Professional Motion Picture Production and Distribution NEWS

As states continue to ponder the rights of gays to marry, a new short film, MEET THE ZILLAS, brings the subject of marriage equality to the forefront – but not for gays – for Zillas.

Who are “Zillas” you ask? And why can’t they marry?

“MEET THE ZILLAS” is a short film about Zillatown, where everyone is wedding-obsessed but not everyone can marry,” says MOREEN LITTRELL, the writer, director and co-star of this high art, absurdist comedy which is currently in pre-production. “In Zillatown, girls who test positive for the “Zilla gene” are not allowed to marry or have any interaction with anything bridal for fear that they will have a “Zilla reaction”.

The film also co-stars Emmy-nominated BLAKE BERRIS and Groundlings teacher DREW DROEGE (famous for his Chloe Sevigny YouTube video impersonations), BRANDON MOYNIHAN, LESLIE TAYLOR and DANA MOON and will be lensed by RICARDO JACQUES GALE who has won at Cannes, Toronto and most recently at the Melbourne International Film Festival for the feature film Touching Home which starred Ed Harris. JADE THOMPSON is on board as Costume Designer.

The concept for MEET THE ZILLAS came to Littrell in 2010 when she worked briefly in the bridal industry. “I knew I wanted to make a film set in the bridal industry because it’s just a happy beautiful alternate world that few get to exist in for long unless they work in the industry. And I also knew I wanted to make a funny, campy film with a central conflict – and what better conflict can you have in a “wedding town” than a war over the right to marry?

As Littrell wrote it and began to see the parallels of Zillas to gays – in that they are both being denied freedoms based on some unfounded fears (just as you see in the films Dirty Dancing and Footloose to name a few) – she was quite moved by the emergence of a “moral of the story” and the fable therein: that everyone should be able to marry (even a Zilla). “Regardless of your position on marriage equality, the film is pure entertainment,” says Littrell, “but the moral is still there whether one sees it or not. I think that’s the beauty of entertainment. All the political speeches in the world might have less impact than a film or a song in terms of effecting change and enlightening minds.”

Littrell is co-starring in the film as “Cinder Zilla”. She is also the author of the recently published roman à clef, LOST IN MANHATTAN, a comedian, and the director of THE HACKS, a short mockumentary about stand-up comics. She also has a supporting role in HOUSE OF LAST THINGS, a feature film which stars BERRIS and is due out in 2012. For more about cast and crew, please visit the official site at www.meetthezillas.com.

The film is projected to shoot this Spring and be completed in time to enter into top film festivals.





Resources:

www.moreenlittrell.com