The story behind that big, surprise cameo in "Zombieland"

This isn't the cameo scene, but I couldn't find any pics of Bill Murray in makeup. So: improvised.

In a movie filled with awesome sequences, the big surprise cameo by (Spoilers Ahead, you've been warned!) in "Zombieland" has got to be one of the best. Audiences around the country are doing a poor job of keeping it much of a secret, but what they don't know is how (Seriously, the spoilers are about to start, last warning!) ended up in the film, anyway. Here with some behind-the-scenes gossip is the Comedy Examiner. Read on, gentle Examiner readers...

This is your last warning: this article contains a big spoiler, so proceed at your own risk, my precious snowflakes. You don't want this surprise ruined for you if you haven't already seen "Zombieland", trust me. Still here? Okay, but don't say I didn't warn ye!

When you see "Zombieland"-- and you should; it's absolutely one of the most entertaining movies of the year, featuring great comedy, gory zombie action, and one of the all-time best cameos in film history-- you're very likely to leave the theater talking about one sequence in particular: the part where Bill Murray shows up, as himself, playing a zombie.

This was a very well kept secret leading up to the release of the film, but now that "Zombieland" has raked in a staggering $25m (staggering because the film cost less than that to make) in its opening weekend, it's been impossible to keep that part of the film under wraps. If you did see it this weekend-- as I did-- then count yourself lucky as one of the people that went in not expecting that sequence.

What's interesting, however, is how the whole thing came about. You mighta asked yourself: "What is Bill Murray doing playing himself in a zombie movie?" How did the writers come up with that one? In an interview with ShockTilYouDrop, one of the film's writers-- Rhett Reese-- explains what was originally planned for the "celebrity zombie cameo":

It was [going to be] a Patrick Swayze zombie.

Whoa. Go on:

That was many years ago, before he got sick. They got attacked by him zombified and we had these wonderful moments where they found a potter's wheel and there's Columbus on the wheel and these other hands come up behind him and it's Patrick Swayze the zombie. Ultimately, they fight and Patrick bull rushes Tallahassee who grabs him and lifts him into the air, a la Jennifer Grey, and smashes him into a pillar.

Clearly, this would have been disastrous for the movie if it had actually gone in that direction. One can only imagine how audiences would have felt watching a recently deceased actor on-screen playing a recently de-deceased zombie. It's very likely that the film would've been shelved for a few months in order to not be so potentially upsetting to audiences. Earlier this year, a Micheal Jackson joke got cut out of "Bruno" when the singer died just days before the film was released, so it's not so crazy to imagine the studio taking drastic measures to avoid any upset audience members.

Who does ShockTilYouDrop say the writers also had in mind for the "celebrity zombie cameo"?

When Swayze unfortunately had to bow out, Reese and Wernick set their sights on a number of other actors including Sylvester Stallone, Joe Pesci, Mark Hammill, The Rock, Kevin Bacon, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Matthew McConaughey, but none of them worked out.

So, the writers knew they wanted to take the characters through a stretch with a celebrity zombie, but they didn't know who they were gonna get. From the list that we've just read-- and the aborted Swayze idea-- and based upon how successful the Bill Murray appearance was from the audience I saw the film with's reaction, I'd say they stumbled into the best case scenario. The laugh that came with the climactic part of the Bill Murray sequence was one of the biggest laughs I've heard in theaters in recent memory.

Really, guys: excellent work.

Did you see "Zombieland" this weekend? What did you think? What did you think about Bill Murray in the role? Sound off below, folks, we wanna hear your feedback! There's gotta be someone out there with an opinion; the movie made a killing at theaters this weekend (stay tuned for our coverage on that-- and the potential "Zombieland" sequel-- very soon).

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