Romero Passed On Directing An Episode Of The Walking Dead, Here’s Why!

Were you aware that the man who made it all happen for us, George A. Romero, was offered a spot to direct an episode or 2 of season 2 of The Walking Dead in their ever rotating list of directors? Zombies, Romero, social commentary, clearly it was a match made in heaven right? Wrong. Basically what it boils down to is 2 things. First of which is that they aren’t HIS zombies. He apparently loves Kirkman’s work but the zombies are a completely different style so he wasn’t interested there, secondly? Well it looks like his eyes are actually already on bringing someone else’s zombie property to life that is a bit more inline with the kind of undead he prefers to work with.

I love the books, I haven’t seen any of the episodes. Listen I love Frank [Darabont], I know he’s done a good job. I love the books, I never watched any of the episodes because… my zombies are sort of my own. I didn’t want to be part of it. Producers called and said, “do you want to direct some of these,” and I said no. Because I just didn’t think it was me. I’ve been waiting to see the whole first season, which I missed because I’ve been traveling. I’ve been waiting to look at it, but I haven’t seen any of it.

My zombies are purely a disaster. They are a natural disaster. God has changed the rules, and somehow this thing is happening. My stories are about the humans who deal with it stupidly, and that’s what I use them for. I use them to sort of make fun of what’s going on in a number of societal events. And that’s it, I don’t use them to just create gore. Even though I use gore, that’s not what my films are about, they’re much more political. That’s it. This whole zombie revolution, it’s unbelievable. We were in France last week, and 3,000 zombies came out for the zombie walk. We’re going to Mexico City next week and there are 5,000 zombies expected to show up. I don’t know what that’s about. I contributed to video games more than movies. If you want to look at it in a purely economic term, no zombie film has ever broken 100 million dollars [at the box office], except for Zombieland. That’s the only one. But video games, they’ve sold hundreds and thousands of copies, so I think really this whole zombie craze is about video games more than film.

[via: io9.]

Romero To Direct Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things Remake, AND MORE!

With Fangoria producing a remake of Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things it’s only fitting that George Romero will be helming the director’s chair AND Tom Savini will be doing the special effects!

While the original dealt a little more in being a Satanic ritual that brought the dead back to life – Romero AND Savini are involved and the dead are coming back to life! While I’m not fully sold on how much I’ll like the film (I’m getting sick of remakes and Romero’s films, while entertaining, aren’t what they used to be.)

[via: Horror Movies]

REVIEW: Survival of the Dead

George A. Romero is the father of the modern day zombie. No one will argue that his work has set the genre in motion to become the wonderful world that we all love to live in today. He transformed the idea of the voodoo zombie into something a bit more creative, scary, and something a lot closer to home. What many people may argue though is the quality of his films over the years. Some say his creativity has gone up while many also say his story telling has gone down.

Let me start off by saying that the fact that we’re seeing Romero try something for the first time in an ACTUAL sequel to one of his other films is an interesting take. By that I of course mean that our lead character Sarge” Crockett (Alan Van Sprang) was actually a minor character in Romero’s previous entry, Diary of the Dead. This is the first time Romero had the ability (or realistically the legal rights) to continue any of his now 6 entries into the “of the Dead” series. (Unless you count the extremely brief appearance of Tom Savini being in Dawn and Land as a zombie.)

Sarge is leading what is left of his military unit on a path to safety. Where that safety is though they currently have no idea and on top of that they are willing to loot and pillage to get there. What they end up fighting is a secure island. The only problem is the island is already inhabited by 2 Irish families who are at war with each other and have their own ideas on what should be done with the dead. The soldiers that we are following quickly fall into the middle of a struggle between these wo clans and leaves them in a state of array trying to figure out both which side to take and how to really survive.

While I’m not sure I enjoy Romero going to CGI for his zombies I will fully give him credit for knowing how to properly use it compared to most of the cgi’d zombie films that are out currently. The kills are gory, the flesh eating is perfect, and as usual Romero has picked a new way for zombies to ‘evolve’ – though I can’t say I like HOW they evolved at the end of the film.

While still not as good as Dawn or Day this is Romero’s best attempt of his last three. It actually help my attention until the end at which point I had to get a little annoyed. First with how the zombies ‘evolve’ in this one and second the way the choice the survivors make on where to go and how to survive. If they had just stayed put it would have been easy to clear out and actually have a safe haven to call their own. The chance they take in their decision seems to be one of the more annoying choices a Romero character has made – specially with how much actually loved the build up to that point.

Available at Amazon on DVD and Blu-Ray

George A. Romero to be Honored at ZomBcon 2010

ZomBcon has a fun announcement for those attending. On October 29th during the Opening Gala Film Ceremony honoring the bringing of the undead.

Every announcement I read about this convention makes me yearn to attend that much more and every announcement leaves me crushed that I’ll be unable to.

George will be honored with ZomBcon’s Golden George Award (gee who is it named after?) as well as have a retrospective of his career.

Not only that but Romero will be in attendance for all 3 days of the convention and be part of:

• Panel discussions
• Film screenings
• Autographs
• AND MORE!

Be sure to head over to ZomBcon.com for all of the details on this amazing event!

The Romero Roundup – Interviews Of The Dead

With Survival of the Dead’s release the patron saint of the undead has been very busy making the press circuit. There is a LOT of information floating around form recent interviews spanning video games, Survival of the Dead, his upcoming book, and possibly where he wants to take the movies he has made from the vision he has. I’ve tried to collect the most useful interviews that contain the majority of the information that isn’t fully repeating itself in both video and text format. Be prepared for a long post if you feel like reading it and if this doesn’t give you a fix for Romero you may have to consider stalking and kidnapping him as your next option.

5/6 – George Romero wants to make a game, talked with Capcom

It seems that legendary zombie movie maker George A. Romero isn’t just interested in movies. In an interview I conducted with him yesterday in support of his film Survival of the Dead, he admitted that he was interested in making a videogame, and that he had been approached by many companies about doing it, including Capcom.

[via: Destructoid.]

5/11 – George Romero Talks Two More Dead Films & Other Upcoming Projects

“Because the first four Dead films are individually controlled by someone else, I’ve never been able to get cooperation from anyone to do work with those characters again. I would have loved to see Bub (Day of the Dead) before he died, but I’ve never been able to do that. So now we can because we’re working on our own terms”

[via: Dread Central.]

5/12 – Catching Up With George A. Romero

I’d like to set up the rules more. Zombies don’t run. [laughs] A little bit of that stuff. Do they shit? There’s a lot to discuss here. I have all of those ideas spinning in my head and I’d like to put out my own little bible.

[via: Shock Till You Drop.]

5/13 – Romero Drops New Hints About Next ‘…Dead’

“I have three storylines ready to go,” Romero told FEARnet and G4 exclusively. “I’m going to take these minor characters from Diary. One is the Sarge. Another one is the little band of looters. And the blonde who gets away, who’s not a minor character, but she will be my cleanup hitter if I get to do it. And weave it all together. It’s the first time I’ve been able to do that. [Stephen] King has this town called Castle Rock that appears in dozens of his books, and you get to know everybody… the characters recur, you get to know everybody. It creates a mythology that’s substantive, instead of just fleeting.”

[via: FearNet.]

5/13 – Check out our Interview with George A. Romero

5/14 – BD Sits Down With Zombie Maestro George A. Romero!

BD: One final question, I have to know, what it’s like working with such a prima donna actor like Uncle Creepy Steve Barton? (BZ note: Uncle Creepy is one of Dread Central’s most prolific writers)

GR: (laughs) Hah! Gave me more trouble than anyone! No, what a sweet guy. He was like a pig in shit. He just couldn’t believe to do this, particularly this big gag, tearing this guy apart. But he was loving it!

[via: Bloody Disgusting.]

5/14 – George A. Romero wants you to leave his zombies alone!

5/15 – Lost Zombies: George Romero Interview

5/17 – George A. Romero Talks Survival of the Dead and More!

“I think the reason Night still holds up after all this time is that beyond the zombies, there’s a timeless and terrifying story there. And for the people that aren’t as familiar with the horror genre, I think that the movie is almost a curiosity piece. People weren’t making films like that at the time and certainly not horror films with a message,” said Romero.

[via: Dread Central.]

5/19 – Romero On Survival Of The Dead part 1

In Part One (of three) of our lengthier on-camera interview, Romero tells Fango’s Tony Timpone about the plot and themes of his latest film SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD

(Video not embeddable)
[via: Fangoria.]

5/19 – THE CHUD INTERVIEW: GEORGE ROMERO (SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD)

Not particularly, no. This whole thing has a curious history. I thought Diary of the Dead was going to be a one shot; I have these zombie films over here that I’ve been doing for a while, and then I wanted to do something about emerging media, about citizen journalism. I knew I had to do it quick. I wanted to do it inexpensively so I could have control, and below a certain budget I can have creative control

[via: CHUD.]

5/20 – Romero On Survival Of The Dead part 2

In part two (of three) of our meaty interview, Romero tells Fango’s Tony Timpone about the talented actors and the special FX found in his latest film SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD

(Video not embeddable)
[via: Fangoria.]

5/25 – Mr. Beaks Interviews George A. Romero!

Beaks: What particular genres could you see zombies occupying?
Romero: Specifically, noir. I’d love to do something with that tone. But they’ll never let me shoot it black-and-white, so I might have to pull a Darabont and shoot color, then print it in black-and-white later [ala THE MIST].

[via: Aint It Cool News.]

5/26 – The George Romero Interview

[via: Cinema Cool Show.]

5/26 – Q&A: ZOMBIE MASTER GEORGE ROMERO ON SCRABBLE, SEX AND THE CITY, AND WHY FAST ZOMBIES SUCK

PMYou’ve made six zombie movies in 42 years. What have you been doing the rest of the time?
RomeroWe’re either – my partner and I – developing new ideas, or I’m just sitting at home playing Scrabble with my girlfriend and playing with the cat.

[via: Philadelphia Magazine.]

5/28 – DCist Interview: George Romero

DCistSpeaking of Snyder and “the rules,” Simon Pegg wrote an excellent essay for the Guardian recently about the fast versus slow zombie debate. He talks about how death is a disability and not a superpower, and that it’s hard enough to run if you have a cold, let alone if you’re dead; and that there’s a symbolic import to zombies moving slowly, because death is inexorable and it comes at you slow and steady. I wonder how you’d respond to that, and how you’d respond to the general debate.
RomeroI completely agree with Simon there. Forget the philosophical aspect of it, though that is an interesting point that he makes. I just don’t think it makes any sense. In 28 Days Later they weren’t dead, right? Maybe you can forgive those guys, same with Zombieland. But I think if they’re dead— I don’t know, it seems ridiculous. It also just doesn’t seem as threatening to me. I grew up on the Mummy and that thing just keeps coming; slow, but it keeps coming. I just think it’s spookier.

[via: DCist.]

5/28 – George Romero Interview, Survival of the Dead

Q: Do you see these films as completely separate from the other ones or is there a sense that given the canon of all the films that you’ve made, they all fit into different points on a timeline?

GR: Yes, this is sort of a parallel timeline with the first four. The first four seem to progress along a certain line and now these would be the first night and then a few months later what’s the world like a few months later. So I do see these two as the beginning of a new little chapter, a different, parallel chapter

[via: Movies Online.]

5/30 – The Sunday Conversation: With George A. Romero

Chicago Tribune: How do you keep zombies fresh?

Romero: With CG, I can do more and be sillier. In “Diary,” there’s a scene where they hit a guy with acid and the camera is never off him, and you see it gradually eat through his skull and get all the way through his brain. That’s fun too. There are a couple of real Looney Tunes and Coyote/Roadrunner moments in this film that I could never have done without CG. I guess I’m a kid in a candy store.

I’ve been able to stick with this genre I’ve loved since I was a kid. I grew up on DC comic books and “Tales From the Crypt,” which were all loaded with humor, bad jokes and puns. I can have that kind of fun and make these comic book movies, but at the same time talk about things I want to talk about — whether it’s consumerism or the Bush administration or war.

[via: Chicago Tribune.]

6/02 – George A. Romero Talks ‘Survival of The Dead’ & Beyond!

IVI:Do you have any thoughts on the remakes of your films, that they have done?

Romero:I wouldn’t have done them. [laughs] I don’t know what else to say. In both cases, although I think Zack Snyder did a great job with the remake of ‘Dawn of The Dead’, I wouldn’t have done it. I mean, when I made ‘Dawn’, that shopping mall was the first shopping mall that many of us had ever seen. Now they are everywhere, so it sorta loses it’s meaning. With ‘The Crazies’, my film was more an angry film about Vietnam and I wouldn’t have remade it. I think that someone had the idea that the remake could be something more like ‘Twenty Eight Days Later’ or something like that. I think Breck Eisner did a great job on it but I don’t think either film needed to be remade.

[via: Icon vs Icon.]

6/10 – Inside The Brain of the Daddy of the Dead

[via: Wired.]

The Father Of Zombies Wants To Bring A Zombie Game To Life

According to an interview read over at Destructoid with George A. Romero, the man, the myth, the legend – he has interest in making a zombie video game. Yes you read that right – everyone’s favorite master of the undead wants to take a shot at a video game!

“I’d like to do a game. I’d like to work with a gamer on it,” Romero said even though he isn’t one to play video games “But everyone who has ever approached me, it’s always been … sell us your name and go home. I don’t particularly want to do that.”

When Romero was working on the holy screenplay that has been lost to time for the Resident Evil movie that was never made he watched while his assistant played a lot of Resident Evil and “had a lot of great ideas” for a game. Or at least ideas he thought would be great. “I’m not a gamer, so I don’t know,” he admitted. “What excites a gamer? I don’t know. I think I could come up with a good story, and good situations, places to hide shit. We’ll see what happens.”

I’d love to see a real game maker take up Romero on this idea. I hear there is a new studio entitled “Respawn” looking for a franchise to start. A first person shooter based on a universe Romero built? It would put any other first person shooters with zombies in them to shame instantly. Sadly they are just as needy on their IP’s as Romero would be so that is just not a mix that would work out. Still SOMEONE should take him up on the idea before it’s too late.

Second Redband Trailer For Survival Of The Dead

One trailer for Survival of the Dead has already been released so we of course want to show you the second one with it’s US release date getting that much closer! If you somehow live under a rock this is George A. Romero’s latest zombie film and if I need to explain anything past that I wonder why you are on this site. (You can click through to the first trailer above to find out the base premise of the film.)

Trailer for Survival of the Dead

While I’m sure any regular reader of Buy Zombie knows all about George A. Romero’s latest flick (that is coming out on May 28th on a limited release to the big screen in the States) I figure you would appreciate another trailer from the film. This one being just a ‘bit’ more graphic and giving details on the plot than previous ones.

On an island off the coast of North America, local residents simultaneously fight a zombie epidemic while hoping for a cure to return their un-dead relatives back to their human state

[Source: Horror-101.]

Survival Of The Dead One-Sheet

(Click the image to view a larger version.)

Magnet Releasing has sent out the one-sheet for the latest George A. Romero zombie filled film, Survival of the Dead. Due out later this year previews have had mixed results anywhere from meh to his best film in years. Regardless of how it is the excitement is clear in even the most worried of Romero fans because there HAS been a lot of good preview press. Only time will tell on how this one turns out but with everything I see I get even more excited. (In case you couldn’t tell I so can’t wait for this to come out.)

On an island off the coast of North America, local residents simultaneously fight a zombie epidemic while hoping for a cure to return their un-dead relatives back to their human state.

Night Of The Living Dead Free For The iPhone

If you don’t know what Night of the Living Dead is you are on the wrong site. Actually if you haven’t SEEN Night of the Living Dead there is a good chance you are on the wrong site! It is George A. Romero’s first masterpiece and the true beginning of zombie’s becoming part of the mainstream in cinema.

ZooVision is currently offering it to you for FREE right over at iTunes! Considering the movie is public domain I have to agree with Shock Till You Drop that it’s nothing short of surprising that people continue to try and sell the film. Fortunately, at least for now, you can pick up this classic gem for free which legally is how it should be!

[Source: Shock Till You Drop.]