8.11.2004

no, the other kind of zombies.

People of Chernobyl, prepare your zombie contingency plans. The first ever Hollywood film is shooting there, and it sounds like a winner.

Some 40 documentaries have been shot within the vast controlled zone that rings Chernobyl and the nearby town of Pripyat.

Now, for the first time, a Hollywood feature film -- the zombie movie 'Return of the Living Dead 4: Necropolis' -- has gained access to the infamous site.

Ukrainian-born producer Anatoly Fradis is proud -- despite the obstacles and the cost. 'Up to a couple of days before we began shooting, it was touch-and-go whether they would let us in, and I had to pay more than I had budgeted to secure the permission,' Fradis says, standing inside Chernobyl's first checkpoint inside the zone.

He's anxious to get started on two days of shooting on-location with director Ellory Elkayem and special effects zombie expert John Vulich of Optic Nerve Studios.

For a zombie movie, there's an odd lack of gore-covered extras with vacant stares. A 1960s open-top, Russian-made Chaika limousine serves as a rock-steady rolling camera bed for 11 scheduled shots here.


Of course, you have to see 1, 2 and 3 or you'll be completely lost.

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