Bill Zebub Productions is a division of The Grimoire of Exalted Deeds magazine.

  

   Bill Zebub began the journey into film making when he received a video camera as a gift when he was a teen-ager.  He went to malls and interviewed people under the pretense of filming for college television.  The questions would start out relatively normal but without warning he asked something very odd and then proceeded to test the boundaries, seeing how absurd he can make the interview while still maintaining the interest and participation of the stranger(s).  Whenever he collected 2 hours of footage, he made dubs and mailed them off to all the people who were interviewed.

   One late night Bill Zebub was at a supermarket when he ran into some friends, among which were the legendary Rusty Helsen.  For some reason, Bill had a video camera and fake beards in his trunk, and the lot decided to storm the city, pretending to be the Oak Ridge Boys and videotaping the reactions of witnesses.  Some great footage was taken at places like Dunkin Donuts, gas stations, and convenience stores. 

   Bill Zebub and various friends continued the spree of public stunts, like the Crucifix Olympics (Bill went to a college race track and told the coach that he was working on a project for his film class, so the athletes stood by and allowed four people in loincloth or underwear to run around the track with life-sized crosses). 

   When 2 hours of footage was compiled (edited by attaching two VCR's together), Bill Zebub brought the tape with him to a huge party.  He asked the host if he could play the tape for some friends.  By the end of the tape the entire party was laughing along, which surprised Bill Zebub because he thought that the footage was only funny to the people involved.  People asked for copies, which was another surprise.

   Bill Zebub made VHS copies available at numerous record stores (the privately owned stores that also let local musicians sell their demos).  In the interest of improving the "product" Bill Zebub began steering away from the public stunts in favor of making absurd skits.  Little did he know that he could have made a lot of money by continuing along the path of the hidden camera and public humiliation type stuff. 

   When Bill Zebub began a fanzine that later developed into a full blown magazine (the #1 Death Metal Magazine in America at one time), he occasionally advertised the VHS compilations of skits (They were called "The Underground" and had seconday names like "The Second Coming," "Fun and Games Until Someone Gets an Eye Poked Out," and "Crossing the Line."

  Bill Zebub became aware of computer video editing solutions and decided to invest.  Editing on a computer was pure heaven compared to rigging two VCR's together.  As he began to master the basics, he also decided to attempt a full length movie.  One of the contributing factors was his discovery of the Chiller Theatre Horror Convention - Bill Zebub wanted to get a vendor booth and amass a following in that, as yet unconquered, crowd.

   Bill Zebub was wise enough to admit that he needed to train himself before he committed to making a feature length movie.  He explained, "If I make a skit that sucks, it's only a waste of ten minutes or so.  If I make a whole movie that sucks, that's just too painful."

   He bought a book about screenwriting by Syd Field, and the script that resulted was the movie "Metalheads" which was shot on a regular consumer video camera.  It was just supposed to be an excercize, and perhaps if it were good enough, it would be the first movie sold at the horror convention.  The movie was not just a hit at Chiller Theatre.  It sold over 200 copies at a single store in NJ.  And within a few months it was picked up by a movie company.  "It's quite a proud achievement to have the first movie I ever shot get picked up!" exclaimed Bill.

   Since that time, Bill Zebub released about 30 movies (DVD's) and he has no shortage of ideas for future projects. 

   Bill Zebub prefers to make odd comedies.  Sometimes he makes a comedy just to see what the boundaries are, like when he plays around with racial humor or when he makes religion the focus of humor.  But he is quite capable of making a comedy that everyone can enjoy, as was evidenced by the movie "Assmonster" which played at numerous film festivals, including Fantasia and the Hollywood Film Festival.

   Bill Zebub also dabbles in horror.  His first few steps were a bit shaky, and he couldn't hold back the weirdness.  Although he is still going to dablle in the surreal and the bizarre, he is going to work on horror movies that are a bit more grounded in traditional sensibilities (staying away from the surreal). 

   Bill Zebub also makes documentaries, mostly about music.  Also in the realm of music are his limited-edition DVD's that feature interviews with various music artists.