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THIS HALLOWEEN, G4 PUTS THE ‘LIVE’ IN ‘LIVING DEAD’ WITH A LIVE-FROM-WISCONSIN BROADCAST AND SCREENING OF “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD” HOSTED BY “AMERICAN MOVIE” STARS MARK BORCHARDT AND MIKE SCHANK
Tue. Sep. 19, 2006
THIS HALLOWEEN, G4 PUTS THE ‘LIVE’ IN ‘LIVING DEAD’
WITH A LIVE-FROM-WISCONSIN BROADCAST AND SCREENING OF
“NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD” HOSTED BY
“AMERICAN MOVIE” STARS MARK BORCHARDT AND MIKE SCHANK
The Would-Be Filmmakers Provide Their Real-Dude Commentary on
George Romero’s Immortal Flick—and Offer a Front-Row Lawn Chair to the
Trick-or-Treaters, the Costumes and all the Heartland Horror
Los Angeles, September 19, 2006 — The zombies are out and terrorizing the populace, their insatiable hunger driving them to ever-greater acts of mayhem...yes, trick-or-treaters are patrolling suburban streets again. And Mark Borchardt and Mike Schank—the stars of American Movie, undoubtedly the favorite documentary of guys everywhere—will be live on the scene when G4 presents a special Halloween-night broadcast, “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD”: LIVE FROM WISCONSIN! From lawn chairs parked in a suburban front yard on the northwest side of Milwaukee, Borchardt and Schank will host a live broadcast that includes a special screening of director George Romero’s 1968 classic, Night of the Living Dead. Before, after and at strategic moments during the film, G4 will return live to the duo as they serve as tour guides to the costumes, the trick-or-treaters and the entire heartland Halloween horrorshow. G4’s website, g4tv.com, will also offer a wide array of exclusive Halloween content, including webcam interviews with Borchardt and Schank and a photo gallery of the most inappropriate Halloween costumes. “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD”: LIVE FROM WISCONSIN! will premiere Tuesday, October 31 from 8:00 PM–11:00 PM ET/PT.
In the late 1990s, Mark Borchardt—a then-30something guy so uncool he was cool, living in nowheresville, Wisconsin with a paper route, a cemetery job, staggering debt and a doggedly optimistic quest for the American dream—became an unlikely sensation with the filming and release of American Movie. The tragicomic documentary by Chris Smith and Sarah Price followed filmmaker Borchardt’s struggle to make his own black-and-white horror film, Coven, in the grand tradition of Night of the Living Dead. Working gamely alongside Borchardt was his childhood friend, Mike Schank, a shaggy, good-natured recovering drug and gambling addict with a befuddled temperament and an unexpected gift for the guitar.
Having successfully completed the gorefest known as Coven (which Borchardt pronounces KOE-ven, so that it doesn’t rhyme with “oven”), Mark and Mike now offer a window onto a scene more scary than any horror flick: Halloween in the ’burbs.
For “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD”: LIVE FROM WISCONSIN!, Borchardt and Schank will broadcast from a suburban residence decorated like a haunted house (think “middle school Halloween dance” more than “Stan Winston”). The backyard is a makeshift cemetery. The basement is full of zombies. As the show begins, Mark and Mike introduce themselves, the haunted house, and Night of the Living Dead—offering their unique take on what makes the film such a classic, and why they are such fans.
In 1968, Night of the Living Dead was considered shockingly gruesome, as seven terrorized countryfolk took refuge in a farmhouse while bloodthirsty, flesh-eating zombies roamed the countryside. Even though the film’s effects may be considered tame today, Romero’s black-and-white classic still packs a terrifying wallop and an artistic punch, with all those “dead trees and gray skies,” as Borchardt says in American Movie.
Over the course of “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD”: LIVE FROM WISCONSIN!, G4 will return live to Borchardt and Schank as they:
* Document the ghoulish action at their haunted house
* “Welcome” trick-or-treaters (undoubtedly scaring the kids more than the
costumed kids scare them)
* Demonstrate amazing guitar-playing skills (well, Mike does)
* Take an eventful trip to the convenience store
* Reveal what the hell they’ve been up to for the past seven years
* Discuss Scare Me (their new film)
* Rate the costumes on parade
* Analyze the horror-film genre
* Reprise Mike’s ear- (and side-) splitting scream scene from American Movie
Meanwhile, back at g4tv.com, visitors will be “treated” to a variety of web-exclusive Halloween content, including:
* A rare exclusive video interview with the reclusive death metal rapper Necro
* Special webcam interviews with Borchardt and Schank
* A video “murder tour” of L.A.
* Photo galleries of ingenious and inappropriate Halloween costumes and of the West Hollywood Halloween Parade
* Articles on The Best Horror Movies You’ve Never Seen and the Top Ten Scariest Places on Earth
* Interactive elements such as SMS polling and a user-submitted costume contest
It’s an evening that gives “Night of the Living Dead” a whole new meaning.
About G4
G4, the fastest growing network on television for 2006, launched in April 2002 and is now available in 60 million cable and satellite homes nationwide. The #1 podcasted cable network in America and a leader in VOD, G4's programming includes breaking video game industry news, trends, reviews, the hottest games and gear, celebrity interviews and insider opinions. Targeting the male 18-34 audience, G4 is the first and last word on games, technology, animation, interactivity, the Internet and broadband. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and is owned by Comcast Corporation. To learn more, log onto www.g4tv.com.
