Wednesday, December 25, 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!




Corpses Burning On A Funeral Pyre


Corpses burning on a funeral pyre
Undead nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols punctuated with gunfire
And folks dressed up like commandos 

Everybody knows a vigorous head blow
Helps defeat the undead blight
Gun shots right between the running lights
Make it hard for zed to scream and bite. 

America's Sgt. Maj's on his way

He's loaded lots of ammo and weapons on his sleigh
And every mother's child is gonna spy
To see if head shots make contaminated truly die

And so I'm offering this simple phrase
Breathe, relax, aim, and shoot
Despite the fact it may be the end of days
Merry Christmas to you!






Poem by LL

Are you afraid of 'Cooties?'



Synopsis:
A mysterious virus hits an isolated elementary school and transforms the students into a feral swarm of mass savages; then an unlikely hero must lead a motley band of teachers in the fight of their lives.


Premiering at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival this January.



‘Walking Dead’ Creator Suing AMC for Profits


Former Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont The Walking Dead Creator Frank Darabont is Suing AMC for Profits

AMC’s The Walking Dead is currently the most-watched drama series on television, with 12.1 million viewers having tuned in for the recent mid-season finale. Despite the occasional dips, the show has overall been widely well-received by critics and is part of a franchise based on Robert Kirkman’s original comics that is growing ever more successful.

Despite the praise for The Walking Dead, however, there have been some very disquieting events going on between the scenes. In a few short seasons AMC has already fired two showrunners – Frank Darabont and Glenn Mazzara - and reportedly made some rather dubious recommendations to help cut the budget in season 2, including suggesting the the zombies only be heard and not seen in order to save money on special effects make-up.

Darabont has not mellowed in his feelings towards AMC’s executives, recently describing them as “sociopaths” and stating that he cannot bear to watch the show any more. Now Variety reports that Darabont has filed a lawsuit against AMC Networks, on the basis of claims that the company has been “self-dealing” in order to avoid paying Darabont his rightful share of the show’s profits.

Frank Darabont and Jon Bernthal on the set of The Walking Dead The Walking Dead Creator Frank Darabont is Suing AMC for Profits

The main thrust of the lawsuit is Darabont’s claim that AMC is playing the numbers to avoid having to hand out a single dollar to its profit participants. The Walking Dead is produced and aired by two affiliates of AMC Networks, and Darabont’s contract was with the affiliate that produces the show. His original agreement would guarantee him a share of any profits made by the production company, as the original developer of The Walking Dead.

According to Darabont’s lawsuit, AMC Networks is avoiding sharing any profits by having the production affiliate sell the license fee for The Walking Dead to the AMC channel for a very small figure. For example, the AMC license fee is allegedly $1,450,000 per episode, which only covers about 65% of the production costs. This would mean that, on paper, The Walking Dead remains firmly in deficit while the parent company can reap the profits without paying anything to Darabont or any other profit share participants.

The lawsuit also claims that Darabont was unlawfully fired from the show during the second season, despite delivering the episodes within time and budget limitations, and that he is entitled to an executive producer credit. The litigation alleges that Darabont was fired in order to avoid paying him increased compensation and to deprive him of his right of first negotiations to serve as showrunner for the third season.

The Walking Dead season 4 zombie The Walking Dead Creator Frank Darabont is Suing AMC for Profits

AMC has declined comment on the litigation, which Darabont and his agency CAA are requesting be sent to a jury trial in order to determine the monetary damages that Darabont is entitled to. Based on the outcomes of  numerous vertical integration lawsuits of the past, including the recent litigation against Warner Bros. over Smallville financials, this particular dispute will most likely be settled out of court.

In the meantime, this is sure to be a big topic of discussion during the wait for the second half of The Walking Dead season 4. Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter has already weighed in on Twitter with the pithy remark, “go frank. fuck those ghoulish, dead-eyed scumbags in their green-gobbed asses. i ain’t talking about the zombies.” It looks like we might see more than a few people taking Darabont’s side.




~screenrant.com

Are you ready for a Zombie World?




Synopsis: In a world where zombies are on the planet, a terrible event will transform humans with a rage that will be unleashed on all zombies. Now it is they who have to hide to avoid being killed or becoming infected humans.



PERMUTED PRESS ANNOUNCES NEW RELEASES FOR DECEMBER, 2013

PERMUTED PRESS ANNOUNCES NEW RELEASES FOR  DECEMBER, 2013
"FOUR HUGE TITLES CONTINUE, SAGER INTRODUCES US TO THE PERFECT SERUM IN EVIL VEIN: DARK BEGINNINGS. YOU CAN TAKE A TRIP BACK TO 1974 IN PRAY TO STAY DEAD, OR LIVE AMONG THE DEAD IN THE DECAYING CITY OF WATERLOO IN LIFE AMONG THE DEAD." 
Permuted Press, the leading independent publisher of zombie, horror and postapocalyptic fiction, announces their latest selection of new releases available in eBook and print-on-demand retailers.
AVAILABLE NOW

Tankbread 2
by Paul Mannering


Nine months after the sacrifice of one man destroyed the evol hive-mind, Else is preparing for the arrival of a new life.

When her son is born on a night of storm and rage, Else is thrust into a desperate struggle to save him from a gruesome fate in the hands of the zombie crew of a derelict ship.
To rescue her son, Else must become the unwilling hero and savior of the last remnants of humanity.


eBook ISBN: 9781618681805
Trade Paperback ISBN: 9781618681799

Purchase in eBook or Print.

Pray to Stay Dead
by Mason James Cole


1974: The Summer of Love is a fading memory, the Cold War rages on, Richard M. Nixon is barely holding onto the Presidency, and the dead are returning to life. 

As civilization collapses, scattered survivors cross paths, and the hungry dead are the least of the horrors unleashed. Those who die will walk. Those who live will hope for a quick death, and they will pray to stay dead. 


eBook ISBN: 9781618681850
Trade Paperback ISBN: 9781618681843

Purchase in eBook or Print.

Evil Vein: Dark Beginnings
by D.S. Sager


In an attempt to save his dying wife, scientist Hal Johnston created the perfect serum.  One that could extend human life indefinitely.  When the drug is introduced to the small town of Tylerton California, the results are disastrous.  Zombies and crab like creatures dubbed “scrabions,” terrorize the city’s inhabitants.  As groups of survivors band together struggling to survive, the military tries desperately to keep the infestation confined.


eBook ISBN: 9781618681874
Trade Paperback ISBN: 9781618681867

Purchase in eBook or Print.

Infection and Containment: Alaskan Undead Apocalypse Books 1 and 2
by Sean Schubert


Two full apocalyptic thrillers in one! Includes Books 1 and 2 of the Alaskan Undead Apocalypse Series.

When a plague strikes, Anchorage Alaska becomes a deadly trap for its citizens. The only two land routes out of the city are cut, forcing people to fight or die as the infection spreads. Coming together as strangers, Danny, Jules, Neil, and Dr. Caldwell begin to form stronger bonds - even as the hope for rescue slips away. With life and death hanging on every decision, Neil must face each new obstacle without breaking, and the group presses on toward their last hope: that this nightmare has been contained, and there still exists a sane world free of infection.


eBook ISBN: 9781618681836

Purchase in eBook.


Life Among the Dead
by Daniel Cotton


There's over a million people in the city of Waterloo. Today, most of them have died, and now they are hungry. Corporal Dan Williamson is caught in the middle of the outbreak. He is desperately trying to reach his wife who is somewhere amid the urban decay. There are other souls out there, other tales of survival among the horror. Dan will soon learn that the living may prove to be an even bigger threat than the dead. 


eBook ISBN: 9781618681829
Trade Paperback ISBN: 9781618681812

Purchase in eBook or Print.

Mitigation (Alaskan Undead 3)
by Sean Schubert


Legions of undead and the bitter Alaskan wilderness conspire against Neil, Jerry, Meghan, and Emma as they fight for survival. The horrors of Anchorage festering with prowling ghouls behind them but now new terrors threaten their every step on their arduous trek along the Seward Highway.

As hopes dim and nightmares become dark realities, the small group of survivors, including young Danny and Jules, find strength in each other to live.


eBook ISBN: 9781618680686
Trade Paperback ISBN: 9781618680679

Purchase in eBook or Print.

The Tilian Effect (The Pandemic Sequence Book 2)
by Tom Calen


So much sacrificed. So little gained.

Seven years have passed since the outbreak of the Tilian Virus and the effects of the disease devastated the world.

A resilient band of survivors have overcome insurmountable odds. But now, on the brink of human extinction, can hope's dim light be strengthened? Can a cure exist to purge the darkness before the infected complete their domination?


eBook ISBN: 9781618680938
Trade Paperback ISBN: 9781618680921

Purchase in eBook or Print.

The Reaper: No Mercy
by Sean Leibling


USMC Captain Jason Scott comes home to find his entire family slaughtered by ravenous zombies. Berserk with rage, he kills every Godless one of them. As he stands over the bodies of the now truly dead, he realizes the Lord has a mission for him. He takes the battle to the evil minions of Satan, both living and undead, while scouting westward to recon the forces of the shadow government.


eBook ISBN: 9781618681898

Purchase in eBook.


The Tilian Virus (The Pandemic Sequence Book 1)
by Tom Calen


The virus spread quicker than anyone could have imagined. Within days, over half the world's population became infected. Now a small band of survivors, led by high school teacher Mike Allard, must learn to live in a world ravaged by the deadly victims of the Tilian Virus.


eBook ISBN: 9781618680914
Trade Paperback ISBN: 9781618680907

Purchase in eBook or Print.

Healing (The Flu Book 2)
by Jacqueline Druga


A deadly flu pandemic has decimated humanity. Now, the remaining twenty percent of the population must rise from the ashes to rebuild.

In a world without communication and power, a land without law and order, Mick desperately follows the trail in search of his missing sons. But in his attempts to find them, he discovers that even in a barren world, the danger of extinction still exists as another threat, one even bigger than the flu, is on the horizon.


eBook ISBN: 9781618681614
Trade Paperback ISBN: 9781618681607

Purchase in eBook or Print.

The Rising Dead
by Devan Sagliani


Chaos breaks out when a virulent new strain of biological warfare is unwittingly released into the general population, causing all who are infected with it to turn into flesh hungry monsters driven by a hive mind that yearns to feed.

Gunner, a paranoid war veteran and the head of security at the Biotech lab where the virus was created, along with a band of college students and burnouts, must fight their way through a zombie horde in search of somewhere safe to take refuge. Is this an inescapable global pandemic, or can they find a safe zone outside of Sin City?


eBook ISBN: 9781618681195
Trade Paperback ISBN: 9781618681188

Purchase in eBook or Print.

Flu-ology: The Flu 1 and 2
by Jacqueline Druga


Two full apocalyptic thrillers for one low price!
Includes The Flu and its newly released sequel, Healing.

A deadly flu pandemic has decimated humanity, but a glimmer of light exists in the small, flu-free town of Lodi, Ohio. But even the smallest trip outside of Lodi can turn ugly. In a world without communication, power, or law and order, Mick desperately follows the trail in search of his missing sons.  But he discovers that a threat even bigger than the Flu is on the horizon.


eBook ISBN: 9781618681782

Purchase in eBook.

Coming to a dvd player near you!



Synopsis:
Desperate filmmaker Osric Taylor dreams of making his civil war Hamlet but when production funding dries up, he agrees to take southern matron Hester Beauchamps offer to fund the film if he throws some zombies in it to make their money back. But when Hester dies in mid shoot, Osric dresses up as Hester to cash the last check and awakens the suspicions of both the local police and ambitious local news reporter Shine Reynolds. Inspired by an actual incident.

Zombie Hamlet hits shelves December 31, 2013!


Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Zombie Claus brings holiday fright to Council Bluffs




Once upon a time, Zombie Claus and Rudolph the Bloody-Nosed Reindeer visited the Squirrel Cage Jail in Council Bluffs to scare the jolly out of visitors while raising money to help replace the jail’s damaged roof.
Mrs. Claus didn’t like how Santa was eyeing his elves so she ripped out his eyes, or so the story goes, according to members of the Omaha Chapter of the Zombie Research Society.

Mikey Taylor – global leader and Omaha chapter president – said ZRS tries its best to give back to the community as some of their activities can leave people scratching their head.
“If we’re going to run around studying zombies and trying to prevent an apocalypse, we decided to give back to society so people don’t think we’re crazy,” Taylor said.
The group has helped several organizations in the Council Bluffs and Omaha metro area, which include the American Red Cross, Siena-Francis House, Youth Emergency Services and Lydia House.
Participants paid $5 on Saturday to tour the Squirrel Cage Jail and have a picture taken with Zombie Claus. The funds benefited the historical building’s roof, which was damaged by a hailstorm in August 2011.
Patrick Howell, 46, of Omaha played the role of Zombie Claus whose beard was stained with a dark red blood.
While Howell said he doesn’t consider Christmas as an exciting holiday for himself, he’s still able to bring some holiday fright and cheer to others, which is enough to bring a smile to his face.
“It’s the complete opposite of your clean-cut Santa Claus,” he said.
For Irene Schlautman of Council Bluffs, seeing Zombie Claus meant something new for her 92nd birthday.
“I figured she’d done everything else in her lifetime except see Zombie Claus,” said daughter-in-law Candee Schlautman, 56, of Council Bluffs.
Irene Schlautman agreed the encounter was certainly a different spin of the big man in red.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” she said. “Something you’ve never tried before, you have to try it.”


~kkaufman/nonpareilonline.com

Movie trailer for upcoming 'Death Walks'


Zombies. We all love them, right? But from time to time we admit that the zombie genre is becoming over-saturated, and many of them are regurgitating the same formula. Now, there is nothing wrong with that, but sometimes it’s nice to shake things up a bit and it appears as if the upcoming zero budget British zombie film, Death Walks, is set to reinvent the sub-genre, or so they say.
Below we have scored the brand new trailer for Spencer Hawken’s latest film Death Walks, which stars Francesca Ciardi (Cannibal Holocaust), Lucinda Rhodes, Jessie Williams, and Joanna Finata.
SynopsisLate one night a group of lone workers in a shopping centre are visited by a sinister force. Think you know the zombie movie genre? Think again, Death Walks… reinvents the zombie movie, and spins your beliefs on your head!
It definitely looks intriguing, and I for one will be keeping this sucker on my radar to see how this one pans out. I have high hopes. Bit enough about what I think, make your way below and check it out ad let us know what you make of it?
The film is currently gearing up to hit the festival circuit, but being a zero budget film they need a helping hand to get into some festivals. So, if you would like to help, make your way over to their Kickstarter page and see what you can do.

Nerf Zombie Strike Line Coming to the UK in 2014, Amazon UK Already Selling Some Items




Thanks to the fan site Nerf UK, and Hasbro UK additionally for the graphic above, UK Fans get a confirmation that the Zombie Strike Line will be reaching their shores in January 2014!
However, Amazon UK has already put up items from the line to purchase! You can view what they have for sale so far here. The Hammer Shot, Sledge Fire, Crossfire Bow, and 30 Pack of Zombie Strike darts can be purchased from Amazon.

~basicnerf.wordpress.com 

Check Out Michonne's Pet Zombies Now!


The Walking Dead Michonne's Pet Zombies 1:6 Scale Action Figures by Threezero - Red and Green Colorways

Threezero’s epic, highly detailed and articulated line of The Walking Dead 1:6 scale action figures is almost here!  

Threezero’s first The Walking Dead release comes 12” versions of Michonne’s Pet Zombies.  

The Walking Dead Michonne's Pet Zombies 1:6 Scale Action Figures by Threezero - Red and Green Editions

Based on their look from the hit AMC television series, Michonne's jawless and armless Pet Zombies include a real metal chain leash hanging around their necks and detachable, realistic looking backpacks. Each figure also features articulation at the head, shoulders, and waist, and its torso is covered by a crazy material that looks like real skin. Threezero definitely went all out on these two walkers. 

Next up in Threezero’s The Walking Dead line of 1:6 action figures…Merle!


Pre-order from Entertainment Earth for $119.99 each here.




~theblot.com

Are you suffering from these symptoms?




Check out this upcoming Merle Dixon Walker Statue



One of the most complicated characters of AMC’s "The Walking Dead," Daryl’s brother Merle evolved from a stereotypical brutal redneck to a tragic figure seeking redemption, which he finds to a degree after releasing Michonne and singlehandedly taking on the Governor’s ambush party. He meets a violent end by the Governor’s hand and returns to stalk the living as a Walker.
Designed by the master artisans at Gentle Giant Ltd., the Merle Dixon Walker Statue captures the likeness of Michael Rooker’s Merle Dixon in all of his undead glory. Each limited edition, hand-painted statue comes individually numbered and is paired with a matching certificate of authenticity.
Regular Price: $399.00
Scale: 1:4
Dimensions: L 9.75” x W 9” x H 16.25”
Pre-order here.


Here's How 'World War Z' Originally Ended Before the Reshoots


It's no secret that World War Z underwent rather extensive reshoots during its notoriously troubled production. The apparently dire need to fix the ending is all people could talk about in the months leading up to the film's release. However, now that it's out, no one really cares. The movie works just fine and it doesn't look like it was crippled by any scripting surgery along the way. But how did it originally end? Having read the script, we can tell you. We don't have 100% confirmation that all of this ended up being filmed (though there's evidence below a lot of it was), but this is at least how it was supposed to end.

Obviously there will be big spoilers below.

As you may have read, though some minor scenes were added to the opening, the big dividing line between the original shoot and the reshoots is the plane sequence that Paramount has been showcasing so heavily in all of the marketing. In the finished film, Gerry (Brad Pitt) and Segen (Daniella Kertesz) board an aircraft just as it's leaving an overrun Jerusalem. A zombie outbreak happens, Gerry throws a grenade, the plane crashes, he and Segen survive. They go to a World Health Organization facility and yada yada yada, Gerry comes up with a way of using a treatable terminal illness to camouflage humans from zombies. He reunites with his family in Nova Scotia and mankind now has the upper hand on the undead. A happy ending, for the most part.
The original ending? Not so happy.
The plane Gerry and Segen board is bound for Moscow. Upon safely landing, everyone on board is rounded up by the military. The elderly and the sick are executed and the healthy people, including a very shaken Gerry, are immediately drafted into armed service, though not before one particularly nasty Russian soldier takes Gerry's cell phone. The story then jumps forward an unknown amount of time and we catch up with Gerry, who now has a full beard and has been a part of Russia's zombie-clearing squad at least long enough for it to have changed to winter. He looks almost dead inside, but the reality is that over this time he's become an experienced and ruthless zombie killer, and he's the leader of his own equally capable unit.
Gerry's unit is tasked with clearing subway tunnels of zombie hordes. This is the first time we see the Lobo, a perfected zombie-killing tool that's sort of a shovel/battle axe that would have been one of the few things from the book to make it into the movie. Gerry and his team use them to slice their way through every poor zombie that tracks them through the tunnels by following their sounds. It's all routine work for them, and when they're not in the tunnels killing, they're basically just preparing to go back in. During this downtime we see a bit of bonding between Gerry and another English-speaking friend, Simon. The two play a guessing game of what celebrities would have survived the outbreak.
We get a couple intense scenes of tunnel combat (at one point Gerry has to kill one of his own after being bitten), and eventually they emerge above ground and are right in the middle of the Battle of Red Square (pictured in the banner above, though this is likely not from the movie and was created just for marketing purposes). This is a much, much larger set piece that involves several different front lines constantly fighting the hordes. There's a kind of weird plot point of Gerry's team now getting reassigned to different front lines based on what their religion is (Gerry and Simon are atheists), the logic being that people would fight harder alongside people of the same faith. But they're segregated and Gerry tries to convince the general in charge that his elite, tunnel-sweeping crew should be allowed to teach those other people how to fight with Lobos and makeshift shields and what not.
There's arguing with this Russian general, but eventually Gerry convinces him to let him teach some of the other front lines how to fight, but this involves having to go back into the tunnels with Simon so they can sneak past the zombies on the other side. It's there that Gerry notices the zombies are having a hard time dealing with the severe Russian winter by remembering just how fast they were in Jerusalem, and so it occurs to him that the way to defeat the zombies is to let their bodies freeze.
Gerry and Simon are now on a mission to inform the Russian command to extinguish all fires and move their battle lines so as to keep as many of the zombies in the cold as possible, but then they run into a generator room where the nasty Russian soldier who took his phone upon arrival in the country is boozing it up with some very reluctant girls. One of those girls is Segen. Gerry grabs a belt of grenades and tosses one into the room. He, Segen and Simon duck behind a couch to survive the blast before making a break for it.
Once again Gerry meets up with the general and convinces him to use Russia's cold to their advantage, as they have done in past homeland wars. This works and he orders everyone to extinguish all of their fires. Eventually this gives them the upper hand in the battle. Gerry takes this turn toward the offensive to retreat. He takes a couple of shots of vodka, then picks up the phone he retrieved from the soldier and calls his wife, Karin.
Even beyond the entire Russian battle sequence, it's this call to his wife that's the real game changer for the (aborted) tone of World War Z.
Gerry reaches Karin. He explains to her that the cold is the way they'll win battles, which does her no good because it just so happens she and the kids are in a refugee camp in the sweltering heat of the Everglades. They're in the type of camp where you have to have something to trade to survive, and it just so happens the one thing Karin had to trade was herself. She doesn't explicitly tell Gerry this, but after she hastily hangs up the phone we see that she's in some kind of reluctantly consensual relationship with the soldier who rescued them from the rooftop at the beginning of the movie.
Did you happen to notice that soldier on the helicopter was played by Matthew Fox? Did you wonder why they bothered to cast someone as recognizable as him in a role that was pretty inconsequential and had almost no lines? That's because his real payoff wasn't until the end.
Fox' parajumper soldier then calls Gerry back and explains to him that he should just stay wherever he is and start a new life like he and Karin have. Gerry refuses to accept this, though, and he embarks on a rage mission to get back to his wife and daughters. Trouble is the nearest port that won't be frozen is thousands of miles away, so there's a montage of Gerry, Simon and Segen crossing various terrain until they ultimately end up on a boat. They're now off of the Oregon coast and they attack the American shore like it's D-day. And that's how the movie ends. Not with Gerry having discovered a cure, but with him storming across the United States of America to get Karin back.
That's a bit of a weird ending, right? It's certainly wildly different than what was in the final film. We don't know just how much of it Paramount ended up filming before the studio realized audiences probably weren't going to like an ending where Karin was trading her body in order to keep her kids safe while Gerry was hiking across frozen tundra. It's actually a little surprising that all involved thought that this would have been a crowd-pleasing ending in the first place, though it would have set up the plot for a sequel. One would assume they filmed at least some of the Russian battles -- if you check the film's full cast credits on IMDb you can find roles like "Lobo Worker Aleftyina," "Gerry Lane's Recruit" and "Russian Zombie." And then there are these set photos, which show Gerry and Segen on the deck of a snow-covered ship, which would have taken place during Gerry's journey back to America.
Will we ever see this ending in any form? Who knows. The folks at Paramount haven't announced that yet. Maybe they'll include what they did shoot on the Blu-ray. Maybe not.  



~peterhall/movies.com