CHOMP CAST
Susan O’Gara (Millie)
Susan O’Gara has performed in musicals, dramas and comedies in professional and community theatre in Ireland and Florida. Susan had the lead in the film Deserted, and the short “Chomp” and support roles in the shorts “The Wallet” and “How Not to Urn a Living.” She received her B.A. in Drama and M.S. in Speech Pathology from Florida State University. Favorite lead roles in theatre include Hello Dolly, Foxfire, The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wilde, Lettice and Lovage, The Rainmaker, and Morning’s at Seven. As well as acting, singing and dancing, Susan has directed plays for her church and worked as an assistant and script supervisor for Lazarus Filmworks. She received numerous acting awards in the Irish Drama Festival Circuit and Tampa Bay Community Theatre Awards. Susan is interested in film, radio and theatre which enrich the viewer bringing, not only joy and laughter, adventure and drama, but wisdom, compassion, forgiveness, and enlightenment to the soul. Favorite zombie movie: Return of the Living Dead.
The Director Says: Susan is an unparallelled talent. She took on this role never having even seen a zombie movie, and that’s a huge part of why she did so well. She saw Millie as a person, not a horror movie caricature of a crazy little old lady, and I am so very thankful for that. Susan was also our biggest cheerleader on the set, helping to keep everyone positive and upbeat. But that’s just who she is. When she scraped her arm on a rusty nail mid-shoot, her biggest worry was not tetanus, but whether or not people would notice the Band-aid on her arm in some shots. Now that’s a trooper!
Kyle Porter (Kyle Frost)
Kyle Porter is making his glorious return to film in the soon-to-be-classic, “Chomp”. He is a natural jack of all acting trades, from portraying characters on stage such as Tom in “Night of the Living Dead”, Benjamin Braddock in “The Graduate”, and Woody/The Hustler in “Six Degrees of Separation”, to his work on films like “Chomp” and various shorts and commercials. He will be featured as Topher in the upcoming web series, “Everyday Spooky”, to which he is proud to have contributed as both an actor and a writer. He is grateful for the opportunity to pour his blood, sweat, and brains into this character and excited to see it come to life. Favorite zombie movie: 28 Days Later.
The Director Says: Kyle brought a wonderful combination of vulnerability and wise-assed humor to the role of Kyle (named before he was cast!) He was game for anything, including wallering all over a grungy garage floor with a heavy chain around his neck for hours at a time. (He called the scar on his neck a “chain hickey.”) Kyle’s creativity and amazing instincts as an actor wowed me time and again.
Joel D. Wynkoop (Dr. Jon Croft)
Joel D. Wynkoop has been acting…well since he was a little kid, but graduated into Super 8 movies in the 70’s. In the 80’s he teamed up with Tim Ritter to do Twisted Illusions–the movie and the company–followed by Truth or Dare, Lost Faith, Dirty Cop No Donut and over a hundred other films including Herschel Gordon Lewis’s The Uh-Oh Show. He’s also well-known for his TV shows, “Joel D. Wynkoop’s The Other Side” and “The Joel Wynkoop Show” as well as countless TV commercials, infomercials, and stage plays. Joel Wynkoop has definitely paid his dues. He continues to act today wherever the movie takes him. Favorite zombie movie: George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.
The Director Says: With all the experience Joel has, he went out of his way to make a first-time director feel at ease. Professional, funny and kind, he did everything possible to make “Chomp” a success, including bringing his own bazooka to the set!
Ellah Durliat (Little Zombie Girl)
Ellah Durliat decided at two years old that she wanted to act and model. She began taking classes with Roni Puckett at Dream Makers Studio to study her craft. After an assortment of local print and national commercials, Ellah turned four and “Chomp” became her very first film role. Since then, she’s worked on the web series “Everyday Spooky” and the upcoming thriller “The Pact,” where she was able to perform with her father Andrew Durliat. In Ellah’s spare time she loves to sing and dance while listening to music. When she gets older, she says she’d like to work as a make-up artist. Favorite zombie movie: ParaNorman.
The Director Says: Finding Ellah was one of the first lucky breaks I had making “Chomp.” I met her father Andrew at my first ever Florida Film Network meeting, two days after I had decided to make the movie. He said, “You don’t need a four-year-old little girl zombie, do you?” The adorable blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl on the business card he handed me could have been plucked straight from my brain. She had the absolutely perfect look for the part.
CHOMP CREW
Lynne Hansen (Writer/Director/Producer)
Lynne Hansen is a storyteller who, after directing her first short film, realized she’d spent her life preparing for being a filmmaker. She developed an eye for story as a novelist, and then as a senior editor at a small press. She honed her skills as a visual storyteller as a book cover designer, learning how to convey the most information in the smallest of spaces. Over ten years of marketing and event promotion, including a stint at a historic indie theater, have made her comfortable working with many people and getting her message across. And then, of course, there are the zombies. A zombie fan for as long as she can remember, she loves being able to give a new spin on a beloved classic monster. Favorite zombie movie: Shaun of the Dead
The Director Says: I thought I just did!
Daryn Murphy (Director of Photography)
Daryn Murphy is an independent film maker living in Largo, Florida. He was born in Long Island, New York before moving with his family to Florida in 1988. Science fiction and fantasy stories are a passion that drives him through all of his creative endeavors whether it be writing novels or screenplays, shooting and editing film, directing and working with actors to make projects come alive. He believes that in the realm of fantasy, there exists a singular ability to touch on real life themes, often more easily than in actual life. The fantastic can be a key to understanding the underlying truth of our very real hopes and dreams as people and community. Favorite zombie movie: Shaun of the Dead.
The Director Says: I could not have made this film without Daryn. He patiently guided me through so many bumps in the road. He has such an impressive eye for getting the shot that he made every frame so much better than I ever imagined it could be. After we wrapped principal photography, Daryn continued to support the production, digitally completing the “zombification” of Ellah that changed the entire tone of the end of the film. He is an astounding talent that I’m so fortunate to have gotten to work with on my first film.
Sean Scarfo (Sound Design)
Sean Scarfo claims he is a simple sound editor/sound mixer who is just following in the footsteps of some of the greats, like Ben Burt or Jack Levy. He subscribes to their philosophies and believes “We define ourselves by our service and our work quality, while being egoless, curious, and dedicated.” Favorite zombie movie: Shaun of the Dead.
The Director Says: Sean was eternally patient and went out of his way to help me during the entire filmmaking process. Having him on set gave me a great level of confidence because I knew the sound would rock.
Norbert Cartagena (1st Assistant Director)
Norbert Cartagena is a writer of stories, games, and tech things; a sci-fi nerd, thinker, and that other thing he is. Fidgety. He graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in Music Composition, but has spent the years since working in the tech industry as a journalist, blogger, and technical writer. He has done work as screenwriter, script doctor, location sound engineer, sound designer, and assistant director. Favorite zombie movie: ParaNorman.
The Director Says: Norbert is organized, detail-oriented, and assertive, and I really appreciated his calm, logical approach to our filmmaking day. He knew just the right way to express himself to help keep things moving all the time. A godsend!
Brianna Valdes (Lead Makeup Artist)
Brianna Valdes has been doing makeup for independent films for two years. She does freelance makeup work for weddings and other special events under Lovely Me Makeup. Brianna is currently building her special and practical effects portfolio to one day use her talents in Hollywood, as well as to teach others tricks of the trade. She is currently working on the web series called “Everyday Spooky” with Wicked Window Productions as Head Makeup/Special Effects Artist. For bookings, please email her at loucouture8@hotmail.com. Favorite zombie movie: Zombieland.
The Director Says: Brianna has a talent for taking very little and making great things out of it. She knew her stuff and kept on top of everything. She had a great rapport with the actors and put them at ease. A great asset to our team!
Morgan Smedley (Makeup Assistant)
Morgan Smedley, now 16, was 15 when she joined the team, and “Chomp” was the first time she’d ever worked on a film. She is a self-taught special effect makeup artist who will be going to Joe Blasco Makeup School in 2016. Favorite zombie movie: Dawn of the Dead.
The Director Says: Morgan has mad skills, and not just for a fifteen-year-old. She even tackled challenges like last-minute set dressing like a pro. (She aged a brand new work light years in a matter of minutes while the set was being prepped all around her.) When our lead makeup artist wasn’t available, she stepped in and handled makeup like she’d been doing it for years. This girl is one to watch!
Sally Bosco (Associate Producer)
Sally Bosco is inexplicably drawn toward the Uncanny, the shades of gray between the light and dark, the area where your mind hovers as you’re falling off to sleep. She loves writing young adult fiction because she strongly relates to teenage angst, the search for self-identity and the feelings of being an outsider. Her novels include Death Divided (written with Lynne Hansen), The Werecat Chronicles, Shadow Cat (written as Zoe LaPage) and Cevin’s Deadly Sin. She has an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and has been Lynne Hansen’s critique partner for over twenty years. Favorite zombie movie: Dawn of the Dead (the original!)
The Director Says: Sally is the reason “Chomp” got made. We filmed almost exclusively in her garage, where she let me hot-glue “crazy zombie lady” maps to the walls. Anything that needed doing, Sally stepped up–from making edible brains and blood for the actors to scouring the city for bizarre props. At one point during the shoot Sally said to me, “You know, I’m starting to feel like Ethel Mertz to your Lucy Ricardo.” I am so very lucky. Everyone needs their own Ethel Mertz to support their insanity.
Jeff Strand (Associate Producer)
Jeff Strand is the four-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of such demented novels as Pressure, Dweller, Wolf Hunt, A Bad Day For Voodoo, and a bunch of others. His story “Gave Up The Ghost” was made into a short horror/comedy (mostly comedy) film, directed by Gregory Lamberson, as part of the anthology film Creepers. His novel Pressure is in development as a feature film. His “Associate Producer” credit in CHOMP basically meant that he bought food for the crew, hauled stuff to and from the van, ran the clapboard, took inaccurate notes on the sound recording, and sweated a lot in the really, really hot garage where filming took place. He is also married to the director, which explains a lot. Favorite zombie movie: Shaun of the Dead.
The Director Says: There are not enough words in the English language to tell you all the wonderful things Jeff did for me during the making of this movie. He became Craft Services, procuring all the yummy things we ate on set. He became Prop Master, running to Walmart at 2:00 am to get last-minute supplies needed for an 8:00 am call time. He logged miles just hauling stuff in and out of Sally’s garage. Most importantly, during crunch times, he made sure the cats didn’t starve and house didn’t collapse. He rocks.
Without WARNING media 