There’s a beautiful sunset over the Richmond skyline. A police radio dispatch fades up around the purple evening sky and informs patrol officers of a 415, an “unusual disturbance.”
That’s when the portly, endearing, and very serious Matt Adams chimes in. “I GOT THIS,” he scowls. And thus begins our first episode of Ghostbusters: Richmond Division, a wacky, spooky, local, and homemade tribute series to America’s favorite fighters of the undead.
There’s a beautiful sunset over the Richmond skyline. A police radio dispatch fades up around the purple evening sky and informs patrol officers of a 415, an “unusual disturbance.”
That’s when the portly, endearing, and very serious Matt Adams chimes in. “I GOT THIS,” he scowls. And thus begins our first episode of Ghostbusters: Richmond Division, a wacky, spooky, local, and homemade tribute series to America’s favorite fighters of the undead.
GB:Richmond Division is produced by White Tiger Filmz, a local indie filming group comprised of Jamie Hodges, 25; Jesse Hodges, 22; and Matt Adams, 27. The men are Richmond natives and have been big fans of filming and cosplay since they were kids. And for about 6 years now, they have been involved in the fictional Richmond Ghostbusters division.
“We’ve actually been filming our own stuff for about 13 years now,” said Jamie. “This is something all of us have been doing since middle school. We’ve been huge Ghostbusters fans since birth, so it seemed natural to start doing this.”
White Tiger Filmz first created a feature-length Ghostbusters fan film back in 2009. After receiving a massive audience response from their fans and followers, including Ghostbusters Virginia, they decided to keep filming and posting videos on their YouTube channel.
“We usually have an episode go up every couple of weeks,” said Adams, “Our Ghostbusters and Viva La Cosplay episodes are what we really focus on. And we stay busy with events and stuff as well, so it can take up to a couple months to actually get a video filmed and posted.”
Staying true to the indie film ideology, White Tiger Filmz shoots all of their work locally and does their own special effects and costume work.
“Our Ghostbusters headquarters is actually in downtown Richmond,” said Adams. “We all grew up here and it’s a beautiful place so it’s a great way for us to get to showcase our home.”
“And as far as the costumes go, they are mostly hand-made through our years and tears,” added Jamie.
When the guys aren’t busy filming, they enjoy making appearances at cosplay events in the area.
“We’re all cosplay representatives of Virginia Comicon,” said Jesse. “We like showing up at things in the tri-state area. It’s really exciting seeing how big it’s all gotten over the years. It’s important for us to spread the word, and this sub-culture grows. Our show is even sponsored so we try to give back as much as we can.”
As for what’s next for the men of White Tiger Filmz, they say to keep an eye out and expect big things soon.
“The local stuff is growing so quickly,” said Jamie. “RVA has an awesome indie film scene and there’s literally something always going on or about to happen. And, of course, we’ll be posting more good stuff on our channel as well.”
The episodes are low budget, but what they lack in visual perfection they make up for in heart. And it’s always good to support Richmonders doing something.
For more information on White Tiger Filmz and their Ghostbusters series, check out their official website.
