It would be an understatement to call “Zombieland” the breakout hit of 2009.  The film has racked up critical acclaim and box office numbers to match.  It’s already made almost three times its budget and at a time when zombie films have become a little tiresome, it’s nice to see there’s still some life left in the genre.

Four international posters for the film landed online today and I hate them.  Not because they look cool or they’re funny but because they’re inaccurate.  Rules #8 and #21 are never mentioned in the film so they’re spurious claims at best.  Also, “Don’t Be a Hero” is Rule #14.  Sure, I don’t know how to visualize the “double-tap” but that doesn’t mean you just make up the rules.  I seriously doubt that the person who made these would survive a zombie apocalypse.  You can see these posters after the jump but make sure you see “Zombieland” so you understand the rules and survive the zombpocalypse.

Zombie business isn’t booming like it was a few years ago now that vampires have moved in and taken over their cinematic turf but zombies are in no way dead (which is kind of their thing) as they’ve migrated successfully to video games where we finally have the technology to kill them as brutally and as gleefully as possible.  “Zombieland” is that video game back to the big screen and it leaves tense, existential survival behind in favor of joyous, violent survival.

Opening this Friday is director Ruben Fleischer’s feature debut “Zombieland”. Since I’ve been covering the film extensively, you should be very familiar with the movie. But if you missed our previous coverage…here’s my video blog about being on the set in Atlanta, and here’s some on set interviews with director Ruben Fleischer, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson.

Anyway, a few days ago they held a press day on the Santa Monica pier and I was able to talk with Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg. During the interview they talked about their reaction to first reading the script, Twinkies, the way Woody would change the way he delivered his lines on every take, and Jesse Eisenberg talked about David Fincher’s next movie “The Social Network”. Watch the interview after the jump:

Opening on October 2^nd is director Ruben Fleischer’s feature debut “Zombieland”. Since I’ve been covering the film extensively here on Collider, you should be very familiar with the movie. But if you missed our previous coverage…here’s my video blog about being on the set in Atlanta and here’s on set interviews with director Ruben Fleischer, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson.

Now that I’ve finally seen the finished film, I’m happy to report I laughed my ass off in the theater and I can definitely recommend the movie. Also, the film has one of the best cameos I’ve seen and if you see “Zombieland” with an audience, you’re in for a great time. Anyway, to get you ready for the movie, we’ve been given 5 clips and 7 TV spots. Check them out after the jump:

Adventureland is definitely a case of a film not being what I expected.  Not surprisingly, those expectations evolved out of how the movie was marketed-the advertisements were very, very misleading as to the nature of the picture.  Watching the trailer one would have thought the film to be a very broad coming-of-age comedy.  Considering that the writer-director was Greg Mottola, whose previous release was the extremely broad coming-of-age movie Superbad, it would seem to be a reasonable expectation.  Wrong, as it turned out, but reasonable. That doesn’t mean the movie isn’t good. More after the jump:

David Fincher’s “The Social Network” has now found its cast. According to a rumor that popped up on Facebook itself, Jesse Eisenberg has been cast as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Meanwhile, Andrew Garfield will play Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. The big surprise though, at least to me, is that Justin Timberlake has also supposedly been cast as the internet entrepreneur who was behind Napster, Sean Parker.  You can read some more about “The Social Network” when you hit the jump.

It’s a fairly standard narrative. A filmmaker surrogate falls in love for the first time. Recently it was done in The Wackness. The main character (generally nerdy) meets a girl with some experience who trains him in the ways of love. She may or may not stick around, and the context is often a location that is familiar to the author. It’s fair to say that both the best and worst advice to give an aspiring writer is to write what they know. And yet, as familiar as this material can be, Greg Mottola’s Adventureland is nuanced, and it gets its characters. My review after the jump.

As I wrote when I posted the new images from “Mr. Nobody” and “The White Ribbon”, the Toronto Film Festival starts in a few weeks and like every year, the Festival is loaded with plenty of world premieres. While I had planned on attending this year’s festival as a member of the working press, due to my deciding to attend too late, I missed the cut for getting a press badge. However, I’m still going, and hope to be able to report on the films and interview a lot of the people attending.

Anyway, with the festival gearing up to start, I’ve been provided with a lot of new images from the films  premiering. So after the jump take a look at images from Jane Campion’s “Bright Star”, “Creation”, “Defendor”, and “Solitary Man”.

Sony Pictures has released a new international trailer for “Zombieland,” the Ruben Fleischer directed comedy/horror that hits theaters this October. This one’s a little longer than the original theatrical trailer, so you’ll get to see a few more zombies gored and a little more of the side characters played by Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin. And more importantly, this one’s narrated by star Jesse Eisenberg himself, so it feels a little less like an excerpt from “Pushing Daisies.” Catch the new trailer after the jump.

Sony just released what I’m assuming is the teaser poster for their upcoming horror-comedy flick “Zombieland”.  I’m assuming it’s the teaser since it doesn’t feature stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin.  Of course, I would love it if this is the only poster we got because it looks great and we don’t have to worry about floating heads whether they be human or zombie.  But we don’t live in that world and unless you’re showcasing a major franchise or it’s an animated film, you got to have the stars on the one-sheet.  So just enjoy this delightful poster for now and be sure to check out Steve’s video blog about his visit to the set.

Hit the jump to see the poster.  “Zombieland” hits theatres on October 9th.

If the chemistry between Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg in director Ruben Fleischer’s “Zombieland” is anything like what I witnessed on set back in March, the movie is going to be very funny. That’s because unlike some sets where everything is serious between takes, Woody and Jesse were laughing and improvising almost the entire time we were there. I don’t think Woody said the same line of dialogue on any two takes as he was constantly one upping himself and making people laugh. It was a lot of fun to watch.

So you may be asking what’s “Zombieland”. It’s a horror/comedy by director Ruben Fleischer and it takes place in a world overrun by zombies. The film stars Jesse and Woody and they play a big wuss and an AK-toting, zombie-slaying’ bad ass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. I think you know who plays which part.

Anyway, after the jump is the interview I participated in with the two stars on set. They talked about improvising, filming, the amusement park sequence, zombie killing, and a lot more. Take a look:

Back in March I visited the Atlanta set of “Zombieland” while production was in full swing. On set I was able to watch Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg fight a zombie in a supermarket, and I also saw Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin pull a shotgun on some people in a parking lot. Let’s just say it was a fun day.

Anyway, while there I was able to participate in an interview with Emma Stone (”Superbad”) and after the jump is the transcript. During the interview Emma talks carefully about her character, making the film, working with the rest of the cast, answers if she’ll be known as a scream queen after “Zombieland”, filming in Atlanta, and a lot more. Take a look:

As the creators of the short lived “Joe Schmo Show”, you’d never think of these two as the writers of a zombie movie. But sometimes when you want to shake up a genre, getting two outsiders is exactly what you need for success. And that’s what I think is going to happen later this year when Columbia Pictures releases “Zombieland” on October 9^th.

The film is written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese and after the jump is a lot more info on the film, along with a very extensive interview with the two screenwriters. They talk about where the idea came from, what changes were made along the way, what are the rules in their zombie universe, how they got into writing, and they talk about the other projects they’re working on. It’s a great interview so take a look:

Back in March, Columbia Pictures invited Collider and a few other online sites to the set of director Rhett Reese’s “Zombieland”. The set visit took place just outside of Atlanta in an abandoned supermarket. While there, I got to see people getting turned into zombies in the makeup chair, interview the cast and filmmakers, and I also got to see Woody Harrelson use two chainsaws in the parking lot. But that’s a little ahead in the story…

As most of you know, I’ve been recording Video Blogs with Peter from Slashfilm. Since Peter and I both got invited, we recorded a video blog about what we saw and did on the set of “Zombieland” and it’s after the jump. Since I think reading pages and pages about what a set visit was like is boring, I’m excited to offer a more interactive experience. Also, you can watch the two of us try and explain our set visit while operating on zero sleep. It’s kind of funny.  Take a look:

AICN has just posted the first official images from director Ruben Fleischer’s “Zombieland”. Here’s the synopsis:

Jesse Eisenberg plays Columbus, a teenage who has made a habit of running from what scares him.  Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) doesn’t have fears.  If he did, he’d kick their ever-living ass.  In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors.  But now, they’re about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all:  each other. The film also stars Emma Stone (Superbad) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine).

Back when the film was still in production, I was able to visit the Atlanta set. While I can’t say much as I’m still under embargo, when I can write about the trip, it’s going to be a fun read. All of us had a lot of fun, and maybe some of us recorded a video blog about the set visit…

“Zombieland” will eat your brain on October 9th 2009.