SRS Cinema LLC is set to begin production on the wraparound sections for “Empire State of Dead”. The production began as a contest where seven shorts from New York State filmmakers were selected to be part of an overall full length feature detailing the early days of a zombie outbreak in the Empire State. The seven finalist were:
-“Blessed are the Meek” – dir. Matthew Peters
-“Fresh Meat” – dir. Chad Foster & Jamie Storrs
-“Occupied” – dir. Georffrey Orlowski
-“Necropath” – dir. Joshua Reale
-“Revenant” – dir. David Royal & Andrew Peters
-“What’s the Matter with Allison” – dir. Alexander Bell
-“Zombie Hipsters from Upstate” – dir. Stephen Long
Now producer/director Ron Bonk has written a wraparound, in a series of shorts, which will tie all these stories together. The overall plot of the movie follows a small group of soldiers trying to maintain order in the middle of the outbreak. But thwarting their efforts are rogue gangs, lead by a young drug lord who sees the apocalypse as his chance to rule the new world rising from the rubble, and a rogue army platoon that has chosen to fend for itself. The feature stars Joel Miscione, Michael Merchant, Eli DeGeer, Wes Reid, James Cacciatore & Michael J Widger, as well as a cast of 100’s of zombie extras, gang members, soldiers, civilians and more.
The first chunk of production is slated for Nov. 14th-23rd, then wraps up Dec 5th-7th, all shot in Syracuse, NY. A release is planned for fall 2015. Look for more updates after the first block of production has wrapped.