February 20, 2009

Contact:   Stacey Schmeidel

Davidson, NC--Two Davidsonians will help zombies take Charlotte this weekend. Gary Parriott (a senior from Jacksonville, Fla.) and Neil Lerner, associate professor of music, will participate in American Zombie, a retrospective honoring “Night of the Living Dead” film director George Romero. The festival runs from Thursday, Feb. 19, through Sunday, Feb. 22, at various locations near uptown Charlotte.
                Parriott will screen films during the weekend and work as a zombie at an opening night party on Thursday. Lerner will moderate a Sunday afternoon panel discussion with Romero following a 2 p.m. screening of “Dawn of the Dead.” Lerner also has designed the soundtrack for a film promoting the American Zombie event.
                A specialist in the analysis of music history and cinema, Lerner last fall taught a course on the horror film. He says that his favorite zombie movie “has always been ‘Dawn of the Dead’—the original only; the remake completely lost the satiric edge in the original. That’s part of why I’m so excited to be moderating the discussion following the Sunday afternoon screening of the film,” he added.
                Parriott says that he’s a “huge fan “of zombie movies, and so he bought tickets last December for the four-day Romero event.  “At the Davidson dining hall not too long ago, Dr. Lerner and I talked about volunteering opportunities and I was very eager to participate,” he said. “I never thought I would work as a fellow member of the undead!”
                Lerner is currently editing a book about music in horror films. Featuring essays by scholars in both music and film studies, the book covers many of the same films studied in Lerner’s recent Davidson College seminar on the horror film.
                Davidson has a concentration in film and media studies, and regularly offers a class on film music.
                American Zombie: George A. Romero’s Film Revolution will feature film screenings, panel discussions, contests and other events. George Romero will participate in a number of the screenings and discussions. Additional information—including information about tickets and event locations—is available at http://www.zombiestakecharlotte.com/events.php.

Posted By: Bill Giduz