Brian Lynch: EVERYBODY’S DEAD came a year before BIG HELIUM DOG, though the original draft of ED is quite different from the one Artisan bought. The characters were all the same, though. All based on my college friends, girlfriends, etc. Everyone single character in ED has a doppelganger in the real world (even myself). That’s what made writing (and rewriting…and rewriting…) it so simple. I knew how my friends would react to the strange goings-ons. And admittedly there are some VERY STRANGE goings-on’s in EVERYBODY’S DEAD, but I swear the entire story is true.
NA: Do BHD and ED reference one another in some way? I seem to recall thumbing through the BHD script on set and seeing somesort of “Everybody’s Dead!†bit in there.
BL: EVERYBODY’S DEAD definitely references BHD a couple of times…character names, maybe a cameo from a character. The fraternity’s letters are BETA ETA DELTA, or BHD. Who knows if it’ll make it to the screen, though. Rewrites are going on as we speak.
NA:You sold your muppets script which will become the next flick with those guys after Muppets In Space. Does that end your involvement with that flick completely now? Are there going to be any rewrites on the script as far as you know? What’s the deal?
BL: No sir, I aint done with the Muppets. They asked me to be a part of the Muppets’ future, and I’ll do whatever they ask. Once a director is attached, I think another rewrite is in order. And hopefully THE NEXT MUPPET MOVIE won’t only the only Muppet project I’m involved with.
NA: With your latest project, Everybody’s Dead, you’re now a big shot Hollywood director for Artisan, huh?
BL: Oh yeah. Oh so very big time. As a matter of fact, if you could e-mail these questions to my agent and he’ll answer them for you. I’m a busy, powerful, well-endowed man.
NA:This seemed to come out of nowhere for us. Was this a deal that you were working on for a long time? How’d it all cometogether with Artisan?
BL: Basically, Greg Silverman worked at Warner Brothers and I worked on a project with him there (can’t really go into what it was, though…I can say it aint THE MATRIX 2…OR IS IT?)…when he went to Artisan he asked if I had any scripts and I sent him this one. He liked it, gave it to Artisan’s big wigs, they liked it, we had a long phone meeting, I rebuffed their sexual advances, the rest is history.
NA: We know the flick’s about a fraternity party that gets infiltrated by zombies. Or something like that. But we ALSO know there’s gotta be more to it. What else can you reveal at this time?
BL: It’s a comedy/horror (more comedy than horror) about a group of friends who try not to let the fact that every single person on the face of the earth except for them is now a cannibal zombie. And by the end of the movie, someone’s gonna piss themselves. In the movie and the theater showing it. Not because it’s funny, but because it’ll attract people who are too drunk/stupid to be in control of their bodily functions.
NA: We know you promised to deliver some gut-wrenching nakedness (or close to it) in the form of Brian Quinn in your previousefforts. What about this one? We gonna get some nudity in there? Going for the Hard R, we suppose?
BL: Nudity. Sure. Not a hard R per se, but there’s some T and A. From women and myself. HOT!
NA: You wrote ED quite a few years ago. Now that’s you’re actually going to make it, have you planned on revising thescript?
BL: I planned on revising it and Artisan plans on me revising it. But everything they want I agree with. We’re both on the same page, which is nice.
NA: Is there a tentative start date for production?
BL: Not yet.
NA: Where do you plan on lensing the flick?
BL: Not sure yet.
NA: Any actors or actresses that you’re dreaming of casting for this one?
BL: Oh yeah, but let’s see who we actually get. Hopefully some nice surprises.
NA: Are you and Artisan shooting for a theatrical or a direct-to-video type of thing with ED?
BL: Theatrical, but the sequels will be direct to video.
JOKE! It’s a joke. OR IS IT?
NA: Planning on giving View Askew fans any opportunities to become extras in ED, like you did with Big Helium Dog?
BL: Depending on where we film it, I guess.
NA: Speaking of which, have these other deals you’re making gotten BHD any closer to seeing some sort of distribution?
BL: It’s definitely made people interested in seeing BHD.
NA: Last question. Ten words or less: Why should everyone be excited to see Everybody’s Dead when it eventually hits screens?
BL: It’ll be a crowd pleaser. Look at that, less than ten words. That’s why I get paid the mediocre bucks.
Look for more information on this project as we hear it! Thanks to Brian for taking the time to answer our silly questions.
The screening went REALLY well – hopefully tonight’s will go over well too, although I won’t be there to personally crop the offending “breathing dead man” shot- I’m going to call up there and ask that they make an announcement before the film that they couldn’t mask their 16mm projector in that theater, and a few shots have extraneous picture top/bottom.
As for the video transfer…WOW!!!!!!!!!
We did a High-Definition transfer on a Spirit-Datacine (the BEST telecine machine there is- all major studio titles use Spirits, and so does Criterion- Criterion even credits that on their packaging) from a brand-new low-contrast print, and it looks stunning (Don May kept saying “This is the best looking video transfer I’ve been involved with”). The machine is a marvel – we were able to reframe the film up and down shot by shot, and even pan up or down (or zoom in or out) DURING shots, as well as correct exposure changes during shots! Having this much control over the image was a fucking blast – towards the end the colors get really saturated and warm – it almost looks like I.B. Technicolor at the end when the camera is panning across the trees during magic hour. The image is matted to 1.5:1, so it’s very minorly letterboxed (the same ratio as A CLOCKWORK ORANGE), although for the aforementioned “breathing dead guy” shot we matted to 1.66:1 and also utilized the “zoom” feature four separate times during the shot (try and spot the digital zooms when this comes out), so I guess this means it’s “multi aspect ratio”.
We’re HIGHLY anticipating seeing this one again, since we seriously dug the flick when we caught it for the first time at Vulgarthon (and have only seen it one other time since then). Sounds as if we’re in for a real treat when this thing finally sees home video release sometime this Fall. We just hope that Don May & Vincent can keep working on the project enough to speed it along – It’s no secret that a lot of Synapse‘s stuff doesn’t make release dates (like the Brain Damage disc I’m currently awaiting), but perhaps that’s why they’ve been careful NOT to give a date yet. Maybe they just wanna finish it first.
Which, if it is successful, should give us more opportunities to see “Drawing Flies”, as it is not available on video at the moment.
Regardless of what happens with tail Lights……..Flies will have its day in the sun.
More on that as it happens, may be a little surprise at the stash around Dogmathon.
Sounds cool! So those of you who haven’t had the pleasure will finally have a chance to at least catch the flick! Or, does he mean they’ll actually be SELLING copies at the Stash? Who knows! And no, we DON’T have a copy, so please don’t ask, not that we wouldn’t MIND one…hint hint…Hello, Malcolm? 😉
Written, Produced and Directed by Vincent Pereira, A BETTER PLACE is the story of a teenager who moves to a new town after the death of his father and finds out a his new friend is hiding a violent past. A BETTER PLACE stars Eion Bailey (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER TV Series, DAWSON’S CREEK and David Fincher’s THE FIGHT CLUB) and Carmen LeWallen (CHASING AMY, THE MOD SQUAD).
Executive Produced by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier (GOOD WILL HUNTING, MALLRATS, CHASING AMY), this is the first time a View Askew production has been picked up by an independent video company and not a major studio. “I met Kevin Smith in Philadelphia over a year ago and he mentioned the title to me, ” says Synapse Films President, Don May, Jr. “After seeing the film, I just had to have it. Having been associated with science fiction and horror films in the past, it isn’t the sort of thing people would expect from me but it is a great film. I’ve always been a fan of independent filmsand it’s the perfect addition to my current and upcoming slate of ‘indie’ films. I’m glad View Askew has given me the opportunity to do this film the right way.”
Synapse Films has licensed all home video rights for the feature and is currently restoring the film with director Pereira. “I’d been a fan of Don’s work restoring classic horror and cult films on Laserdisc and DVD and when Don expressed interest in the film, it was like a dream come true,” says Pereira. “With Don I know I’ll be able to release A BETTER PLACE the way I want, supervising the digital letterboxed transfer and restoring two scenes cut from the festival-circuit version of the film. The ‘Special Edition’ DVD and LaserDisc release will also have a running commentary, a selection of deleted scenes, and an introduction by Kevin (Smith) and Scott (Mosier).”
A BETTER PLACE is currently scheduled for a Fall 1999 release and Synapse Films is currently seeking an exclusive licensing arrangement for the videocassette release.
Now that the cat’s out of the bag, we’ll do our best to keep you covered on what’s going on with the transfer, expected release dates, and, hopefully, an advanced look at the DVD itself! Stay tuned.
We’ll keep out eyes peeled for more news now that the film’s more in the open, and hopefully have our own review of the picture sometime soon!
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