Comedy Icons Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd Reunite for ‘Zombie Town’
An adaptation of an RL Stine book, the mystery teen romance movie stars Marlon Kazadi and Madi Monroe as characters besieged by the undead.
(L to R) Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase in 1985's 'Spies Like Us.' Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. YouTube channel.
It has been 31 years since Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase truly shared the big screen together and while that was for the critically lambasted ‘Nothing But Trouble’ (written and directed by Aykroyd), they’ll be hoping for nothing but plaudits for their movie reunion.
The former ‘Saturday Night Live’ castmates and comedy legends are joining the ensemble cast of new teen mystery romance ‘Zombie Town’, according to The Hollywood Reporter. And while Aykroyd is fully aboard, Entertainment Weekly has heard that Chase’s deal is still in the process of closing – but given that their inclusion has now hit the trades, you’ve got to figure that he’ll show up.
‘Zombie Town’ is adapted from ‘Goosebumps’ creator R.L. Stine’s 2012 eponymous book and follows Mike (Marlon Kazadi), a projectionist at his local movie theater in Carverville. He’s terrified of zombie movies, but his best friend and crush, Amy (Madi Monroe), just loves them.
So when the new zombie flick from Amy’s favorite director is set to premiere on Halloween at his cinema, Mike decides to show her the film early. The two find out the reel is cursed, transforming everyone in town, except for them, into the undead.
In addition to Chase and Aykroyd, the movie’s cast also includes Henry Czerny (who is jumping back into the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise but also knows a thing or two about horror romps after ‘Ready or Not’), and two other Canadian comedy pioneers, Scott Thompson and Bruce McCulloch from ‘The Kids in the Hall’.
Chevy Chase during 1988 American Comedy Awards in Los Angeles, California, United States. Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc.
Canadian animator Peter Lepeniotis is directing the movie, with the cameras now rolling in Ontario.
“We are delighted to bring the pages of R.L. Stine’s ‘Zombie Town’ to the screen and equally thrilled to be working with such an exceptional cast and crew on this production. A three-time Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award winner with book sales of over $500 million, R.L. Stine has a phenomenal track record of crafting stories that engage and entertain audiences,” says John Gillespie, Trimuse Entertainment founder and executive producer, in a statement.
It's not the first time that Aykroyd and Chase have considered working together since their 1991 outing. Aykroyd tried to set something up in 2012, writing on Facebook that they were “about to start work on a script concept for a comedy movie.”
“The joy of working with him again is one that I am extremely excited about,” Aykroyd added. “Chevy is one of my favorite people, and one of the great anarchistic and physically committed comedians in the business.” All of that might be true, but he’s also developed a reputation for being demanding and rude on sets, as revealed by the cast of ‘Community’.
The plan is for ‘Zombie Town’ to arrive in US theaters before heading to streaming service Hulu.
Dan Aykroyd in 1991's 'Nothing But Trouble.'
