Jane Austen, Hollywood Stars, and Zombies Oh My!

Todd Jepperson

(KEVIN WINTER/GETTY)

The undead horde grew to record breaking numbers last weekend when they invaded Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Bringing with them the brightest stars from the upcoming film adaptation of Jane Austen/Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, they packed the theatre to the walls and grabbed the Guinness World record for most zombies reading Jane Austen at the same time. 

The A-listers showed up in their trendy best, but the zombies were clad in the disastrous ruins of once magnificent Romanticist gowns and Dapper period suits. By all accounts, everyone had a shambling good time. The stars aligned to present attendees with photo opportunities and even prizes for best makeup and costume. 

Interestingly enough though, everyone’s got a copy of the 1813 Jane Austen book and not the 2009 Seth Grahame-Smith adaptation that the upcoming movie is actually based on. In case you have forgotten, or haven’t read the book, here’s the blurb from the back:

“So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton--and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers--and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. Can Elizabeth vanquish the spawn of satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you’d actually want to [see].”

To read more, hop on over to People.com. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is slated to infect theaters nation-wide on February 4th.

Zombies Saving Lives?

Todd Jepperson

October fifteenth will be the date and Utah's State Fair park will be the venue for Utah's second annual Night of the Running Dead. If you're anywhere near the area, come on down and help raise $15,000 for the Huntsman Cancer foundation; and hey, why not try to break a Guinness World Record while you're there?

Everyone who attends will have to fill out the appropriate paperwork and register as either Undead, or Human. When the race kicks off, the Humans will have a two minue "run for your lives" head start and then the Zombies will be released to chase them for the full five Km. Of course, props are discouraged and safety is in high regard during the event.

Head on over to http://undeadrace.com/ for full details.

Zombies Set to Invade a Theme Park This Week

Jason Meehan

 

When there's no more room in hell, the dead will ride rollercoasters! This Thursday the Guinness World Record™ holding NJ Zombie Walk is hitting the road for their first summertime event, partnering with reanimated friends from the NYC Zombie Crawl and the Philly Zombie Crawl to spread the zombie infection to nearby Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom for the park's first ever ZOMBIE INVASION!

On August 18th the Allentown, PA amusement park is opening its gates to the undead for ONE NIGHT ONLY! If you've ever wanted to live out a "Zombieland" fantasy this is your chance! Gates open at 10am for humans, then the park closes to the public at 7pm for this special after-hours event FOR ZOMBIES ONLY! Organizers have planned a gore-filled evening of rides, music and mayhem.. as well as a NEW Guinness World Record™ attempt! The zombie horde hopes to set a record for the "Most costumed riders on an amusement ride." Guinness officials will be on-site to oversee the walking dead as they board and ride Dorney's largest coaster, "Steel Force."

Want to join them? Dorney Park is offering a deep discount on admission to the park if you purchase tickets online. Zombie Invasion tickets are only $25, and valid for both regular park hours and for this 8pm-midnight special event. A team of professional makeup artists will also be on-site offering zombie makeovers from 5-8pm for a nominal fee.

For more info visit http://www.njzombiewalk.com or http://www.dorneypark.com/zombiesnj to buy tickets.

New Zombie Walk World Record!

The Fremont Outdoor Movie Festival now has the official honor of holding the Guiness World Record for participants in a zombie walk! News (and photo) comes from The Fremont Universe where they can proudly take claim for holding the largest zombie walk on the planet. The official tally? 3,894 zombies!