After three decades and just in time for the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, indie film “Chief Zabu” was finally released this months to Vudu, Amazon, Google and Apple iTunes. The socio-political comedy was inspired in part by a then-emerging real estate mogul named Donald Trump, who in mid-1980s New York City already had earned a reputation for an outsized ego and political designs.
The long, circuitous route of the film begins well before 1986 when creative hyphenates Zack Norman (comic, writer, director, producer and actor) and Neil Cohen (writer, director, producer and illustrator) wrote a screenplay after Norman – born Howard Zuker — attended a meeting for private investors hosted by the political leadership of a newly-constituted nation applying for United Nations membership. Made in 15 days on a budget of less than $200,000, “Chief Zabu” was poised for its big screen debut in the fall of 1987.
In fact, no less than Life Magazine had published a double-page spread on the making of the movie as illustrative of the city’s growing indie-film industry. However, one week before its release date, the film’s distributor filed for bankruptcy, cancelling all distribution plans. Legal machinations consumed several more years, and eventually Norman and Cohen had moved on separately to many other projects.
On Aug. 13, 2020, I had the pleasure of interviewing both Neil Cohen – also the author of the recently-optioned book “American Gargoyles” – via Zoom, as embedded below. Included in our discussion was the role that “Mystery Science Theater 3000” played in making “Chief Zabu” an underground classic even without the film being released. You can also expect to hear great discussion about independent filmmaking, classic New York painters, and gratitude.
More on “Chief Zabu” can be found here, here, here and here.
