When pizza gives you a zombie virus: Ron Morehouse says Deep Dish Apocalypse is a 'rom-com with a splash of apocalyptic mayhem'
If you're in the mood for a comedy with a zombie zing, Ron Morehouse's 'Deep Dish Apocolypse' is perfect for you. Starring Emily Bell as Traci and Ron as Doug, the plot begins with Traci arriving on a subway platform with her bloody tennis racket. She runs into Doug (after almost smashing his head first), and Doug, the creep that he is, tries to woo her over. An unusual film, right?
Actor and producer Ron says that it was actually a play. "We were approached by LA playwright Trey Nichols who had a play that he wanted to turn into a short called 'Deep Apocalypse!'"
"After reading it once I sent the script to Emily and she fell in love with the premise as well," he says.
'Deep Dish' has a unique take on the zombie genre. "I actually would call it more of a rom-com with a splash of apocalyptic mayhem. We have all come to identify the zombie genre by way of 'The Walking Dead' and '28 Days Later'. 'Deep Dish' turns that identity on its head!"
Ron's character in the film is clearly creepy. Ironically, the actor says that he used some of his own personal experiences for the role. "I always start with basic actor stuff like what am I doing in the scene and how does it relate to me personally. 'Deep Dish' is an odd romance story since my character takes it upon himself to hit on a girl during the worst time in human history," he adds smiling, "A lot of preparation came from working with Emily and our extraordinary director David Codeglia, in figuring out the comedic bits and timing. After that, I used endless amounts of relationships from my past for inspiration."
Ron, who says he was into acting since he was a kid says that it helped him through his formative years. "I've been interested in why people react in certain ways and what the circumstances are that cause a person to behave in that way. It has helped me understand myself. Movies, theatre, and television have always been a gateway for me into the many different human experiences that are out there," he says before recalling, "I remember sitting in the movie theatre, watching 'E.T.', and being so incredibly moved that I had to be a part of whatever was happening on the screen."
He is also currently working with Emily as a director on another short film that she's written. "It's a fantastic horror short in the vein of 'Rosemary's Baby' with elements of comedy." The duo has worked together before for Bell Productions for 'Future Boyfriend' and 'Hill Yes'. 'Future Boyfriend' was immensely successful, after its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. 'Hill Yes' is currently available on Amazon Prime.
The two met four years ago at the 1st Annual Science Fiction play festival in Los Angeles. "We were cast in the play version of 'Future Boyfriend' and became fast friends," he says nostalgically. Their similar visions connected them further. "There was something about our chemistry that not only translated on stage but also behind the scenes. We shared the common goal of creating our own content and found that we worked well together as producers and could accomplish a lot as a team," he says.
'Future Boyfriend' is a comedy film that follows the romance between Stuart and Kaylie, who are in love but are stuck in a wrong time continuum. Ron produced the film and says that it was his debut and best experience so far.
"It was probably the best first experience with producing something you can have. It took us two years to make that little short, and there were definitely challenging times with it, but seeing the audience's reaction to the movie and being embraced by the festival community was an incredibly satisfying feeling."
'Hill Yes' on the other hand, is about the presidential election campaigns. "With the election around the corner, we thought it would be super fun to do something with it. The two characters we play in 'Hill Yes' reflected where were in our own lives. Two people looking for a break," he says.
Best friends Clint and Hillary are two West Wing nuts who have made it their life's mission to volunteer their way into political history. No opportunity is small, no work menial - the two will stop at nothing till they get into the White House office.
While it sounds quite political, it's actually a web series about platonic relationships, he reveals. "We set out to make a series about friendship, instead of making a political comment. But there is always some backlash whenever you do anything remotely political and we were not exempt from that. It was fun to see how both sides reacted," he says.
The show received mix reviews. While some really focussed on it being hilarious, some thought it made fun of a very important issue. 'Hill Yes' was also directed by David Codeglia.
To anyone still iffy about 'Deep Dish Apocalypse', Ron assures that it is for "for everyone to sit back and have a great ride". The film premieres in the Midnight Series on June 15 at 11:45 pm.