VIOLENT DEATH HAS BECOME THE NORM OF OUR COUNTRY. PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IT, CRY OVER IT, HOLD CANDLE-LIGHT VIGILS, PLACE FLOWERS ON SIDEWALKS. OUR WORLD HAS CHANGED; NOTHING IS SACRED, NEWS SHOWS HAVE BECOME GOSSIP SHOWS, CHILDREN ARE ABUSED, RAPED AND KILLED, DAILY. WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY WHERE EVERYONE IS OPEN SEASON AND NO ONE GIVES A DAMN. IT'S WHERE'S 'ME, WHAT'S MINE, HOW CAN I USE YOU TO PROMOTE MYSELF' IS THE BOTTOM LINE. WE'RE ALL GUILTY OF CREATING THIS KIND OF ATMOSPHERE, WHICH ALLOWS THE KIND OF BLATANT, SADISTIC, MURDERS THAT PERMEATES OUR SOCIETY. FOLLOWING IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY STORIES; ONE THAT SHAMEFULLY HAS TAKEN THE LIFE OF ONE OF OUR GREAT MEN, A ROCK OF HIS COMMUNITY, A PILLAR OF AMERICAN SOCIETY, A WONDERFUL MAN, MY BELOVED COUSIN. KEN
Clarence “Sonny J” Jones murdered
Follow Dan Wetzel on Twitter at @DanWetzel
DETROIT – Clarence “Sonny J” Jones was 86 years old on the morning of his murder.
He’d gone to check on the home of an old friend who was hospitalized with emphysema. Jones slid the key into the front door, pushed it opened and then was ambushed from behind by 19-year-old Eugene Peguies, police say.
The two wound up inside the small living room, where police say the young man bludgeoned the old man about the head. He then pulled perhaps $20 out of Jones’ wallet, stole a used van from the driveway and left Jones to die alone in the empty house, the keys still dangling from the door.
Sonny J’s body wasn’t discovered until the next afternoon.
The August 2009 murder shocked and outraged Detroit, which isn’t easy to do these days. Jones wasn’t just any person though. For decades he was the final safety net in his Southwest Detroit neighborhood, someone who would help people find jobs, pick up the groceries when times got tough and serve as a father figure to generations of kids in need of one.
Southwestern High School in Detroit.
“A great man,” Detroit police chief Warren Evans declared.
He was perhaps best known as a constant presence around the powerful basketball team at Southwestern High School, which has churned out dozens of Division I basketball and NBA stars such as Jalen Rose. Jones stuck around the program long after the graduation of his sons, including Bill, a star at Iowa in the 1980s, and Tony, the current associate head coach at the University of Tennessee, which plays Ohio State on Friday in the Sweet 16.
Those days at Southwestern are gone. The school hasn’t produced a single Division I recruit since 2001, about the time the neighborhood around it began its rapid deterioration.
It’s a problem with the city schools across the country that for years powered the NCAA tournament and beyond. What has always been a difficult battle against crime, gangs, unemployment, fractured family units, teen pregnancy and failing schools has grown nearly impossible. Entire neighborhoods have all but collapsed. Nowhere more prominently than here in the Midwest.
The city of Detroit hasn’t been considered wealthy in decades, yet it still had enough structure to have its high schools produce as many as 35 Division I players a year from the 1970s-90s, according to long-term observers.
In 2009, the city’s once-potent public school league produced just two Division I recruits. There was just one from a city Catholic school. That’s three recruits; for all the high schools in the entire city of Detroit. This year is only marginally better, perhaps five or six players.
“That’s as bad as it’s ever been,” said Vince Baldwin, a Detroit resident who works as national director of scouting for Nike Elite Basketball and edits Prep Spotlight Magazine. “There’s definitely been a decline in the inner-city talent, not just in Detroit but all over the country.”
While some still make it, and other stars are plucked out to suburban districts or far off prep schools, there’s no telling how many kids have fallen through the cracks.
“The talent pool in Detroit has eroded,” said Tony Jones, who spearheads Tennessee’s recruiting. “It’s gone.”
How chaotic a year has it been for once-proud Southwestern High School?
There was no varsity football because the former coach was let go and enough players quit in protest there weren’t enough left to field a team. Its new basketball coach had to be replaced just before practice in October when he was shot in what police call a mistaken-identity, drive-by attack. And, of course, one of its oldest and most loyal supporters was beaten to death for 20 bucks.
This is the neighborhood finally dragging the school down with it, mayhem causing Detroit’s last export – basketball talent – to fade like the auto industry and tool and die shops.
The main strip that runs through Southwest Detroit is Fort Street, a wide thoroughfare that leads all the way downtown. For decades it was home to dozens of automotive factories, parts plants and warehouse facilities. Stores, restaurants and businesses filled up around them.
The Southwest that Clarence Jones raised his family in was filled with tightly-packed neighborhoods of well-kept homes and yards. While no one was rich and the houses were mostly small, everyone was proud. Everyone cared. Jones returned from World War II, got a job at the Budd Wheel Co. plant, rose to superintendent, and along with his wife raised five children and 21 grandchildren.
“You used to know every family on your street,” said Perry Watson, 59, who grew up in Southwest in the 1960s and was the head coach at Southwestern for 12 years and later the University of Detroit. “And they knew you. Everyone disciplined each other’s kids.”
“Back then, having a neighbor tell your parent you had done something wrong was called helping,” said Leslie Rockymore, 47, who grew up on the same block as the Jones family and played for Watson at Southwestern.
“Now it’s called snitching.”
Southwestern High served as the pride of the community. It produced prominent students, such as Dr. Ben Carson, now the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland. Its Prospectors basketball team was a focus. This was an era in the city of juggernaut teams run by iconic coaches such as Will Robinson at Pershing, Ben Kelso at Cooley and Lofton Greene just across the city line at River Rouge. From 1979-1991, Watson built up Southwestern with a blend of tough love and coaching acumen.
The school produced college and pro standouts such as Rose (Michigan), Howard Eisley (Boston College), Voshon Lenard (Minnesota), Anderson Hunt (UNLV), Bill Jones (Iowa), Rockymore (Michigan), Antoine Joubert (Michigan) and scores of mid-major players. Under Watson it advanced to seven state title games in a nine-year span.
The program was controversial because rival coaches accused Watson of recruiting players, a charge the coach has always denied. In the broader view, it hardly mattered. City kids were succeeding. Few could argue that Watson wasn’t a positive influence.
Watson also was a guidance counselor at Southwestern and would keep relentless tabs on his players to assure collegiate eligibility. His annual goal was to make sure every player on the team had a college scholarship, athletic or otherwise. He parlayed favors to get even the lowliest bench warmer a scholarship to an in-state Division II school. He pushed mid-majors to take his sixth men.
“Somewhere, some way you’re going to get to school,” he used to say, a powerful clarion call for local kids.
“You knew that if you listened to Coach and did what he said, you were going to go to college,” said Garland Mance, who played at Southwestern from 1987-1990.
It is players such as Mance, now 38, where the fading of these city programs is most felt. A talent of Jalen Rose’s caliber won’t be missed by grassroots basketball. A suburban high school or out-of-state prep school will gladly find a way to get him enrolled.
A blue-collar player such as Mance might not have that luxury. He admits he was perhaps the fifth-best player on his Prospectors team (“A Rick Mahorn type”) yet he was recruited to St. Bonaventure, where he scored 1,000 points and earned a degree. After a run as a college assistant he’s now the athletic director in nearby Ecorse, Mich.
It was more than that though. Mance says the “foundation” for his life was set during his high school days.
“I came from a single-parent home, but there were male role models around,” Mance said. “Men like Coach Watson and Mr. Jones, they were always there for you, watching over you. Mr. Jones always had a positive word. He wanted what was best for you. All the men, all the coaches, they taught us.
“Someone has to show kids that it’s OK to be a family man,” Mance continued. “It’s OK to work nine to five. You don’t see that as much any more.”
Like much of Detroit, Southwest is a shell of itself. The factories on Fort Street are mostly shuttered, the street now lined by abandoned buildings and graffiti. When the jobs left, so did many of the families that could. In their place came poorer residents and renters. Some houses went into foreclosure and now stand empty, a haven for drug dealers.
“It changed because the seniors who lived in the neighborhood started dying off and the children wouldn’t take the houses for whatever reasons,” Tony Jones said. “It [used to be] a community, now it’s become an urban, inner-city ghetto.”
Crime has skyrocketed. Home values have plummeted. The city itself has become a war zone, 362 killings in 2008, just 33 percent of which were solved by police, according to the Detroit News. Federal Bureau of Labor statistics say the city’s unemployment rate is 27 percent, although Detroit Mayor Dave Bing estimated in December it’s actually about 44 percent.
“A portion of this generation we’ve lost to crime, to drugs, to young people being incarcerated for the rest of their life,” Tony Jones said. “It’s just becoming an era that is so sad.”
Southwestern High School hasn’t fared much better. Capable students have flocked to the suburbs or charter schools. Mass dropouts have caused enrollment to plummet. Only 25 percent of male students in Detroit public schools graduate, according to Education Policy Center at Michigan State. Some estimates claim half the city’s adult population is functionally illiterate.
They still play basketball across the city of Detroit, but with more dropouts come fewer schools which means fewer roster spots for kids. Southwestern is slated for closure in 2011, part of a huge, city-wide consolidation plan. Next season is the end for the Prospectors.
At its base level, Watson argues that it isn’t even about cultivating college-level talent anymore, although he believes a great deal is being wasted. More importantly, he says, is that the chance to play is a reason to not drop out.
“Athletics can feed academics,” Watson said. “Being on the basketball or football team is a reason to just stay in school. These days we’re just trying to get kids to graduate from high school.”
Watson was the head coach at the University of Detroit from 1993-2008 and his plan was always the same – recruit the local talent. He used to joke his recruiting budget could’ve been a couple tanks of gas. At times in the late 1990s his entire team hailed from the city of Detroit. The Titans were good too, reaching the NCAA tournament in 1998 and 1999 where they defeated St. John’s and UCLA respectively.
“By the end of my career, there weren’t any more players,” Watson said. “You’d see a kid you were interested in and they weren’t academically eligible. The whole city changed.”
Rockymore took over as Southwestern’s coach in November after the just hired William Foster was wounded by gunfire as he walked to his sister’s house to use a fax machine. Rockymore said the players are there across the city. So too, though, is the dysfunction.
“There are plenty of kids talented enough to play on the Division I level,” said Rockymore, who scored almost 1,000 points at Michigan. “But when you come down to the education, they are lost because no one has pushed them.
“A lot of the parents we deal with, they are just 14, 15 years older than the kid,” Rockymore continued. “They act like their friend, not their parent. When I was in school if a teacher said he was going to call my home I’d beg, ‘no, no, no.’ Now they don’t even care. [The parent] is more likely to take up for the kid.”
There is no easy solution to the problem. The forces running against these city teams are enormous and growing. “There are just so many elements,” Rockymore said.
People are trying, though. The Jones Family set up a scholarship program in “Sonny J“‘s name that will award five scholarships to any student [athlete or not] who shows a dedication to community service.
Mance said one of the reasons he took an athletic director job in the area was to try to stem the tide. “Somebody has to come back and start helping,” Mance said. “Somebody has got to put a stop to it.”
Rockymore, meanwhile, took the unusual step of requiring an hour study hall before every Southwestern basketball practice. The Prospectors weren’t much of a team on the court, going 6-11. In the classroom though, the coach claims they earned an average 3.3 GPA.
For years Clarence Jones was urged to move out of Southwest. Everyone could see the neighborhood was sliding. Tony and the other children offered to buy him a new house in the suburbs. “Sonny J” refused. He wasn’t giving up. Even after his wife passed away in 1994, he just became more dedicated. “He never dated,” Tony said. “He poured his life into other people.”
Where once he could use his superintendent position at the Budd Company to get people factory jobs; now it was mostly the little things. If there was an older woman who couldn’t get her garbage cans to the curb in the winter, “Sonny J” did it. If someone needed a ride to get their car fixed, “Sonny J” did it. If someone’s heat was about to get shut off, he came up with a couple bucks.
“A guy came over the house one day crying,” said Tony Jones. “He said, ‘this hurt me so much. I’m homeless and every time your dad would see me, he’d give me five or 10 dollars and I’d go get me a hot meal.’ Just little, little things like that that touched people’s hearts.”
Then there were the athletes, pushed and supported by this quiet role model of great credentials and heart.
The crowds of men at Jones’ August wake poured outside the funeral home, up, down and around the corner of the city sidewalks. They even overflowed into a gas station across the street; small clusters of Detroiters from three generations paying respect to a man some called “Padre.”
“I grew up without my dad,” Rockymore said. “A lot of the time I was able to walk down the block and talk to Mr. Jones about things. He was always supportive. He was always watching, too. You didn’t want to disappoint. He used to say to me, ‘You’re not just representing Southwest Detroit but the Liddesdale block.’”
It was that “Sonny J” that produced the outrage that led to Peguies’ arrest. Residents, many of whom either fear retaliation for working with police or who distrust police themselves, flooded the city tip line. Evans, the police chief, was so stunned with the cooperation he held a press conference to praise the people.
Peguies was captured within days. He’s in Wayne County Jail awaiting an expected July trial on both first-degree felony murder and first-degree premeditated murder. A conviction in either will likely carry a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Peguies has pled not guilty.
“My dad loved kids and if they had met differently, he’d have tried to instill some of his values,” Tony Jones said. “He’d [have told him], ‘Don’t be so quick to give up. Try to work.’ He’d have given him that money, [he’d have said], ‘Come over and cut my grass for some money.’
“But this guy, he don’t give a damn about himself. And he didn’t care about taking a couple bucks off of an 86-year-old man, off the most vulnerable people in society. Eighty-six years old? Come on. That’s crazy.”
After a lifetime of helping boys become men, Clarence Jones was allegedly done in by one he couldn’t reach.
“You think about it,” Mance said. “Who took his life? A young kid. You don’t have that male figure in their lives. You don’t have that father figure, let alone their own father. And now there is one less father figure for kids to see.
“[Peguies] did what he thought was cool – running with gangs, carjacking, breaking into houses and killing people.”
Tony Jones has spent the last seven months dealing with the anger. There is no good way to lose a loved one; there is a special level for the family of murder victims. He says he’s poured himself into helping coach the Volunteers. The work provides a bit of normalcy. He and his family have packed 36th district court for even minor procedural hearings in the case, Jones often jetting up in the morning and returning to Knoxville in time for practice.
“Just so [Peguies] knows we are there,” he said.
There is one thing that gives him a moment of satisfaction. “Sonny J” was 86, but he still carried a bit of toughness to him, still had a little bit of the World War II vet to him. There was a time he would’ve been the last guy some punk tried to attack. While time had weakened the muscles, Tony Jones doesn’t think it changed his father’s mentality.
“My dad probably got a lick in on him,” Tony said. “He probably punched him one time. He probably knew it would infuriate [Peguies] even more but my dad wasn’t going to take it.
o...wait I have more to say:
Happy, Happy, Happy New Year to all the faithful!
·DC on January 01 2010 01:47:03 ·
0 Comments · 284 Reads
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Rob Zombie's 'El Superbeasto' Could Receive Limited Theater Release
Courtesy-MTV
Stalled for years due to studio shuffles, Rob Zombie's adult-oriented, animated adaptation of his "Haunted World of El Superbeasto" comic book was originally tagged for straight-to-DVD release, but now could enjoy a run in theaters, according to the musician/filmmaker.
"It started as a really cheap direct-to-video project, and then it kept ballooning over the years and the budget kept getting bigger and bigger, and the project kept getting bigger and bigger, and bigger names kept coming on to it," Zombie told MTV News. "And then it seemed like, 'Well, now it seems theatrical.'"
Featuring the voices of Paul Giamatti, Brian Posehn, Danny Trejo and Rosario Dawson, "El Superbeasto" follows a super-powered Mexican luchador (voiced by Tom Papa) and his sultry sidekick/sister Suzi-X (Sheri Moon Zombie) as they battle the evil Dr. Satan (Paul Giamatti).
The adults-only film has had a troubled path to the screen—big or small—as Zombie explained, "the company kept changing hands. We started with one company, they got sold to another, and they got sold to another company..."
"I'm actually glad it happened that way," explained Zombie. "The movie went from costing $1 million dollars to $8 million, and we got to make an awesome movie, so I don't really care how it gets out there. Theatrical would be great, and I think they're talking now about doing a limited theatrical run, so that would be cool."
"El Superbeasto" is currently scheduled to arrive on DVD and Blu-Ray September 22.
I'm so sorry to hear about Clayton. He was an important character in our film and a great part of making it a success. He had a full life, a life many people aren't fortunate or blessed to have. So here's to Clayton a great zombie and a good man. My prayers to his wife and family.
-KEN
Clayton Hill / Played a lead zombie in 'Dawn of the Dead'
May 7, 1931 - July 26, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
By Moriah Balingit, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Actor Clayton Hill played almost as many roles in life as he did on the silver screen.
While in the Air Force, he once served as a security officer for the king and queen of Thailand. He was an accident scene investigator, a disaster preparedness officer and the chief of the fire department at the Greater Pittsburgh Airport.
Behind the camera, he was a location scout, a casting director and a weapons director, handling the weapons in horror films.
On screen, he was a basketball announcer next to Marv Albert, a priest, a detective, a bum in a bar and, most famously, "sweater zombie," a ghoul-faced, googly-eyed monster who donned a white sweater to match his frightening complexion in George Romero's landmark zombie flick, "Dawn of the Dead."
Mr. Hill, of Burgettstown, died early yesterday of complications from pneumonia. He was 78.
He started performing at age 6, when his father put him to work in beer gardens singing for money. As a teenager, he sang on Saturday morning radio shows and performed in talent competitions, where he once lost to Pittsburgher Frank Gorshin, who went on to a career as a comedian and an actor.
But when he graduated high school, he decided to join the Air Force, where he served for four years. He then went to work for the airport fire department and later as a civilian for the Air Force, where he drew up plans for the prevention of biological, chemical and nuclear warfare.
The stress of the job got to him, his wife, actress Sharon A. Ceccatti-Hill, said, and in the early 1970s he started taking classes at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. He retired permanently from the Air Force in 1975.
Mr. Hill and his wife were performing in operettas at the playhouse when a friend told them about a director named George Romero who was looking for actors for his horror movie. Ms. Ceccatti-Hill admitted she didn't even know what a zombie was before she met with Mr. Romero, but both fell into their parts seamlessly, and both were recruited from the extras to play "lead zombies" -- zombies with the most exposure in the film and appear in much of the promotional material.
Tom Savini, who did Mr. Hill's makeup for "Dawn of the Dead," said Mr. Hill was one of the most convincing zombies of the bunch.
"The secondary zombies were always a problem because they all wanted to drop one leg. Clayton was stiff as a board and his eyes were rolled back," he said, recalling that in one scene, Mr. Hill accidentally ambled the wrong way down an escalator because he was so in character. "George Romero wanted to see more of Clayton because of how good he was."
Because of his military background, Mr. Hill also served as the weapons director for the film, unloading and loading the guns for the actors.
The two later went on to start Sharclay Casting, serving as casting directors and recruiters for extras and small speaking roles for movies that were filmed in Pittsburgh. Mr. Hill and his wife often managed to get small roles in the films themselves.
Later, he and his wife went to work for the Starlake Amphitheatre in Burgettstown, where Mr. Hill was the director of security and his wife was the assistant director of operations.
The pair later left their positions and served as location scouts, traveling as far as Morocco and Spain to check out potential shooting locations.
Recently, the two had been going to horror film conventions where their fame as lead zombies endured. And both had gotten back into acting, playing small roles in "End Game," which recently finished filming in Pittsburgh.
The pair was due to start filming "River of Darkness" in the fall, another horror film starring wrestler Kurt Angle, another Pittsburgh native. It was going to be Mr. Hill's first lead part in a film.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Hill is survived by two children, Kimi Hill Wiseman and Todd Hill, both of Burgettstown, and five grandchildren.
MICHAEL JACKSON IS DEAD, WE HAVE LOST A GREAT ENTERTAINER, AN INNOVATOR, AN ICON. AFTER THE DEATHS OF ROBERT KENNEDY AND MARTIN LUTHER KING, HE FACILITATED THE GATHERING OF DISPARATE PEOPLES FROM ALL OVER THIS WORLD WITH HIS MUSIC AND DANCE. HE GAVE US SPONTANIETY, JOY, PRIDE AND HELPED US HEAL. HE WAS A HUMANITARIAN AND URGED US ALL TO BECOME FRIENDS TO EACH OTHER. "WE ARE THE WORLD" WAS A GLORIOUS OUTPOURING OF HIS TALENTS. PERHAPS THE GREATEST EVER.
FROM GARY INDIANA TO BEYOND THE GALAXY.
SAY WHAT YOU WANT, BUT MICHAEL JACKSON FAR EXCEEDED PRESIDENTS, KINGS, AND NATIONS.
THE MAN WAS TO FAR AWAY FOR US TO REACH AND HE ALWAYS TOOK A STEP BACK TO LIFT US ALL TO HIS SIDE,
TO JOIN HIM ON HIS JOURNEY FOR A BETTER MORE AND HUMANE WORLD.
MAY HE REST IN PEACE.
·DC on June 27 2009 02:44:28 ·
1 Comment · 566 Reads
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ZONE OF THE DEAD review
Hey everybody, I've been asked often this year about the fillm I shot in Serbia last year, so here's one review I can share with you. If you find any other's please feel free to post them. Best,
Ken
Zone of the Dead Movie Review
Written by Miloš Jovanovi
Directed by Milan Todorovi and Milan KonjeviWritten by Vukota Brajovic, Milan Konjevi and Milan Todorovi2009, Not rated
Starring:
Ken Foree as Agent Mortimer Reyes
Kristina Klebe as Agent Mina Milius
Emilio Roso as The Prisoner
Miodrag Krstovi as Agent Belić
Vukota Brajovi as Armageddon
The Movie:
During a NATO military exercise held in Serbia, a horrific accident happens with potentially long-lasting effects. At an isolated train station near Belgrade, the state capital, there is a dangerous leak of toxic gas which was in routine transit via railway carriage. The gas, it seems, not only kills people, but turns them into bloodthirsty zombies as well. The only survivor at the scene is an unnamed university professor (Steve Agnew), who manages to take refuge at the nearby police station.
As that is happening, another important event is taking place elsewhere in Serbia. Interpol agents, lead by veteran agents Reyes (Ken Foree) and Belić (Miodrag Krstović), aided by the rookie officer Milius (Kristina Klebe), are preparing a transport of a mysterious prisoner (Emilio Roso).The prisoner, held captive in the vicinity of Panćevo (a stone's throw from Belgrade), is to be shuttled to London via a plane from Belgrade. The transport hits a snag when undead show up, and before you know it, Interpol agents strike an uneasy truce with the prisoner, in order to save their lives. As they join the professor, as well as some stray journalists who also happened to be in the neighbourhood, in the police station, it becomes obvious that something really dreadful is going on out there, and that the battle for survival has begun.
Thoughts:
Zone of the Dead is a rather peculiar project. First announced sometime in 2005 or 2006, it was originally envisioned by Milan Todorović and Vukota Brajović as a small fan venture paying homage to great zombie classics of yore. For a while, the script was doing the rounds and for a long time the project looked dead, until Italian freelance producer Loris Curci stepped in and revitalized the whole deal. Curci is no stranger to the genre, as he is the man behind numerous featurettes on Argento — and other cult directors — that pop up on AB special edition discs. He promptly recruited noone else but Dawn of the Dead alumnus Ken Foree, and the picture, now reinforced by a veteran comic book writer Milan Konjević, was in full gear yet again.
So you might ask yourself now, was it necessary to pit the original zombie slayer Foree versus the living dead again after 30 years? The answer is yes, as Zone of the Dead is a pretty decent genre effort which will definitely satisfy zombie fans, but also lend its appeal to the casual crowd. Unusually well written characters (for the genre, that is), as well as some competent filmmaking and decent starpower will propel Zone a long way above the casual z-movie foder, hopefully making a lightly bigger impact in the worldly market than anticipated.
The setup, like in most zombie movies, is nothing to write home about. Inspired by the dire ecological situation in his hometown, Milan Todorović, who co-scripted and co-directed, has opted for a biohazard-ish hook to this story, in which he merges the fortunes of several key characters. In this aspect, Zone of the Dead strays away from the traditional "Romero conventions" into John Carpenter territory — and indeed, most of the film seems to draw inspiration from films such as The Thing and, especially, Assault on Precinct 13 and Ghosts of Mars (the whole "prisoner ally" thing is rather liberally lifted from the latter two). While it might be hard work for some to disassociate this film from Romero Dead movies comparison due to the fact we have Mr. Foree in the lead role killing zombies, there is rather little common between Zone of the Dead and (random) of the Dead from ol' uncle George's oeuvre. This is, essentially, an action film with zombies. Later in the film, a thinly veiled political subplot comes to surface, but this will likely be lost on non-Serbian viewers, as it's rich with local references, so it's safe to say that we may bill this as a pure actioner.
Visually, the film is very competently handled. Todorović, a graduate of Serbian national film academy, makes only few rookie mistakes and showcases his expert framing, and his flair for action shows in efficiently executed camera movements. The co-director, Milan Konjević, adds a comic book sensibility to some action scenes, with his touch filling in where Todorović left off. The majority of the combat set-pieces are shot in a dynamic, shakey-cam manner, and are distinguished by rapid (but well done) cuts. This style will undoubtedly have its fans as well as its detractors, but on the overall, it works — the shakes create extra sense of tension, and in those parts Zone of the Dead resembles Kitamura's Versus, which employed a similar style. Shot on HD, the film's first two thirds take place during the night, only to launch a frenzied action-packed finale which unfolds in daytime — the HD camera makes the nighttime scenes a bit too sharp to my taste, but daylight looks real good shot this way, as there is a slight sepia tint added for grindhouse flavour. Kudos must also go to makeup/FX maestro Miroslav Lakobrija — much like Tom Savini did in the past, Lakobrija creates miracles on a severely limited budget, and his zombies look rather hungry and ferocious.
While in the past zombie films have been blessed with largely indifferent acting performances, this is not the case here. At the forefront we have Ken Foree, who is a towering presence, and not only because of his height. Foree, three decades removed from his iconic performance in Dawn of the Dead, portrays a complex character dealing with serious inner strife (the very first shot of Ken shows him swallowing a handful of what I assume might be tranquilizers, while silently gazing into a framed photo of a lost somebody). He still is very hazardous for the zombie population, but more than just settling for a Charles Bronson-like show, Foree adds some veteran guile to his act and comes across rather believeable. In such regard, it's easy to draw comparison between Ken Foree and John Wayne here — observe Foree from Dawn of the Dead and Zone of the Dead, and Wayne from, say, Hondo and The Shootist or True Grit, and you'll see what I mean.
Foree is aided by a veteran Serbian character actor Miodrag Krstović, who is a new face for the international audiences. Krstović is a good foil, both physically and otherwise, to Foree, and the two look like a perfectly matched team, especially as the events start unfolding. While Foree's character has to deal with mental issues at times, Krstović radiates with controlled calm, despite the grim look on his face. The lead twosome is augmented by Kristina Klebe (you'll remember her from Rob Zombie's Halloween) and a relative newcomer Emilio Roso. Klebe does a very good job as a rookie Interpol cop looking to impress, while Roso is arguably the revelation of this film — a hitherto unknown actor, Roso plays his role with much gusto and succesfully conveys the "mystery" element of his character. The fifth main role is the one of Vukota Brajović, who plays a religious lunatic who interprets the whole mayhem as an end of the world thing and gets into a full-on clash with the undead brigades. Brajović, who looks rather intimidating with his military-styled looks, is mostly present in action set-pieces, save for a few loony speeches and Bible quotes he seems to spout about — as such, his role works perfectly.
Of course, the film is not without its faults. While the script is good for the most part (bear in mind it was written in Serbian, then translated, then adapted to characters), some segments fall rather flat — midway through the film, Klebe and Krstović engage in a dialog which should have been emotional and distressing, but neither emotion really delivers. Also, as it's often the case with ensemble casts stuck at one place, you wind up not caring about certain characters — there is some obvious zombie fodder within this group (most notably Iskra Brajović who plays a party-going pothead stuck with the rest), and Ariadna Cabrol and Marko Janjić are largely forgettable. On occasions, the directors overplay their hand and stage some silly moments (there is a slow-mo shot of Roso gliding through the air Chow Yun-Fat style which was best left on the cutting room floor), and the climax might feel a bit rushed upon closer inspection.
Still, hats off to the production team for making a decent zombie film in the end. Coming from the country with no horror or zombie tradition whatsoever, Zone of the Dead might be a start of something new, something fresh. With its sharp action set pieces and some subtle nods to horror greats (there is a great Dawn of the Dead joke towards the end), Zone of the Dead is a surefire hit for the target audiences worldwide.
Video, audio and special features will not be graded, as this is a screener.
Conclusion:
With Ken Foree as the first billing and Todorović and Konjević steering the ship into right direction, this could be a start of a new age in Serbian cinema.
·DC on June 11 2009 00:33:22 ·
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ForeeFest On Hold
A few years ago I was approached by two good friends, Richard Booth and Stuart Green, to visit the UK. They wanted to put on an event featuring me. Our purpose was to have an intimate couple of days that would include some films, story- tellin g, a Q&A, dinner and a few drinks at the local pub. We wanted it to be different from other gatherings by giving the fans a more personal experience: something that is not the norm for the Convention or Festival circuit. Richard and Stuart wanted to get it going right away and they came up with the name "Foree Fest". In our excitement, we didn't pay too much attention to the name, except that it would let the fans in the UK know that I was going to appear. It was neither my intention nor Richard and Stuart’s to be pretentious by using my name as the title and when we did realize it after our initial excitement, it was too late. Of course it was advertised all over the Internet. So for all those who have described this event as pretentious: we got caught up in the moment; it was and is a great idea (except for the "Foree Fest" title). We are going to have the festival again next year (with a new title). I want to have Patrica Quinn do a weekend of stories and films - her story telling alone would make it worth attending - and also my good friend, Doug Bradley, will make for a delightful weekend. So, my friends and fans, thems the facts.
From Richard and Stuart:
Stuart and I as fans of Dawn of the Dead and assisting Ken at UK and US events called on their friend to develop Foree Fest as a new event in the UK to give other events a run for their money and be the first to concentrate on the fans and their time for the ticket price.
We had Ken appear to launch the event and after the success of the first event and good feedback by fans, Ken agreed to become a partner for the project and enlist other actors to join us and appear in the laid back ambience of the event to meet fans and take part in the Q&A sessions and introduce their films.
The event came to a hold when the lives of the main promoters and event organizers Richard Booth and Stuart Green went through life changing situations. Richard was expecting his first baby daughter and Stuart venture d into running his own business. Foree Fest had to be put on hold and unfortunately is still on hold this year. It will return but unfortunately not at the present time.
·DC on May 06 2009 20:43:55 ·
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ZONE OF THE DEAD Official Art work
I recieved this image from Milan Todorovic, director of Zone of the Dead and he thought that the folks here at Kens site would enjoy seeing it!!
I don't know if you have someone whom you admire; someone who was a very important part of your development, entertainment or love life. Some people would list movie stars, others architects, doctors, explores or talk show host. Well, one of mine is Smokey Robinson. I can sing all of his hits and I have followed his career from Motown 'till today. I believe the man walks on water. Now I love Sinatra, and can watch and listen to Domingo, Pavarotti, and Carara over and over. I love Carmen Mc Rae, Sara Vaughn, Barbara Streisand, Roy Rodgers, Harry Truman, Robert Kennedy, Frank Capra, Martin Luther King; Smokey is really special. He and the Temptations rocked and made my world! Literally, I was a geek for this groups and its music.
I'm am walking onto a plane headed for Pittsburgh and who is sitting in first class.? .............Yep! You guessed it... SMOKEY! Now I forgot to tell you about Smokey being a distant cousin of yours truly. So distant it hardly matters. Can you imagine one of the greatest tenors in the world, the man who sung the songs that I loved the most, who helped my romantic life wildy, was on the same plane that I was.
So I played it cool, waited for my opportunity and approached Smokey full of confidence in my ability to engage him and tell him I was his cousin, (though far removed), and how much his life and talent meant to me.......................OF COURSE NOT! NOT OUR DARLING BOY! I walked up to first class and made such a pest of myself and I couldn't get the facts straight about how we were related. And, Smokey kept telling me that my facts were wrong and I kept insisting that I was right. In short, I made the man's life horrible during the flight and, afterwards in baggage claim, I was so annoying and such a geek that if he ever sees me again he'll have me shot on the spot or at the very least call security and run as fast as he can in the opposite direction. What an idiot! It's rare, but this time I was a complete blabbering numbskull.
The lesson learned from this adventure is that we all have those times when we would like to start all over again and do it differently.
Well 2009 is a new chance for us to start anew and, if necessary, do it differently. So here to doing everything right in 2009.
Have a happy, properous, safe and healthy New Year.
Where were you doing Halloween? Well, I was in Phoenix with a group of friends. It was a nice party given by my friend Rob and his Brother Joey. If you look closely you'll see a few people with recognizable faces.
Just wanted to let you know that Zombie Fest was a lot of fun. Its been 30 years and I wanted to do something special for the fans. I hope they liked it and that it went over well. We raised over a ton of food in the city of Pittsburgh and that was great. The world-wide numbers aren't in yet. The Mall is a special place and we hamd it up and had a great time for the 30th anniversary.
I hope everyone voted. I did!
See you soon,
Ken
·DC on November 06 2008 01:36:34 ·
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