Actress Noor Razooky (center) shares a laugh with fellow cast member Myrna Velasco (left) while promoting Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Organic Intelligence at the 2025 Comic-Con convention. Photo by Michael Howard
Taking yourself too seriously isn’t generally a thing when you’re an actor playing a role in a film where tomatoes are the antagonist. Just ask Zachary Roozen who plays “Chad” in “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Organic Intelligence,” the franchise’s fourth sequel release slated for October 2025.
“Chad lives in the moment,” Roozen explains while signing autographs at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego. “He’s not really forward thinking,” he adds, then pauses. “Or backward thinking,” he says thoughtfully. Not letting the listener ponder on that too profoundly, he continues. “There’s something beautiful about him – like a Golden Retriever. He’s present wherever he is, and he’s present with who he’s with.” Roozen looks puzzled like he’s not sure where he’s going with this line of thinking. “Hopefully on screen, you’ll have a laugh at his expense,” Roozen smiles.
Laughing at one’s own expense is clearly a key aspect of this franchise. Despite winning the Film Consortium San Diego’s Lifetime Achievement Award this past June, writer and executive producer Costa Dillon does not suffer serious questions about the upcoming film.
“Anyone attempting to find a message in this film will be shot,” he joked when asked about the film’s identity. What about the plot then? “Anybody attempting to find a plot in this film will be banished,” he doubled down.
And talking to cast members, the light-heartedness is contagious and palpable. Hometown San Diego native Noor Razooky who plays “Angela” jumps in on the action. “The best part [of having been cast] in my role is being a character in this world, this playful world – one that allows you to not take it so seriously,” she reveals.
But in the world of filmmaking, what is being taken seriously is San Diego’s real push for Hollywood dollars. With the recent signing of California’s bill AB 102, Governor Gavin Newsom increased film tax credits from $330 million to $750 million, more than doubling the incentive in one sweep. The increase was geared toward enticing big-budget filmmakers back to the state.
Before the signing of this bill, filmmakers had been fleeing to more economically attractive states like Georgia and Illinois—where there is no cap on how much a single film can earn in tax incentives. Even with this recent increase in tax incentive dollars, California still does cap a film’s tax incentive amount to $54 million per project.
Still, that’s some pretty pennies. And not to be overlooked in the scramble for Hollywood dollars, Escondido native Aaron Roberts has begun building the infrastructure necessary to lure the money here. Last year he launched the Chula Vista Entertainment Complex (CVEC) where filmmakers, actors, editors, graphic artists and creatives of all types will be able to support big-film production on two campuses boasting 75,000 and 90,000 square feet. Phase one of that project will be located on the second floor of Chula Vista’s new library building, where the 75,000 square foot second floor is reserved for creative space.
“We’re going to fill that space with a whole bunch of amenities that the creative community desires,” Roberts told the Escondido Times-Advocate back in March. “Like audio video podcast rooms that are set up and turnkey ready to go, 10 to 15 foot LED walls, meeting rooms, photography rooms, places to do voice-overs. Kind of anything that would be maybe a little harder for your independent creative to have access or to come up with the capital for.”
Roberts, an Escondido Charter High School graduate, is in the forefront leading the charge for Hollywood dollars, saying the region might have been overlooked previously, but the time is right for filmmakers to look again to San Diego..
“There’s so much within [San Diego] county that I think is kind of untapped potential that’s just waiting for the right opportunity,“ Roberts pointed out.
But Roberts isn’t the only one vying for the dollars. Leo Kats recently purchased the former XETV 6 studios in Clairmont Mesa where he has transformed it into Spark Studio Soundstage featuring a 3,000 square foot sound stage studio, editing bays and event venue focused on attracting the film industry. “We are definitely looking to increase our participation in the overall film market and this is why we took over the studio,” he said in an email.
Additionally, if you thought San Diego didn’t have the pipeline of artists, creatives and technical craft personnel needed to support big-budget film, think again. With film programs at San Diego State University, University California San Marcos, and Escondido’s own dedicated film university – the John Paul Catholic University – there’s already a path to employment in the industry.
And more are coming. Just ask Steph Groce—who is starting IdeaEngine Impact Foundation, an organization built from the ground up to feed the industry. “The Foundation will work towards funneling more interns into [various productions] for multi-usage media and grips with electrician workforce development,” he told The Times-Advocate via text.
Despite the focus on attracting big money, “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Organic Intelligence” could very well be an example of the role indie films might play in the shifting filmmaking landscape. An independently produced project, the majority of scenes were shot locally and did not have the financial backing or distribution of major film studios. Yet it was made primarily in the San Diego region, even without the necessary infrastructure a big-production company needs.
The ability to produce and distribute film is fragmenting, becoming decentralized, and more independent. While big-productions bring in the splash and big money, it’s the everyday independent filmmaker who can provide the steady income.
Dillon thinks the change is already happening. “This story [about making my film independently] is revealing truths,” he said, back in the booth at Comic-Con. “And anytime you reveal the truth, it’s dangerous to the people in charge, which I think is why no major studio gave us the attention,” he suggests.
Getting the attention of big studios might not always be possible, but like the killer tomatoes in Dillon’s film, filmmakers are evolving and adapting. Myrna Velasco, the actress who plays “Marina,” said it best when explaining the role tomatoes play in the latest sequel. “The tomatoes are bigger, better and scarier than you ever imagined. And they’re smarter. Much smarter.”
“And they’re hungry,” the actress Smantha Bailey, playing “Kate” throws in. Like the tomatoes in the film, indie filmmakers are hungry, bigger, better, scarier and smarter. Asked to expand on the tomato’s human characteristics, Bailey is not one to take herself too seriously either, she simply followed up with, “And tomatoes will too-mate.”
Wrapping up their time at the Comic-Con booth, the “Attack of the Killer Tomato” clan gather up for a final photo. Each had words of wisdom to share to the filmmakers, the policy makers, the actors and actresses in the film industry. But it was San Diego native Razooky who summed up the spirit of the group.
“There’s a lot of things that are very serious right now,” she began, “but try to remember to always have fun. Take care of yourself and leave room for play — whatever play means to you — make sure you carve that out into your life. It’s very, severely important,” she said with just a slight, ittsy-bitsy tinge of seriousness.
Writer and Executive Producer Costa Dillon (2nd from R) poses for pictures at the 2025 Comic Con promoting his Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Organic Intelligence with actors (L to R) Samantha Bailey, Myrna Velasco, Noor Razooky, Dillon, and Zachary Roozen. Photo by Michael Howard
Actor Zachary Roozen signs autographs at the 2025 Comic-Con convention while promoting Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Organic Intelligence. Photo by Michael Howard