happy halloween!

Posted on By Wil

It’s 82 degrees and gorgeous today, here in sunny Pasadena. When the little ghouls come trick-or-treating tonight, it should be nice and balmy.

I was going to go as a zombie, but in honor of the beautiful day, I’ve decided to go as a Palm Tree.

And after you see that link, you’ll probably understand why the last place in the world I want to be today is inside. One of the benefits of being self-employed is that I can take the afternoon off to walk my dogs and have a cigar on the patio while I catch up with some podcasts, so that’s where I’ll be if anyone is looking for me.

REVIEW: Dawn of the Dead documentaries

Posted on By Wil

My call for the movie today isn’t until 4:30, so I watched the documentary disc of Dawn of the Dead: The Ultimate Edition. Here’s my quick review:

There are four features on this disc, but the two documentaries, "The Dead Will Walk" and "Document of the Dead" make it required viewing for any serious fan of DotD. The contrast between the two is remarkable, and the result is much greater than the sum of the individual parts.

"The Dead Will Walk" is the obligatory look back at the making of the film, complete with cast and crew interviews, and original behind the scenes footage from the production. It’s an enjoyable retrospective, and it’s nice to see people look back fondly on this great film.

"Document of the Dead" is a documentary made during the prodction of DotD, and has a decidedly different point of view. Interviews on the set and a narrative examination of Romero’s style are woven together to give us a much more in-depth look at the making of this landmark film, which was clearly not an easy production and struggled to find distribution. "Document of the Dead" was made long before Romero was the unquestioned master of the genre, and after watching him discuss his philosopy on filmmaking, it’s easy to see how he earned the title.

UPDATE: I’m out of the ACME show the next two weeks

Posted on By Wil

Sigh. This is always a risk when the cast is made up of working actors, but it still sucks.

The schedule for the movie can not be changed, so I had to take myself out of the ACME shows for the next two weeks. This means that you one and only for reals chance to see me in the show will be on November 19th, our closing night.

I’m really sorry, and feel terrible for the cast, the theatre, and especially the WWdN:iX readers who were planning on coming out to see the show. I hope everyone understands.

Toe-wik-a-whissa

Posted on By Wil

Heeding the "it’s not real until you’re actually on the set" philosophy, I haven’t written about this movie that I’m working on tomorrow.

Yeah . . . I booked a movie! I’m have a cameo as a director called "Alan Smith" in this great movie, which has a title I can’t disclose. I’ll call it The One Where Wil Wheaton’s Cameo Kills And Wins Him Some Stupid Award (TOWWWCKAWHSSA, which is actually pronounced "Toe-wik-a-whissa." Which makes me giggle like a product tester in the nitrous oxide factory.)

The thing is . . . I was supposed to work in the morning and make it to the ACME show at night. I just got my call time, and they’re bringing me in late in the afternoon. Unless they change the schedule, there is no way I’ll be able to make it to the show. I know that several WWdN readers are planning to come to the show tomorrow night, and I reminded the folks at The One Where Wil Wheaton’s Cameo Kills And Wins Him Some Stupid Award that they assured me the movie wouldn’t conflict with the my show. They’re working on it, but I’ll be very surprised if they can shuffle around an entire day’s work just to accomodate a day player, (even if he name *is* in the title of the movie.)

The cast will survive without me, and the show will still be hilarious, but if you want to see me do my funny, you’re probably better off waiting until next week.

Check back here in the next couple of hours, as I’ll update when I know for sure whether or not we can make it happen.

i walk the line

Posted on By Wil

I’ve been watching I Love The 80s 3D for the last 90 minutes or so, and I keep seeing commercials for I Walk The Line.

Huge Johnny Cash fan that I am, I have been really excited about this film . . . but I’m scared to death after seeing the commercials. I really hope the personalities of the lead actors don’t overwhelm the characters they are playing.