Woody Harrelson Launches Method Assault on Undead Photographer

Phil Nugent — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Last week, Woody Harrelson gave the online tabloid site TMZ some video fodder by assaulting one of its photographers as Harrelson, who had his daughter with him, was accosted at La Guardia Airport. As CNN described the incident as it was caught on video, " The first video shows the photographer following Harrelson and his daughter down an escalator and out of the terminal. It ends with Harrelson apparently reaching for the lens. The second video begins with the photographer accusing Harrelson of breaking his camera. After Harrelson returns the camera to him, a scuffle appears to ensue. 'Woody, this is assault. Woody, this is assault,' the photographer is heard saying. 'Woody, chill out. Would you please chill out?' " Apparently, Harrelson heard all that as "Arghhh!!" In a statement released by his publicist Friday, Harrelson explained that "I wrapped a movie called Zombieland, in which I was constantly under assault by zombies, then flew to New York, still very much in character. With my daughter at the airport I was startled by a paparazzo, who I quite understandably mistook for a zombie." You know what's the great thing about Woody Harrelson? Ninety-nine out of a hundred people say something like this, you'd at least be able to make an unformed guess as to whether or not they're kidding.

Giving Harrelson the benefit of the doubt, he's not the only person involved here who seems to be a little confused. In the video, the photographer can be seen following Harrelson and his daughter "for another four minutes" into the parking lot, only to tell whoever is on the other end of his cell phone, "I'm being chased by Woody Harrelson while I'm talking to you." Harrelson is already being sued for a run-in with another TMZ employee back in 2006. That was the year he made A Scanner Darkly, so whatever the hell he thought he was defending himself against on that occasion, it must have had the additional horror of appearing to have been rotoscoped. As for Zombieland, a publicist for that movie has described its zombies as being more along the lines of those in 28 Days Later than those of the George Romero variety. In other words, Woody thought the photographer was one of those fast zombie motherfuckers, which makes his panic all the more understandable.

Morning Deal Report: Woody Harrelson Eats Your Brains

Scott Von Doviak — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:30:00 GMT

Welcome to Zombieland. Who woulda thunk the zombie craze would still be going strong at the multiplex? Yet here we have Woody Harrelson signing on to star in a new horror comedy from the writers who brought you The Joe Schmoe Show. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Zombieland “revolves around a mismatched pair of survivors who find friendship and redemption in a world overrun by zombies. Harrelson plays one of the men, a zombie fighter named Albuquerque.”

There’s a strong whiff of Deliverance coming off The Mountain, which Jayson Rothwell (Malice in Wonderland) will pen for Legendary Pictures. “Story centers on a sheriff, recently transplanted from the inner city, who assembles a search party to investigate the disappearance of hikers in the Cascade Mountains and discovers the menacing side of the remote wilderness,” says Variety. Even scarier is another title under development at Legendary: Clash of the Titans. Release the Kraken!

Those of you who loved Meet the Spartans (coming soon to Unwatchable) will no doubt go crazy for National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus. “We're excited to embark on another National Lampoon original production, especially with a cast of this caliber,” Lampoon Chief Executive Officer Daniel Laikin tells The Hollywood Reporter. In case you’re wondering, that cast includes Ian Ziering, Will Sasso, Tony Cox and Rip Torn. I’m laughing on the inside.

Related:
George Romero Runs the Voodoo Down
Consumer Report on "Meet the Spartans"

The Screengrab : zombieland

Woody Harrelson Launches Method Assault on Undead Photographer

Morning Deal Report: Woody Harrelson Eats Your Brains