Chief Zabu, A "Trump" Political Satire Film Thirty Years in the Making
Today, the cult film has taken on a life of its own, with current social media technology enabling its rise to stardom.
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
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