Violet McGraw to Star in New Short Film GRUMMY from Micheline Pitt and R.H. Norman

Not all monsters are malevolent... sometimes they can even help you escape a reality that is scarier than anything lurking under your bed or hiding in the shadows of your closet. Such is the case for one imaginative girl in Micheline Pitt and R.H. Norman's upcoming short film Grummy, which has just cast Violet McGraw (The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep) in the lead role and will also feature creature effects from the legendary Kevin Yagher.

Press Release: LOS ANGELES, CA (NOVEMBER 18, 2019) – Los Angeles-based indie production company Micheline Pitt Design is thrilled to announce their casting of The Haunting of Hill House star Violet McGraw, who is set to portray the lead character of ‘Sarah’ in the company’s soon-to-shoot independent fantasy film Grummy.

Starring McGraw, Tom Degman (Limitless) and Alex Ward (Annabelle, “American Horror Story,”) the short film Grummy comes from the married writer and director duo of Micheline Pitt and R.H. Norman, and combines the pair’s impressive creative forces along with those of legendary creature effects artist Kevin Yagher.

Inspired by Pitt’s imagination (one in which she escaped into during her own abusive childhood), Pitt and her filmmaker husband Norman intend to deliver a heartbreaking yet poetic tale of a young girl (actress McGraw) whose stuffed creature “Grummy” brings a new world to life during her most vulnerable of moments.

Says Pitt of the story, “It’s very personal, because I was this little girl, and I used my imagination to escape. I used books, movies and toys to get away. If I didn't have my imagination, and if I didn't have these things, I don't think I would be here today. This is a story of how monsters saved my life.”

FX artist Yagher, whose iconic creature work includes ‘Chucky’ in Child’s Play, ‘Freddy Krueger’ in A Nightmare on Elm Street and ‘The Crypt Keeper’ from “Tales From the Crypt” has been tasked to provide Grummy’s titular monster, and will do so entirely via practical effects, with full animatronics built into a life-sized creature suit.

“Building a believable monster and a tangible environment is just as expensive for a short as it is for a feature,” explained Norman of the challenges of realizing the extensive world of Grummy without the use of CGI, “and we’re fortunate to have many volunteers on our team and artists donating their craft in order to make it a reality.”

Rounding out the production team are producers Gary Deocampo and Anthony Diblasi, production designer Doug Williams (Pacific Rim, Chappie), composer Jason Turbin (Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald’s Game), and director of photography Sean McDaniel.

With principal photography slated to kick off later this week, aspirations for the property exist outside of the short film alone. With an eye to eventually deliver a feature film version, forthcoming iterations of Grummy additionally include a hard cover children’s book written and illustrated by Pitt (which serves as a prequel to the film), an art book titled “A Girl and Her Monster” featuring an all -star roster of illustrators and animators, and much more.

Additional information can be found on the film at the Kickstarter campaign website: www.grummymovie.com

Official site: www.GrummyMovie.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/GrummyMovie

Twitter: @GrummyMovie

Instagram: @GrummyMovie

ABOUT MICHELINE PITT DESIGN

Micheline Pitt is best known for her fashion lines Vixen by Micheline Pitt and La Femme en Noire, and has worked in animation as a key character designer prior to her fashion career. She is now a board member of RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. Norman, a mentee of Werner Herzog, is a writer/director/editor known for his Cuban-shot film Gusano and his Afghanistan War short Hajji, starring Ross Marquand of “The Walking Dead” and Hunger Games’ Dayo Okeniyi.

Grummy_Kickstarter from Daily Dead on Vimeo.