George Romero disses 'The Walking Dead'

[MoonSylver]

Fifth Beatle? Are you out of your mind? The man didn't contribute, he invented the whole subgenre. More of a Lennon or Mccartney then. Mmm...Richard Matheson would probably be able to claim dibs as John. But GAR would certainly qualify as Paul!

[krakenslayer]

See this just further illustrates my total disconnect from zombie stuff these days: I think George is right, TWD is just a monolith pile of wet cliche. Geroge's last few movies were pretty lame, very heavy handed, poorly thought out in many respects, and often very silly, but at least I finished all of them, and have even gone back to them a couple of times. I couldn't get through the first series of TWD, and I tried twice. Romero's movies tried to do some different stuff, and even if not all of it (or even most of it) worked, it was at least interesting to watch him try. As far as I could see, TWD was just shallow, box-ticking zombie fanservice wedded to some cookie-cutter daytime personal drama. Dull dull dull.

[SeekNDestroy82]

I love GAR and till this day the original Dawn is my favorite horror film of all time. I've literally watch Night, Dawn, and Day at least a dozen times each and I'm still not tired of them! However he hasn't exactly been gracing his fans with top notch work over the past couple of decades either. Land of the Dead is honestly his only zombie flick since Day that is actually SOMEWHAT decent (and I'm still not much of a fan of it). Diary and Survival were both complete crap as far as as I'm concerned, and it seems more like he's simply lazily trying to milk off of his legacy rather than put out the kind of films that we all know he's capable of.

[Ragnarr]

George dissing TWD after those last 3 stinkers he shoveled out to his fans is absurd. I'm sure he'd praise the show if the fans hated TWD and it was cancelled mid-season. Then George might say, "they did the show exactly the way I would have" lol.

[HumanBiped]

I hate how GAR can be such a critic about the other zombie stuff...... I mean, he's right, zombies started as the people who had blowfish juice given to them and had the voodoo priests convince them that they were to do their bidding. If I remember right, Zombie Holocaust had this kinda thing going on. But, it was made something more as time went on in our culture, and GAR helped this even though he called them ghouls in Night. But, it's not like he rushed to correct everyone that they were ghouls and not zombies as the years went on. And I don't want to watch versions of "Dawn of the Dead" over and over and over and over...... slow zombies that eventually "get you" at the end of the movie. The Walking Dead is a fresh take, and is an extended look at a zombie movie, something that isn't done that much. Love the guy, just think he's down on it if it wasn't his idea.

[MinionZombie]

A fair point. Plus I've seen so many beginnings of a zombie outbreak in countless movies, that - in addition to all the other good points of TWD (both comic and show) - the on-going story of TWD really appeals to me. We essentially skip the initial outbreak, only seeing small snippets, but we get this long and involved look at this world following the same characters throughout (or for long periods of time before they meet their maker). Fed up of so many beginnings to the outbreak, how many times do we need to see that? I'm talking about zombie movies in general here, although GAR has gone back to the beginning with Diary and Survival. He did set the template and produced three incredible, genre-defining zombie films that are cinematic landmarks and beloved fan favourites. There's also Land of the Dead - which I like, but it's certainly divided opinion generally - which took another time jump forward to give us the furthest look forward into an outbreak that we'd seen at that point. It has it's problems, but all-said I dig it ... so I was disappointed when we went back to the beginning of an outbreak with Diary.

[EvilNed]

See this just further illustrates my total disconnect from zombie stuff these days: I think George is right, TWD is just a monolith pile of wet cliche. Geroge's last few movies were pretty lame, very heavy handed, poorly thought out in many respects, and often very silly, but at least I finished all of them, and have even gone back to them a couple of times. I couldn't get through the first series of TWD, and I tried twice. Romero's movies tried to do some different stuff, and even if not all of it (or even most of it) worked, it was at least interesting to watch him try. As far as I could see, TWD was just shallow, box-ticking zombie fanservice wedded to some cookie-cutter daytime personal drama. Dull dull dull. I have to agree with this. The Walking Dead isn't really that interesting to me. I don't sympathize with any of the characters and frankly I think almost all of them are poorly written or just flat-out silly clichés. (Michonne, Daryl...) The series takes itself very seriously, but it doesn't want to go all the way. It's still got one foot knee-deep in comic territory. I'd have wanted to see a reimagined Michonne for the small screen. None of that silent-warrior, samurai-sword stuff. That's just ridiculous.

[ProfessorChaos]

^ be careful, ned. too much of that talk and some around here might start saying you're "full of shit" and dismissing everything else you say or post. TWD has no flaws, get it right!

[AcesandEights]

^ be careful, ned. too much of that talk and some around here might start saying you're "full of shit" and dismissing everything else you say or post. TWD has no flaws, get it right! Damn, Prof. You are angry. Hope you're okay, man.

[ProfessorChaos]

^ sorry doug. i forgot to put any smilies or sarcasm warning signs out there. that wasn't directed at you, either. and life is great for me lately, so no worries.

[Trin]

Gosh, GAR thinks TWD is like a soap opera? The main character emerges from a coma and finds his wife and son being cared for by his former partner and best friend, who has alpha-male anger issues, and who is having sex with his wife, who is pregnant from one of them, leading to a tension filled love triangle that stretches over multiple seasons, culminating in a double-cross betrayal showdown murder ... I don't know where GAR gets these crazy ideas. GAR's statements are accurate, if a bit dismissive. The fact that his own latest submissions to the genre aren't any better is neither here nor there. I do wish he'd give it a little more credit though. It is a GOOD soap opera at least. "No, Michonne. Let the Governor go...he's just looking for a place to store his fish tank." This says it all!! Hooray for Aces - your posts just keep getting better! My biggest concern with this thread is that the makers of TWD would want GAR involved. Did they see Survival of the Dead? All I can imagine GAR producing is a bunch of confusing plot mired in commentary and zombie gags.

[bassman]

My biggest concern with this thread is that the makers of TWD would want GAR involved. Did they see Survival of the Dead? All I can imagine GAR producing is a bunch of confusing plot mired in commentary and zombie gags. Darabont tried to get Romero on board to direct an episode around the early days of season two, but Romero turned him down saying he would prefer to stick to his "own thing".

[Neil]

Darabont tried to get Romero on board to direct an episode around the early days of season two, but Romero turned him down saying he would prefer to stick to his "own thing". His "own thing" basically meaning retirement I assume? Such a shame. Romero could have picked an episode that primarily stood alone and really made something of it!

[MinionZombie]

I don't see why certain plot elements are considered "soap opera". The same sort of elements, and mixtures thereof, are used throughout innumerable forms of TV and Film. "Soap Opera", to me at least, refers much more to presentation style. Linking TWD with "soap opera" makes utterly no sense to me whatsoever.

[shootemindehead]

To me, "Soap Opera" is overwrought themes, usually involving some characters partner screwing someone else. These themes are generally regurgitated in a circular motion in lieu of a genuinely interesting storyline. Rinse, repeat... They're for shock value, more than anything else. Just take a look at any episode of 'Coronation Steet', or 'Eastenders' any night of the week. You can tell whats going on with the slightest of information, because they've all done the same storyline before. It's gossip television. The only "Soap Opera" items in 'The Walking Dead' for me was the ridiculously extended Shane/Lori/Rick thing, which was really running out of steam. But, this was in the comic, so we can't really bemoan the producers for that angle. Maggie and Glen is the same. Also, the whole nonsense with the Gov and Andrea. Serious roll eyes there. I understand why some people attach the "soap opera" moniker to the show, but I also think it's somewhat unfairly applied as well.