Oliver Award winner Simon Callow (“Four Weddings And A Funeral”) will star in the upcoming comedy-horror “Murder Ballads: How to Make it in Rock ’n’ Roll.” The film will premiere later this month at the Nightmares Film Festival in Columbus, Ohio.
“Murder Ballads” tells the story of the rapid rise and violent fall of the rock band Stack of Corpses. A group who is now attempting to jumpstart their career by stealing another singer’s song. But end up with bloody and unexpected consequences for all involved.
Callow will play Richard O’Keefe, a legendary but stereotypically drug-addled rock icon. “Murder Ballads” ensemble cast also includes Niccy Lin (“You”), Kerry Boyne (“Dixi”), and Verona Rose (“Top Boy”). Alongside newcomers Imogen Wilde, Fran McAteer, Rhiann Connor, Luke de Belder, and Lauren Cornelius.
The new film is directed by Mitchell Tolliday from a script by him and Neil Rickatson. The movie will be a feature-length version of Tolliday’s short film, “Everything is Going to Be Fine.”
“I was so excited when Simon agreed to play Richard O’Keefe,” Tolliday said. “He gives a full-throttled performance that perfectly marries with the rest of the film. Murder Ballads is a fast paced, colourful, larger-than-life comedy that goes in some darkly farcical directions. The main characters are all misfits who make increasingly terrible decisions but I think are also endearing in their own way. I wanted to make audiences laugh, wince, and gasp in equal measure.”
“Nightmares Film Festival is the perfect home for the world premiere of our anarchic comedy horror, they advocate for #BetterHorror and certainly delivery on that promise. I’m excited to see and hear how the audience responds to the film,” he added.
And Callow seems just as enthusiastic about the project. “The script was hilarious. The world of rock ‘n’ roll is something I know nothing about so I accepted it all as literal truth,” he said before SAG-AFTRA’s strike began. “For all I know rockers may all be serious-minded, god-fearing teetotalers, but I hope not. What drew me to the character of Richard is parts of his brain seem not entirely functional which made him very engaging to play.”
There is currently no set release date for “Murder Ballads: How to Make it in Rock ’n’ Roll.” But we’ll keep you posted on updates about the project as they become available.
