Interview with the creators of RIGAMORTIS: A Zombie Love Story
Recently at the San Diego Comic Con 2012, the short film, Rigamortis: A Zombie Love Story was played for attendees and if you missed it, don’t worry, you can purchase the movie here! You can also read our review here! Nerd Caliber met with the masterminds behind Rigamortis to find out how this unique film about love, zombies and singing all came together. We interviewed Writer and co-Director Dave Dewes, Writer and Director of Photography Jenny Stolte, and Director Ted Campbell.
How did the idea for this project come together?
DAVE: The idea for the project really manifested as a direct reaction to seeing Doctor Horrible’s Sing-A-Long-Blog. I probably watched that film six times back-to-back upon discovering it and couldn’t help but feel that I was seeing the future of filmmaking. I’ve been a fan of musicals my entire life and here was a group of filmmakers and artists I respected finding a way to put one out there, outside of the studio system and for relatively cheap (in film terms at least)! More importantly it gave them the freedom to take the project in any direction they wanted and, thanks to the nature of digital distribution, make it exactly as long/short as the story called for. Who wouldn’t want to try their hand at something like that?
There are a lot of genres here. It is a comedy, a tragedy, a romance, a horror and a musical. Was it very difficult directing and conveying all these elements to the silver screen?
TED: Not really. We played everything real. I mean, what the characters were going through was real for them. I think that’s what surprising about the film. It’s got real heart at the core of the story.
Is this the first time all of you worked on a multi-genre project? Would you do so again?
TED: Would definitely do it again! In fact, I have a zombie western script. And I think Dave has a ninja trucker idea he’s been kicking around.
DAVE: It was the first multi-genre for most of us, but I think I can speak for most of the cast and crew when I say we’d do it again in a heartbeat.
What are your favorite scenes or fondest moments in making this movie?
TED: The duet. That’s my favorite scene. Makes me tear up. I’m a suck’a for a tragic love story.
JENNY: I will always remember hearing the music for the first time. Composer Greg Szydlowski did such an amazing job creating the perfect music and lyrics (along with Dave) for the film. He would send us demo tracks at various stages where he sang all the parts, which was always hilarious. Then when we got the actors in to record the songs, hearing them played back with the actual actors voices in was awesome. That was the moment when it finally sunk in that we were going to make a musical (this was two days before principal photography began).
Tell us about the actors involved and how you felt they added to the overall feel of the movie.
JENNY: All of the actors were completely perfect for their roles, and they all did an amazing job. We actually found Lisa Musser first. Dave, Greg (composer) & I held auditions in Chicago for all the roles. Lisa had a completely amazing voice, and was the perfect look for Zoey. We held callbacks with her and one other actress, but I think most of our minds were made up after that first audition!
This will be shown during the San Diego Comic Con. Are there any other planned screenings?
TED: We’ve been doing the festival rounds for a while now.
DAVE: The film will be screening it’s second year in a row at Gen Con in Indianapolis August 16-19. People can also find the film and soundtrack on iTunes!
What new projects will you be working on next after Rigamortis?
TED: Let’s turn Rigamortis into a feature!
JENNY: We have been focusing a lot on trying to get Rigamortis out there and promote it as much as possible. We’re hoping if it’s able to do well enough, it will allow us to create more, similar projects. We really enjoyed making a musical, and we think digital distribution is the way of the future, so we will definitely be sticking to those facets with our next project. We have talked a lot about, and are in the very very early stages of writing a Ninja musical.
