Zombie Bohemia is the story of Michael, a struggling New York City artist, who just happens to be a zombie.  Played by New Yorker, Shawn James, Michael is trying to find balance between his drive to produce memorable, inspired art while also being plagued by the underlying needs and urges of a zombie.  In short, he is trying to gain approval and respect from the very people he is biologically wired to consume.

We caught up with writer/director Vince Brando to talk about Zombie Bohemia.

Horror News Network: “Zombie Bohemia” is more of a short “Zombedy” than horror, sarcastically poking fun at the snoberry of the “art” scene. What was the inspiration for this?

Vince Brando: Well, I suppose the best way to answer that question is to take you back to the birth of the concept. Roughly a year and a half ago my co-writer/Director of Photography (Chris Magdalenski) and I were on our way to the Palm Springs Shortfest Film Market with our first film called Hushed. After attending a few festivals already I was looking forward to spending a few hours talking shop with Chris on the plane and hopefully getting a good nights rest before enjoying the festival. Chris was flying from Boston while I was flying from Washington DC to meet up in New York for our connecting flight to Palm Springs. The good news was that we both made it to JFK, but an hour after missing our connecting flight. Leaving out most of the comic details we were told of a flight that could still possibly get us to our destination that left from Newark. The mad dash to New Jersey didn't pan out leaving us stranded overnight at beautiful New York Penn Station.

So there we sat, all night, watching some interesting folks shuffle around us. After we overheard the fifth or sixth person comment loudly about stabbing someone we thought it best not to actually fall asleep. We began talking about a much more comfortable topic, of course that being film. We talked about the "big" name film makers and the big funded film makers blowing wads cash on private planes and chartered yachts. You know, the ones who don't truly appreciate what they have. I believe it was Chris who said that we could benefit from the opportunity of being able to observe this true New York grit in its natural environment. At about that moment I realized that the people surrounding us looked, acted and were probably just as dangerous zombies. I brought up the fact that my good friend and lead actress from the previous film (Havilah Imfeld) suggested that our next picture be a Zombie Flick set in NYC, and that's where it began. Three days and a ton of connections later we finally arrived in Palm Springs, with the Zombie Bohemia script.

A few months later Havilah connected our producer (Mark Bell) and us up with Shawn James (Michael the Zombie) from The Green Point Gallery in Brooklyn. He was an amazing guy that also happened to be an artist and actor. That moment it just clicked, and the rest is history.

Horror News Network: Do you think this is a subtle way of referencing the fact that historically, horror films have been brushed off and not taken as art?

Vince Brando: Yes. I do believe that in the film community many times Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantastic films are brushed aside. I guarantee that if you were to walk into a room full of self proclaimed film sophisticate's in the states and proclaim that you had a great horror film in your hand most of them would chuckle before you were able to squeak out another word. Even if you had the best character development and well thought out plot they would give you that "your one of THOSE film people" looks.

It's my belief that if you are making a film in any genre or style that you are an artist. The misunderstanding or disconnect is when people classify horror as just blood and guts and sci-fi as something just nerdy or weird. These preconceived notions sometimes insinuate that there must be no room for character development, plot, thought and shot value, especially in the independent world. Every film has a crew that pours their hearts (or in our case brains) into creating a work for others to enjoy. Those works should should be respected and preconceptions restrained until after the screening. If you don't like it, then you are entitled you your opinion. I'm lucky in the fact that whoever voices a negative opinion of our film will be promptly dismembered by my Zombie.

Horror News Network: Obviously, Michael, the zombie, appears to be the main character of the film, but it’s Anton whose demise is more terrifying. Tell us about his character? How about Will Carey in the role.

Vince Brando: I'm so glad you asked. I tried to inject both Michael and Anton with as much of the struggling underdog that all of us know of or experience at some time. I attempted to infuse both Michael and Anton with that feeling you get when you know that you have what it takes to accomplish something big if just given the chance, however you just never seem to get that chance. Michael being the raw talent that is overlooked because of his disfigurement and inability to communicate or interact socially. Anton is the guy that has been striving to make it to the top but can never quite catch a break. He fancies himself an artist manager but the reality is that he has never really managed an artist, let alone one that's actually any good. When Anton found Michael scribbling with chalk on a sidewalk could see past the zombie and knew that his work was pure talent. The backstory is that Anton has hung his last hopes on Michael. If he can't leverage what little he has to elevate Michael to the level of his Arch Nemesis Lester "One" Onedowski (Tim Urian) he will be completely broke and out of the game for good.

I considered Will for the part of Anton because he brings his own earthy style to the character and I hoped that the audience would relate and feel connected to him. I knew that if I had Anton be this ultra slick suave guy then nobody would really care what happened to him and that he would just be a tool to drag around Michael. Anton needed to be a real guy who was trying hard, maybe too hard to be a powerhouse artist manager and fit in with the NY bohemian scene. I wanted you to see that under the surface was a guy that most of us could relate to. I also wanted to add dimension to the interaction between Anton and Michael by giving Anton a little of that big brother feel. In preproduction I originally had been told by a few folks outside the production that the zombie should be big and overpowering to scare the hell out of people. As usual, I did just the opposite having Will who is like seven feet tall play Anton and Shawn who is not nearly as tall play Michael the Zombie. Between both Will and Shawn's psychical characteristics and acting abilities i got exactly what I wanted and can't say enough good things about working with both of them. Sometimes in my head I felt like I had my own version Charlie Babbitt and Rainman, only my Charlie Babbitt wears eyeliner and this Rainman eats people.

Horror News Network: Are you hoping to be able to develop the story more into a feature length film?

Vince Brando: Yes actually. My partners and I are currently looking into the possibility of expanding Zombie Bohemia into a larger format. We are also open to the possibility of an episodic web series or show. I personally would love nothing more than to keep working on and expanding our concept. Hopefully you will be hearing a lot more from us.

Horror News Network: Where can our audience see, or learn more about “Zombie Bohemia”?

Vince Brando: We are pleased to announce that we have been accepted as an official selection by the DC Independent Film Festival. They were actually the first film festival that we have submitted to and we are honored to take part of their festival. The date and ticket info will be posted on their website later this month. We are also hopeful that we will be included in multiple other festivals including the Chicago Fear Fest. Only time will tell but we have fingers crossed that we will screen in as many places as possible so that we can share our work with folks who will appreciate it. For more info, links to our trailer / music video, and updates on where we will be screening please visit our web site www.zombiebohemia.com

Horror News Network: Thanks for your time, Vince. Have a comment? Post it here.

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Published on: 2012-01-25 (98 reads)