A Very Special Friday Movie Mania

GK and I attended a special advance screening of Warm Bodies last night.

The rough concept is Romeo and Juliet. But then so is Underworld. The difference here being the film makers turn R+J into a slick mix between apocalyptic horror and teen romance comedy with a happy ending.

There's no big suprises for me, though I give Nicholas Hoult high marks for making R. a very sympathetic character. Everyone in the theater laughed at the right parts. GK pronounced it "pretty good" and "we should take Dad to see it when it comes out," which for a preteen is high praise.

Even though Warm Bodies is rated PG-13, an f-bomb gets dropped close to the climax. That kind of stuff doesn't bother me; GK's heard me say worse and fined me for it. But just a warning in case you're ultra-sensitive (which means you probably shouldn't be reading my blog either).

Overall, Warm Bodies makes for a good date movie. It hits general release on February 1.

The sneak peek on YouTube is literally the first four minutes of the movie, minus the titles and special effects that flash back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. Enjoy!

The Little Green Monster

...and I don't mean Oscar the Grouch from Seseme Street.

It's all too easy to get caught up in what other writers have, be it sales, fans, offers, etc. In the long run, it does you no good dwelling on it. You become so bitter and jaded that no one wants to be around you, including your muse.

I know from whence I speak. When I started writing Zombie Love in November of 2005, I googled the title. Nothing, nada, zip came up. Then over the next few years as I pitched my story, agents and editors didn't want to touch it. A zombie as a romantic comedy heroine? Ple-e-e-ease.

Now? Now, we have zombies everywhere. Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, Married with...Zombies, The Walking Dead and *drumroll* Warm Bodies: A Zombie Love Story.

I could get pissy and throw a tantrum about why my story, written way ahead of the others, didn't get choosen *gasp*. But it's a "moo" point as Joey from Friends would say. All I can do is keep writing because there are readers who do appreciate what I do.

And I'm not going to be jealous because Warm Bodies looks exactly like the kind of thing I'd want to watch--the whole reason I created Sam Ridgeway in the first place. Here's the first four minutes of Warm Bodies, which will be in theaters February 1st.