The Expedition - an Independent movie.

I must admit that I'm something of a social network tart - Facebook, Twitter, Google+…. I love them all, and I use them all (clear your dirty minds right now, I wasn't talking about using them for THAT purpose!). 

Rather, the advent of such sources of information helps me not only keep up to date (stalk) my friends and acquaintances throughout the world, they also let my keep my fingers on the pulse of the current independent film making scene that is going on. Without Social networking I simply would not be the blogging voice of a science fiction and horror movie generation….well OK, I may not be the voice of a generation right now, but it's only a matter of time before world domination is mine.

So for the past few weeks my Twitter feed has been regularly filled with Tweets ( that's how the hip kids refer to updates, Daddy-O) about a certain horror production that is soon to be off and running. At first I gave the updates nothing more than a cursory glance, after all I'm a busy blogger, intellectual and all-round caring humanitarian that is constantly striving not only for world peace but peace love and understanding for us all. It takes up a lot of my time you know.

However, the Tweets continued to come thick and fast, with bold proclamations such as;

" A contemporary twist on the monster movie filled with real characters , complex personal drama and heart thumping scares!"…….

" We're not interested in covering the screen with blood and guts"……

" the heart of this movie will contain a strong environmental message"…….

" The Fifth Dimension sci-fi/fantasy & horror blog is simply better than any other out there!!!"

Well ok, you saw through me, yes I did make the last quote up…… probably.

The point is that my interest had been piqued. I saw that something seemed to be happening out there with a number of noteworthy and exceedingly reputable blog and website sources seemingly already attracted to this project. Part of me wanted to find out more about this great sounding project, and the other part of me simply didn't want to be left out and decided that if any credit was going to be be dished out for supporting this movie then I was going to get my share….. not that I'm vain, fickle or superficial at all.

So what is this movie about?

Putting the 'Big' into 'Bigfoot'.

Synopsis:

Deep in the Amazon jungle a research team lead by a respected Professor embark on an Expedition to protect vulnerable and endangered species... but when their superstitious guides abandon them, the team, desperate to complete their study, begin to realise there is more to the jungle than they could have ever imagined.

As night falls the team realise they are in the hunting ground of a true apex predator... And before long, they will be the ones on the endangered list… 

Bloody hell - now THAT does sound good!

And who pray tell is going to be in this movie?

 Ben Loyd-Holmes perfecting his 'hero-pose'  

Well, from the information that I have gleaned through means mostly legal - performing  in “The Expedition” so far is Ben Loyd-Holmes, who I personally feel should be given the 'best name of the day today' award. 

Unusually for an independent feature he's also an actor who has been in a number of productions that I and many others will be aware of; Skyfall (Seen that, & best Bond film ever btw), Da Vinci's Demons (Seen that, enjoyed it even though it was historical inaccuracy at its most pants), Torchwood (seen that, fab), Band Of Brothers (Seen that, own that, love that beyond what is generally regarded as sane and reasonable behaviour).

Not only that but Ben Loyd-Holmes Is an ward-Winning film producer Ben Loyd-Holmes (The Hike, Art Of Darkness, Breaking Down.

The guy obviously has far more talent than any person has to right to have……It's not that I feel threatened or insignificant from someone being successful, oh no….but I don't think that I like him.

Not only that but the team itself boasts a veritable plethora of talent… with actors including;

"Kerry Lorenza- Bennett

Kerry, a graduate of East 15 Acting School, is predominantly experienced in theatre, playing Elaine in the UK tour of Calendar Girls; Messuah in The Jungle Book at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch and Hippolyta in A Midsummer’s Night Dream at the Lowry theatre, Manchester. 

Feature film credits include: Tanya in Breaking Down; Agent Rosell in Black Book and Alex in Last Man. 

Dan Caren

An experienced actor, Daniel has starred in ITV’s "Whitechapel" as well as several episodes of "The Bill". In 2011 Daniel starred in “The Hike” alongside Ben Loyd-Holmes. Dan also starred in the short film "The Girl Is Mime" with Martin Freeman

Simon Burbage

Cursed with a natural comedic talent and the ability to make even the geekiest geek likeable, Simon is an infectiously enthusiastic actor who steadfastly refuses to grow up.  A graduate of East 15 Acting School, Simons credits include “Pulp: The Movie”, “Survivors” and “Inherit The Wind” at the Old Vic Theatre in London where he starred alongside Kevin Spacey. 

There is also….

Ellie Harvie-August- Producer

Ellie is a graduate from the University of Central Lancashire where she studied Film & Television Screenwriting and gained a Bachelor of Arts there. Subsequently, Ellie has worked in marketing for film and media as well as a producer. She produced the 2012 Virgin Media Short "Breaking" & the 100% fan funded feature film "Survivors".  Ellie is currently in pre-production on her debut short film as a writer/producer "Yellow" due out in late 2013."

Honestly, I don't want to sound bitter and twisted….. but a having such a wealth of talented experience between them is really bloody annoying. It's almost as if they're saying " Look at us, we're passionate, dedicated and talented film-makers and we're going to rock your cinematic world!" Well that's OK for you guys, but what about the rest of us mere mortals? What are we supposed to do? Well I'll tell you about that in a little while.

"The Expedition” has already attracted international pledges to the production, with fans from as far as New Zealand and Australia joining a list of investors that continues to grow as each day passes. “The response from people out there to what we’re doing has been amazing. This kind of movie is normally left to big studios but, just like our movie’s tag line, we too have found a way... I’m really pleased to be making this movie and I cannot wait to bring the audience something that feels so real yet, is just so magical. It’s been a dream of mine to make a movie in this genre and together, we are making it happen”” says Producer, Ben Loyd-Holmes (@Benloydholmes) “It’s been great to connect with so many film fans across the globe so far and we hope to meet many more of you on our journey.”. 

I've said it before and i'll say it again, this new online digital and social networking world of independent filming is about exciting as anything with the opportunities out there in Internetland for enthusiastic filmmakers. And it's not just the filmmakers having all the fun, because we movie fans can also get into the action.

"As a way to involve movie fans in the production, “The Expedition” will be raising some of it’s budget via crowdfunding. The team have already set up an Indie-Go-Go page where fans can make pledges to the budget of the movie and get film related merchandise, experiences or various end credits in the movie. “For us it’s all about connecting with our audience and making this a real collaboration” says Producer Ellie Harvie-August (@Ellie_Squared) “ if we can all pull together, then we can accomplish remarkable things for independent and low budget cinema in the UK and worldwide”

Sounds great to me, anybody can be part of the magical process of filming - the contributions can start as little as £5 with the more you pay the better the perk gets. Though the rumour of a perk for a small donation will get you a manly heart hug and handshake from Mr Loyd-Holmes seems to be nothing more than rumour and innuendo that I dreamt up a few moments ago.

You still need convincing? Well I very much doubt that you do, but just in case……

“The Expedition” will be Directed by Adam Spinks (@Adspads), who’s feature film Survivors is due for release later this year. “I’m excited to get started on bringing a remarkable project to the big screen” says Adam “ when Ben first approached me about the film I was gripped by the concept... this is a real thrill ride of a movie that will have audiences on the edge of their seats” 

Adam is a graduate of the Royal Holloway University of London and is has sizeable experience over a number of years on various film and media projects, which include directing for film and television as well as writing and producing. Adam’s feature film debut SURVIVORS is currently in post-production and is due out this winter.

So that's another successful and talented individual who now I also don't like.

The latest teaser trailer for the movie can be found RIGHT HERE

Find out more about “The Expedition” and how you could get yourself involved by visiting theses various respectable online establishments. 

Visit http://igg.me/at/theexpedition/x/13244 for advice and assistance on being a financial part of the experience. The team have until July 29th to raise the crowdfunded portion of their shooting budget - so come on people, lets do this!

You can also like “The Expedition” on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ExpeditionMovie

And follow the the annoyingly talented team on Twitter at

https://twitter.com/expeditionmovie

A series of new movie blog bites - No3 PACIFIC RIM

July 12th sees the release of the much vaunted Pacific Rim, directed by the darling of contemporary science fiction and fantasy, Guillermo del Toro…… and I must admit that I feel torn. There is part of me that is filled with a tingly anticipation, for I love in a deep obsessive way with the works of del Toro - his movies without exception are a fantasy lovers wet dream…….Cronos (1993), The Devils Backbone (2001), Hellboy (2004), Pan's Labyrinth (2006)………….so excuse me while those movies and I run away together to Vegas for a quick-fire wedding ceremony presided by an Elvis impersonator. In addition the the positives about this movie, there is a certain Ron Perlman appearing in this movie, I don't think that I need to say anymore than that.

The other part of me has more than a small amount of fear, a fear that this may be one del Toro film that may not only disappoint but may instill feelings of intense dislike. Two things are worrying me;

1) On viewing the trailer, whilst being a a wonderfully saturated CGI visual extravaganza, the production style looks rather reminiscent of the Transformer Franchise  - and I REALLY don't like those movies.

2) Dialogue such as "Tonight we cancel the Apocalypse!!!!" is on the upper end of the cheesy level of acceptance that could possibly rival the President's cringe worthy speech from Independence Day…….you know how it it goes  -"We will not go silently into the night blah blah blah…."

So which side is the movie going to fall on?

Well the story itself sounds promising. Set in the not too distant future the planet is beset by 'Kaiju', which happen to be nasty giant monsters that have risen from a gateway from a crack beneath the Pacific Ocean - blimey, I hate it when that happens. It seems that humanity is getting its little arse kicked on a humongous scale - again. The only thing that can save the day is a new weapon that has been created, the Jaegers, which are nifty gigantic robots connected to two human pilots who control them via a neural connection. The people it seems that humanity eventually sets its final desperate hopes on are a washed up has-been and an untried rookie….thankfully we haven't ever heard that before, grizzled old veteran and eager to succeed youngster - oh, hang on a minute.

I'll be honest, I'm not confident. It sounds as cliched as anything and it has enough CGI offend many who believe that the C in CGI stands for crap. I really worry that the previous del Toro movies that overflow with an abundance of intelligent dialogue and thought provoking storytelling might just be replaced by him settling for a movie that satisfies the lowest common demographic and financial denominator  However, far be it from me to pre-judge a movie that I haven't seen yet. I've been wrong before. 

Come on Guillermo, you can do it.

Psycho- the first Slasher film.

I think I was about 15 at the time when a friend and I went to the local cinema in Halifax to watch a new action movie called North Sea Hijack. We already had prior knowledge that a certain current James Bond actor was playing the lead role, but what caught the two of us well and truly by surprise was a few minutes into the film when the movie's bad guy appeared on screen…….. "Hey look, it's Norman Bates!!' No word of a lie, we really did shout that out in unison. Even at the young age a certain movie and it's star bad-guy had entered our pop culture brains.

I've often wondered what it must be like for an actor to become so defined by one particular role that it completely overshadows anything, and I mean anything that he or she could ever do again. There are throughout movie history many actors who have never shook off the shackles of their synonymous roles. William Shatner and Bela Lugosi are two names that immediately spring to mind who are arguably better known by their screen names than their own. Sometimes this typecasting comes with more than acceptable riches to go along with the fame which makes the inability to persuade an audience to accept them in other roles a little more bearable. Sometimes the riches aren't enough. Some actors embrace, or at least become comfortable with their type-casted role. Some don't.

"Yes Mother, I'm in the North Sea. I'll be home soon"

Anthony Perkins is another name that can no doubt be added to what is an extensive list. In his case, it was mainly a problem of his own making that his role of Norman Bates in Psycho was an almost note-perfect perfect portrayal of a tortured psychopathic killer.  Unfortunately, it was also a role that defined his career and for some fans the actor himself - despite a string of awards and noteworthy performances that succeeded Hitchcock's seminal masterpiece. 


Moreover, for many years he went as far as possible to distance himself for many years from the movie, even going as far as banning interviewers from asking him questions that had anything even remotely to do with the film or his part in it. In fact it took him 23 years to find some acceptance of the cards he had been dealt when he began work on the first of two less than exceptional sequels. 

So what is so special about the movie and the role that helped define Perkins along with his co-star Janet Leigh, but also the director that 53 years after it's creation is still ranked in the top 5 of many people's favourite horror movie?

To begin with, I’m not going to debate about whether or not Psycho is a horror, thriller, psychological thriller, or whatever genre title people would like to provide.  It is already a well worn argument that has qualified support and reasoning on all sides, as is the debate as to whether it should be referred to a ‘Slasher’ at all. 

Well, seeing as this is my review and my blog, I shall indeed propose that not only is it horror, it is rightly considered in some quarters (including yours truly) that this is the very first film that could rightly be called a Slasher movie. What is not open to debate is the impact that Psycho has had, not only within the horror/thriller genre, but also in wider popular culture with the movie and certain scenes within it being constantly referenced, revered and pastiched in equal measures. In one fair swoop Hitchcock provided respectability and even critical acclaim on a film genre that until that point had wallowed in the the world of B-movies.

THE PLOT

At its core, Psycho is essentially a masterclass of storytelling. It begins with an office worker Marion Crane (played by the excellent Janet Leigh) who is clearly unhappyduring one of their lunchtime assignations that she and her boyfriend cannot afford to get married. This problem seems to be potentially rectified when, on returning to the office she is entrusted with a huge amount of a client's money to put into the bank. 

It's not made explicitly clear in the film whether Marion has planned for some time to steal money from her employer or whether this was a spur of the moment whim - nevertheless, steal it she does and absconds from the town immediately.

This is Hitchcock's first touch of genius, because for the first 20 minutes or so of the movie we have been completely absorbed into Marion's world. We start to feel sympathy almost for her as she nervously skips town, even more so when after pulling over on a deserted highway to sleep and then awoken by a suspicious traffic policeman. He knows something isn't quite right about this woman driving alone (remember, this is the early 1960'S) and so follows her to a nearby town. Here she exchanges her old car, buys a new model and drives away into the early evening.

A she drives onwards through a torrential rainy night she realises that she needs to rest and so pulls into the remote Bates Motel. Here we are immediately introduced to a shy yet polite young owner, Norman Bates who offers Marion one of the many spare rooms in the Motel. As they chat Norman tells her that since the recent diversion of the main highway they don't really see much business anymore.

At first Marion feels in control of the conversation with is pleasant but very nervous young man, even after he also starts telling her about his mother, who Norman reveals suffers from some sort of mental illness. However, his up to now friendly and unassuming manner abruptly changes when Marin politely suggests that he should think about putting her in an institution.

"Tea, Coffee, very sharp kitchen knife?"

At this point we the audience are starting to feel that something isn't quite right, both with the Motel and its young owner. Marion thinks so too as the experience has influenced her to return back to the city and face the consequences of returning the stolen money.

After setting on returning in the morning she decides to take a shower……… 

The shower has been running for a few moments when we see a blurred figure enter the bathroom……. 

the figure comes up close to the shower curtain……….

suddenly it pulls away the curtain where the silhouetted figure of a woman is revealed……

we then see the figure raise its arm…….

in its arm is a large kitchen knife……. 

Marion is stabbed and slashed to death.

These are Hitchcock's second and third moments of genius. Firstly, the movie's central character has been killed off in the first 3rd of the film - this kind of thing never happened in the movies. The shock at the time, putting aside the manner of the death from the audience was huge. Remember, this is a world where cinema spoilers were at that time virtually non-existentent, nowadays movie industry advertising through trailers and social networking have ensured that that most plot lines AND SPOILERS are in the public domain. However, in 1960 audiences were bewildered that the protagonist didn't follow the usual arc from safety, through danger, to a final comforting ending of absolution and closure. This shock had been reinforced by Hitchcock's cunning advertising campaign - just look again at the movie poster at the top of this blog. Marion's character (in her underwear of course) is the foremost figure with the small picture of Norman to the side of it, almost as an afterthought. Even the figure of her boyfriend gets a larger treatment, even though he barely appears in the film at all.

What Hitchock actually did was to fool the audience, because everything we had seen so far had been to make us think Marion was the central character. It was actually Norman who was supplanted as the main figure in the piece. Genius.

That third stroke of genius was the pivotal moment of the movie, which is of course the shower scene. It's a clip that in itself has been referred to and referenced perhaps more times than any single scene in cinematic history. It has been analysed by people far superior to myself in the ability to dissect its appeal and power, so I won't spend too much time here talking about it. I will say that it is 3 mins and a few seconds of pure, undiluted

perfection - from the slow haunting build up, to the violence of the attack itself, ending in the camera panning down to the blood draining away and then holding on Marion's shocked face as her life ebbs away. And off course there's that screeching Violin & Cello soundtrack. Stunning stuff.

Immediately after her the death by slashing, we hear Norman shouting from his house above the motel " Mother, oh god Mother, blood!!!" He then comes rushing into the bathroom and after discovering Marion's corpse puts her body in her car which he hides away in a swamp nearby.

Soon after, a detective who has been charged with the task of tracking Marion and the stolen money after talking to her boyfriend and sister (Sam & Lila) eventually locates the Motel.

His suspicions are aroused by the evasiveness of Norman, so much so that he returns later to the Bates residence after telling Marion's sister that he was going to talk to the owners mother. Here he is murdered on the stairs, again by the shadowy female figure, who has emerged from an upstairs room.

Sam and Lila, after losing contact with the detective decide to take matters into their own hands and make their  own way to the town near the motel. Here they start asking questions about Norman's mother…..

For the two people in the world that have yet to see this masterpiece, I won't discuss any more specifics of the plot……. well except for the picture below….

" I'm a bit mad you know"

It is virtually impossible to gauge the colossal impact the movie made upon it's release. In no small way It broke countless cinematic and social rules; A couple sharing a lunchtime of illicit pleasure on screen & violent murderous acts to name but two. Psycho should also be given credit introducing, or at least re-inventing a new type of horror film, here the traditional b-movie plots of Gothic horror in medieval England or distant Eastern Europe were substituted by t the possibility of everyday horrors that were real and known to us.

Psycho isn’t regarded by some as a slasher movie, but it should be. There are many in my fellow slasher-loving fraternity that point out the lack of blood and gore in the film, but does a true slasher film have to be so? Not only does is have a demented murderer slicing up perfect strangers in the middle of nowhere, it is also a lesson in intelligent and thoughtful storytelling and audience manipulation. In addition, the movie's direct descendants in the 1970's of the seminal slasher movies such as Halloween owe everything to the first in their line.

For the purposes of the review I watched it again just the other night and believe me, it is as absurdly nerve-wracking and terrifying today as it was back in 1960.

This blog entry also provides the opening review for the UK Horror Scene website - the link can be found HERE

A series of new movie blog bites - No2: BYZANTIUM

 

Do you remember when the release of a new Vampire movie was something of an event to look forward to, to cherish? Of course I am talking about the pre-shiny spangled sparkling Twilight saga that for many of us has put more than one nail in the genre’s coffin..... if you would pardon a very bad pun. 

Now is not the time to go into my intensely traumatic account of the one cinematic visit I took (dragged along by my daughter as a matter of fact) to see one of those teenage angst-filled, turgid and syrupy so-called vampire flicks – but that experience of being stuck in a movie hall with row to row of sighing & giggling pre-pubescent girls with their Twi-mums will haunt me forever. No horror film experience has ever come close to that nightmare of an afternoon. 

Since then, Zombies have become the new Vampires on TV and cinema, though the backlash against this particular genre can’t be too far way methinks. 

All of which makes rather interesting that the much vaunted Vampire movie Byzantium is released this week. 

Gemma Arterton (see the word ‘gorgeous’ in the dictionary, her name is next to it) and Saoirsi Ronan play two women who, not only have been trying to keep their blood sucking habits a secret from everyday society, they have also have been evading a rather nasty group of the fellow undead for most of the time since the 19th century. Eventually we find them in this film at a rather dilapidated seaside town in an effort to find safety. That is, until their secret is finally discovered….. 

By all accounts, Byzantium does deviate somewhat from traditional Vampire tradition and legend (though hopefully not in a sparkly kind of way please!) whilst still including a strong Gothic element that will still please many of the more traditional devotees of vampire storytelling - of which I include myself. The initial reviews that I've glanced upon tend to be on the very positive side, bestowing praise particularly on the two female leads but also for the familiar yet innovative take upon the Vampire genre.

It will be interesting to see whether this is the beginning of the Cinematic resurrection of our blood sucking friends of the night , if indeed it actually needs resurrecting at all. I think I’ll leave the puns there.

World War Z - The experiences of a background movie extra

Just what is it about Brad Pitt that sees him loved and loathed in equal measures? Only yesterday I was reading my way through a list of comments and contributions to one of many online Sci-Fi & horror groups I’m part of, many of which were dealing with the forthcoming Zombie flick World War Z. For anyone from another world (sic) reading the amount of bile and vitriol directed at Mr Pitt, they could be reasonably excused for assuming that the guy was responsible for walking the streets and thumping old Grannies in the face with his favourite gardening implement of choice. I mean, some of the comments were harsh – “Brad Pitt is going to be so F**king sh*t in this movie”....  “Brad Pitt should stick to being a pretty boy for Miss Jolie rather than mess with the Horror genre. I hope he dies”. A little harsh - and these were some of the more polite remarks. Suffice to say I doubt I shall not be frequenting that particular group again. 

Fight club, Twelve Monkeys, Inglorious Bastards and the marvellous Cohen Brothers film Burn after Reading all featured Mr Pitt. Not a bad track record. Yes maybe he is a pretty boy who symbolises the modern day CGI behemoth that is Hollywood. Maybe it’s just that some people don’t like the Hollywood treatment of their favourite genre.....maybe they have a point on that issue, but lets have a modicum of sensibility here, eh? He may not  be everyone's cup of tea (he's not always mine), but burning him at the stake for why he represents may be pushing things a little too far.

Anyhow, enough of that. This blog entry isn’t as much interested on the film career of Brad Pitt, but rather more with his current major Hollywood screen-busting-much-

Hi, I'm Brad. Please love me.

hyped-apocalyptic Zombie Horror movie, World War Z. More precisely, I want to explore one relevant facet of the movie – just what is it like to have a part, however small, in such a venture?

When it was announced back in 2011 that a big Hollywood blockbuster starring a big Hollywood star was going to be filming some of its scenes in Glasgow it was, well, big news here in much of Scotland. I can still remember first hearing that a big Zombie movie was going to include some scenes filmed in Glasgow, Brad Pitt was in it and maybe Angelina Jolie was also going to be in the area. If truth be told (and this will come to no surprise to those who know me) I seemed to focus primarily on the news that Angelina was going to be within potential stalking distance of where I live. The rest of that information for a while seemed to take second place. Of course, I’m only joking about the stalking thing......................

The news was two-fold – not only was the producer/star of the movie (the aforementioned Mr. Pitt), but the film’s director Marc Forster (director of the underrated Bond movie, Quantum Of Solace) and a seemingly small army of film crew were going to descend upon the second city of the Empire for a few balmy days in 2011. The idea was to convert the centre of Glasgow, in essence Americanise it, to serve as a substitute for the city of Philadelphia. Apparently, Philadelphia itself was unable to be used due to some tax technicalities, so after ‘stumbling’ across a likeness of sorts between the two cities it had been decided by the film’s producers that this could work. After all, it’s not an unheard of practice in location filming, the London docklands providing the location for Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam movie Full Metal Jacket is one prime example.

Not only that, but they were going to need crowd extras for the filming...... and the word was out for applicants.........

Now, I would love to continue this blog entry with my own personal account of some witty anecdotes of my filming experience in a big movie, sharing a beer and manly joke with my new friend Brad and trying to persuade Angelina that being the partner of a sci-fi/fantasy/horror blog writer on the run would just not work, no matter how much she pestered me. 

However, it was never to be..... work commitments meant that I couldn’t make the scheduled dates for shooting. For some reason, my line manager at college couldn't understand my justification (see above comments Re Ms Jolie) in cancelling a couple of weeks of classes - go figure. So the world of Hello magazine and the like were spared another Hollywood couple break-up..... and this blog writer still has yet to be discovered. Ah well.

Though as it happens, I do know someone who DID manage to find his way into the movie. As i hope you will agree, it provides a fascinating insight into the experiences of a background extra in the movies.

So here is my interview with Zombie fan and now close friend of Brad Pitt, George Stewart .

(FD) So George, tell us a little about yourself

(GS) My name is George Stewart and I have always been into zombies ever since I had rented ‘Dawn of the Dead’ away back in the early 80s. I distinctly remember my mum saying “Well, if this is the sort of thing you are going to be watching I think we will be sending the video recorder back.” So you could say me affair with zombie movies started as a bit of teenage rebellion.  

It is one of those genres though where the movie could be serious like ‘Day of the Dead,’ campy like ‘Life force’ funny like ‘The Return of the Living Dead’ or ‘Braindead,’ gruesome like anything by Fulci and absolutely awful like which most of them seemed to be. It wasn’t that I exclusively watched these types of

movie, but had a soft spot for them and on film nights at a friends’ they went well with beer. It was only when well into adulthood I read Max Brooks ‘Zombie Survival Guide’ and then a few years later my wife remarked that Brad Pitt had bought the rights to a book I may like. The book was ‘World War Z’

(FD) How did you hear about the job?

(GS) I’d heard about the open casting from my sister who used to act as a hobby, she had seen it advertised online and as she had some movie and television work and was going to go along with her 6 year old son as the online advertisement said they needed children as well as adults. My other sister had been an extra in a Richard E Grant movie and was a fan of the Max Brooks novel so she was going to with some of her friends. As I was down in Glasgow visiting for the weekend and as I had read ‘World War Z’ I decided to tag along.

(FD) What type of other people applied for the job?

(GS) Every type of person you could imagine.  The original adverts said:  “All welcome – men/women/children all shapes and sizes. Although the production are particularly interested in people from these backgrounds: Irish, Italian and Hispanic, Black – African and Afro Caribbean, Chinese and East Asian, ex or still serving military personnel.”  There were pensioners, teenagers, geeks, families, students looking for an extra cash and just regular men and woman looking for a bit part in a movie. There were a lot of people moaning and pretending to be zombies but the application form stated that the extras were not for the roles of zombies, but regular civilians. The open casting was held at Glasgow Caledonian University Arc Building and over the course of the Saturday thousands of potential extras showed up to try for one of the 500 places available. There was supposed to be two days for casting but the response was huge so they managed to get all their extras from the one day.

(FD) Did you have to ‘audition’?

(GS) Not at all, you filled out and application which asked height, weight, age along with other standard questions. There was a section that asked for any military background and another for a description of your car if you had one. The production was looking for anyone who had an American style vehicle that could be used in the background.Other than that the selection process involved getting your photograph taken and a friendly “We’ll be in touch if they like the look of you.” A few weeks passed where I had my fingers crossed “please be a cop, please be a cop.” I finally got an email saying I had been successful and was down for a role as a Male Civilian. Still it was better than nothing. The email also requested a fitting date where I was measured up and supplied with some office wear. They also took my photograph as this was the way I had to look for the duration of the shoot. No growing stubble, shaving my head or changing my appearance at all. To be fair every day on set you had to visit the costume department and they would check your photo against your current look in case you had changed. The extras playing soldiers all had to get shaved heads, yet in all my days shooting I never saw one without a helmet on.

(FD) How long did it last for?

(GS) The original shoot was supposed to be for 12 days but it over ran and was extended to about 16. Some people were lucky and were requested for the full duration. Others, like me, got about 10 days where a few only had a couple of calls on set. The scenes that were being shot were the beginning of the movie, which shows Philadelphia fall to the zombie epidemic. It was filmed chronologically so as the shoot progressed more and more civilians were required for the ensuing panic, the most being about 500 towards the last few days.

(FD) So tell me about some of the experience.

(GS) You would not believe how much fun it was. It was a big budget movie with an A list star and we were all getting paid for it while the rest of Glasgow stood behind the barriers taking photos and filming. Don’t get me wrong, it was very early starts, sometimes 6am, and late finishes. The payment for the hours you did would not even make minimum wage, but we were the lucky few that got to be in a movie all of Glasgow wanted to be in and that was all over the national news at the time. Some days on set you would be taking up positions for a scene and look round to see dozens of people filming you just because you were there. There may have been some nerves as you were required to run about and ‘act’ as though in fear of your life, and it didn’t help that there were usually a few hundred people watching from the barriers and from buildings, but after a few takes you just went with it and roared your head off with the rest. 

The men hear that Angelina is waiting to buy them a drink….

There were times your legs almost gave out because of the constant re shooting of a scene and the running that seemed to always be involved. There was the typical interruption from the Scottish weather where sometimes you had to return to the holding area as the light was wrong. You sometimes had your lunch cut short as we were all needed quickly back on set as the light was right and so you went hungry. Setting up scenes, particularly those involving stunts took time and all you could do was wait. The good thing about this though was that you talked to anyone who was near you. The extras all chatted to each other like old friends even though most had only known each other for a few days. Weird thing was all the civilians and cops chatted to each other, but the extras playing Army only seemed to talk to other Army extras and S.W.A.T. only talked to other S.W.A.T.

There was also the main attraction of being caught on camera, especially if next to Brad. So if a scene was being filmed and you were near him and his screen family you were happy that the camera may just catch you. If you were unfortunate enough to be far away in the ‘background’ you were actually a bit annoyed. I met a guy I used to work with on set and in one of the crowd scenes he said I was running along parallel to Brad, Mireille Enos and their kids. You immediately get to thinking “Yes!” and hope that you make it onto screen.

As day to day the production crew never knew what they would get filmed you were never guaranteed a place filming the next day. You were informed late in the afternoon if your services were required the next day. This was usually a text but could be an email. Around 4pm every day you would see folks checking their mobiles and saying “I’m back tomorrow” if required or looking decidedly glum if nothing arrived.

(FD) Tell me about the filming of the action sequences.

Just a normal driving day in Glasgow…...

GS) The thing I most remember being impressed with is some of the stunts. Not for the stunt itself but for prep that was needed. There is a car crash near the beginning of the movie and it kept going wrong.  All they did was go and get replacement vehicles for each of the cars involved and set it up again. I don’t know how many they had of the station waggon that gets wrecked but they never ran out. At one point a large stunt involves a garbage truck flying into a removal van. They shot the scene. Destroyed the vehicles then just said we’ll do it again after lunch..

(FD) What about the Zombies themselves?

(GS) The zombies were kind of freaky and they were built up so that you never really saw them. They were being filmed in some scenes but between shooting they were taken away to a different holding area so you never got to close to them. The production marched them about in a line and they had golf umbrellas covering their faces so you never really got a clear look. Sometime though you would see them watching a scene being filmed, smoking a cigarette with a nasty looking bite on their face or neck.

(FD) How realistic did the transformation of that area of Glasgow to look like Philadelphia feel?

(GS) The thing that all the footage and photographs don’t do justice is the really tiny details that the production involved. Sure everyone knew that street signs had been put up, sections of the road painted and American style traffic light hung up. But on set you would see that the flyer that was pasted to a wall advertised a fictional bar in Philadelphia. The sticker on a construction workers helmet told who he voted for in a presidential campaign. They were the things that really impressed me. I went online to

Glasgow's George's Square in a stunning wide shot

compare the area of Philly the set was supposed to represent and it does bear a striking similarity. There were also nice touches like a tramp that had a 3 legged dog. I talked to the owner and the dog had been hired especially for this. There were also a bunch of school kids with Philadelphia/Dusseldorf exchange student t-shirts. It really was amazing what you noticed when you spent time looking.

FD) Did you ever ‘get lost’ in the part, the experience?

(GS) Some of the crowd scenes really got hairy. You had 500 people running about pretending to flee in terror from zombies and then unexpectedly the production started firing blank ammunition in the air just to add to the effect. People were actually ducking. At its most confusing you really couldn’t help but get carried away as people were screaming, guns going off and an actor playing a cop was running through the general melee screaming into his radio “THEY’RE BITING. THEY’RE BITING.” That and I know some people who ran past a guy who was being attacked by a zombie. They never knew a zombie was in the scene and they just sort of looked and went “Shit!” The look of fear on them is real. 

SHIIIIT!!

There were also a ridiculous amount of injuries on set, about 150 plus during my time there. Most were sprains and falls due to the constant running about, but I know of two people who had ribs cracked when someone larger piled into them. The production did try and tell the extras to take it easy but some still barged through as though it was an actual apocalypse. There was a story in the national press that Brad rescued someone from being trampled in the crowd, but it wasn’t even true. A guy fell and the scene had to be stopped and he was taken away. Brad wasn’t even there.

(FD) Were there any major misconceptions about being a movie extra that were revealed?

The young girl on the left is a cunningly disguised 'minder' for Brad.

(GS) Its hard work and anyone can get star struck. In the crowd scenes Brad is surrounded by stuntmen who will ‘nudge’ you out of the way if you get too close. It can also get a 

bit boring if you have to wait out a spell of bad weather. 

It was made worse because you were having so much fun during the shooting you didn’t want to go back to sitting about. Brad Pitt really does look good, even close up.

(FD) Were there any rules, such as “Don’t talk to Brad” .... “Don’t’ try to chat-up Angelina”? 

(GS) There was a strict no cameras on set, and you could get kicked off the movie for being caught. It wasn’t enforced strictly though and as long as you were not seen to be filming events or taking photos of the actors you were fine. You were also not allowed to talk to the actors though, but they were usually just brought to set in a wee black Smart Car when they were required and whisked away again when they were done. Max Brooks did visit the set one day so I said hello to him. They actually had one of those seats with his name on the back of it and I’m sure he must have sat on it for 2 seconds then wandered away.

You were also supposed to hand back your filming pass when shooting was done, but I kept mine for a memento.

(FD) How avidly will you be looking for any screen time of yours in the movie?! 

(GS) There is a Facebook page that was set up by the Glasgow Extras called simply World War Z extras. If you go on there anybody that was on the movie scans every trailer to see if they are visible. I’ve never came across myself in any of the footage yet but when the Blu Ray comes out I’ll be watching it frame by frame until I see myself. Even if it’s just the back of my head.


I would like to thank George for his excellent and entertaining thoughts and recollections of being a background movie extra. They made this blog entry far easier to write than normal!

World War Z is a 2013 Zombie apocalyptic movie directed by Marc Forster and based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Max Brooks. The film’s main character is played by Brad Pitt who portrays a United Nations worker attempting to put an end to the Zombie pandemic that is sweeping around, and destroying the world. It is due for UK release on the 21^st June.

There will most likely be a review of the movie in a future blog………….