Kent News - Ken Russell backs young director's zombie ambition

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Ken Russell backs young director's zombie ambition

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Antony Lane and Ken Russell

An ambitious young film-maker who hopes to raise £100,000 for a new zombie movie has won the backing of Oscar-winning director Ken Russell.

Invasion of the Not Quite Dead is 30-year-old Antony Lane’s first attempt at success on the silver screen, and horror fans are so excited by the independent project that many have already pre-ordered the DVD before the film has even entered pre-production.

The Orpington resident, who graduated from the International Film School Wales, told Kent on Sunday he was determined to do things his own way.

He said: “The biggest thing for me was that I didn’t want to give up any rights to the franchise.

“I have a distinct vision for it and I don’t want to have that vision changed by investors who might have other ideas.

“Ken Russell told me he hates making big-budget films because there are always 20 different people who have a say, and none of them want to listen to him.

“When I was a student we received a talk from the director of Human Traffic, Justin Kerrigan, who told us about how he never made a penny from the film.

“A lot of people worked on it for free in the hope that it would make some money and then they would be paid.

“The film ended up making millions but apparently the only person who benefited was the producer.

“It was almost like a warning to me that there are some nasty people out there who will take you for granted if you let them.”

The director of the 1969 Oscar-winning film Women in Love, Ken Russell has agreed to be the consulting executive producer for Invasion of the Not Quite Dead and will also have a cameo role in the film.

Other Hollywood names to have voiced their support for Antony’s Indywood fundraising project include The Usual Suspects star Kevin Pollack, Scooby-Doo screenplay writer James Gunn, Night of the Living Dead director Tom Savini and The Toxic Avenger creator Lloyd Kaufman.

Antony said: “I think the project has won so much support because people can see I’m trying to do something different and I’m taking more risks than most film-makers would.

“It’s already attracted quite a strong following among horror fans and they’ve shown a lot of faith in it, so hopefully I can pay back that faith.

“I’d really like to see it make enough money for me to make a second film, as I plan for it to be a trilogy.

“I’m not entirely opposed to the idea of directing a big-budget film one day, but for the moment I’m just concentrating on doing my own thing.”

Other film-makers that have come on board to help Antony fulfil his zombie vision include Beowulf special effects artist Rich Knight, King Kong make-up artist Corrine Bossu and Emmy award-winning composer Misha Segal.

Antony said: “I want to prove that you don’t have to rely on studios or private investors to raise a movie’s budget.

“With ambition and enthusiasm, the sky’s the limit. We can bring Hollywood to the UK.”

Invasion of the Not Quite Dead, parts of which will be filmed in Kent, is due for release around Halloween next year.

Visit www.theindywoodproject.com for more information.

POSTED: 10/05/2009 13:00:00

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