El Muerto (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Editing of this article by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled. If you are prevented from editing this article, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or create an account.

This article or section contains information about one or more scheduled or expected films. The content may change as the film's release approaches and more information becomes available.

This article refers to the film. For the comic, see El Muerto.

El Muerto
El Muerto Movie Poster
Directed by	Brian Cox
Produced by	Javier Hernandez Marc Ambrose Bruno Leone Dan Leone Richard Leone Susan R. Rodgers Larry Rattner
Written by	Brian Cox Javier Hernandez (creator)
Starring	Wilmer Valderrama Angie Cepeda Joel David Moore Tony Plana Michael Parks Billy Drago Maria Conchita Alonso
Music by	Martin Espino Tony Humecke
Cinematography	Steve Yedlin
Editing by	Chris Wright
Distributed by	N/A
Release date(s)	post-production
Running time	N/A
Language	English
Budget	N/A
Official website
IMDb profile

El Muerto is a live-action indie film based on the independent comic, El Muerto (aka El Muerto - The Aztec Zombie by Javier Hernandez).

1 Official Synopsis
2 Cast:
3 Film Production
4 Trivia
5 See also
6 External links
- 6.1 Articles/Interviews
7 Sources

[edit] Official Synopsis

Taken from elmuertomovie.com:

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

"21-year-old Diego de la Muerte is a hip, young Latino-American living in East Lost Angeles. In anticipation of an upcoming Day of the Dead celebration, Diego dresses up as a zombie mariachi- black suit with an Aztec skull on his back, kohl-lined eyes, and facial markings that give him a ghoulish look. It's all in fun. But an Aztec death symbol that Deigo has unwittingly tattooed on his arm has marked him for a dark destiny beyond his wildest imaginings. On his way to the party, the black forces of the ancient Aztec netherworld cause his car to crash and Diego's life is taken from him.

Diego awakes to an afterlife in th dark Aztec land of the dead, Mictlan. Here, Diego is sacrificed to the god of death, Mictlantecuhtli, in a[n] Aztec ritual in which his heart is ripped from his chest and sealed in a clay pot, giving Mictlantecuhtli possession of his soul.

Diego returns to the land of the living. But now he is trapped in the body of the living dead. His ghoulish appearence, originally donned for celebration and fun, has become permanent, and his eyes are black, empty shells. Unable to contact his friends and family who long ago mourned and buried him, he is fated to walk amongst the shadows of his former life, trying to protect the ones he loves without revealing himself to them. Armed with the power to take life or restore it, he must struggle against the god of death who created him, in order to ensure that the rest of us do not meet the very same fate.''"

Spoilers end here.

Movie Tagline(s):
"He's Dead. He Lives."

[edit] Cast:

Actor	Role
Wilmer Valderrama	Diego de la Muerte/El Muerto
Angie Cepeda	Maria
Joel David Moore	Zak
Maria Conchita Alonso	Sister Rosa
Billy Drago	Old Indian
Tony Plana	Asparicio
Michael Parks	Sheriff Stone
Javier Hernandez	"Man in Costume" (cameo)

[edit] Film Production

Alternate poster with the tagline: He's Dead, He Lives.

[edit] 9/20/06

Hernandez announced on his website, www.elmuerto.com, that the final cut would be privately screened stating that the film was "officially done". "The last time I saw the film was November '05, once on Dia de Los Muertos and again two weeks later with Wilmer. That was a real rough cut. No digital effects, no official music/score, rough sound/color, etc."

[edit] 10/18/06, 10/24/06, 11/5/06

The first private film-screenings were held in Los Angeles, New York, and the American film market respectively.

[edit] Official Premiere 3/1/06

The film made its official premiere to the public on March 1, 2006 at the Latino Film Festival in San Diego, California. Stars Angie Cepeda and Tony Plana were present at the event as well as creator Javier Hernandez.

[edit] Trivia

Director Brian Cox had heard Javier Hernandez discussing his comic over NPR radio and intrigued by the story, approached him to discuss a possibility of a film.
The film takes place in Los Angeles, unlike the comic book which takes place in Whittier, CA. (Which is right on the outskirts of Los Angeles.)
Keeping true to its Aztec roots, the film features pre-hispanic music by Martin Espino.
The last day of shooting the film was on Valentine's Day.
Javier Hernandez makes a brief cameo appearance in the film in which he actually has a brief conversation with El Muerto, credited as "Man in Costume".