Sumuru Official Press Release

PRODUCTION DETAILS

"From the fertile mind of Sax Rohmer (Dr. Fu Man Chu) comes a bold and colourful adventure in the vein of Planet of the Apes and Barbarella."

Co-Produced by Harry Alan Towers (Sherlock Holmes, Allan Quatermain, 10 Little Indians) and Tandem Communications (Dune, Relic Hunter, Superfire) on location in Africa (Johannesburg, to be precisely), it sets a new standard in international co-production.

Sumuru is fun fantasy with broad appeal, featuring a popular cast including Alexandra Kamp (Antonia) and Michael Shanks (Stargate: The Series) plus dazzling special effects by German VFX company Das Werk!"  The movie is co-produced by Sumuru Films, Towers of London & Industrial Development Corp. of South Africa, in association with Tandem Communications, RTL2 , Do Productions & Frameworks.

Torsten Dewi, co-author of "Sumuru", states: "This is not even loosely based on Sax Rohmer's novels. It's a fantasy adventure set on another planet where two astronauts discover a tribe of beautiful women (and yes, we have heard the "Planet of the Babes" joke already). It's tongue in cheek, action-packed, and fun. It's not supposed to be Matrix. And I did smuggle in a Stargate SG:1 reference..."

Michael Shanks has a good sense of humour, and one of the reasons he got cast as Dr. Daniel Jackson on Stargate SG-1 was that the people in charge saw that “he could do comedy”. Dewi: "I have just seen dailies from the set - it looks terrific. Michael sports a goatee, and yes - he wears not that much in terms of upper body wear."

THE PLOT

Two astronauts, Adam Wade and Jake Carpenter, land on a faraway planet that was colonized centuries ago, but cut off from the rest of the galaxy when all communication broke down. Expecting to find a hoard of ragtag colonists, imagine Jake's and Adam's surprise when they are attacked by a clan of warrior women!

On this jungle planet, women are the ruling class. They follow the orders of beautiful Queen Sumuru, and worship a snake goddess.  Except for the task of mating, men are forced to work in the mines, and are sometimes sacrificed to appease the snake goddess when she shakes the ground. Only Jake and Adam realize that the shakes are earthquakes - the planet is about to break apart.

Beside trying to convince these Amazons that men have more worth than being mere slaves, our two heroes have to find a way to evacuate the planet, and a hidden cave might just hold the key to their escape. As they search for the spaceship that brought the colonists to this planet hundred of years before, Adam and the beautiful Sumuru not only discover their love for each other  but also what the cult of the snake is really based on - a hideous creature living underground!

CREDITS:
Authors:  Peter Jobin & Torsten Dewi
Director: Darrell James Roodt

CAST:
Sumuru: Alexandra Kemp
Adam Wade: Michael Shanks
Jake Carpenter: Terence Bridgett
Dove: CaseyB

The Press Release: Alexandra Kamp's official website

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