Not overly complicated cosplay, but still worth a laugh…Star Wars Death Trooper zombies.

Cinema Wasteland, the midwest’s premier horror convention is going “all zombie” for their tenth anniversary show, including a Lucio Fulci’s Zombie reunion! The reunion includes Al Cliver (tourist Brian Hull), Ian McCulloch (reporter Peter West), Richard Johnson (Dr. John Markway) and Ottaviano Dell’Acqua (THE Fulci zombie). There will also be guests from the Romero film series, including Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead, plus special guest fx creator/ actor Tom Savini, and much more horror and zombie related films, events and guests. Cinema Wasteland runs April 9th-11th in Strongsville, OH. Get your advance tickets here. I’ll be there, so should you!

George emailed to alert us to these awesome Left 4 Dead costumes spotted at this year’s ComicCon: Bill, Zoey, and a Tank, a Witch, and another Zoey. Very cool costumes, but how the heck does the Tank move around?

There is an open call for submissions for short films for an upcoming zombie film festival in Toronto, Canada. There are only two rules: 1) The film must be no longer than 20 minutes and 2) it must involve zombies. Sounds like fun!

We received this press release yesterday concerning World Zombie Day and the It’s Alive Zombie Fest and felt that it was so chocked full of info, that we’d reprint the whole thing  for your reading pleasure.

Zombie Fighter Faces the Undead at Zombie Fest
Ken Foree heads Zombie Fest guest list
Pittsburgh, PA – September 25, 2008 – Thirty years ago, Monroeville Mall was overrun by zombies. Only two humans survived the ordeal – and one of them is returning to the site of Dawn of the Dead next month. Ken Foree, who played Peter in the original Dawn film, will headline the guest list for The It’s Alive 2008 Zombie Fest™ – a free fan festival that will take place at Monroeville Mall outside Pittsburgh, PA on October 25 and 26. The show is open to the public and all ages are welcome*. In addition to Foree, who has also appeared in director Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects and Halloween, other guests scheduled to appear are:
o Dawn of the Dead “zombies” Sharon Ceccatti Hill, Clayton Hill, Leonard Lies, Joe Shelby and Frank Serrao
o Sam Nicotero, whose film credits include The Crazies and Children of the Living Dead
Horror writers contributing to discussion panels sponsored by Permuted Press:
o Travis Adkins
o Michael Arnzen
o JL Bourne
o Tim Gross
o Bowie Ibarra
o Scott A. Johnson
o Glenn Kay
o Jonathan Maberry
o Steven North
o Kim Paffenroth
Additional guests will be announced soon. Complete guest bios will be provided on our web site.
Zombie Fest is part of Pittsburgh’s Zombie Weekend, kicking off with a Zombie Masquerade Ball sponsored by Straub Beer on Friday, October 24. The Ball is open to ages 21 and older; tickets are available for $20 in advance or $22 at the door. The fun continues on Saturday and Sunday as zombies and zombie fans invade Monroeville Mall for the second annual Zombie Fest featuring specialty vendors, celebrity guests, bands, author panels, films, games and contests.
The highlight of the weekend will be the annual zombie walk on Sunday morning, which drew more than 1,000 people in 2007 and earned a Guinness World Record™ and Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award. The walk is the hub of World Zombie Day with 50 cities participating worldwide. All cities are holding food drives in conjunction with their walks – Pittsburgh zombies are asked to bring a non-perishable food donation for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Activities taking place at Monroeville Mall are free this year. “In honor of the 30th anniversary of Dawn of the Dead, we wanted to give all zombie enthusiasts an opportunity to enjoy a fan fest where the movie was filmed. And given the current economic climate with rising gas and food prices, we thought that free admission would make it easier for fans to come out and enjoy the festivities”, says organizer Mark Menold, producer and host of The It’s Alive Show. Zombie Weekend is sponsored in part by Straub Beer, Rue Morgue, Permuted Press, Pittsburgh East Nissan, Zombie Friends and Scars magazine. Details for all Zombie Weekend events can be found at www.theitsaliveshow.com.
*Film screenings open to ages 17 and over only.
It’s Alive is a television show produced by Clownhouse Productions, LLC in the same format as the highly successful Pittsburgh favorite Chiller Theater. Classic horror movies are presented by a talented cast performing comedy and live music. The show is aired Saturday nights at 10:00 PM on Pittsburgh’s WBGN-TV, and streamed 24/7 via the show’s web site at www.theitsaliveshow.com.

FYI  to all of our midwesterner readers…HorrorHound Weekend is postponing it’s first Detroit show until 2009. Here’s their official statement, from their MySpace:

Due to reasons outside of HorrorHound’s control, HorrorHound Weekend Detroit has been postponed until June, 2009. We apologize for this unfortunate move, but hope that the new date will help bring more exciting events to the Ypsilanti area. Look for show reschedule details coming soon!

Watch here for more details and info reagrding the 2009 Detroit show here, when they become available.