World War II zombie anthology “FUBAR” to have Oklahoma signing
The World War II zombie anthology “FUBAR” releases its second volume this month, with a national signing tour as part of the launch. Creators including Rafer Roberts, Mike Imboden, Jeff McClelland and Oklahoma’s Mario Wytch will sign on Jan. 7 in support of the book.
Artist Mario Wytch will be at Speeding Bullet Comics, 614 N Porter Ave. in Norman, from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7 for the Oklahoma premiere of “FUBAR 2: Empire of the Rising Dead.” Wytch will sign copies of “FUBAR 2,” as well as his work in other comics, including “Josh Howard Presents: Sasquatch” and the Speeding Bullet-published “OK24.” Copies of the first “FUBAR” anthology will also be on hand.
Here’s how the publisher describes this war/horror anthology: The indie smash hit is back with its second stand-alone volume. From the harbors of Hawaii to the streets of Tokyo, this zombie-smashing epic, FUBAR II: Empire of the Rising Dead follows a full-blown zombie outbreak in the middle of the Pacific theater of World War II as the allies come face to face with the walking dead … again!
- Matt Price
(Disclosure note: Matt Price is one of the owners of Speeding Bullet Comics.)
Zombies may represent our darkest fears
A sign promoting zombie preparadness is seen in a hardware store in Omaha, Neb., Monday, Oct. 10, 2011.
What makes the zombie genre so popular? I looked at some reasons for this Halloween story for The Oklahoman.
“Every dead body that is not exterminated becomes one of them. It gets up and kills. The people it kills get up and kill.”
— Dr. Foster (“Dawn of the Dead,” 1978)
Arguably the most popular horror subgenre of the past decade has been the zombie tale, with motion picture hits including “Zombieland,” “Shaun of the Dead,” and the “Resident Evil” series. People have even taken to dressing like zombies in “Zombie Walks” in various parts of the world, including in Oklahoma City. (In 2010, fake blood left by a zombie walk led to a brief police investigation.)
But what has led to the ongoing appeal of these brain-eating, slow-witted monsters? Maybe it’s a way of facing our fears.
Comic-book recommendations for Halloween reading
With Halloween just around the corner, publishers have released new or updated editions of some horror and Halloween-themed comics. Each of these would make fine reading with a flashlight once the sun goes down on All Hallows’ Eve.
Milla Jovovich describes fun of filming “Resident Evil: Afterlife”
Ali Larter and Milla Jovovich in "Resident Evil: Afterlife."
SAN DIEGO — “Resident Evil: Afterlife” is the fourth zombie-fighting film based on the hit video game. Milla Jovovich returns as Alice, who aims to find survivors in this post-apocalyptic world and lead them to safety. She continues her battle with the Umbrella Corp., the entity responsible for the undead roaming the Earth.
While most video-game based movies haven’t been successful, “Resident Evil” has been the exception. At last month’s Comic-Con International, Jovovich said she credits that to the people working on the films.
“We’ve been so lucky to have such incredible cast and crew, and all the actors that have been involved are such wonderful actors, period,” she said at a panel promoting “Resident Evil: Afterlife.” “But they’re also the kind of people that aren’t going to get all snooty, like, ‘Oh, this is just an action film’ and ‘Oh, I don’t like making this stupid action … .’”
Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter at Comic-Con International.
The first and fourth “Resident Evil” films were directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Jovovich and Anderson, who met on the first “Resident Evil” film, now are married. Jovovich said having fun on set has been part of the success of the “Resident Evil” films.
“I’ve done so many different types of movies in my life, and we all go into this loving it. It’s like this grueling roller-coaster ride. It’s like grueling Disneyland. We have so much fun doing it. It’s like every day on set is this crazy adventure, shooting, explosions, like flying, it’s wild.”
Being able to return to the Alice character in film after film has been an advantage, Jovovich said.
“Alice is the kind of character that keeps evolving,” she said. “For me, I think every actor’s dream is at the end of the movie, you always wish you could start all over again, because now you finally got the character. And here, I get to come back all these times, over and over and tweak things and change things and add things.”
She praised her co-stars Ali Larter and Wentworth Miller, who play Claire and Chris Redfield, and said part of the reason for the films’ success has been having fun on set.
Wentworth Miller, Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter. (AP)
“Ali elevates any material that she is in. Wentworth is such an incredible actor,” she said.
Miller’s Chris Redfield character joins the film franchise for the first time. Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine were the main characters in the original “Resident Evil” game. Jill Valentine, played by Sienna Guillory, first appeared in the second film “Resident Evil: Apocalypse,” and Ali Larter’s Claire Redfield, Chris’ sister, first appeared in the third film in the series, “Resident Evil: Extinction.”
At Comic-Con, Miller said there was some pressure in bringing the fan-favorite character to the big screen.
“It was not an easy challenge, because there were a lot of things that I tried to honor and incorporate,” Miller said. “First there was fan expectation. I did go online; I went to a lot of fan sites and blogs to see what the conversation was about this character, what people might expect when they finally saw Chris Redfield on the screen.”
Miller said he also watched extended sequences from the video games to research the Redfield character and considered what he brought to the character himself as an actor.
“And then there’s also the element of who is Chris Redfield in the very specific ‘Resident Evil’ universe that Paul Anderson has created? I have to fit into that context, or I don’t fit at all.”
Miller said Redfield in the earlier games appeared to be “at the beginning of a really horrible journey, with a lot of dark times ahead of him,” but that despite that, “he was kind of bright and shiny in some ways.”
Miller said he was able to use scenes with Larter, who plays Claire, to show some of Chris’ more caring side.
“When you see him in this movie, he’s got a lot of edge. He’s got a lot of darkness,” he said. “And I’m grateful for what Ali and I were able to create. Because it’s the dynamic with Claire that I think brings out some of the softer, more protective, more vulnerable parts of Chris.”
- by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Friday the 13th is a great time for spooky comics
Last year I shared 5 creepy comics to read on Friday the 13th… since we’ve got 2010′s only Friday the 13th today, here are some other recommendations to read under the covers with a flashlight tonight.
1. Tomb of Dracula
Especially the Marv Wolfman-Gene Colan issues; this horror series was among the 1970′s best.
2. Flinch
A horror anthology from Vertigo featuring work by Tim Truman, Joe R. Lansdale and Jim Lee, among others. Issue #11 was nominated for an Eisner, and won a Bram Stoker award.
3. Dracula (Topps Comics adaptation)
I enjoyed this extremely atmospheric adaptation of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Dracula” film more than the actual movie. Art by Mike Mignola (“Hellboy”).
4. 30 Days of Night
The original miniseries, by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, about vampires in Barrow, Alaska, where the sun doesn’t rise for 30 days, is chilling.
5. Boneyard
More of a horror-themed comedy, “Boneyard” mixes sexy humor with monsters and vampires. When Michael Paris inherits a graveyard owned by his grandfather, he becomes enmeshed with the town’s resident ghouls and oddballs.
- Matt Price
Zombieland provides rules for surviving zombie attack
SAN DIEGO — The horror-comedy “Zombieland” looks at the world after a zombie invasion and two men who are doing everything they can to survive the aftermath.
The cast of “Zombieland” talked about the project at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
“It was high time I got offered a zombie movie,” said Woody Harrelson, who plays gun-toting zombie battler Tallahassee.
“I thought, this is probably going to be a silly movie, ‘Zombieland’? What?” he said. “And then reading it, I found it absolutely riveting. … Anyway, they wrote an amazing script, it’s a page-turner.”
“Zombieland” was conceived as a television pilot but was adapted to a feature film when it seemed it would be too expensive to realize on TV.
Jesse Eisenberg plays Tallahassee’s nerdy partner, Columbus. Columbus is a bit of a wimp with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
This prompts him to create a list — 47 rules of how to survive in Zombieland.
Along the way, Tallahassee and Columbus meet up with Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).
“I was not as put off by the idea of it being a zombie movie, because I thought it would be kind of cool,” Stone said. “And then it was wonderful, and I learned I would get to shoot a gun. I went to a gun range a couple times and learned how to shoot a pump shotgun, so that was kind of nice.”
The shoot took place over 42 days in Georgia. While that’s not a long shoot, director Ruben Fleischer said it seemed long enough to him.
“I come from a low-budget, music video and short film background, so for me it seemed like a really long amount of time,” he told the Comic-Con crowd.
- by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Trailer for Nightmare on Elm Street remake
The trailer for the remake of “Nightmare on Elm Street,” with Jackie Earle Haley (“Watchmen,” “Bad News Bears”) as Freddy Krueger. Feel free to share your thoughts about the remake in the comments!
Briana Evigan says slasher film Sorority Row is tongue-in-cheek fun
LOS ANGELES — Briana Evigan is one of a pair of famous daughters in “Sorority Row,” opening in theaters today. The daughter of “B.J. and the Bear” star Greg Evigan co-stars with Rumer Willis, the daughter of actors Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.
Evigan said Willis doesn’t at all have a stereotypical Hollywood personality.
“She’s got the sweet, shy, honest personality going on,” Evigan, 22, said.
As for her own industry parents (her mother is a former ballerina, agent and model), Evigan said they will give her feedback on projects but don’t impose on what she does.
“I send them scripts sometimes when I get a job and ask them what they think,” Evigan said.
“Sometimes my dad will attack my script with notes and hand it back to me with hundreds of notes all over it. And he says take or leave it. … if you hate ‘em, throw ‘em, and if you love ‘em, use ‘em. And other than that, he checks out my head every time I get home to make sure it’s not bigger.”
The slasher film “Sorority Row” is a throwback to the 1980s, and Evigan said viewers are supposed to have some fun along with the violence and body count.
“After I watched it, I was like, ‘Nobody can make fun of us, because there’s so much making fun of ourselves already in the film,’ and I love that,” she said. “There’s definitely that tongue-in-cheek feel.”
“Sorority Row” is a loose remake of 1983′s “House on Sorority Row.” It is directed by Stewart Hendler.
Evigan plays Cassidy, who disagrees with the judgment made by the sorority girls after they are caught up in a prank gone wrong. Despite her character disagreeing with the other characters, Evigan said she and her co-stars became fast friends.
“Every single one of us got along very well,” she said. “The cool thing was because we became such close friends so quickly, we could be open (in our work).”
As for her own favorite horror films, Evigan prefers less gore.
“(My favorites are) ‘The Shining,’ ‘Psycho,’ ‘Alien,’ ‘Carrie.’ I like the classics a little more. I’m not into the gore, (or) ‘watch me cut your body open.’”
- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Stan Helsing cast jokes at Comic-Con
SAN DIEGO — Writer/director Bo Zenga and the cast of Stan Helsing held a riotous, freewheeling panel at Comic-Con International on Friday night. Attendees were introduced to several clips from the film, which features four partygoers running across parodies of six top horror characters.
Steve Howey, who starred on “Reba,” plays the title character, Stan Helsing. Kenan Thompson, Leslie Nielsen, Diora Baird and Desi Lydic joined Howey and Zenga on the panel.
Asked how he liked appearing in a Superman-like spandex suit the entire film, Thompson said, “It made me want to start running, stuff like that. Working out.”
Multiple fans expressed appreciation for the careers of Nielsen and Thompson. Nielsen, of course, boasts a 50-plus year movie career, while Thompson has been on television for most of his life, with roles in “All That” and “Kenan and Kel.”
Nielsen plays a waitress in “Stan Helsing,” spending his role in drag.
“It’s not often you get a chance to make that switch and get away with it,” he said.
Thompson said the slasher parody idea drew him to the film.
“I grew up in the 80s, so I was close to slasher films growing up,” he said. “And it was one of the few movies going last summer, so I jumped on that.”
Nielsen, 83, indicated he has no plans to retire.
“I hope to keep doing funny movies til I drop dead,” he said.
- Matt Price
Slasher film ‘Laid to Rest’ won’t disappoint horror fans, actor says
Thomas Dekker, left, and Anthony Fitzgerald in "Laid to Rest."
Missing Lena Headey and Thomas Dekker after FOX cancelled “Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles”? You can catch them in the movie “Laid to Rest,” now available on DVD.
Anthony Fitzgerald, who co-stars in the film, talked to The Oklahoman about the slasher movie, and his character’s possible Oklahoma ties.
“I play a very obnoxious kind of party kid who’s in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m on my way to a rave in Atlanta, and when we were filming it, we joked that we might be from Oklahoma; we’re two young guys on college spring break more or less.”
Fitzgerald went to college in Kansas, and one of his best friends attended college in Oklahoma.
“I’ve been to Oklahoma many many times,” Fitzgerald, who now lives in Los Angeles, said. “I’ve flown out there and driven out there, and I’m a huge fan of Garth Brooks.”
But you won’t hear Fitzgerald’s character humming “Friends in Low Places.”
“In real life, if you have a killer chasing you, you don’t have time to explain how old you are, where you come from, your parents and all that stuff,” Fitzgerald said. “And that’s why I’m proud of ‘Laid to Rest,’ I think it’s a very accurate portrayal of what you would do in a situation. You’d be very afraid. You’d lock the door. You wouldn’t run up the stairs, you’d run out the door.”
“Laid to Rest” is directed by Robert Hall, who was a special makeup effects creator on “Sarah Connor Chronicles,” as well as a special makeup designer on “Angel” and “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.”
“If you are a horror fan, then this movie will not disappoint,” Fitzgerald said. “The movie revolves around Chrome Skull, the lead, played by Nick Principe, chasing our lead female, who has a case of dementia-slash-amnesia, and doesn’t know who she is or why she’s being chased. You end up finding out why the killer is chasing her towards the end of the movie.”
- by Matthew Price
From Tuesday’s The Oklahoman
