WrestleMania XXIX Set to Land in 2013

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and the WWE (NYSE: WWE) announced that its annual pop culture extravaganza, WrestleMania XXIX, will come to MetLife Stadium on Sunday, April 7th, 2013 with events throughout the New York/New Jersey region. Governor Christie was joined by WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, New York Football Giants President and CEO John Mara, New York Jets Chairman and CEO Woody Johnson, NYC & Company CEO, George Fertitta and WWE’s Senior Vice President of Special Events John Saboor to make the announcement at a press conference held earlier on February 16th. WWE Superstars John Cena®, Triple H®, Sheamus®, Mark Henry®, Brie and Nikki Bella™ and special guest Dwayne "The Rock®" Johnson were also on hand at MetLife Stadium for the historic announcement.

"We are excited to be hosting WrestleMania XXIX in the great state of New Jersey," said Governor Chris Christie. "Having WWE’s preeminent international event here will strengthen both the regional and local economies and continue to showcase MetLife Stadium as a world-class venue for sports and entertainment. Fans will travel from around the world to enjoy and participate in the WWE’s biggest event of the year."

A week-long celebration, WrestleMania has generated more than $200 million in cumulative economic impact for its past four host regions. The 2013 event will mark WrestleMania’s fifth trip to the metropolitan area with past visits in 1985, 1986, 1994, and 2004.

"WWE would like to thank Governor Christie, the New York Jets, the New York Giants and NYC & Company for rolling out the red carpet to host WWE’s biggest event of the year," said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and CEO. "We look forward to making history and adding MetLife Stadium to the rather long list of impressively iconic venues that have hosted WrestleMania."

"When WrestleMania comes to town, related activities will occur throughout the New York and New Jersey area, but we are looking forward to hosting the main event," said New York Jets Chairman and CEO, Woody Johnson. "We are confident that both the Superstars and fans of WWE will feel at home in MetLife Stadium."

"WrestleMania has long been considered one of the most successful sports entertainment events in the world," said John Mara, President and CEO of the New York Giants. "We are absolutely thrilled to welcome the highly-anticipated 29th installment to MetLife Stadium." WrestleMania Week activities will occur throughout both the New York/New Jersey region including: the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony; WrestleMania Axxess, WWE’s interactive fan festival; The Make-A-Wish Pizza Party hosted by John Cena; Monday Night Raw; the finals of the WrestleMania Reading Challenge and various other community-based events.

"NYC & Company looks forward to partnering with New Jersey on another world-class event in the tri-state area," said NYC & Company CEO, George Fertitta. "We invite all of the WWE fans to visit New York City for its unparalleled shopping, dining, cultural and entertainment options across the five boroughs that will surely make WrestleMania Week an unforgettable experience."

The pay-per-view event will be televised in more than 100 countries and 30 languages. In 2011, a sold-out crowd of 71,617 fans from all 50 states and 30 countries converged on the Georgia Dome for WrestleMania XXVII. This year WrestleMania XXVIII will take place on Sunday, April 1st at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL. The main event will feature the highly-anticipated match between John Cena and The Rock.

Wrestlers vs. Zombies— A New Twist

George Romero has always been one of of my heros for years. He literally reinvented the horror genre with his black and white cult classic, Night of The Living Dead. And now, the "living challenged creatures" are back with a vengeance. Zombies are killing it. Not just on your game console or your local movie screens, but  they've take over television with Frank Darabont’s adaptation of The Walking Dead comics on AMC. Though zombies have been a part of popular culture for almost half a century, there’s simply no doubt that they are currently a prevalent topic of entertainment and media coverage these days. It’s as if a virus was released into the media back in the 1960's that is spreading and taking hold of more creative properties every single year.

"Let’s do a horror movie," the screenwriter says to the producer.

"Does it have zombies in it?" replies the producer.

Sensing that his next paycheck is in danger if he says no, the screenwriter happily smiles and says "Yes! Yes, it's all about zombies! Why would you assume it wasn't?"

Why do zombies continue gaining popularity? What on earth is so lovable about them?

Frankly, nothing is lovable about zombies. Zombies are dead people who should be flat on morgue gurneys or buried six feet underground. They’re bluish-pale, vein-y, leaking bodily fluids from all their orifices, and (I imagine) they smell like unflushed wet feces stirred into old hamburger that’s been sitting out for a week. They shouldn’t be walking around, but they are, and it’s disgusting. To top it all off, they want nothing more than to consume living human flesh, which basically means you and me… and maybe the dog. There is no reason that any sensible person should like zombies. Yet the sales numbers prove it; we don’t just like zombies, we LOVE them. Resident Evil Afterlife debuted this weekend at #1, earning $43 million. The 2009 film Zombieland took in $24 million during its opening weekend. The Dawn of the Dead remake took in $102 million worldwide before leaving theaters. And the reason the DotD remake got a green light was because the zombie-deviant film 28 Days Later exploded in America after a more modest release in England. However, I can say with the utmost confidence and tenacity that the next zombie film will be far more successful than the last.

Why? 

Because The Franchise Shane Douglas has masterfully infused professional wrestling into the world of the undead. That's right, professional wrestlers will be slaying zombies in such gruesome ways that even Rob Zombie [the last name says it all] will find himself having to look away as the plot thickens and the blood spews into rivers of pure unbridled evil. shot "for the fans"

But we cannot do any of this without YOUR help. This film is being shot "for the fans"... that's rhe Franchise is starting a REVOLUTION and he's including each and every last one of you!

I, Bridget Petrella, am  just  one of the primary producers on this one-of-a-kind-project [until the sequel, of course]. Camera Bartollota and Cody Knotts are two of the most imaginative, thought-provoking producers/filmmakers I've met in a LONG time. They are fearless. When I asked Cody what had inspired him he was very candid, "I had this a story that I concocted in my head, but I never really attempted to put it into the movie because I figured there's only so much time. You just have to think, 'Okay, we have to push very hard in a short period of time as we're merging two types of fan favorites.' I think everyone can relate to that. I didn't really want to get into too much back story because I just thought it might bog the movie down. A lot of times, I see movies and I think, 'Yeah, we really do get it, you don't need to explain it all." 

Camera simply laughed and confessed to me, "What is anyone's motivation? They're insane, obviously." And I'm right there with them, no straight jacket and no safety net. Sometimes, people just have to channel the insanity and let it take on it's own form. Watch the footage and be prepared for a totally new horror genre, something NO ONE else on this planet would EVER attempt! The Franchise Shane Douglas is planning on taking the current versions of pro-wrestling back from the dead... LITERALLY!