Rewiting A Cult Classic

  This has been an interesting and difficult project to write. On the one hand, since pretty much everyone with any creative role in the original movie is dead, there isn't anyone to complain about the transfer from one medium to another. On the other hand, you can't get any assistance or input if you need it.
  When the life of Buckaroo Banzai was taken to the big screen, the writers had the full cooperation of the Banzai Institute. That level of input can really be a benefit to a project. Of course, in that case, the writers had the advantage of  immortalizing a well known and beloved hero to many. Much was already known about Dr. Banzai so there was quite a bit of material to draw from.
  That is very different than taking a cult classic horror flick and turning into a comic book. You have to do your best to transfer the story, hit all the plot points, and create the feel of the original, without pissing off the fans of the original. The biggest draw back to a project like this can be the fans. They can get pretty upset when you start messing around with one of these classics.

Comic Version of the movie Poster

I finally finished the comic version of the movie poster.It took a while to make all the changes and get approval from Sid's people.
Apparently Bruce Rogers had to chime in with his two cents, Even though his image isn't even on this version.
Bruce, by the way, played the character Rod in the movie. He shows up every once in a while at horror shows trying to give out his autograph.
The plan is to use this to promote the comic.

35 year old teens

What the hell? How old are the actors in this movie?
All the teenagers in this movie look really old.
The chick that's playing Kathy looks thirty! She has pretty nice set though. Is it Bunny Campbell? i think she posed in some Mens magazines in the early 70's.
Can anyone confirm this?

Director rewrites

So I'm trying to read the shooting script as I watch the film again. Man is it different. I had always read that Director Otto Valkenberg was tough to get along with and maybe the fights he supposedly had with Sid account for the many script changes. Doesn't look to me like he followed Strassen's script at all. There's a few notes in her about Zombies feasting on the flesh of rabbits, but I don't remember seeing that in the film anywhere.

Laughable dialogue

I sat down with the writer today, Rob Voyles and started watching the film. It's hard to believe people talked like that back then.
Rob's gonna have a lot fun rewriting this for the comic adaptation.
Rob is really good writer, but he's no Elheim Strassen.
Sorry Rob. Something to shoot for.

Zombie Cheerleaders on VHS

The movie company sent me a really bad vhs copy of the film. Apparently it's not available on DVD. Wow really? Wizard of Oz and Casablanca on DVD, but not this gem???
Anyway. The original film print must have been in pretty bad shape.
The tape is from 1987 and the film itself is 30 years old, so it's understandable. The sound isn't bad though.
Trying to get likenesses off the film may be kind of tough. Haven't found too many photo references on the internet. The actors are kind of obscure. So the tape is all I have to work with.

Call from Sid Wilhine- Sort of.

Ok, we all know low budget horror film producer Sid Wilhine died in 1997. I remember it because Celebrities always die in threes. Robert Mitchum July 1, James Stewart July 2, and Sid Wilhine July 5.
So not from him directly.
Anyway I got a call from my agent telling me the estate of Sid Wilhine found the original shooting script for his 1978 film Zombie Cheerleaders from Hell and wanted to adapt it into a comic book.
Ok Sounds good to me. I remember seeing that film along time ago on late night TV. Edited though. I'm hoping they'll send me a DVD of the film.
I was never a big fan of Wilhine, but I did like a few of his films.
My favorite was a lesser known film called Voluptuous Flight Attendants from the Grave.