Zombies wanted for business opportunity
(CNS): For $1,000 residents of the Cayman Islands have the chance to not only help get the country’s fledgling film industry on its feet but to be Zombies as well. The next movie about to be made in Cayman has nothing to do with crooked cash but an altogether different theme from any thing that’s gone before. And it’s a theme that the producers are convinced will prove to be a success, not just for them but for the Cayman Islands too. Filming for Zombie Driftwood, a scary, low budget b-movie set in the well-known North Side bar, starts shooting next week and there is still time for would-be investors to get in on the act — literally.
The film makers are in need of both cash and zombies and have opted to tie the two together. 500 shares in the company are currently being offered to the wider public, which will include, among a number of things, the chance to feature as a zombie in the movie. Investors can also hope for a return on their money too, as there are lucrative opportunities with this genre of film in the DVD market.
The executive production team includes award winners David McWhinnie and Bob Carruthers, who say the zombie horror genre is an evergreen staple of the low budget film world. “The huge international DVD and Blu-ray market is the real engine which makes this kind of production possible. The goal is to excite the interest of the millions of zombie film fans out there and deliver a great product,” said Carruthers.
Despite being about zombies, the film will be a very Caymanian affair with local production services being provided by film maker Beth Henning’s Caymana Production Services and the lead roles have gone to Cayman’s home grown actors, including Rita Estevanovich, Brian Braggs and Peter Costa with some of the islands’ unique characters also making cameo appearances. “There is some great acting talent here in the Cayman Islands, as good as you can find anywhere in the world so we were able to cast locally,” added Carruthers who is getting very excited about the project, with shooting due to start in just a few days.
A film industry professional, Carruthers told CNS that this b-movie could be the forerunner to more low budget films being made on the islands. He said there was a universal market for this kind of film and there was no reason why Cayman couldn’t be in on the action.
With the local film business still in its infancy, Zombie Driftwood will provide a great boost to the industry and also showcase the diverse potential the islands have for providing cinematic backdrops. Given that zombies are more commonly found in places considerably less attractive than beautiful, sun-kissed Caribbean islands, Carruthers said the exotic location will provide an added attraction for zombie movie fans the world over and introduce Cayman to a completely new audience.
For anyone who wants to take a chance on Cayman and the zombies, the producers will be holding a meeting for potential investors at the Harquail Theatre Black Box at 7pm on Sunday 13 June. The presentation will be followed by a short question and answer session and will last approximately one hour. For more details go to www.zombiedriftwood.com
Category: Business
So how exactly will licensing distribution in the N.A. DVD market work legally with the "actors" as investors? Is the crew licensed/union? The, actors, obviously are not. Enquiring minds want to know…
how about who is making the buck:
Cayman OR the Investors?
Nearly every movie made in or about Cayman is either dreadful ("straight to video" if even that) or about our "tax haven" image ("The Firm" ;"Haven"-gee thanks Frankie). Can we please stop getting stupidly excited about things everytime a no hoper director/producer comes here with an embarassing proposal/screenplay?
just go to the L.A. if you want to see zombies in ‘action’ or maybe listen to rooster in the morning…….
Wish I could be there for the filming. Love that Phil wrote the screenplay and it will be filmed at our beloved Driftwood! Otto is "in the house" for this.
Good project. Hope it works out.
Now if they would be willing to change the title to Legislative Assembly Zombies and change the venue to correspond, they would have a built in cast of zombies with lots of cash and potentially reduced makeup costs as well – at least on the 4 days a year that the MLAs show up to vote themselves raises.
When I see films in the making like this one, or the big bucks spent on custumes, make-up, artists and actors all for the sake of a fictitious movie to feed and stimulate the minds of millions of viewers, I can’t help but not think:
"All of this money spent on what?!!! – whilst one half of the world is starving."
Creativity… get into it.