. The situation soon grows dire, and Sam ultimately compromises his standing as a ‘good sailor’ to save the lives of innocents.
Predictably, two things hold together The Fall of Sam Axe and keep it from being a formulaic potboiler; Bruce Campbell charming performance and the many things that go boom in the dark and light. Jeffrey Donovan knows how to direct action, and he directs it tightly and efficiently, and Kiele Sanchez and RonReaco Lee do what they can with the earnest but simplistic character types they’re given to play. Much better is as the fierce and daring Beatriz, portrayed by Ilza Rosario.
Cerebral logic has always been Burn Notice greatest foe and closest ally -it has a long history of explaining the tricks of the explosive trade while bringing jaw-dropping stunts to vivid life. In this particular outing, the script makes us believe you could blow up a building with reverse-engineered oxygen, but it fails to explain if this Amanda (Kiele Sanchez) is the same Amanda that Sam so passionately fought over with his ex-friend Mac in season 3. But then again Sam’s continuity has always been a bugaboo for the show – he only sprouted that SEAL tattoo last season, and this is the second Amanda with whom he’s been romantically linked. Campbell is, of course, the axis upon which the movie turns, and he never turns down the charm for even a second of time . There are a series of reference to the Evil Dead Trilogy (in which he first won fame); some are charming winks, some are slightly gratuitous. He, as always, works himself down to the nub to put forth an entertaining performance; if you weren’t a fan coming in, you will at the very least leave admiring his talent.
All in all, Burn Notice: THE FALL OF SAM AXE is a breezy, fun entertainment, excellent for a rainy day, or the Bruce Campbell fan with a cheeky sense of humor.
Burn Notice: THE FALL OF SAM AXE also stars RonReaco Lee (“The Good Guys,” “Madea Goes to Jail”), Kiele Sanchez (“Lost,” “The Glades”), John Diehl (“Miami Vice,” “Stargate”) and Chandra West (“John From Cincinnati,” “The Gates”).
Matt Nix has signs two-year high-seven-figure deal with Fox TV Studio
Matt Nix
Matt Nix, Burn Notice creator, executive producer and show runner has signed a new two-year high-seven-figure overall deal with Fox TV Studios, the company behind the hit USA Network series. The pact, which has an option for a third year, will cover Nix’s services as show-runner of the upcoming fifth and sixth seasons of Burn Notice, which was given a two-season pickup last April. Additionally, Nix is expected to develop new projects for FtvS. He proved he can juggle running two series at the same time last year when his cop dramedy The Good Guys was picked up to series at Fox, first for the summer and then also for the fall. Over the course of the year, Nix oversaw 20 episodes of The Good Guys and 18 episodes of Burn Notice‘s fourth season. Additionally, he jumped in to write and executive produce the Burn Notice USA movie prequel, Burn Notice: THE FALL OF SAM AXE, which was announced in the idea stage at last year’s Comic-Con in July. Nix quickly wrote the script while working on his two series, and in November, the movie was green-lighted with Burn Noticestar Jeffrey Donovan directing. The Bruce Campbell starring Sam Axe, which premiered last night on USA, comes out on DVD July 26th. The fifth season of Burn Notice premieres June 23.
In addition to being a hit on USA Network, Burn Notice has also been a strong performer for the studio in domestic syndication as well as internationally. The series nabbed the largest cable-to-cable off-network sale ever with a deal to run on USA Network and MyNetwork. It launches in broadcast syndication this fall. Because of the lucrative off-network sales for the show, with his back-end included, Nix’s deal is said to be rivaling that of top basic cable showrunner Matt Weiner of AMC’s Mad Men. For Nix, repped by WME, manager Mikkel Bondesen and attorney David Colden, this marks the second consecutive overall deal at FtvS.
By Deadline.com