EmmaStone

Yes, you read that right. Zombieland director Reuben Fleischer chatted with Moviehole last week and confirmed that Sony is interested in a sequel to the hit zom-com about a group of plague survivors fighting their way across America. He also confirmed that the entire cast is ready for round two but there was no word on when. "Whenever we crack it," was Fleischer's only clue as to when Sony would get moving. But before anyone could feel too bummed about it, Variety confirmed that Sony has closed deals with the film's producer, Gavin Polone and Fleischer for a sequel in 3D.

Negotiations are already under way to get stars Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg to reprise their roles as the zombie killing odd couple, Tallahassee and Columbus. Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick who penned the original will return for the sequel. Polone told Variety he felt the 3D technique would be perfect for the film. "Everyone had fun watching Zombieland; making it a more visceral experience can only make it better," he said. Woody Harrelson has expressed an interest in seeing the film set in Paris or Broadway but no further details have been confirmed. There's also no word yet if Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone will make a comeback as the devious turned sweet sisters who team up with the boys for undead adventures.

I know the sequel haters are freaking out right now, but you had to know this was inevitable. Admittedly, I'm not sure if I'm sold on the 3D aspect. I hope the group can think of more clever rules to follow and deliver the gore that will make it worthwhile. Do you think the storyline warrants a 3D format or are these guys just hopping on the 3D bandwagon (which seems to be heavily laden these days)?

The production company everyone loves to hate, Platinum Dunes, is going to be working with writer Stephen Susco (Grudge, Grudge 2) in a rewrite on Paramount Pictures' The Butcherhouse Chronicles. Bloody-Disgusting reports that Frank Borin is no longer attached to direct, with no word yet on who is taking his spot.

Butcherhouse is a darkly comic horror stage show about a group of high school students who set out to discover the truth behind a haunted property known as the Butcherhouse. It's rumored that Emma Stone (Zombieland) will be starring as one of the leads.

For those of you who haven't fainted yet at the idea of Platinum Dunes not rehashing one of your favorite childhood horror flicks, you might be interested in where Butcherhouse comes from. Michael Hidalgo originally penned the story and has offered a little info about the origins of the project on his blog:

"The Butcherhouse Chronicles was and *is* a deeply personal stage play that I started writing in April of 2003. My life was very different back then. I was getting ready to be married, locked into a dead-end job, trying to keep the dreams alive. I finished writing the first draft of the play about six months later, around October of 2003. Though I'd written a series of short pieces and one-acts, this was my first full-length stage play. CUT TO a few years later, 2006. I'm getting a divorce, the play is staged at the Summer Play Festival and gets optioned by Paramount about a month after that festival production."

The world as we know it has come to an end, and that's not much more of an inconvenience for Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) than he was already used to. He's a Mountain Dew-chugging loser whose introverted ways have turned him into an ideal loner for the post-apocalyptic realm -- as paranoid, vigilante and neurotic as they come, beholden only to his own strict set of rules (cardio good, bathrooms bad, always shoot zombies twice, etc.).

And so, while he doesn't want to become attached to the scruffy likes of Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), their chance meeting provides as good an excuse as any for Columbus to try and recover whatever's left of his family in... well, Columbus. Oh, the names? Again, no one wants to get too attached once the infection hits the fan. That's just how one tends to roll as a resident of Zombieland.

I always seem to start these pieces the same way: "I don't normally do set visits," given my general distaste for air travel and a frequent disinterest for movie sets, but once in a while ... something fun and easy comes along, and I go for the ride. The friendly folks at Sony invited me to visit the set of a flick called (wait for it) Zombieland! Come on! If you know anything about me, then you know "Zombieland" is a place I want to visit, even if it is just a movie set! (Oh, and the flight was from Philadelphia to Atlanta, and that really helped to seal the deal.)

So I arrive in the surprisingly quiet but very charming section of Atlanta (a city I'd love to revisit soon) and am greeted by several gracious colleagues -- and ... what's this? Mr. James Rocchi, an old friend to Cinematical and one of my very best buddies? He was here for the Zombieland set visit too? Toss in a quick beer with some of my Signal pals ... and this turned out to be a smart trip.

But here's where I'll let you in on a little secret. Gather 'round, movie geeks. Ready? Here it is: movie sets are really boring! No, it's true! It's like wandering through a stunningly orchestrated construction site that also has a tiny little stage play taking place in a corner somewhere. If you're interested in the crafts of photography, fashion, carpentry, or electrical engineering, then a movie set could be pretty fascinating. (But you'd keep getting bumped into, believe me.) Luckily for us, "set visits" are just a bit more elaborate than a normal day on the set...

Just when it seemed that October might be super-serious with its horror and dramatic offerings -- Shutter Island to Sorority Row, The Stepfather to Saw VI -- we get our first look at the fun-looking Zombieland, an action-horror-comedy in which Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone (!) and Abigail Breslin all team up in the post-apocalyptic wasteland and whoop some undead ass.

The tone of at least the trailer (I could see the narration carrying over to the film) strikes me as something like Shaun of the Dead crossed with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I for one don't think that intersection's a bad place to be. The vague set visit rumblings I've heard suggest that this could be just as fun as it looks, though whether or not they'll run with an R rating remains to be determined. My hopes, of course, are that they go nuts with it. Breslin can wait and watch the finished film when she's old enough, but I wouldn't have to wait.

I like the sound of that. I could totally live with that compromise.

Anyhoo, Zombieland comes at you and me and everyone we know with a baseball bat on October 9th.