One crisp October afternoon, a small music venue in downtown Madison was transformed into a nightclub of the living dead, when Doug Gordon and a small team of assistants shot scenes for The Zombeatles!
This twisted idea was a natural fit for Gordon, a WPR producer who has developed a stage persona for the zombie standup comedian known as "Back in May, I came up with the idea of combining Angus and the Fab Gore" explains Gordon, who is serving as the film's host and narrator in the guise of MacAbre. "I pitched the idea and they agreed. So I am diligently working to the ride the Zombeatle's coattails to the top of the charts." So last week, extras were recruited online and requested to stop by The Frequency last Sunday in zombie costume. Not being afraid to get my hands dirty, I took an old shirt, tie, and slacks, smeared them with dirt, and applied make-up to get a the "freshly deceased" look. The club, already decorated for Halloween, made an excellent backdrop. Gordon was on already stage when I arrived, arranging a scene centered on a zombie known as "Dead Sullivan," who would be introducing the Zombeatles in their American television debut. While they shot the scene, I mingled with my fellow extras -- this not being the first time I've been an extra -- and touched up my look with more fake blood and even more sunken eyes. Gordon was lent a hand by Ben Wydeven and Joe Sokolinsky, who served both behind and in front of the cameras. Wydeven is the creator of a short film titled The Medium (which will screen at the Still aware of my greasy hair, deathly white face, sunken eyes, and blood dripping from my mouth, I shambled across the Capitol Square before returning to my car. I scowled and drooled at coffee drinkers in the overcast autumn afternoon to little reaction. A tourist, completely unfazed, asked me for directions to State Street. I grunted and pointed. A march for zombie rights is expected to lurch from the Capitol to Memorial Union on Saturday, October 25. Perhaps the rise of the undead will come easier to the general public than I suspected.