$70 Zombie Movie is a hit at Cannes

Hollywood eyes $70 zombie movie wowing Cannes
By Tom Foster
For CNN

CANNES, France (CNN) -- A budding British director is enjoying success on a shoestring at Cannes with "Colin," a new zombie feature that cost a scarcely believable $70 to make.



Japanese distributors are currently in negotiations for the rights to the film and buzz around the no-budget zombie chiller has attracted interest from some major American distributors -- all of which is a very nice surprise for the team behind "Colin."

"We were almost fainting at the list of people who were coming [to the final market screening of the film]," said Helen Grace of Left Films who is helping the film's director Marc Price publicize the film in Cannes. "Representatives from major American distributors -- some of the Hollywood studios."

"When we say it's a low budget film, people presume a couple of hundred thousand [dollars]. People can't figure out how it's possible. What Marc's achieved has left people astonished."

It was by advertising for volunteer zombies on social networking site Facebook, borrowing make-up from Hollywood blockbusters and teaching himself how to produce special effects that thrifty director Price was able to make the film for less than the price of a zombie DVD box set.

"The approach was to say to people, 'OK guys, we don't have any money, so bring your own equipment,'" the the 30 year-old director told CNN.

With help from a makeshift band of friends and volunteers, Price shot and edited the feature -- which ingeniously spins the zombie genre on it's head by telling the story entirely from the zombie's perspective -- over a period of 18 months while working nights part-time as a booker for a taxi company.

Online social networking was an invaluable tool in both generating buzz and cheaply sourcing the undead: "We went on Facebook and MySpace and said 'Who wants to be a zombie?'" Price told CNN. "We managed to get 50 brilliantly made up zombies and stuff them into a living room."

In keeping with Price's beg and borrow approach, most of the zombie make-up in the make-up artists' cases was inherited from other movies. "One of our make-up people came off 'X-Men 3,' so we were having the same latex that was put on Wolverine," he told CNN.

Price says he came up with the idea to make a no-budget film because he realized that he and his friends would never be able to scrape together enough money to make even a low-budget film.

"A couple of friends were round a few years ago watching Romero's 'Dawn of the Dead,' recalls Price. "And we were lamenting the fact that we could never make a zombie film -- we wouldn't be able to acquire a budget."

"Then I just woke up before everyone else -- I was probably a bit hungover -- and I wondered if a zombie movie from a zombie's perspective had been done before."

The end result is "Colin," a zombie film "with a heart," Price says, shot using production values cribbed from endless re-watching of making-of featurettes and director's commentaries from his personal DVD collection.

Zombie fan Web site zombiefriends.com called it "as original, compelling and thought provoking as [George] Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead,'" while horror magazine SCARS predicted it would "revolutionize zombie cinema."

Price hopes that the film will generate enough interest to kick-start his career and allow him to make another film. "Hopefully we'll be able to generate some interest and maybe try to get some kind of a budget for our next film -- maybe a bigger budget, ?100, I don't know."

Price's cost-effective filmmaking may make him the envy of film executives sweating over whether their latest projects will break even, but even "Colin" may suffer at the market: "In a strange way it's kind of counter-productive." admits Price.

"Anyone involved in sales will say, 'Oh, it cost [$70], well how much do you expect us to pay for that?' but with the current economic climate it seems to be a great way to make movies."
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So, what exactly did Price spend the famous $70 on?

"We bought a crowbar and a couple of tapes, and I think we got some tea and coffee as well -- not the expensive stuff either, the very basic kind," Price told CNN. "Just to keep the zombies happy."

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[Dishboy09]

OK, I really must see this movie!

[mr.brownfella]

me too...very interested!!!

[gallow737]

That is really amazing. Really an inspiration to all aspiring filmmakers out there

[artaco]

Looks cool.
Here is the trailer.

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[gallow737]

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Hmmmmmm..... while this is still an inspiring story for aspiring filmmakers... that kinda looks like crap. Not story wise, just the way it was shot. It looks like it was shot using a regular prosumer grade camera. It must have a really great story with really great acting otherwise I don't see how a movie like that could be wowing audiences at Cannes.