Death Lives
The hopeful Grim Reaper quits his job and starts making up for lost time while the rules of humanity and pleasing his almighty father get in the way.
Being Death was hard. Being alive is slightly better.
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Christopher AurilioDirectorHaunted Cabin: Die Fi, BirdmAnnie
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Erick HellwigWriterMoney From Strangers
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Christopher AurilioWriterBirdmAnnie
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Erick HellwigKey CastGreatest Party Story Ever, Brain Games, Truth or Dare, Where's Pookie
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Liz GalalisKey CastThe Daily Show, Celebrity Ghost Stories
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David CarlKey CastDown Dog
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Victoria VanceKey CastVeep, The Affair
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Justin BrownKey CastEarly Grave, CollegeHumor
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Will NunziataKey CastDave & Ethan
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Project Type:Television
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Runtime:22 minutes
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Completion Date:November 1, 2016
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
Christopher Aurilio is a writer/director/producer based in New York City. He has written and produced live comedy shows since 2008 at The Peoples Improv Theater (The PIT). He founded the sketch comedy group The Foolhardy Manor, regularly performing and producing sketch, including his short film BirdmAnnie. In 2014, Christopher began performing his evolving character and sketch show, Aurilishow. He is also a producing member of PulpRiot, a production company responsible for
live comedy shows and multimedia projects. Chris has written, produced and directed several short films online, including Haunted Cabin: Die-Fi and BirdmAnnie. He holds a master’s degree in theater studies from Montclair State University and has created several original plays and children’s theater shows.
Our pilot was written, produced, shot and edited in 2016, but it's origin dates back to late 2013. I was producing Welcome To HELL, a live comedy show in NYC, and I wanted the Grim Reaper to hand out death certificates to audience members. My roommate & longtime friend Erick Hellwig was there to watch, but I convinced him to wear a black robe and sunglasses and play Death. Our pilot was born.
Death was a fixture on Welcome To HELL. In our minds, this was the only place he could express himself creatively. We brainstormed new things for him to try every show. Erick employed his deadpan gaze and stared into each audience member's soul. People piled in to see Death trying stand-up comedy, singing a Disney song, doing Shakespeare, reading poetry, etc. Audiences rooted for him to hit the joke, nail the song or get the girl. We rooted for him too. I e-mailed Erick in January of 2016 with one sentence; "let's write a TV show for Death." He responded "yes" and we were off.
I'm proud of the work we've done and I'm excited for the journey to come. Our project required us to lean on friends, pull favors, borrow money and lose some sleep, but it's been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the pilot.
Best,
Christopher Aurilio