We took notice of the zombie web series Universal Dead because of the strong production value and cast. When Universal Dead announced they were going to be turned into into a feature film with Paramount distributing, we had to talk with screenwriter Kelly Parks, who describes himself as "America's only ex-CIA rocket scientist stand-up comic screenwriter."
Kelly was kind enough to answer some of our questions via email.
HAZ: How did this project start and what was your background before Universal Dead?
Kelly Parks: My business partners (Vernon Mortensen and Neil Trusso) and I are lifelong zombie movie fans so of course we had to do something zombie related. I came up with an idea based on my personal theory about how zombies might work and I wrote that as a short called "The Presentation" which I later expanded into a feature script called "Universal Dead".
We wanted to make the feature film but didn't have the funding so we had to find another way.
We'd made a web series the year before (a comedy called "The Crusader") so we decided to take the feature version of "Universal Dead" and break it up into webisodes. Our original plan was to make the first three episodes of the series (which was all we could afford) and put them out in hopes of getting some notice and raising the money to make more. If that had happened we would have followed the typical web series business plan of putting out a season of episodes, hopefully developing a fan base and then selling the DVD of the season.
But then something much better happened.
HAZ: One of the stand out parts of Universal Dead is the acting. How did you assemble the cast?
KP: We were very lucky to get our amazing cast! I met Gary Graham (ALIEN NATION[TV], STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE, ROBOT JOX) at Comic Con a few years ago. It turned out he'd read a script of mine that was being shopped around so we hit it off. Soon after he did a cameo in our comedy web series, "The Crusader", where he played an awesomely sleazy marriage counselor. It was through Gary that we were introduced to DB Sweeney (FIRE IN THE SKY, THE CUTTING EDGE, EIGHT MEN OUT, THE EVENT[TV]) and they both liked the script and agreed to be in Universal Dead.
Doug Jones (FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER, HELLBOY, HELLBOY II, PAN'S LABYRINTH) saw "The Crusader" and contacted us directly to say that if we did anything else he'd like to a part of it.
And Valerie Perez (PAULA PERIL[web]) we also met at Comic Con. She's a genuine super hot geek girl and was dressed as Wonder Woman when we first met.
HAZ: How did the feature film version come about?
KP: We'd met with a few people about making the feature but we really hit it off with Jeff Fishman and Fishman Productions. He saw the web series and was very impressed. And since Fishman Productions is a Paramount Lot company that means we'll have distribution through Paramount.
So in the end the web series did exactly what we wanted it to do: it got us noticed.
HAZ: How will the feature film version differ from the web series?
KP: The web series is essentially the first act of the film. So the movie will re-tell the story in the web series (with a few extras) and show what happens next.
HAZ: Will you re-shoot the web series for the feature? And when do you start shooting?
KP: We hope to start shooting in January. And yes we will completely re-shoot the first act (i.e. the web series).
HAZ: What part of San Diego did you shoot in?
KP: All of the outdoor stuff -- the opening helicopter shot, the humvee driving down the road, the zombies in the field and the bite check at the gate -- were shot near Descanso, Ca. That's about 40 miles east of San Diego up in the mountains.
All the indoor stuff was shot on the campus of SDSU.
HAZ: The end of the third episode of the web series bridges the gap between zombies and vampires. What inspired you to come up with this?
KP: The theory that Dr. Vataber presents provides a sci-fi explanation for a variety of supernatural creatures. He does hint at that in his explanation. As to exactly why the machine had the effect that it did, you'll have to watch the movie to find out.
HAZ: You mentioned that Day of the Dead was an influence on Universal Dead. What's your vampire influence?
My favorite vampire movie is Near Dark. Vampires don't sparkle. They're murderers. They're evil, by definition.
HAZ: Running zombies or Romero zombies?
KP: Running, definitely. Way scarier.
HAZ: When Universal Dead is finished, do you plan to continue with the zombie genre?
KP: Oh, yes. There's a lot to explore in that world. We're working on a related concept right now.
Catch Episode 1
here, Episode 2
here, and Episode 3
here.
Many thanks to Kelly for this interview!
