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Under discussion:

Night of the Living Dead  (1968)

George Romero's Diary of the Dead  (2007)

In our never-ending quest to find new ways to mock contemporary popular culture whilst celebrating the classics, we bring the first ever (ever!) SpoutBlog Photoshop Contest. We have a George Romero DVD two-pack to give away: a copy of the new Diary of the Dead, and the 40th Anniversary edition of Night of the Living Dead. Here’s the quip from the press release:

The NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 40^TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION DVD features a fully restored and remastered version of the original 1968 classic film and bonus materials, overseen by the master himself. This DVD marks George A. Romero’s long legacy with great interviews and multiple featurettes that emphasize the quality of this ultimate horror classic. The DIARY OF THE DEAD DVD bonus features include an optional audio commentary by George A. Romero, character confessions, a making of and the top five Myspace contest shorts.

Find out what you have to do to get the discs after the jump.

1. Using the image editing software of your choice, turn an image of a 2008 presidential candidate (currently in the race or not) into a poster for a new ________ of the Dead film.

2. Upload the image to your own blog. If you don’t have a blog, you can start one for free in two minutes at Blogger, or upload the image to your Facebook, MySpace, Flickr or anywhere that can be linked to.

3. Paste a link to your image in the comments to this post on or before Sunday, May 25.

4. Wait. We will pick a winner and announce it that week.

I’m running off to the airport shortly and will be away from the computer until Friday afternoon Cannes time, but here’s a quick look at the news coming out of the festival as of Thursday morning:

• Un Conte de Noel, Surveillance, and The Pleasure of Being Robbed have been picked up. The former two were bought by IFC; the latter two deals were all but confirmed before the festival began.
• David Lynch’s production company is putting together ALejandro Jodorowsky’s next film. Described as a “metaphysical spaghetti gangster film,” it’s set to star Nick Nolte, Asia Argento, Marilyn Manson and Udo Kier. Also, Lynch himself will allegedly team with the so-hot-right-now (tee hee) Werner Herzog on My Son, My Son, “a horror-tinged murder drama based on a true story,” set for a “guerrilla-style digital video shoot on Coronado Island” in March.
• People are, apparently, freaking out over Waltz with Bashir, that Israeli animated doc that I wrote about yesterday.

Under discussion:

Snakes on a Plane  (2006)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull  (2008)

• Variety says Steven Spielberg and co. are strenuously aiming to avoid what we’re apparently calling “The Da Vinci Scenario” –– so named because a “jet-lagged, overtired, cynical mob of critics and executives decimated The Da Vinci Code when it debuted [at Cannes] two years ago”––with this weekend’s debut of Indiana Jones vs. King Shia LaBeouf. Some of their defense tactics: journalists will only be allowed to interview the cast and filmmakers before the press screening, and they won’t be invited to the film’s after party. Because limited access *always* ensures positive pres coverage!
• Daniel Day-Lewis is in talks to replace Javier Bardem in Rob Marshall’s feature adaptation of Nine, a musical sort of based on Fellini’s 8 1/2. Because men who win Oscars for playing mad men are apparently interchangeable when it comes to casting musicals!
• Joe Dante––who we love––has signed on to direct an indie horror flick called Bat Out of Hell, about “a red-eye flight from L.A. to New York during which hijackers confront the monstrous cargo.” Because the last semi-intentional camp thriller set on an airplane did so well!