L.A. Zombie
| L.A. Zombie | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Bruce LaBruce |
| Produced by | Owen Hawk |
| Screenplay by | Bruce LaBruce |
| Story by | Bruce LaBruce |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
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| Distributed by |
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| Release date(s) | February 11, 2010 (Berlinale) November 12, 2010 (United States) |
| Running time | 103 minutes 63 minutes (edited) |
| Country |
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| Language | English |
L.A. Zombie is a 2010 queer cinema zombie film. The film is written and directed by Bruce LaBruce and stars gay pornographic actor François Sagat.[1] The film premiered in competition at Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland in 2010.
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[edit] Synopsis
A homeless schizophrenic (François Sagat), thinks he's an alien zombie sent to earth. Roaming the streets of Los Angeles in search of dead bodies, he tries to bring the dead back to life by engaging in homosexual sex.
[edit] Cast
- François Sagat
- Matthew Rush
- Erik Rhodes
- Francesco D'Macho
- Wolf Hudson
- Tony Ward
- Santino Rice
- Deadlee
[edit] Production
The movie started production in 2009, filming on location in Los Angeles. One of the scenes was shot at the L.A. River, in the exact location of the "Thunder Road" race sequence from the musical Grease. It takes a cue from LaBruce's film Otto; or Up With Dead People. L.A. Zombie will first be released as a soft-core independent feature and then a gay pornographic film at a later date.
[edit] Release
On January 30, 2010, the film had a sneak preview at the Peres Project Exhibit in Berlin, Germany as part of the show L.A. Zombie: The Movie That Would Not Die.[2] A collection of silk screened portraits by Bruce LaBruce from the film were also shown at the exhibit, mostly pictures showcasing Sagat as a zombie. The Locarno Film Festival screened L.A. Zombie in competition from August 4th–16th of 2010.[3]
The film was due to have its second and third screening as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia on the 7th and 8th of August 2010. However, the Australian Film Classification Board advised festival organisers that the film could not be screened as it was likely to be refused classification.[4] Under Australian law, films that are refused classification may not be imported, sold, or distributed, which precludes screening at public events.[5] In defiance of this censorship, the Melbourne Underground Film Festival, which occurs concurrently with MIFF but screens films regarded as too controversial for the mainstream event, held an illegal screening of L.A. Zombie on the 29th of August.[6] While police did not attend or stop the screening on the night, they did raid the home of director Richard Wolstencroft on the morning of November 11, 2010.[7] Wolstencroft admitted to police that an August 29 screening had occurred but claimed to have destroyed the only copy of the film afterwards. The court ruled that he pay $750 to the Royal Children's Hospital.[8]
L.A. Zombie held its UK premiere at the Raindance Film Festival[9] in London on October 1, 2010.[10] It was reported that "at least one-third of the audience walked out stupefied".[11]
TLA Video has picked up the U.S. release for the film, and set November 12, 2010 as the DVD date. The DVD release is an uncut version, longer than the film festival release's runtime.[12]
In New Zealand, the film was first screened at the Out Takes LGBT film festival in Auckland and Wellington.[13] Unlike Australia, New Zealand's Office of Film and Literature Classification gave the film an R18 certificate, which means that it can be screened as long as the audience is aged eighteen and over. The Society for Promotion of Community Standards[14] called for review of the decision, while GayNZ.com welcomed its release. SPCS failed to have the film prohibited after the review and it was resultantly screened at the Out Takes film festival in Auckland and Wellington in early June 2011.[15]
[edit] Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Melbourne Underground Film Festival | Best Foreign Director (Bruce LaBruce) | Won |
[edit] References
- ^ Bruce La Bruce shooting new zombie flick called LA ZOMBIE!. Retrieved on August 8, 2009.
- ^ LA Zombie: The Movie That Would Not Die Retrieved on January 30, 2010.
- ^ picks 'L.A. Zombie,' 'Pietro' Retrieved on June 23, 2010.
- ^ Kalina, Paul (July 21, 2010). "Gay zombie porn gets festival flick". The Age (Melbourne). http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/gay-zombie-porn-gets-festival-flick-20100720-10jls.html.
- ^ Griffin, Michelle (July 21, 2010). "Zombie porn director 'delighted' by ban". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/zombie-porn-director-delighted-by-ban-20100721-10k8z.html.
- ^ Sexton, Reid (August 30, 2010). "Hundreds cheer zombie porn film screening". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/hundreds-cheer-zombie-porn-film-screening-20100829-13xs4.html.
- ^ Quinn, Karl (November 11, 2010). "Zombie-porn: festival director's home raided by police". The Age (Melbourne). http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/zombieporn-festival-directors-home-raided-by-police-20101111-17omu.html.
- ^ Quinn, Karl (February 24, 2011). "Gay zombie porn movie saga finally settles". The Age (Melbourne). http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/gay-zombie-porn-movie-saga-finally-settles-20110224-1b5zj.html.
- ^ Child, Ben. "The Guardian, "Raindance film festival announces controversial lineupl". London: Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/sep/07/raindance-film-festival. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
- ^ "L.A. Zombie Listing, Raindance Film Festival". Raindance. http://www.raindance.org/site/index.php?id=512,6319,0,0,1,0. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
- ^ "Raindance Film Festival: L.A. Zombie". The Yorker. http://www.theyorker.co.uk/news/film/5449. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
- ^ http://www.tlavideo.com/gay-l-a-zombie-hardcore/p-312678-3
- ^ http://www.outtakes.org.nz/film/268/la_zombie
- ^ http://www.spcs.org.nz
- ^ "Conservative group loses battle for film ban" Gaynz.Com: http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/2/article_10444.php
[edit] External links
- L.A Zombie Official website Warning: Explicit content (nudity)
- L.A. Zombie at the Internet Movie Database
