I am not a fan of zombies. I’ll be honest–I think they are very gross and kind of dumb. In middle school, I only pretended that I was cool with 90 minutes of slobbery hamburger jello people when everyone wanted to watch the uncut version of World War Z (2013).
However, I am a fan of Tig Notaro. Known for her deadpan comedy style, Notaro is a brilliant standup-comic, writer, producer, and actress. Her appeal lies in her brilliant vulnerability; her material covers everything from her cancer diagnosis and recovery to her double mastectomy, and her and her wife’s journey towards parenthood.
So how do these two connect?
In June 2020, after the finishing wrapping on the new Zack and Deborah Snyder zombie film Army of the Dead (2021), comic Chris D’Elia was accused of predatory behavior by several women and girls, many of whom were underage at the time of the harassment. Soon after, Netflix came to the decision to completely erase D’Elia from the movie. The replacement? Tig Notaro, a comic with a completely different comedy style, height, and gender.
The choice proved to be a costly one. It reportedly took “a few million” (Breznican, 2021) to scrub D’Elia and sub in Notaro. During the height of the pandemic, and with no actors to reshoot with, Notaro had to act in front of a green screen, using plenty of CGI to mold her into the film. They especially had to be careful because Notaro’s remission status put her at a higher risk for COVID.
Somehow, they pulled it off, and now most of the press surrounding the movie is centered around Notaro’s last-minute addition, and what it means for the future of big-budget films.
Our current moment is grappling head-on with the troubling pasts (and right-nows) of leading men in ways that we have never done before. Armie Hammer, James Franco… the ever-growing list of actors who, up until now, were more secure in their position are starting to feel the heat of accountability.
I believe that Notaro’s replacement (while possibly a bid for press and notoriety) signals a push back against the dominant approach to casting and marketability. To see an openly queer woman who doesn’t fit the mold of the sexy female mechanic/pilot step into an originally male role feels like a change in the wind. Not to mention, she has become something of a sex symbol in her own right along the way, trending on Twitter for her look in the film (Garvey, 2021). I mean, take a look at these photos!
I, for one, am excited to see what this change means. The second this eternal term is over, I will be sitting down to watch Notaro do whatever it is she does in this movie, zombies or no zombies.
Sources:
Breznican, A. (n.d.). Zack Snyder Spent “A Few Million” to Add Tig Notaro to ‘Army of the Dead’. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/05/tig-notaro-zack-snyder-chris-delia-army-of-the-dead.
Garvey, M. (2021, April 21). Tig Notaro is ‘sexy A.F.’ She doesn’t know what that is. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/21/entertainment/tig-notaro-jimmy-fallon/index.html.
2 replies on “Fresh Blood in the Zombie Genre”
I remember seeing Tig Notaro in the movie trailer, unsure of who she was at the time, but your blog post has convinced me to check out the film to see how she performs! I agree that this age of accountability, when it comes to casting for film and television, has been a lot more conscious of the choices they make concerning the past scandal. Actors and figures like Chris D’Elia are actually facing lasting consequences on their careers for crimes such as sexual harassment, which may not have happened 10 years ago. These casting changes also represent Hollywood acknowledging an “unsaid” power dynamic of the majority of white, cis-gendered figures getting more opportunities than minorities who are just as qualified.
I think that we are currently under a wave of diversity when it comes to casting and other working parts of the Hollywood Machine. Even though the inclusion of a minority presence may be used as a shallow device to promote uni-culturalism, I also believe that the responsiveness from the audience is being considered further in the casting process. The fact that Tig Notaro has received positive feedback and responses from social media is an indicator for casting to consider choices beyond dominant white, cis-gender actors. She is definitely playing a role in paving the way for other LGBTQ+ actresses through this casting choice!
I remember seeing this choice in casting and being taken aback. Tig Notaro? In a zombie film? But, it actually makes sense seeing as to how Netflix acquired distribution rights of Army of the Dead back in 2019. Notaro’s 2018 Netflix comedy special, Happy to be Here seems to have done well, earning praises from Vogue, AV Club, Slate, and even Forbe. The Netflix special was how I discovered her. She also has a self-titled documentary on the streaming service.
That leads me to wonder if the same would have been done for a film free of Netflix distribution rights. I don’t know that D’elia’s assault allegations would have held as much weight if the film were only to be released in theaters. Or maybe they would have, seeing as to how the industry has cut ties with the likes of Weinstein and Cosby–but still I wonder if the whole film would have been scrapped had it not been for its connection to Netflix.
Of course, this is not to say that Netflix is necessarily more keen to cutting ties with people with sketchy histories: all of Aziz Ansari’s content still happily lives on the streaming service, including his most recent stand-up special Right Now, where he shares “hilarious takes on wokness, family, and the social climate” (spoiler: he sort of tries to justify his actions). But overall, I do think as we discussed in regards to the Spigel readings, Netflix’s age of narrowcasting and specialization brings in content creators and representation that is more diverse than we typically might see on TV.