INDIEWIRE: Henry Hobson Makes the Zombie Personal in “Maggie”
13th April, 2015
There’s a deadly zombie epidemic threatening humanity, but Wade (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a small-town farmer and family man, refuses to accept defeat even when his daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin) becomes infected. As Maggie’s condition worsens and the authorities seek to eradicate those with the virus, Wade is pushed to the limits in an effort to protect her. [Synopsis Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival]
What’s your film about in 140 characters or less?
In the aftermath of a deadly epidemic that has decimated humanity, we follow a small town fathers’ refusal to accept defeat, even after his daughter becomes infected.
Now what’s it REALLY about?
I’m loathed to say humanity, but with a slowly evolving virus (rather than the insta-change zombie) that will make your loved one deadly, it is questioning at what point do you draw the line between them being human and being/becoming a monster. Putting yourself in their place, in a fragmented society after a cataclysmic event, it makes it personal, bringing the zombie virus to a small anytown America and a small family.
Tell us briefly about yourself.
Born near Stonehenge in England, I was raised in both the North and South of England, then transplanted to Los Angeles in 2007. I split my mind between filmmaking and graphic design. (I have designed the Oscars for the past few years, an odd, completely curveball fact.) I moved to Los Angeles to direct more long form projects. Directing commercials allowed me to have a creative space to have “Maggie” emerge over the last 4 years.
Biggest challenge in completing this film?
We had a few… One big one was locations – the film is set in one location, but we struggled in New Orleans to find a farmhouse anywhere in the filming zone. In the end, we shot in four houses to make that one location. And we needed the locations to be right as the art department had under $10k (another huge challenge, skillfully navigated by Gabor Norman). Another challenge was losing the tremendous cinematographer Lukas Ettlin the week before we wrapped, but Brett Pawluk and Michael Bonvillain stepped up to the plate. Also, we had nowhere near enough money for VFX. So, I ended up doing some myself, and Cinesite in London saved the day with their help on nearly every one of the 250 shots.
What do you want the Tribeca audience to take away from your film?
Ideally, a question. I would love if the audience asked themselves what they would do. As a counter balance to the hyperbolic news stories of global contagion and sweeping news cycles of threats that frequently terrify, the aim with “Maggie” is to ask what would you do; to try and make it more personal.
Did you crowdfund? If so, via what platform. If not, why?
“Maggie” didn’t crowdfund, Though it did have some enormously generous favors, without which the film would never have happened. First and foremost is The Mill LA, whose colorist Adam Scott graded the film as a supremely generous favor, Cinesite in London bent over backwards to help with the Visual Effects and were supported by free work from A52, Hill LakeVFX, Elefant and a few other amazing individuals.
