Ash Adams
Encyclopedia
Ash Adams also known professionally by his given name of Jason Adams, is an award-winning American
independent filmmaker, producer, writer, and well-known TV and movie actor.
, California
and raised in Mailbu, where he still resides today. As a teenager, Jason took an early interest in filmmaking and acting, and staged several home movie productions in his backyard and in other natural surroundings, not unlike how other filmmaking and acting legends got their start. He attended the Desert Sun High School from 1978 to 1979, and later transferred to Malibu High School, of which he is a 1982 graduate.
, who eventually started passing his profile around to casting directors after she took a liking to his "chops". One of the directors that bit was a casting agent for the inaugural installment of A Nightmare On Elm Street
. Adams made his professional acting debut in the 1984 smash hit horror film, in a small role as an anonymous surfer.
Afterwards, Adams ramped up his auditions and prospects tenfold until the casting director at ABC
's Ryan's Hope
announced that they were looking to cast an adult actor to take over the role of John Reid Ryan on the soap. Adams came in to read and won the part, of which he played from August 1986 until the show's final episode on January 13, 1989. His character had previously been a child for RHs first decade on the air (known as "Little John Ryan" and later "Johnno Ryan", and played from newborn stage to age 10 by Jadrien Steele, from 1975–1985). Adams is known for being one of the earliest soap actors brought into take over a role due to SORAS-ing (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome).
Adams became noticed on the Hollywood scene in a major way during his years on Ryan's Hope, and after the soap bid farewell to viewers in early 1989, he was in high demand for new ventures. ABC immediately cast him as the lead in a two-hour movie pilot they were hoping would be picked up as a weekly series, Thunderboat Row. Even though the movie was well received, it never became a series. This was followed by a guest shot on the syndicated revival of Adam-12
, just before he was cast as François Gaultier in Lionheart
(1990), starring Jean Claude van Damme. On the heels of Lionhearts success at the box office, Adams was catapulted into heavier movie roles in The Arc (1991), Original Intent
(1992), the indie flick I'll Love You Forever..Tonight (1992), the cult horror favorite Puppet Master 4
(1993) and with an appearance in the short The Privilege Cage (1994). Occasionally during this time, Adams still turned up in some guest roles, including in two episodes of ABC's The Young Riders
in 1990, playing Jeffrey Darnell.
In late 1994, Adams returned to series TV full time as Agent Dan Sandler on the action series Vanishing Son
, which ran as a part of Universal Television
's Action Pack in first-run syndication. Although Vanishing Son was successful as a series of four made-for-TV-movies aired under the Action Pack banner during 1994, the weekly series was less so, and was cancelled after 13 episodes in May 1995. In the following TV season, he co-starred as Max Houser in the syndicated serial drama Acapulco Bay, an American adaptation of the Mexican
telenovelas Tu o Nadie
and Acapulco, Cuerpo y Alma. Things in a sense came full circle for Adams on Acapulco Bay, since one of his co-stars was the woman he credited for launching his career, close friend Maree Cheatham (who played Victoria).
Subsequent movie roles for Adams included Deputy Steve Stowe in The Stranger
(1995), a cameo in Mother
(1996), and large parts in Striking Resemblance (1997) and Water and Power (1999). He continued to appear in guest shots on popular cable and syndicated series, including an episode of Renegade
in 1997, and on Pamela Anderson
's V.I.P.
in 1999. By this time he was now going professionally by Ash Adams (for reasons discussed below), but despite the identity change, in certain credits of his listed above from 1996 or later, he continued to be credited as Jason Adams.
In the early 2000s, Adams put aside time to specifically focus on live theatre work, at first committing to popular productions at the Actors' Studio in New York City
. It was there where he starred in Mass Appeal
and Return to the Chicago Abyss. He later returned to the Los Angeles area to star in the local production of Hurly Burly in 2004. In between the latter two plays, he made a guest appearance in an early episode of ABC
's 2003 revival of Dragnet
. The most important development in Adams' career outside of his acting at this time was his preparation for a filmmaking career. Before he had finished his stage work in New York City, Ash had already started raising funds for an inaugural movie project of his own, while launching a production company which ultimately became his independent film marque Bravado Pictures.
, who in addition functioned as narrator of After the Past. The plot centered around two brothers, played by Adams and Branden Morgan, who reunite at the funeral of their abusive father. As the story unfolds, they try and come to terms with the death of their mother, the violence that was put on them as children and the damage they are left with as adults. Production was complete by mid-2003 and prior to its official release, set for the following year, the public was given a full-length preview screening at the 2003 Malibu International Film Festival. The audience reaction to After the Past was extremely positive, and it ended up winning the 2003 Audience Choice Award at the festival. Entertainment Today
reviewed the film and noted that After the Past was "an impressive debut for Actor/Writer/Director Ash Adams." The movie went on to compete in all other major US film festivals per its official release in 2004.
During production of After the Past, Adams had also been in the late stages of writing another screenplay that would have been Bravado Pictures' sophomore project. This screenplay, titled The Darkness, ended up being sold by Adams in 2004 to Locomotion Films in Montreal
, and another previously complete script for a project titled Ready, Set, Go! was also sold off by him in the same year to Franchise Pictures
.
, Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini
, Mando Ramos
, Vernon Forrest
, Chuck Bodak
and Gabriel Ruelas
. Also participating were HBO Boxing
commentators Jim Lampley
and Larry Merchant
, and the film boasted the acting talent of Michael Madsen
, Lou Gossett, Jr., Andy Dick
and James Whitmore
.
The film was in production starting in late 2004 and during most of 2005, before its official release at the Roving Eye Documentary Film Festival in 2006. The Distance won the Roving Eye festival, thanks to in part of the movie's star power and the attention it received while in production. This does not take away from the fact that it was the raw, gripping emotion of Adams' storytelling that earned The Distance its merit; his raised profile as a filmmaker caused the film to be picked up by the Ohio Independent Film Festival not long after. In Ohio, The Distance continued to be the darling of audiences and critics alike, and received a second nomination for Best Documentary. During this stage of its run, Julie Washington of The Plain Dealer called The Distance "heartbreaking and unforgettable". The momentum built up from its nominations and win, combined with the heavy star power and critical buzz within the industry it was receiving, allowed The Distance to then travel abroad and compete internationally. Later in 2006, it was screened at the Montreal World Film Festival
, the John Huston Puerto Vallarta
Film Festival and at the Rhode Island International Film Festival
. The Distance became Adams' first widespread success, and such a distinction was topped off when Image Entertainment
acquired the film for mass distribution. It was released on DVD in late 2006.
Fresh off the success of The Distance, Adams at first announced that his next project for Bravado Pictures would be Indultado ("forgiveness" in Spanish
), a second documentary project. The film would explore bullfighting
from the inside out, and dive head first into the violent and dangerous lives of Matador
s. Scheduled to begin shooting before the end of 2007, the project has since been put on hold; it is likely that it will resume development and pre-production at a later date. Also in 2007, Ash acquired the rights to the boxing-themed Robert Anasi
novel The Gloves: A Boxing Chronicle, which for a while stood as the third official project for Bravado. This too has now been shelved, but Adams as of late is still immensely interested in adapting and producing its film counterpart. Im the midst of proposing these projects, Adams was in the middle of completing a new screenplay, Once Fallen, that would in time be added to his roster.
Set in the incredibly cinematic and visually stunning city of San Pedro
, California
, Once Fallen is a racy crime drama about a man having to rebuild his life after having everything ripped away from him by incarceration
, falling in love with the forbidden and the twisted dynamics of a violent crime family. The script for Once Fallen was complete in the fall of 2007, and even before it was done, Adams had his core casting choices in mind when he was writing. Ash collaborated once again with good friend Amy Madigan to not only co-produce Once Fallen, but to also star. Madigan's husband, critically acclaimed dramatic actor Ed Harris
, has also come aboard for a principal role, and the framework of the crime drama led Adams to naturally cast Michael Madsen (returning after his role in The Distance for Adams and Bravado) and Dennis Hopper
. For the first time since After the Past, Adams returns to an on-screen role in Once Fallen, playing Agent Rath. Pre-production on this latest project began during the 2007 holiday season, and in the spring of 2008, Adams announced that the film would be a 2009 release.
In the final stages of pre-production, complete casting information was released; the project now has a well-integrated large ensemble. In addition to Adams, Madigan and Harris, Once Fallen also co-stars Taraji P. Henson
, Steve Railsback
, Sticky Fingaz, Peter Weller
, Thad Luckinbill
, Rance Howard
, After the Past star Branden R. Morgan, Chad Lindberg
, and recent arrival Sharon Gless
. Adams was originally supposed to play the dual role of Chance and Agent Rath; as of October 8, 2008, it has been announced that Brian Presley
has been cast separately as criminal Chance, the film's central lead and protagonist
, while Adams remains as Rath. On the same date, it became official that Michael Madsen and Dennis Hopper were no longer associated with the project, but no reason was explained for their departure. Filming officially began on October 7, 2008 in Los Angeles
.
on Indieoma the same month he began series development with Via, in which he began connecting with the public, especially with those who had been fans of his recent success The Distance. In April 2007, Ash announced that his upcoming series on Indieoma would be titled Mavericks, a one-on-one interview series in which he would sit down with screen legends who had been hailed for their indie film performances in addition to their bigger-budget successes.
From its inception, Mavericks has been produced by Adams, Bill Via, and Michael Madsen, who was Adams' first guest on the series. Between April and June 2007, Adams had stated in his blog entries that Mavericks was to debut in June, but at the last minute, he and Via decided to hold off on the debut so they could work on the format further. The revisions they went through took somewhat longer than they expected; viewers did not see the first previews of the final product until early in 2008. Finally, on the week of March 22, 2008, Mavericks premiered. Each installment of the program is in four parts, and has one guest actor per show. Michael Madsen was the first guest, as scheduled; subsequent editions have had Ash sit down with actors he has worked with recently at Bravado Pictures, including Amy Madigan and Andy Dick, while Veronica Cartwright
and Taylor Negron
have been other subjects.
For the most part, the public confusion and credits mix-up between the two actors has been long over, with the exception of a few movie and TV credits that, up until recently in 2008, still interchanged some between Ash Adams and J. Leland Adams, on the Internet Movie Database
. It was thanks to the efforts of Ash Adams himself for getting his Ryan's Hope credits in particular removed off the IMDb resume of J. Leland Adams. For the record, if one visits the Ryan's Hope listing on IMDb, both Adamses will still be listed as having played John Reid Ryan from 1986–1989, but of course only Ash did. J. Leland Adams did not make his first on-screen appearance in a project until 1994.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
independent filmmaker, producer, writer, and well-known TV and movie actor.
Early life
Adams was born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and raised in Mailbu, where he still resides today. As a teenager, Jason took an early interest in filmmaking and acting, and staged several home movie productions in his backyard and in other natural surroundings, not unlike how other filmmaking and acting legends got their start. He attended the Desert Sun High School from 1978 to 1979, and later transferred to Malibu High School, of which he is a 1982 graduate.
Acting career
By the time he was 20, Adams had already started making efforts to enter show business, and the connections he needed to break in. Jason formed a notable early relationship with actress Maree CheathamMaree Cheatham
Maree Cheatham is an American actress, best known for her television appearances. She was credited for much of her career as Marie Cheatham....
, who eventually started passing his profile around to casting directors after she took a liking to his "chops". One of the directors that bit was a casting agent for the inaugural installment of A Nightmare On Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American slasher film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first film of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film features Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund, and Johnny Depp in his feature film...
. Adams made his professional acting debut in the 1984 smash hit horror film, in a small role as an anonymous surfer.
Afterwards, Adams ramped up his auditions and prospects tenfold until the casting director at ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
announced that they were looking to cast an adult actor to take over the role of John Reid Ryan on the soap. Adams came in to read and won the part, of which he played from August 1986 until the show's final episode on January 13, 1989. His character had previously been a child for RHs first decade on the air (known as "Little John Ryan" and later "Johnno Ryan", and played from newborn stage to age 10 by Jadrien Steele, from 1975–1985). Adams is known for being one of the earliest soap actors brought into take over a role due to SORAS-ing (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome).
Adams became noticed on the Hollywood scene in a major way during his years on Ryan's Hope, and after the soap bid farewell to viewers in early 1989, he was in high demand for new ventures. ABC immediately cast him as the lead in a two-hour movie pilot they were hoping would be picked up as a weekly series, Thunderboat Row. Even though the movie was well received, it never became a series. This was followed by a guest shot on the syndicated revival of Adam-12
Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
, just before he was cast as François Gaultier in Lionheart
Lionheart
Lionheart may refer to:People*"Richard the Lionheart", a name for Richard I of England*" Brendon 'Lionheart' Hartley" is a nickname given to motor racing driver Brendon Hartley*"Corazon de Leon", former ringname of professional wrestler Chris Jericho...
(1990), starring Jean Claude van Damme. On the heels of Lionhearts success at the box office, Adams was catapulted into heavier movie roles in The Arc (1991), Original Intent
Original intent
Original intent is a theory in law concerning constitutional and statutory interpretation. It is frequently—and usually spuriously—used as a synonym for originalism generally; while original intent is indeed one theory in the originalist family, it has some extremely salient differences which has...
(1992), the indie flick I'll Love You Forever..Tonight (1992), the cult horror favorite Puppet Master 4
Puppet Master 4
Puppet Master 4 is a 1993 horror film written by Charles Band among others, and directed by Jeff Burr. It is the fourth film in the Puppet Master franchise, a sequel to 1991's Puppet Master II, and stars Gordon Currie as a youth scientist who, along with his friends, played by Chandra West, Ash...
(1993) and with an appearance in the short The Privilege Cage (1994). Occasionally during this time, Adams still turned up in some guest roles, including in two episodes of ABC's The Young Riders
The Young Riders
The Young Riders is an American Western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders based at the Sweetwater Station in the Nebraska Territory during the years leading up to the American Civil War...
in 1990, playing Jeffrey Darnell.
In late 1994, Adams returned to series TV full time as Agent Dan Sandler on the action series Vanishing Son
Vanishing Son
Vanishing Son is a short-lived syndicated action television series that was part of Universal Television's Action Pack. Starting as a series of four made for television movies in 1994, the series debuted on January 16, 1995...
, which ran as a part of Universal Television
Universal Television
Universal Television is the television production arm of the NBCUniversal Television Group, and by extension, the NBC television network...
's Action Pack in first-run syndication. Although Vanishing Son was successful as a series of four made-for-TV-movies aired under the Action Pack banner during 1994, the weekly series was less so, and was cancelled after 13 episodes in May 1995. In the following TV season, he co-starred as Max Houser in the syndicated serial drama Acapulco Bay, an American adaptation of the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
telenovelas Tu o Nadie
Tú o nadie
Tú o nadie is a Mexican telenovela. It was produced and broadcast by Televisa in 1985, and starred Lucía Méndez, Andrés García and Salvador Pineda...
and Acapulco, Cuerpo y Alma. Things in a sense came full circle for Adams on Acapulco Bay, since one of his co-stars was the woman he credited for launching his career, close friend Maree Cheatham (who played Victoria).
Subsequent movie roles for Adams included Deputy Steve Stowe in The Stranger
The Stranger (1995 film)
The Stranger is a 1995 martial arts-action film directed by Fritz Kiersch, starring former professional kickboxing champion Kathy Long. The film bears many similarities to the 1973 Clint Eastwood film High Plains Drifter.-Plot:...
(1995), a cameo in Mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
(1996), and large parts in Striking Resemblance (1997) and Water and Power (1999). He continued to appear in guest shots on popular cable and syndicated series, including an episode of Renegade
Renegade (TV series)
Renegade is an American television series that ran for 110 episodes spanning 5 seasons between September 19, 1992 and April 4, 1997.The series stars Lorenzo Lamas as Reno Raines, a police officer who is framed for a murder he didn't commit. Raines goes on the run and joins forces with Native...
in 1997, and on Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990...
's V.I.P.
V.I.P. (TV series)
V.I.P. is an American action/comedy-drama series starring Pamela Anderson. Created by J. F...
in 1999. By this time he was now going professionally by Ash Adams (for reasons discussed below), but despite the identity change, in certain credits of his listed above from 1996 or later, he continued to be credited as Jason Adams.
In the early 2000s, Adams put aside time to specifically focus on live theatre work, at first committing to popular productions at the Actors' Studio in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It was there where he starred in Mass Appeal
Mass Appeal
Mass Appeal is a two-character play by Bill C. Davis. The comedy-drama focuses on the conflict between a complacent Roman Catholic pastor and the idealistic young deacon who is assigned to his affluent, suburban parish.-Plot:...
and Return to the Chicago Abyss. He later returned to the Los Angeles area to star in the local production of Hurly Burly in 2004. In between the latter two plays, he made a guest appearance in an early episode of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 2003 revival of Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
. The most important development in Adams' career outside of his acting at this time was his preparation for a filmmaking career. Before he had finished his stage work in New York City, Ash had already started raising funds for an inaugural movie project of his own, while launching a production company which ultimately became his independent film marque Bravado Pictures.
Beginnings at Bravado Pictures
Adams' foray into filmmaking launched with the successful formation of his production company Bravado Pictures, which began business by no later than early 2003 when his first original independent film, After the Past, began shooting. The maiden project, like all of Ash's future efforts was written, produced and directed by himself, along with featuring Adams in a prominent on-screen role. Here, he was the top-billing star. The movie was co-produced by Oscar-nominated actress Amy MadiganAmy Madigan
Amy Marie Madigan is an American actress who is known for her role as Annie Kinsella in the 1989 film Field of Dreams and Iris Crowe in the HBO television series Carnivale...
, who in addition functioned as narrator of After the Past. The plot centered around two brothers, played by Adams and Branden Morgan, who reunite at the funeral of their abusive father. As the story unfolds, they try and come to terms with the death of their mother, the violence that was put on them as children and the damage they are left with as adults. Production was complete by mid-2003 and prior to its official release, set for the following year, the public was given a full-length preview screening at the 2003 Malibu International Film Festival. The audience reaction to After the Past was extremely positive, and it ended up winning the 2003 Audience Choice Award at the festival. Entertainment Today
Entertainment Today
Entertainment Today, established in 1967, is a quarterly magazine and online publication focusing on the business aspect of the entertainment industry and entertainment technology. It was formerly Los Angeles' oldest free weekly entertainment newspaper, distributed around the Hollywood, Burbank,...
reviewed the film and noted that After the Past was "an impressive debut for Actor/Writer/Director Ash Adams." The movie went on to compete in all other major US film festivals per its official release in 2004.
During production of After the Past, Adams had also been in the late stages of writing another screenplay that would have been Bravado Pictures' sophomore project. This screenplay, titled The Darkness, ended up being sold by Adams in 2004 to Locomotion Films in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, and another previously complete script for a project titled Ready, Set, Go! was also sold off by him in the same year to Franchise Pictures
Franchise Pictures
Franchise Pictures LLC was an independent motion picture production and distribution company founded by Elie Samaha and Andrew Stevens. They were known for their production in the action film genre...
.
The Distance
Following all this, Adams set out on his second official project for Bravado, The Distance. This true-life documentary film was of special interest to Ash's longtime love of boxing and it explored the sometimes gritty inner-life of boxers. For The Distance, Adams recruited many of the top figures in the boxing world, including Bobby ChaconBobby Chacon
Bobby Chacon is an American former, two-time, world boxing champion.-Career:Chacon turned professional in 1972 and won his first 19 fights, including a win against former champion Jesus Castillo...
, Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini
Ray Mancini
Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini is a retired Italian-American boxer. He held the World Boxing Association lightweight championship from 1982 to 1984. Mancini inherited his distinctive nickname from his father, veteran boxer Lenny "Boom Boom" Mancini, who laid the foundation for his son's career...
, Mando Ramos
Mando Ramos
Armando Ramos was a Mexican-American professional boxer and the former two-time WBC and WBA Lightweight Champion. He was born in Long Beach, California. Armando "Mando" Ramos was one of the most popular and exciting fighters in Southern California during the 1960s. Ramos was an outstanding amateur...
, Vernon Forrest
Vernon Forrest
Vernon Forrest, nicknamed "The Viper", was an American professional boxer who became a world champion in the welterweight and light middleweight divisions and noted for his two victories over Shane Mosley and upset losses to Ricardo Mayorga.- Early years and amateur career :Forrest began boxing at...
, Chuck Bodak
Chuck Bodak
Vasil "Chuck" Bodak was an American boxing cutman who worked with over 50 world champions including Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, Tommy Hearns, Julio Cesar Chavez, Evander Holyfield and Oscar De La Hoya....
and Gabriel Ruelas
Gabriel Ruelas
Gabriel Ruelas, , was a professional boxer.Career=Ruelas turned pro in 1988 and in 1993 challenged WBC Super Featherweight Title holder Azumah Nelson, losing a close majority decision. In 1994 he was able to capture the title by outpointing Jesse James Leija...
. Also participating were HBO Boxing
HBO Boxing
HBO World Championship Boxing is a sports television series, premiering in January 1973 that has shown a number of significant boxing events in the last three decades....
commentators Jim Lampley
Jim Lampley
James "Jim" Lampley is an American sportscaster, news anchor, movie producer, and restaurant owner. Lampley has anchored a record 14 Olympic Games U.S. television broadcasts, most recently the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China....
and Larry Merchant
Larry Merchant
Larry Merchant is an American former sportswriter, a longtime commentator for HBO Sports presentations of HBO World Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark and HBO pay-per-view telecasts, and is considered "the greatest television boxing analyst of all time" by ESPN Boxing analyst Dan Rafael.-Life...
, and the film boasted the acting talent of Michael Madsen
Michael Madsen
Michael Søren Madsen is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has appeared in more than 150 films, most of them small independent films, though he has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin...
, Lou Gossett, Jr., Andy Dick
Andy Dick
Andrew R. "Andy" Dick is an American comedian, actor, musician and television/film producer. His first regular television role was on the short-lived but highly influential Ben Stiller Show. In the mid-1990s, he had a long-running stint on NBC's NewsRadio...
and James Whitmore
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
.
The film was in production starting in late 2004 and during most of 2005, before its official release at the Roving Eye Documentary Film Festival in 2006. The Distance won the Roving Eye festival, thanks to in part of the movie's star power and the attention it received while in production. This does not take away from the fact that it was the raw, gripping emotion of Adams' storytelling that earned The Distance its merit; his raised profile as a filmmaker caused the film to be picked up by the Ohio Independent Film Festival not long after. In Ohio, The Distance continued to be the darling of audiences and critics alike, and received a second nomination for Best Documentary. During this stage of its run, Julie Washington of The Plain Dealer called The Distance "heartbreaking and unforgettable". The momentum built up from its nominations and win, combined with the heavy star power and critical buzz within the industry it was receiving, allowed The Distance to then travel abroad and compete internationally. Later in 2006, it was screened at the Montreal World Film Festival
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
, the John Huston Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the sixth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
Film Festival and at the Rhode Island International Film Festival
Rhode Island International Film Festival
Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival takes place every year in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island as well as satellite locations throughout the state. Started in 1997, the Festival is produced by Flickers, the Newport Film/Video Society & Arts Collaborative, a 501 non-profit...
. The Distance became Adams' first widespread success, and such a distinction was topped off when Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
acquired the film for mass distribution. It was released on DVD in late 2006.
Fresh off the success of The Distance, Adams at first announced that his next project for Bravado Pictures would be Indultado ("forgiveness" in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
), a second documentary project. The film would explore bullfighting
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
from the inside out, and dive head first into the violent and dangerous lives of Matador
Matador
A torero or toureiro is a bullfighter and the main performer in bullfighting, practised in Spain, Colombia, Portugal, Mexico, France and various other countries influenced by Spanish culture. In Spanish, the word torero describes any of the performers who actively participate in the bullfight...
s. Scheduled to begin shooting before the end of 2007, the project has since been put on hold; it is likely that it will resume development and pre-production at a later date. Also in 2007, Ash acquired the rights to the boxing-themed Robert Anasi
Robert Anasi
Robert Anasi, is an American writer and journalist. He is the author of The Gloves, a nonfiction memoir of his experience boxing in the Golden Gloves competition. The Village Voice named him a "writer on the verge," and called The Gloves "a streetwise loveletter to a dying sport" that "recalls...
novel The Gloves: A Boxing Chronicle, which for a while stood as the third official project for Bravado. This too has now been shelved, but Adams as of late is still immensely interested in adapting and producing its film counterpart. Im the midst of proposing these projects, Adams was in the middle of completing a new screenplay, Once Fallen, that would in time be added to his roster.
Set in the incredibly cinematic and visually stunning city of San Pedro
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Once Fallen is a racy crime drama about a man having to rebuild his life after having everything ripped away from him by incarceration
Incarceration
Incarceration is the detention of a person in prison, typically as punishment for a crime .People are most commonly incarcerated upon suspicion or conviction of committing a crime, and different jurisdictions have differing laws governing the function of incarceration within a larger system of...
, falling in love with the forbidden and the twisted dynamics of a violent crime family. The script for Once Fallen was complete in the fall of 2007, and even before it was done, Adams had his core casting choices in mind when he was writing. Ash collaborated once again with good friend Amy Madigan to not only co-produce Once Fallen, but to also star. Madigan's husband, critically acclaimed dramatic actor Ed Harris
Ed Harris
Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies...
, has also come aboard for a principal role, and the framework of the crime drama led Adams to naturally cast Michael Madsen (returning after his role in The Distance for Adams and Bravado) and Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
. For the first time since After the Past, Adams returns to an on-screen role in Once Fallen, playing Agent Rath. Pre-production on this latest project began during the 2007 holiday season, and in the spring of 2008, Adams announced that the film would be a 2009 release.
In the final stages of pre-production, complete casting information was released; the project now has a well-integrated large ensemble. In addition to Adams, Madigan and Harris, Once Fallen also co-stars Taraji P. Henson
Taraji P. Henson
Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Yvette in Baby Boy , Shug in Hustle and Flow and Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2009...
, Steve Railsback
Steve Railsback
Steve Railsback is an American theatre, film and television actor, born in Dallas, Texas.-Personal life:Railsback was born Stephen Hall Railsback, in Dallas, Texas, the son of Emerett Spencer and Clyde Webb Railsback.-Career:Railsback was a student of Lee Strasberg and the Actors Studio and in...
, Sticky Fingaz, Peter Weller
Peter Weller
Peter Frederick Weller is an American film and stage actor, director and lecturer.He is best known for his roles as the title character in the first two RoboCop films and Buckaroo Banzai in the cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension...
, Thad Luckinbill
Thad Luckinbill
Thaddeus Rowe "Thad" Luckinbill is an American actor best known for playing J.T. Hellstrom on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless for 11 years...
, Rance Howard
Rance Howard
Rance Howard is an American actor who has starred in film and on television.-Life and career:Howard was born Harold Rance Beckenholdt in Oklahoma, the son of Ethel Cleo and Engel Beckenholdt, a farmer. He changed his name to "Rance Howard" when he became an actor. He married Jean Speegle Howard...
, After the Past star Branden R. Morgan, Chad Lindberg
Chad Lindberg
Chad Tyler Lindberg is an American actor. He is best known for his film role as Jesse in The Fast and the Furious and for a rape scene in the 2010 remake I Spit On Your Grave.-Life and career:...
, and recent arrival Sharon Gless
Sharon Gless
Sharon Marguerite Gless is an American character actress of stage, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch , as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer...
. Adams was originally supposed to play the dual role of Chance and Agent Rath; as of October 8, 2008, it has been announced that Brian Presley
Brian Presley
Brian Joshua Presley is an American actor.Presley started his career with a handful of guest appearances on television shows such as Beverly Hills, 90210, Any Day Now, and 7th Heaven....
has been cast separately as criminal Chance, the film's central lead and protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, while Adams remains as Rath. On the same date, it became official that Michael Madsen and Dennis Hopper were no longer associated with the project, but no reason was explained for their departure. Filming officially began on October 7, 2008 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Mavericks series on Indieoma.com
In February 2007, Adams met with Bill Via, founder of the independent film and music site Indieoma.com, and proposed the idea of developing an online series to add to the fledgling site which would explore the world of independent filmmaking from the inside out. Indieoma.com, which launched in January 2007, is a site that promotes new releases from well-known artists in the landscape of independent media, as well as allowing budding artists to create accounts and showcase their work in hopes of gaining attention from the insiders. Adams decided to bank on the new site, since its future seemed promising with the involvement it had from other Hollywood-types; he promptly started at blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
on Indieoma the same month he began series development with Via, in which he began connecting with the public, especially with those who had been fans of his recent success The Distance. In April 2007, Ash announced that his upcoming series on Indieoma would be titled Mavericks, a one-on-one interview series in which he would sit down with screen legends who had been hailed for their indie film performances in addition to their bigger-budget successes.
From its inception, Mavericks has been produced by Adams, Bill Via, and Michael Madsen, who was Adams' first guest on the series. Between April and June 2007, Adams had stated in his blog entries that Mavericks was to debut in June, but at the last minute, he and Via decided to hold off on the debut so they could work on the format further. The revisions they went through took somewhat longer than they expected; viewers did not see the first previews of the final product until early in 2008. Finally, on the week of March 22, 2008, Mavericks premiered. Each installment of the program is in four parts, and has one guest actor per show. Michael Madsen was the first guest, as scheduled; subsequent editions have had Ash sit down with actors he has worked with recently at Bravado Pictures, including Amy Madigan and Andy Dick, while Veronica Cartwright
Veronica Cartwright
Veronica A. Cartwright is an English-born American actress who has worked mainly in American film and television. She is best known for her role of Lambert in Alien, for which she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress....
and Taylor Negron
Taylor Negron
Brad Taylor Negron is an American writer, actor, and stand-up comedian.-Personal life:Negron was born in Glendale, California to Conrad Negron, Sr., former mayor of Indian Wells, California. He grew up in Pasadena, California. His cousin is singer Chuck Negron...
have been other subjects.
Professional name change in 1996
In 1996, Adams decided to start using the longtime nickname of "Ash" professionally in place of Jason. The switch came about as a result of increasing confusion among viewers, fans, Screen Actors' Guild officials and others in the media between certain credits of his and those of a newer, up-and-coming actor, Jason Leland Adams (to whom he is not related). When the latter Adams entered the SAG for the first time, he immediately had to register his middle name of Leland in from the start since the former Jason Adams already existed in their rolls. However, despite the fact that the first Jason Adams had already been a known face in Hollywood for the past decade, announcements of new projects with the newer Jason (Leland) Adams in the cast automatically led people to think it was the first Jason, since not all casting sources adhered to the proper SAG listing of the newer Jason's name. The situation became even more convoluted when other records began erroneously listing the first Jason Adams' middle name as being Leland, when in fact it never was. Finally, the original Jason Adams decided to ease the madness by dropping his real first name altogether, and becoming Ash Adams. This was presumably also a kind gesture to Jason Leland Adams, as he was thus now allowed to bill himself however he wanted (he has since dropped the "Jason" from his professional name as well, now going by J. Leland Adams).For the most part, the public confusion and credits mix-up between the two actors has been long over, with the exception of a few movie and TV credits that, up until recently in 2008, still interchanged some between Ash Adams and J. Leland Adams, on the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
. It was thanks to the efforts of Ash Adams himself for getting his Ryan's Hope credits in particular removed off the IMDb resume of J. Leland Adams. For the record, if one visits the Ryan's Hope listing on IMDb, both Adamses will still be listed as having played John Reid Ryan from 1986–1989, but of course only Ash did. J. Leland Adams did not make his first on-screen appearance in a project until 1994.