From 1979 to 2007, no trip to the supermarket would be complete without taking a moment to see what sort of insane fictional "news" was being reported in the issues of the Weekly World News tabloid. Over the years, they told stories of characters like Bat Boy, Manigator, P'lod the Alien, Ph.D. Ape, and SpyCat. Although Weekly World News ceased print publication fourteen years ago, the brand endures online – and now the company has announced plans to develop film, TV, and podcast projects based on their library of over 110,000 articles and more than 300 original characters. The first film from Weekly World News Studios will be The Zombie Wedding.
Based on an interactive play that was written by Weekly World News editor-in-chief Greg D'Alessandro, who will serve as CEO of Weekly World News Studios, and produced by Joe Corcoran, who will now serve as the studio's Director of Development, The Zombie Wedding is described as being "a horror-comedy with music, falling somewhere between The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Shaun of the Dead". The film will show us what happens when
a young South Carolina couple decides to go through with their long-awaited wedding – during the Zombie Apocalypse! Unfortunately, he’s a zombie and she’s not. Their families are nervous, but the humans prove to be overly judgmental. When the Zombies begin feeling brain deprived, the ceremony takes a turn for the weird. WWN reporters are there to cover this wild wedding, while trying to get out alive.
Tony-award winning actress, writer, and producer Tonya Pinkins, whose credits include playing Martha on Fear the Walking Dead, Ethel Peabody on Gotham, and Mia Mimi Corcoran in 11.22.63, has signed on to direct The Zombie Wedding. D'Alessandro and Corcoran are producing the film, and jazz fusion/funk guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly is crafting the score.
D'Alessandro had this to say about the project:
Our goal is to bring a sense of joy, amazement and surrealist fun to all our projects. Zombie Wedding is the perfect project to launch our studios. It’s done extremely well as an interactive theatrical event with audiences of all ages. We know film audiences will have a blast watching the film adaptation."
Pinkins added:
I am ecstatic to bring my two great loves – musicals and zombies – together!"
I never expected to hear that Weekly World News was getting into the zombie musical business, but I look forward to seeing how this turns out.
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