NEW WEB SERIES PHOENIX RUN TO BEGIN SHOOTING IN DECEMBER >>>

I think all this gray weather has gotten to some local filmmakers. The stories behind my most recent Buzzes - which I seek out at random every week - all ended up gravitating toward the macabre, like The Resolution's plot of sadistic revenge, or the demon-infested haunted house of Grimises Rising. Both the sun and sunny cinema seem to be on holiday.

But Tacoma's T.J. Walker embraces the dark side of life, and asks us to do the same with his new web series, Phoenix Run, which he will produce and direct. The tale takes place in a grim reality where every human on earth lives infected with an engineered zombie virus (can't you get ONE thing right, science?). So to stay un-undead, people must pay for the services of "vaccine-runners" like Fleet, a main character in the series.

Episodes (each roughly 12 minutes long) will feature landmarks in Tacoma, Gig Harbor and other nearby cities to make the fantasy feel chillingly real. Walker also has plans to fuse local sights with local sound - Run's soundtrack will feature songs from eclectic rockers Death By Stars, whom Volcano music journalist Rev. Adam McKinney recently called "a delirious soup." (With winter nigh I hope it's the audio equivalent of Progresso Chicken Noodle.)

Run moves in a direction not typically traversed in the zombie genre. "This isn't about survivors," Walker tells me. "(The series) works differently. The world keeps going, the world didn't end...we still got Starbucks, there's McDonald's still, people are still going to work ... but everybody's sick."

The 32-year-old graduate of Bates Technical College found inspiration for his concept in the 2006 film Children of Men. The individuals in this similarly bleak dystopia also live with the knowledge of an impending global crisis. Powerless to stop it, they can only cling to their daily routines. With that said, HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

Walker and his crew will begin shooting Run in December, with the first episode online by February. Find updates in the coming weeks by searching "Phoenix Run" on Facebook and YouTube.

LINK: Listen to Movie Biz Buzz on Volcano Radio, Episode 3