Fantastic Fest Rolls Out the Undead Carpet at the Paramount
This year's Fantastic Fest has featured several gala events that brought all kinds of people to the historic Paramount Theater. Last Friday, Zombieland was the featured premiere. Moviegoers could be "zombified" by makeup artists from Eerie Industries, which also assists with the special effects for Zombie Manor, a haunted adventure in Arlington. Zombie Manor brought along some of their star zombies, who walked the red carpet before the living celebrities arrived. Director Ruben Fleischer and co-stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone were in attendance for the special screening. The event was open to the public as well as Fantastic Fest attendees.
The horror comedy Zombieland focuses on two men -- Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) -- who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. I saw a press screening earlier in the week, and had to resist referencing Columbus's "Zombie Rules" afterwards.
Saturday night had more excitement in store, with two major premieres: Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant and George A. Romero's latest zombie flick, Survival of the Dead.
Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is based on Darren Shan's popular book series by the same name. The fantasy adventure centers around a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. This world also includes misunderstood sideshow freaks and creatures of unknown origin.
The stars of Cirque du Freak in attendance included John C. Reilly, Josh Hutcherson and Chris Massoglia. They hosted a very lively Q & A, with many young fans of Josh and Chris screaming wildly. For young stars at their first red-carpet event, they handled themselves quite well and I was impressed by Josh's quick wit.
The final gala premiere, also on Saturday night, was Survival of the Dead with writer/director George A. Romero in person. George spent quite a bit of time on the red carpet, mostly signing autographs and posing for pictures will fans of all ages.
Due to a tiring travel schedule, George conducted his Q & A before the screening itself. That didn't stop fans from giving him a standing ovation when he took the stage, and the mood was quite relaxed as he fielded questions from the audience. Editor Michael Doherty and director of photography Adam Swica were present, but it was George that everyone wanted to see.
Survival of the Dead picks up where Romero's 2007 film Diary of the Dead left off, with one of the surviving characters joining up with a new and more skilled group of survivors. The style of Survival is much different from Diary, and definitely one to be seen.
Slackerwood will be featuring reviews of all of these movies when we catch our breath after the whirlwind of Fantastic Fest films and events, so stay tuned!
[Photo Credits: Zombies of Zombie Manor on the Zombieland Undead Carpet; Josh Hutcherson and Chris Massoglia at Cirque Du Freak; George A. Romero Signing Autographs, by Debbie Cerda on Flickr]