Bite Size Bio:

Jeffrey Reddick is an American screenwriter best known for creating The Final Destination series. He also wrote the horror film Tamara and the 2008 remake of Day of the Dead. Raised in Jackson, Kentucky, he
graduated Breathitt County High School in 1987 and attended Berea College.

Jeffrey always wanted to work in the film industry. At 14, after watching A Nightmare on Elm Street, he typed a 10-page prequel and sent it to New Line Cinema. The studio wasn't sold on the unsolicited manuscript and of course sent it back to him. Determined teenage boys don't take rejection well and Jeffrey was no different. He re-sent the treatment, along with a surly letter, to New Line chairman, Robert Shaye.

Surprisingly, Shaye read the treatment and responded - saying Jeffrey had "a fertile imagination" but his story "lacked structure." This lead to letter-and-phone relationship and eventually Jeffrey landed an internship with New Line in 1991. He worked there for almost 11 years. During that time, New Line produced Jeffrey's first screenplay Final Destination (originally called Flight 180), which spawned many sequels.

Jeffrey left his job at New Line after selling his treatment for Final Destination 2 to become a full time screenwriter.

Jeffrey Reddick - The producers of the project had seen my work and liked it. They had the rights to remake “Day” and called my agent and asked me to come in with some ideas on how to do it. I initially went in with a story that was closer to the original, but updated for the world we live in today. But during the development process, it got further away from the original.

Not at all. I’m totally kidding. I felt a lot of pressure. I’m a horror fan and I’m sick to death of remakes. And George Romero and his ‘Dead’ films are justifiably iconic. So, I knew it was going to be a bumpy ride. Knowing Steve Miner was directing took some of the edge off. I really came at the project trying to do a remake that respected the original and was a good standalone film.

What was your greatest challenge? 

The writing process was really difficult. The story I pitched, which the studio hired to write, was more faithful to the original. Almost 60% of the story took place in the underground military facility and the characters were much closer to their counterparts in the original. Over the course of writing the script, I was forced to lose most of the material that referenced the original. And it got further and further away from Romero’s original film.

Most writers don’t have any involvement after the film starts shooting. I did a couple of tweaks to scenes, in order to incorporate new locations, etc. But the cool thing is I got to visit the set and do a cameo. I played a zombie in full make up, which was awesome.

The movie was shot in Bulgaria. As for casting, I didn't have any say. The actually followed most of the character descriptions in the script. But in some cases they changed it. For instance, Salazar, who was written as Hispanic, ended up being played by Nick Cannon.

It was a mandate from the studio. Now, in the script, Mena Suvari, and some of the other military characters, were clearly reservists called in to quarantine the town. Then, when Captain Rhodes was killed, they had to step up to the plate. But they lost those lines in the movie, so it feels like several of the military characters were just cast young.

I hear ya, brother. That wasn’t me. Steve and I argued about that scene more than any other in the film. He thought it was a cool bit. But I disagreed. Aside from being silly, it didn't make logical sense. The zombie runs across the ceiling in one scene. Then, in the very next scene, the zombies can’t get to the characters in the air vent. We had many a heated conversation about old ceiling crawler. But obviously I lost.

That wasn’t in the script either. The FX people came up with that one.

It’s not how I originally imagined it. But the funny thing is, when you work in film, you have to learn to accept the end result for what it is. As a remake of “Day of The Dead,” the film falls way short. But on its own, it’s a fun flick. If they called it “Zombie Town,” I think it would have gotten a better reception than it did.

I’m working on a few horror scripts right now. And I’m developing a TV series for producer Gale Anne Hurd. I’m not sure what’s officially going to happen next. But as soon as I know, I’ll let you know.

If I got bit, I’d fight to stay alive. So, it would take a few days for me to die and turn.

I think both zombies have their place. The slow ones are creepier. the fast ones are more ferocious.

I’d want a machine gun. I’m not much for hacking and violence. So a machete would require me to get too close and be too hacky.

The original Night of The Living Dead. It’s such a classic. And with an African American lead, it broke some major barriers in cinema.

Oh, you’re not getting me on this one. It’s not the “Day of The Dead” remake! J Zombie 3 is probably the worst.

My favorite zombie book is “Pet Semetary.”

I’d just like to say thank you to all of the fans out there. Even though I don’t expect everyone to like everything I do, I’m very appreciative of the people who come out and support my stuff…and horror in general.

Jeffrey Reddick
Screen Writer

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