io9 
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San Francisco, 7:25 PM
Wed Dec 16
24 posts in the last 24 hours
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12/11/09
You'll be hearing from my gentleman, Mr. Simpson.
12/10/09
Warning! Spoilers!:
I hate to be negative about anybody who makes the massive effort to produce a short (and a technically proficient one at that) but it really does fall prey to the cardinal 'film-school-graduate' sin of craming in every friggin' film reference and shot 'you've-ever-seen-and-admired' (anybody who saw McG's Terminator: Salvation or Paul W. Anderson's execrable 1997 'Event Horizon, will be familiar with the 'being-punched-in-the-face-every-twenty-seconds-by-a-film-reference', nausea inducing effect).
The plot is Aki Kaurismaki meets (or eats) Stephen Frears' 'Dirty Pretty Things' and Mike Leigh's 'Naked' (and none the worse for that), via scenes (and shots) from 'Shaun of the Dead', '28 Days Later', '28 Weeks Later', 'Survivors' (both original '75/'77 and crap '08 remake), 'Dead Set', 'Land of the Dead' etc. etc. etc., even ending up on the pier like 'Dawn of the Dead' for f****'s sake! (I even think there is a shot from 'Burnt by the Sun' in there, although it might be just a piss-take from Woody Allen's 'Love and Death').
If you're going to do a zombie short (and I've no problem, at all, with anybody trying) you better bring your A-game and it better be YOUR A-game, not a bunch of half-assed retreads of someone else's retread.
Telling us what you've seen and what you've liked, isn't film making, it's photocopying.
Why so grumpy, you ask?
Well, it's because every few years someone does a 'calling-card' like this, gets picked up, makes another 'first-feature-calling-card' (I'd mention Danny Cannon's 1993 'The Young Americans', but I don't want to throw-up, just now, thank you ... oh, I did ... *bleuch*) and goes on to have a long and despicable Hollywood career, churning out unoriginal offal by the cartload ....
If it wasn't for the fact that there is actually some talent here [and the sneaking suspicion, that somebody saw Andreas Samland's inspirational post-apocalyptic short 'Tag 26', and was actually inspired by it, to have a go (in which case, Kudos!)], I wouldn't be half so narked at its (and his) faults.
BTW If you liked it [or even if (and perhaps especially) you didn't], Matt Simpson is at Matt_asimpson@hotmail.com (from [www.quietearth.us] ) and apparently he'll do you a nice DVD for about $8 (+p&p, probably).
You pays your money ... and you influences a future filmmaker's career ... for the better, I hope.
12/10/09
12/10/09
This was a film made primarily by three friends, and without a budget,
lighting or sound equipment.
On the Release of Romero's Land of the Dead, I was so disappointed. It really motivated me to try to make a Zombie film that I would want to watch.
SJEDWARDS,
Just for the record Im no film school graduate, Im entirely self taught, the film was actually shot before "Dead Set"so I wasn't best pleased to see an identical shot, but hey I love Charlie Brooker, so im ok with that. I have to admit that I never got around to seeing "Dirty Pretty Things" , "Tag 26" or "survivors". Though ill be sure to check them out.
Having said that Im a big fan of the 28 Days Films, and made a deliberate tip of the hat to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead.
Im flattered that Plague got you so riled up that you felt the need to vent,
I actually don't have much love for the short anymore, as it took too long to finish, and Ive watched it way to much in post.
Anyway Im always keen to hear what people think of my work, good and bad..
and excited to see it spread so far and wide on the net.
Also the Earth will birth to her Dead, isn't mine, that I did steal, it's from the bible.
Thanks
Matt Simpson.
12/13/09
As the product of (as you describe it, I think) no budget, fan-fiction film making, inspired by dissatisfaction with Mr.Romero's later 'product' (rather than the self-promotional calling-card, of a wannabe LA slimeball), I would have (and do) apply a completely different set of critical criteria ...
... and would have been a lot more circumspect in my splenic condemnation.
My apologies.
12/10/09
12/10/09
"The Earth will give birth to her dead" is a fantastic tag line, though.
12/10/09
It's good though, if maybe a little generic.
12/10/09
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12/10/09
as for living up to Panic attack, I'd say certainly...my love of giant robots/monsters slightly outweighs that of zombies, but this was a lot longer, so I'd say they're about even
12/10/09
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12/11/09
That might be the definition of 'damning with faint praise'
12/10/09
12/10/09
Actually, this looks awful, but it could be fun if it's campy enough. I still can't watch the scene from the first one where that girl shaves her legs, though. Eurgh.
Did anyone catch Rider Strong guest-starring on Castle this week? That was nice. Yes, I still have a crush on Shawn Hunter. So what?
12/10/09
12/10/09
........PANCAKES!.................
pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
Cabin Fever- Pancakes! - The best bloopers are a click away
12/10/09
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