On Gaithersburg’s streets, zombies and demons

Independent filmmakers use city as location for movies

Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Click here to enlarge this photo Charlie Shoemaker⁄The Gazette Gary Ugarek of Gaithersburg is scheduled to shoot scenes next week for his zombie film, tentatively titled, ‘‘Deadlands,” on West Watkins Mill Road.

The City of Gaithersburg.

Two first­time independent film writer­producers are filming in the city this summer. Their productions couldn’t be more different.

Gaithersburg Station has seen more than its usual bustle of trains and passengers as a crew descended on the station to film a drama, ‘‘The Ties that Bind,” which will premiere at Takoma Theater Sept. ¹7.

Filming occurred on the train platform and outside of the station’s Java Junction café.

Writer­producer­actor Anthony Anderson picked Olde Towne for its history and its people.

‘‘I’m surprised more projects aren’t filmed in the area,” he said. ‘‘The people of Gaithersburg have been great.”

The train depot ‘‘is the No. ¹ most recognizable spot in Gaithersburg, and I really wanted to showcase it,” Anderson said. ‘‘Regardless of background, it’s a meeting place for everyone.”

Filming also took place in Germantown and North Bethesda and wrapped up last month.

Anderson, who lived in Gaithersburg for eight years before moving to Germantown, said his movie is a drama about all types of relationships.

‘‘It primarily deals with our own personal demons and how they can spill over and affect our relationships with others,” he said.

Anderson said he began the project because he couldn’t stand to see one more film featuring black drug dealers and criminals.

‘‘The African American characters of other movies weren’t being portrayed accurately,” Anderson said. ‘‘We’ve come a long way, but we’ve still got a long way to go.”

He described the cast as ‘‘female­heavy,” and said he would like to see less male domination in the industry.

Directed by Malik Pollard, the film features a cast from the Washington area, led by DeLon Howell and Lori Lewis.

On nearby West Watkins Mill Road, producer­writer­director Gary Ugarek of Gaithersburg is scheduled to shoot scenes next week for his zombie film, tentatively titled ‘‘Deadlands.”

The road will be closed for two nights to film several scenes, including a traffic jam in which humans are trying to flee from zombie attacks.

Ugarek said he chose the location based on availability and affordability.

Other scenes will be shot in Pasadena and elsewhere in Maryland.

The film will diverge from the zombie­movie formula established by George A. Romero, Ugarek said, explaining that in most zombie films the origin of the undead is unknown and the zombies are depicted as ‘‘slow and staggering.”

‘‘I’m going for the running­zombie approach,” he said. ‘‘Who said they can’t be physically active?”

‘‘When I was 6 years old I saw the original ‘Dawn of the Dead,’ and I’ve been hooked ever since,” Ugarek added.

Ugarek was a zombie extra in Romero’s 2005 film, ‘‘Land of the Dead.”

He said that what fascinates him is not the gore, but the questions the movies pose, the ‘‘what­if” scenarios.

‘‘If this were to really happen, how would people deal with it?” Ugarek said.

The director is using this theoretical approach for his film. He called it a ‘‘Pulp Fiction”­style plot: three separate stories that run simultaneously and intertwine in the end.

The story had to go through several revisions due to budget and location limitations.

‘‘Location has been the biggest problem,” Ugarek said. ‘‘So much red tape, but the City of Gaithersburg people have been extremely helpful. I will definitely shoot here again.”

The film’s title is tentative because a video game and upcoming book have the same name. Ugarek said the film will probably be released with a new name in spring 2006.