‘Four Weddings And A Funeral’ Star Simon Callow Leads Comedy-Horror ‘Murder Ballads’
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EXCLUSIVE: Simon Callow (Four Weddings And A Funeral) is leading cast in completed comedy-horror Murder Ballads: How to Make it in Rock’n’Roll, which will launch later this month at the Nightmares Film Festival in Columbus, Ohio.
Directed by Mitchell Tolliday and written by Tolliday and Neil Rickatson, the movie is a feature length version of Tolliday’s short film, Everything is Going to Be Fine. The film tells of the rapid rise and violent fall of rock band Stack of Corpses, whose attempt to jump start their career by stealing another singer’s song ends up with bloody and unexpected consequences for all involved. Above is a first look image.
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Callow plays legendary drug-addled rock icon Richard O’Keefe who has seen, and taken, everything and is ready to impart his knowledge of rock’n’roll to the masses.
The ensemble cast includes Niccy Lin (You), Kerry Boyne (Dixi) and Verona Rose (Top Boy), with newcomers Imogen Wilde, Fran McAteer, Rhiann Connor, Luke de Belder and Lauren Cornelius.
Executive producers include Giles Alderson and Bizhan Tong, while the film is produced by MT Films and ProveMotion, in association with Phoenix Waters Productions and FiGi Productions.
Director Mitchell Tolliday said: “I was so excited when Simon agreed to play Richard O’Keefe. He gives a full-throttled performance that perfectly marries with the rest of the film. Murder Ballads is a fast paced, colourful, larger-than-life comedy that goes in some darkly farcical directions. The main characters are all misfits who make increasingly terrible decisions but I think are also endearing in their own way. I wanted to make audiences laugh, wince, and gasp in equal measure.”
He adds “Nightmares Film Festival is the perfect home for the world premiere of our anarchic comedy horror, they advocate for #BetterHorror and certainly delivery on that promise. I’m excited to see and hear how the audience responds to the film”.
Speaking before the strikes, actor Callow commented: “The script was hilarious. The world of rock ‘n’ roll is something I know nothing about so I accepted it all as literal truth. For all I know rockers may all be serious-minded, god-fearing teetotalers, but I hope not. What drew me to the character of Richard is parts of his brain seem not entirely functional which made him very engaging to play.”
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