What is ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ All About?

I have to admit that I wasn’t holding out much hope for the big-screen adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies — the mashup of Jane Austen and the undead. It felt like a late-comer compared to 2012’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. But the more I learn about the project, the more hopeful I’m becoming.

The first thing that piqued my interest was the casting of former 11th Doctor Matt Smith — not that his movie career has been exactly stellar so far *coughTerminator:Genysiscough* — but of course he has the look and accent for the period drama.

Now, take a look at the first official, full-length trailer for the feature:

Looks pretty interesting, amiright?

New WALKING DEAD Show To Debut Online, Cross Over to TV

A special, stand-alone THE WALKING DEAD story will be broadcast online during the upcoming sixth season of the hit AMC horror series.

In the special, airline passengers will face a walker attack at 35,000 feet aboard a passenger jet. The story is set during the FEAR THE WALKING DEAD timeline, and one of the survivors of the in-flight attack will go on to star in FEAR THE WALKING DEAD’s second season, according to Entertainment Weekly.

While it will debut online, the special will be broadcast on AMC in chapters alongside the main show.

The sixth season of THE WALKING DEAD debuts with a 90-minute episode on Oct. 11.

Still Nothing to Fear in Another Dull FEAR THE WALKING DEAD

Well, FEAR THE WALKING DEAD was only mostly a snoozer this week.

I was interested when there was some actual tension — for about 45 seconds — when Madison and Knife Boy were running and pushing the cart because they weren’t sure who was setting off the school metal detectors.

But other than that, Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

There are two gigantic problems with FTWD, and the series has demonstrated no interest in remedying them.

1. We know it’s zombies, but the characters don’t — and it’s taking forever for them to figure it out. Nobody in this fantasy universe has ever seen a zombie movie. This makes the characters annoying and seem stupid.
2. This show is playing out exactly — exactly — like the first season of THE STRAIN. So we have literally seen all of this before, and it’s dull. We’ve seen people discover the early sufferers. We’ve seen the people insist that the infected are “Just sick, they just need help.” We’ve seen the disjointed, dysfunctional families; even the heroic Hispanic family has been done already.

Do something new and interesting, FEAR THE WALKING DEAD!

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN 3.4: “Fearful Pranks Ensue”

Nothing like an episode with a tense cliff-hanger, and AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN delivered an ending that left me wanting to know what will happen? What kind of powers do the witches have to fend off the undead?

A helluva lot happened in this episode, and we’re only four weeks into the season. I have a feeling the real storyline has barely begun, because there’s so far to go. There seems to be plenty of time for Madison and the minotaur to come back.

THE WALKING DEAD 4.2: “Infected”

Not even a week after I expressed my disdain for “contagion” storylines (while discussing SLEEPY HOLLOW) what does THE WALKING DEAD do? It plays the contagion card. And worse, it looks like this will be a major plot thread for the foreseeable future.

I just don’t buy into the inevitable course of infections in these storylines — the path of the disease is clearly dictated by storytelling needs. Somebody once said that we are much more forgiving of amazing coincidences in real life than we are in fiction, so it’s best to not put any coincidences in your story, but if you must, keep it to just one. And it’s always the most dramatically interesting people who get infected in these stories. It happens too often to be coincidence.

THE WALKING DEAD 4.1: “30 Days Without an Accident”

About six or seven months have passed when the season four premiere reintroduces us to Rick and the denizens of the prison. In that time, the original tiny group has integrated the survivors from Woodbury and formed a quaint little farming town with a ruling council, organized work forces, lots of plants in buckets — and an army of the undead itching to get inside and eat everyone.

A lot of this introductory episode is devoted to establishing the new status quo and updating viewers on where all the regulars stand. Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) are still a couple — and no, she’s not pregnant — while Daryl (Norman Reedus) has become a celebrity around camp and possibly Carol’s (Melissa McBride) official boyfriend. Beth (Emily Kinney) does have a boyfriend — a new guy named Zack (Kyle Gallner). Tyreese (Chad Coleman) and Sasha (Sonequa Martin) have settled in as important members of the team.

Zombie School Is In Session!

THE WALKING DEAD Executive Producer (and makeup maestro) Greg Nicotero explains and demonstrates what it takes to become a walker.

THE WALKING DEAD returns to AMC for its fourth season this October.

THE WALKING DEAD Finds Someone New To Run the Show

AMC’s gruesome zombie hit, THE WALKING DEAD, has its new showrunner for season four. Now on its third boss in four years, it appears the job of TWD honcho has a shorter life expectancy than Mensa member in closet full of zombies.

Scott M. Gimple will take the reins from outgoing showrunner Glen Mazzara when production on the fourth season begins May 6. “I’m a huge fan of the comics, and started with the show on the other side of the set, as an avid viewer,” Gimple enthused. “Over the past two years, it’s been an incredible privilege making such great television with the best cast and crew I’ve ever worked with — I can’t wait to make some more.”

Series creator Robert Kirkman said, “Scott has been an essential part of this show since he came aboard at the very beginning of season two.”

In addition to Gimple’s promotion, producer Tom Luse and co-executive producer/special effects makeup supervisor and director Greg Nicotero have been elevated to executive producers.

Zombie CPR Could Save a Life

It’s the weekend, and that means THE WALKING DEAD is very close, so let’s have a little fun today. This is a great PSA from Canada, but it still works south of the border. The PSA, directed by Vincenzo Natali for Canada’s Heart & Stroke Foundation, suggests that CPR can not only save lives, it can prevent zombies.

(Many U.S. comments on the video were foaming at the mouth over this “waste of our tax dollars!” Uh, wrong, bozos. It’s not our country, nor is it a government organization.)

I liked that the clip ends exactly the way I had hoped: The zombies revived the woman so they could eat her alive.

And the campaign has a great logline: “CPR makes you undead.”

THE WALKING DEAD 3.3: “Walk With Me”

This week’s story is unusual in that it does not feature our usual intrepid little band of survivors, instead focusing in on lost sheep Andrea and her new pal, the katana-wielding Michonne. But that doesn’t make this a bad episode; in fact, it’s a very important chapter. Merle is reintroduced (with a blade replacing his severed hand), the town of Woodbury is introduced, and we get to meet the man in charge – and the season’s Big Bad – the Governor. The Guv is a very popular character from the comic book series.

I tip my hat to The-Powers-That-Be for making an exposition-heavy episode so entertaining. This is one of those stories where characters are moved into place and conflicts are set up for future episodes, but the story still worked for me. And I’ve been wondering what was happening with Andrea and Michonne since they left their safe haven.