"Zombie Beauty Pageant - Drop. Dead. Gorgeous."
In the future there will be beautiful girls, strong men and... ZOMBIES.
What could possibly go wrong?
Ex zhunter, Jack Arnold (Nathan Allen Peterson) and sidekick, Willy Scree (Danny Lassley) plan their next move.
Ex-zhunter Jack Arnold always preferred to interact with zombies through the scope of his R97 Mk. IV sniper rifle, but now—in the bizarro world of 2027—he's interviewing them on zNBC.
Guy's gotta eat, right?
Ashley Z (Sara Carolynn Kennedy), Heather Z (Sheri Rippel), Morgan Z (Mary Caitland Williams), Jane492 Z (Ashley Nadeau)Between the final four beautiful, deadly zGirls and Bug, the unpredictable and menacing zombie pageant security chief, Jack and his old war buddy, Willy, try to navigate the treacherous backstage machinations of greedy corporate execs, sleazy talent agents and desperate has-been movie moguls.
Last man standing might not be a man - or have a pulse.
The world of Zombie Beauty Pageant
Heather Z (Sheri Rippel)The year is 2027, ten years after the Zombie Apocalypse, or Z-Wars as many refer to them now. It was a close call but humanity was able to fight the zombie hordes to a standstill. A vaccine was developed to prevent zombieism from being passed to humans and all humans are required to be inoculated.
Bug (Johnny Horne)The remaining zombies and humans try to coexist as best they can.
In a strange twist of fate, zombies have now become the movie, music, fashion and sex idols of modern culture. Our story takes place in one of the latest manifestations of this craze, "American zGirl", a beauty pageant for zombie women, or “zGirls" as they are popularly called.
A note on zombies in 2027
Ashley Z (Sara Carolynn Kennedy)These are not the stereotypical zombies of our past fictional imaginings, but much like humans they come with varying individual abilities. This range of types has in zombies been simplified by referring to them as "low", "medium" and "high" functioning. Most often this is determined by their ability to speak, but recent research has found this is not an accurate predictor of mental acuity.
Finally, in the peace treaty ending the Z-Wars, there is a strange clause that states:
”Should a human or zombie attempt to pass as a member of the opposing group that entity is declared 'rogue' and forfeits all human or zombie rights."
"Zombie Beauty Pageant" Cast & Crew
Jack Arnold - Nathan Allen Peterson
Thirty something jaded tabloid tv reporter - hates his life, his job and especially zombies, covering backstage portion of the pageant. Ex-zombie hunter, wife killed in the zombie apocalypse.
Ashley Z - Sara Carolynn Kennedy
American zGirl finalist - hands down favorite, only one problem - [spoiler deleted]. Does what her boyfriend says, mostly. She probably won’t survive the night.
Heather Z - Sheri Rippel
American zGirl finalist, high functioning, cunning zombie babe. Keep your eye on this one and your back to the wall at all times.
Morgan Z - Mary Caitland Williams
- American zGirl finalist, low functioning, feral zombie girl. How did she get this far? She's drop dead gorgeous and more than a few competitors met with unfortunate accidents. Not the forgiving type - ask her agent, oh wait...
Jane492 Z - Ashley Nadeau
American zGirl finalist, Russian transplant - might have been an aristocrat or a hooker - hard to tell. Talks a lot about Moscow before it was destroyed in the z-wars. H O T for Jack - not so much for Morgan Z.
Billie Fagan - Carmen Anello
English transplant. Pageant hair and makeup artist, kind hearted, feels sorry for and tries to help the zGirls. Thwarting Freddie Max’s conquests is her favorite thing.
B.J. Little - Matt Briden
Ashley Z's boyfriend/agent - sleaze ball scam artist. Talked Ashley into doing the pageant even though he knows it's extremely dangerous for her. His footprints are all over his ex-friend’s backs.
Bug - Johnny Horne
Pageant security, high functioning zombie with a low violence threshold, has a thing for Heather Z, smoldering hate for the living. Hungers - literally - for the good old days.
Mark Jason Rassmussen - Jim Ramos -
zNBC network CEO - down from corporate to make sure everything is done the zNBC way - lots of conflict, lots of sex and hopefully some blood. All he cares about are ratings and keeping the shareholders off his back.
Mama Z - Jesyca Hope
Heather Z's manager/stage mom - actually not related to Heather. Tough cookie, willing to do anything for her girl to win. ANYTHING.
Lily Allen - Ashley Young
Morgan Z's sister/handler - desperate, knows her sister is a long shot, working on Freddie to curry his favor and trying to stay alive.
Anderson Baxter - Shawn Nyberg
Has-been movie producer/mogul - searching for his comeback zGirl vehicle/starlet, also one of the pageant judges.
Willie Scree - Daniel Lassley
Jack’s old war buddy, camera/sound/grip. Quick with a quip, but when the going gets tough...
Freddie Max - Ted Shonka
zGirl Pageant MC - philandering lush, always on the make, prefers zombie girls, but not picky. No, not picky at all.
Copernica Pierson Rush - Martha Bartlett Piland
Pageant owner, ex-beauty queen, seen it all, twice. Trying to keep everything from going off the tracks.
Phillip LeParis, Cisco Camargo
Freddie Max's sycophantic personal assistant - keeps Freddie on track and on time and is of course, totally flaming. Secretly in love with Freddie and likes Jack A LOT.
Nameless corporate lackeys - Kelly Austin Rippel & Jaryl Strom Perkins
These guys orbit Mark Rasmussen like dwarf planets. He moves, they move. He flinches, they flinch. His jokes are hilarious, he speaks great truths, everything he says they agree with vociferously. HE IS THEIR GOD.
Jane492 Z's entourage - Amy Potter, Wendy Ash Long & Penny Morgan
Constantly primping on Jane492, a.k.a. their meal ticket. Everything is boring. Everyone is beneath contempt. They don't talk, they moan and whine their intentions.
Niles - Andrew Potter
Assistant to Copernica Pierson Rush. What he assists with is not readily apparent. Can't be sure if he's a serial killer or a hit man. Probably both. Watches everyone very closely. Doesn't like people walking behind him.
Tuesday Smadda - Skye Reid
Pageant backstage coordinator. Super stressed. Mostly spends her time looking for Phillip LeParis to get Freddie Max back out front to MC the show. Dresses like and probably believes she is Wednesday Addams twin. Anagrams anyone?
Benny - Bruce Smith
All-knowing, all-seeing maintenance guy. Probably ex-CIA. Wallpaper with a purpose. No one notices him until he shows up with exactly what you need exactly when you need it.
"Dude" - Dusty Nichols
Anderson Baxter's stoner body guard. Black belt in kung fu movies. Mostly gets Anderson Chinese takeout these days. Still, a good man to have around if you need to dispose of a kilo or two. Tie dye guy.
Andre Johnson - Dané Shobe
Morgan’s steady before she went Z. Back for one more try. Ring. Flowers. Heart in hand. All men have been this guy at least once. Worst case of barking up the wrong zombie ever. Nice guys finish last. Again.
Starlet and Superstar - Amy Marie & Daniel Gilchrist
She's super sexy, he's super rich/famous/mysterious. Sunglasses all 'round. Freddie's friends.
Skinny Teen Girl #1: Lea Ramos
Terminal zFan. Knows what’s max frosty and what’s max notsy. She is so ultimate. Wishes she was undead.
Skinny Teen Girl #2: Lauren Smith
Max ditto.
Without our fabulous crew, there would be no movie.
Kudos, thanks and holy molies out to:
Brenda Blackman, Production Manager
Dan Mauer and Ryan Bishop, Cinematography
John Kauk, Photographer
Nicole Spacek, Makeup Design
Sky Reid, Hair Design
Joe Gibson, Key Grip
Marilyn Harden, Set Coordinator
Max Kelly, Best Boy
Ex zhunter, Jack Arnold (Nathan Allen Peterson) and sidekick, Willy Scree (Danny Lassley) plan their next move.
Ashley Z (Sara Carolynn Kennedy), Heather Z (Sheri Rippel), Morgan Z (Mary Caitland Williams), Jane492 Z (Ashley Nadeau)Between the final four beautiful, deadly zGirls and Bug, the unpredictable and menacing zombie pageant security chief, Jack and his old war buddy, Willy, try to navigate the treacherous backstage machinations of greedy corporate execs, sleazy talent agents and desperate has-been movie moguls.
Heather Z (Sheri Rippel)The year is 2027, ten years after the Zombie Apocalypse, or Z-Wars as many refer to them now. It was a close call but humanity was able to fight the zombie hordes to a standstill. A vaccine was developed to prevent zombieism from being passed to humans and all humans are required to be inoculated.
Bug (Johnny Horne)The remaining zombies and humans try to coexist as best they can.
Ashley Z (Sara Carolynn Kennedy)These are not the stereotypical zombies of our past fictional imaginings, but much like humans they come with varying individual abilities. This range of types has in zombies been simplified by referring to them as "low", "medium" and "high" functioning. Most often this is determined by their ability to speak, but recent research has found this is not an accurate predictor of mental acuity.