Interview with Andy Davis, Director of Zombie Film “2″
We here at Fatally-Yours.com recently posted a link to the 
trailer for the new independent zombie film 2, which looks very cool. Recently, we had the opportunity to chat with director Andy Davis about the film and what really goes into making a low-budget zombie flick…including what it’s like to have an open zombie casting call!!
Interview by Fatally Yours
Andy, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us! Can you tell us a little bit about your new zombie film 2 and at what stage the film is at?
Thanks for taking the time to talk about 2. Fatally yours is a great site! 2 is a zombie survivalist film, first and foremost with some good scares, some good gore and a really cool apocalyptic feel. The other cool thing about 2 is that it goes someplace we haven’t really seen zombie films go in the past…I really hope people dig it. Our advance screenings have gone well. Right now we are about a month off from a finished film.
How did you come up with the idea for your film and what inspired you to make the film?
I had this idea in high school and hadn’t looked at it for ten years or so. After we make a film, I always go through and look into my archives and that one stuck this time around, so I cleaned the idea up, and worked with screenwriter Al Lamanda to come up with the final screenplay. With all the biological terror threats going around these days, the timing seemed spot on.
What are some of the obstacles that you have had to face (be specific) when making this movie and how did you overcome them?
We ran the gamut when it comes to obstacles on this one…but we also ran into great fortune as well. Anytime you set out to make a film, you know you have obstacles coming, so for the most part you are prepared…the greatest obstacles included getting over 200 zombies into makeup and wrangling them, but honestly, each zombie we had was a true pleasure to work with. For the most part, working on 2 was a dream come true for many of us. We did have an unexpected fire on the set we were using, which is a hundred year old massive mill (not anything to do with us). We lost two days from that, and the whole set smelled like stale smoke afterward.
What are some of the best experiences that came out of making the film?
We have really made some great contacts of likeminded people who really share our passion for making film and telling stories.
Can you tell us what the auditioning and casting process was like? How did you find your two leads (C. James Roberts and Molly W. Bryant Roberts)?
I went to high school with Molly, and we worked together on my first short, THE DARK. She married Jim a few years later, and we always knew we wanted to make something together; this one seemed perfect, since the main characters had to have a certain air of personal intimacy combined with loneliness. For this one, we only cast zombies. We will be doing a very extensive casting session on our next film, which has over 40 characters.
I understand you had a zombie casting call that required people to come dressed in full zombie makeup. What kind of response did you receive, both from those auditioning and regular people who came in contact with the “zombies”?
We had a great time. You know, anything can happen at a zombie casting, but like I mentioned, all of our zombies really seemed like great people. The press had a field day covering the film because so many people wanted to be zombies in it. Everyone was very supportive, some of them even brought food to share, or games to play while waiting.
What was it like to work with such a large cast of extras?
I was a little afraid to do it at first, since everything I have written and directed is really based around a very intimate cast of 6 at the most…but working with so many people really blew me away. The first time I did a shot where all the zombie extras come down this road, I had to pinch myself, the shot went on and on and on, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and still, zombies were coming at me…It was amazing.
How were the special effects and makeup handled with such a large cast?
We had two main effects people, one designed all the heavy props and the other designed the makeup for the zombies. Then we had as many as five assistants to them depending on the day and how many zombies we had planned on coming.
Why did you decide to make a zombie film?
I have been a diehard fan of zombie movies since I was six years old…after high school, I moved to Pittsburgh for awhile just to breathe in the air there and met many of the people who worked on the Romero films, and visited many of the sets…most of my teachers in college were guys who had edited, done props, or acted as zombies in those films.
When can horror fans expect to see 2 released?
We should have a premiere in July in
Andy, thanks again for taking the time to talk with us! Can you tell us of any future projects you are currently working on or have planned?
We have a big project planned to go into production in two months. It’s in the genre and needs a hell of a lot of people, but is not a zombie film…that’s all I can say unfortunately…but you’ll be one of the first to know when we’re ready to talk about that one. Thanks so much for helping us out! Once again, great site, love your passion.
Thank you again, Andy, and we very much look forward to checking out 2!
Visit Emptyhouse Films’ Official Site
Watch the 2 Trailer!
Watch the Covered in Bees music video!
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