News, Fashion, TV & Film - Suddenly I'm the Zombie Access Hollywood

Ah, Angelina Zombie... my straight readers are all lusting after you, even in your undead form. Come to think of it, Angelina would probably make a kick-ass zombie. Imagine a face-off between Angelina Zombie and Milla Jovovich's Alice. There's an entire 90 minute fight sequence that straight boys would line up to see again and again... Wow -- I'd better register that, or something.

So, I've been away from actually posting here on the Zone, and some of what I have to talk about this week is probably old news for many of you. Still, I've been gathering it for 2 weeks and have a few things to say about each of the items below, so let's get started, shall we?

First, in Zombie News there's this ridiculous story from my favorite defunct tabloid, The Weekly World News, now available only on line. Anyway, the story is reputed to be from Miami, where a Haitian immigrant has supposedly filed a suit against the US Government for denying him Social Security benefits because he is a zombie. Puh-lease... Isn't collecting a dead person's SSI money illegal?

And here's a photo gallery from Sacramento's Zombie Walk 2010, which took place on July 10th. It looks like a fine time was had by all...

This week in Zombie Fashion, Threadless has produced yet another fabulous Zombie T-Shirt design with this amazing "Zombies in Wonderland" T, which Uncle P is loving like a son... Of course, as a birthday present from my dear friend Megan, I got this "In Case of Zombies" T, which I love and wear proudly...

Then in Zombie Nonsense, there was the Cheezburger Networks' site "Wedinator," which posted a hilarious picture of a Russian Zombie Wedding, which I suppose is no stranger than a Clown Wedding or any other Weird Wedding...

In Zombie TV, it's ComiCon 2010 and the good folks at AMC had a panel there to talk about their highly anticipated adaptation of The Walking Dead. You can read all about it here.

And in Zombie Film news, Brad Pitt is reportedly both producing and acting in the film version of Max Brooks' novel World War Z. I wasn't particularly thrilled by Brooks' novel. I thought it was just a little too all-over-the-place, if you know what I mean, though I know there are many fans out there. I enjoyed Brooks' tongue-in-cheek Zombie Survival Guide, but thought the lack of a single narrative structure hurt WWZ. I can't imagine what a film version of it would look like...

And finally, the Zombie Clip of the Week, episode 4 of Zombie College:

Mmmm... Ear Jerky!

More high SAT scores... uh... I mean more skin-chewing, soon.
Prospero

Let Them Eat Brains

Not a whole lot going on in the Zombie-verse this week.

There is though, some Zombie Pastries fun: A mom made this 'Zombie Girl' cake for her daughter's 8th birthday. Now, if your read Caliban's Revenge, you already know that Uncle P's sister has a small side business, making custom cakes, cookies and cupcakes. And while many of her cakes are quite good, she has never attempted anything quite like this (though I bet she could kick some Zombie cake ass if she set her mind to it). Of course, she said she thought it was a bit much for an 8year-old, but that really depends on the 8 year-old, doesn't it? I've known some pretty sophisticated 8 year-olds in my day. Mom also made Eyeball Cupcakes for daughter to take to school. How cool (and creative) is this mom? The zombie it that picture reminds me of the monsters on the boxes of those Ratfink hotrod models, all bug-eyed and drooling. And I particularly love the brain. An awful lot of time and effort went into this cake, and it rivals anything I've seen on "Ace of Cakes" or "Cake Boss." View the whole Flicker set here (via).

And because Uncle P was up very late last night writing his glowing review of Kick-Ass, let's get right to this week's Zombie Clip of the Week. This week, a delightful little tale from the Happy Tree Friends. I give you The Happy Tree Friends Halloween Special, "Remains to Be Seen:"

That was fun, wasn't it? HTFs are a delightful group of cartoon forest animals who have all sort sof violent and rather twisted adventures. That little zombie flick was actually quite tame, compared to my favorite HTF adventure. "Let It Slide:"

Twisted, hilarious stuff which anyone with a sense of humor (granted, a dark one) would find amusing because we all know it's make-believe. Much like Kenny on South Park (who counts as a sort of zombie, I guess) comes back for every episode, so do the HTFs, no matter what kinds of horrible things happened to them in the previous episode. The joke isn't in the violence, but in the violence's outrageous excess, much like in Kick-Ass, which I saw and reviewed on Caliban's Revenge last night.

You and I both know that all genre fans are a off our proverbial rockers to some extant, but Zombie fans are a breed unto ourselves and are apt to find humor in things others find frightening and/or repulsive. It's the utter absurdity of the thing that makes it funny, and good absurdist comedy isn't easy. Most of us live proverbial lives of quiet desperation, and the zombie reminds us not only of our own mortality, but allows us to execute the soulless part of ourselves without remorse. A well-executed zombie feeding frenzy can be both disturbing and hilarious, but there is nothing more exceptionally satisfying than the splatter of zombie heads; either by gunfire, defibrillator, explosives or in the blades of a helicopter. Hmm... I can see a new category for next week: Zombie Kills.

Let's grab a bite, soon.
Prospero

The Dead Invade Your TV

I had a wonderful dinner with friends tonight, followed a terrific production of a musical with which I was completely unfamiliar (more on both tomorrow at C's R), so I got home a bit late, thus the rather short post this week.

Okay, this story may be a few weeks old, but it's still rather exciting. In Zombie News, it has been announced that Frank Darabont (one of the few directors to successfully translate the work of Stephen King to the big screen) has been given the go-ahead for a six-episode adaptation of Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore's graphic novel The Walking Dead for cable channel AMC.

For those unfamiliar, The Walking Dead is the story of small-town Kentucky police officer and his family and their attempts to survive the Zombie Apocalypse. Dear friends gave Uncle P a bound copy of the full series for Christmas, though I haven't actually had the time to get around to reading it (though I hope to do so, soon).

Darabont's version of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile were terrific and his adaptation of King's novella The Mist, was exceptionally satisfying. He is producing The Walking Dead along with Gale Ann Hurd (James Cameron's former production partner), though I'm not sure that it qualifies as an American Movie Classic. Of course, like every other cable outlet, AMC has been forced to expand its programming in an effort to increase its audience and their first efforts at original programming ("Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad") have proven to be quite good, so I have high hopes for The Walking Dead. Andrew Lincoln ("Afterlife") has been cast in the lead.

In Zombie Films, Fangoria has a terrific story about Michael Simon's short "Romantic Zomedie," Gay Zombie (not to be confused with this YouTube short). I haven't seen Simon's film, but after reading this article, you know it's on my "Must See" list.

Finally, tonight's Zombie Clip of the Week, Part 2 of the animated series, "Zombie College:"

I'm actually kind of glad I went to a regular college where the students were all alive (well, most of them). I don't think I would have liked to have spent my late teens and early 20's looking over my shoulder to keep from being eaten.

More deliciousness, next week.
Prospero