It’s been a busy old year and, though our growth has been relatively modest, for me, it has been great to see this little site grow and expand over the first year of our existence.
It has also been immensely fulfilling and humbling to have received continued support from so many people within the horror community, however, I think I can say, without exaggeration, that the largest level of support has come, not from our homeland of Scotland, but from our friends to the South-west, in Wales.
Not strictly a Welshman but rather an Englishman living and working in Wales, director James Plumb has had a busy year too.
Pretty early on in the life of AndyErupts, we reported on the news that yet another re-working of George A. Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead was on the cards, and would, indeed, be filmed in Wales and directed by a director called James Plumb and that this film, ostensibly a remake of one of the most iconic horror films of all time, would be his first feature.
At first, I was sceptical, but having enjoyed numerous exchanges with Plumb in which I have heard more and more on the film, entitled Night Of The Living Dead: Resurrection, I have found myself growing more accepting of the film and, truth be told, a little bit curious.
With the film completed and with global distribution secured, Plumb might have easily rested on his laurels and awaited the release of NOTLD:R, but that’s not his style.
Instead, Plumb, along with North Bank Entertainment’s Andrew Jones, launched straight from NOTLD:R and into their second film together, a re-working of the 1974 slasher flick, Silent Night, Bloody Night.
So, with filming wrapped and the project in post-production, I caught up with Plumb to find out a little more and also, try to get him to reveal some details on his top secret, code-named, future porjects.
Thanks to James Plumb for taking the time from his mad schedule to chat with us.
(Stills by Victoria Rodway)
James Plumb (centre) plays with guns on the set of Silent Night, Bloody Night: The Homecoming
Andy: It’s been a little while since we spoke last. How have you been?
James Plumb: I’ve been busy! Finished off post-production on NOTLD:R, shot another feature film, writing another one, developing a documentary and doing a spot of producing. This time last year, I had just started editing my short Final Girl, and now I’m gearing up for my third feature!
Apart from that I’ve been reading AndyErupts religiously on my day job lunch breaks and raising a zombie-loving two year old girl!
AE: Last time we spoke, we were on about NOTLD:R. What’s the latest on that and when can our readers expect to see it?
JP: Andrew Jones, our producer, has done an amazing job and managed to sell our little indie film to Lionsgate in the US and 4Digital in the UK.
If you’d asked me a year ago whether my first film would have even been seen my someone at Lionsgate, then I would probably have pointed and laughed in your face (before apologising for being rude). Thanks to Andrew, not only did we sell to the US, but we’re getting a limited theatrical release in the UK, which is beyond cool.
So for US readers, you’ll be able to catch NOTLD:R on DVD, Blu Ray, VOD and BETAMAX some point in the Fall (that’s what you guys call Autumn, right?). For UK readers, we should be having some screenings in Sept/Oct followed by the Blu-ray/DVD release.
While deconstructing the original film, I realised that it wasn’t so much a proto-slasher as so many people had said, but more of an American giallo film. Once I realised that, I got very excited as it inspired the visual look of the film.
AE: You previously co-wrote NOTLD:R with Andrew. How was it writing with him again on this one?
JP: It was loads of fun, after having a number of story meetings, phone conversations and email exchanges, Andrew goes away and bashes out a really rough first draft. For me, master of procrastination, that’s a life-saver as that first draft motivates me in the second draft to fine tune the bits I do like, eliminate the stuff I don’t, and introduce elements to raise the stakes even higher. We’re both walking encyclopaedias of horror, so it’s great to write with someone who understands the demands of the genre.
We both just love doing horror films, we live and breathe the stuff, so it feels just right working with him from pre-production right through to the final product.
We’ve already had some offers, but it’s still very early days.
