Posts Tagged ‘Max Brooks’
3 items.
When you look for a mentor in zombie killing, you want to turn to an expert. So who could be a bigger expert at zombie killing/survival than the one and only Max Brooks. Not only did he write THE survival guide, but he also spends his time devoted to all kinds of zombie stuff. Wither it’s judging contests on zombie shelters, or writing more kick ass books about zombies, this guy can be considered the authority on zombies. So when Max Brooks teamed up with Sons of Guns & Ammo to make a gun, I just had to write about it.
The bullpup rifle of my dreams. {1}
Enter the Red Jacket ZK-22 Bullpup rifle. If your not into guns, you will not know the awesomeness this gun is just by it’s name. I’ll break it down for you. Red Jacket is the brand of guns made by team on the hit Discovery Channel show Sons of Guns & Ammo. The ZK will stand for none other than Zombie Killer. Clever right? The 22 stands for the type of ammo that is used for the gun, in this case 22 caliber bullets. And the bullpup rifle, is a type of rifle in which the barrel of is the same length of a normal rifle, but the “action” is behind the trigger, and alongside the shooter’s head. The result is a shorter, lighter rifle that allows for better maneuverability than a traditional rifle.
So this sounds pretty impressive as it is right? Well there’s more. The gun was designed to be used right or left handed with the charging handle and the magazine release designed to be ambidextrous. The barrel is made out of aluminum to make it as light as it can possibly be, which is important when trying to run with. The trigger is a match trigger, which requires less force to pull than a standard trigger, making accuracy easier as you will be less likely to jerk your shots. Add the suppressor, and you have yourself one lean mean zombie killing machine (yes I just typed that, sue me).
When designing this gun the idea was to meet three important criteria. 1st was to make the availability of ammunition plentiful. The 22 caliber is the most popular rifle ammo and a lot of rifles are made to use this size. But not only did they take into consideration how readily available it is, but the smaller size and lighter weight allow you to store more rounds than the other larger calibers. The 22 is also favored in hunting because the smaller caliber will waste less meat.
The 2nd criteria was accuracy. Rifles are known for their great accuracy and ease of aim. The bullpup rifle may not be favored for snipping however in medium and close distances this rifle is boss as it’s shorter length and greater maneuverability allow it to have rifle type accuracy with the maneuverability of an assault rifle. The addition of a laser site also made accuracy easier.
And the final criteria that they were looking for was versatility. As I mentioned before, a bullpup rifle can be used really at any distance you need, being short range or long. This allows you to use the same weapon in a variety of situations. The rifle also comes with 2 aluminum rails allowing you to attach all sorts of extras that may be useful. From a bayonet, to a flashlight, those rails could come in handy.
All in all, if you can get your hands on one of these guns, I would suggest you do. While you can’t get the entire fire arm complete, you can purchase the stock from the Red Jacket Firearms website. IF you choose to purchase, please be sure to read the entire page before ordering as it does not come with the firearm, the suppressor, or the optic peace. It is also made to only use specific barrels so again read the details please.
What weapon would you like to learn about next? Send me an email at penguinprince@grimcrew.com or again, leave a comment below. You can also follow Dead Future on Facebook and Google +. You can also follow me on Twitter and Google +.
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
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I recently read an article from Pastemagazine.com telling about how some fan boys are ripping the new World War Z movie to shreds. After reading the article I can see why they are upset. In an effort not to copy someone else’s work, I’m going to ask that you read the original article to see exactly what’s going on in more depth, but it all boils down to the fact that Brad Pitt is screwing over Max Brook’s work. By naming the movie after the book, and then changing the entire premise of the book, you can kind of see why everyone is upset. As the article says, “it (World War Z) has been replaced with what many fans are calling just another zombie movie.”
Photo of the set in Israel.
As a fanboy of Max Brook’s work myself, I can say I am a tad bit disappointed. I kind of feared this would happen to one of the best zombie novels of all time. The problem is, they have already started filming. You can make changes to the script, but you can’t change what you already have, and you can’t write a whole new screenplay to appease the fanboys. However, there is something Plan B (Brad Pitt’s production company making the movie) can do to save all of this. Yes there is still hope. By putting a spin on the marketing of this movie and changing the name, we can still get a possibly highly entertaining zombie movie, without raping Mr. Book’s hard work. Here’s my suggestion.
Instead of advertising this movie as a recreation of the book, Plan B should advertise the movie as another story of World War Z. By advertising the movie as an addition to the book, we can get yet another perspective of the war. What went on, and what was Gerry and Enos Lane’s role in the war and what from their point of view could have been done to stop it? How did they survive? And how do their roles tie into the stories already told in the book? If they can edit what they have already done to accentuate this aspect of the movie, you might just calm us fanboys down enough to get off your backs. We still might not be entirely happy about it, but it may just swing our perceptions enough to give the movie a chance.
Wait are those zombies? Oh no, that's just how they normally look.
As far as the title of the movie goes, there may be many different things you can do to save face here. First, if they don’t follow the advice from above, they can change the name entirely so that the movie is further disassociated from the book. A title like The Zombie War, is enough title to pay homage to the inspiring work, without leading people to think that this will be the same story entirely. You can even mention on the box and in your credits that the story was inspired by Max Brook’s World War Z. Or if they do take the advice from above, you could call the movie World War Z: A Tale From The Great Zombie War. This title leaves the advantage of drawing in crowds that were casual fans of the book, but gives the movie enough leeway to take liberties on the storyline as they already have.
Another look behind the scenes.
In conclusion, you can never please everybody. The format that the book was written in would have made it a real challenge to adapt to the big screen. The number of actors you would have to pay would make the movie way out of reach as far as cost would go. So whether you like it or not, this movie is being made with some major changes to the original script. And with release date of December 21, 2012 (brilliant), this movie is coming to the big screen. Now we can all pout that it’s not going to be what we wanted it to be, or we can join together and enjoy a zombie movie that was inspired by one of the best apocalyptic novels of all time.
Leave me your thoughts on these ideas and the new movie adaptation of World War Z in the comments below, or send me an e-mail at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You can also follow Grim Crew on Facebook, and me on twitter @PenguinPrince25. Finally don’t miss your chance to contribute to the Indigogo Campaign for your chance to get some cool rewards.
-Till Fate brings our Future
Penguin Prince
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So does anyone who is reading this not know who Max Brooks is? Oh you don’t? Do us all a favor and shoot yourself in the head. That’s one less zombie we will have to deal with. This celebrated author is only the creator of what is possibly the most famous zombie book ever written. The Zombie Survival Guide. If you haven’t read it, go to the nearest Boarders now and pick it up. I’m serious. Stop reading my drivel and go to the local bookshop. Don’t come back until you’ve finished it. Not only is it a highly entertaining read but it could be regarded as the official manual to zombie survival. It is to zombie fans as The Boyscout Handbook is to the Webelos. It is the book that started my zombie fanboyism and if it doesn’t give you a geekgasum, you are no real zombie fan.
If after you have read this mind blowing book, you haven’t conceded Max Brooks as one of the greatest zombie writers of our time, move on to his next zombie novel, World War Z. What? Haven’t read this one either? I’ll wait…
Ok for those too lazy to read it, or need a recap, World War Z is a collection of interviews of people who survived the zombie apocalypse, commonly referred to as the Zombie War. It depicts the very beginning of the zombie outbreak, why it happened, how it spread, and why our governments failed to prevent it. The interviews are conducted on all levels, political officials, civilians, scientists, solders, doctors, it seems like Mr. Brooks wanted a complete 360 view of the war and what happened. And he accomplishes it brilliantly. Not only do you see multiple sides of the spectrum here, you also see how brilliant of a writer he actually is. Each interviewee is different. The personalities, the opinions, I could go on and on. Long story short, Max Brooks is a genius.
Now let’s kick it up to 2011. World War Z is being made into a movie. Those who follow these things would say that I’m a little slow to pick up on that one, but you know what I say to those people… stop pissing in my Wheaties. I’m so ecstatic right now I’m about to camp out at the movie theater. Till 2014. Yea to my displeasure IMDB is saying this movie will probably not see the big screen till 2014, in which I will be very, very angry if the world ends on Dec 21, 2012.
Note: not actual movie poster, it was a fan poster, but still really cool.
Not much is being released on IMDB because the movie is in production, but one hears things. So far those things are…
Brad Pit will star as Gerard Lane, with Mireille Enos (The Killing, Big Love) as his wife Karin.
Mark Forster (Quantum of Solace) will be directing.
Filming may begin as early as June, 2011
Budget is $125 Million
This is about all I can find right now. I’ll be sure to check back when I can dig up some more information. I personally can’t wait to see the battle at Yonkers. What is your most anticipated interview from the book? Leave your comment below, on our facebook, or on my Twitter @PenguinPrince25.
-Till Fate brings our Future
Penguin Prince
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