A veteran-made zombie apocalypse flick hitting this week's GI Film Festival might not have made it to the big screen without the help of some Marine mechanics.

When Nick Palmisciano of Ranger Up and Mat Best of Article 15 set out to create "Range 15," they shunned the typical Hollywood antics to make get it on the silver screen. Instead, the founders of the military clothing lines turned to crowd funding to produce the movie, which is set to hit 450 theaters across the nation nationwide in June.

It features famous Hollywood actors alongside notables such as William Shatner, Danny Trejo, Sean Astin, and Keith David as well as Medal of Honor recipients and mixed-martial arts fighters. MMA fighters and Medal of Honor recipientsAnd none of it would have been possible without a Marine unit's clandestine mission to fix the movie-makers broken Hummer.

"We had a vehicle break down and we reached out on social media with a plea for help," Palmisciano told Military Times. "A Marine unit 'borrowed' a slave cable and some tools, and in the middle of the day drove four hours to us and got the Humvee up and running."

The Marines left the slave cable with the crew in case there was another breakdown y had any other issues. It was eventually sent back to the Marineslater that week via Federal Express. Palmisciano declined to out the unit that came to their rescue, but said the Marines "saved the movie." 

"There would be no Humvee for half the scenes we needed it for if that Marine unit hadn't stepped up," he said.

Military Times caught up with Palmisciano ahead of the GI Film Festival to talk about what it was like to work on "Range 15," and how the crew hopes it'll be received. Excerpts of that interview, edited for clarity.

The official world premiere of "Range 15," a veteran-made zombie comedy, is set for May 27 as part of the GI Film Festival in Washington, D.C. Two founders of military clothing lines — Nick Palmisciano of Ranger Up and Mat Best of Article 15 — teamed to produce and star in the over-the-top action film. True to their military pedigree, they shunned Hollywood's beaten path to produce this crowd-funded feature.

Palmisciano gave Military Times a behind-the-scenes look as the movie prepares an all-out assault of more than 450 national theaters in June. In a film that combined Hollywood notables such as William Shatner, Danny Trejo, Sean Astin, and Keith David with MMA fighters and Medal of Honor recipients, the "war stories" are indeed many (dud you hear about the unauthorized secret mission in which Marine mechanics saved the film?). But at the heart of this endeavor is a genuine care and concern for veterans who continue to struggle to find their way. In its own special way, this bloody, expletive-laced, side-splitting comedy is a light on that path, according to its creator.

Q. You are less than one month from the June 15 national release. Did you ever think it would come to this?

A. We are up to 450 theaters and adding more every day. It's way bigger more than we ever expected it to be at the beginning. Originally we were thinking if we get this thing in 50 theaters, it would be a huge success for an independent film that isn't using a studio. This is absolutely great, just awesome. And a little bit crazy. We're all really happy with the film. It is a better product than we ever thought possible.

The prior-service crews of Article 15 Clothing and Ranger Up, familiar to millions of viral-video watchers, make quick work of some enemy forces during a recent "Range 15" promotional video.

Photo Credit: Screen shot

Q. What has the initial response been like?

A. We had a secret showing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and another at Fort Hood, Texas. Both and both went over incredibly well. It was really interesting because the movie got laughs at different places. People were laughing the whole time at both places, but they were laughing at different jokes. This is all new to me; the director told us this would happen, that every theater would have a different vibe and key off of different things, but that didn't make any sense to me. You would think humor is universal, but every theater has a different vibe. but it depends a lot on the mood of the location. That was kind of a weird experience.

Q. The movie features famous actors like William Shatner, Danny Trejo and Sean Astin. How do you think they'll respond to the final cut?Now that you have seen the final product, how do you think the film will be received by the Hollywood stars who agreed to participate?

A. I think they are going to be a bit surprised. A lot of these guys did this as a favor to the military community, but the quality of film that came out really surprised me so I am sure it's going to surprise these guys. They are expecting the ultimate B-flick, but this turned out to be something more than that.

What are you doing to promote the national release and push this across the finish line?

Our [public relations] team, Jade Umbrella, are helping us meet all the people we don't have access to — the late shows, the morning shows, the typical circuit people go through when they launch a movie.

Q. Do you think the non-military audience will connect with "Range 15?" What is the coolest thing about the movie?

A. The coolest thing about the movie is that we designed it for the military, but probably a one-third of the people who have watched the film haven't served and were still blown away by it. When we did the secret screenings at Forts Hood and At both locations, at Hood and Bragg, the theater owners came out and asked if they could play the movie on a regular basis when we launched. At Bragg, we showed this movie and art-house theater owned by a couple that are probably in their 60s. This movie is not the core demographic of these folks, yet they were so happy about the results of the film.

What do you think will happen upon release?

I really don't know what is going to happen. I really don't. It might become a cool little thing for the military community, and that would be great. Or, because of how far we went with the movie, it could get a buzz and really blow up. We are prepared for the left, the right, or anything in between. It is an exciting moment because we really don't know. No matter how good we think it is, that doesn't mean everyone will think it's good. No matter how much buzz there is in the military community, that doesn't mean it is going to overlap, but on the flip side, it really could. All I know is that after two years of really hard work by a lot of people, we are finally delivering the product and that is exciting.

Retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, in a scene from the "Range 15" trailer.

Photo Credit: Screen Shot

Q. This movie has been in the works for two years. What have been some of the most memorable moments along the way?Looking back on that two-year period, what has been most memorable and rewarding?

A. There are two moments. The first was when one is the first 40 hours where we raised the minimum $350,000 that we needed in just 40 hours. That made us realize We knew we were going to get the money, but we thought it would be hard-fought — coming up with videos every day, messaging people every day. When we did it in a day and a half, and realized how excited the community was for this and how much support we had the community had given us — it was very humbling and very overwhelming. And it is impossible not to feel good that you regarded us well enough to trust us with that amount of money.

The second was during the first few weeks of filming and creating. It was just the  incredible moment was being on set. The 16 days when we were filming and creating was the coolest experience of my life. We were an awesome team. We had prepped so much we knew every line. To be so prepared just made the experience fun. It was one of those things where you're sitting there thinking, "I don't know if I'm ever going to be here again. This is probably the only time that I'm going to be on a movie set," so you just try to take it all in.

Q. You didn't take the traditional Hollywood route to produce this movie. Do you take any flak for that?You didn't take the regular Hollywood route, and took some flak for it.

A. Yeah, we We broke every single rule of making a Hollywood movie. Every single rule. We raised money through crowd funding. That almost never works. We shot the trailer in advance to promote that effort, and that The way we did it was atypical. When you launch a crowd funding campaign for a movie, you've already shot the trailer and use the trailer to sell the movie. We simply did a skit about making a movie which, honest to God, actually upset a lot of people in Hollywood. They felt like we didn't deserve it it because we only did a skit, which I think is funny.

We also broke the rules in the The way that we approached actors, we broke all the rules on that. It's not easy to get William Shatner to be in a movie. To be honest, he has no business being in "Range 15." He is so much bigger than this movie. But I was a huge fan, so . I loved his work as Denny Crane in Boston Legal in particular, I thought it was a really nuanced performance. I wrote him a letter explaining how much I appreciated his work and what this movie meant made to the veteran community, and that's what got him to decide to be in "Range 15." We went after talent in a very different, very personal way.

We only asked people that we really like, people who are worthwhile human beings. Sean Astin, that guy is just a great human being. He wanted to be in the movie to support the veteran community.

Q. Since you lacked Hollywood support, did you face challenges in trying to finish the movie on time and on budget?Since you lacked Hollywood support, what was key to finishing the movie on time and on budget?

A. Most people estimated it would take two or three months to shoot the movie. We shot the movie in 16 days. The only way to do that was to be incredibly prepared. There is not a person on the main cast that can't recite the entire movie front to back. We practice so much because we We knew if we screwed up, we would run out of time and run out of money, and the movie would get done the way it needed to. There are so many ways this thing could have gone wrong.

We also got a lot of help. We borrowed were lent jets for a scene that would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and we were lent military equipment. Hollywood Heard, who was our second director, usually works for hundreds of thousands of dollars. He volunteered his time, his equipment and his team, and even personality ensured all of it so we didn't have to spend that money. So many things came together in an atypical way.

Can you confirm reports of a clandestine Marine mission to fix a broken Hummer?

We had a vehicle breakdown and we reached out social media with a plea for help. A Marine unit "borrowed" a slave cable and some tools, and in the middle of the day drove four hours to us and got the Humvee up and running. They left the slave cable there in case we had any other issues, and we FedEx'd it back to them at the end of the week. They saved the movie. There would be no Humvee for half the scenes we needed it for if that Marine unit hadn't stepped up.

Q. Did the crew have to do anything special to handle such a green cast?

A. We were weird. Typically, a cast doesn't do anything with the crew. The crew serves the cast and then they go home. Being veterans, though, we were a veteran group who is used to pulling our some weight, we looked at everyone as part of the team, ourselves included. It was common for us to help the crew carry equipment, solve problems. One time, when we were missing a couple of items, Mat and I didn't have a scene for a while so we jumped in a vehicle and ran off to Walmart to buy what we some stuff we needed for the next thing. The crew was blown away because actors don't do anything on set other than act.

The most talented people on a movie set are the crew. Actors are overrated. There are plenty of great actors out there. The crew is where the movie lives or dies. These people have real skills — how they capture the light, how they set up sound, how they set up backgrounds. This stuff is not easy and, honest to God, they really should be the stars of these things. A good crew can make anybody look good. Not a single one of us have acting experience outside of YouTube and Facebook, and they made us look like we were real actors.Move us through the editing process to completion. What happened the first time you saw the full, final product?You watched the rough cut, and it kind of looks like crap. You watched some of the special effects, and some of them are kind of cool, but it doesn't have sound to it. Then you pick out some sounds, then you listen to some music, but all of these things happen separately. It all comes together three or four days before the movie is done. You're working, and working, and working, then all of a sudden you have this movie — and it was so much better than I ever imagined. Mat and I sat there grinning ear to ear.A lot of the military and veteran population will find your sensibilities and sense of humor to be familiar. Why should the folks who are not part of the military community come out and check out your movie?Because it's a really funny movie. There has been no one who has watched the movie who has not been laughing the entire time. Some people came out with tears in their eyes, said it was horribly inappropriate, and felt bad about themselves from laughing, but everyone has come out laughing. If you like "The Hangover," and you like "Super Troopers," we are somewhere in between but we take everything way father.Are the nay-sayers in Hollywood still mad, or are they taking notice?All the people that rejected us at the beginning, all the people that said this movie would never happen, once it happened and they saw the buzz about the movie, then all of a sudden they wanted to buy it. We got offered a few million dollars to buy the movie out right. We said no because want to sell it to Hollywood, you don't know what's going to happen. There may never show the movie. They can change the movie. They can decide the movie needs to be launched two years from now. We made for the military community, that's what we promised, so we stuck with that.What is the mission as the movie nears its June 15 national release?We've partnered with Tugg, another disruptive technology that is basically theater on demand. We have an outside shot of being in the box office Top 10 with no studio affiliation whatsoever. Usually, when people think about independent films succeeding, "The Blair Witch Project" and that kind of stuff, those movies were sold to studios. They weren’t independent films doing it on their own. We are doing this entirely on our own. This is a blueprint for future filmmakers to be disruptive. Anyone can do what we just did that they are willing to put in the time.We are not going the way of traditional theater so we need support and we needed early. A lot of people plan to buy tickets when they want to go see the movie. The problem with that is in order for us to get theaters open, people have to buy tickets ahead of time. When people buy tickets, more theaters open and there are more second and third showings. (Ticket information can be found at range15.com).

Q. There is a lot of talk about zombies and crude humor and the like. But what is the real message of this movie?

A. The movie is about what people can do when they set their minds to something. When people leave the military, they sometimes feel alone or like no one cares. No matter what job you have, it is never going to have the same meaning as the job you did in the military. The vets who worked on this movie share the belief believe that for veterans to succeed when they get out, they have to find a new mission.I am a firm believer that the suicide epidemic that is occurring among veterans right now is not because people saw horrific things in war or they are broken. I think they get out of the military and they go from an egalitarian meritocracy where everyone is working together toward one mission to a world where no one really gives a shit about you. No matter what job you have, it is never going to have the same meaning as the job you did in the military. People feel alone, they feel like no one cares, they sometimes start drinking because that is supposed to make it better, and it makes it worse, and they get to a point where they feel like there is no reason to live. Mat and I, and the rest of the team, only strongly that for veterans to succeed when they get out, they have to find a new mission.

We are five vets with no film-making experience, a huge project that required a lot of money and expertise, and we had to learn it all along the way. But we did it. , but we didn't. Whether the movie is good or it sucks, it doesn't matter. We just showed the veteran community that anything is possible if you commit to it and work together as a team.

There are a lot of people talking about how broken veterans are and how much help they need, and how we have to check on each other from time to time. I appreciate all of those things, but I personally think that what veterans need more is somebody to kick them in the ass and let them know that there is a whole lot more living left to do, and provide positive examples of what that can look like. We found our next mission, and we will find another mission after this.

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