Good news is good: amidst all the big-time auteurs showing what they're made of at Cannes, a small film is experiencing a success story. Filmmaker Marc Price screened his indie zombie film Colin to distributors at the festival and suddenly found himself landing lucrative Hollywood and international deals. What's his secret? He openly advertised the film's budget, which was £45 ($70).
Of course, that number is a tad misleading. While it's true that the shoot cost Price only $70, the materials certainly weren't so cheap. The cast and crew worked for free, weren't fed, and he had his professional FX people donating their own latex.
"The approach was to say to people, 'OK guys, we don't have any money, so bring your own equipment,'" the the 30 year-old director told CNN.
He spent the $70 on a crowbar, a couple of tapes and some cheap tea and coffee for his crew.
Colin is a zombie story told from the perspective of the zombie. It's not really as original of an idea as they'd like to think (I, Zombie comes to mind), but it's getting some good reviews.
Price has also sent his Cannes diary to The Telegraph, which includes an amusing anecdote observing that buying a shirt and bowtie for the opening night screening of Up cost as much as making his film.
