A little bit of zombie history was made yesterday with the sale of what is now the most expensive undead-related piece of memorabilia of which I am aware. At a Julien's Auctions event yesterday in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" jacket sold for an incredible $1.8 million, one day after the second anniversary of his death.
According to The Hollywood Reporter - "Julien's said that Milton Verret of Austin, Texas, was the winning bidder; he plans to display it at Austin's Dell Children's Hospital and hopes to raise money for children's charities and hospitals around the world in the spirit of Jackson."
Michael Jackson wore the jacket in the music video for "Thriller", a groundbreaking work that was directed By John Landis and featured narration by horror icon Vincent Price. More ultimate short film than music video, "Thriller" was a mini horror epic with state of the art make-up effects, show-stopping choreography and even its own movie-within-a-movie, that cast Jackson in the roles of hero, werewolf and zombie.
"Thriller" received a well earned place on the National Film Registry in 2009.
If you are looking to get an XBOX 360 with a Kinect Bundle, today is the day that you might want to take the plunge. Amazon is featuring the console as their Gold Box Deal of the Day with a $.01 discount bring the price down to $299.98
Oh yeah, they are also throwing in a $100 Amazon credit with the purchase.
For a few days more, as part of their Action & Adventure Movies sale, you can download the Dawn of the Dead (2004) Theatrical Cut or the Unrated Director's Cut for just $4.99 from iTunes.
Separate from that sale, the 2008 version of Day of the Dead, directed by Steve Miner and starring Mena Suvari, Nick Cannon and Annalynne McCord is also available at a discount for $5.99.
UGO.com is putting out another call to Call of Duty: Black Ops fans with an Escalation Map Pack giveaway all day today.
The Escalation Map Pack features the zombie-themed Call of the Dead level starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund, Michael Rooker, Danny Trejo and George Romero.
"Meet the Deadly Lullabyes! Alyssa, Cassandra, and Sahara are a group of metal-babe rockers who are ready, for just about anything. They’ve loaded up their van and hit the road after receiving an anonymous invitation to perform at a far off castle. But, a hell-bent force is out to stop them from ever getting there. Immerse yourself in a challenging adventure that will lead ever deeper into a universe of undead beings, rocking skeletons and a host of other bizarre creatures!"
Features:
Immerse yourself in a challenging adventure that will lead ever deeper into a universe of undead beings, rocking skeletons and a host of other bizarre creatures!
Explore over 90 eerie settings and encounter all the cryptic characters as the band relies on your logic and skill to liberate them from these enigmatic dangers.
Anaglyph 3D technology presents a completely new perspective to adventure gaming. Use 3D glasses to explore the meticulously detailed settings in true 3D, or transition seamlessly to traditional 2D view.
Details:
North American Publisher: Viva Media®
Category: Horror-Adventure
Price: $19.99
Developer: bitComposer/Grasland Production – Piepgras & Wieland GbR, 2010-2011.
North American Launch Date: May 31, 2011
ESRB: Teen
System requirements:
OS: Windows ®7/Vista/XP, Processor: 2GHz, Memory 1 GB RAM, Hard drive 4.5 GB free hard drive space, Direct X ® compatible graphics card.
... in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Not the unstoppable, brain-starved living dead variety - instead POTC 4 invokes the spell born zombies of voodoo lore. It's Blackbeard at the helm of a pirate ship crewed by zombies! That's a logline for cinematic awesomeness. So how much better can it get? Unfortunately, a lot better.
POTC doesn't seem to make much of their zombies at all. They don't get much screen time and the little that they do get seems wasted. Granted, it's not their show as Captain Jack Sparrow takes center stage with Barbossa and Blackbeard but we're talking about frakin' zombie pirates - at least do something, anything, with this!
Don't get me wrong, On Stranger Tides is well worth the price of admission and the cost of a bucket of popcorn. It definitely delivers the grand adventure on the high seas that it promises. It's just too bad that it doesn't deliver on the promise of zombie pirates. Maybe next time around.
It doesn't get more official than this - Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse - by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offering advice to help you survive the inevitable rampage of the living dead. And they put their top man raising the alarm. Director of the CDC, Rear Admiral Ali S. Khan posted a the warning yesterday in a blog:
"There are all kinds of emergencies out there that we can prepare for. Take a zombie apocalypse for example. That’s right, I said z-o-m-b-i-e a-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency."
Section titles such as 'A Brief History of Zombies', 'Better Safe Than Sorry' and 'Never Fear - CDC Is Ready' should put any nervous citizens at ease.
ZOM-B.com's Zombie Apocalypse Sweepstakes is your chance to win five great zombie films on Blu-ray or DVD. We've got ZOMBIELAND (Blu-ray), 28 WEEKS LATER (Blu-ray), RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (Blu-ray/DVD combo), SHAUN OF THE DEAD (DVD) and THE ZOMBIE DIARIES (DVD) to give away to one lucky fan of the zombie apocalypse.
Entering is easy:
For your first chance to win, just 'like' ZOM-B.com on Facebook - it's that simple. And if you like us already (thank you very much), you've already got a chance to win.
Enter to win ZOM-B.com's 5 film Zombie Apocalypse #Sweepstakes now- http://bit.ly/WinZOMBIES - #ZombieSweeps via @FeedTheZombie
We're picking one follower at random on June 10th to win this Zombie Apocalypse prize pack so enter now and spread the word to other survivors so they've got a fighting chance too.
You can check out the official rules on our Contest Info page.
Kalamazoo County is now safe with Emily Midling heading up their Department of Zombie Removal.
MLive.com reports - "Emily Midling wasn't thrilled with the beat-up Ford Explorer she bought in August. There was something missing; she needed to spice it up a little. "I wanted to make it fun to drive," said Midling, 22, who grew up in Kalamazoo. That's the story of how the "Kalamazoo County Department of Zombie Removal" detailing on her car came to be. Midling paid $100 for the very official-looking emblem on both sides of the 1998 black SUV."
When it comes to fighting zombies, George Romero always responds to the call of duty... and these time he's bringing along some friends. For the Call of Duty: Black Ops awesome Escalation pack upgrade, Romero is taking on a special guest starring role, fighting side by side with featured stars Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Danny Trejo (Machete) and Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead).
Does it get any better than this?
Activision issued this press release today -
Call of Duty®: Black Ops Escalation Announces All-Star Cast for 'Call of the Dead'
Legendary Director, George Romero, to Star with Robert Englund, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michael Rooker and Danny Trejo in Blockbuster DLC Release Hitting in Seven Days
SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Treyarch revealed today that famed horror and action stars Robert Englund, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michael Rooker and Danny Trejo have joined the cast of Call of Duty®: Black Ops Escalation's zombie level, Call of the Dead. The Call of the Dead zombie level and four all new multiplayer maps make up the second content pack, Escalation, for the record-setting game Call of Duty: Black Ops, launching first on Xbox LIVE® on May 3rd. Dedicated to creating a Zombie experience like never before, the Call of the Dead storyline is inspired by none other than legendary horror writer and director, George A. Romero, who also stars as himself in the new level.
"Our latest zombie creation, Call of the Dead, is unreal!" says Mark Lamia, Studio Head of Treyarch. "We set out to create an exciting new zombie experience for fans of the genre that takes Zombies to an insane new level."
"This is Treyarch's tribute to the legendary George Romero, who truly defined the zombie genre and whose incredible work has been such an inspiration to our team," says Dave Anthony, Call of Duty: Black Ops Director. "It was an absolute honor to work with such an amazing and talented cast whose passion and energy brought their characters instantly to life. Fans are going to love this."
In addition to George A. Romero, whose credits include Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Land of the Dead, he is joined by Sarah Michelle Gellar, whose credits include the hit TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Cruel Intentions; Robert Englund, best known for originating the role of Freddy Krueger in the successful Nightmare on Elm Street franchise; Michael Rooker, most recently acclaimed for his work on AMC's horror drama The Walking Dead; and Danny Trejo, who starred in 2010's action-thriller Machete.
Published by Activision and developed by Treyarch, Call of Duty: Black Ops is rated "M" (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language. Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation content pack will launch first on Xbox LIVE on May 3rd. For additional Call of Duty updates and information, visit us on the web at www.callofduty.com/blackops, www.facebook.com/codblackops, and also via Twitter @Treyarch.
And just in time for Easter, Hothead Games comes hopping along with a new iPhone / iPad game - Bunny the Zombie Slayer!
Save Easter! Save the Children! Play as the Easter Bunny himself, fending off wave after wave of marauding zombies!
"You control a heroic bunny, who must protect children searching for his eggs from waves of Zombie Hordes. These once-deceased characters (nurses, businessmen, cheerleaders and more) will stop at nothing to take what is most precious from these young ovo-searchers. Using the Bunny's weapon of choice, brightly colored eggs, you can unleash a yolky fury to dismember and decapitate the undead. Aim for the head!" - Hothead Games
