Movies
‘Night Of The Zoopocalypse’ – David Harbour Among Voice Cast in Animated Zombie Family-Comedy
No one is safe from a zombie apocalypse, not even animals at a zoo in the upcoming animated family feature Night of the Zoopocalypse. Deadline reports an impressive voice cast attached to the ambitious production, which includes genre stalwart David Harbour (Violent Night, Hellboy, “Stranger Things”).
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (“The Mandalorian”), Scott Thompson (“The Kids In The Hall”), and Gabbi Kosmidis (“Unicorn Academy”) are also among the voice cast.
The film’s synopsis: “One night, a meteor crashes into Colepepper Zoo unleashing a virus that transforms the animals into strange and hilarious slobbering zombie mutants. Gracie, a young quirky wolf, teams up with a gruff and fearsome mountain lion to find a way back to her pack. As the zoo is overrun, they must come up with a plan to get all the animals back to normal. Together with the help of a motley crew of survivors – Xavier the movie-obsessed lemur, Frida the fiery capybara, Ash the sarcastic, fabulous ostrich and Felix the treacherous monkey – they embark on a perilous mission to rescue the zoo and defeat Bunny Zero, the deranged mutant-king, determined to spread the virus beyond the zoo walls. Welcome to… the zoopocalypse!”
Night of the Zoopocalypse is co-directed by veteran animators and story artists Ricardo Curtis (The Incredibles) and Rodrigo Perez-Castro (The Book of Life).
The film is currently in production and targeting a fourth quarter release in 2024.
Curtis and Perez-Castro told Deadline, “We believe Night of the Zoopocalypse to be a genre defining film for the whole family. It is an ode to the monster movies that inspired us growing up that feature jump scares, astonishing creatures, and an unforgettable cast of hilarious, lovable characters. We hope that our movie will expand the possibilities of animation as a storytelling medium in ways audiences have never imagined was possible.”
While we wait for what’s shaping up to be a charming gateway horror film that pays tribute to the monster movies of yesteryear, we can next expect to see Harbour bring his voice talents to the DC animated series “Creature Commandos” as Eric Frankenstein.
Movies
‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons Is No Fan of Generative AI: “Defeats the Purpose Entirely for Me”
There has been a lot of talk recently about filmmakers embracing generative AI as part of the filmmaking process, from Darren Aronofsky to Martin Scorsese. But what about filmmakers that are against the use of Gen AI for creative pursuits? You can count 20-year-old Backrooms director Kane Parsons among that group, which should give you some hope for the future.
In a new chat with The Australian, the self-taught young filmmaker makes it crystal clear that he won’t be using generative AI in any of his upcoming filmmaking projects.
“I think I’m in the same boat as most well-adjusted people,” Parsons tells the outlet. “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.”
“What interests me more is interrogating it artistically,” Parsons notes. “We already live in a world where you walk outside and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop. That’s become part of our visual reality. To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.”
He explains, “I’m interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects.”
Kane Parsons also notes during the interview with The Australian, “… there’s so much at stake and so many genuinely harmful consequences already happening.”
Backrooms marks young prodigy Kane Parsons’ feature directorial debut, and it’s based on his own series of YouTube videos that were brought to life using Blender, the open-source 3D computer graphics software suite. So it’s no surprise that Parsons, who has hand-made his filmmaking career up to this point, isn’t buying into the hoopla around Generative AI.
His debut feature is the #1 movie in the world, so perhaps he’s onto something.
What’s next from Kane Parsons, you ask? Stay tuned…
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