For those who eschew the theoretical, abstract, ivory tower intellectualism of college classes about zombies, there’s always the trade school option, right?
The above video should help you bone up on your lumbering. It’s about the “zombie school” held for 150 extras in AMC’s The Living Dead, which (in case you’ve been living in a bunker) premieres on Halloween, and includes an interview with “Zombie Choreographer” Matt Kent. Wouldn’t I love to have his business cards?
Terry Morrow of the Knoxville News-Sentinel relates the experiences of Knoxville, Tennessee resident Linds Edwards in attending said zombie school, with some quotes from the show’s makeup supervisor, Greg Nicotero. Apparently there are a lot of rules — no dragging your feet, and no keeping one arm crooked. That’s strictly Ed Wood crap, it seems. Morrow quotes Nicotero:
“There has to be a disconnect between your mind and what your body wants to do,” he says. “You have to think then move.”
He wanted extras to hang outside bars at 2 a.m. to see patrons leave. “They think they are perfectly OK when they walk,” he says of the patrons, “but they aren’t.”
…”There’s a subtle art to being a zombie,” he says. “If you do too much and are over the top, you aren’t a zombie anymore.
“You’re a person trying to act like a zombie.”
[Link.]
Let me tell you, when I leave a bar at 2 a.m., I’m a person trying not to act like a zombie.
“The Living Dead” (in case you’ve been hiding out in a nice cozy grave) has been receiving a serious marketing blitz in recent days, including a 26-city zombie walk. The show is based on a graphic novel series of the same name now available for purchase at bookstores, truck stops and 7-11s near you.