Since Daily Dead Managing Editor Heather Wixson gave it a five-star review at Fantastic Fest, we've been excited for readers to check out the zombie musical Anna and the Apocalypse, and now horror fans are one step closer to seeing the horror comedy deck the cinematic halls, as Orion Pictures has acquired the film and is planning a holiday season release this year.
Press Release: Los Angeles – January 9, 2018 — Orion Pictures, recently relaunched by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) as a new, stand-alone U.S. theatrical marketing and distribution company, has acquired the North American and Latin American rights to John McPhail’s award-winning zombie holiday musical Anna and the Apocalypse. The announcement was made today by John Hegeman, President, Orion Pictures. Orion plans to release Anna and the Apocalypse in the 2018 holiday season.
The film stars Ella Hunt (Our Robot Overlords) as Anna, Mark Benton (The Halcyon), Paul Kaye (Game Of Thrones) and a breakout group of emerging talent including Malcom Cumming, Ben Wiggins, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux and Marli Siu. Embraced by fans and critics alike, the film’s world premiere at Fantastic Fest this year was met with critical acclaim. It also played at Sitges Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Midnight X-Treme Feature Length Film.
Anna and the Apocalypse is based on the 2010 BAFTA winning short film Zombie Musical; directed by John McPhail (Where Do We Go From Here); written by Alan McDonald and the late Ryan McHenry (Ryan Gosling Won’t Eat His Cereal viral series); with original music by Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly. The film was produced by Naysun Alae-Carew and Nicholas Crum of Blazing Griffin in association with Tracy Jarvis of Parkhouse Pictures and Creative Scotland.
Hegeman said, “The team at Orion can’t wait to work with Blazing Griffin in making Anna and the Apocalypse a holiday spectacular for the ages. Nothing gets the blood flowing like a good holiday musical.”
“The Orion logo was on the front of so many of our favorite films growing up. It’s a real honor that Anna and the Apocalypse will join the ranks of the films that inspired us. We are elated to have a partner in Orion that is as passionate about our film as we are,” said Blazing Griffin Producer Naysun Alae-Carew.
In Anna and the Apocalypse, a zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven - at Christmas – forcing Anna and her high school friends to fight, sing and slash their way to survival with a fast-spreading undead horde in relentless pursuit. Teaming up with her best friend John, Anna and her crew fight their way through zombified snowmen, a ravenous bachelor party and high school hormones to try and save family and faculty alike. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world, and the only people they can truly rely on are each other.
Anna and the Apocalypse marks the first acquisition for Orion since announcing its return to wide release theatrical distribution last Fall. Orion’s first release, the YA romance Every Day, based on David Levithan’s New York Times best-selling novel of the same name, will debut in U.S. theaters on February 23, 2018 and is directed by Emmy Award and Golden Globe winner Michael Sucsy, written by Jesse Andrews and produced by Likely Story and Film Wave, stars Angourie Rice, Justice Smith, Maria Bello and Debby Ryan.
The deal was negotiated by Nate Bolotin of XYZ Films on behalf of the filmmakers. International territories are represented by James Norrie of AMP International.
# # #
About Orion Pictures
Relaunched in 2017 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Orion Pictures is a stand-alone U.S. theatrical marketing and distribution company focused on collaborating with innovative filmmakers with unique voices across all genres and platforms. Originally founded in 1978, the studio’s past releases included crowd-pleasing hits like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Hoosiers, Robocop, The Terminator and the Bill & Ted series alongside such critically acclaimed films as Academy Award Best Picture winners Amadeus, Platoon, Dances with Wolves and The Silence of the Lambs. Orion’s first release will be Michael Sucsy’s young adult romance Every Day, based on David Levithan’s best-selling novel of the same name, on February 23, 2018.
About Blazing Griffin
Blazing Griffin (BG) is on a never-ending journey to craft new worlds and bring them to life in the content it creates. Founded in 2011, the studio has expanded to include a group of synergistic divisions spanning Digital Games, Film/TV Production and end-to-end Post-Production services. As an independent digital entertainment group based in Scotland, BG continues to expand its focus on cross platform storytelling and creating new intellectual property alongside its successful digital game title’s Distant Star and The Ship. Headquartered in Glasgow, the Company also has staff based in Edinburgh and London.
www.BlazingGriffin.com @www.facebook.com/BlazingGriffin https://twitter.com/BlazingGriffin
About Creative Scotland
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organizations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. www.creativescotland.com. Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland
About Parkhouse Pictures
Parkhouse Pictures is a British film company dedicated to making high quality feature films for audiences in the UK and around the world. It creates a diverse array of highly commercial films from a contemporary Shakespeare adaptation to a highly stylized zombie apocalyptic musical. Steve and Tracy Jarvis and their team, who heads up renowned UK agency Beresford Management, have decades of experience working with major film companies including Walt Disney, HBO, Sky, BBC and ITV. Based in London and within a stone’s throw of Twickenham Studios, Parkhouse Pictures encapsulates what is great about British film making today.”
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
