Fun with Zombies and Other Weirdness

So all that great 80's music put me back in a good mood, though we are in the slowest slow period I've experienced at the Day Job and it's a bit disconcerting (though not scary or worrisome) - not to mention boring. Anyway, all the free time lets me find interesting things to share with my few, but faithful readers.

So the other day I came across trailers for two new zombie movies from across the pond. First up is the zom/com/heist movie from Britain, Cockneys Vs Zombies. The IMDb plot summary reads: "A gang of bank robbers fight their way out of a zombie-infest London." The trailer alone belies that statement. Think Sean of the Dead on steroids via Bubba Ho-Tep. Cockneys Vs Zombies look dark, violent, gory and freaking hilarious! Watch the trailer below (probably NSFW for language, violence and gore):

Cockneys Vs Zombies opens the UK's Film4 Fright Fest on August 23 and goes wide in the UK on August 31. There is no scheduled U.S. release date, as of this writing. Jinx - if you see it, please let me know!

Far less hilarious (but looking pretty intense), is the first zombie film out of the former USSR, Winter of the Dead (Meteletsa). There is no IMDb listing for this film under either name, but the YouTube description says something about snow in the middle of a hot Moscow summer which presages a zombie outbreak. Don't know know, don't care. The movie's official website makes a bit more sense. The carnage is high in the trailer (sorry - no subtitles). The trailer may be NSFW for violence and gore - couldn't tell you whether there are Russian swear-words or not:

Someone's been watching "The Walking Dead."

Tonight's penultimate bit of nonsense comes from Towleroad and while it is exceptionally weird, it is particularly hilarious, especially if you have had enough of a particular redneck politician, who - like a certain villain in a certain series of kid's books - from henceforth shall be referred to as She Who Shall Not Be Named. Ladies and germs, I hope you skipped the peyote tonight. I give you "Mrs. Smith," weighing in on Chick-hates-Gays and She Who Shall... oh, you know:

And finally, some happy, silly nonsense from my dear Post Apocalyptic Bohemian Stephen, who shared it with me and I'd like to share it with you. For about a month or so, I've been hearing bits and pieces from friends in New York about this musical comedy duo The Skivvies, who perform in their... well, skivvies. In the clip Stephen shared, they are joined by Wes Taylor (adorable chorus boy Bobby on "Smash") for this hilarious three-song mash-up about phones:

Feeling so much better. Now let's hope some other a-hole doesn't pop up spewing ha... Wait? Wut? Two? So that lying scumbag Bryan Fischer is advocating federal crimes against gays and Papa John's is raising prices and blaming Obamacare? SON OF A.... Let it go... Breathe... Again... One more... Good.

More, anon.
Prospero

Marketing for Dummies (or Should that Be "to Dummies?")

Christmas is essentially over. Uncle P has one more gift exchange with my three closest friends tomorrow and today was a Boxing Day gift exchange and Chinese smorgasbord with dear friends from college. I think everyone was and will be quite pleased with their gifts. 

Sadly, it's the gifts that seem to be the focus of Christmas, these days (though honestly, with my friends, it's the chance to spend time together). And yes, that's an old complaint. As far back as (and probably well before) 1965's "A Charlie Brown Christmas," Charles Schultz was bemoaning the commercialization of the holiday. Of course, we all have Mr. Charles Dickens to thank for it. Before the publication of A Christmas Carol, Christmas was a minor Christian holiday, far surpassed by Easter, which is the basis for the entire religion. And it was only after the Catholics co-opted the pagan holiday of Winter Solstice that the birth of Jesus was celebrated in December. Historical accounts place the actual birth in March or April, depending on which calendar is being used. And please don't get me wrong; I have no doubt that Jesus of Nazareth existed. There are plenty of documents other than the New Testament to verify that. It's the rest of it I have a problem with. 

But none of that has anything to do with this post. And I'm sure by now you must be wondering what any of this has to with Marketing and the new NBC musical "Smash." Well, I'll tell you.

I came across this first video on Facebook, posted by three friends whose only connection is yours truly. Riley is an amazingly perceptive young lady, who goes on a gender-biased marketing rant in her local Toys-R-Us. I hope she maintains her amazing acuity as she gets older.

I see a Gender Studies Major in the making, here.

And then on Towleroad, I came across the  promotional clip for the aforementioned "Smash" below. Produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Deborah Messing; Angelica Huston; Megan Hilty; Jack Devenport and "American Idol" winner Katharine McPhee, "Smash" is a story about the mounting of a Broadway musical, from inception to opening night curtain. The musical in question is a biography of Marilyn Monroe and from what I can gather, it focuses on the making of a 'star.' 

Now that's how you market a new show.

Spielberg admits that he is clueless about how a Broadway show comes to fruition, so it will be interesting to see if he has put together the right team to pull off a show like "Smash." Having cut my teeth on musical theatre and about to start rehearsals for what I'm pretty sure will be my last musical theatre performance, I am intrigued by and excited for "Smash." I hope it lives up to its hype.

I hope I made all the connections, here. We're all targets, folks. Just look at the ads on you Facebook walls. Hell, look at the ads Google places on my blog. Buy this! Watch that! Spend your money here! It doesn't take a genius to see what the Madmen are doing. The real joke is, they're making money by telling you where and how to spend yours. It makes my head hurt...

More, anon.

Prospero