This Halloween, celebrate all things zombie at the first ZomBCon in Seattle, Washington. The event, running October 29-31, 2010, will celebrate guests such as zombie godfather George A. Romero, actors Bruce Campbell and Malcolm McDowell and zombie-loving author Max Brooks, to name a few, seeks to put Seattle on the map as the “Zombie Capital of the World.” From the official press release:
A three-day zombie fan culture event dubbed ZomBcon (pronounced zombie-con) will make its debut this Halloween weekend (October 29-31, 2010) at the Seattle Center.
ZomBcon arose from the popularity of Seattle’s annual Red, White and Dead Zombie Walk that recently made waves for returning the Guinness World Record for staging the “Largest Zombie Walk” ever recorded back to Seattle for the second time. The Red, White and Dead Zombie Walk confirmed over 6,000 in attendance on July 3rd reclaiming the title briefly held by Great Britain.
Featuring legends of horror and genre films, including George Romero, Bruce Campbell, Malcolm McDowell and Zombie author, Max Brooks, ZomBcon aims to build on the city’s growing notoriety as the epicenter of zombie fan culture and cement Seattle as the “Zombie Capital of the World”.
ZomBcon founder and Artistic Director Ryan Reiter says, “ZomBcon will be the first of its kind in the world celebrating the biggest horror icon, The Zombie. By design it will be a fresh break from the traditional convention experience while keeping the celebrity appearances, workshops and premier events fans have grown to expect and love at most conventions.
Highlights will include a Red Carpet Gala celebrating the 25TH anniversary screening of Romero’s classic film, DAY OF THE DEAD. The meeting of Hollywood glitz and glamour with zombie culture will precede the inaugural presentation to George A. Romero of the Golden George Award on Saturday, October 30th. The Golden George Award celebrates and honors the true visionaries and legends of horror and genre films, as well as “significant contributions to zombie culture”. Cast members from Romero’s DAY OF THE DEAD will be in attendance featuring Terry Alexander, John Amplas, and Jarlath Conroy in honor of the celebration.
Bruce Campbell and the Ladies of the Evil Dead (Betsy Baker, Ellen Sandweiss, Theresa Tilly) will attend a special screening (with a restored 35mm print courtesy of Grindhouse Releasing) of EVIL DEAD.
Additional highlights include innovative filmmaker, author, and zombie culture panels featuring Max Brooks (World War Z, Zombie Survival Guide), Roger Ma (The Zombie Combat Manual), Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Choke), among others.
The panel series will include lectures (co-presented by Zombie Research Society) by the country’s top scholars on the subject. Guests include Harvard Medical School’s, Dr. Steven Schlozman and Bradley Voytek, Neuroscientist from UC Berkley, to discuss topics ranging from brain deficiency, infection, anatomy to outbreak protocol and a political debate based on the prospects of a zombie apocalypse.
Along with attending the screenings, award presentations, panels, and perusing over 100 vendor booths, zombie and horror fans will also have an opportunity to participate in: Prom Night of the Living Dead – a Halloween costume party at Neumos (925 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA) on Friday, October 29; a blood drive donation to the Puget Sound Blood Center on Saturday, October 30 and a family day trick-or-treat event for all ages on Sunday, October 31st.
The weekend will feature a series of screenings of iconic zombie films created by the Seattle International Film Festival. Deemed “Films That Ate Our Brains”, films screened will include: George A. Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAWN OF THE DEAD, Sam Raimi’s EVIL DEAD and EVIL DEAD II and ARMY OF DARKNESS, Peter Jackson’s DEAD ALIVE, Danny Boyle’s 28 DAYS LATER, Robert Rodriguez’s PLANET TERROR, Paul W.S. Anderson’s RESIDENT EVIL, Dan O’Bannon’s RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, Edgar Wright’s SHAUN OF THE DEAD, Victor Halperin’s WHITE ZOMBIE, Lucio Fulci’s ZOMBIE, Steve Miner’s DAY OF THE DEAD – THE NEED TO FEED, as well as a Northwest Filmmakers Screening Showcase with film titles yet to be announced taking place at SIFF Cinema (321 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA) and AMC Pacific Place (600 Pine Street, Seattle, WA) on Friday, October 29.
Reiter adds, “This convention is completely interactive, embracing the rampant cult appeal of festival experiences similar to the “Burner experience” at annual rituals like Burning Man, to celebrating fan culture through costumes and self-expression known as CosPlay at San Diego’s Comic Con. The costumed trend offers attendees more than just a ticket; its offers a 360-degree fan experience with the opportunity to participate in the festivities. You have the control buttons; you can right jump in or simply watch, because you get to decide how involved you wish to be.”
Complete ZomBcon convention information can be found at www.zombcon.com. Check weekly for news, guests and events added to the schedule. Look for ZomBcon on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-the-minute announcements and more.
Special guests include:
Filmmakers and Actors
George A. Romero (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, DAWN OF THE DEAD, DAY OF THE DEAD, SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD)
Bruce Campbell (EVIL DEAD, ARMY OF DARKNESS, “Burn Notice”)
Malcolm McDowell (CLOCKWORK ORANGE, STAR TREK: GENERATIONS, HALLOWEEN)
Terry Alexander, (Actor, DAY OF THE DEAD)
John Amplas (Actor, DAY OF THE DEAD)
Jartlath Conroy (Actor, DAY OF THE DEAD)
Dennis Hicks (Actor, EVIL DEAD 2)
Timothy Patrick Quill (Actor, ARMY OF DARKNESS)Writers & Authors
Max Brooks (Author, Zombie Surivival Guide, World War Z)
Roger Ma (Author, Zombie Combat Manual)
Kevin David Anderson (Author, Night of the Living Trekkies)
Ameila Beamer (Author, The Loving Dead)
Scott Browne (Author, Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament)
Robert Cordray (Author, Zombies 101)
Stephen L. Frank (Author, Zombie Vs. Cheerleaders)
Steven Hockensmith (Author, Dawn of the Dreadfuls)
Scott Kenemore (Author, Zen of Zombie)
Scott Mockus (Author, How to Speak Zombie for the Living)
Chuck Palahniuk (Author, Fight Club, Choke)
Jesse Petersen (Author, Married with Zombie)
Mark Rahner & Robert Horton (Authors, Rotten)
Jeffrey Reddick (Writer, FINAL DESTINATION, DAY OF THE DEAD – THE NEED TO FEED)
Don Roff (Author, Zombies: The Record of the Year of the Infection)
Billy Tackett (Legendary Artist)
Stephen Romano, Artist (Shock Festival)
Anthony Van Winkle (Author, Night Zero)Scientific Professionals:
Daniel Drezner, Ph.D. – Temple University
Mike Harris, Ph.D. – University of Alaska
Steven Schlozman, M.D. – Harvard
Robert Smith, Ph.D. University of Ottawa
Timothy Verstynen, Ph.D.
Brad Voytek, Ph.D. – UC Berkely
Matt Mogk, Founder of Zombie Research Society
