by Rod Whitenack
The customers and crew of Wild & Woolly Video were given a spooktacular Halloween treat last Sunday, October 19, when film director George Romero stopped in to tour the store and meet with fans. Stopping in Louisville to visit with friends and family, Mr. Romero graciously took some time out of his whirlwind trip to check out our local cult film headquarters and sign autographs and DVDs for Louisville's biggest deadheads.
Those not familiar with all of Romero's work (and I can't imagine many of our customers who aren't) will certainly have heard of the seminal black-and-white,1968 zombie masterpiece, Night of the Living Dead, and its sequels Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead (which has recently been issued on a fantastic DVD by Anchor Bay). After signing posters, videos, DVDs and rare collectibles, George agreed to participate in a brief, exclusive interview session with Wild & Woolly to keep the fans up to date on his career.
The first question on the mind of most Romero aficionados is the status of the fourth Living Dead project, a script he has already completed called Dead Reckoning. Romero says that more legal issues still need to be ironed out before work on the film can officially begin.
"When we made the original film," Romero told us, "we titled it Night of the Flesh Eaters. We registered that title with the copyright office, but at the last minute the producers changed the title to Night of the Living Dead and neglected to copyright the new title, leaving us without rights to our own film, which is why you see so many people putting it out on video and DVD all the time." He continues, "The 1990 remake directed by Tom Savini was an attempt to reclaim some of the rights." It wasn't entirely successful in that regard.
We pressed Romero for some of the secret details involving the new storyline and he gave us a hint on what to expect: "It's about ignoring the problem. After the events in Day of the Dead, the remaining survivors are living in exclusive gated communities that protect them from the dead outside. They attempt to live normally while ignoring the problem in the world outside their walls." It has been hinted in the media that this storyline was Romero's take on the homeless problem in America. "The real horror and adventure comes into play with the group of people living in the gated city whose job it is to leave the safety of the city and venture out into the dead wasteland to gather supplies and things."
While Dead Reckoning languishes is legal turmoil, Romero is working on developing several other projects including a film called The Ill and a made-for-TV production of Dracula for ABC.
We avoided asking Romero which one of his films is his favorite, as I've often thought of that question as asking someone to pick their favorite child, but instead asked him which one of his films is his most personal. "I'd have to say Knightriders. That film is really all me. It contains my philosophy of life and political views as well." He continues, "If you want to know what I think my best work as a director is, I'd have to say Bruiser." Bruiser is Romero's most recent project, and was met with mixed reception by critics and fans. "That was the best working experience I've ever had as a director, and I was blessed with the best cast and crew I've ever worked with."
As a lifelong Misfits fan, I couldn't resist asking Romero about having the band on set for the film and directing a music video involving the members of the band playing zombies attacking concert attendees at a hospital after a show. "Those guys are great. I've known Jerry (Only) for many years, and he's always been great, The band lineup changes again and again, but Jerry has always been there. It was a lot of fun." If you'd like to see the video, in which Romero directs zombies for the first time since Day of the Dead in 1985, check out the free VHS rental in our George Romero section or the Bruiser DVD in Modern Horror.
Since we had Dawn of the Dead star, Ken Foree, in the store back in early June, it seemed natural to ask George about the first thing that came to his mind when he recalled working with the cult actor. "He's a presence, that's for sure, as I'm sure you found out. He walks into a room and he just fills the room, literally. With his physical presence and deep booming voice, he just commands attention on the screen."
With the subject of Dawn of the Dead breeched, it seemed like a good idea to ask about the currently filming remake with Ving Rhames cast in the Ken Foree role. Romero has noting to do with the project and wasn't asked to be involved, even in an advisory role. Back in June, Ken Foree told me he had auditioned for the remake but wasn't cast in the project either. I hate to editorialize the issue, but it saddens me that Hollywood continues to mine the ideas and loyal following of the zombie genre directly born out of Romero's films, but consistently refuses to let the original mastermind be involved in the current horror frenzy. Instead, younger and less experienced film makers that Hollywood hopes will attract the younger, hipper audience that flock to horror films are allowed to take stabs in the dark at reinventing the genre for the MTV-raised generation.
When asked about 28 Days Later, which is almost completely made up of specific homage set pieces to Romero's The Crazies and the Living Dead trilogy (using Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend" as a basis, which in turn has been adapted as The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price and The Omega Man with Charlton Heston), Romero says he hasn't seen it.
"I guess I will see it," he explains, "but I just haven't felt compelled to run out and see it yet." He is aware of the homage paid to his films, however, and had this to say about it: "It's nice. I suppose it's a compliment, but there is a deep seated anger below the surface that it's someone instead of yourself that's getting to do it."
On a lighter note, we asked Romero about a project he made in 1974 called O.J. Simpson: Juice on the Loose. He recalls, "Oh yes, we did an entire series of celebrity profiles for television during that time. We followed O.J. around for almost a year, documenting the peak of his football career. It wasn't just that one show. We also profiled many other celebrities." For a director whose career has long been associated with the horror genre and screen maniacs of various degree, we at Wild & Woolly wonder how this project fits in. We'll leave the commentary to you.
We saved one timely question for last: What does George Romero do for Halloween? "Well, this year I'm likely doing the same thing many others are doing. I'm taking the kids out trick-or-treating. My son is getting about to the age where we likely won't be doing it much longer." His son is now 12 years old. "Usually," he continues, "I'm pretty busy this time of year. In Pittsburgh, I'm often asked to make special appearances at haunted houses or horror conventions."
Right after his visit to Wild & Woolly, George was headed to Knoxville, Tennessee to visit the daughter of his friend, the undisputed master of Italian horror, Dario Argento. Asia Argento is currently in Knoxville directing and staring in her latest project called The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things. Romero picked up a DVD copy of Scarlet Diva on his way out to have signed by Asia. We are, of course, jealous. He also asked for a copy Versus, which we were currently sold out of, so Donnie is shipping him a copy. Instead, he picked up a copy of our imported Battle Royale DVD. So if you were wondering what George Romero was watching these days, there you have it!
It was a great experience for both us and the fans, and we hope George can come back soon for a bigger meet-and-greet with the Louisville fans when he has more time. We wish Mr. Romero the best of luck in all future projects and on behalf of all of us at Wild & Woolly thank him for making our Halloween a little spookier.