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Zombie with the blue dress

Actor Kari Irwin is profiled in the April issue of Late Afternoon of the Living Dead Magazine. Here are some excerpts from her interview.

Kari, you played a zombie in the Midwest Killaz music video for End of the Road, which is on the Late Afternoon DVD. Tell us about how you got involved in the project and what it was like making the video.

I had the good fortune of meeting one of the filmmakers, Paul Brooks, at a vegan potluck a few months before.  Amongst the vibrant people in the group, Paul was certainly the only one filming zombie movies and rapping in bands like Midwest Killaz.  My friend Lauren and I were super excited to participate in Paul’s project because it meant we got to spend an entire day dressed like zombies, which, obviously, was the one thing missing in our lives until that point.  It took awhile to get the zombie leg-drag right, but the directors were patient with us and it was really fun.  Afterwards we went in full make-up and costume to Noodles and Company and pretended we didn’t know we were covered in fake blood and prosthetic wounds.

That’s awesome! You mentioned your friend Lauren Nelson- There’s an easter egg on the DVD of you and her doing The Electric Slide. Was that something you were trying to work into the music video or did you just feel like dancing?

Being a zombie sets you free.

This is true. Several characters from Late Afternoon of the Living Dead also appear in the music video. But it’s a little confusing because you have Bob and Shelton in there, fighting zombies with Lester Brody. So it’s like… are the events of the music video intended to be part of the movie’s timeline or are they completely separate?

At the time of the music video filming, I wasn’t really sure if the events were connected or where the Midwest Killaz really fit in.  After seeing the film premiere in Normal, Illinois, I have come to the conclusion that they are separate, though the connection could be deep and elusive and beyond me.

At the end of the music video, you get impaled by a flying drum stick. Were you happy with your death scene?

At first, I had hopes of being strangled by Jason’s feather boa, but being impaled by a drumstick was the next best thing.

Since End of the Road, you have been involved in some interesting film and television projects. Can you tell us about some of them?

After End of the Road, I was an extra in three Bollywood films in Mumbai (Un Hazaroon Ke Naam, Pyaar Impossible, My Name is Khan), a few commercials for Indian television, and I guest-starred for over 25 episodes in an Indian television sitcom called Taarak Mehta Kaa Ooltah Chashmah.  The show is the highest rated sitcom in India, so I had a small degree of celebrity in that country before I came back to the United States.  I just received an offer for a new television drama, so I’m currently deciding if it is something I’d return to Mumbai for right now.  I’m not a huge fan of television dramas – I’d be much more eager to move across the world if it were for Bollywood zombie film.  Maybe there’s a market for that… whatcha think, guys?

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You can read the full article literally nowhere.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSNxU6a79cs

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Interview with a Zombie

The March issue of Late Afternoon of the Living Dead Magazine hits newsstands tomorrow and it features an in-depth interview with Los Angeles actor Andy Steadman. Below are some excerpts from the story.

As everyone knows, you played Taste Tester, the zombie who bit Travis Huls’ character, Kurt. How did you land the role and who’s decision was it to have you do the actual biting?

As I remember, there was a rather involved audition process. I think that I called Paul Brooks and said, “I’m going to be in Blo-No (Bloomington-Normal) in August,” and he said, “we’re shooting J’s zombie movie…want to be in it?” I drove down to Decatur on one of my days off from an acting job that I was doing in Rhode Island, and made myself up pale and bloody. I had some experience with fight choreography, and Travis and I started working on some fight moves. While we were working on that fight, I believe J suggested that I bite him since they knew Kurt was going to be turned at about that point in the story.

A lot of fans were upset that Kurt was killed. Has it been difficult for you knowing that you caused his eventual demise? Do you ever get harassed because of it?

I am a classically trained actor, and when you are playing a villain, you really have to get in their head and think like a bad guy. Zombies don’t necessarily think, but I remain proud to have taken out a human. I think I might have encountered more devastated Kurt fans had I stayed in the Midwest, but I moved to Los Angeles about 6 months after my time on the LAOTLD set.

What was it like to be on the set of Late Afternoon of the Living Dead? What was the atmosphere like for you?

The set itself was pretty chaotic. I really like the building we were shooting in; it was one of those buildings with pretty glass tiles in the hardwood floors and solid, ornate bannisters on the staircase. It was also old and run-down, so it had lots of good spaces to film. It was a set with a lot of people playing a lot of different roles in front of and behind the camera.
When I arrived, I saw at least ten friends and at least ten more people that I had not met. Everyone was getting into Zombie makeup, and I had taken a makeup class in college. I pitched in and helped some other zombies after getting myself ready.
Once my scenes were shooting, it was clear that everyone had been working hard on the production and that everyone was really pitching in to do their part. There was a lot of that kind of anarchic energy that you have when you’re playing around in the backyard as a kid, but more focused.

It’s been almost 5 years since the movie came out… What have you been up to lately?

I have continued acting, appearing on TV series like General Hospital and as the Prince in the Cinderella episode of the new 3net series Scary Tales. I perform at comedy theaters in Los Angeles like The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and iO West, doing improv and stand up. I worked with Paul Brooks again on my 2009 short film The Great Date Rape Escape, and continue to write comedy shorts and features that I hope to produce in the near future.
Also, Paul Brooks and I have revived The World’s Most Dangerous Rock Show as The World’s Most Dangerous Podcast. The Rock Show was a really fun outlet for music, interviews, and general silliness on WESN 88.1 back in the days leading up to LAOTLD; the new podcast will have interviews, advice, games, and more amusement.

We know you’re pretty good friends with J and Paul. What have they told you about the status of the sequel, Tomorrow Afternoon of the Living Dead?

Well, Paul has remained tight-lipped. I spoke with J about Citizen in the Temple, but I guess there was not a role in that production for me. So I don’t know the status of the sequel, but I’d be interested in playing a larger part in another episode in the Afternoon of the Living Dead saga.

You can read the full article absolutely nowhere.

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Melt Your Face!

Hello Dog Mourners! Check out this red-hot music video by Ten Wing Films and an extremely talented up-and-coming direcTOR.* The band is Veritae. The song is What Lies Beneath. I bet you’d like a little look at what lies beneath, wouldn’t you? Sicko.

*ME.

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The Drone Movie Trailer

Hey ya. A friend of mine is a filmmaker. He made this trailer. You should probably check it out. Dreams are hard to achieve. Let’s help out, eh? It debuted at the Cannes short film Corner 2011. Oh PS – I’m writing as if I’m not the one who made this.

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We Know Nothing – Part 03

The lobby of the building was tiny. The size of a small bedroom. There were no chairs for anyone to wait in. No magazines to pass the time. The only furniture was a desk crammed in the corner. A young woman was sitting behind it with a neat stack of papers in front of her. There were no pens. There was no phone.

“Michael?” She asked without looking up from her stack of papers.

“No. I’m sorry. I came here with Thomas.”

I turned around for direction from Thomas but he wasn’t behind me. He wasn’t anywhere. I didn’t see or hear him leave and I swore that he followed me inside. I must have been wrong.

The woman looked up at me. Her eyes were the biggest I had ever seen. They were an amazing dark brown. I swooned.

“If you came with Thomas then you MUST be Michael,” she insisted. “Are you really NOT Michael?”

“I…I don’t really know,” I stammered. “Maybe I am Michael.”

“Good. Then you are running late, Michael. Please meet with Dr. Pilsen in the next room.” She pointed to a door to my left that I hadn’t noticed before.

“Why am I here? I don’t exactly understand?”

It wasn’t just the confusion of names or the way I seemed to be anonymously important but something was getting to me. Something inside of me was off. I noticed my left arm was tingling and for some reason, unknown to me, I had accepted a name that was not my own. Who was Michael? I wasn’t really Michael, was I?

“Please, Dr. Pilsen is waiting for you…and you’re late.” The woman had the same sharp tone that Thomas had when I talked to him on the street.

I turned toward the door. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be any trouble.”

I opened the door. Beyond it’s threshold there was only darkness but still everything seemed very defined.

I glanced at the young woman once more. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiled. “Have a nice day.”

 

<<Part 02