ZOMBIELAND--Through the Decades!

I happen to be a big fan of the Zombieland--and a huge reason why i think it works so well is the amazing chemistry between its two leads, Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg. Those two guys just absolutely click, and the rest of the movie's goodness flows out of their interaction.

So naturally (well, naturally if you're me), I started thinking: What would this movie look like if it were made in earlier decades of film history? Which two actors of previous eras could pull off the perfect chemistry to make Zombieland work in any time period, and what incarnations of movie zombies would they each face? A couple of possibilities immediately came to mind, and before I knew it, I had it plotted out going back through seven decades of cinema.

The ages may be slightly off in some of the cases, but I got a kick out of imagining what these pairings would yield, and I hope you do, too.

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1990s ZOMBIELAND

















BRUCE WILLIS & BEN STILLER

Taking on...

Dead Alive zombies!

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1980s ZOMBIELAND




















CHUCK NORRIS & JOHN CUSACK

Taking on...

Return of the Living Dead zombies!

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1970s ZOMBIELAND











JON VOIGHT & WOODY ALLEN

Taking on...

Lucio Fulci zombies!

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1960s ZOMBIELAND

STEVE McQUEEN & GENE WILDER

Taking on...

Night of the Living Dead zombies!

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1950s ZOMBIELAND

JOHN WAYNE & JERRY LEWIS

Taking on...

Mora Tau zombies!

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1940s ZOMBIELAND



















GARY COOPER & MICKEY ROONEY

Taking on...

Val Lewton zombies!

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1930s ZOMBIELAND

GEORGE RAFT & JIMMY STEWART

Taking on...

White Zombies!

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Fun, right? OK, glad I got that out of my system...

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Sweet Music! Dracula to Return to Broadway...with Anton Chigurh?

I haven't been dealing too much in horror industry news anymore, in part because there are others who are so much better at it, but this tasty little tidbit was just too tantalizing to pass up! The New York Post's Broadway reporter Michael Riedel broke the news this morning that producers are in talks to revive the classic 1927 John Balderston/Hamilton Deane stage production of Dracula--and are angling for their lead to be none other than Javier Bardem.

To call this casting inspired is to make a colossal understatement. Bardem--best-known for his chilling turn in the Coen Bros.' No Country for Old Men--is, in the opinion of this blogger, an absolutely and outstandingly perfect casting choice. Now, keep in mind, we're talking about the adapted stage version, not Stoker's original story.

As we all know, the role was originated in '27 by Bela Lugosi, who took it from the Great White Way to the silver screen in 1931--in a movie I very coincidentally reviewed just yesterday. Fifty years later, it was first revived on Broadway with a young Frank Langella in the lead (Langella would also reprise the part on screen shortly thereafter). And now, more than 30 years after that, it is very possibly becoming a reality once again--although it should be noted that the Broadway producers are in contention over the rights with a group of off-Broadway producers also looking to revive the show, with an unknown as the Count and F. Murray Abraham as Van Helsing (hey, can we get Abraham to jump over to the Bardem production? Cause that would rock on an astronomical level).

I've got fingers and toes crossed big-time for this one, and I'll certainly be in the audience for it if it happens. In fact, I'll think I'm going to start saving up the $87,000 for the tickets today!

Bardem perfectly combines sex appeal, a sinister edge, and exotic Continental-ness--a similar combo to what Lugosi brought to the table. Langella, in my opinion, only succeeded in the first category, but was sorely lacking in the latter two. Who knows, if this should actually come to pass, there might be another cinematic version of the classic play in our future! Move over, Eddie Cullen--Daddy's home.

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CONFIRMED: Depp Will Star in Burton's Dark Shadows

After months of speculation, it was reported in several places earlier today, most notably Yahoo! Movies, that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are officially moving ahead with Dark Shadows as their next project. Burton will direct and Depp will star, as the duo has done seven times before in the past.

Apparently it was Depp who initiated the project, as the original 1960s/70s vampire TV soap opera has always been a bit of an obsession for him, and he had long desired to play lead vamp Barnabas Collins. For the longest time, it had basically been a foregone conclusion that the dynamic duo of surreal cinema would be moving on to Dark Shadows after wrapping up Alice in Wonderland, but now it's apparently for-real for-real. Although I think Burton has his feature-length Frankenweenie remake happening somewhere in there, as well--and Depp will be donning the mascara once again for a fourth Pirates go-round before then, too.

Not sure what took so long for the news to be officially disseminated, as sources are claiming that Depp himself announced it last week during a showing of Alice in Wonderland footage at the San Diego Comic Con. Nevertheless, these "official confirmations" have not been coming out till today. Hopefully this isn't some kind of elaborate jumping-of-the-gun. A Burton-Depp Dark Shadows has "WIN" written all over it...

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While I'm still up, I'd like to make mention of a new sidebar feature I've added, the Zombie Haiku of the Day. I'm taking them from Ryan Mecum's excellent Zombie Haiku collection--with the author's blessing, of course. In fact, Ryan was good enough not only to give me permission to do this, but also had some kind words to say about the Vault as well, which you'll find in the "Shameless Self-Promotion" section. Thanks, Ryan!

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Scarlett Johannson to Play the Bride of Frankenstein?

There's a doozy of a rumor buzzing around the web today, one which, I must admit, even turned the head of this grizzled movie gossip veteran. All of you (hopefully) read my rant earlier this week against the greenlit Universal remake of The Bride of Frankenstein. Well, now it seems that none other than the bodacious Scarlett Johannson might be in consideration to don Elsa Lanchester's skunk-striped wig.

That's right, the A-list starlet who recently proved she's more than just a (painfully) pretty face with some impressive performances in Woody Allen's Match Point and Vicky Christina Barcelona might be playing the Bride herself. It all started with a statement made by a Hollywood insder to the New York Post yesterday:

“The Bride of Frankenstein will be young this time. They’re looking for a person with great power and sex appeal. Someone along the lines of Scarlett Johansson or Anne Hathaway.”

And no, apparently whoever made the comment is not aware that Elsa Lanchester was a mere five years older than Johansson is now when she played the part. Nice to see the remake is in good hands...

Anyway, from there, the rumor mill shifted course, and apparently Ms. Hathaway (thankfully) was edged out in favor of Scarlett, with websites claiming that producers were zeroing in on her to be Dr. Frankenstein's second creation. Catching wind of the story, the L.A. Times contacted Johansson's publicist, who had this to say:

"She has not been approached for this project. If anything changes, I'll let you know."

Of course, that's not to say she won't be approached. In fact, despite the fact that she's never exactly been considered a horror chick, it's a safe bet she probably will. And although I still vehemently oppose this remake, if it has to be done, they could do a whole helluva lot worse than Scarlett Johansson, who actually does seem quite suited to the role (he said begrudgingly).

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Night of the Creeps, Part 2?

Just a quick, yet interesting tidbit to report tonight. Austin's awesome Alamo Drafthouse hosted a screening of the 1986 cult classic Night of the Creeps on Saturday, and Ain't It Cool News is reporting something very intriguing in an offhand remark. Apparently, during the post-movie Q&A with fan fave writer/director Fred Dekker, an intrepid audience member boldly asked if a sequel would ever be possible. And the answer was better than he probably expected to hear.

According to AICN, Dekker polled the enthusiastic crowd as to whether they would like to see a sequel, with the original cast returning. Naturally, a round of raucous applause ensued. He then dropped the little chestnut that he has in fact been working on some concepts for a possible sequel.

This would certainly be great news for lovers of one of the '80s most beloved horror comedies. Let's all keep our fingers crossed on this one. It may be a longshot, but you never know. Let's hope Dekker will eventually get the opportunity to "Thrill Me!"

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Will Spider-Man Be Doing Battle with a Vampire?

If you're a comic book geek like myself, then it's more than likely that Spider-Man 3 left all kinds of bad taste in your mouth. Chances are you're hoping for something to turn the franchise around in the inevitable fourth flick, and break the dreaded "three-movie curse" that seems to dog superhero series. In that case, an interview posted today on CHUD, courtesy of FearNET, might be just what the mortician ordered.

We all know that Sam Raimi is an old-school (read: pre-Venom) Spidey fan, and has a particular affinity for the villains of the '60s and '70s. Well, earlier this year he sparked some interest by declaring his love of the classic '70s baddie known as Morbius, the Living Vampire. Since then, there has been much speculation that Marvel's own undead heavy would be showing up in the next movie.

Doing press for Drag Me to Hell, Raimi was questioned on the topic by FearNET, and the response is interesting, if not particularly enlightening. The Evil Dead director sarcastically feigns ignorance of the rumors, then goes on to kind of sidestep the question and launch into a whole diatribe on why he loves vampires so much. That, plus his whole "deer in the headlights" look indicates to me that there might be a solid chance we'll see Spidey tangling with a nosferatu come 2011. I mean, why would Raimi go on and on about the appeal of vampires, anyway? If that's not a good sign, I don't know what is.

To check out video of the interview, and the awkward response, head over to CHUD. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that Sony can right the course of the once-mighty Webhead franchise. Morbius would be quite sweet, indeed. But to tell you the truth, anything would be better than watching Topher Grace defile the reputation of the greatest comic book villain of the past 25 years...

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On a completely unrelated note, I'd just like to point out for all you classic horror fans out there that Hank Azaria does an awe-inspiring imitation of Boris Karloff in the new Night at the Museum sequel. He plays an ancient Egyptian villain in the vein of Imhotep, and the homage was enough to turn my frown upside-down after being coerced into going to see the family flick in the first place.

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Has the New Freddy Krueger Been Cast?

So Fangoria may have stumbled into the casting news that everyone's been wondering about. Let's face it, the Nightmare on Elm Street remake is happening--there's nothing we can do about it. So the big question is: Who will be the new Freddy?

Well, good ol' Fango cornered Jackie Earle Haley at Wondercon. Haley was there to promote the upcoming Watchmen movie, in which he plays the masked Rorschach. But of course, the relevant matter here was the floating rumors that Haley might be attached to a certain razor-gloved son of a hundred maniacs. And his response was very interesting, basically indicating--unlike the earlier Billy Bob Thornton scuttlebutt--that the rumors are rooted in fact. Doesn't sound like it's 100% locked up yet, but it seems a real possibility that we may be looking at the next Springwood Slasher... Check the video below:

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True Blood Creator Reveals Top-Secret Horror Film Project

Alan Ball, currently hard at work on the vampirific HBO series True Blood, confided to MTV News earlier today that he is contemplating doing a horror comedy feature film. Shame on you, Alan--you should know that Kurt Loder can't keep a secret.

Here's what Mr. Ball, best known as the writer of the Oscar-winning American Beauty, had to say:

"[It's hard] to pitch in a high-concept way – it’s a dark, dark comedy about a woman who just gets fed up with being a doormat. And it’s got a body count!"

A movie about a disgruntled chick on a killing spree, from the guy who did Six Feet Under? Count me in.

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Juno Director Harbors Love of Horror

Jason Reitman, director of comedies Juno and Thank You for Smoking, confided to Ryan Rotten of ShockTillYouDrop today that he seriously considered making his film debut with a horror movie:

I was down to two films that were going to be my first movie. One was Thank You for Smoking and the other was this horror film that I wrote. I was in between the two, and Thank You for Smoking went and the other one didn't.

Reitman is, of course, the son of Ivan Reitman--director of the much-loved 1984 horror-comedy, Ghostbusters. He's currently producing the horror picture Jennifer's Body, penned by Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody. And while he readily admits that Cody is more attuned to horror than he, he also confesses to a love for the genre and says that he would love to direct a horror flick at some point. It won't be anytime soon, though, since his next project is reported to be the drama/comedy Up in the Air.

Nevertheless, a horror film from Jason Reitman would certainly be worth a look. If his previous work is any indication, it could potentially be a perversely subversive little piece of business. Stay tuned, horror fans.

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Now There Really Will Be Blood!

Could the director of 2007's Best Picture favorite be tackling the horror genre next? Bloody-Disgusting is falling over itself today to report that one of it's top-secret spies on-hand at the Sundance Film Festival has learned that Paul Thomas Anderson is toying with a concept and will hopefully be making a decision on his next project in the coming months.
Anderson's There Will Be Blood (which sounds like it should be a horror movie, but isn't) was announced this morning among the nominees for the Best Picture Oscar. Anderson's previous credits include Boogie Nights and Magnolia.

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