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Quint & Harry debate George Romero's concept for his next ZOMBIE movie, DIARY OF THE DEAD!!!
This is the AOL IM conversation between Harry and Quint tonight, regarding George Romero’s upcoming independent zombie film, DIARY OF THE DEAD. Quint will be Blue… Harry will be Black… Enjoy
you updating?
I will. in the last 5 minutes or so of the broken lizard interview
this interview be long.
but on the docket have the romero dead sequel that sounds like crap,
that limited release for idiocracy
doesn't sound like a sequel.
plus whatever else is new in the trades.
sounds like a separate project altogether.
and it sounds like crap.
that's the way to give a legend the benefit of the doubt.
I don't doubt his filmmaking,
but that story is fuckin' retarded.
it's something a studio exec would come up with. It's Blair witch meets night of the living dead!
yeah and a logline that says - "World turns to zombies so 3 folks decide to go to a mall" would sound great?
Dude, if you think mixing blair witch with zombies is the right step for Romero, good for you,
I can take any movie and make it sound like a piece of shit
zactly
but that concept is stupid
the concept of people trapped in a mall during a zombie outbreak isn't.
The idea of a group of filmmakers out in the woods shooting a low-budget horror film at the advent of a zombie outbreak... where they learn the zombies move slow and are easily herded - and decide to make a film using them as their undead threat - thinking they can control the situation doesn't sound like it has potential?
He could be doing a satire on the whole cinema verite of JACKASS and BORAT...
if you say so.
all I know - is romero's zombie films always have more than the logline on their mind.
I don't doubt there's something more to it
but I think it's a huge mistake
the basic concept
what - he should make another Survivalist Zombie film?
so, if bryan singer came out and said superman 2 was about kids looking to video tape superman for a school project... it'll be shot on DV and Superman will appear halfway through, but then leave...
dude - that's MARVELS!
would that be a good idea?
That's Quentin's idea of setting a movie... a different genre - within the confines of a created universe...
You can blindly follow a crappy concept just because a great filmmaker is interested in doing it. I trust romero as a filmmaker, but he's going to have to prove that concept to me. it has never worked.
...like a Woody Allen film in a Godzilla universe
Halloween 8 tried to do that...
yeah - but with a terrible filmmaker.
and a terrible concept.
this is Romero without a studio, trying to a make a film without the studio's entanglements.
that's nice. pick a scenario that isn't already dated.
All I know is... I can imagine him doing it right, just as you can imagine him doing it wrong.
I hope I'm wrong. Look at Diamond Dead. That premise sounded bizarre and it could totally not work. I had faith in him there, because it was so radically different.
this just sounds like one of a thousand horror movies that will be lining the halls of AFM. The only thing different about it is someone who has directed brilliant movies directed it
but he also directed bruiser.
just because an idea has been done wrong in the past - doesn't mean it can't be done right. That'd be like giving up on Fantasy filmmaking just because from 81 till LORD OF THE RINGS it had always failed.
BRUISER was at least an interesting failure.
I don't want to see a Romero dead film that's "an interesting failure"
because he decided to shoot it on DV and rip off the blair witch scenario
neither do I - and he knows he's making a zombie film, which is his realm of comfort. I don't think he'd fuck it up.
Imagine it done right, this premise, it could be amazing.
at this stage - exploring the merits of the concept is the exciting part.
of course this would be a great post on AICN - this chat...
heh.
you want me to post this?
I say we do it.
I'll post it.
I won't write an intro.
alright, go for it.
it'll just be Quint and Harry debate Romero's New Zombie Movie Concept.
most people will agree with you, I bet
listen, I don't want Romero to fail. I want him to surprise me.
I bet he will surprise you, he's a wiley ol genius, that one.
but I can't get behind this concept. He has to win my faith in this concept. I just hate the idea of mixing in a Blair Witch element.
well - that BLAIR WITCH part - is that some nob at Variety writing, "Blair Witch meets NOTLD" thinking they've got the jist of it?
well, it could be. But we know for sure it focuses on college students shooting a horror movie in the woods.
college students. Right there is the first red flag,
and they film a zombie uprising as they say in the article...
the whole idea just sounds so wink-wink, nudge nudge
Dude - if it said, 3 college filmmakers go into the woods to shoot a horror film only to run into zombies, this film is that footage, their story, found in camera...
I'd be worried.
dude - there's nothing that says this is a DV movie
it's an under $5 million dollar feature
the DV comes into play with the blair witch element.
if that's really the idea behind it and not some smart-trade quip
then you'll see half the movie in DV
which is the reporter's "influence" not a quote from anyone else.
at least
then Romero needs to release a statement telling us what he's planning and how he's not going to make Blair Witch meets his Dead films
because the concept makes everybody think of that.
It says he's going to be shooting with UNION crew members.
No one is comparing it to Return to Horror High 2 or something
from Hollywood Reporter:
"Romero's new script replaces the original's static-filled radio with new technologies like smartphones to inform characters of impending doom. But fans can expect the classic Romero style. "
"It has my sensibility, my sense of socioeconomic satire," he said. "And it has my zombies! They're not rushing around -- they're gonna be moving slow."
good.
fucking worry wart.
now he has to make a movie that's better than the description.
like SNAKES ON A PLANE?
if he puts Sam Jackson in the lead role, count me 100% in for this movie.
Some reason I can't seem to pull up the Variety article,
I'm logged in.
I don't have a Variety subscription, so I couldn't read it if I wanted to.
2:00 AM.
only thing I can see is the first few lines.
Their site seems to be acting up, but I'm reading the whole HOLLYWOOD REPORTER story - and I get the feeling that Gregg Goldstein is taking license with his BLAIR WITCH meets Romero's DEAD.
I hope you're right.
- From Hollywood Reporter:
"the film will follow a group of college students shooting a horror movie in the woods who stumble upon a real zombie uprising. When the onslaught begins, they seize the moment as any good film students would, capturing the undead in a "cinema verite" style that causes more than the usual production headaches. "
I bet that's straight out of the press release that he got
and at that level - I'm excited
well, I'm sure it is since all the other trades have the exact same synopsis.
Cuz imagine... Filmmakers shooting low budget. They've got their sub-par actors, aspiring artsy fartsy filmmakers... and then real zombies show up and they see it as their chance to make a landmark horror film.
they start gathering zombies... releasing them into sets... arming their "actors" with live rounds
Doing new takes by releasing more zombies into a scene...
crew wanting to quit...
that's a lot of guessing on your part
Absolutely,
but that's the dream of the project
and on one level it's interesting, but it all feels so winky at the camera.
that's the potential
and his other Zombie films, save NIGHT - don't have a winky part
c'mon... Pie fight in a mall?
that's "satire".
Jonathan Swift's MODEST PROPOSAL where he's proposing to eat the poor's babies to solve society's growing impoverished was totally a wink.
yes, but the movie's central concept isn't about pie fighting with zombies in a mall.
right - it's about living in a mall - the last vestiges of consumer society
where 4 people would presume to have a perfect life as the rest of the world... literally went to hell.
interesting.
good, strong central concept.
not some college kids making a cheap movie in the woods and playing with real life zombies. There's much more room to mess that idea up.
now imagine if Gregg Goldstein had said, "Shadow of a Vampire" meets "Romero's DEAD series"
which is very much about using real supernatural in a filmmaking greed element
well, that wouldn't be starring a group of teenagers, or 20-somethings playing teenagers
and it's still such a far-out concept that doesn't feel in tone with the rest of the Dead movies. Love.
Love 'em all or not, all the Dead films feel like they exist in the same world.
I'm having trouble seeing where a movie like this fits in to that universe
Well - this has to do with how ARTISTS would react to his universe,
in the same way that Rednecks would hang zombies from trees to shoot them.
Here, today's crass opportunistic shoot it all youth filmmakers would JACKASS with Zombies - till they got bit on the ass.
that doesn't sound like a good idea to me, though.
Do you really think - that Romero won't have the zombies win? The zombies ALWAYS WIN!
I'm sure he can show me how that works, and I hope he does, but it still sounds awful right now.
of course the zombies will win.
that doesn't change that the core concept behind this movie sounds like a bad idea to me.
and won't you love it... when you see the zombies shooting with their equipment.
all fucked up.
I don't know - I can see Romero making a very good film here, cuz I don't think he'll cast this with bad actors - I see him getting a very strong young group of actors - cuz let's face it. Who wouldn't want to be in this film in that age range?
at this point, I just want to see the script - cuz I have absolute faith that he'll make the best version of this idea.
if he can cast it outside of the WB, get some real strong people... and the concept is executed in a way I can't see it as right now... then I'll agree with you.
My knee-jerk is that this is a bad idea, one that doesn't feel like a Dead movie. Not in a good and interesting way, but in a "what the fuck is this?" kind of way.
I find your lack of faith... disturbing...
I'm sure Lucas did, too, when he wouldn't listen to people telling him he was making crappy movies
great filmmakers can make crappy movies.
I hope this isn't the case with Romero.
you're really going to accuse this of being a crappy movie based on Gregg Goldstein's use of "Blair Witch Project"?
no, I'm going to accuse the concept of college kids making a movie in the woods as being a crappy idea for a new Romero Dead movie.
And wait for him to prove me wrong. I want him to.
and how many Frat Rat college kids do you know out in the woods shooting horror movies. The College Kids I have met that go out in the woods to shoot horror films are FUN CHARACTERS.
2:20 AM...
for a romero movie?
and how many young college kids that shoot horror films do you think Romero has met? He could be basing the main character on Eli Roth - and you can't tell me you wouldn't want to see Eli getting eaten by a zombie.
Who doesn't? But do I want that to be the whole plot behind a new Romero zombie flick? No.
I just really don't imagine Romero going the wrong way with this. He's spent the last 45 or so years meeting these characters - and I bet he's going to make them as real as possible. And in striving for that realism and satire - I bet he comes out with a really good film.
Write what you know - and he certainly knows young aspiring horror filmmakers
I hope so.
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+ Expand All
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Doesnt Sound Great.
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Sorry to break tradition.
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Such professionalism here at Aintitcool. You could have at least gone back and put in fucking periods. God you guys suck.
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if this film was to turn out half decent. LOTD was a good premise but rushed and half baked. So, lets blame the studio for that. But how George think that people reacting to a zombie apocalypse by carrying on with the film they're making is a good idea? It's mindless. Wait a minute, mindless filmakers...filmakers are zombies...no, still sucks.
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I just lost my ass in poker tonight.
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I havent seen any proper announcements (just read this article sofar), so... is Romero actually writing/directing this? My first reaction is that it's a really shitty idea and maybe an attempt by Romero to make something "cool" for the younger audience. But yeah, if he takes the idea to it's full potential and makes a badass movie, I'd be stoked. But the synopsis from the press release... doesn't sound good.
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I might be a complete geek but I always get a kick out of reading trippy text messages. Going to do some LSD now.
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Knightriders!haha, LOTD was not him back up to speed this sounds awful. has anyne checked that trailer for the movie Automaton Transfusion?? now that looks like a fucking zombie movie
http://www.automatontransfusion.com/
and no im not involved, but it looks awesome. I hope Romero don't fuck this up. -
You Heard me, your all thinking about it... Zombies on the Mutha Fucking Plane. Someone infected could catch a flight from europe to America and during the flight becomes a zombie and... CARNAGE
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Quint really is a contrarian jackass. Yes; I know this discussion takes place early in the morning. However, Harry, actually thinks about the POSSIBILITIES. While Quint focuses on the PROBLEMS. What's the fucking point of enjoying pop-culture from a PROBLEMS perspective? If you are going to be so hesistant from the go get. Why the fuck even care about pop culture. You either jump or you dont, jack. That Quint could type such ridiculousness and Harry not call him on it. Well, Knowles, are a true friend to that fellow. Oh yeah; dont knock the acting on the WB, Quint. Not like you could name one show on the CW this season because your side of AICN ignores the most dominant, well-written, and entertaining part of pop-culture today for films from Korea. CW actours in such an environment as this film could be a good idea. And yes; Diary of the Dead does seem like an odd idea for a zombie film. Until you take a step back from the world you are living in and look at the world we are currently in. We have YOUTUBE and all of these video on demand servives that make it so easy for someone to upload a CLIP online and become a star or make someone laugh or scared a world away. This film seems to be a satire on the viral video as well as the way sites such as this make it possible to get a film some DAP because it's COOL. The best part of this film should be the moment that the college kids realize that there's no world to show their film too. You cannot shock people. When they have already been shocked by something more...SHOCKING!
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http://tinyurl.com/jp7ss
Romero reinvents J-Horror...
Is it canned, now?
Personally, I trust him. -
Would you rather see the above mentioned horror film. Or anohter, more "Romero" horror movie. I'm talking the next "Dead" movie or something else thats not... this. I agree, Harry, it could be good. But wit that money I know what I'd rather Romero make!
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But Quint's right, there is cause for concern here - it really could go either way. Romero's zombie movies have all been about the subtext - if he can give the movie something to say about modern society, then it may just work.
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Now, I'm not saying Romero won't pull it off, because he might be able to. I hope. But Quint is right that the central premise is terrible. NOTLD starting over but shown from the perspective of a cinema verite documentary? Great. College kids making a horror movie in the woods stumble across zombies? Trouble. I mean come on, this exact premise has probaly been used for dozens of DTV or undistributed horror movies over the last 5 years. I know in my direct to video studies I have encountered (but not watched) way too many movies about "people making a horror movie encounter real monsters." Not only is it done to death, but it's just sad to see the master, one of my favorite directors ever, lowered to doing one of these high concept sitcom horror premises that everybody has been trying since Shaun of the Dead was overrated. Er, I mean made. As for the Blair Witch thing, come on Harry. I didn't see the Blair Witch comparison when I read this news, I just read the description, and OF COURSE I thought Blair Witch. College kids out in the woods with cameras? It doesn't matter if somebody points it out or not, of course you're gonna think Blair Witch. Why do they have to be in the woods, anyway? Who wants to see George Romero zombies in the woods? And who wants to see a Romero movie starring teens? And who wants to see a Romero movie about making a movie (unless it's symbolic, like Knightriders). Haven't we exhausted and re-exhausted this meta-filmmaking shit already? I hope it's not really about them trying to make the horror movie with real zombies because I'm not sure I even want to watch that kind of corny bullshit from Romero. I don't want to end up crying in public.
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who the fuck is gonna watch some college kids' fictional movie about zombies if the real world is infested with zombies? It's not really clear what they mean about "production headaches" or whatever they said, hopefully they're not really gonna continue with their horror movie but are just gonna document the zombies (as the title implies).
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...telling us what he's planning." Actually he doesn't owe you nothin --- takoteeeezy!
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you can see Harry loading a shotgun to this line.
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Italian or Spanish film called "Nightmare City".
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I agree, there's a lot of room for error but, this is right up Romero's ally - what could be more poiniant - everyone's a film-maker now - even the news channels advertise asking us to email our pictures to them.
with digicams and the internet - Warhol's 15 minutes of fame has been stretched to infinity.
Think it could be a really good idea - better than the last.
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than listen to you to twaddle on ... By the way, your little cartoon supposedly featuring Fat Harry and Sam the Man just looks nothing like Samuel L. at all .. I realize that in your enlightened universe all black people look alike, but please take this racist crap down as soon as possible
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Land of the Dead was a terrible film as well. The zombies that communicate concept was great. But the characters where extremely flat and tiresome. It doesn't give me a good feeling for his next film. Specially when the central premise is as cheesy as this one, it's written all over it, cheese. Don't get me wrong, I hope he pulls it of, but at the moment, I just don't have faith in Romero.
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Yes it could go either way..like ANY film that has either a good or bad premise..because execution is *everything* with genre movies..
I'm with Harry...and very much agree with Lord Enigma above..Quint, stop your moaning and hand wringing negativity..
plenty of great films sound like shit when put in a paragraph premise. -
Why can't he just give us a flick that involves the survivors of Dawn, Day and Land meeting up and forming a nice little libertarian anarchist community and actually doing okay? There's your social commentary, plus it's a nice little hook for people who've seen the earlier flicks.
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than LOTD. It was fairly enjoyable actually, but on a whole Romero is over-rated. He has come up with some good concepts, but when exactly has he proven he is a brilliant film-maker?
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Just saying is all.
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Personally, i'd rather see the BIG Damnation Alley truck heading north and straight to Hell! (New York) And blasting the living dead shit out of the L.O.T.D. smartie zombies, who have now taken up motorcycle riding ala Mad Max!
....Now that's Zombie-geddon! :D heh -
There's gonna be another Romero zombie movie? Yay!
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Land of the Dead was grade A awful. He hasn't done anything good since Day. And this "Top Story" Quint/Harry debate? Self indulgent shit. And boring too. 28 Days later kicked this genre up the ass, and the new Dawn carried the torch. Slow moving Z's should stay in their glorious past imo. Roll on 28 Weeks Later...
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"Romero's doing Night of the Living Dead meets Blair Witch Project. Could be good." "Could be crap." "Good." "Crap." "Good." "Crap." "Good." "Crap."
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If Romero used a pseudonym you'd have hated it and said "Bring on Romero!" But then, I thought the original NOTLD was the only really good movie Romero's ever done. Dawn was really cheesy--yeah, consumers are like zombies, I get it, I get it! That's some deeeeep social commentary! I thought the remake was better, and scarier, too. LOTD looked like the first movie of a local TV news director--incredibly boring. America is trying to seal itself off from the world. Yawn. Evil white corporate viallain, now there's an original thought... The reason this idea actually sounds somewhat intriguing, even though it ruins any pretentions of internal consistency (why would they be making a movie NOW in this timeline?) is that Romero is thinking out of the box FOR HIM. Day of the Dead was better than Dawn or Land because...hmm, now that I think about it, it wasn't, it was just more depressing, which isn't bad, until the lame-o ending. Romero's conception of a world where the zombies start to reason, i.e. become just like humans, is...dull. He should just retroactively admit the influence of Richard Matheson and adapt I AM LEGEND, changing the creatures from vampire-like things to zombies, and BOOM, there's your ending right there.
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but didn't quint and harry almost admit that the Star Wars prequels were crap? only several years late.
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... but slow-moving zombies are NOT SCARY and don't work anymore. I took out LAND OF THE DEAD about a month ago, and I have to say, it was horrible. This new film sounds just as lame. 28 DAYS LATER - now THAT'S how you make a zombie film (28 WEEKS LATER is another bad idea). DAWN OF THE DEAD remake? That fucking rocked my world! Slow moving zombies who use how to use guns and video equipment? Yawn. Romero may have made some brilliant social commentary horror films back in the day, but today... it just seems silly and obvious.
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I am interested in the outcome to the conversation you had with QT about whether Snakes on a Plane holds up as a fun time past all the crazy extra fun your theater put on for the pre-show? I know I loved it and I saw it the same night at a 10pm showing at had a great experience with a fun crowd. I can imagine the movie isn't as much a blast without the communal experience. But, you've seen it again in theaters I imagine... how'd did you like it? how did QT like it again, if he did see it again and happen to tell you what he though. thanks.
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series. I was expecting something more
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Anyone scared? Didn't think so. Romero has lost his mind. LOTD was awful, as was Day. I wish Romero would just write his undergraduate essay, get a C- on it, and move on.
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Night is cool, Dawn is great, Day is hard to watch but is a good idea, Night remake sucks, Dawn remake was great, Day remake (With Nick Cannon!)might be good Land is Great, and Diary is not a good idea. Shaun of the Dead is a worthy addition to the Romero Series.
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never forgive you AICN lot for pimping that shit. THAT movie is what destroys the benefit of the doubt you would give to Romero. Also, just for fun I wrote a zombie movie. It's as horrible as they come. Instead of coming back from the dead to feed, they come back for the OTHER human drive. That's right, my zombies come back from the dead to fuck the living. Imagine taking it in the ass from a big gay zombie. Romero can use it for free as long as he doesn't do this instantly dated crap.
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I'm probably being too hopeful, like Harry... but Quint's alarmist attitude will only help damage this picture's bottom line. And that will make future Romero DEAD projects even less likely. And that's a bad thing. Shaddap, Quint. ;)
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i def prefer the semi-continuity of the DEAD series...this seems like the outbreak is starting all over again...what the ef?
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That is how it shoudl be. THe movies get larger and larger and larger. From one town on a night to a city to the world. Please let it happen!
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I will.
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As long as zombies are in the film, he can do no wrong.
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...for fucks sake. "Oh, wouldn't this be great if we posted it...." Yeah, nice one Harry. Fooled us there. No, really. Tell you what, maybe you could advertise your impromptu discussion, TARGET owe you a few favours in that regard, maybe they could put up a few billboards outside their stores. Or ORBITZ SUGAR FREE could run an add on their packs. Aint that cool?
However, on the subject matter, if Romero's doing another zombie flick I count that as good news, no matter what the project sounds like now....he'll turn lead into gold. Fried gold, bitch. Although I would certainly rather the news was Road/World of the Dead were being made, this will keep me ticking over inbetween trade paperbacks of Walking Dead. -
You know the type - rubbishes the idea before he even really knows what it's all about...bit like most of the knobs here hehe. No wonder so many of you agree with him. Glad to see Harry still has the love for projects he had when first starting this site! Personally I think this sounds awesome! (from the little we know about it at this stage anyway). The fact is - There is a new Romero zombie movie coming! far out man!
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That's what this movie sounds like. And I personally was not a fan of that film.
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LordEnigma summed the whole thing up best I think - "Harry, actually thinks about the POSSIBILITIES. While Quint focuses on the PROBLEMS." I'm almost convinced that with studios changing movies based on Internet Talkbacks these days, that most of you lot are the ones to blame for some pretty terrible movies recently.
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and Im not buying the whoe "hey we should just post this on AICN" angle wither.
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There is another "Zombies on a plane" movie coming out. It is called "Plane Dead". Check out this link;
http://www.horror-movies.ca/horror_5590.html -
...is almost impossible. I love people who try to say that it was 'rushed' by the studio...it was in development at one stage or another for what 15 YEARS?!?! Fast zombies, slow zombies, who cares, just make a great scary fun zombie movie! Please! If Asia Argento wearing fishnets having a steel-cage death match with zombies can't save your movie, you can't direct. Period point blank.
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Romero's earned the benefit of the doubt. And the fact that he's doing it independantly - count me double in.
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Because that sounds like the Godfather compared to this shit. It does sound like something a suit thought up on the pot about 5 years ago. Romero, hire a writer for fuck's sake. After FOUR zombie films he STILL can't come up with a story. He got lucky with Night, the others were just basically remakes. And this latest news confirms it. I should have know that news that there was going to be a continuation to Land was going to be bullshit. And I know the love for Romero here but what I have seen from the Day remake I had to find elsewhere. If Romero can't write a story, then how about making The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman.
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Who wants to see some chat session between these two flabby-titted bitches?
I mean really. -
Why not do something like the soldiers filming in Iraq but instead have the rednecks or whoever hunting zombies and filming it. That would be a lot more meaningful today than fucking WB fuckheads and you tube.
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although I would like to not have the characters be college students, that part does seem too un-Romero to me. I thought LOTD was pretty good, not the best in the series but I had a lot of fun with it, so I'm looking forward optimistically to this one.
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After you two girls were done, did you call each other on your princess phones and talk about Hilary Duff's next album?
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Seriously, keep your IM point-counterpoint debates to yourselves, guys. This site has gone way, WAY downhill the past few years...
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...is good fun. Give it another try. I liked it so much more the second time around. It's not nearly as good as the previous three, but still good, and so much better than the "Quaid" zombie baby of the retarded Dawn remake (SUCKED).
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Don't we get enough of this ignorant bitching in the talkbacks? What a stupid news post. Also, fuck Broken Lizard.
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Aug 25, 2006 10:53:48 AM CDT
wow, I butchere the word "retarded" there. irony ahoy.
by pushthebutton
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0 for 2.
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"People saying LOTD sucked and the DAWN remake was good are wrong." And President Evil is goddamn fucking-A 100% CORRECT.
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How did 28 Days later kick anything up the ass? It's not even a ZOMBIE movie. Go watch the CRAZIES. It's more like that then like a tride and true zombie film. I do like the film, but it's essentially a Dawn of the Dead rip-off. The thing of it is; running zombies are not scary and break the cardinal rule of zombie films. Which is; ZOMBIES WIN WITH STRENGTH IN NUMBERS AND NOT THEIR OWN STRENGTH. That's the point of zombies. They put you in a corner and you become fun. They are not supposed to be able to out run you. Let us not forget that no one has ever really captured what a RUNNING ZOMBIE would be like on film. Since, technically, a running zombie would never stop running because it would not know when to stop. See? Trackstar Zombies suck. Let's hope Mel Brooks son knows better and has his world revolve around slow moving fucks that out number you.
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1) That should be FUN and not FOOD. 2) While I did not start off with the right tact to respond to Quint. his whininess got to me. I am glad there are other folks out there that seem to get the whole POSSIBILITIES and PROBLEM angle. There's nothing more ridiculous on the net than freaking out about something MONTHS or YEARS in advance. Especially freaking out over an article in Variety that does not truly represent George's intent with this film. 3) As a guy that loves Zombie films that mean something. How exactly does Land of the Dead suck? It's essentially laying the groundwork for Toe Tags. A great comic that establishes a point at which man and zombie will have to work together to take down worse threats than each other. That seems to be the point of Land. It's better to recognize the problem and deal with it than to hide from it.
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But I agree with the blue guy.
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first place? It's as frustrating as the Alien and Predator movies. They all had the opportunity to visit the alien or presator's homeworld or see who created the aliens but the one half assed scene with the Mayan temples in AvP aside, alll we ever get is people running from them in an enclosed area. Stretch out with the concept a little. Land of the Dead wasn't great but it at least sort of took a stab at furthering the overall story. Obviously this doesn't take place in the same universe as the other Romero zombie movies, since there, the world is a dystopia and there would be no colleges or student films. Romero should stick with the mythos he created and exxpand on it, nnot more of the same with one gimmick thrown in.
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It has Nick Canon? WTF is up with that? It also has Ving Rhames in it and he doesn't play the guy for Dawn of The Dead. So could he be His character from Dawns Brother? WTF!!!!
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and "LAND OF THE DEAD" sucked. He doesn't know how to create tension and he doesn't know how to hire someone else to tell him where to put a fucking camera. That said. I love "DAY OF THE DEAD". I can not explain.
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Lucky McKee's crew and Angela Bettis from 2002's MAY confronted with real zombies, or Eli Roth, Jordan Ladd, etc from that year's CABIN FEVER. How about 81's EVIL DEAD crew (Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, etc) How would they handle real zombies on set? Orrrr John Carpenter - Debra Hill from the time of 1978's HALLOWEEN. I'd love to experience Jamie Lee and P.J. Soles with real zombies on the set. Man, how about REAL zombies set loose on the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (74) set. Just imagine Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel's use of them, annnnnnnd Ed Neal interacting with them. Toooooo Cooooool! Buuuut, best of all, just think of real zombies let loose on the set of Romero's 1968 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD shoot. Man that's what we're talking about here.... ol' Father Geek can't wait...
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A low-fi, nihlistic film with only a few central characters was what most fans wanted LOTD to be. Perhaps GR has to work outside the system with no money to do that now.
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The possibility the concept isn't the point, maybe he's giving himself a practice run before the next proper "Dead" film, get the gore, pacing and such up to snuff so to speak. I mean I love Land don't get me wrong, but it was flawed, more than likely due to studio interference (if you were at the press conference you should have seen the suits sweating when that subject was brought up).
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Boy, them zombies sure got smart in the last one. That was super great!
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The really low budget movies would deal with real Zombies, but the rest wouldn't. Now this is probably going to be cool, but what would you rather watch this movie or something along the lines of a Land of The Dead sequel? I am being serious and I would really like an answer. I mean this is a conversationally way not a dickhead way. It might be cool but I get the feeling like this might be "a reality movie" where it looks like it is trying to be reality TV. I am thinking about the next movie having to deal with society vs. Zombies after the world is mainly gone. This just seems like another chapter of Night of the Living Dead. You know people having to deal with Zombies again. Rather than Zombies being common knowledge and a threat. Maybe if this was after Land of the Dead and people are purposely using Zombies to make films then it might be good. Does this make any sense?
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so it's about a group of college kids? Sounds like house of the dead.
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Can't you just ground Harry and send quint home or something?
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I'm commenting on the one talkbacker who asked why the dead are walking. He wanted an explaination. There isn't really one...and anything Dr. Logan in 'Day' had to say on the subject was just as valid as the Voodoo that Peter was talking about in 'Dawn'.
Short answer...Venus Probe, radiation, destroyed over Earth.
But really it's not important. The characters, the surroundings, the atmosphere..that's what makes a Romero Film. If it's Romero, I'm watching.
Loved them all. Not fond of running zombies...Running zombies -action action excitement thrills...slow dead shamblers- creepy, silent, deadly in large groups...read: Scary.
Harry, I side with you on this one.
-Prof. Griffin
Fangoria TV -
Now that is an idea.
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climates to slow the rate of decomposition. Word.
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And the Dawn of the Dead remake was a far superior horror flick to the original. And no, I'm not baiting, I'm simple telling the truth so many refuse to admit - Romero is as washed up as John Carpenter
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This doesn't sound like a good idea. Zombies are supposed to be terrifying because they're WALKING DEAD PEOPLE. Using them as film props is not only absurd (even for a zombie movie), it'd drain the film of it's core value--zombies are scary. Dumb.
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All the best zombie movies ("Night of the Living Dead," "28 Days Later," and "Shaun of the Dead") have dealt with the initial zombie outbreak, which would terrify the living bejeezus out of everyone. Romero's "Dead" films have grown progressively less interesting because of their continuity. In the original, the very idea of zombies scared the crap out of all the characters. In the second, the characters tried to figure out a way to live in a zombie infested world. In the third, they used the zombies as sport and tried to domesticate them, and in the final film, the humans did their best to just ignore the walking dead. Really fucking scary. "Oh, zombies? Yeah, they're everywhere. Sucks, huh?" This new flick sounds like one of those winky films that takes the idea of zombies in stride, and that's neither scary nor interesting.
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Romero + Zombies = A Gimme. It does sound Blair Witchy, but it also sounds like Jackass; so hopefully it will be a satire / socio-economic critique of this whole "cinema verite for retardo suburban white kids w/ trustfunds" thing thats been going on for WAY too long.
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Land of the Dead was so bad, it was embarrassing to watch it. So lame, awful look to the film, looked like a cable movie, with no gore whatsoever, and a terrible end chase. You don't even get the satisfaction of Leguizamo biting Hopper and tearing his neck out, no, we cut to an explosion. Then the humans respect Big Daddy? Get the fuck out of my face!!!
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not as much as the original 3, but it was cool, funny, had some cool things to say about the Class War / Evil Republikkkans / the inevitable revolution / rise of the underclass. I have to admit, though, that I thought 28 Days Later was better. (sorry, George!) The DAWN remake was okay. Great opening sequence, so-so middle, great ending. It was more like an action movie than a horror movie. Oh, and where was the gore? I hope the DAY remake is Hard-R.
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Really really purty dang bad film that thar LOTD were.
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about zombies anymore. He fains interest in them (see the tepid excuse that was LOTD for proof) because no one will give him money to make anything but zombie movies. Its tough to pigeon hold a director now-a-days to a certain genre of film but poor Georgie Boy is one of those guys. Too bad; I bet he could make a fine teen summer comedy about losing virginity and understanding true friendship.
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One thing I like about this is the potential satire of the zombie film-making genre, Romero satirizing himself and hopefully placing a proper epitaph (sorry, Land wasn't it) on the dead films... yes, this involves winking at them.
I'd rather see something like this than follow the uninspired and uninteresting characters from Land of the Dead on a road we've traveled down 4 times already. Zombies + Humans Hiding Inside + Zombies Break In = Show me something else. -
As usual. This sounds like a pretty terrible idea.
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from ZombieSolutions that doesn't at lesat mention politics once. He has to be almost insufferably boring and tiresome in real life. "I went to the store and bought some peanut butter, honey! REPUBLICANS!" I mean, "REPUBLIKKKANS!".
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But Romero set up a continuity with Night, Dawn, Day and Land, showing both ther zombies evolving and the humans dealing with it. I think expanding on that is more interesting than another "we're trapped and the zombies are coming" rehash. That's why I made the parallell with the Alien series.
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Could be good, could be bad... but more than that, it just seems like a huge step backwards in the series.
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This should be the next logical step in the series. Chilling stuff! Enjoy!
http://tinyurl.com/hslnz -
Buck the trend. Go back to making horror movies with some horror in them. For the love of fuck sake. 15 yr olds in movie theatres are dicks anyway, stop catering to them. LOTD was stupid. I like zombies as much as any red blooded necrophiliac, but what's the point without the gore? Diary kind of sounds so bad it's promising. Should make Inbox Of The Dead. Bunch of zombies sat in front of their computers, chatting in TB's acting all tough and shit. Take that, society! How'd you like that cultural commentary? Satire my ass!
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those movies exist. I dont want to imagine real zombies on the set of TCM or Halloween because that does nothing to enhance my excitement about this project...
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When I first read abouut this zombie movie this morning, I thought what is George doing? This idea is terrible, I see nothing good coming from this, but I hope I am proven wrong just like Quint. But You said it buddy. I hope George can pull somthing brilliant from this very bad unoriginal idea of death.
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This stolen news from Bloody-Disgusting.com brought to you by PARTYmidgets.NET! Just when you thought the movie couldn't get any worse cuz Nick Cannnon was in it...BUT why should I tell you how they ruin the character of Bud? Read it here.
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/7093 -
Oh wait. Been done. Look, zombies are great fun--put they're not a story in and or themselves anymore. Zombies are a (super)natural occurrence now, like a hurricane or predatory animals or any other perilous aspect of a given setting. If they story and the characters are interesting, everything else will take care of itself. Stop overthinking and overconcepting it. I've heard there's a comic out now that actually gets this, I think it's called The Walking Dead or something (have not read it). Filmmakers wise up and get hip to the fact that simply having zombies in a flick is not good enough anymore, so stop using them as a crutch for weak stories and even weaker characters.
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Even its fans must admit LOTD didn't have a scare in it, other than Leguizamo's career trajectory. If someone were to "reboot" this series, you know what they'd come up with? Night of the Living Dead--jerky camera, grainy, old horror movie scores reused for the soundtrack, a downer ending. Do I need to spell it out? The series is DONE. It's over. It's impossible for Romero to make a new scary zombie movie. Just like Carpenter, his movies are not scary--they use the tropes of horror movies and are "scary" the way goth chicks are "dark" instead of being really dark. I think if he's going to do this he's going to have to take some time (it's not like his dance card is full) and actually give some thought to what is SCARY and how to portray that in a movie. Look at some good photo journalism books, go out and see some of the world the media don't like to look at, talk to human beings who don't praise you at conventions, and read horror fiction like that of Thomas Ligotti and Chuck Palahniuck, and then pour all that into the zombie template. Because LOTD was embarassing from a director who's been at this for over 30 years.
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We know they aren't zombies, but they're cut from the same cloth. They work from the same angle--infected beings no longer living like humans, loss of individuality, living only for cheap thrills, aka democrats. :P
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Instead of remakes of 70's horror flicks, new horror movies, based on good horror writing, filmed 70's style. The LOOK of movies like Texas Chainsaw, Let's Scare Jessica To Death, The Shuttered Room (60's I think, but...). I long for that gritty, dirty -but-not- self-consciously-so look, focusing more on dread, daylight, and a sense of doom. Hate to admit it, but the movie that caught this, though only in its last minute or so, was Jeepers Creepers by that perv. The last shots, of that abandoned factory or whatever, and the echoes of the scream, and the shot of the skin...wow, creepy stuff.
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I love Romero's Dead films, hell I even love Land of the Dead (vastly underrated). But this idea sounds really lame.
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"If Sam Jackson's in it, I'm in!" Wank wank wank. Crank crank crank. Who gives a shit?
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I don't get why Harry and Fathergeek are so into that idea. Maybe it's a Knowles family secret. I guess maybe I could see Sam Fuller taking on some zombies. They wouldn't stand a fucking chance. He'd rip their heads off with his bare hands.
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The new "First!" People say him and think that gives them instant cred. How about quoting some of the gems on this site instead? http://blackhorrormovies.com/index.htm
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What a lousy, poorly written piece of crap. We don't want to read your IM conversations, chowderheads, we want NEWS. and opinion written coherently, as unlikely as that may be.
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But lately I see his output and I wonder what he was thinking. Why he bothered. And then I ask myself if I'm talking about Romero or one of the guys here who writes about him.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azo8heDmNoQ
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This concept seems to me is about the arrogance of people thinking they can be in control of or exploit their environment for their own egos when faced with an interesting challenge. It is the premise of Deliverance and The Descent, and even King Kong. It is exploring that aspect of human nature that I find intriguing and can be genuinely scary because human nature is arrogant and we all can relate to the traps it can present in the mundane let alone unusual circumstances. Frankly, I'd rather see Romero try anything he felt compelled to do and fail than see him give up before he tries because some people who lack his experience or accomplishments think he has a bad idea. One goof is not going to ruin his career and may even serve as a stepping stone for a bigger and better cool thing. Do I want to see him fail? No, certainly not. Will my admiration be dimished because he fails, no--probably the opposite.
In other words, I do not know enough about his vision to condemn this project outright and, from what I've heard so far, it seems like a good concept and could be quite scary, too. -
wow. anyone expecting anything good from Romero is either delusional or some kind of zombie apologist.
romero is a one trick pony, and he beat that horse to death decades ago. -
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost rule: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ynXBMgLEbM
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I thought I was the only person who had slightly homoerotic conversations on AOL. Would you two just hurry up and fuck? And I love that Quint won't sit there and pretend that this fucking retarded-ass post-post-post irony idea is actually good. I can't wait until Quint is running this site. Harry's romantacism and optimism towards certain things sued to be oddly charming, but I think it's become pretty clear over the years that he's rarely right. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes even George Romero has an unsalvagable (and coincidentally, cheap!) idea.
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Romero wants to go back to his notld bginnings with shaky, unpredictable camera movements but we'll see. I'd much rather see him do something more like Bruiser which wasn't a bad movie, I only watched it cuz the Misfits were in it. But I guess old directors won't listen to anybody even if they're telling them their idea sucks and is stupid. If anything, change the damn name of the movie! Diary of the Dead....UGH! Worst zombie title EVER!
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You have 5 friends online. You have 4 friends 1 zombie online. You have 3 friends 2 zombies online. Message from doogal3: ADFNFNEORNVLFLGNG LDLE LENFLEBN N
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was one of the most awful zombie films I have ever fucking seen. "There just looking for somewhere to go.." Yah, and to chew on your fucking head while they go there. UGH...
This sounds awful...but I'll give Romero the chance since he gave us Dawn, Day, and Martin. But I'm wary... -
how come this flick doesnt get any love around here? no shout outs and the like? its about a fuckin killer helper-monkey! it kills Stanley Tucci for cryin out loud!!
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Though, I didn't land of the dead was that amazing that we need another one in that vein, so I'm alright with a little change of pace.
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the problem with your take is that movies within movies are never as good as Halloween, Evil Dead and Texas Chainsaw. Eli Roth would just run away. Run like the wind Eli... run like the wind.
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hahah
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Yeah surprise surprise. I make a post to the effect of "why do they bother with 'articles' like this" and it is removed. Good job. Now my negativity wont infect the other talkbackers. You know, except for the twenty or so who have said exactly the same thing since you guys wandered away from lack of interest.
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What if its just a bunch of kids with a DV cameras making a zombie/slasher film with friends. But what happens is things get real.. and just like the people who walked outside with cameras rolling after the planes hit the world trade centers. These kids not knowing the full the extent of what was going to happen decided that it was their mission to not stop filming. After all this was day one- who gives a shit about day 2 or day 3- day one is the day shit goes down hard its when the worst comes out! These kids now know they moved on from making a cheesy stupid show it to friends for a laugh horror film at the towns local cemetery, to filming the unfoldation of a zombie invasion. It would be funny if some of the fake film guys in makeup are actually mistaken for real zombies later on in the movie and shot at,
And we as viewers get it all. We hear the many radio stations- see the riots- the invasion of the army. the check points, because people who are bitten are trying to get out of the town for help, since the power goes bye bye . We see the carnage and the madness of the first days exorbitant reaction. Our group of kids are fucking jazzed up at first but soon the whole ordeal starts to work on them and they realize the full extent of the madness unfolding around them. The people they care about are either dead or unreachable. The city they live in is hell incarnate- and towards the end it becomes a diary of the last few survivors of this film crew as they escape too the woods feeling that it's the least active area, and just like how sharks are attracted to noise- they think the zombie are attracted to lights and sound and screams and the only way out is in the quiet confines of trees and brush until they can find some help to get to an unnfected area. -
can i be in it??
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It had to be said.
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I'm afraid these two books, at least one of which is in development as a movie, will have a lot more appeal to viewers than anything Romero cooks up. I mean, come on, after Night (and, though I'm not a huge fan, Dawn), what has he done that's added anything to the genre he arguably started? (My favorite zombie film is from decades before--I Walked With A Zombie--but we're talking Romeroesque zombies with the ultraviolence here.) Romero's "accomplishments" only show he hit the limits of his talents decades ago. Many directors just fade away, or go to TV; directors like Romero just pathetically hang on and either can't get deals or don't have the ability to grow as filmmakers. Yes, I say this as someone who isn't a filmmaker, so he's better at it than I am...but then, I'm not trying to be a director. He IS one, and if anyone can watch his filmed works in chronological order and can honestly say it shows a well thought-out, detailed worldview and a growth of talent, well, we'll just have to agree to disagree. All of his movies look like someone's "interesting first film".
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i love them, i do! i've seen night many times, loved dawn of the dead since i was a kid. i enjoyed day, not as much, but it was still fun for me. i even thought, as a zombie purist, that the dawn remake was great! So when i first heard about land of the dead, and that after 20-some years i would be able to see a George Romero zombie movie in the theatre during its first run i was estatic! then i saw it, and just like phantom menace.. i tried to be an apologist for it. so i watched it again.. and as much as it hurt me to say it, that was seriously one of the worst-not only zombie movie- but worst 'any' movie ive ever seen. what they should do is figure out a way to make 'the zombie survival guide' into a movie.
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i was writing my post while you were writing yours.. funny we both mentioned the zombie survival guide.. is that the one thats in development?
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on this site though I have been lurking here for a while. I have loved horror films since childhood and if Romero is directing you can be sure I will be there the opening weekend to see it. As much as I enjoyed the Dawn remake and 28, they were more action than horror. LOTD was flawed but very solid as a horror film. Romero has the balls to show us what happens when a zombie gets hold of a person where these other films focus more on the tension of trying to run away or what happens when everybody gets a gun and goes commando.As a gun owner, one of my big gripes about the Dawn remake was how everyone was an expert in handling a gun, and a perfect shot once one was placed in their hands. As for 28 Days Later;What the fuck did the infected actually do when they got hold of you? Spit some blood, go into a scratch frenzy like a 13 year old girl. Real scary. One naked guy lays in a peaceful slumber in a public place while the rest of the whole fuckin country goes to hell. Oh yea, brillant. Not to mention that stupid ass scene with the flat tire on the car. England seemed to be a ghost town in that movie except for when you were about to go to sleep and needed something to happen. Romero has more hits than misses than most directors and the bottom line is no movie should be judged on a generic plot outline before filming has even started. Its like judging the Mona Lisa by the paint that was to used, not how it was put together.
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Come on bud, that is just straight up ignorance. You can only say that if you've never heard of MARTIN or KNIGHTRIDERS. Hell, even alot of his studio movies like THE DARK HALF and MONKEY SHINES are pretty good. Personally I think CREEPSHOW sucks, but I'm in the minority on that. So he is somewhere between a 3 and 6 trick pony. Or possibly a horse, because he does those tricks pretty god damn well. He may have some kind of circus training and he certainly comes from a good breeder.
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Romero could, on his worst day, make a Blair Witch style picture that is leagues beyond and far better than the original Blair Witch. But I don't know if that's high praise since a lemur that's been dead for three weeks could do the same.
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Martin looks like something put together by high school kids, and while you (and Pauline Kael) may have enjoyed Knightriders, be honest, how often does it get talked about on this or other movie sites? Never. Because only Romero loyalists care for it. To the rest of us, Romero's stuff is embarassingly stilted--no one would ever cite performances in his movies, maybe Ed Harris' in Knightriders excepted (I saw it long ago and almost fell asleep) or cinematography, screenwriting, or direction. Yes, Romero indeed IS a one-trick pony. Do you seriously think anyone's going to watch his movies other than NOTLD, Dawn and to a lesser extent Day after he's gone? LOTD will be ignored, too. Come on, let's call a spade a spade. I have zero animosity towards the man--he seems very nice, and I've read he's a really good guy on the set and all--and he's made at least one movie that will be remembered after his time, which is more than most directors can say. But let's not let our fondness for one or two movies blind us to the obvious.
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it would be universally shit on. Don't try to make it sound better just because it's Romero. He could do much better than this. Since everything has to be about the subtext with him, it could be shown through the eyes of the media and how they spin and report false info just to be the first to get the ratings. They could fuck up all the information and add to the chaos so that may be why no one knows how it started and why it wasn't controlled. Romero should do a prequel. Set it in the same universe as the other films.
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there are a thousand other cool ideas you could use.
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They're just looking for a home.
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"Sorry... We're Out. All orders will be either fulfilled or refunded."
What. The. Fuck.
And what ever became of From a Buick 8 for that matter? -
DEAD RISING: THE MOVIE. And let Capcom just fucking TRY to sue you!
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I'll ask George when I see him next month. I have no reason to lose faith yet.
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I think that this will be less a Blair Witch project type movie more about reality television exploits individuals and what they will do for exposure. Imagine if these kids let these zombies eat a person or somebody lets the zombie eat a part of them just to be on camera. Romero tends to have social commentary in his movies and usually elevates the concept well above what other filmmakers could do with it.
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i am your biggest dead fan. I would go to Pennsylvania every year and visit the cementary in Evans City. I hunted down Bill Hinzman at the Monster Bash and begged him to tell me where the house was. BTW Bill, I did find the location and the bridge you had mentioned but the neighborhood didn't want to talk to me. They'd probably had enought of fans crusin their countryside looking for the house.i would. But let me tell you something. I feel it. the whole scenerio of NOTLD..I completely buy it George. The world you have created is sooo backwoods Pennsylvania and i say that in a good way. that feeling I get when I visit the dead state..thats whats missing from your latest and your last. That feeling of isolation is key. I kinda compare it to Alien. I loved it so much more before we saw anything of the corporation. In the dead films we had the radio. And that was enought. The uncertainty of not knowing what was happening in the next town of Butler or Slippery Rock...was scary. that was YOUR Blair Witch.
Isolated. And in a way ..timeless.
Look at a Hammer Film. Dracula , Prince of Darkness. Stranded in the backwoods of the english countryside. But where?. Just a few companions, a deserted passenger shack, and a lone horse and carriage. Spooky...weird. thats what you had in NOTLD. Thats what you need to get back to. You created the this dead world and we want to see abit more of it, on foot,no cell phones, no corporations, no quirky one off charaters either. And no heavy technology please.
I'd love to see you go back to the 1960's. the countryside of Pennsylvania hasn't changed thats radically. Evans City Cementary looks about the same. And the backwood roads at night are still as scary as every.
NOTLD and Dawn Of the Dead
live in my DVD player. I wish they had company.
Wishing from Calif. -
Land Of The Dead, FUCKING SUCKED! I saw that shit opening day, I really was looking forward to a good zombie movie. Dawn of the Dead? That was a pretty damn good remake, very entertaining. This movie, just sounds fucking gay.
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Hello again Readingwriter. Well I still gotta disagree with you because KNIGHTRIDERS is a masterpiece. I don't give a shit if it's not as well known as UNDERWORLD or SAW or some shit. It's one of my favorite movies and it seems like it's already Romero's definitive statement on independent filmmaking, so he shouldn't need to approach that topic more literally in this movie. I get emails from people every once in a while thanking me for turning them on to KNIGHTRIDERS. There was a kid who bought it for his brother for a birthday based on my review and now it is the guy's all time favorite movie. There's no other movie like it and there's no other director besides Romero who would think about doing a serious and deeply personal drama about dudes jousting on motorcycles. And if they did it wouldn't star Ed Harris and Tom Savini.
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Harry, you do know that Borat is a fictional creation of the comedian Sasha Cohen, yeah?
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...and lied to my wife and told her the charge from the cable company was for a porn rental. Sure, it started a fight, but I'd rather start a fight than look like somebody who'd pay to watch Land of the Dead.
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Looks like the Brits were there first. The Zombie Diaries is released this Halloween in the UK (www.zombiediaries.com) and is a Blair Witch meets Night of the Living Dead type movie. It's also quite similar to World War Z as it follows different stories of survival after a zombie plague has wiped out most of the world's population.
I hope George's movie is good, but I must say from the brief synopsis - it doesn't sound that great. -
I seriously want my money back. It made me so sad to see that piece of shit come out of the likes of Romero. Dawn, Night, and Day rocked hardcore... but 'Land of the Dead' (I can't even type the title without wretching)was a disaster. I hated it. It gave me nothing new on zombies. Absolutely nothing. Except the fucking firecrackers distracting them which was okay at first but when you started making the one that looked the most retarded evolve into an intelligent zombie i almost threw popcorn at the screen. Further, I FUCKING HATE JOHN LEGUIZAMO GET THAT GUY OFF THE @#$@$#ING SILVER SCREEN NOW!!! I'm DEAD SERIOUS... the guy can't act worth shit, and people should have gotten a clue after super mario bros. I would have preferred mario lopez (ac slater) over leguizamo's cackfaced acting. ... this diary of the zombie better be hella good.
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...but I only lie if I'm getting paid. After the lukewarm, sub-par outing that was Land of the Dead, I'd like to see George take a step back from his socio-political commentaries and get back to the idea of what's scary. Colelge kids in the woods with cameras doesn't sound like the quickest way home, so to speak. And I'm not sure why anyone is surprised that he'd be looking to pillage the Blair Witch lexicon. After the way he raided/raped both Escape From New York and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (right down tot he midget outside the gladiatorial cage), it's obvious to me that George's creative well has run dry.
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Even a 'supposed-misfire' like Day of the Dead was enjoyable. I am certain whatever GAH does with the next movie, it will be enjoyable. It's not like he is going to mutate the zombies into fast-runners. Though, I have some ideas of what I'd like to see. My fav parts of Z films are when you see newsreels and experts debating what is going. The remake of Dawn this particularily well, I thought. I'd like to see metaPOV film at the no turning back point of society.
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http://filmick.blogspot.com/2006/08/lots-and-lots-of-diary-of-dead.html
Sounds good, doesn't it? -
good lord, why not throw in a torture scene and pirates, just to make the tri/quadfecta of popular tropes we've already seen, fisted into a theme mr. romero has literally done to death already? does anyone remember _martin_? _jack's wife_? _the crazies_? actually, that's going to be re-made -- re-makes being another pop trope to be avoided. my point is: whatever you might say about those other films, they showed mr. romero HAD some other ideas, once upon a time, beyond this here flesh-eatin'g ghoul ONE. even _bruiser_, as an idea, not the sad direct-to-video produkt, had some interesting ideas. it's...almost like...like geo. romero is, like, a corpse, brought back to half-life to scour the earth to consume whatever fleshy matter he gets his hands on...shoot me in the head, shoot off the fireworks, kids, it's well past over for our boy jorge...
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The Begining of it all!
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Years and years after the break out first started. There has been take after take on the break out and the days that follow. Day of the Dead was a few years later at the most and Land was a few years after that. How about continuing that thought? How about showing us what else happens when the dead are roaming around for what seems like forever. Do they finally perish? What. I would hate to see Romero waste his time on an independent movie unless it had some sort of major ties to the story line he has already started with the other 4 films. Show me people pushed to the brink almost unable to survive because Zombies have destroyed everything! Please show that to me! Show me World of the Dead, Road of the Dead, City of the Dead any of those titles with a story to match and not these shitty rip offs like House of the Dead. Fuck you House! I want Romero doing the shit is great for! He has already shown us what the world might be like with Land and now a starting over? Fuck!
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I am not thrilled about the way that The Hollywood Reporter pitched this story, as a cross between Romero's Dead films and "Blair Witch." It seems that we live in an age of labels, and I can see why such a pitch would make people roll their eyes at this premise. "Halloween: Resurrection" failed with something similar, but I've always felt that any premise can be done well depending on the artist behind it. And who is better in the cinema of horror today than George Romero?
But I actually think this premise has the potential to be a biting and intelligent horror film on par with Romero's previous works. As much as I liked "Land of the Dead," it certainly had a big-studio gloss that lacked the gloomy and atmospheric edge of Romero's previous Dead films. Some directors just work better with less, and it's good to see that Romero is scaling down.
Based on what Romero has said, I see "Diary of the Dead" as basically a spoof of the recent internet crazes with reality TV shows/YouTube, in which people celebrate their own existences in a shot to get their 15 minutes of fame. What's particularly noteworthy here is that the film involves college students making a horror film in the woods, something that Romero himself got his start with and also something that many, many, MANY "indie" film directors have done to throw their hats into the ring, though rarely with as much genuine terror and certainly never on par with Romero's satricial edge. In many ways, Romero seems here to be spoofing the results of the very craze that he himself started, and he is also exploring his zombie world from a very autobiographical point of view.
The "cinema verite" style that the filmmakers within the film are choosing to utilize is also curious, as Romero also might be playfully poking at "truths" verses "facts" that Werner Herzog explored with His Minnesotta Declaration, in which he challenged the nature of verite cinema as the most dishonest cinema at all, as it simply creates "norms" instead of true truth, which sometimes means that great lies must be told to get to the heart of reality.
"Truth" versus "fact," and the motivation to film either, might ultimately be Romero's theme with "Diary;" what, after all, is the point of shooting a documentary if there is literally no one to share it with? In a world overrun by the living dead, are you shooting a doc about zombies for the world or for yourself? Do you embrace your art as the world goes to hell to maintain your humanity? Parallels between this and films like "Operation Dreamland," "Gunner's Palace," or even TV shows like "Over There" are tantalizing, and I look forward to seeing how Romero, one of our very best living American filmmakers, approaches the material. -
Are so heavy handed. That is one thing that sucks about his zombie movies, he overdoes the message. Note to George: Yeah, we like zombies but we're not stupid like they are. Another thing that sucked in LOTD was the makeup and effects. They sucked! No other word will do, but maybe wretched. They were total people with some makeup. LOTD was poorly conceived and poorly executed, so much so that I don't believe Romero is capable of good work anymore, despite how much I enjoy the first 3 Dead flicks. Much like John Carpenter.
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Part II
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That said, there's no reason to expect this to suck. The fanboy whining about a continuation of the main storyline seems to be the only compaint, other than the expectation that this will be the Blair Witch Project with Zombies. A continuation of the old franchise is pointless. Romero did such a poor job with LOTD that getting him back to his roots might be the best thing he could do.
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It's always cool when someone likes any movie with the devotion you relate for Knightriders, but well, what can I say? I certainly don't think that when people who really know film are asked their favorites Knightriders comes up; I don't think when Romero's name is mentioned people say "Knightriders!" I am not talking popularity here per se, but artistic achievment, and I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that. But you DO have to admit that there are people who think Caligula is a work of art, too--does that make Guccione a great movie producer?
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I think Georgie-boy should re-think this. Get Bruce Campbell to star as the egocentric director of porn films who seese this zombie uprising as his opportunity to do a legitimate "art" film and receive the accolades he craves. His actors will be his stock company of porno actors. Stick with this idea and you've got a hit.
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You can shoot on HD DV these days with a relatively cheap camera and have it look just like film. It doesn't have to look like video, hence the idea of it being "Blair Witch"-like doesn't wash.
Sin City was shot on HD DV. I've seen short films shot with it and could barely tell that it wasn't shot on film. -
Way too long for this time of night. But I will say this: Romero should make a movie where the dead ride motorcycles and pretend to be knights of Camelot.
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Yes, that's the one in development, and I believe the follow up--World War Z or whatever it's called--has been bought, too. We need the Alien of zombie films, one that takes old material and gives it to a director whose visual style and dramatic point of view hasn't been used in a genre film, a tough thing to do these days.
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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002688773
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If you took a poll, you would find out that many more people love the original DOTD than that horrible remake. Running zombies? Gimme me a break! Zombies are dead flesh - they can hardly move, yet alone - run! The rage sufferers from 28 days were not zombies! Don't confuse the two movies. LOTD was a good movie - not as good as George's original three - but pretty damn good anyways. It's just great to have another Romero Zombie flick. I hope he makes many more. You don't mess with a masterpiece! It doesn't matter if you remake Dawn of The Dead a hundred times, the original will still be the best!
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This has to be an AiCN Talkback first. Did all the geeks in the world turn into zombies without telling me? Am I the only geek left that isn't a part of the walking dead? Bring this Talkback back to life!
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