The renowned piece of advise for all performers to "never work with children or animals" is attributed to comedian W.C. Fields. If you're an actor who is fortunate enough to be in a position to decline job in the first place, it's wise advice. Lupita Nyong'o had already won Best Supporting Actress for Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave," played the Yoda-like Maz Kanata in two "Feature Wars" movies, and starred alongside Chadwick Boseman in the blockbuster "Black Panther" when she was approached to star in a specific horror thriller. Oh, and Nyong'o was already a recognised fashion icon around the world.
According to Lupita Nyong'o, working on this horror film was one of the most difficult experiences she has ever had.
DREW TINNIN/11/10/2022 12:42 UTC
The renowned piece of advise for all performers to "never work with children or animals" is attributed to comedian W.C. Fields. If you're an actor who is fortunate enough to be in a position to decline job in the first place, it's wise advice. Lupita Nyong'o had already won Best Supporting Actress for Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave," played the Yoda-like Maz Kanata in two "Feature Wars" movies, and starred alongside Chadwick Boseman in the blockbuster "Black Panther" when she was approached to star in a specific horror thriller. Oh, and Nyong'o was already a recognised fashion icon around the world.
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She didn't necessarily need to travel to Australia to shoot a zombie movie with a classroom full of preschoolers under the direction of a young, somewhat unknown director. But she did just that, and it ended up being one of the more challenging shootings of her career. Nyong'o discussed her experience in an interview with Collider, saying "Well, in Australia, I made a movie called "Little Monsters" with music, kids, and animals. zombies, too."
The horror comedy "Little Monsters," which will make its Hulu debut in 2019, centres on Miss Caroline (Nyong'o), a sympathetic schoolteacher who is compelled to defend a class of students during a zombie epidemic. To prevent the youngsters from going into full-blown panic, Miss Caroline has to pretend the zombie onslaught is only a game with the help of an obnoxious Teddy McGiggle (Josh Gad) from a kids' show. Naturally, the petting zoo outside also plays a role when they eventually make their daring escape.
Nyong'o was searching for something to push her in a completely different path at the moment because she had recently finished "Black Panther." She discovered it in Abe Forsythe's adorable zombie romantic comedy. I recall attending an advance screening of "Little Monsters" where Nyong'o participated in a Q&A and mentioned how challenging it was to deal with so many diverse aspects while coated in blood. Nyong'o made it clear that she still remembers the difficulties encountered on set when she told Collider that performing for an imagined young audience must have been strange. Nyong'o does give a few endearingly charming moments in "Little Monsters," calming the children with her soothing voice and dependable ukulele. In fact, the song breaks in this surprisingly funny horror comedy are the real highlights when Miss Caroline isn't using a shovel to decapitate the undead. Even a musical number features a cover of Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off" by Nyong'o, much to the pleasure of the young audience members who apply Swift's lyrical insight to their own situation. The song "Shake It Off" ends up serving as the unofficial theme song for "Little Monsters" and teaches the kids that they can survive anything, even a surprise zombie onslaught from a neighbouring military installation. Nyong'o undoubtedly internalised the song to help her get through a thrilling yet challenging experience in her debut horror movie.
