San Francisco, 1:59 AM
Sat Dec 12
27 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip your editors:
Editor-in-Chief:
Annalee Newitz |
News Editor:
Charlie Jane Anders |
Associate Editor:
Meredith Woerner |
Assistant Editor:
Lauren Davis |
Weekend Editor:
Graeme McMillan |
Contributors:
Joshua Glenn
Stephen Goldmeier |
Ed Grabianowski |
Austin Grossman
Paul Hogan |
Lauren Davis |
Chris Hsiang |
Lynn Peril |
Ann VanderMeer
Alasdair Wilkins |
Graphic Designer:
Stephanie Fox |
Interns:
Tim Barribeau |
Julia Carusillo |
Alex Eichler |
Cyriaque Lamar |
Caitlin Petrakovitz |
Mary Ratliff |
Josh Snyder |
Excuse me. I didn't sign any papers allowing anyone to make a movie about me, NOR is it possible for me to give birth to anything.
You'll be hearing from my gentleman, Mr. Simpson.
The Scourge of 1866 map is neat! Only makes me want to more zombie stories in that alternate history.
Ah, The Great Golem Uprising... in those days we wore an onion on the belt. Not just because it was the style at the time, but supposedly it kept the golems away.
For those using a mobile or satcom link, be warned, this is a 99MB chunk of vimeo .... [and IMHO it ain't worth it :( ]
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.
@SJ_Edwards: Thought id chime in here, firstly id like to say thanks to everybody who has taken the time to view the film, I know it takes a while to buffer.
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.
Actually Matt was only one of MANY Star Wars artists -- including Katie Cook, Cat Staggs, Jamie Snell, Grant Gould, Jessica Hickman, JAKe, Nicole Falk, Paul Michael Kane, Spencer Brinkerhoff III, Tom Hodges, Jeff Carlisle,
who made fake Star Wars Movie Posters for Starwars.com.
@Pessimippopotamus: Actually, i think it'd be pretty funny if he was the only person in the posters who was still human... Kindly old Palpatine fighting off the rebel zombie hordes! And searching for a twinkie, of course.
watching C3P0 progress from rudamentary robot without coverings to robot to zombie robot with half a jaw to zombie robot with no head is almost as entertaining as R2D2's appearance in attack of the undead.
12/11/09
You'll be hearing from my gentleman, Mr. Simpson.
12/11/09
[maps.google.com]
12/11/09
12/11/09
Yeah, I know it's bad, I was just too pissed off to appreciate the fun in the main article
12/11/09
12/11/09
it's very cleaver.
12/11/09
The Zombie Survival guide could really have a used a world map with historic zombie attacks highlighted.
12/11/09
Ah, The Great Golem Uprising... in those days we wore an onion on the belt. Not just because it was the style at the time, but supposedly it kept the golems away.
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.
12/10/09
12/08/09
who made fake Star Wars Movie Posters for Starwars.com.
You can see the entire set here:
[www.flickr.com]
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
*more of a star trek joke
12/08/09
12/08/09
"Grmfl brnz muh wrgh."
"He can go about his business."
"Hrfll stmph scribniv."
"Move along"
"Urgmfflarg."
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09