[August 2012] [Newnan, Georgia] [Day One of shoot]
By August, Zombieland had finally made it through pre-production without another scheduling disaster, fake director, stolen-script attempt, or budget meeting that made Jack question whether he should've become a professional beach bum instead.
The cast had come together over the summer.
Jack would play Columbus, the anxious survivor who somehow had rules for every possible apocalypse problem. Emma Stone had signed on as Wichita, the clever and guarded con artist who never let anyone know what she was thinking for too long. Woody Harrelson had taken Tallahassee, a zombie-killing madman with a love for guns & violence, hate for pacifists, and in search of Twinkies.
Chloë Grace Moretz had landed Little Rock, the youngest member of the group and probably the most dangerous person in the movie whenever somebody made the mistake of underestimating her.
Bill Murray had agreed to appear as himself, which had somehow become one of the strangest and funniest parts of the entire script.
Penny had been cast as 406 after walking into her audition nervous, hopeful, and completely unaware that she was about to earn her first real studio role. Her character only appeared in one scene, but it was an important one. She had to feel believable enough that Columbus would trust her before the audience realized something was very wrong.
The other roles had also filled quickly, including the recurring Zombie Kill of the Week cameos.
Joan Schuermeyer would play Sister Cynthia Knickerbocker, a nun who used a tiny handbell to lure a zombie directly beneath a church window. Her fellow nuns would then drop a grand piano onto the zombie, flattening it against the pavement while Columbus quietly described him as a "poor flat bastard."
Richard Preston had somehow talked his way into a cameo as a construction worker driving a road roller. His zombie kill involved slowly rolling over a trapped zombie while calmly drinking coffee from a travel mug, because Richard had argued that "a man with a roadroller deserves proper hydration."
Sylvester Stallone had agreed to appear as Rambo for a fast, ridiculous sequence involving six zombies, a .357 Magnum, and six perfectly timed headshots. Getting the permission to use Rambo's name in the film was slightly hard, but Richard pulled some strings and got it done.
Woody's Tallahassee would also get his own nomination after firing a shotgun backward over his shoulder without looking and somehow hitting a zombie behind him.
...
[7:30 AM]
Christopher stood behind the monitor while the camera crew framed the church steps, the upper-story window, and the stretch of pavement where the piano would eventually land. Joan Schuermeyer waited at her starting mark in Sister Cynthia's black habit, while the zombie performer stood several feet behind her with torn clothes, gray makeup, and blood across his face.
"Quiet on set," Christopher called as the last crew members cleared the frame. "Camera rolling?"
"Rolling," the camera operator replied.
The slate snapped in front of the lens.
"Scene 1: Take 1. Action," Christopher said.
Sister Cynthia walked slowly toward the church entrance, keeping her back straight and her expression calm. Behind her, the zombie followed with an uneven limp, drawn forward by the sound of her shoes against the pavement.
She reached the bottom of the church stairs and stopped beside the old brass doorbell mounted near the entrance. The zombie moved closer, closing the distance until he reached the marked position beneath the upper window.
Christopher watched the monitor as Joan turned slightly toward the door.
"Cut," he called before the zombie reached any farther.
The crew moved in immediately. The zombie performer stepped away from the mark, and the effects team brought out the crushed-body dummy built for the impact shot. It had been dressed in the same torn shirt and bloodied pants, with hidden blood packs packed beneath the foam chest and shoulders.
The stunt crew positioned the dummy directly beneath the window while grips checked the piano rig above them. The hollow prop piano had been reset on the drop mechanism, and the effects team adjusted the blood cannons beneath the dummy's torso.
Joan returned to the church steps and waited beside the door while Christopher checked the monitor one last time.
"Take two," the assistant director called.
"Camera rolling," the operator confirmed.
The slate snapped again.
"Action," Christopher said.
Sister Cynthia pressed the doorbell and opened the church door.
As she stepped inside, the prop piano dropped from the upper window and crashed onto the dummy beneath it. The impact splintered the piano shell across the pavement as fake blood burst over the broken keys, stone steps, and wrecked street.
Sister Cynthia closed the church door behind her without looking back.
Christopher let the camera hold on the crushed zombie for several seconds.
"Cut. That's the one."
...
The roadroller scene took place on an empty service road outside the main production base. Set dressers had scattered cracked traffic cones, broken tools, loose gravel, and abandoned construction signs across the asphalt. A low camera track ran parallel to the roadroller's path, while a second camera waited on a crane for the wide shot.
Richard stood beside the roadroller in a yellow construction vest, hard hat, work gloves, and dust-streaked work pants. The wardrobe department had added dirt around his sleeves and knees.
The production had rehearsed the movement before the cameras rolled. A licensed roadroller operator had shown Richard the controls, walked him through the speed marks, and stayed near the safety stop throughout the take. Richard only had to hold a slow, steady line across the yellow tape placed on the road.
The zombie gag had been built in two parts.
First, they would film a stunt performer trapped on the asphalt, clawing at the ground as the roadroller approached. Once he cleared the frame, the crew would replace him with a silicone dummy packed with breakaway ribs, foam organs, blood tubes, and a crushed chest rig.
Jack stood behind the monitors with Emma and Phil, checking the shot list while Christopher walked through the final camera positions. Richard's scene only lasted a few seconds, though the close-up, the wide shot, and the impact insert all had to match perfectly.
Christopher looked toward the assistant director. "We'll start with the trapped-zombie close-up. Keep the roller slow enough for the actor to sell the fear, then stop before the safety mark."
The assistant director raised his voice across the set. "Quiet on set. Lock it up, please."
The crew fell silent. A boom operator stepped into position outside the frame while the camera team adjusted focus on the zombie performer lying in the road.
"Roll sound," the assistant director called.
"Sound speeds," the sound mixer answered from beside the equipment cart.
"Roll camera," the assistant director continued.
The slate snapped into frame.
Christopher watched the monitor for one final second, then called, "Action," as Richard started the roadroller forward.
The zombie performer thrashed against the asphalt, dragging himself backward as the heavy front drum rolled closer. His fingers scraped against the road, his torn shirt caught against the gravel, and his face twisted with the desperate panic of someone who had finally understood how badly the next few seconds would end.
Richard held the roadroller exactly on the yellow tape.
The machine reached the safety mark.
Christopher called, "Cut," before the front drum reached the performer.
The stunt coordinator rushed in immediately, checked the actor, then gave the crew a thumbs-up. The first camera had captured the zombie's panic, though the roadroller had entered the frame slightly too late for the edit.
Phil watched the playback beside Jack. "The performance works, but the front drum needs to fill more of the frame before he clears."
Christopher nodded and looked toward Richard. "Bring it in two feet earlier on the reset, then hold the same pace through the mark."
==
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