If you regularly keep up on horror news, you may be familiar with Andrea Albin from her past work as a journalist for a number of horror publications or her talent management company. Late last year, it was announced that she teamed up with Scott Spiegel for a new feature, titled Die, Maniacs, Die!, and I recently had a chance to learn more about the upcoming movie and a new horror convention she's working on.
You started writing for a number of horror publications and eventually began representing talent through your own management firm. That's not the usual path I see journalists take in the industry. Can you tell me how this all came about?
Andrea Albin: It just felt right. I owned the management firm before I started writing, and my husband and I did it together so he could handle my screenwriting business. Anyone who works in the industry can tell you that it's hard to get a rep when you first start, so we were basically faking it [laughs]. I was writing for places like Fangoria at the time, and before I knew it, I had people I met from interviewing asking about my management company.
We didn't have an acting department at that time, but we opened the talent department in 2010 and it just grew. In the beginning, we represented Kane Hodder and it all just fell into place. It was almost as if the writing career set up where I was headed with everything else.
Since then, the management company has taken off and you have a new venture with Fatality Films. You announced last year that your first project would be Die, Maniacs, Die! with Scott Spiegel. Why did you decide to move forward with this movie as your first project?
Andrea Albin: We represented a writer named Bo Ransdell since we opened the company in 2007 and he's a great guy. He called me one day and said there was this crazy script that I needed to read. I get those types of phone calls a good twenty times a week, but because he's a friend and client, I decided to read it. Before he gave it to me, he said: "I'm warning you... this thing is insane. It's probably the most ****ed up thing you'll ever read."
I was really busy that week and I handed it to Joanna [Shirley], who runs our management firm now. Most horror scripts we get are carbon copies of what's been done before and don't fit what we're looking for, but she read it in one sitting and said that I had to look at it. I've known her since I was fifteen, so for her to push it that much was different. I can say that it's honestly one of the most original scripts that has come across my desk.
You've teamed up with Scott Spiegel for Die, Maniacs, Die! How did he become involved?
Andrea Albin: I decided to send the script to Scott [Spiegel], because I've known him for a while and that's kind of how that started. After he read it, he said: "We're producing this. We're working together." As someone that's a fan of Intruder and his writing on Evil Dead 2, it was such an honor to have him want to produce this together. From there, it took just off...
We discussed what we was going to do for characters and ended up approaching Nick Principe from Laid to Rest to play Brute, a big insane hybrid zombie-type character. He immediately fell in love with the script, and we also got Barbara Crampton to sign on as Hagatha. It's a really out-there role, but she's not afraid to push boundaries as you can tell from her past work. With those two on-board, and Scott producing with me, we started looking for financing and right now we're officially in pre-production. Everyone from Stuart Gordon, to anyone who has touched the script, has been incredibly helpful.
Have you already decided on a director for the movie?
Andrea Albin: It's Jourdan McClure. He just released Children of Sorrow and did Rogue River with Bill Mosely before that. He's an amazing screenwriter/director and we can see him working with us in a lot of aspects. We wanted to do that in-your-face, graphic novel-style movie, and Jordan was so in love with the script. He's such an amazing person outside of the movie, that we couldn't say no.
You mentioned a graphic novel style. Are you aiming for something as drastic as Sin City?
Andrea Albin: A little bit. We're going for a stylized look, but I'm not exactly sure what it will look like when the director takes his magic to it. It's definitely going to appeal to people who love the graphic novel feel and love horror. It's a bloody movie, so it will also hit people who love movies by Rob Zombie, Eli Roth, and Jen & Sylvia Soska. This could be the start of something new for horror. We're setting out to redefine the genre, and we think this is a movie that could do it.
I'm glad to hear you say that, because I don't see enough independent productions shoot for the stars and try something different.
Andrea Albin: Studio horror gets watered down and I'm not a fan of the constant remakes and reboots. I want someone to bring something new to the table.
Where's filming going to take place?
Andrea Albin: We haven't secured anywhere completely yet. We've talked about Louisiana, but that's been oversaturated lately. I know we won't end up in Los Angeles for most of the filming, but I think we'll end up in some small town in Florida and Detroit.
I talked to Scott after he filmed Hostel III in Detroit and he really enjoys working there.
Andrea Albin: He's really close to the Detroit film community, so it's something we're considering. In Florida, I have some connections, but so does Bruce Campbell, who works with Scott. It's just a matter of where we can get the best bang for our buck. We're trying to avoid CGI and do old school horror. I'd rather be covered in blood every day.
Do you have a start date already set for Die, Maniacs, Die!?
Andrea Albin: Probably later this year. We were shooting for a summer film date, but Scott and I both have projects that may conflict. It looks like end of summer/early fall. It will be a 4-6 week production, so it won't take too long. In the meantime, we're working on a graphic novel to accompany the characters from the film. We're kind of hoping to start the buzz before the camera rolls. The latest I could see a filming push is the fall/winter barrier, but it will definitely film before the end of 2013.
On top of Die, Maniacs, Die!, you're also putting on your own horror convention. What can you tell me about Fatality Fest?
Andrea Albin: I basically thought it would be a good idea to run a horror convention in the middle of all of this chaos [laughs]. It just came from years of ADA Management Group representing people like Sid Haig and Tony Todd. We manage people for many public appearances, and I've traveled with a lot of them over the past two or three years. I've seen people's flights get canceled, out-of-control lines, and promoters who could not be contacted. We compiled a list of things that we'd to do differently, and we decided to do our own convention.
We learned the hard way that it's a lot more difficult than we thought, but it's going to be a lot of fun. Scott [Spiegel] agreed to appear and Tony [Todd] is coming to our convention. We're still working on our headliners right now and we have a couple of great names that I think will draw big crowds. It's been a bit of a roller coaster, but I'm really excited to see where it goes. If all goes well, we'll do this every year and we're actually doing a second show in October in Montana, where I'm originally from. Our first show will be in West Palm Beach.
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To learn more about Andrea, her management company, and Fatality Fest, visit the following links:
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