Disabled Actor Starring In Indy Film Needs A Little Help
Long Islander Eddie McGee has been working on a feature-length science fiction action horror movie in collaboration with Paul Hough for more than four years. McGee, who has been a leg amputee since childhood, competed in the Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged and was the first winner on the Big Brother reality show.
The idea of a disabled actor as the lead in a movie was shot
down by everyone Hough approached. But with tenacity and putting in everything they had, Hough and McGee made the movie. It was a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and drained their resources to the max. But it is something they are both extremely proud of.
“The Human Race” is about 80 people who find themselves
in a foot race with rules that include “If you are lapped twice, you will die,” and “Do not step on the grass, or you will die.”
“The Human Race is extremely violent, edgy and unpredictable – a thrill ride we hope you’ll watch with a smile on your face,” said McGee. “And we hope also it may help change the way people view disabled actors in movies.”
Two other leading characters are deaf and communicate with sign language.
According to Hough the film could be described as an R-rated thriller in the vein of “The Hunger Games,” “Run Lola Run,” and “Battle Royale.” It is about a seemingly random chosen group of people who must take part in a surreal and terrifying race for survival. The movie is now nearly ready to be screened and has been officially selected to World Premiere at The Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, Canada in late-July based on a submitted rough cut.
“The Human Race is a film that surprised even us. It’s an absolute triumph of ingenuity in low-budget filmmaking, a smartly-scripted powerhouse that consistently plays against expectations to deliver an endearingly individualistic take on the genre. It takes a number of astonishing risks and it constantly introduces elements that would be used as manipulative devices in weaker films and then obliterates them without mercy,” said Mitch Davis, Fantasia Film Festival co-director.
Right now, however, the film is short on some major sound post-production needs, including foley and sound design, as
well as missing several key visual effects. The film is very heavily reliant on sound which Hough and McGee unfortunately haven’t been able to do themselves. The pair say they have lined up some “amazing” professionals who have cleared their time should they be able to raise the funds by the end of the next few weeks.
To help with a donation of $10 or more visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/120856
2573/the-human-race-0.
Update: the project has reached its funding goal and will be completed!