Making Of The Walking Dead 4x04 "Indifference"

The cast and crew take you behind the scenes of the making of the kudzu scene in The Walking Dead 4x04 "Indifference".

Official Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/WalkingDead_AMC/

Interview with Jeff Strand - By David Kempf

Jeff Strand was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but moved to Fairbanks, Alaska when he was six months old, so his memories of Baltimore are hazy. He grew up in the cold, where he desperately wanted to be a cartoonist. Then he wanted to make video games. Then he wanted to write movies. Actually, he still wants to do all of those things, but for now he's quite happy writing lots of demented novels.

He was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012. His novel PRESSURE has been optioned for film; he's hoping the movie will be made soon so he can scream "My baby! What have you done to my precious baby?!?"

His novels are usually classified as horror, but they're really all over the place, from comedies to thrillers to drama to, yes, even a fairy tale.

Because he doesn't do cold weather anymore, he lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and two cats.


Tell us how you became involved in horror fiction.

I'd written some (very bad) horror fiction in high school and college that was never published, but then I focused entirely on comedy for a few books. The last of those was Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary), which was supposed to be a lighthearted comedic mystery romp, but very quickly turned into the kind of book where an insane guy ripped his own eyeballs out. For some reason, this kind of scene made readers classify the book as "horror." Shortly after that, I decided that I wanted to focus on a specific niche, and so I became a comedic horror guy!

How many horror stories (or novels) have you written?

Fifteen horror novels, five novellas, and eighty-five short stories. Plus some non-horror novels and various bits and pieces of other stuff.


Tell us about your work with J.A. Konrath.

Joe and I wrote the novella Suckers together, which brought my Andrew Mayhem character and his Harry McGlade character together to see who was the most incompetent. We also co-wrote the novel Draculas with F. Paul Wilson and Blake Crouch. A lot of people say "Hey, [Insert Author Here] writes just like you!" and I never agree with them, but when my friend Michele Bardsley said that JA Konrath's style reminded her of mine, I read Whiskey Sour and thought, wow, she's right! Suckers II and Draculas II are both in the discussion stages, so lock up your children.


Please tell us what it was like to learn your craft when you were younger. 

I learned to write via the process of writing lots and lots and lots and lots of terrible stuff, and then lots and lots and lots of less-terrible stuff, and then lots and lots and lots of not-bad stuff, and then, ultimately, writing good stuff. I was a Creative Writing major in college, but quite honestly, developing my skills as a writer was almost entirely based on practice, practice, practice.


Did you enjoy reading shocking and terrifying stories when you were growing up?

No. Not at all. I was a total wuss. I didn't get into horror fiction until I was in high school, though once I did get into it, I read almost nothing else! It's only been within the past few years that I've made a conscious attempt to read outside of the genre.


How sick are you of writng about Andrew Mayhem? (although it has been a great commercial and critical success). 

Not at all! It helps that the third Mayhem novel was published in 2004, and the fourth was published in 2012, so it's not like I'm anywhere close to burning myself out on the character. He'll almost certainly return for a fifth novel, though George and Lou (from Wolf Hunt) will be returning before him. I'm not at all opposed to sequels, but I'm usually more inclined to write about new characters than return to the old ones.

What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment as an artist so far?

Wow, that's a tough one. I don't think there's any one thing that I'd point to and say "Yes! This is my masterpiece! This is what defines me!" However, if I had to erase everything I've created from existence except for a single piece of work, after I stopped sobbing and begging I'd probably spare Dweller.


I would be a Philistine if I didn’t ask this. How did it feel to be Master of Ceremonies at the Stoker Awards?

Despite my stomach-churning nervousness each time (and I've done it five times), I love it. It's a lot of work because I take it very seriously and make sure I'm thoroughly prepared...even if, every year, there are a bunch of frantic last minute changes while I'm sitting there, feeling sick, unable to eat my banquet dinner. I don't know yet if I'll be doing it next year, or if they can get Neil Patrick Harris or David Letterman.


How close are you to getting a movie option?

The only active movie option right now is for my novel Pressure, which has been in development for about four years. There have been nibbles on others, but nothing came of them. I encourage any deranged billionaires reading this to e-mail me an offer.


Name some of your favorite horror books. 

Swan Song by Robert McCammon, It by Stephen King, Nightworld by F. Paul Wilson, Watchers by Dean Koontz, Off Season by Jack Ketchum, and In The Dark by Richard Laymon.


Name some of your favorite horror films.

Shaun of the Dead, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Return of the Living Dead, May, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, the 80's remake of The Blob, Scream 1 and 2, and Tremors.


Why do you think horror films and books remain popular?

I'm not good at analyzing the psychological and sociological aspects of these kinds of things, so I'll just say that the horror genre has an extremely loyal core fan base that sustains it through the lean periods.


What are your latest projects?

I've got a new YA novel coming out called I Have A Bad Feeling About This, although that one is an action/comedy with no horror elements. And I'm just about to finish up a novel that...well, that one isn't horror, either. However, after that: Wolf Hunt 2, baby!


How would you describe yourself in one paragraph?

Jeff Strand writes horror/comedy novels. Sometimes they are ridiculous, like A Bad Day For Voodoo and Fangboy. Sometimes they are ridiculous and really gross, like Benjamin's Parasite. Sometimes they're a true mix of humor and horror, like Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary), Wolf Hunt, and Mandibles. And sometimes they're "serious" novels that just have a lot of comic relief, like Pressure and Dweller. Jeff Strand, in his own words, believes that you should read all of them.

http://jeffstrand.wordpress.com

Dracula 1x03 Promo "Goblin Merchant Men" (HD)

Dracula 1x03 "Goblin Merchant Men" - Grayson seeks to determine whether Lady Jayne is a vampire hunter for the Order of the Dragon. Lucy mends Mina's broken heart with absinthe, romance and a whirlwind tour of Bohemian London. Grayson's machinations claim the life of Lord Laurent and earn him a powerful new enemy. Subscribe to tvpromosdb on YouTube for more Dracula season 1 promos in HD!

Official website: http://www.nbc.com/dracula/
Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NBCDracula/
Official Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/NBCDracula/

Raisinman - Skaters in Perish (Skategore)

As a special Halloween treat, we have a great music video for you, a brand new genre called Skategore!

"Skaters in Perish" is a parody of "N*ggas in Paris" by Jay Z and Kanye West and features cameos by Mike York and Sebo Walker, along with skateboarding by Adam Keely, Yoni Benjamin, and of course the Raisinman himself, among other fine talent.

It also contains gore, blood, and other graphic imagery, so watch at your own risk



If you enjoyed this you check out www.youtube.com/kingraisin

Lyrics:
So I fall so hard that skaters think I'm dying,
But that means I'm really trying,
What's 50 slams to a skateboarder like me?
I'm death defying!
Fall so hard, my sh*t's aching,
While y'all just skate like big babies,
My board could go out of my control,
But I still try to land like I made it,
Fall so hard on a big spear,
At least it didn't hit me rear,
Fall so hard, won't see tears,
But how am I supposed to leave here?
Alright though, just a light hole,
So I might go break the stick,
Snap it off so I can tre this!
Fall so hard, but I won't stop,
Rolled ankles get walked off,
Amateurs ain't losin blood?
Well, I ain't wearin red socks!
Fall so hard I cough a tooth,
When I fall I get chalked up too,
If you skate like I skate,
Then you're probably gettin f*cked up too!
Fall so hard, let's hit pavement,
Get gory, not a bit phased,
It's full throttle at obstacles,
About to hit up the big eight,
Fall so hard, I eat face,
Might just need it replaced,
Beat down meatloaf,
Grab your helmet and be safe!

Fall so hard that skaters think I'm dying,
My sh*t breaks, my shit breaks,
My sh*t breaks,
Fall so hard that skaters think I'm dying,
My sh*t breaks, My sh*t breaks,
My sh*t breaks...

I sack on a rail and slide down it all,
But I don't need no ice to nurse my swollen balls,
I'll go and eat sh*t on a backside stall,
The only real way to learn you have to fall!
Fall so hard, my sh*t breaks,
Ain't it great?
Fall so hard, what we skatin?
Active grenades?
Fall so hard, my lip's so cold,
I'm feelin faint,
Act like I'm gonna go to the hospital and not go skate!
Cruiser boards ain't my thang,
They don't let my bangers bang,
I ain't tryin to take a nap,
That's a fact!
Neen Williams is doin fine if you ask me,
I'm gonna go to the same spot and try a back three!
Does this look infected?
I'm still gonna sesh it,
I won't wear a helmet,
Cuz you know that ain't wreckless!
Skaters turn into filmers
Cuz they're afraid of spillin,
Got these skaters embarrassed
That I'm still out here killin!
Heh???

I am now holdin my dome,
Don't let me skate in the bowl,
Don't let me skate in the bowl,
Don't let me skate in the bowl,
These other skaters are tired,
Actin like they're all retired,
I got that hot sh*t on my bolts,
Know how many boards kingraisin owns?
Don't let me skate in the bowl,
Don't let me skate in the bowl,
Don't let me skate in the bowl,
I'm jumpin off of buildings,
My shit is never healin,
I don't need ibuprofen,
You know I like the feelin!
I am now holdin my dome,
Don't let me skate in the bowl,
Don't let me skate in the bowl,
I'm definitely skatin the bowl!

The Walking Dead 4x04 Sneak Peeks "Indifference" (HD)

The Walking Dead 4x04 "Indifference" - The supply mission faces hurdles; the situation at the prison worsens!

Official Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/WalkingDead_AMC/

Behind the scenes of The Walking Dead 4x03 "Isolation"

The Walking Dead 4x03 "Isolation" - The group struggles to cope with the spread of the infection within the prison.

Official Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/WalkingDead_AMC/

Get Your Halloween #Dramaface on to Win a year’s supply of chocolate!

Freesat have created a site dedicated to sharing reactions to the best TV moments – they’ve called it #dramaface.

To celebrate Halloween and the launch of #Dramaface, they are offering you the chance to win a year’s supply of chocolate.

To enter, simply upload your spooky selfie to help celebrate Halloween TV this weekend.

Whether you’re squirming at a scary film, or dressing up for X Factor, share your scariest #dramaface.

One lucky winner will receive a year’s supply of chocolate!
www.dramaface.co.uk

I have uploaded my face which is also below! Please click on the little heart on the Dramaface site on my image.

Interview With Director Brian Yuzna

Brian Yuzna (pictured left) is one of the world’s most prolific and respected genre film-makers and on the eve of RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3 receiving its network TV premiere on the Horror Channel, Yuzna gives us some insight into the making of the film, news on the SOCIETY sequel and why he thinks Horror has gone too mainstream.

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3 is broadcast on Saturday Nov 2, 10.40pm.


Q: Did you know from a young age that you wanted to work in the movie industry?

BY: No, I didn’t.  Like most kids, I loved movies; and I saw some scary ones at a young age that really disturbed me.  That gave me an interest in horror for the rest of my life.  But I never imagined that you could actually make a living making movies.  Back then there were no dvd extras and tv shows demonstrating how movies were made. While in high school I had fooled around with a friend’s 8 mm camera and we mostly shot special effects but it wasn’t until I saw Truffaut’s Day For Night that I had an idea of how a movie crew worked.  Many years later I was vacationing with my girl friend and we rode past a big encampment outside of Cartagena , Columbia and I recognized that it was a film shoot.  

That evening we left our modest quarters and were eating at a restaurant on the beach when a couple of jeeps drove up with the rowdy actors etc from the shoot.  As they drank and ate and partied I realized that I was on vacation and they were on a job – but they were having more fun than I was.  That’s when I thought maybe making movies was a desirable job!  Cut to a few years later when I was working as an artist and had an art supply store.  I acquired a 16mm Bolex wind up camera and started making a short film – a short film full of fx that turned into a feature.  Although I never took a film class, I learned how to make a movie just by doing it with people who did know how.  The process fascinated me - it was exciting and satisfying.  The movie I made was pretty bad, but I was hooked.  I moved to Los Angeles to make movies.

Q: How did the Return Of The Living Dead III project come together?

BY: Joel Castelberg and Danica Minor contacted me about directing Return 3 – they said they had the rights and thought that I would be a good collaborator.  I was thrilled because I loved both Return of the Living Dead as well as Night of the Living Dead.  In order to set it apart from the plethora of zombie movies that had been made (even back then!) I decided that a zombie should be the main character.  They found a company to finance it and we began listening to pitches from potential screenwriters.  However, when the time came to formalize a deal it turns out that Joel and Danica’s agent was wrong about the rights being in their control – so it all fell apart.  Soon after I mentioned this to Mark Amin, the ceo of Trimark Pictures, and somehow he acquired the rights and offered me the job of directing and producing.  Again, the process of interviewing writers began, but this time it was Trimark who lined them up.  When I met John Penney and heard his pitch, I was immediately sold.  He was the guy.

Q: What did you think of the script the first time you read it?

BY: There never was a first time that I read the script.  John had a ‘pitch’, which was a basic ‘take’ on the movie.  His idea had to do with kids on the run, kind of a Romeo and Juliet, in a world in which the military is experimenting with the living dead as weapons.  I don’t remember exactly the details, but my obsession with having the main character be a zombie fit right into that.  The next step was for John to write a ‘treatment’ to base the screenplay on.  John and I brainstormed the ideas and John organized them into characters and a story.  Then the Trimark development folks would review it.  By the time we got to the screenplay John and I were collaborating very effectively.  John was seamlessly able to satisfy his storytelling ideas as well as mine – and Trimark’s as well.  In fact, for the only time in my moviemaking experience, I had the screenwriter (and co-producer) on the set with me throughout the shoot.  During pre-production John Penney was there to rewrite the script according to the cast, the locations that we found and the ideas that came up with the storyboard artists and fx artists.  So during the filming we were literally shooting the script.

Q: Was it a difficult movie to cast?

BY: It wasn’t a difficult movie to cast because of the support of Trimark.  I feel like they were able to access excellent options for each of the roles.  They were very involved with the casting and fortunately we seemed to be very much on the same page as them regarding the casting ideas.  Trimark had strong ideas about the casting, but never did I feel like I was obliged to accept an actor that wasn’t my choice.  They really were good to work with.  The biggest role of course was Julie – and we were all pretty blown away by Mindy Clarke.  But Trimark was most helpful, I think, with the secondary roles for which they brought in really quality talent.  It is really great that the cast, in my opinion, is uniformly good.

Q: How much of the budget went on special effects?

BY: Not that much – but working with my producing partner Gary Schmoeller (to whom is due a great deal of the credit for the success of the movie) we used an approach for producing the effects that had worked well for us in the past.  Typically fx horror films of that era would hire one fx company to produce all of the fx – the theory being that by giving them all of the fx budget they would be able to dedicate more of there time to your production.  Our approach was the opposite – with limited funds it is better to break the fx down into categories and hire various companies with different strengths.  This meant hiring an fx supervisor (Tom Rainone in this case) to find the appropriate fx artists, make the deals and supervise the work.  Paying a top fx artist for a key fx makes sense – paying the same artist to create background zombies may not be cost effective – a newer fx company might put extra effort into the effect in order to show there stuff.  Some fx artists are experts in prosthetics and others in mechanical devices.  We tried to get the most bang out of our fx budget.

Q: Was it a difficult shoot?

BY: It was a difficult shoot in that we were trying to make a bigger and better movie than we were budgeted for (we always aim higher than our budget).  But the shoot was so well organized (kudos again to Gary Schmoeller), and Trimark were so supportive, and our Director of Photography (Gerry Lively) was so tirelessly resourceful that everything went more or less according to plan.  It was very hard, exhausting work – but the whole crew seemed to be pulling in the same direction, so I really would not categorize it as a ‘difficult’ shoot.

Q: Why do you think the film has built up such a loyal following?

BY: Because it is a really good zombie movie.  I say that as someone who has made a lot of horror movies that I wouldn’t characterize as ‘really good’.  Return 3 has a good clear story and satisfying horror.  Mainly what sets it apart in my book is the love story at the center of it all.  I think it is very romantic, you really feel for Julie and sympathize with Curt’s determination to not let go of her.  I feel like it is a goth romance, a heavy metal tragedy, a young love in a corrupt world.  As a life long horror fan I think that Return 3 holds up as an example of good ‘90s horror.

Q: Horror Channel has also shown films from The Dentist and Re-Animator series of movies, do you think its times these characters came back?

BY: Yes, I do.  Corbin Bernson has tried to get the rights to do a third Dentist – he loves playing that character.  And it would be good see Jeffrey Combs get out the re-animating syringe one more time.  And I have been asked many times about a Re-Animator re-boot.  Problem is, as always, financing.  The business has changed considerably due to the digital revolution.  There just aren’t many Trimarks out there any more.

Q: Have you ever been tempted to make a follow up to your astonishingly original shocker, Society?

BY: I am actively working on it.  Once again it is all about the financing.  My idea for a sequel is to have it take place in these super exclusive late night clubs that they have in Hollywood .  Once you get in there is always a VIP room or a VVIP room that is off limits…

Q: What state do you think the horror movie industry is in at the moment? A victim of its own success, perhaps? 

BY: Horror has become so mainstream that it seems to have mostly lost that transgressive creativity that used to make it so exhilarating. Now that Zombie movies have hit the mainstream (the modern equivalent of the ‘Western’?) they have mostly lost the element of the macabre, the disturbing sense of dead things coming wrongly to life, and are now mainly action films about disease and overpopulation.  Vampires are more romantic than horrific.  And extreme violence is the norm almost as an end in itself.  I think that we are at the end of a cycle and that a new kind of horror will grow out of the new production and distribution digital technologies.  We seem to have reached the limit of what the screenplay structure formulas (popularized especially by Syd Field) of the last decades can give us.

Whereas these ideas began as a way to identify the structure of successful movies and learn from them, they have inevitably led to a be treated as a set of rules to follow, rules that can lead to a sameness in screenplay structure that makes you feel like you know what is coming in a film from the early scenes.  The horror genre has a relatively rigorous structure and it may be time for new filmmakers to develop it into more effective directions.  One of the most interesting horror films for me recently was Cabin in the Woods.  It wasn’t very scary, but the way it deconstructed the horror tropes made me think that after that you just cannot make a teenagers in the woods movie again.  The times dictate our fears, and these times are definitely very different from the last few decades.  I am waiting for the new classics to emerge – horror with the effectiveness and artistry of Rosemary’s Baby, The Omen, The Exorcist, The Shining – and the devastating impact of Night of the Living Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Q: You’re a multi talented person but are you happiest directing, directing or writing?

BY: I am happiest when I am giving form to something I have imagined.  It is the most exhilarating to direct – but if the director is doing stuff that surprises and delights you it is fantastic to produce.  Writing is the fun of brainstorming the original ideas.  When you produce you can stay with the movie for a long time after everyone else is gone. And with producing you can get so many more movies made.  I love collaborating and am happy to take whatever role is available as long as I feel like I am a real member of the creative and organizational team.

Q: So what projects are you working on at the moment?

I am working on the sequels we mentioned above – but also have very interesting multi platform project with John Penney called The Pope.

Brian Yuzna, thank you very much.


TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138
www.horrorchannel.co.uk | twitter.com/horror_channel

Dracula 1x02 Promo "A Whiff of Sulphur" (HD) / This Season on Dracula

Dracula 1x02 "A Whiff of Sulphur" - Grayson takes Lady Jayne as a lover even as he investigates her lethal connections to The Order of the Dragon. Grayson helps Mina face a critical challenge at medical school. Van Helsing continues his quest to develop a solar vaccine to enable Grayson to conquer sunlight. Jonathan Harker strikes a devil's bargain with Grayson which has unexpected consequences.

Official website: http://www.nbc.com/dracula/
Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NBCDracula/
Official Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/NBCDracula/

Interview With Lily Rabe - American Horror Story Asylum

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM
Lily Rabe (‘Sister Mary Eunice McKee’)


Q: I'm very Catholic and this show scares the crap out of me.  How was the show first presented to you?

A: When Ryan called me up I was doing a play in New York and I remember I was sitting in my dressing room before a show, he called to tell me about the new season and the part that he wanted me to play.  I said yes before I knew much at all because getting to work with Ryan is something I say yes to.  I trust him.  So I didn't know that much.  I knew a bit about the character I'd be playing and I knew the time period and I knew it would be in an asylum and I knew what Jessica was playing.  But the information came in in bits.

Q:  What is it about this particular show that has galvanized audiences the way that it has?

A: Well, that's part of it, it's not like anything else on television.  What Ryan does with all of his shows, which are so incredibly different from one another, it's just amazing that these three different shows that are on the air right now are born out of the same brain and are so incredibly different.  What they all -- they're all very original, very brave and each universe that he creates the show is its own universe. So for an audience member at least for me watching his shows, to get to sort of step into that world that is so specific to the show is I think very appealing.  And can appeal to so many different, that's why there's so many, it's not just for targeted age groups, there's vast mass of appeal to his shows I think.

Q: For an actor, what is the best part about living in a world that's so grey?

A: Wow, that is where everything happens isn't it, in the grey.  I feel that that's sort of where, certainly where we are today.  As an actor because it's true, and for my character so much is in the middle because so much is happening to her and so it's not black or white.  Is it this Mary Eunice or that Mary Eunice?  All of it is living inside of her and is very complicated way.  And for all of the characters you know we are all -- he writes and creates and his writers create such multidimensional characters.  No one is ever stuck sort of with a caricature.  That grayness is a good place to go to work everyday.

Q: Would you say that insanity is overrated?  Do embrace the responsibility wholeheartedly?  Do you ever question some of the motivation of the characters?

A: No, I don't question them because that wouldn't help me while I'm playing the part you know.  It's bad when you step into that, for me anyway, no, I would find no value in sort of being resistant or questioning what's happening in the world of the show or what's happening for my character.  It's much more fun.   I'd rather just jump out of the plane and then know that my parachute is going to be there.  Too much trepidation with my work.  I can only speak for myself, it has never made me as happy as when I just jump in.  So that's what I'm doing.

Q: How do you decompress at the end of the day?

A: I do love a cheeseburger but sleep is a good thing.  We work long hours.  I think we all like to just try and sleep when we can.  Then you do the things that you do in your life that you know feel like you are living your life outside of work.  She's on my mind 24/7 right now, that's for sure.