Homepage of the Dead interviews George A Romero

[Neil]

"Speaking of the Dead"
http://www.homepageofthedead.com/baps/romero_interview.jpg

Lee Karr interviews George A Romero, in "Speaking of the Dead". Lee gets to ask about his latest zombie film... and other interesting stuff too!

Check out this awesome interview in the Bits and Pieces section.

[Click here] (http://www.homepageofthedead.com/baps)

[capncnut]

Just took me nearly 40 minutes to read that. F**king excellent work, Lee. Bravo! An informative, well-written read that is really worthy of the time. I don't agree with George on a few things but it was still wonderful to hear his thoughts about his movies, opinions on his colleagues (past and present), and the details about the upcoming ...Of The Dead. This is about as close as you're going to get to In Bed With George A. Romero. Take a ganders people, you wont be disappointed. :cool:

[bassman]

Awesome read.

I love it that even Romero admits that Dawn isn't "good".:lol:

So there's actual Dawn 3D footage? And here I thought it would probably never happen.

[AcesandEights]

Looks like a solid read. I'll either give it a good look through later this afternoon if things slow down enough in the office, or this evening.

I noticed there is no direct link available for the interview. I'd love to post a link a few places I hang online and help get some traffic to it (facebook, for example).

[3pidemiC]

Very nice interview. I'm very suprised at how candid and honest George is for this interview. It's nice to get look at his "true thoughts".

[Neil]

...and for me... the best things was :)

http://www.homepageofthedead.com/baps/romero_interview_10.jpg

...where can I buy one?

[darth los]

Very nice interview. I'm very suprised at how candid and honest George is for this interview. It's nice to get look at his "true thoughts".


I haven't read it yet but that doesn't suprise me at all. If anything GAR is a real dude. It's probably the reason he never fit in with the hollywood studios.








:cool:

[BillyRay]

...and for me... the best things was :)

http://www.homepageofthedead.com/baps/romero_interview_10.jpg

...where can I buy one?


I know!!! Zombie Puppet Romero!

Personally, this validates a lot of what I'm doing...

[Yojimbo]

Awesome, Lee. You have outdone yourself this time!

Might I add that I am totally envious that you were able to have a nice sit-down with the man, and even got invited to break bread with him - even if you had to decline.

Thxleo, you the man!

[thxleo]

Just took me nearly 40 minutes to read that. F**king excellent work, Lee. Bravo! An informative, well-written read that is really worthy of the time. I don't agree with George on a few things but it was still wonderful to hear his thoughts about his movies, opinions on his colleagues (past and present), and the details about the upcoming ...Of The Dead. This is about as close as you're going to get with In Bed With George A. Romero. Take a ganders people, you wont be disappointed. :cool:


Wow, thank you. I really appreciate the kind words.
I want to say thanks again to Neil for posting this for me and I hope that everyone will find it an interesting read. :)


Awesome, Lee. You have outdone yourself this time!

Might I add that I am totally envious that you were able to have a nice sit-down with the man, and even got invited to break bread with him - even if you had to decline.

Thxleo, you the man!

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it!

[Griff]

Amazing stuff, Lee. Just when all his interviews were beginning to read the same, you really brought Romero out of his shell and had him divulge some fascinating stuff. Thanks for your efforts.

[MoonSylver]

http://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gif

Awesome stuff. A great read. What a score!

There are SOOOO many things I'd like to comment on. Here are just a few that jumped out at me.


"It's about a feud, a long standing feud between these two old guys on an island, where it should be safe and it's away from most of the chaos that's happening on the mainland. But these two old guys can't stop shooting at each other and that's more important - the feud is more important to them than trying to address the crisis."

I like the sound of that. It re-enforces a them that I think you can't repeat enough: we are our own worst enemy. It won't be the zombies that get us, it'll be each other.


"Basically what I want to say is forgive me. I guess the basic thing that bugs me, the biggest thing that bugs me is that fans want me to do either the last movie I did or do another Dawn or do another this or do another that - and that pisses me off! That's not what I'm about! I'm gonna make a movie, look at it, if you don't like it that's fine. If you like it, then I love it. In other words don't punish me because this was not as good as Dawn. This is what I'm thinking right now, I'm making this movie right now, this is what I'm thinking, give it a break! Look at it, maybe it will take you two or three times to look at it, but look at it. All I can say is that I'm trying my best and don't punish me because it's not as "good" as Dawn, because Dawn was not even "good", it was fun, but it wasn't "good". I think this new movie, Blank of the dead, is much better in a cinematic sense than Dawn, but I worry that a lot of people might think it's not."


And you hope that at least your fans will come around and say 'Woo, cool man we're with you still'. Except that even your fans, even the 19 fans that you have, are split. 19 doesn't split evenly, so it's 10 - 9 liking it, not liking it. C'mon boys, I mean I did this, this was the idea that I had, I did it. C'mon stick with me."

I'm gladdened & saddened to hear this at the same time. Hopefully George knows that there are still fans out there that are willing to give his films a fair shake & see what he comes up with next. That not every film has to be as "good" as Dawn (what a loaded & subjective term THAT is...) I for one am glad he's still making movies as long as he want's to make them & look forward to seeing them. I hope I'm not alone in that opinion & I hope that that he realizes that there are fans who still feel that way.


"It's not that special! I look at a cheeseburger B-movie on Turner and whoever made that movie was more professional and did a better job than I did on Night. Yet all of a sudden I get these accolades for Night. I know why - there was a black guy, there was social commentary, I know why - but the movie is not that well made. It is not well made AT ALL!"

This I would SOOOO disagree with. It really shows the humility of the man. There is SO much more to Night than that. I think it's a really artfully made film, given the limitations of of budget, cast, you name it. Some of those opening shots leading up to & in the cemetery? The shots in the house of the stuffed animals & the play of light & shadows? Barbra & the music box? All great stuff. Beyond that, this was a true example of the sum being greater than the parts, of making something out of nothing, whatever. They really captured lightning in a bottle with that one. It's a real perfect storm of events that lined up just the right way to produce something extraordinary.
So don't sell yourself (& Night) short George!:D

[capncnut]

"It's not that special! I look at a cheeseburger B-movie on Turner and whoever made that movie was more professional and did a better job than I did on Night. Yet all of a sudden I get these accolades for Night. I know why - there was a black guy, there was social commentary, I know why - but the movie is not that well made. It is not well made AT ALL!"
This was one of the few things that I disagreed with too, Moon. Night Of The Living Dead is a masterpiece!

"Not that well made"... are you kidding?


...and for me... the best things was :)

http://www.homepageofthedead.com/baps/romero_interview_10.jpg
A skit with Oscar The Grouch on Sesame Street would be great! :lol:

[Hurricane]

Awesome read.

I love it that even Romero admits that Dawn isn't "good".:lol:

So there's actual Dawn 3D footage? And here I thought it would probably never happen.
They are making Dawn 3-D right now...http://www.beyondhollywood.com/romeros-dawn-of-the-dead-is-back-in-3d-and-a-sequel/

[Neil]

They are making Dawn 3-D right now...http://www.beyondhollywood.com/romeros-dawn-of-the-dead-is-back-in-3d-and-a-sequel/

Can't wait to see what they managed to do with a "direct sequel" :rolleyes:

[capncnut]

Can't wait to see what they managed to do with a "direct sequel" :rolleyes:
1. The article posted on the 'direct sequel' is way over a year old and was posted here around the same time. 2. It's pretty much a given that if this project ever comes to fruition (more like rotten stale ewwwy Hellsing-style tubifex fruit) it will most likely be an unadulterated pile of cack.

Regardless, welcome to the forums Hurricane. :)

[thxleo]

Amazing stuff, Lee. Just when all his interviews were beginning to read the same, you really brought Romero out of his shell and had him divulge some fascinating stuff. Thanks for your efforts.


Thanks Griff, very much appreciated.


http://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gifhttp://www.mayyam.com/hub/images/smiles/notworthy.gif

Awesome stuff. A great read. What a score!





Thanks MoonSylver!

[Neil]

1000+ hits in 24 hours :)

[Harold W Brown]

Nice get for the site and for Lee!

I just read the whole thing and didn't see any word of whether the thing is done, or when it will be. Anyone?

[bassman]

I just read the whole thing and didn't see any word of whether the thing is done, or when it will be. Anyone?


If I remember correctly, we're looking at the start of 2010 for release...

[axlish]

Arguably the greatest article ever written on the man, great work!

[Neil]

I'm bemused! I emailed Aint It Cool News (twice) & Cinemablend about Lee's awesome article, and not a peep!

Looking at some of the dross AICN posts, I can't believe they're not interest in an interview with Romero. Christ, the picture of the Romero puppet is worth it alone!

[Trin]

This is just a fabulous interview. Really top notch. Portrayed GAR very very well, got to the honest man, stripped away the Hollywood bs.

I know a lot of GAR fans would love the chance to sit down and get to know the man and pick his brain. It's a childhood fantasy. Leo, you have done such a good job retelling the experience that, at least for me, I came away from the interview feeling like that urge was satisfied.

Well done Leo!!

As to the subject matter, I have a couple observations.

The interview seemed to indicate that GAR is thinking really hard about what his movies are trying to say and he's working really hard on how they look from a cinematic perspective. I only saw a little about plot development, character development, storytelling, etc. Alongside that I hear him saying that Night and Dawn were not "good" movies. It seems to me that he's never quite gotten what people love about those movies.


I think this new movie, Blank of the dead, is much better in a cinematic sense than Dawn, but I worry that a lot of people might think it's not."
This quote really brings some of my thoughts on GAR into focus. Land, to my eyes, was the best done Dead movie purely from a visual sense. I'd have to say, if cinematics and message are predominantly what the man is focused on then he's doing well with his movies, even the recent ones.


And you hope that at least your fans will come around and say 'Woo, cool man we're with you still'. Except that even your fans, even the 19 fans that you have, are split. 19 doesn't split evenly, so it's 10 - 9 liking it, not liking it. C'mon boys, I mean I did this, this was the idea that I had, I did it. C'mon stick with me."

This is a really hard sentiment to respond to. I've been a GAR Dead fan for as long as I can remember. And I've spent a lot of time in the "not liking it" category. The two are not at odds. I will gladly support any GAR movie he cares to make. At the same time I won't like them just because they're GAR movies. Like some. Dislike some. LOVE some. Through it all, still a fan.

GAR movies are not judged similarly to mainstream horror movies. They are in a class all their own. They are thought provoking. They breed discussion and debate. They generate strong opinions.

Where GAR sees a 10 - 9 split of his fanbase I see 19 people who watch the movies over and over again to explore every nuance. That's high praise whether the verdict is "liking it" or "not liking it."

So my message to GAR is, regardless of recent negative feedback, "Woo, cool man we're with you still!!"

[thxleo]

This is just a fabulous interview. Really top notch. Portrayed GAR very very well, got to the honest man, stripped away the Hollywood bs.

I know a lot of GAR fans would love the chance to sit down and get to know the man and pick his brain. It's a childhood fantasy. Leo, you have done such a good job retelling the experience that, at least for me, I came away from the interview feeling like that urge was satisfied.

Well done Leo!!




Thank you so much for saying those things Trin, thank you. It really makes me feel good to know that everyone seems to have really enjoyed this interview! :)

[Neil]

This is just a fabulous interview. Really top notch. Portrayed GAR very very well, got to the honest man, stripped away the Hollywood bs.

Exactly! So I'm just amazed that after two attempts AICN is seemingly not the slightest bit interested in posting it. Considering the pap they post at times, I'm just bemused!

Do me a favour, someone else try telling AICN of this scoop!

Link - http://www.homepageofthedead.com/baps/romero_interview.html

[DubiousComforts]

Exactly! So I'm just amazed that after two attempts AICN is seemingly not the slightest bit interested in posting it. Considering the pap they post at times, I'm just bemused!
This is exactly why Ain't It Cool Snooze ain't at all interested -- HPOTD scooped the shit out of them with an exclusive in-depth interview. So don't expect their congrats anytime for doing a way better job than those tools have ever done.

Lee's Romero interview should be the entire front page of the site instead of being buried in the forums, IMO. Start spreading the word that HPOTD is the one-stop resource for all news on George Romero films.

[krakenslayer]

Exactly! So I'm just amazed that after two attempts AICN is seemingly not the slightest bit interested in posting it. Considering the pap they post at times, I'm just bemused!

Do me a favour, someone else try telling AICN of this scoop!

Link - http://www.homepageofthedead.com/baps/romero_interview.html

I sent them an email about it yesterday, too.

[capncnut]

This is exactly why Ain't It Cool Snooze ain't at all interested -- HPOTD scooped the shit out of them with an exclusive in-depth interview. So don't expect their congrats anytime for doing a way better job than those tools have ever done.
Yeah, f**k that ginger Jabba and his site loaded with half-truths and bullshit speculations.

[Easy506]

Awesome interview. Really got into his brain seems like.

I sent an e-mail to the Survival of the Dead MySpace to try to respond to some of his thoughts on the way fans tend to compare everything he's done to Dawn and things like that and I was going to post it here so you guys know how I feel about that whole issue.


I don't know who manages this MySpace, but I can only hope you have some way of passing information back to George Romero. I felt compelled to say a little something to him after reading his interview with Lee Karr at Homepage Of the Dead.

I don't have many big expectations of a new GAR zombie movie. I don't let myself, because honestly, it's not fair to George. You can't remake Dawn, no matter what Zack Snyder thinks. It was a movie all to itself. I personally only expect to see zombies, gore, and most importantly: Well thought out **** that leaves you thinking once all the fun is done with. That stuff that pops up that I wasn't thinking about? Always a delightful surprise. I love George's movies. I will always love his movies. Comparing each one to the last one made is horse****. People need to be objective and let each movie be a movie by itself. Nobody was sitting watching Dawn of the Dead thinking "Man this is way better than Night." They weren't thinking about Night. They were thinking "Wow, this is great!" I'm sure George wasn't sitting around thinking about Night while he worked on it, either. He put his heart and soul into that film right then and that's what people saw. And that's how I've approached every movie George does. Each one has it's own merits, and finds it's own niche in my mind. There are elements that made some of the previous films great, but if you sit around nitpicking, looking for those elements again, you are gonna miss the elements that could potentially make the film you are watching great in it's own right. Each movie deserves its chance to be what it is by itself. He puts everything he has into each one of them, and I personally feel like I owe each movie a shot just because George has entertained me so much over the years. I trust that he knows what he's doing. I owe him the benefit of the doubt. I take the risk of paying money for his movies, without worrying about how it's gonna stack up. And he never dissappoints.

Keep your head up, George. Nevermind the naysayers. We're still with you. All the way.



That's my two cents. Now I'm broke. lol.


(I edited this for language. I'm new here and didn't want to offend.)

[capncnut]

I don't know who manages this MySpace...
Not Romero directly, I assure you.


That's my two cents. Now I'm broke. lol.
Wanna loan? ;)

Regardless, I dont wanna hear any shit by Diary haters (yes, I did NOT like Diary myself so don't quote my ass) because I'm willing to give this bitch a shot. I like what I have seen thus far and I'm intrigued by this 'survival' hint.

[Easy506]

(yes, I did NOT like Diary myself so don't quote my ass)

Mwaha! Sorry, I couldn't resist. But see, this is what I'm getting at. Would I be wrong in saying that your not liking Diary has nothing to do with the previous movies? Something about the movie itself you didn't like, yeah? And that's perfect, man. That's just fine. You aren't letting your dissappointment with Diary affect your anticipation for Survival and that's the way it should be.

Personally, I'm a goofball fanboy. I love them all for some reason or another. lol. But for those who don't agree with me, all I'm saying is give each one a fair shot.

[capncnut]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. While I might not like Diary, I would still recommend that people watch it for themselves, as a lot of folks really enjoy it. I just got a feeling that Survival is gonna be a good one.