L.A. Zombie
Encyclopedia
L.A. Zombie is a 2010 queer cinema
zombie film. The film is written and directed by Bruce LaBruce
and stars gay
pornographic actor
François Sagat
. The film premiered in competition at Locarno International Film Festival
in Switzerland
in 2010.
(François Sagat
), thinks he's an alien zombie sent to earth. Roaming the streets of Los Angeles
in search of dead bodies, he tries to bring the dead back to life by engaging in homosexual sex.
. One of the scenes was shot at the L.A. River
, in the exact location of the "Thunder Road" race sequence from the musical Grease
. It takes a cue from LaBruce's film Otto; or Up With Dead People
. L.A. Zombie will first be released as a soft-core independent feature
and then a gay pornographic
film at a later date.
The film was due to have its second and third screening as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival
in Australia on the 7th and 8th of August 2010. However, the Australian Film Classification Board advised festival organisers that the film could not be screened as it was likely to be refused classification. Under Australian law, films that are refused classification may not be imported, sold, or distributed, which precludes screening at public events. In defiance of this censorship, the Melbourne Underground Film Festival
, which occurs concurrently with MIFF
but screens films regarded as too controversial for the mainstream event, held an illegal screening of L.A. Zombie on the 29th of August. While police did not attend or stop the screening on the night, they did raid the home of director Richard Wolstencroft on the morning of November 11, 2010. Wolstencroft admitted to police that an August 29 screening had occurred but claimed to have destroyed the only copy of the film afterwards. The court ruled that he pay $750 to the Royal Children's Hospital
.
L.A. Zombie held its UK premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in London on October 1, 2010. It was reported that "at least one-third of the audience walked out stupefied".
TLA Video has picked up the U.S. release for the film, and set November 12, 2010 as the DVD date. The DVD release is an uncut version, longer than the film festival release's runtime.
In New Zealand
, the film was first screened at the Out Takes LGBT film festival in Auckland
and Wellington
. Unlike Australia, New Zealand's Office of Film and Literature Classification gave the film an R18 certificate, which means that it can be screened as long as the audience is aged eighteen and over. The Society for Promotion of Community Standards called for review of the decision, while GayNZ.com
welcomed its release. SPCS failed to have the film prohibited after the review and it was resultantly screened at the Out Takes film festival in Auckland and Wellington in early June 2011.
New Queer Cinema
New Queer Cinema is a term first coined by the academic B. Ruby Rich in Sight & Sound magazine in 1992 to define and describe a movement in queer-themed independent filmmaking in the early 1990s...
zombie film. The film is written and directed by Bruce LaBruce
Bruce LaBruce
Bruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:...
and stars gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
pornographic actor
Pornographic actor
A pornographic actor/actress or a porn star is a person who appears in pornographic film. Most actors appear nude in films...
François Sagat
François Sagat
François Sagat is a French male pornographic actor who has appeared in gay pornographic movies. He is best known for his rugged looks and scalp tattoo. He has also appeared at times as a fashion model and starting 2009, he also landed on cinematic roles in films for the general public including...
. The film premiered in competition at Locarno International Film Festival
Locarno International Film Festival
The Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in 2010.
Synopsis
A homeless schizophrenicSchizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
(François Sagat
François Sagat
François Sagat is a French male pornographic actor who has appeared in gay pornographic movies. He is best known for his rugged looks and scalp tattoo. He has also appeared at times as a fashion model and starting 2009, he also landed on cinematic roles in films for the general public including...
), thinks he's an alien zombie sent to earth. Roaming the streets of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in search of dead bodies, he tries to bring the dead back to life by engaging in homosexual sex.
Cast
- François SagatFrançois SagatFrançois Sagat is a French male pornographic actor who has appeared in gay pornographic movies. He is best known for his rugged looks and scalp tattoo. He has also appeared at times as a fashion model and starting 2009, he also landed on cinematic roles in films for the general public including...
- Matthew Rush
- Erik Rhodes
- Francesco D'MachoFrancesco D'MachoFrancesco D'Macho is an Italian pornographic actor who appears in gay pornographic films and magazines. He was a Hot House Entertainment exclusive and is also a freelance graphic designer with a masters in graphic design. He is openly gay and in 2008, with gay adult performer Damien Crosse...
- Wolf HudsonWolf HudsonWolf Hudson is a Dominican-American male pornographic actor, director and street dancer.-Early life:Wolf Hudson was born on November 24, 1984, in New York, New York, and is of mixed ancestry: French, Afro-Latin American/Dominican descent. Hudson briefly lived in the Dominican Republic in his early...
- Tony Ward
- Santino RiceSantino RiceSantino Quinto Rice is an American fashion designer and television personality. He is best known for his appearances on the reality television programs Project Runway, RuPaul's Drag Race, and On the Road with Austin and Santino.-Early life:Rice was born and raised in St. Charles, Missouri...
- DeadleeDeadleeJoseph Lee, better known by his stage name Deadlee, is an American rapper and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. The musician, who is of Mexican American and African American descent, launched his career back in 2000. In 2002, he released the critically acclaimed debut album 7 Deadlee Sins...
Production
The movie started production in 2009, filming on location in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. One of the scenes was shot at the L.A. River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
, in the exact location of the "Thunder Road" race sequence from the musical Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
. It takes a cue from LaBruce's film Otto; or Up With Dead People
Otto; or Up with Dead People
Otto; or Up with Dead People is a 2008 Canadian and German queer cinema horror film. The film was directed by Bruce LaBruce and stars Jey Crisfar, Marcel Schlutt, Nicholas Fox Ricciardi and Gio Black Peter.- Plot :...
. L.A. Zombie will first be released as a soft-core independent feature
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
and then a gay pornographic
Gay pornography
Gay pornography is the representation of sexual intercourse between men with the primary goal of sexual arousal in its audience. There is also a tradition, and continuing considerable output, of lesbian pornography....
film at a later date.
Release
On January 30, 2010, the film had a sneak preview at the Peres Project Exhibit in Berlin, Germany as part of the show L.A. Zombie: The Movie That Would Not Die. A collection of silk screened portraits by Bruce LaBruce from the film were also shown at the exhibit, mostly pictures showcasing Sagat as a zombie. The Locarno Film Festival screened L.A. Zombie in competition from August 4th–16th of 2010.The film was due to have its second and third screening as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
in Australia on the 7th and 8th of August 2010. However, the Australian Film Classification Board advised festival organisers that the film could not be screened as it was likely to be refused classification. Under Australian law, films that are refused classification may not be imported, sold, or distributed, which precludes screening at public events. In defiance of this censorship, the Melbourne Underground Film Festival
Melbourne Underground Film Festival
The Melbourne Underground Film Festival was formed out of disagreements over the content and running of the Melbourne International Film Festival...
, which occurs concurrently with MIFF
Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
but screens films regarded as too controversial for the mainstream event, held an illegal screening of L.A. Zombie on the 29th of August. While police did not attend or stop the screening on the night, they did raid the home of director Richard Wolstencroft on the morning of November 11, 2010. Wolstencroft admitted to police that an August 29 screening had occurred but claimed to have destroyed the only copy of the film afterwards. The court ruled that he pay $750 to the Royal Children's Hospital
Royal Children's Hospital
The Royal Children's Hospital is a major children's hospital in Melbourne, Australia.As the major paediatric hospital in Victoria, the Royal Children's Hospital and offers a full range of clinical services, tertiary care and health promotion and prevention programs for children and adolescents...
.
L.A. Zombie held its UK premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in London on October 1, 2010. It was reported that "at least one-third of the audience walked out stupefied".
TLA Video has picked up the U.S. release for the film, and set November 12, 2010 as the DVD date. The DVD release is an uncut version, longer than the film festival release's runtime.
In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the film was first screened at the Out Takes LGBT film festival in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
. Unlike Australia, New Zealand's Office of Film and Literature Classification gave the film an R18 certificate, which means that it can be screened as long as the audience is aged eighteen and over. The Society for Promotion of Community Standards called for review of the decision, while GayNZ.com
GayNZ.com
GayNZ.com is the leading Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community news website for New Zealand.It posts daily local and international news stories, monitors fundamentalist Christian politics in New Zealand and associated anti-gay pressure groups, reports on political developments related...
welcomed its release. SPCS failed to have the film prohibited after the review and it was resultantly screened at the Out Takes film festival in Auckland and Wellington in early June 2011.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Melbourne Underground Film Festival Melbourne Underground Film Festival The Melbourne Underground Film Festival was formed out of disagreements over the content and running of the Melbourne International Film Festival... |
Best Foreign Director (Bruce LaBruce) | |
External links
- L.A Zombie Official website Warning: Explicit content (nudity)