With its debut film "Rhinos," One Horn Productions is the latest addition to the ever-growing Austin film community. Run by locals Vic Feazell, Adam Warren, and Chad Nell, One Horn Productions hopes that its comedy, billed as a movie for anyone who has ever hated their job, will take their company to the next level.

Warren and Nell met in 1991 while working at a perfume company similar to the one in "Rhinos," in which Warren and Nell are the stars. Years later, Warren, a personal trainer, pitched their idea to his client, former McClennan County District Attorney Feazell. Warren gave him a draft of the "Rhinos" screenplay, which Feazell agreed to fully fund.

And thus came One Horn Productions into the world.

"Rhinos" was financed on a deferred pay structure, which means that no one has been paid as of yet. The cast and crew, however, are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that this indie feature, which cost just under a million to produce, will take Hollywood by storm.

They describe "Rhinos" as an opportunity to "take our miseries and turn them into triumphs." This description might also serve as a successful motto for their production company. Its immediate plan is to exhibit "Rhinos" at the Alamo Drafthouse and "create attention" in order to garner distribution and perhaps a two-picture deal.

One Horn Productions already has several projects on the horizon. It has served as executive producer for a locally made feature called "Natural Selections." A draft of a sequel, "Rhinos 2: Sharks," has already been written and will be produced soon. In the sequel, which is being described as a crazy morality play of sorts, the protagonists from the first film embark upon legal careers. And after "Rhinos 2" comes to fruition, One Horn hopes to produce a "Sharks" cable television series. In so doing, they hope to capitalize on Feazell's "many crazy law stories from Waco."

A graduate of Southwest Texas State University, Warren considers "Rhinos" his graduate school. He has also begun to feel a camaraderie among filmmakers in Austin. He chats with web guru Harry Knowles and has talked strategy with Rick Linklater and Robert Rodriguez. He calls the Austin film community a "small fraternity," and he considers "Rhinos" his "attempt to pledge."

An interesting metaphor, considering One Horn's novel approach to publicizing their new film. In addition to the usual radio promotions and the like, they have visited University of Texas fraternity houses on West Campus. (Imagine Linklater doing that.) Nell feels that UT Greeks are a constituency that will greatly enjoy the film, and that is why he has spoken to their Monday chapter meetings. If an indie filmmaker visiting frat guys is not unheard of, then it certainly is rare.

Warren says they are "elated" that their project has made it to the screen.They "feel extraordinarily lucky and look forward to the challenges of the future."

Jim Dedman City Search March 30, 1999 Top of Page

Low budget, what? "Rhinos," the recent release of the newly assembled One Horn Productions out of Austin, could easily be confused with the products of Hollywood.

It presents a script, cinematography and acting that does not usually fit the preconceived notions of what a low-budget film should look like. To avoid any confusion, let's discard the term entirely.

"Rhinos" brings us the feature film debut of actor, writer, producer and One Horn Productions founder Adam Warren as Brick Hawthorne along side Chad Nell, who is also a co-founder of One Horn Productions, as well as a writer, actor and producer.

Nell stars as Maceo Spinella. These guys team up in a comedy of two desperate bachelors who will do just about anything for the almighty dollar.

Their misadventures range from selling perfume in a profit pyramid company to nearly-nude housekeeping and believe me, there are laughs at every turn.

"Rhinos" is bold, original, and well oiled. It's editing, lightingand directing are nearly flawless and should own a spot at box offices across the nation in place of even some of Hollywood's recent releases. I won't say which ones. Let's be nice.

What I will say is if you're looking for a good time, for laughs and to let your guard down, please venture into "Rhinos." (One HornProductions) ****1/2

Billy Woodard SWT University Daily Star March 5, 1999 Top of Page

Local film "Rhinos," produced by Vic Feazell and written by actors Adam Warren and Chad Nell, Austin's answer to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, has been accepted to the New York International Film Festival, which starts May 3.

Michael Corcoran Austin American-Statesman April 6, 1999 Top of Page

Not all screenwriters and directors yearn to produce the next "Citizen Kane" or "Wild Strawberries." Silliness, though often frowned upon, should occasionally be encouraged. Some writers and directors simply crave an opportunity to create something absurd. It is so with the makers of "Rhinos," the latest product of Austin's independent film community and the first of One Horn Productions.

The film stars Chad Nell and Adam Warren, both making their feature film debut. It follows the lives of two almost inseparable compatriots, Brick Hawthrone (Warren) and Mace Spinella (Nell).

Brick and Mace long for the sort of success that does not require daily toil. Until they achieve that prosperity, though, they must earn enough money to meet the financial obligations imposed by landlords and pizza delivery men. To subsist, these dilettantes hawk perfume in a fashion best described as Willie Loman meets the Farrelly Brothers. Their employer, Rhonda Ramsay (Kelly Coffield of TV's "In Living Color," "Jerry Maguire"), encourages them with a simple mantra: "Live and die as a Rhino! Let rejection bounce off of you, never take no for an answer, and no matter what, keep charging!"

But, alas, these salesmen rhinoceri have not truly tasted the marrow of life. Most of their leisure time is spent eating cold pizza, smoking marijuana, and watching rhino documentaries. After leaving the employ of Ramsay, they embark upon a series of unsuccessful get-rich-quick schemes, including insurance fraud, personal injury lawsuits, and the donation of sperm. Their magnus opus is the formation of a small business, Tight & Tidy,a cleaning service company with an exotic twist.

The film's publicists compare it to "Wayne's World" and the work of Laurel and Hardy. Brick and Mace are characters who take life lessons from cold pizza. In fact, the rhino footage serves as a metaphor for the lives of the protagonists, and a good deal of the film's humor comes from these comparisons. There is even a subtle endorsement of the American dream: a good idea and enthusiasm for entrepreneurship can lead to success. That's what Michael Dell had, and by the film's denouement, so do Brick and Mace, though to a much lesser extent.

Though no Richard Burton, Nell performs adequately and strikes the viewer as a relatively likable fellow. Warren, a former physical trainer, is also amusing and fun. In the melange of interesting character actors (including a surly gas station attendant and a rather confused roommate), a careful viewer will find Melrose Larry Green, the Howard Stern groupie.

Bankrolled by former McLennan County District Attorney Vic Feazell, "Rhinos" took three months to write and six to produce, though principal photography took only 15 days. The script, by Nell and director Randy Olson, appears to base itself on what obviously began as inside jokes, and some of the gags remain on the inside. However, the film must have been extraordinary fun to make, and it shows.

It is truly refreshing to see an independent feature without heists and choreographed gunplay, especially when that film is the brainchild of 20-somethings. There is no whining about the alienation of the real world, and the filmmakers have not presented us with any existential dilemma. Rather than attempting to fob off their private suffering as art, as so many filmmakers do, they are chronicling their mishaps for laughs.

Claiming the film to be an "embellished version" of their lives, Warren and Nell admit that they are "looking to create a cult classic." Perhaps that is what they have done in making a film somewhat reminiscent of Steve Oedekerk's "High Strung" and 1987's "Death Row Game Show."

"Rhinos" has no pretension of being something other than what it is, and that is a difficult-to-find quality among films, even in the indie community. Indeed, the film succeeds because it knows what it wants to be.

Simply put, "Rhinos" is not a film for sophisticates. Rather, it is a fine choice for those not averse to a few chuckles and guffaws. Warren and Nell wouldn't have it any other way.

Jim Dedman City Search March 4, 1999 Top of Page

They sell their sperm and scam insurance companies. They drink beer, nosh junk food and smoke pot, just as their lives are going to pot. Finally, our proto-slacker heros open a house-cleaning business that cleans them out. Here's the true story of Austin screenwrites Chad Nell and Adam Warren, who turned the tale of their wastrel lives into the madcap comedy "Rhinos," which plays at 9:45 p.m. each Thursday in March at the Alamo Drafthouse. The micro-budget lark mixes "Wayne's World" with Laurel and Hardy, say the filmmakers. Frat houses rejoice.

Chris Garcia Austin American-Statesman March 4, 1999 Top of Page

Dudes, pick up a six pack, fire up the bong, order a pizza, and kick back to watch this like, awesome, movie about a couple of twenty-something perpetually stoned uh..losers trying to make the rent check.

First they like, work, for this totally bogus perfume company and always have to sit through these like, fascist, motivational sales meetings that kinda like, remind you of the glee club meetings that you always used to skip in high school. And then they like, go try the sperm bank thing where they meet this totally awesome chick and they try to do the lost luggage insurance scam and some other stuff and they run into the sperm bank chick again. And in the end they come up with this really good gig that sends us this like, reassuring, message that in the end it, you know, pays to be a loser.

But hey - there's a lot more to this movie. I mean, it like, examines philosophical questions like if pizza's better when it's hot or cold and why! And all it's like, tied together by this uh...documentary about rhinos that's always playing on the TV in their apartment and like, becomes more and more bogus as it goes on.

Okay, okay.

I laughed a lot during this movie. It's intentionally overacted and stereotyped. It doesn't always go for cheap laughs and even becomes touching when it seems about to rely on blatant homophobia for a laugh. On one hand, it glorifies stoner culture, but on the other it pokes fun at the same culture. Director Randy Olson has shown us that he can make a film of this genre better than Hollywood can. I only have one question: Like, why bother, dude?

Bryan Clements The Arizona Daily Sun November 12, 1998 Top of Page

Outlandish laugh-fest "Rhinos," as Austin-made comedy that's done the festival circuit, plays at 9:45 p.m. each Thursday in March.

Chris Garcia Austin American-Statesman February 26, 1999 Top of Page

This is one of those films like those you find at the theater in the off-season, or in the back shelves of the video store. You never heard of it, but it looks interesting. The poster might tease you with quotes from film critics you also never heard of: "Zany," says one. "Wacky," says another.

Yet put off by the so-called "quality entertainment" of major motion pictures that too often turn out to be half-billion dollar vehicles for a dead-voiced Kevin Costner to tiredly stroll through another would-be epic, you decide to give it a try. Damned if the thing isn't weird. And surprising (Can they really do that in a movie?) And funny.

You laugh. And laugh. And walk away thinking, "Wow, that was pretty good. I might like to see that again."

It's called "the comedy for everyone who's ever hated their job." Brick and Mace are two hotshot salesmen doing their best to meet their quota selling cheap perfume, constantly breathless as they try to stay one step ahead of the howling mob of former customers. Rhonda Ramsey (Kelly Coffield) is their "Rhino Queen," the hard-driving motivational bitch at the top of the get-rich-quick pyramid scheme they're trapped in, forcing them to sell, sell, sell with exhortations to "live and die as a Rhino... Let rejection bounce off of you, never take no for an answer, and no matter what, KEEP CHARGING!!!"

Case after case of perfume goes out the door with the gung-ho salesmen, but sales never seem to follow. They fall deeper and deeper in debt to Ramsey, until they finally rebel and stage a rhino stampede in the home office. Trying one scheme after another to survive, including a comical trip to the sperm bank as potential donors, they finally light on the perfect plan: "Tight and Tidy," a housecleaning service for rich women that features male bodybuilders in g-strings. Unfortunately, their customer list leaves much to be desired! Through it all, anytime a television enters the frame, there always seems to be a wildlife documentary airing, with a dry-voiced host unwittingly narrating the lives of our hapless scam artists by telling us much more than we want to know about rhinos in the wild. Adam Warren and Chad Nell play the two young salesmen/entrepreneurs, and the story of Rhinos is also the story of their lives. "A lot of the stuff that you see in Rhinos, in one way or another has happened to Chad and I," explains Warren. "We've both done the worst jobs imaginable. So we took the most memorable stories from those jobs and embellished them for the screen. We thought it was a great opportunity to laugh at ourselves, and give the world a chance to laugh too."

Yet the story of the making of the movie is a different one entirely. "This whole project has been purely magical," says Warren. "Chad came out to Austin from LA with the mission of writing Rhinos. We'd been talking about doing it for quite a few years. Three months later we had the first draft."

What followed was a whirlwind of success. Nell sought the assistance of Director Randy Olson for help in refining the script, and almost before that was done, Warren had sold former Waco District Attorney Vic Feazell on bankrolling the project. Enlisting friends, family and USC film graduates to fill out the cast and crew, filming was completed by the middle of March.

Commenting on the success of the film itself, Warren says, "It's really been wonderful. We world-premiered at the Austin Film Festival in October. We had two screenings and both of them sold out. I sat in the audience at both of them, and the response was overwhelming. Everyone's getting the jokes, it's got stuff that people can relate to. "Our general demographics is ages 15 to 30, but we're also finding people in their 50s in the audience. So the response has been great. We had a sneak preview in Los Angeles, also to a sold-out house."

Already writing the sequel, Rhinos II: Sharks, in which Brick and Mace become ambulance-chasing attorneys, Warren and Nell are presently riding high, landing acting roles, executive producing projects and traveling to promote the current film. As to the true story behind the movie, yes Warren and Nell actually did have a housecleaning service called Tight and Tidy. But they can tell you about that themselves: Rhinos will be personally introduced by Adam Warren and Chad Nell as it plays at the Greentree Theaters on Friday, Nov. 20 at 9 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 22 at 5 p.m.

Hank Simpson Flagstaff Live November 19, 1998 Top of Page