I had the opportunity and great fortune to be cast as one of the zombie hoard that attacked the 2012 Game Stop Convention in San Antonio. A rampaging herd of 200 brain hungry undead converged on the unveiling of the Call of Duty 2: Black Ops game promo... which of course features ZOMBIES! The whole casting process was super secret and we were lead to believe it was a fairly obscure movie or commercial being shot in the area. Turns out it was a much higher profile and budget Gaming Con. Awesome!!! I love geeks, I'm a geek girl. I volunteered my brother and my dad as well.
I initially didn't want to go to the casting, thinking there'd be ton of people standing in a line under the blazing Texas sun. My last attempt to get into a Comic Convention was like this and I literally got burned. I'd always wanted to be an extra in something but it just seemed unlikely for some reason. Anyway, through contacts I've made in a local Thelemic group and vending, my name and my blue hair popped up on the producer's radar. I got a few calls and finally went in. They took one look at us and said 'Wow you're hired!'. My family is tall, large, and uhh well intimidating. Although we are very nice actually. Compliments like big, mean, and bald were showered upon my father. 'Everything is bigger in Texas'. They were thrilled when I said yes after being asked if I had any more like him at home.
I was speaking with Dean Karr - you probably know some of his work http://www.deankarr.com/ He's got a many many MTV videos, fashion campaigns, commercials, etc under his belt. Willie Nelson, Marilyn Manson, Tommy Hilfiger, bla bla...
So we got mug shots and promised not to breath a word. We weren't told what we were doing or where we'd meet or shoot at. I luuuvv secrets! The night before the event we met at the convention center for rehersal- or should I say boot camp. We found out that night what the event was, the executives we were attacking, and our places in the shambling hoard. This was extremely physical, long walking, huge flights of stairs, and repeating the actual 2 minute show over and over. We kept it up until midnight and then had to return at 5am for makeup. My brother was a character zombie onstage going after the keynote speaker. My father was the 'big zombie' in aisle C and I was the lead zombie in the same aisle. My goal was to shamble and hiss my way up to the stage, interacting with the crowd.
After about 2 hrs of restless sleep, we showed up for the makeup. It took hrs and was an incredible experience. A room full of 100 zombies, about 25 makeup artists, hair, wardrobe people, and security. The costumes and some of the face peices were from the TV version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Many local special effects people from San Antonio & Austin, including that one guy that was on Faceoff (name?). Great people, great talent, the coolest effects. Amazing how much goes into a 2 minute zombie event. I had a full face piece with shloads of glue, goop, powder, paint, and ky jelly for ooze. I had my clothes shredded and dirt rubbed all over me (crushed brick powder). My hair- omg.
After the actual storming of the convention, we were stationed out by the buffet area for photo ops. Anyone could be torn apart or body surfed for free by the zombies. This was my favorite part of the day which went on from 4am to 5pm. Dean was awesome, very down to earth and cool. We got Dunkin Donuts and pizza through the day. Met lots of local talent and artists. Amazing experience- and we got paid $$$! yay!!!
