Vineland's "The Zombie Wedding" Getting Ready to Premiere
Will Vineland, NJ become the new go-to place for Jersey filming? Find out next.
I was sitting having a cuppa at Larry’s Diner with a friend when my producer of The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant, Robert Dragotta, walked in with Micah Khan, the director of a new film, The Zombie Wedding, that was in the process of being shot in Vineland. They were checking out Larry’s as a location to shoot a scene.
I got up to say hello and Robert introduced me to Micah Kahn and explained what they were up to. Particularly interesting in that they were going to use the empty former Amish market between Sixth and Seventh Streets which was to be renovated as a production facility.
He told Micah that I knew a lot of people in town and would probably be helpful in finding extras (background) for the film. I told him I’d love to get involved, and he told me he’d probably be in touch.
Within a week he got back to me for a meeting with the field producer Pat Patterson and asked if I would be able to find 30 background actors for the film. I had no problem with that. As a matter of fact, I was able to staff it in less than a week.
Then a problem popped up. I was told the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the union for film actors insisted that we have 30 more union extras. I never dealt with SAG, but it didn’t take me too long to find another 30 actors. So there you go. Mission accomplished.
The next step was they needed the actors scheduled for the entire shoot. I was reluctant to do this because this was a big job, more like a job for a twenty-something than an aging old dude like myself, but with the help of one of the producers, Joe Corcoran, we put the schedule together.
I thought I was done, but now someone had to ride herd on the 60 background people scheduled for the shoot, which consists of 10 to 12 hour days. At this point, I had to withdraw. A man’s got to know his limitations.
Meantime, all the crews were getting organized at the studio, grips, gaffers, stage manager, sound engineers, and actors were in place, makeup & costumes started preparing the background characters, even Greg D’Alessandro, the chief executive of Weekly World News, the parent company of WWN Studios, screenwriter and music director for the film was busy at work.
My job was done at that point, so I just hung around and watched the shooting progress. I was impressed that these were top-notch crews from New York and L.A. It was a first class production. There was some money behind it. Not a monster amount for a feature film, but still for Vineland, nice.
Vineland initially invested $1 million in the movie-making venture. An additional $1.2 million was contribute by private investors. Recently, Vineland City Council approved filing a grant application with New Jersey’s Film & Digital Media Tax Credit Program and sees the movie business as a potential long-term, money maker.
The movie is the work of the Weekly World News, which was a satirical supermarket tabloid that is now exclusively online. It’s known for its outlandish cover stories with paranormal themes and home to such wacky characters as Bat Boy, Manigator, P’lod the Alien, Ph.D. Ape and SpyCat.
WWN Studios finalized a production arrangement with the City of Vineland to use the town as the backdrop for "The Zombie Wedding," a spoof on the zombie film genre a few years ago in 2021.
It follows a couple about to get married when a Zombie apocalypse breaks out. They decide to move forward with the wedding even though the groom and his side of the family are now zombies. Weekly World News (WWN) reporters follow the couple about to get married when a Zombie apocalypse breaks out. They decide to move forward with the wedding even though the groom and his side of the family are now zombies. WWN reporters cover the event while trying to get out alive.
The script is based on an interactive play written by Greg D’Alessandro that premiered in 2015. I originally thought it was really going to be a horror movie, but oops. It is actually a family oriented comedy; they’re calling it a “Zom.com”.
Khan was hired to direct the feature last year. Top cast members are, Cheri Oteri from Saturday Night Live, Heather Matarrazo, who has had roles in "The Princess Diaries" and Scream 3; Siobhan Fallon Hogan, who has appeared on Seinfeld and in Men in Black; Seth Gilliam, The Wire. Kevin Chamberlin, who has been in Road to Perdition & Die Hard with a Vengeance ; Christine Spang, from Succession & Wicked Games and many TV dramas: Ajay Naidu, who was in Office Space (loved him), Mu-Shaka Benson, The Dwelling, Officer Pigsley; Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees (now 57 years old); Donald Chang, Squid Games, Scenes from the Underground; Vincent Pastore, "Big Pussy" from The Sopranos, plays the “Mayor Fanucci” character, a tip of the hat to the real Vineland Mayor Fanucci.
You will find a lot of the film’s locations familiar since it was filmed in Vineland, Bridgeton and around Cumberland County, NJ. Downtown Vineland was quite busy, and generated a lot of excitement as cast and crew worked to complete the production as well as build the studio.
D’Alessandro said WWN Studios expects to start work here on its second movie by March 2024. He also said two companies are coming in to use the building for about a week, one in November and one in December, for small productions.
It is possible Vineland can become a film production hub attracting productions from around the country. Keep a lookout for it. I’ll keep you posted here when I get information on screenings and productions in town.
Enjoyed reading this Lou. Exciting to think of Vineland becoming a venue for movies.
Michael