Directed By: John McPhail Written By: Alan McDonald and Ryan McHenry Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcom Cumming, Ben Wiggins, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux, Marli Siu, Mark Benton and Paul Kaye Produced By: Naysun Alae-Carew, Nicholas Crum and Tracy Jarvis Running Time: 92 minutes #AATAMovie 1 Table of Contents p.3 Introduction Synopsis p.4 About the production p.5 The origin of the story p.6 Setting the Tone The Characters and Cast p.8 The Shoot p.9 The Music p.11 The Look p.12 About the Cast p.14 About the Crew p.19 Credits 2 Synopsis A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven - at Christmas – forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world and, with civilization falling apart around them, the only people they can truly rely on are each other… Long Synopsis From Orion Pictures comes the zombie holiday musical ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE, directed by John McPhail and based on the 2010 BAFTA winning short “Zombie Musical.” In ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE, a zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven - at Christmas – forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world and, with civilization falling apart around them, the only people they can truly rely on are each other… ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE stars Ella Hunt (“Robot Overlords,” “Cold Feet”) as Anna alongside a breakout cast including Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux, Ben Wiggins and Marli Siu. The film also stars Mark Benton (“The Halcyon”) as Anna’s father Tony and Paul Kaye (“Game of Thrones”) as Mr. Savage, the villainous school headmaster. McPhail directs from a screenplay written by Alan McDonald and the late Ryan McHenry (“Zombie Musical,” “Ryan Gosling Won’t Eat His Cereal” videos); with original music by Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly. Naysun Alae-Carew and Nicholas Crum of Blazing Griffin and Tracy Jarvis of Parkhouse Pictures produced the film. Orion Pictures presents a Blazing Griffin Film in association with Parkhouse Pictures Creative Scotland and Constellation Creatives, “Anna and the Apocalypse” is set for release in select for November 30, 2018 with an expansion through the holidays. 3 ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas… About the Production From director John McPhail and a fresh young cast of breakout stars comes a fun, action-packed, music-driven horror comedy with original songs by composers Roddy Hart & Tommy Reilly conceived in the spirit of the late Ryan McHenry's BAFTA-winning short film "Zombie Musical." A story of innocence lost, growing up too quickly, and the perilous burden of a ravaged world left in the hands of the young, ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE is — despite its morbid premise — a rousing, furiously inventive, and unforgettably entertaining musical experience destined to enchant audiences for years to come. Bridging the gap between The Rocky Horror Picture Show and High School Musical while anchoring its story within present-day concerns, the film arrives at a time when the cultural conversation is dominated by the excesses and shortsightedness of the ruling generation, and the difficult choices the next generation will be forced to make in the not-so-distant future. "This film has a very clear message — it's about the kind of world we leave behind for our kids," says Ella Hunt, who plays the lead role of Anna. "Our producers worked hard to ground the story in reality and play up the emotions as authentic — to show these characters as relatable and real people. These are not stereotypes, and I think that's what sets the film apart from other musicals and teenage stories." Young people growing up in an uncertain world and contending with death and destruction is also very much on the movie's mind. "All zombie films are a social commentary in some way, and this one grapples with what we're leaving behind for our kids," says McPhail. "The movie is concerned with where the 4 next generation is headed. It's about growing up, leaving high school and facing life's responsibilities — but also taking stock of the world your parents have left in your hands." The film is also designed to be a collective experience and seasonal hallmark, enjoyed in a group setting across repeated viewings, with sing-alongs strongly encouraged. "Five years from now, I would love to see people going to cinemas and singing along to the movie as a holiday favorite," says McPhail. "That would be my dream." THE ORIGINS OF THE STORY The film began its journey to the big screen as a short film conceived by director Ryan McHenry and co-writer Alan McDonald as a school graduation project, which in time grew to become the BAFTA-winning short film "Zombie Musical." Inspired by the 2006 Disney Channel phenomenon High School Musical, McHenry wanted to push that film's premise one step further by having his own characters eaten by zombies. "It was while we were making the short film that we all began to realize how much fun it would be to make a feature version of 'Zombie Musical,'" says original producer Nicolas Crum, who went on to producer ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE. In his spare time, as "Zombie Musical" came together, McHenry was also making Vines in a series called Ryan Gosling Won't Eat His Cereal, which went viral, making the young filmmaker Internet famous. "There was a huge opportunity to push ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE because he had so much visibility with the Ryan Gosling Vines," says producer Nasun Alae- Carew, who grew up with McHenry. But tragedy struck at the moment "Zombie Musical" was completed, and the Gosling Vines were turning McHenry into a hot commodity online. He was suddenly diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Everything was put on hold while Ryan went through treatment, insisting as he battled cancer that the feature film be completed no matter what his fate. McHenry passed away some months later in 2015, just as his production team was beginning the development process of the feature. "In some ways Ryan's death gave the project a lot more meaning because the story had always been about what it means to be young in a violent world, and what it means to survive in a world left behind by your parents," says Alae-Carew. "But our film took on a much more personal meaning at that point because we were young people in our own right dealing with personal tragedy." McDonald completed the feature-length script and Alae-Carew and Crum began looking for directors to bring McHenry and McDonald's vision to life. When director John McPhail was approached, he fell for the script immediately — and not just because of its hilarious original premise. He also warmed to the project's considerable heart. "I really love film that have good characters and heart and story," says McPhail. "When I read the script, I was bowled over by the jokes too. I felt like I could have written it and I instantly wanted to be a part of it." 5 British actress Ella Hunt found herself equally won over, warming to the script's highly original take on a zombie musical set during the holidays. "From the first read I could see that despite all the craziness in the world of the story, Anna was a completely authentic, relatable and complex character," says Hunt. "I auditioned and met the whole team, we did some chemistry reads, and it felt very natural and real. We all clicked together so quickly, it was an absolute dream." SETTING THE TONE ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE is set in the sleepy town of Little Haven, somewhere in Scotland — though it could be any town in the world. Taking its primary inspiration from Kingston Falls in the classic summer hit Gremlins, Little Haven has all the hustle and bustle of any small town, while harboring dark and lonely corners where zombies come to lurk at every turn. Little Haven is a place that is familiar to many, whether they grew up in a town like it, visited one at some point in time, or experienced it through other movies. It's an idealized version of the idyllic hamlet many grew up in and longed to escape. What happens to Anna when the apocalypse comes to Little Haven could happen to anyone... At its heart, the film is a character piece with a unique tone, carried along seamlessly by a fresh, young ensemble of actors playing teenagers trying to navigate everyday life in the wake of a zombie apocalypse. Custodians of a scary new world, the kids band together in song, dance, and zombie slaying, as they try to make sense of their strange new surroundings. In the skilled hands of its young cast and crew, audiences laugh, shudder and cry in the tradition of genre sensations like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, films in which character and comedy mix together seamlessly. While the death count in these works is high, and several heroes are lost along the way, horror comedies like these tread a fine line between gut wrenching and heartwarming. For every scene of visceral carnage, there is comic relief close by to warm the cockles and tickle the funny bone.