Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase movie Zombie Town has a Cariboo connection

A Canadian zombie movie featuring Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase, based on R.L Stine’s novel, has a Williams Lake connection.

Executive producer Rakhee Gillespie (Pooni) was born and raised in Williams Lake, but now lives in Toronto.

Gillespie is involved in the film industry on the side, because her husband is a producer, and got involved in helping to finance a new family-friendly zombie film called Zombie Town.

The independent film, which was shot in Sudbury, Ontario in 20 days, highlights Canadian content, including music from Lawrence Gowan, Canadian singer/songwriter and lead singer of Styx.

But while Gillespie said she was excited to get involved in the project because of the opportunity to promote Canadian content, she said it was also because of who they had the occasion to work with.

“It’s not very often you get big actors for small projects,” she said, noting they were able to also include four of Aykroyd’s children in the film, which may have helped make it a more appealing project for him as well.

Gillespie was able to be on set for some of the shoot.

“There was something definitely great about the energy on set,” she said.

“When you do have these talents coming together it definitely felt like magic.”

She said she saw this magic come through to the audience, with her mom able to laugh at all the right spots, despite English being her second language.

The film is being screened in around 130 theatres across the country, but the closest to Williams Lake the film is going to be so far is Kamloops.

“I think it’d be cool to show it in Williams Lake,” she said, noting she reached out to Paradise Cinemas but hasn’t heard back yet.

Gillespie was back to Williams Lake to visit family as recently as two years ago, but doesn’t get back often as her parents retired in the Lower Mainland a number of years ago. Many of her classmates from her school years are still in the community, however, she said, and she still stays connected over social media.

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