The Bonus Features Episode 4

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Dave

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For every famous director and big time star, there are probably ten people quietly working behind the scenes to make your favorite movie and TV show happen. Everyone from electricians and carpenters, to the guys making the props and the people doing the makeup. If you watch a movie’s credits, you might see all sorts of weird job listings, like all the various types of “wranglers”. On a movie set, a wrangler’s job is to manage the animals on set. The term came from professionals who worked with movie horses, but has since been applied to other animals, and even inanimate objects (I recall a ‘Puppet Wrangler’ in the credits of the Mystery Science Theater 3000).

80 thoughts on “The Bonus Features Episode 4”

  1. So, zombies are considered animals? Actually, that kind of makes sense.

    • Deep down, we’re all animals.

      • Whoa, Dave. Them’r some pretty deep thoughts!

        • Oh no! I might get my ankles wet…

        • Yay!!! I always wanted to be a cougar….raaaawrrrrrrr…….

      • True, but you don’t usually have to hire a “Human Wrangler”.

        • Hey, if politicians have a “party whip” to herd them into line…

        • Fantastic response, Lich.

          I imagine larger productions do need human wranglers. Not in so many words, of course, but people responsible for shuffling around everyone and making sure people are where they’re supposed to be.

  2. “I think he got bit. No you dont think at all Caboose.” First BvR quote for bonus features.

    • And another BvR reference whooshes over my head.

    • Do you quote Bricks of the Dead on the Red vs. Blue website?

  3. I recall the term was “Props Mistress” for the ladies who took on the responsibility of “Props Master” at university theatre productions. …and then there was the one who wanted “Props Dominatrix.”

    • The Props Dominatrices sound like they might be fun.

      But on the other hand, drama folk… yeah, maybe not.

  4. Hmm these don’t look like actors! 😀

    I wonder how they like to get paid? And have they been trained only to bite on command?

    • I don’t think they get paid terribly well.

      • I don’t know about not getting paid well. I’m sure a raw leg of cow is more that enough payment for a zombie. And cheaper than the alcoholic actors! lol

        • Definitely cheaper than drunk primadonnas.

  5. The might be a bit too Behind the scenes, Dave. Tread lightly.

    Some may find these working conditions deplorable and outside your estate grounds I could see PETZ (People for the Ethical treatment of Zombies) picketing and ready to toss buckets of black paint on you.

    • You think these working conditions are bad, you should see how I treat my extras.

      • Yeah I bet they can’t even make eye contact with you and you make them call you “me lord.”

        its good to be the king

        • We observe a pretty firm “no eye contact” rule on set.

          Personal space, motherfuckers. Respect it.

        • *knowing nod*

        • Zombiemutts, don’t even get me started on security measures. Hippies are awful.

        • But at least you know they are lazy!

        • Just the other day a PETZ member came up to me all macho like and took off his over sized hipster glasses and sparkled at me. I felt the unnecessary need to beat him down and gas him 3 times with tear gas.

      • Appropriate Arrested Development quote: “I’d get up and slap your face if you weren’t all the way across the room.”

        • Every quote from that work of art is appropriate.

        • @ZombieMutts -Absolutely right, even when they make no sense in context.

          Am I in… two-thirds of a hospital?

        • I think it’s the inappropriate quotes that I like the best! 😉

          I love Arrested Development. I actually have a t-shirt that says “Annyong.” because of it.

        • It was supposed to be with the “lazy hippie” comment but I must have gotten cross-eyed.

          Given that, appropriate quote: “Three – unless it’s made my vision too good. Is “one” still on the table?”

  6. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the amazing work of Zombie linguistics that Dave has done in these past few episodes.
    Here is a short summary (I have not seen the same expression used twice!) :
    vruh, beh, greh, mreh, hruh, mmuh, gah, preh, uuhh, hruuh, graaah, mruuh, breh, ssssah, geh, ehh, pah, feh…
    It’s almost like a full new language! It reminds me of Tolkien’s Elven… well, sort of.

    • Hah. That’s what a degree in English can do for you, ladies and gentleman.

    • my favorite so far is “feh”

      • My thinking is, moaning is a pretty important part of the zombie milieu, but having all the zombies go “Muuuuuuh…” all the time would get old in a hurry. At the same time, I don’t think they’d be able to vocalize that many sounds, so I try to keep it pretty basic. Long and short: if my two year old son has trouble pronouncing the sounds, then I figure the zombies must too.

        • I’m trying to picture the quality control scene: “repeat after me – graaah”
          … What are you teaching to your kid you maniac!?

        • I should clearly do a dino comic, then, since I’ve been working on “velociraptor” and “anklyosaurus” with my toddlers.

          And I’ll reiterate my affection for “feh” as well. Hipster zombies… gotta love ’em.

        • Hipster Zombies…hahaha…

          I have a torso with that Speed Racer monkey on it. Would be perfect for such a zombie!

          I have no idea why I spend $8 on it….it just made me laugh so it must have been fate guiding my hand.

        • @Lich – We’ve been throwing some dinosaur names at Ajax as well. It’s amazing how well kids can parrot things back at you.

          @ZM – I’ve been wanting that torso that that some undefinable reason. It’s always just too overpriced.

        • Well…I have it…so…..what collectible figs you willing to trade for it…

          oh dear…you probably already sent the package didn’t you?

        • The wife is posting it sometime today; probably already out. Ah well, there’s always next time.

        • I am working on that project that will take 100% of my MOC time for the next few months…I’d rather see it used in the comic for now. I’ll send it and you’ll owe me next time. Sound good?

        • Sounds good to me, just don’t let me forgot I owe you. I can be a dick like that.

        • Yeah and I’ll remind you of the value to “Capitalist.”

          – backfire-

        • “cold hearted capitalist” to be exact…

        • Is there any other kind?

        • I’m not cold hearted 🙁

    • Dave, I agree with Yatkuu. You must be one of the leading modern zombie linguists!

      Although I anxiously await the discovery of the fabled “meh” zombie…

      • I’ve been avoiding “meh” 🙂

        • Neither highs nor lows…

  7. I thought of Shawn of the Dead, at the end…. when they get the zombies undercontrol and then start using them for game shows…. only here it’s a movie.

    • Well, comic technically, although this is definitely a spoof on movies and DVD bonus features. So it’s kind of weird.

    • Hah, I loved that part! Didn’t they also end up using them as manual laborers?

      • I think they did. I’ve only seen the movie once, so I’m not sure how accurate my memory is on that.

  8. Okay everyone, feedback time. I’m curious what everyone things about this feature now that we’ve had a couple episodes. Does it work? Is it funny, or at least fun? What do you like? What would you change? Et cetera.

    • It’s funny and enjoyable to see… keep it going for as long as you’ve got ideas and are enjoying it yourself.

      • I’d like to see Scrimshaw as director. That’d be funny,

        • Scrimshaw is everyone’s favorite character, after all.

        • I think the new bonus features is a great addition to the already fantastic series of comics! It means we get to see a whole load of new characters! Have the two backstage men been added to the character bios. Klaus’ bio would be great, and Stewarts name should say:
          Stewart/Caleb Jennings

        • Yeah, I hadn’t thought about the bios. I’ll have to give that a think.

    • I think it’s very informative and funny! it would be interesting to hear about Shannon’s death scene and how she prepared for it or something? Maybe you can even add some deleted scenes or a gag reel?

      • Deleted scenes/gag reels are a cool idea. I wonder how I could do it in this format.

        • grainy film effect showing a crew outside the scene perhaps? Like a wide shot of a tv set.

        • Not a bad idea.

    • I’d still like to see Scrimshaw in a certain plot arc I mentioned to you a little while ago… 😉

      Other than that, I think The Bonus Features is certainly a good side-comic so far. It certainly spices up Fridays at BotD a bit.

      I think the concept is fantastic, and has so far been working pretty well. I’m interested to see it where it goes, and if it ends up building on itself like the normal episodes of BotD do.

      • Thank you, sir.

    • I’d like to see what you do with the actors that get ‘bitten’ by zombies afterwards. That is, if they actually manage to survive the zombie scenes without actually getting bitten! 😀

      • Hmm.. I wonder what I could do with that.

        • If you play the story behind the behind the scenes right, pretty much anything! 😉

        • Derp, that “behind the scenes” was supposed to read like that I just wrote, starting from the second “behind”.

  9. Hah, I love how the zombies are in a little fenced-in area!

    Also, the fact that we’re hearing from BotD’s zombie-wrangler is awesome in itself! His face is priceless, he definitely has that “I hate working with zombies” look to him. Where’d you get that two-sided head? Is it a viking?

    • His face is from the Blacksmith set that’s available now. Nice little set that comes with a bucket and a chicken for ten bucks.

      • Really? I almost picked up that set at my last visit to my local LEGO store. If I had realized that his face was double-sided, I might actually have gotten it. Anyway, that face works very well for him.

        • It’s a beautiful little set, and offers up something new for Castle collection that I don’t have or missed when they had come out.

        • Yessir. Like Silver Fox says, it’s a nice set with a few really great parts in it.

  10. i think it’s photoshopped

    • LEGO didn’t have double heads back during the viking series

      • I never got any of the vikings

  11. In panel 3, there’s a zombie with a green head. Where’s his/her hair from?

    • It’s used in the Bank Transfer set for the City 2011 sets and then off the Princess from Prince of Persia – found in Fight for the Dagger and Battle of Alamut. Those are the sets I have where it’s found.

      • I got it from the Prince of Persia sets; I think it’s the only female in the set, and that hair piece was one of the primary reasons I picked it up.

        I need to get Bank and Money Transfer. Seems like a nice set.