CHATSWORTH, Calif. - Writer/director Bishop has wrapped Ransom: Sex, Lies & Betrayal, the first adult feature to be released by ethnic studio West Coast Productions.
According to Bishop, who produced the movie through his company Get It On Digital, Ransom began as just a scripted scene for a gonzo-style production, but quickly grew into something much bigger.
"I was talking to the owner, James [Alexander]," Bishop explained, "and he said, 'I like what you're doing. You know what? Let's just do it clean, let's do it outright, let's do a feature. ' So I started writing a script. A month later, he saw it and he liked it, and he goes, 'All right, here's the money, let's do this.' So that's how it started."
Synopsizing the story as "a bogus kidnapping that goes wrong," Bishop described the movie as "a cross between Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. There's some fighting, there's gunplay. There's a torture scene in there. It's very grimy, very gritty."
Shot on HDV over 15 days, Ransom stars Marie Luv, Jazmine Cashmere, Jackie Brown, Lee Bang, Nat Turnher, Tyler Knight, Kianna Jayde and Raven Sky, and all turned in tremendous performances, according to Bishop.
"They did rehearsals constantly," he said. "Everyone was tight on their lines, nothing was off, the delivery was very timed out. I think everything came together well. Every character really came out to their fullest."
With Ransom and Justin Slayer's Merc both releasing this fall, Bishop believes there's a definite hunger in the market for all-black features.
"I think black people do want to see features," said Bishop. "A complaint that I got from some of my cast and other people in this business is that there are none, and when black people do play in features, they generally have a small, small part, just so that this company could say that they have an interracial scene. And I've found that to be eye-opening, 'cause I had not known that the adult industry was going through what black Hollywood went through at one time. And I run into people now and they're like, 'Hey, I want to be in your next one.' They're really excited."
According to Bishop, a sequel to Ransom is already in the works. "It's open-ended; there is definitely a 'to be continued' at the end," he said
Ransom is set to street Oct. 15 from West Coast's new label Afterdark Pictures. For more information, go to www.wcpclub.com.
