“Queens of the Dead” Producer Natalie Metzger on Tina Romero’s Zesty Zombie Film, Tom Cruise’s Help, and Creating a Dream Set

Natalie Metzger is the proud producer of one of the most critically acclaimed horror films of the year, Queens of the Dead (in select theaters now), from a filmmaker with a very specific (and very special) vision—Tina Romero. Romero, the daughter of the iconic George A. Romero, the man whose 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead established the modern zombie archetype and has inspired filmmakers and creators for generations, put an ingenious twist on the formula. Working off a script she co-wrote with Erin Judge, Romero tells the story of drag parties disrupted by zombies, now chewing their way through New York City. Katy M. O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding) is one of the ensemble players combating the undead, as well as the infighting in the drag community. The cast includes Margaret Cho, Jaquel Spivey, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Tomas Mastos, Nina West, Dominique Jackson, and Jack Haven.

Metzger is the Vice President of Production & Development at Vanishing Angle. The company is behind films such as Werewolves Within, Too Late, Thunder Road, and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. The Spirit Award-nominated Metzger makes crowd-pleasing independent films, and Queens of the Dead is the perflect blend of a deeply personal yet irresistibly fun independent movie she hopes to continue producing.

Recently, Metzger spoke with The Credits about getting the horror-comedy into production, her ideal collaborations with filmmakers, and her goals as a leader on set. 

Did you shoot any of Queens of the Dead in Bushwick, or was it all Jersey and Hoboken?

We shot a couple of days in Bushwick. Day one, we were totally guerrilla-style on the streets of Bushwick. Just running around with Katy O’Brian on the subway. I remember our first AD was like, “Oh, it’s fine. As long as you don’t set the camera down on a tripod, you are allowed.” We were pushing the limits there.

When did Queens of the Dead start for you? 

I want to say in 2020, around then, a friend of mine had sent me Tina’s lookbook and script and said, “Hey, I think you would connect with this.” It was at a time at Vanishing Angle where we were not looking at any new projects.

Why’s that?

Our bandwidth was too thin; we were just juggling too many projects. I glanced through the lookbook out of politeness, and I absolutely fell in love. Tina had such a clear vision. The visuals were so strong, even just in the lookbook with the blood in the glitter and glam gore. It was all so fresh, and I wanted to see it get made. And so, I read the script, loved the script, and met with Tina. We talked for over two hours for our first meeting, and we both were like, oh, we want to work together. I went to the Vanishing Angle team and said, “I know we said we weren’t taking on anything else, but this is worth our time.”

Where’d development go from there? 

We did a bit of a development process with Tina and Erin [Judge] that took a year or two. Then we started going out to cast and getting cast attachments, because we knew that was going to be critical to get financing. The craziest thing was getting Katy O’Brian, specifically because her Mission: Impossible shoot dates conflicted with our shoot dates. My producing partner, Matt, got a hold of the Mission: Impossible producer and said, “Can you just commit to a certain number of days that we can schedule around?” Tom Cruise was like, “I want her to be able to work. Let’s do this.” They thankfully gave us specific dates that we could work around. But at first it was kind of like, no, no, I’m sorry, you can’t conflict with Mission: Impossible.

I spoke with Tina Romero, and she is delighted to have Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie in the special thanks. 

It speaks to what a creative Tom Cruise is. He could have easily said, “No, we don’t know what our schedule is yet. We are the bigger film.” The fact that he fought for an independent film to happen and for Katy to be a part of it…I have a lot of respect for him as a creative.

For something like Queens of the Dead, as many conflicts as you prepare yourself for, what can’t you brace yourself for? 

We weren’t prepared for New Jersey having a historic heat wave last summer when we were filming, and we were filming in an old rope factory that did not have air conditioning in all the spaces. We ended up having to bring in these industrial air-conditioning units and break the crew every 90 minutes to make sure they weren’t overheating. It was a hot shoot. 

How do you maximize resources while shooting Queens of the Dead? What’s a simple method to get more work done with less time? 

More tableau shots, especially with a large ensemble cast where everyone’s interacting together, instead of getting single shots on each person. You let the choreography happen in front of the camera, or the camera can move, dancing with the actors. You’re not adding as much coverage. Tina was so good about that because she has a dance background; she’s familiar with choreography. Being creative with shot lists is something that we’ve done for a lot of our movies. We do a lot of long takes on these oners. 

What about your crew in New Jersey and New York? What did you appreciate about their work ethic on the film? 

It was very lean, but everyone came together and was so passionate about making this film. It was one of those sets where, I think, we were a 90% queer cast and crew, which is so rare. I think we were over 50% female. Everyone was so positive and so excited to get together and make this. Through the different hardships and the heat, the people who were still on board to make the film were amazing.

What do you think that diversity of thought and opinions brings to a film? 

There was an inclusivity that I felt on this set that we tried to promote on other sets, but this one was particularly special. When we all first got together at the morning safety meeting, everyone shared what their pronouns were. Everyone was being thoughtful and respectful of everyone else. I think it also helped with just the nature of what we were making. So many people were coming to the table with great ideas that were maybe outside of their department, like, “Oh, wouldn’t it be fun if we did this and that?” 

What kind of leader do you want to be when you’re on a film set? 

I want to be there for the director as a facilitator of their vision. I often think of the producer as being the midwife, helping the baby come into the world, and it might not be her baby, but she cares as much about getting it safely out there. Obviously, there are logistical hoops you’re jumping through at every turn with budget and schedule. But in general, in terms of the vibe of the set, we hope to create a set that is positive. We try to create a summer camp atmosphere. If you can’t have a big budget with all the bells and whistles and all that stuff, we at least want to make it fun for everyone. 

You’ve made good films at Vanishing Angle. Where do you see the company going in the future? What’s the plan?

We’ve found success in these lower-budget or mid-budget projects. In the future, we would love to continue doing those, but also expand to bigger budget projects that have a bit more of a broader reach. In an ideal world, we’re still doing one or two of these smaller projects while also doing one or two bigger studio projects a year, and then continuing to develop relationships with the filmmakers that we’ve already been working with and helping their careers grow, from doing the micro-budget feature to the slightly bigger budget project to getting them a studio project. We want to help guide them on that journey.

Queens of the Dead is in select theaters now.