Psycho Ape! – Crowdsourcing is Ready! – A Fitz of Horror Press Release/Q&A

Log line– A murderous gorilla escapes from the zoo to go on a killing spree.

Hot on the heels of a successful crowdsourcing campaign for Tromasterpiece Theatre Episode 2 – Poultrygeist, Gothic Bob was able to catch up with Director/Writer/Producer Addison Binek as he traveled to New York for a ‘Tribute to Troma’ event, in which his riff of ‘The Battle of Love’s Return’ screened along with ‘Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.’ and ‘Toxic Tutu’.

Gothic Bob: First of all, congrats on your successful funding of Tromasterpiece Theatre Episode 2! I understand it soared past your original goal? What was your initial reaction to that kind of response from your supporters?

Addison Binek: Well I only asked for $500 to cover theater rental fees but yeah, we ended up with $7,000. It was an incredible roller coaster ride for sure. Way beyond my expectations.

GB: You flew to New York to support other filmmakers (Adrian Esposito & Bill Weeden) all while being in production with Psycho Ape! and planning Episode 2. I understand you have another job. Is it a lot to juggle?

AB: It can be, yeah. The day job pays for rent though. Gotta do it. But we have a schedule, like every Thursday is “Psycho Ape Thursday” so it’s easier to manage.

Top Photo (left to right): Addison Binek, Adrian Esposito & Bill Weeden @ Tribute to Troma. Lower Left Photo: Fitz of Horror’s Gothic Bob with Binek Lower Right Photo: Special Needs Revolt’s Weeden, Esposito and featured actor Sam Dyer.

GB: What inspired Psycho Ape!? How did it come about?

AB: It actually came from a dream I had two years ago. I dreamt I was filming my friend running around dressed in his gorilla costume from Halloween and he was armed with a butcher knife. I woke up the next morning and thought it would make for a funny movie. Psycho Ape was born!

GB: Haha, wild! Can you tell us a little bit about what happens in the film and what we can expect?

AB: Psycho Ape! is comedy/horror movie done in the style of a low budget Troma/Roger Corman/Grindhouse production. Psycho Ape! will be an Airplane!/Mel Brooks-esque spoof of John Carpenter’s Halloween, King Kong, and John Landis’ Schlock.

A gorilla escapes from the Detroit zoo and begins a serial killing spree. He is hunted down by the zookeeper, Dr. ZOOmis, played by actor Bill Weeden (Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part IV) after massacring a teen girl slumber party. Kansas Bowling (B.C. Butcher, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) will play Nancy Banana, a monkey-loving ape-obsessed teenage girl, and sole survivor of the aforementioned slumber party banana massacre. She ends up writing a tell-all memoir about surviving “The Banana Murders.” The ape is caught and incarcerated, where he is tortured and psychologically abused “A Clockwork Orange”-style, but eventually breaks out of jail during a poo-flinging prison riot. The ape reunites with Nancy Banana and whisks her off to New York City, where the climax of the film ends in a big chase scene through Times Square and atop the Empire State Building a la King Kong.

GB: A low budget film with a big adventure and charismatic and recognizable talent, I love it! Do you have a goal, target release date?

AB: March 2020 is HorrorHound Cincinnati so it would be nice to show the movie there, or Cinema Wasteland in Ohio in April 2020 would be a good convention to have a premiere as well.

GB: Your crowdsourcing effort is underway, what rewards can people expect and which do you think will be the most popular?

AB: $10 DVD’s, $30 shirts, $40 for both a DVD and shirt, and $100 Executive Producer credit on the movie and IMDb ($100 also gets you the DVD and shirt)…$1 gets a Thank You in the credits too.

GB: Now a few fun, rapid fire questions. Ready?

AB: Sure.

GB: What fears/phobias do you have?

AB: I’m not sure about that one! Honestly love flying, (did it four times last week). Spiders, snakes, etc. don’t do much for me. Heights I suppose are kinda sketchy, but I enjoy roller coaster rides. But get me on top of a tall shaky ladder…forget it.

GB: Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers or someone else?

AB: Jason is #1

GB: Favorite movie score?

AB: Dawn of the Dead by Goblin. Favorite movie soundtrack is The Return of the Living Dead

Well, there you have it! Make sure you stop on by the Kickstarter, which has already been reached because of the sweet ass rewards offered…or because Addison is a great guy, but there’s still plenty of Executive Producer credits, shirts and DVDs to be had…so go bananas!

Here’s the link: http://kck.st/2F3vX5T

Addison Binek directing on the set of Psycho Ape!