Bill Connington, the star of the film ZOMBIE, attended a special midnight screening of the Joyce Carol Oates shocker at the Williamsburg International Film Festival (WILLiFEST) in hip Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Joyce Carol Oates (www.usfca.edu/jco) is considered one of America's greatest living authors, and penned the novella on which the short film is based. ZOMBIE tells the story of a "normal-seeming" serial killer, who abducts innocent victims, and attempts to turn them into his "zombie" slaves.
Bill Connington also attended the opening of the festival where he was interviewed by Alyssa DiLello on camera, and attended the closing of the festival, hosted by television personality Donna Drake. While only two years old, WILLiFEST has been called one of the "Top coolest film festivals in the world" by Movie Maker Magazine.
ZOMBIE (www.zombiethefilm.com) has been an official selection at 10 film festivals so far. The film won "Best Short Film (Horror)" at the Washington DC Independent Film Festival. It is nominated for 5 awards: Best Actor, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best Dramatic Short Film at the upcoming Terror Film Festival (www.terrorfilmfestival.net) in Philadelphia. It has been screened at the Cleveland International Film Festival, the Boston International Film Festival, the Atlanta Horror Film Festival, the NYC Downtown Shorts Festival, and will be screened on Saturday, October 1st at the Shriekfest International Horror Film Festival in Los Angeles. (www.shriekfest.com)
The critics have lauded Bill Connington for his startlingly realistic acting in ZOMBIE. He has won numerous awards for his portrayal. The critic Patrick Lee of Theatermania has written, "Bill Connington is a riveting performer." Connington is currently penning the feature-length screenplay of ZOMBIE, scheduled to begin principal photography in 2012. (www.zombietheplay.com)
Thomas Caruso (www.thomascaruso.com) directed Connington in ZOMBIE, and THE THORNHILLS OF PARK AVENUE, which is currently making the round of film festivals across the country. THE THORNHILLS co-stars Juliette Bennett (www.juliettebennett.com) and Anthony Haden-Guest. Bennett is currently in LA, attending a screening of her hit film THE COUPLE. Michael Cooper is the producer of ZOMBIE. Deirdre Broderick is the composer of ZOMBIE and THE THORNHILLS OF PARK AVENUE. (www.deirdrebroderick.com) Broderick is currently polishing her musical HERO, for a planned workshop production.
