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Brothers Joe and George Simon, alongside their family members, made the zombie comedy film "Don't Get Eaten." Courtesy photo
Brothers Joe and George Simon, alongside their family members, made the zombie comedy film "Don't Get Eaten." Courtesy photo
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Escondido family makes zombie comedy film ‘Don’t Get Eaten’

ESCONDIDO — A local family of filmmakers has teamed up to create a family-friendly zombie comedy, “Don’t Get Eaten,” which will soon be available on several streaming platforms.

Brothers Joe and George Simon spent their formative years writing, filming, and editing comedic short films together while growing up in Western Michigan and American Samoa. The two even attended filmmaking school at John Paul Catholic University in Escondido, where George met his now-wife, Melinda Simon, who was also a student.

Twelve years ago, while in school, the brothers discussed creating a funny zombie movie together one day. That night, George Simon stayed up all night writing the movie’s first draft.

The idea matured over time, and about a decade later, the two brothers were ready to write and direct the movie. Melinda joined the fun, producing it and starring in a lead role.

“The idea came from thinking about how funny it would be if you had a zombie movie whose main character didn’t want to use lethal force against the zombies because they didn’t know if there was a cure or if they were actually zombies,” George Simon said. “Another key part that was funny to us is the idea of someone trying to hide a zombie apocalypse from another person.”

“Don’t Get Eaten” follows the story of a family whose exasperated mother tries to keep her family afloat while her internet streamer husband creates zombie survival videos with their daughters. A couples therapist prescribes the family a technology-free getaway, during which an actual zombie apocalypse sets off.

George and Melinda Simon, along with their three young children and more than a dozen bags of filmmaking equipment, left their Escondido home in March 2022 and traveled to Michigan, where Joe Simon and his wife lived with their then-seven (now eight) children.

The film’s small crew also flew out from all over the country to join them, several of whom were George’s former students.

“I was so fortunate to be asked to be a part of this project,” Cian Magner, a JPCatholic graduate and the film’s director of photography, told the university last year. “It afforded me the unique opportunity to work on an amazing passion project alongside the individuals who had been my mentors during my time as a student at JPCatholic. George, Joe, and Melinda are incredible filmmakers with a passion for creation that you can’t help but be inspired by. I’ll always look back fondly on our winter in Michigan together.”

After the brothers earned their MBA in film production from JPCatholic, George Simon began teaching there as a professor. He now leads the university’s feature film program, while Melinda is an adjunct professor.

As the parents looked after all the younger kids, the Simon brothers, along with Melinda and Joe’s three oldest children, who co-star in the film, got to work for an entire month.

The film was finished in August, after which private screenings were held at The Ritz Theater in Escondido for university students and alums and in Michigan for friends and family. The family team began screening at film festivals, including the Omaha Film Festival, the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival in Iowa, and the PRAYnksters Comedy & Family Film Festival.

They hope to attend more local festivals in San Diego County as well.

“Every person who worked on this movie was driven by love of the game and a genuine desire to support one another in this crazy life we’ve chosen as filmmakers,” Melinda Simon told the university last year. “I will never cease to be thankful for our crew. We faced some extraordinary challenges along the way, but this only makes me more proud of the movie we were able to create. We were all equipped by creativity, passion, and technical skills that were not just fostered at JPCatholic, but fanned into flame.”

The family is currently working on delivering the movie to its distributor for a broader release on platforms including Apple TV, Amazon, Roku TV and Xbox. The family also hopes to have more local screenings of the movie beyond film festivals.

“It’s such a gift to share the movie with a live audience,” George Simon said.

“Don’t Get Eaten” is only the beginning for the Simon family, as they have already started working on more family-friendly movie projects. They look forward to sharing their finished product with the community.

“We’re really proud of the film,” Simon said.

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