The band is Power Of Aggression. They are from the Hollywood area, and were active during the late-90s / early 2000s. Anthony Robinson played lead guitar & vocals, Adam Ledezma played drums, and Aaron K. Carter played bass. When a soundtrack was needed, producers Aaron K. Carter and Adam Ledezma used the Power Of Aggression demo-tape that they recorded over a decade ago. The songs featured in "Dead Kansas" include: The Ruler, Walls Of Insanity, Hate, The Way We Feel, Behold The Terror, and Now.
It was filmed at a circus-themed bar called, CIA - The California Institute of Abnormalarts. Its located at 11334 Burbank Blvd, in North Hollywood, CA 91601. Every room is decorated with an eclectic assortment of ugly dolls, strange wall hangings, clowns, skeletons, and other spooky Halloween themed relics. CIA almost has a museum-like feel. Production was permitted only 4 hours to film there.
Each act was filmed months apart. During the second act, Alexandria Lightford announced that she was pregnant. Production wanted to film rest of movie with her, but conflicting schedules made it impossible to get it done before she would start to show. Production decided another actress would have to jump in and take over. Erin Miracle, a local bartender, was their choice. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Other characters that were replaced by other actresses in major films include: Jennifer Parker in Back To The Future, Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight, Clarice Starling in Hannibal, and The Oracle in The Matrix. Many soap operas do this as well.
"Dead Kansas" was originally just going to be a 15 minute short. However, the cast & crew agreed another 15 minute short, continuing the story, would be fun. Eventually, "Dead Kansas" became a five-part web series on youtube. A limited number of DVDs, which include all the acts edited together, were printed exclusively for cast, crew, film festivals, promo bags, and video stores.
Yes. In fact, the "Rottens" are zombies. There is only one physical zombie, in full make-up, towards the end of the film. The other Rottens are never shown. They are only simulated via Point Of View (POV) in black & white. The camera acted as the Rotten's eyes in certain shots, while the actors reacted. As tempting as it was to use traditional make-up and show the Rottens, the director specifically chose POV to do something different. In fact, this (might be) the first zombie film to extensively use POV.
Yes. Some of the characters and storylines are modeled after the classic 1939 film. Emma (mirrored as Dorothy) is tired of her boring farm life. She gets thrown into an adventure after a tornado hits. She goes to Shambles to meet the freak people (Munchkins). She befriends three men along the way; Skinny (Scarecrow), Rusty (Tin Man), and Leo (Cowardly Lion). She also seeks Doctor Emerson (The Wizard) for help. Jebediah (The Wicked Witch) is the main villain on pursuit to capture Emma. The theme of "no place like home" is also touched on.
Yes. Kevin Beardsley played two characters. His first role was Zeke, Jebediah's sidekick growling brother. People who saw the first act really liked Kevin's performance as Zeke, and were sad to see that he was killed off so quickly. They wanted more of him. Kevin's second role was Rusty. Rusty was coined a 'coke-dealing Colonel Sanders look-a-like', by the cast & crew. To disguise himself, Kevin wore a wig, glasses, a suit, and talked with a southern accent. In fact, the editor of the film didn't even make the connection of the dual roles until he typed out the end credits.
Yes. There are three DVD versions of "Dead Kansas". The first DVD, only contains Act 1 - which runs 17 minutes. This DVD has the father and daughter in a cellar on the front cover. The second DVD, only contains Act 2 - which runs 15 minutes. This DVD cover has The Giant looking though a truck window. The third DVD (the complete version) has all five acts edited together - which is 64 minutes. This DVD has the main cast and girl in cage photo on the front cover. Dead Kansas was released on Amazon Instant Video, February 26, 2015.
It is a Halloween decoration. One side of the globe is a moon man, the other side is a witch. Production originally put it in as a decoration in the breakfast scene. They thought it would be fun to reprise it in each act, as a hidden Easter egg. There is also a mini-Saturn Award statue in the breakfast scene.
Yes. Michael Camp is a professional classical guitarist. Michael also teaches in the Los Angeles area. The guitar part was originally not in the script. It was a last minute addition. The music he plays in "Dead Kansas" is JS Bach, Cello Suite No 1.
It all stems back to the pre-apocalypse flash-back scene, in Act 5. While having some drinks in the bar, Jebediah makes some sexual advances towards Glenn's wife, and then slaps her ass. Glenn pokes his finger on Jebediah's chest, telling him to knock it off. Jebediah responds by taking out his knife and saying "keep poking me with that finger, and I'll cut it off!". Glenn then punches Jebediah square in the face and walks away calmly. Years later, this incident still angered Jebediah. He proudly wears Glenn's finger around his neck as a souvenir, but eventually gives it to Emma as a gift.
A few actors made cameos in "Dead Kansas". Most notable is Irwin Keyes. Irwin has been in many genre films, including: "House Of 1000 Corpses", "Black Dynamite", "Friday The 13th", "The Warriors", and "The Flintstones", among others. Joe McQueen made his mark as The Hulk in the (2007) documentary "Confessions Of A SuperHero", which follows the characters on the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard. Ben Woolf has been on TV's "American Horror Story: Freak Show" and in the (2013) horror film "Unlucky Charms". Child-actor Tony Della Catena, aka: Romeo De Lan, played Felipe in the (1988) East L.A. gang film "Colors". Juliette Danielle is a busy actress, most known for her character of Lisa in the Tommy Wiseau (2003) film "The Room".
No. They just have the same name. Aaron Carter is Nick Carter's brother, from the Backstreet Boys. Aaron made a few teenie-bop albums in the late-90s / early 2000s. The director of "Dead Kansas" put his middle initial "K" in his professional name to differ himself.
No. The movie was filmed in Los Angeles CA, primarily around the San Fernando Valley.
It's being considered. The creators of "Dead Kansas" wrote out a very rough outline of what might happen if the story progressed. It mainly focuses on Jebediah (who is now infected by the virus) and his posse's quest to find a cure for the undead epidemic. There was also talk of making a "spin-off" movie about the Shambles circus-freaks from Dead Kansas. However, after the unfortunate passing of both Ben Woolf and Irwin Keyes, that idea was scrapped.
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