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From the Quirky Queue of PCG

FROM PCG'S QUIRKY QUEUE:

Here's a capsulized look at some of my recent film viewings:

THE BAY: Another variation on the found footage genre, the central conceit being that it is composed of various snippets of news broadcasts and amateur video footage, not unlike The Fourth Kind or District 9. Decent performances and editing make it a stand out.

LEGENDARY WEAPONS OF CHINA: 80s era Shaw Brothers period kung fu epic is a good showcase not only of the titular weapons, but the amazing athletic prowess of stars Liu Chia Liang, Hsiao Ho, (Alexander) Fu Sheng. There's even a small but action packed appearance by Gordon Liu. Mixed in with the kung fu are some fireworks-enhanced Taoist magic sequences, including a hilarious and mind-blowing "voodoo" doll fight.

SLA$HERS: A clever enough concept; it plays as an episode of Japan's hottest game show, whose premise is that a small group of willing participants must survive in a complex patrolled by three deranged murderers. They form alliances, have cat fights and talk to the camera just like, say, Survivor, only there's no question this is fake so it's much more entertaining. But we've all seen how stagey acting fails on video, and that's exactly what happens here. Ultimately, I can only recommend it to a very limited audience who might like to see how beautifully some of the gore effects are executed without a camera cut.

KILL!: Black and white samurai drama from 1969 that will likely be too dated for most viewers, but notable for its beautiful photography and disciplined performances.

BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW: Supremely bizarre, often slow but mesmerizing head-trip sci-fi horror set in the eighties at a new age "self-actualizing" center, a vast complex that serves as a house of horrors for one mute young would-be escapee. If you don't like stepping out of the comfort zone of traditional narrative, skip it. Otherwise, you'll definitely want to re-watch this one a couple of times.

PROJECT A: Opera school chums Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung fill the screen with the usual outrageous stunts, fights and buddy comedy. Great fun.

THE PACT: Recalling both A STIR OF ECHOES, and PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS with frequent homages to HALLOWEEN, it has its moments.

nWo: THE REVOLUTION: WWE produced documentary about the edgiest era of pro-wrestling, this mostly tries to make the whole ridiculous nWo era seem like good times, even though it essentially killed WCW, which was WWE's biggest competitor at one time.

THE GREY: Liam Neeson plays a tortured soul who seems ready to end it all, until nature calls his bluff in the form of a plane crash that lands him in an arctic wilderness dangerously close to a wolfpack's den. Don't be surprised if this one veers far from your expectations.

KILL 'EM ALL: SAW meets BANGKOK KNOCKOUT when a small band of international assassins finds themselves locked in a warehouse and forced to fight each other and an endless army of baddies on the way to a showdown with Gordon Liu. You could do worse if you're looking for simplistic action.

THE ATTIC EXPEDITIONS: What I expected to be a slasher flick was actually an unusual psych horror thriller with some nice twists. Look for a sock puppet that steals the show in a truly unnerving manner. Look for the legendary Alice Cooper in an on-the-nose cameo.

I'd love to hear your take on these!

APRIL SHOWERS BRING DEAD FLOWERS

Maybe it's the spring weather warming things up--like cold corpses for example. Zombies have become the theme of April, especially here at The Most Terrifying Blog on the Internet!

Armand Rosamilia,author of the Dying Days zombie series among many other great works, has kindly graced the MTBotI with an amazing story from the universe of that series in the previous blog post. Just for clarification, the story's "Patrick" character is not necessarily Yerz Trooly. Not necessarily. ;)

Armand is preparing a collection of short stories set in that universe, and I'm personally planning to submit a face-biting entry or two. This will be one to watch!


Last weekend, I traveled to the town of Hickory, NC to appear in several scenes of the zombie film ONE LAST SUNSET - Redux. A bit of history: OLS is the brainchild of one Kevin Richmond, a prolific and brilliant indie director whose company Peepin' Tom Productions is dedicated to telling compelling human stories in unusual contexts. OLS was originally written and produced as a short a couple of years back. Kevin brought me in as a fight choreographer after I worked in the same capacity for his film VS.


                                           The film features The Walking Dead's

Addy Miller in a zombie role that pre-dates her appearance on that show, as well as a talented trio of actresses (Brandy Brown, Clemeen Connolly and Alma J Hill) in the usual post-zombie apocalypse setting, though with considerably more pathos than you might have come to expect. It was well received by critics and fans, garnering enough attention that Richmond was motivated to expand the short to a full-blown feature.


As a result, I was fortunate to be cast in what has become one of my favorite rolls,

that of an Afghanistan conflict vet leading a motley band of survivors through a zombie-ravaged landscape. Look for ONE LAST SUNSET - Redux sometime next year.


That film's makeup whiz, an amiable fellow named Keith Bailey, is a veteran screenwriter himself, and has penned a trilogy of zombie films set to shoot sometime next year. I begged, nagged and cajoled Keith to include me, and he has agreed! More on that as it develops.

Now - back to writing a tasty, bloody morsel of zombie literature for the masses.

DYING DAYS are upon us....

Presenting 

The Man - Armand Rosamilia. 

 Armand is the author of the Dying Days Collection.

 "Dying Days are upon us. The Undead roam the Earth...searching for the living...to eat...to feast...to rip apart..." 

We are always lucky to have Armand. Not only because all the ladies love him, but turns out he's a pretty damn good writer as well. Today he is sharing an unreleased flash fiction story in anticipation of his forthcoming June release DYING DAYS 3. You should also check him out in Miami Spy Games and Fifty Shades of Decay (I love that title!)

Take it away, Armand...

This is an unreleased short story set in the Dying Days zombie world. The idea came to me after meeting one of my girlfriend's friends and listening to his obsession with reality TV shows, and pretty much just watching every show available. I took it to the extreme and it's not really about him (although his real name may or may not be Patrick), and it might be 100% what he would do during the zombie apocalypse. Or not (especially if he decided to sue)…

  

Dying Days: Television

Armand Rosamilia

            Patrick held the universal TV remote in his hand and pointed it at the blank screens until gravity forced it down. He sighed loudly (like the winner of season five's Survivor had done to psyche out the other two remaining contestants) and fell back onto the couch.

            Even though the power had tripped, the backup generators were working and, therefore, the cable and satellite feeds should be working. The televisions were definitely on, because he kept turning each individual one on and off and making sure the green lights flashed before him on the wall of TV sets.

            He checked his watch and was frustrated. He only had four minutes until the Amish reality show was coming on, and he needed to see if Levi was going to leave the community or stay and ask for forgiveness.

            If the power was out the third DVR in his back bedroom wouldn't record it and he'd miss an episode. That was unacceptable. He searched for his cell phone among the Entertainment Weekly magazines on the coffee table and hit speed-dial #1, which was the cable company. The phone just made a weird beeping noise, and Patrick finally tossed it down in frustration. This wasn't good.

            In two hours the pawn show marathon started. Even though he'd seen them all, he needed to sit through them again. Just in case he missed something funny or important. Tonight was also the season finale of the annoying little girl who was in the beauty pageants. He hated her and her media whore mother, but he still wanted to see if she'd win the Little Miss Kentucky Pageant. After watching an entire season, what else could he do?

            "Damn," Patrick said when he realized the phone being out meant he couldn't order his Meat Lover's pizza tonight. It was Tuesday. He always ordered a pie. Tomorrow would be Chinese food, and Thursday was Jimmy Johns, followed by Friday night delivery of cheeseburgers from the corner barbeque place. Saturday was back to pizza, but always with sausage, pepperoni and onions. Sunday was another delicious order of Chinese, and Monday leftovers from the previous week.

            Patrick had his life planned out. What else did he need? During the day he could do his online copywriting job, check his stock portfolio, sell a few things on eBay, and never have to leave the house except to collect his mail, packages, and open the door for the delivery person. But now…

            He wanted to scream when he looked at his laptop and saw his internet connection was lost. How would he get any work done? There were several jobs due in the morning he'd already finished and only needed to submit. Now he couldn't.

            Through the closed blinds he could tell the sun was going down. He didn't know his neighbor and he didn't care to know them. They weren't important. Only the real housewives in New Jersey mattered to him right now, or the Alaskan gold miners and the bad ass truckers in the ice.

            Was that a scream he'd just heard? Patrick ran into his bedroom, hoping it was on the seventy-two inch wall unit he had mounted at an angle so he could see comfortably from his bed, but the screen was blank. Could it have come from outside?

            He found a pair of jeans on the floor and put them on. His white t-shirt was hastily pulled over his torso and it was even tighter than he remembered since last week when he'd put it on.

            Patrick turned the front door knob but hesitated. What if someone was in trouble? What if they needed his help? This was real reality, and he didn't do well in these situations. He didn't want to have to deal face to face with people. It was why he worked from home, and had for years. People were opinionated, nosy, leeches and bloodsuckers who only asked you for things. No thanks. It was better to see them act like selfish brats on his television than in person.

            Before he could talk himself out of it, he opened the door and took a step outside. The fresh air was a nice change from the air conditioning. It felt… well, fresh.

            "Ugh," he muttered when he saw the neighbors standing in their driveway looking right at him. Before he could turn and run back inside the annoying wife was waving her arms at him and her and her husband came running.

            "We didn't think anyone else was still around," she said. "Hi, I'm Merna."

            "Nice to meet you," he lied and mumbled. There was nothing out here for him. "Did I hear a scream?"

            "Yes," the husband said, looking around. "It isn't safe. It also might be too late for us to leave. On the news it said the roads were blocked in and out of Jacksonville."

            "Why?" Patrick didn't watch the news. There was really no point in it. He didn't want that much reality. School shootings, accidents, fires, police reports… all boring. There was no payoff for him, no inside scoop on the people involved. The show Cops had started him on the great reality television craze, and he never wanted to stop.

            "Don't you watch the news?" The man said incredulously. "Rumor has it you have fifty TV's in your house."

            Patrick laughed. "Fifty? I wish. It's only twenty-two screens. Plus three computers, two laptops, and my tablets. But not fifty. Not yet." He had been eyeing a seventy-inch plasma online, waiting for the price to drop so he could order two for the dining room.

            "There are zombies," Merna said. "This is my husband Earl."

            "Did you say zombies?" Patrick said and scoffed. He was done with these crazies. This was why he didn’t bother with people. They were certifiable. Like the nutty guy in season two of Big Brother.

            "I know it sounds crazy, but before the power went out they were showing live shots from all over the country. They are taking over and eating people." Merna shivered and crossed her arms. "This isn't a joke."

            "Too bad the power is out, or else you would see for yourself," Earl said. "This isn't like that zombie show on TV, either. These things are nasty and ripping people apart."

            "I don't watch that show. It's not realistic enough," Patrick said.

            Merna looked at him oddly. "Realistic? It's about zombies."

            "It was nice meeting you," Patrick lied again. "I'm going inside to see what the fuss is about."

            "You have power?"

            "Yeah. I am always prepared. Not that it helps, since all the channels are out."

            "Can we come in? Safety in numbers seems smart right now," Merna said.

            Patrick didn't want these strangers in his home. It was bad enough when the cable guy came over to install another line. "Sorry… the place is a mess. Maybe some other time." He turned and walked as fast as he could to his house.

            "Are you kidding me? We're going to die out here," the husband said.

            "Sucks to be you," Patrick mumbled as he went inside. This was obviously some stupid joke, and he wasn't buying it. What if this was some reality show? A hidden camera program, maybe. He could end up being a star, but only if he played his cards right.

            Patrick sat down on the couch and thought of a strategy. Would he be the in-your-face guy, brash and defiant, bruising his way to victory? Maybe he'd be the under-the-radar guy, who subtly screwed everyone around him out of the prize. He could make pretend he was everyone's friend, and then find their strengths and weaknesses.

            But what was the grand prize? What were the rules of the game? How could he gain the advantage and keep it? He did another click-through on the televisions, but they were all still out.

            The knock at the door startled him. Patrick was going to ignore it, but then decided his best course would be to answer and play his part… he decided he would be the gullible, friendly guy and take the other contestants in with his Aww, Shucks! Attitude.

            When Patrick opened the door the neighbors were standing there.

            He smiled. This was his first test, and his first screen time unless they'd be filming him before. "Howdy neighbors."

            Patrick noticed the blood spitting from Merna's neck, a shambling crowd gathering behind the couple, and the vacant look in their eyes the second before Earl wrapped his cold fingers around Patrick's neck.

           

You can read even more about Armand Rosamilia by visiting his site at armandrosamilia.com and buying his books so he has enough money to stop the coming zombie apocalypse… and he can buy M&M's. 

Paperback Party!

To celebrate the release of my new Special Edition paperback, DARK DESTINIES ~ publisher Sekhmet Press LLC  is giving away a signed copy and an awesome T-shirt on April 15. Hurry!

Join the Paperback Party! here

Read-a-Chapter!

How would you like to read the first chapter of PROGENY on-line?

Here's your chance!

As The Pages Turn features PROGENY

in the READ-A-CHAPTER section!

CLICK HERE TO READ-A-CHAPTER of PROGENY

A Conversation with Patrick C. Greene

Making the rounds again on the Book Tour !

A Conversation on the Blogger News Network

So what's next? "My current novel deals with a young special forces operative as she is drawn into the world of vampires. “A Shotgun Wedding” is my latest screenwriting effort and Sekhmet Press LLC will release an illustrated trade paperback of my novella A Piece Of Miracle this Fall. I have several stand-alone short stories available on amazon…which will send you spiraling into madness!" PCG


READ MORE HERE