Just when it appears America’s collective fascination for invasion, destruction, apocalypse and infection might be sated through zombie-driven TV episodes like “Walking Dead” and Spokane’s own “Z-Nation,” enter Ted. 

He’s a zombie who thinks he just has a “skin thing” he caught in the Caribbean. His maker, Anne Welles, an 11-year veteran director, writer and Emmy-nominated producer as well as managing member of Virginia-based A Zombie Named Ted LLC, has big plans for him, including a Hollywood film due to be released in 2016. 

The film is to be followed in 2017 by a nine-episode TV series she is exploring shooting in Spokane. 

Driving the Spokane connection, which will include a local music showcase to scout talent for the soundtrack, is former Hollywood actress, Liberty Lake resident, and associate producer Christi Collins. Although a shareholder in the limited-liability company producing the film, she says her “overarching mission” is to contribute to the city’s budding film industry. 

“There is a lot of outside money that travels with film companies, so to bring any film crew here brings financial boons wherever they set up,” Collins says. 

She notes the proximity to Seattle, a city she describes as “bursting at the seams with people who are sick of traffic congestion and high-priced rents,” could attract new talent to the industry here. Having grown up mostly in Bellevue, she says Spokane reminds her of Seattle’s grunge-era vitality and believes it’s well on its way to growing into an arts-and-film industry hub where people don’t have to leave home to fulfill their dreams. 

Welles and Collins go way back, meeting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. The two fledging actresses then pounded the Hollywood pavement together, netting a stream of commercials and minor TV and film roles. For instance, Collins appeared in the TV series, “The Handler” (2003) and “Strong Medicine” (2001).  Welles played “Sandy” in the TV series “Heartbreak Café” (1998), as well as appearing in “Invisible Man” (2000) and “Silk Stalkings” (1999), a detective thriller. 

At the height of a grueling 15 to 20 auditions a week, Collins’ health-conscious brother died suddenly of a heart attack, shattering the confidence of her career trajectory. Coupled with the fact that she found herself pregnant a year later, she knew she couldn’t raise a child in Los Angeles. 

“That town is really, really tough on your self-esteem and it seemed best to come home to the Northwest,” she says. But two more sons and 10 years later, somewhere between “folding laundry and making granola bars,” she knew something was missing. 

That’s when she checked in with Welles and came onboard as an associate producer for the zombie project.

Welles had stayed in Hollywood with relative success, but by 2004 felt limited by waiting for “others to create work for her,” says Collins.  It was then she took a leap and wrote and directed her first short film, “Curtiss-n-Ckandy,” a love-is-blind fable where a man lost in the desert  finds unlikely love in the town of Iniquity; population three. Also tired of the Hollywood grind and the lack of opportunities for women in film, Welles relocated to Washington, D.C., to raise her three boys and continue to explore her talents. 

There, she formed Lunatic Fringe Productions as an umbrella company for her short films, making nine during the last 10 years. The company’s motto, “Quirky films for quirky people. Always with a simple and important message,” characterizes a philosophy that comes through in her shorts like “Paradise Boys,” a 2011 teenage angst-driven, post-apocalyptic tale. 

“A Zombie Named Ted” is her first feature film and she knew when she wrote it, it had to have commercial appeal. 

“My first thought was, ‘It should have zombies in it,’ and my second thought was, ‘At this budget level, we aren’t going to be able to afford more than one zombie,’” Welles says.

She brainstormed some ideas with director, writer, and cinematographer, Geoffrey Mattera (“Tall Grass” 2015). 

“We both loved the idea of a zombie in denial. When I sat down to write it, it just flowed, and people have responded very well to the entire idea, and to the script itself,” Welles says.  

Collins terms the production a “Hollywood film,” which simply means once the money is in the bank, “the lead producer in Los Angeles takes over and brings it all to the finish line.” 

The film is a Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of TV & Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) Ultra-Low Budget, which is a special union contract specifically targeting independent filmmakers producing films with a $250,000 cap. The production budget sits at $200,000, but to get the film “in the can,” A Zombie Named Ted LLC needs a minimum of $175,000 to “push the start button,” Collins says. To complete the film, including marketing and other post-production costs, the total amount needed is projected to be $300,000.

Collins says the production company is still raising money for the project and looking for business partners. They’ve done two Kickstarter campaigns so far and soon will launch a Seed & Spark campaign. Seed & Spark is crowdfunding for filmmakers.

It not only helps match them to investors, “it’s kind of like a wedding registry for film,” says Collins. She says donors can pick off the filmmaker’s “wish list” and loan equipment or contribute services rather than cash. It also enables the project to build a fan base of followers who receive regular updates and are encouraged to share and promote the project through social media. 

According to the Seed & Spark website, filmmakers receive perks like “distribution to theaters, cable VOD and all digital retail platforms” if they reach more than 500,000 followers. Investors and fans can earn SPARKS points, which enables them access to view independent films through a streaming platform similar to Netflix.  

Welles admits attracting investors and producing a profitable film is about keeping the cost relevant to its marketability. She says with the popularity of hand-held devices and Video on Demand (VOD), the market has exploded, so it’s a much easier sell. 

“(The industry) needs new products faster than they can get them,” she says. Genre films such as zombie, horror, and comedy sell well, she notes. 

“Zombie and horror sells really well—comedies not as well.  But this is a very quirky film with the possibility of being a cult hit,” says Welles. 

She is also banking on the talent, which not only boasts a seasoned female director and a multiethnic cast, but also includes actress Naomi Grossman (Pepper in “American Horror Story”) and Asian-American actor Roy Huang, who appeared in “Mine” (2011) lead, as Ted. 

Also on board as music director is Chucky Thompson, a former member of Bad Boy Entertainment’s “Hitmen.” Thompson has produced material for superstars such as Mary K. Blige, Faith Evans, and The Notorious B.I.G. Collins contends that “music can be a star,” and getting a good soundtrack can be as good as “getting Tom Cruise” as a headliner. 

Meanwhile, as the production company continues to fundraise, scout locations, and pull the details of the production together, Collins plans to put promoting Spokane women in film into practice with the first “Spokane Women in Film and Arts Breakfast,” although details for that breakfast haven’t been finalized yet. Inspired by the Women in Film & Television model, she sees these gatherings as a great opportunity for women “creatives” to come together to network and collaborate. Though she is reaching out to all women, she hopes to send a message to mothers out there who have put their dreams on hold to raise a family. 

“(Just) because they aren’t living at the epicenter of where they think they need to be to pursue their dreams, or because they’ve been out of their industry for a while, doesn’t mean they can’t be chasing their dreams and also being moms,” says Collins.