Invasion of the Not Quite Dead!

Picture this... The year is 1978, somewhere in the Swiss Alps a meteorite crashes, killing everyone for 20 miles around. A deadly virus from outer space is let loose on Earth. An official cover up... 30 years on and that virus finds its way to an isolated island community off the coast of England. A small group of survivors must work together to defend themselves agains The Invasion of the Not Quite Dead...

Intregued yet? I was. This black comedy horror (quite a mouthful of genres) is an interesting and exciting concept in itself, but when you consider writer/director AD Lane's innovative fundraising techniques it becomes doubly impressive.

Using the social networking site Twitter, a fundraising website, IMDB page, youtube and other sources AD Lane aims to keep his film fully independant by raising the money to make it via dvd/bluray preorders, zombie photo makeovers, partnerships and a variety of other means. With celebrity support from Ken Russel, Kevin Pollak, Tom Savini, David Hess, Leslie Simpson, Warwick Davies and Llyod Kaufman among others. This project has succeeded so far in raising just under £7,000 in just 48 days.

If you become a 'pre-order producer' and live in the UK you will even be invited to appear as an extra in the movie. For that opportunity, a dvd/bluray, postcard and zombie photo makeover seems a pretty good use of £20 (I'd only spend it on cake, shoes or cosplay otherwise). Packages vary in price from £10 for the zombie photo makeover through a variety of lower and higher priced pre-order producer packages (£20-150) varying in content; £500 for a small speaking role through to £5,000 + for investment/a share in potential profits. So whether you're a student like me or a business tycoon, there's a whole range of investment potenial to suit many a bank balance.

Filming for the trailer/intro is announced for August, whilst the rest of the filming is set to begin around Jan/Feb 2010 with a projected premier around Halloween 2010. The BBC will also be airing a documentary on this project and the unique auditioning process near the end of the year. This film already boasts an impressive crew of designers, technicians, composers and special FX artists with a backcatalogue of Hollywood films such as X-men, King Kong, Batman Begins, The Phantom of the Opera, etc, etc.

I for one love this project and intend to give it as much support and exposure as I can. If you like it, why not do the same? Now all I have to do is decide which picture to send for zombie makeover (perhaps dressed as a toaster...) and ask the question... do I get to bite anyone? ;P

Interested and want to know more? Visit the website http://www.theindywoodproject.com/ or contact adlane@indywood.co.uk