LOS ANGELES, March 14, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In
1986, the film "Chief Zabu" was shot. This "lost indie treasure"
features a New York real estate
developer who dreams of being loved, respected and having political
power. The "Trumpian character" is played by legendary actor
Allen Garfield (The Conversation,
Nashville and The Cotton Club,
just to name a few). Yet, due to a series of snafus that rival
Chief Zabu's madcap plot (culminating with its distributor going
into bankruptcy a week before the film's Los Angeles premiere), the movie never got
released and its negative was lost.
Cut to thirty years later, inspired by the candidacy of
Donald Trump, writer-directors
Zack Norman and Neil Cohen found their negative, re-cut it,
presented their film to festival audiences and officially qualified
for nomination to the 2016 Academy Awards.
Chief Zabu's initial disappearance was much discussed in
academic and cult film circles & its production was widely
chronicled in Life Magazine, The New York
Times and Los Angeles Times.
Today, the movie is being called "outrageous", "relevant," and an
indie film that "will achieve cult status." Zabu has generated a
97% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes. "A comic time capsule with a
timeless punch, the Trumpian parallels are no coincidence," reports
Sheri Linden of the Hollywood
Reporter, "it sends up materialism, groupthink, celebrity worship,
and political posturing."
In order to build the Zabu legend, starting in September 2019, the filmmakers and star will be
traveling to 15 major cities for live screening presentations at
specialty venues, comedy clubs or in one of the theaters the movie
will be opening a week or ten days later. This Interactive Audience
Event will include targeted PR and extensive social media coverage
beginning three weeks prior to each specific theatrical opening,
thereby promoting Chief Zabu and its film debut in all major
markets. The aim is to indelibly brand Chief Zabu across the
country and eventually throughout the world.
The unique presentation begins with filmmakers Zack Norman and Neil
Cohen personally introducing the history of the making of
the movie and its fascinating journey to ultimately arrive in this
audience's city, 32 years later, in its final cut. Next, the film
itself is shown (Chief Zabu), which is immediately followed by a
freewheeling stand-up Q&A demonstrating Zabu's "uncanny
present-day political relevance" and "ridiculously funny" humor.
The audience reaction thus far has been extraordinary. The show's
been performed at film festivals as well as in comedy clubs in both
LA and New York, and the team is
now ready to launch their plan in collaboration with distribution
and theaters throughout the country. Tim
Cogshell of NPR FilmWeek concludes that Chief Zabu is
"Bizarrely current in myriad ways, ridiculously funny… Hal Ashby would've loved this movie, and I do
too."
Website: https://www.chiefzabu.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chiefzabu?lang=en
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094859/
SOURCE Chief Zabu