JUST PLAIN
DEAD
Paying the bills with crime since 1989
The team's swift. Dead swift.
A love for film noir and a dramatic distaste for cultural and gender stereotypes was the vision that inspired "Just Plain Dead," an unusually campy comedy that mixes elements of melodramic soaps like "Dark Shadows" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" with classic noir tropes from "Casablanca," "The Maltese Falcon," and "Hammett."
Emily L. Manthei
Writer/Director
As a globe-trotting international short filmmaker, festival-finalist writer and nonprofit documentarian, Emily's work has taken her all over the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Some of her most curious YouTube projects to date remain an ode to the mercurial Duck on Bike and a music video for train-spotting pop star Elle Lewis in "Chasing Down the Sun."
Her extensive pulp fiction vocabulary and penchant for visual mashups of cultures and epochs bring Just Plain Dead off the page and onto the web.
Meena Singh
Director of Photography
Born in the suburbs of Chicago to an Indian father and an American mother, Meena's background of global influences and a cultural tugging of identities have helped her bring a unique perspective to her work. This, coupled with her desire to bring affecting stories with social impact to the screen in a visually compelling way, have made her a highly valuable asset and a long term collaborator with award-winning directors.
She brings the playful, heavy-handed look of classic noir into the technicolor era with her cinematography for Just Plain Dead.
Elle Lewis
Composer
A singer-songwriter-musical-collaborator with an ear towards the fresh and absurd, Elle has released several studio solo albums and contributed to bands like Blackwater Jukebox and the Breznev's Metals. Her work has been featured in films and television, both as a composer and as a solo artist.
Elle's jazzy, multi-instrumental background and range of cross-cultural influences bring a signature sound to Just Plain Dead.
Calix Lewis Reneau
Producer
Writer-producer Calix Lewis Reneau has produced six independent features including his directorial debut, Canyon Road, and the recent thriller Vitals. When not pounding the pavement with projects, he's tappin' the ivories in a snazzy jazz band.
Calix brings a critical, editing eye and the benefit of personal experience in the black-and-white era to the Just Plain Dead team.
Rodrigo Cabral
Production Designer
Hailing from São Paulo, Rodrigo was hand-picked to work on a TV adaptation of Fernando Meirelles' City of God in Brazil before moving to Los Angeles to pursue production design. His work on independent features has been seen at SWSX, Los Angeles Film Festival and Slamdance, as well as in the deepest reaches of the Amazon jungle.
Rodrigo's eye for details that bring characters to life permeates the look and atmosphere of Just Plain Dead.
Meredith Rose
Editor
Meredith believes that story comes first, period. In addition to being an editor, she is also an award-winning screenwriter, director, humanist, ex-rocket scientist, and amateur DJ whose projects have made the rounds at international film festivals, prestigious history museums and inside NASA board rooms. Meredith is Mother Earth's biggest fan and strives to make all her projects carbon neutral.
She provides a meticulous approach to editing from a storyteller's perspective, making sure Just Plain Dead arrives seasonal and fresh.