I remember running into a mate of mine, says Reilly.
He was like, What are you up to?
I heard youre working on something.
Orion Pictures
I was like, Aye, man,its a zombie musical set at Christmas.
He was like, That sounds fing terrible.
I grew up singing, and dancing, and wanting to do an original musical.
Orion Pictures
This was always a dream of mine.
I just didnt realize it was going to come in the form ofa zombie musical set at Christmas!
I got told yesterday that I have cancer, McHenry wrote on Twitter.
I would just like to let you all know Im staying positive and Im going to fight it.
McHenry began undergoing chemotherapy treatments and, for a spell, his prognosis seemed positive.
As soon as he said that I was like, Im in!
Ill see you in an hour!
Tragically, McHenrys cancer returned and the filmmaker died on May 2, 2015.
We loved Ryan, says Hart.
We responded to him, we thought creatively he was brilliant.
Thats the great tragedy in all of this.
We dont get to see what kind of filmmaker he goes on to become.
It looked like the prospects were fairly good for him and then it took a really drastic turn.
Everybody stayed away from [the film] for a long time.
It was Naysun who came to us all and said, Guys, we have to do this.
We have to do it for Ryan and we have to do it for ourselves.
The zombie background I had, says McPhail.
I absolutely adore horror.
Its my favorite genre.
People ask me, Oh, what kind of director do you want to be?
And it was like, I want to be John Carpenter.
I want to delve into that comedy, that action, that horror.
I fell in love withWest Side Story.
I watchedRent,Cabaret.
I went and sawWickedlive.
I sawLegally Blondelive, which is brilliant.
I was just watching as much as possible on that side of it.
McPhail admits to having some trepidation about stepping into McHenrys directorial shoes.
Theyd all been doing this together and all of a sudden here I come in.
And I thought, Im probably going to do Shakespeare.
Then I read the script and was like, Oh no, I need to dothis.
Another student, Steph, was portrayed by Sarah Swire, who also choreographed the movies dance sequences.
Because it was an indie budget film, that means there was no time, she says.
It was an interesting exercise in how you might be crafty to pull that off.
Hollywood Ending is my favorite, says actor Marli Siu.
I dont know how many times Ive seen it now, but I still get chills.
Anna…received its world premiere last year at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX.
It was thebestway to watch the film for the first time, says the actress.
Thats kind of howIwatched it the first time.
It gave everyone so much optimism.
Plus, they serve you cocktails at the seats!
Theres a namecheck for Ryan Gosling in there.
His DNA was all over this.
We all understood from the start, after Ryans passing, that hewasAnna and the Apocalypse.
Anna and the Apocalypseopens in select theaters Nov. 30 and expands nationwide, Dec. 7.
Watch the movies trailer, above.
