George Romero's "Diary of the Dead" will have its world premiere as part of the "Midnight Madness" program at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

The festival Web site describes it this way: Jason (Joshua Close) and a small crew of college students are in the Pennsylvania woods shooting a low-budget mummy picture when news reports indicate the dead are returning to life.

As students search for an elusive safe haven, Jason obsessively films the madness. And along the way, the government first denies and then promises to quell the crisis but doesn't succeed.

The movie, made in Toronto, also stars Michelle Morgan, Shawn Roberts, Scott Wentworth, Amy Lalone and Joe Dinicol.

Executive producer John Harrison, a Pittsburgh native, told the Post-Gazette in August that the script reflected Romero's trademark humor and social commentary.

"He is going back to the origins of the mythology, so this is not a post-apocalyptic vision of the world, it's happening right now, today," Harrison said. "It's a perfect tale of zombies in this current world, this current climate," with students wielding digital cameras and lots of references to downloading, podcasting and cell phones.

Romero is quoted on both the festival site and in Variety as saying, "This one comes from my heart. It's not a sequel or a remake. It's a whole new beginning for the dead." Just not in Pittsburgh, alas.

'Buffy' sing-along

"Once More With Feeling" will, once more, screen in Pittsburgh as part of a special sing-along.

That's the title of a 50-minute episode from the sixth season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" that will play at 9:30 p.m. Friday at the SouthSide Works Cinema. The event, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Gay and Lesbian Film Society, will include costume, trivia and karaoke contests with small prizes.

Tickets, $8 for general admission or $5 for patrons 25 and younger, can be purchased at the box office.

Pope film in Lawrenceville

Our Lady of the Angels parish in Lawrenceville will show the movie "Pope John Paul II" at 6:30 p.m. Monday. It will screen in the Holy Family Social Hall, 256 44th St.

The miniseries, which aired on CBS in December 2005, stars Cary Elwes and Jon Voight who share the title role. The project had been made in cooperation with the pontiff's longtime personal secretary and his papal spokesman.

Copies of the DVD and other materials will be available for sale. Admission is free but donations will be accepted. All proceeds benefit the Monday Night Adult Bible Study Program. Doors open at 6 p.m., movie starts at 6:30 p.m. and is expected to run three hours. For information or to register, call 412-681-1698.

Open casting call

Director Tom Dixon, a graduate of Robert Morris University, will hold an open casting call for his movie "The Korean" today from 2 to 9 p.m. at RMU's Center for Adult and Continuing Education, 718 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Interested actors can bring headshots and resumes, if they have them, to Room 204.

Set in Pittsburgh, "The Korean" is the story of two warring crime syndicates. Dixon has cast actors Josiah D. Lee and John Yost and is looking to fill 15 other roles and to line up extras. Dixon, working with a budget under $100,000, says filming will be Aug. 6-18.

Laughs at Regent Square

"Blazing Saddles" will kick off a series of wacky comedies being screened Sunday nights in August at Pittsburgh Filmmakers' Regent Square Theater.

The Mel Brooks film, No. 6 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 funniest films, starred Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Madeline Kahn and Harvey Korman and featured the sort of politically incorrect and now-signature scenes that would inspire all sorts of protest e-mails today. But it was released in 1974, in those blessed days before e-mail. It screens Aug. 5.

The Aug. 12 feature will be 1958's "Mon Oncle," starring Jacques Tati as a misfit visitor to his sister's automated household and life. When Tati, also the director, accepted the Oscar for best foreign language film, he criticized the Academy for not fully appreciating America's own film comedians in their heyday.

"Pee-wee's Big Adventure" rides in on Aug. 19. Written by Paul Reubens and the late Phil Hartman, "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" marked director Tim Burton's feature film debut as he established his distinctive visual style with the story of a shiny new bicycle that is stolen and the journey to recover it.

"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," a star-studded comedy featuring Spencer Tracy, Ethel Merman, Milton Berle, Jonathan Winters, Phil Silvers and Mickey Rooney, will close the series on Aug. 26. When a dying man reveals where his stolen money is buried, he sets off a comic chase in this 154-minute version of the Stanley Kramer film.

Movies start at 8 p.m. Sunday and admission is $7. The theater is in Edgewood at 1035 S. Braddock Ave. Go to www.pghfilmmakers.org for directions.