Press Kit

Press Kit
greenzombiesmovie.com
Film Information
FILM TITLE
Green Zombies
LOG LINE
Sometimes brains aren’t enough.
TAG LINE
Reduce. Reuse. Reanimate.
GENRE
Zombie, Horror, Comedy, Eco-Message
CONTACT INFO
Krishna Devine
3205 Los Feliz Blvd. #11-305
Los Angeles, CA 90039
Office: 323.327.2419
Cell: 206.261.3056
EMAIL
[email protected]
WEBSITE
greenzombiesmovie.com
SOCIAL
Twitter: @thegreenzombies
Key Art
TECHNICAL INFO
TRT: 3 minutes 20 seconds
Exhibition Format: Digital File (Per your spec), DVD, Blu-Ray, physical tape available
upon request
Shooting Format: HD
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Color, English
Subtitles available upon request
Story
SYNOPSIS - ONE LINE
An ambitious sales woman stumbles upon a group of zombies who want more than brains.
LONG SYNOPSIS
(Don’t read if you don’t like spoilers)
It’s a calm, sunny day in southern California. A cosmetic saleswoman pulls her car over in a quiet
neighborhood. As she goes door to door in search of a customer, she doesn’t seem to realize that for a
neighborhood full of parked cars, it’s pretty quiet out.
Not one to be easily discouraged, the woman continues on. The hot day takes a toll on her and she
finds herself downing a bottle of water just as she sees a sign of potential life. Party balloons at the
end of a driveway give her hope that the party revelers are nearby. The woman absent-mindedly tosses
the plastic bottle into the street.
The moment the bottle hits the ground, a zombie is alerted and he’s drawn to it. As the saleswoman
walks away, the zombie stops for the bottle and then continues his pursuit.
At the top of the driveway, the woman scans what appears to be an in-progress birthday party. A piñata
hangs from a tree, decorations sway in the breeze and unopened gifts clutter a table. The saleswoman
notices the birthday lady seated at the table in front of her cake.
The saleswoman makes polite attempts at getting the birthday lady’s attention. Finally, she walks right
up to the lady and nudges her shoulder. The saleswoman watches as the birthday lady lifts her head up
out of the birthday cake. Instead of pleasantries, the birthday lady growls. The saleswoman instantly
notices that the birthday lady looks sick—maybe even dead.
As the saleswoman backs away in fear, she stumbles into a bat swinging zombie who must have been
changed mid piñata swing. By now, the zombie with the water bottle and a gangly zombie have
surrounded her and cornered her by a wall.
As the woman squeals in fear and hides behind her clipboard, the baseball bat zombie says something
to her. The woman can’t believe her ears. The zombie speaks again. “Re-cy-cle” says the zombie.
The woman is surprised—she thought they wanted her brains. The moment is not lost on her. She uses
this as her out and squeezes through the zombies and runs off. Before she exits the driveway, the
zombies realize they do want her brains.
Director’s Statement
The first inspiration for Green Zombies came from my ongoing
observation of the over-use of single use plastic water bottles both
on set and in the office. At the end of a shooting day, I’d ask PAs to
do a final set walk through and it would be so frustrating to see the
amount of plastic water bottles they were tossing that the crew had
abandoned after taking only a drink or two.
Of course we’d implement the “write your name on your bottle with
a Sharpie” thing but when the day picks up, it’s not reasonable to
ask a busy crew to stop working to label their drinks.
It occurred to me that not everyone is aware of how wasteful plastic bottles are or how big the
problem really is. Sure, a lot of people have heard of The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but do
they think about how something like that is created in the first place? How small, simple choices
could reduce the amount of waste? I wanted to give people a small piece of important information
about water bottles in a non-preachy way in an effort to inform them of what an ease of
convenience choice can lead to if not checked.
Some of the unsettling data I found included the following:
According to Brita, Americans throw away 35 billion plastic water bottles every year. 50% of the
plastic we use, we use just once and throw away. (Ecowatch.com) The data was all very scary.
Know what else I find scary?
Zombies.
How would I go about combining zombies and a message about plastic water bottle use?
What would happen if a bunch of eco-minded people were turned into zombies? Would they
remember they wanted to make the world a better place before they were turned? Would they act
on that memory? What would that look like?
What would happen if a thoughtless/eco-naïve person were to stumble upon these eco-minded
zombies and did something to upset them?
Or simply, what do you get when you cross eco-minded people with zombies?
Green Zombies.
-Krishna Devine
Cast
Kristen Nedopak Saleswoman
Showrunner, Producer, Writer, Host and one of Comic Con’s “Most Dangerous
Women,” Kristen is the creator of many Sci-fi/Fantasy series and films, including
the award-nominated The Skyrim Parodies. Kristen is also founder and creator of
the first-ever Hollywood award show for geeks: The Geekie Awards.
@Nedopak
Tom Mesmer Zombie
Tom Mesmer recently played the role of John Lennon in the Hollywood Fringe
Festival production of the new musical “Rock And Roll’s Greatest Lovers.”
Between work on film, television, and theater, Tom wrote and performed in
“Glampires” and “Hank & Patsy: Cheatin’ Hearts.”
Marcus Niehaus Zombie
From actor to editor to producer, Marcus does it all. He’s been in over a dozen
short films including Echowalkers where he plays a room full of characters.
He has also penned his share of feature scripts. When Marcus isn’t playing an
interesting character on camera, he hangs out in the post production world.
Shannon Murray Zombie
A well-versed actress and production professional, Shannon is no stranger to the
film set. She has done everything from play roles in the Temp Girls, Titanic II, and
play the part of a mother in Oz the Great and Powerful to manage production
studios and work as a first assistant director on multiple Hollywood productions.
Ikuo “Yojimbo” Saito Zombie
Ikuo Saito is best known for his work behind the camera. He has worked as a
VFX artist and supervisor on numerous films and television shows through his
work at Almost Human Inc. As a huge fan of the horror genre, Ikuo agreed to
step in front of the camera for a change and play zombie.
Cast*
Brian Marquis Zombie
Brian Marquis is the former guitarist/vocalist of the band Therefore I Am. He is
currently the founder/producer of the Acoustic Basement Stage for the Vans
Warped Tour and the US&UK Acoustic Basement Tours. Brian’s debut full length
solo album ‘Blood & Spirits’ is out now. PS Brian’s recent video features zombies!
@TheBrianMarquis
Lauren Holden Zombie
By day, Lauren works as an Operations Specialist for a large marketing firm.
By night she indulges her darker side by watching The Walking Dead. A fan of
the horror genre and zombie films and tv, Lauren brought out her inner
zombie for her debut role in Green Zombies.
Indira Basu Zombie
Los Angeles transplant Indira Basu is a full-time screenwriting student at UCLA.
Indira has worked for various Hollywood studios including Big Air Studios and she
was a development intern at Scott Free. Indira received her Bachelor degree in
Psychology and Film from the University of Southern California.
Francisco Jimenez Zombie
As a graduate of The New England Institute of Art, Francisco has a lot of hands on
experience in production. He often works as a camera operator and is a certified
filmmaking tutor. When he’s not playing a zombie, he can be found on set behind
the camera or in the studio working in post production.
*The
cast members on this page do not appear in the final cut of Green Zombies. The scene they
were part of was cut from the film. Some appear in the image sequence during closing credits
and/or they appear in the added-value green tips presented on greenzombies.com
Crew
Krishna Devine Writer/Producer/Director
A member of the Producer’s Guild of America and published author, screenwriter
and multi-hyphenate filmmaker, Krishna has no shortage of energy or ideas. In the
independent film world, she has done everything from directing (Sly Dog) to
producing (Side Effect, Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2) to Editing (Ava DuVernay’s
This Is The Life). She currently works in film distribution at Big Air Studios in LA.
@Krishnadevine
Amanda Treyz Director of Photography
After receiving her undergraduate degree from Brown, Amanda made her way to
Los Angeles. Here she continued to work on her craft as not only a talented gaffer
but as a gifted cinematographer. Since her graduation from AFI, she shot 15
feature films, numerous short films and music videos and she received a 2008
ASC Heritage award & won best cinematography at the Big Bear Film Festival.
Zach Baker Make Up Artist
As the VP of Operations at ACTV8 and former Solutions Architect at AMCI Global,
Zach doesn’t always have time to play in the film world. When he does, he makes
a splash. Zach played opposite Brian Austin Green as a tattoo artist in Chromeskull:
Laid to Rest 2. When he’s not on camera, he puts his Alabama cosmetology degree
to work and does fun things like turn living people into the living dead.
Louise Hart Production Manager
Louise is the founder of STEADY ON, an audience development and transmedia
production company. Hart has been working at the forefront of entertainment
technology since the start of her career at the BBC in London, where she helped
launch the UK’s first digital TV channels. She is a professional member of BAFTA.
Grace Kang Graphic Designer
Grace is a Brooklyn-based Illustrator and Designer. Weaving deadpan wit into
familiar tropes, Grace presents humorous commentary on contemporary life.
Known online as “powkang” since 2000, her work can be found at powkang.com
Grace is a dropout of the prestigious Pratt Institute.
@powkang
Crew
Kevin Bocarde Location Sound
Kevin is currently the director of Post Production for FX. When he’s not making
great television, he spends his free time screenwriting and working as Vice
President of Production and Development for Dry County Entertainment. Kevin
is a big horror fan and knows more than almost anyone about Jason Voorhees.
Renee Bocarde Set Dresser
Renee is a veterinary technician working at the the world-renowned VCA WLA
animal hospital in Los Angeles. Renee works on everything from cats and dogs to
Cheetahs, Tigers and Gorillas. She is also the best cupcake artist ever—crafting
such treats as Godzilla, Cthulu and scrumptious chocolate-mint goodies.
Haley Mintz Make Up Assistant
Haley works as a professional makeup artist for film, television and live events.
When she’s not doing a stellar job with makeup, she spends her time as a cosplay
model and fabricator. At the moment she looks to expand her experience and
get into the PR side of the video game industry.
Mitchell Norris Make Up Assistant
A native of Santa Clarita, California and graduate of Saugus High, Mitchell enjoys
the southern California lifestyle. Mitchell is not only a talented makeup artist, but
he has the gift of fine art and drawing. When Mitchell’s not on set crafting the
living into animated corpses, he spends his time adventuring outside.
Kyle Walters-Sheaffer Sound Designer/Colorist
Multimedia professional, musician, story-teller and all around one of the most
talented humans in Portland, OR. Kyle graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle
and immediately co-founded Portland-based record label Panther Fact Records.
He is able to take his wealth of sound and music knowledge to new heights as he
transitions into film and video production.
Production Stills
Zombies surround the saleswoman. (Lto R Kristen Nedopak, Marcus Niehaus, Ikuo Saito, Shannon Murray, Tom Mesmer)
Zombie Marcus is on a mission.
Saleswoman (Kristen Nedopak) makes an unexpected discovery.
Production Stills 2
Zombie Tom (Tom Mesmer) in the saleswoman’s face (Kristen Nedopak)
Zombie Brian cleans up a bottle. (Brian Marquis)
Zombie Shannon stands up. (Shannon Murray)
The saleswoman is surrounded (Kristen Nedopak)
Production Stills 3
The Saleswoman (Kristen Nedopak) flees danger.
Francisco Zombie takes this seriously.
Indira Zombie inches forward.
Lauren Zombie makes her move.
Credits
written, produced & directed by
KRISHNA DEVINE
starring
KRISTEN NEDOPAK
director of photography
Amanda Treyz
zombies
MARCUS NIEHAUS
IKUO "YOJIMBO" SAITO
SHANNON MURRAY
TOM MESMER
BRIAN MARQUIS
LAUREN HOLDEN
FRANCISCO JIMENEZ
INDIRA BASU
production manager
LOUISE HART
location sound
KEVIN BOCARDE
set dresser
RENEE BOCARDE
fx make up lead
ZACH BAKER
make up assistants
HAYLEY MINTZ
MITCHELL NORRIS
sound mix and design
KYLE WALTERS-SHEAFFER
female zombie voice adr
SARAH AXENTY
editors
KRISHNA DEVINE
MARCUS NIEHAUS
foley artist
JILL WALTERS-SHEAFFER
colorist
KYLE WALTERS-SHEAFFER
location overlords
STEPHEN NIVER
CYNTHIA MUNOZ NIVER
ED TRIVINO
make up consultant
SONIA CABRERA
graphic designer
GRACE KANG
music
'COMMAND'
Composed by DENIS WOODS
Performed by DENIS WOODS
Published by Denis Woods
'COLORLESS WORLD'
Composed by Dmitri Belichenko
Performed by Dmitri Belichenko
Published by Lynne Publishing
'LETHAL AFFAIR'
Composed by Jason Livesay
Performed by Jason Livesay
Published by Bradley Scoring Studios
special thanks to
DAVID COLE
EMILY COLE
ROBERT BARUC
MARC STERNBERG
MICHAEL STRADFORD
GORDIE
FRED
JILL WALTERS-SHEAFFER
No single use plastic water bottles were purchased
for this film.
© 2014 Krishna Devine All Rights Reserved.
Filmmaker FAQs
What is Green Zombies about?
Green Zombies is about the perils of being wasteful. It’s easy to throw something out and forget
about it. Green Zombies is made to remind people that single use water bottles create a bigger
danger to our world and the environments trying to survive in our world. In real life, there
typically isn’t an instant reminder to recycle that plastic item we just discarded. In Green
Zombies we make sure the wasteful person is confronted with his/her mistakes immediately.
What was the budget?
Don’t you know better than to ask this question? OK, it’s not a feature so I can spill it—sort of.
Let me put it this way, with all the pro-bono labor, the final film cost about two month’s worth
of Los Angeles rent. The money paid for everything you see on screen and all the things that had
to happen to get the movie this far.
How did you fund the project?
I set aside money each month from my day job. (I currently work in film distribution.) I crowdfunded my first short film,’ Sly Dog’ before there were even crowd funding websites/services
and decided to save that route for my next larger budget film. I didn’t want to abuse the
funding resource of Indie Go Go or Kickstarter when I new I could make this on a micro-budget
over time.
Why did you shoot the film hand-held?
I like the feeling of urgency you get with the Cinema Verite and hand-held filmmaking styles—
especially with a zombie film where danger is always around the corner. Amanda Treyz is such a
talented cinematographer so I knew she’d be able to pull off the look I wanted. It also allowed
to keep the budget and crew size at a minimum.
Why did you combine the zombie genre with an eco-message?
Zombies are fun! I didn’t want to be preachy or in your face with a “message movie”, but I
wanted to teach the audience something at the end of the film and thought that the zombie
genre would lend itself to this.
Any advice you’d want to give other filmmakers/aspiring filmmakers?
Never, ever, ever give up. Or as the guy on my exercise video says: “Do your best, forget the
rest.” Also, trust your gut. I t’s ok to ask others for input or advice but at the end of the day, do
what’s best for you and your goals and know it’s fine to do what you want without taking the
advice others give you if it serves your ultimate purpose. (I found that not all advice was given
with my best interest in mind so this is a little lesson I learned the hard way.)
What do you want to accomplish with this film?
I hope people who watched this film give single use water bottles a second thought. Buy a
reusable water bottle for everyday use. Sure, your zombie-apocalypse kit might have plastic
bottles in them, but if you aren’t actively running from zombies, take the time to reduce waste.
Green Filmmaking Notes
Krishna’s goal was not only to make a fun short film with a green message, but to make the film
production itself eco-friendly.
The film was shot all in day exterior locations on Canon DSLR cameras. The film maintained a digital
workflow throughout post. Starting as files on CF cards and then being transferred to external drives
for final storage and editing.
When lighting was needed during the shoot, the crew used led light panels powered by either AC
power or battery powered with rechargeable batteries.
Rechargeable batteries
Recycled gift bags
Reusable water bottle
LED light panels
Ninety percent of the wardrobe was comprised of items the cast* and crew had sitting around waiting
to donate to second hand stores. The items that were purchased were from local second-hand stores.
The production design/set design pieces were recycled from past events and when possible, were
recycled again for another use after the shoot. Several friends of the production donated set pieces
as well.
Meals consisted of locally grown food and served on recycled paper products.
Water was provided via the location kitchen’s water tap and served in filtered, reusable water bottles.
Each crew member had one bottle labeled for them and they kept the bottle for future use post shoot.
*Zombie Ikuo ‘Yojimbo’ Saito was too tall to fit in any of the provided wardrobe so a new shirt was
purchased for him. It turns out second-hand stores didn’t carry his “lanky” size.
Behind The Scenes Photos
Amanda Treyz sets up the camera
Krishna sees the zombie makeup completed
Yojimbo has a Zach-snack attack
Pick up shots on location with Kristen,
Lauren, Francisco, Brian and Indira (L to R)
Behind The Scenes Photos 2
Kevin day dreams about the joys of audio
Zach creates a neck wound on Yojimbo
Renee dresses the set like a pro
Kristen runs the Geekie Awards Empire
in between takes.
Behind The Scenes Photos 3
Tom practices zombie sounds
Hayley and Mitchell prep make up
Zombie Tom passes time with a book
Zombie Ikuo “Yojimbo” Saito says peace
Behind The Scenes Photos 4
Krishna tries out method directing
Kristen reacts adorably to zombie bites
Cast and Crew from shoot day #1. L to R Kevin, Renee, Kristen, Krishna (Back in pink),
Shannon (Front in blue), Louise (Green sweater), Zach (wearing hat), Ikuo/Yojimbo (Tall), Marcus
(zombie), Amanda (Glasses), Mitchell (backwards hat), Tom in red t-shirt and Haley in uggs