Jason Murphy - Co-Producer and Director of “Zombies Zombies Zombies”
In 2006, Jason Murphy and with his filmmaking partner, Tony Giordano, set out to make their first feature-length film, a horror/comedy based on a simple premise: strippers vs zombies. Bringing a new twist to what has recently become a worn-out genre, the filmmakers wrote, produced, and directed the movie while holding down entertainment-related jobs in the hometown of Mickey Mouse - Orlando, Florida. To top it off, they assumed the movie’s financial risks and funded the project themselves after gathering together a talented crew of young professionals and newcomers.
I met Jason Murphy, the film’s director and co-producer, at Megacon in Orlando and found him to be extremely friendly, ambitious, and open to sharing the knowledge he gained while making his movie, the unashamedly titled Zombies Zombies Zombies.
Prior to launching your movie, did you have any experience with Hollywood or the Florida filmmaking community?
Yes. I graduated with a degree in Film Production from Valencia Community College back in 1996 and have worked on many Central Florida productions since. Working on other movies, TV shows, and commercials was a huge help in preparing me for making my own films.
Did producing a low-budget feature cost significantly more than you would have spent on a high-quality short film?
Well, maybe, but that depends on who you are talking to. I personally know people who have spent more on shorts than we spent on Zombies.
Rather than go through the difficult and time-consuming route of securing outside financing, you took a huge risk and self-financed Zombies Zombies Zombies with Tony. How did it affect the production knowing that every dollar was coming out of your own pocket?
I have tried to get outside funding in the past, but have always believed that I would be able to get the investors a profit, or at least their money back. So, if I believe that I will get them the money back, I figured why wouldn’t I be willing to make the investment myself? If I am asking strangers to believe in me, I should be able to believe in myself enough to invest in my own project. Of course, it is a little more stressful writing the checks and using your own credit cards, but it is also easier in a way, because you don’t have anyone else telling you what you can and can’t do.
Of all the ideas you could have developed into a feature, what made you go with ’strippers versus zombies’?
Tony and I have a few other scripts we have written, but we were looking for something to make on a lower budget than the ones we already had. Tony kept throwing out ideas for a zombie movie, but I didn’t really like any of them until we got to ’strippers vs zombies’…which to me was a no-brainer.
Movies that combine gory horror with equal amounts of comedy run the risk turning into a farce. How did you balance the horror elements with the humor?
Hopefully we did a good job on that part…it is hard though. We knew that with a movie about strippers fighting zombies, we couldn’t take anything too seriously.
What was your timetable for pre-production, production, and post? How many shooting days did you have?
Tony wrote the script in about a month, and then we had about a month of pre-production, and we shot for 13 nights. We later added another 2 days for some FX and pickup shots. Tony and I did all the editing, but after shooting, we had to go back to work to pay the bills and could only edit on weekends and free time, so it took us about a year to finish post.
How cooperative was the local Florida filmmaking community? What about state and local government?
There were definitely a lot of people who were willing to help, and then some that weren’t. But in general, we had a great crew, and the police, film commission, and Department of Transportation were all very cooperative.
The unashamedly exploitative subject matter will likely pay off when it comes time for marketing, but did it hinder production in any way? Did the subject produce any unusual responses from the people and organizations you dealt with?
Yes, there were definitely a few people that didn’t want to be associated with a movie about strippers, but those people never took the time to see what we were actually doing…they just assumed it was porn or something…which it is definitely not.
Director of Photography Kenny Beaumont, an instructor at Fullsail film school, brought an entire crew and a truckload of equipment with him on the first day of shooting. How did your collaboration with Kenny come about? What effect did his participation have on keeping costs down?
Kenny is great, and we worked really well together. Kenny was able to get us some of the lights and gear we needed from Full Sail, which definitely saved us some money on production.
Your Special Effects Director, Rick Gonzalez, has a history with horror films that goes back to 1985’s Day of the Dead. How did you hook up with him?
I had worked on some projects that Rick had done FX for in the past, so it was an easy choice to call him for our project.
Your main cast is made up of former FHM, Maxim, and Playboy models. Did you hold casting calls for the lead roles or did you approach specific people? Aside from drop-dead beauty, what were the main factors in your casting decisions?
We did hold castings for the movie, and we definitely spent a lot of time trying to find the right actors for the roles. Tony wrote the role of “Harley” with Hollie Winnard in mind, because we knew her, but most of the other roles were cast from our auditions. I knew some of the girls from my work as a photographer, but we had to see if they could pull off the role. There were definitely plenty of pretty faces we could have chosen, but many of them didn’t stand out with the acting like the ones we cast.
Zombies Zombies Zombies features Tiffany Shepis, a Hollywood scream queen with more than 50 movies to her credit. How did she join your project?
I had originally talked with Tiffany about being a lead role, but she already had a movie scheduled in Italy during our shoot dates. We kind of became friends after that, and when we later added some stuff, we were happy to be able to put her in there.
Many of your cast and crew worked below their regular pay or for experience only. What attracted them to your project and what incentives did you offer them for participation?
A lot of people worked for cheap, and many of the crew even worked for free, but we made sure everyone was having fun. We did our best to keep to our schedule, and we also spent thousands to get full catered meals everyday. I have personally worked on many “hell” shoots, and I never want anyone to feel overworked or unappreciated on my shoots.
Zombies Zombies Zombies won “Best Florida Horror Film” at the 2007 Freak Show Florida, the very first festival you submitted to. What impact has this award had on securing distribution and publicizing the movie?
I don’t think it has had much if any impact on distribution, but it is nice to know that people actually like the movie.
Having finished the final cut of the movie, do you feel that self-financing the movie had any affect on your creative decisions? What advantages did you experience that you may have lost had you used investor financing?
Self-financing gave us complete control over the cut of the movie, which is great! Having someone else tell you what to do isn’t always bad, it just depends on who that person is, and if you agree with what they want you to do. In general, I much prefer having creative freedom over my work, but in this business, that isn’t usually the case.
The budget for the movie has been reported as high as $200,000 to “under $100,000.” How has perception of the movie’s budget affected distribution deals, publicity, and marketing?
In general…for U.S. Distributors, the budget doesn’t matter since you are just getting a percentage of sales. Foreign markets usually pay a flat fee, and they usually use the budget to determine how much they are willing to pay.
You once mentioned that the movie could be retitled to one of the most blatantly exploitative phrases ever—”Crack Whore Zombies”. What made you stick with the more simple title Zombies Zombies Zombies?
While “Crack Whore Zombies” is a fun title that Tony and our friend Zack came up with…most retail stores would never put a movie with that title on the shelf. Ultimately, I felt that people would unfairly cast judgment on the movie based on the title, and it would limit our options on distribution. Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! is still a fun, campy title that captures the tone of the film, yet it doesn’t offend anyone.
Check out the movie’s web site at:
http://www.zombieszombieszombies.com/
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