Interesting tidbit about NOTLD...

[sammylou]

Awhile back, I attended a horror convention here in boring old St. Louis (just kidding, it's not that boring) called the Kitbuilder Monstrous Weekend. It was awesome, the main attraction for me and most of the other attendees a reunion panel of the original cast of NOTLD. They also had a good 16mm print of the film they showed. Really cool, but that's not the point of this post... I asked the panel what was the hardest scene in the film to shoot. John Russo explained that the most difficult scene was probably when Cooper gets shot, then falls down the stairs. He said that the coat hanger next to Cooper kept going down the stairs with him, and that they had to redo the scene many times. I wouldn't have guessed this to be the most difficult from a film making standpoint. What would you guess the most difficult scene from other "Dead" movies to shoot would be? I think those scenes at the end of "Day" would be hard, just because of the sheer number of actors involved. What do you all think?

[sandrock74]

Anything involving the zombie actors eating the junk they used for human innards. Gross!

[MoonSylver]

I asked the panel what was the hardest scene in the film to shoot. John Russo explained that the most difficult scene was probably when Cooper gets shot, then falls down the stairs. He said that the coat hanger next to Cooper kept going down the stairs with him, and that they had to redo the scene many times. Yep, IIRC Karl Hardman (RIP) tells that story in the commentary on the Millennium Edition. When he's all staggering around & grasping about he kept getting tangled up in it & dragging it down with him. They considered just getting rid of it, but it had already been established in other shots & they didn't want to wreck the continuity, so they soldiered on. Don't remember how many takes they did, but it was a lot. Who woulda ever thunk such a simple shot would be such a pain in the arse?

[DeadJake]

Yes, I remember watching Dawn and the scene were the red necks and the Guard are all drinking smoking and shooting havin a good time, i always felt it would be hard to capture, and by god it has been captured well.

[Mr.G]

I would think the beginning of Day (isolated city shots) would be tough. I don't imagine GAR having the budget for a soundstage or movie studio lot. I would imagine the planning involved would be tough.

[ludovico]

What about the bit in dawn when some of the lights go out on multiple levels in the skyscraper just as the 4 are taking off in the chopper 4 the first time ! i always thought the logistics in that shot would be hard to pull off .

[Philly_SWAT]

Yes, I remember watching Dawn and the scene were the red necks and the Guard are all drinking smoking and shooting havin a good time, i always felt it would be hard to capture, and by god it has been captured well. It was indeed captured well. I dont think that would be all that hard to capture though..hey guys, just stand around drinking and telling stories, then yell "Look out behind you" and zombies will come out, then shoot them. I would think the beginning of Day (isolated city shots) would be tough. I don't imagine GAR having the budget for a soundstage or movie studio lot. I would imagine the planning involved would be tough. That is one of my favorite shots in any of GAR's movies, the isolated city shots in the beginning of Day. However, it would be pretty easy to capture early on a Sunday morning (which is when they shot it, I believe) because overall traffic would be light. And that area of Fort Myers, the traffic is incredibly light at any time of the day, so it would be pretty much deserted early morning. There is practically nothing of interest in that area, most of the buildings are empty, M-F 9-5 businesses, or nighttime clubs. What about the bit in dawn when some of the lights go out on multiple levels in the skyscraper just as the 4 are taking off in the chopper 4 the first time ! i always thought the logistics in that shot would be hard to pull off . Somebody says on one of the commentaries that someone..the building manager perhaps?..volunteered to do that with the lights. I dont think GAR had to do anything about it. Hard to say which scene(s) I think would have been the hardest to shoot. Any scene in Dawn that was shot in a "regular area during a regular time" would be difficult to keep random vehicles driving out of the shot (as we see many scenes where they did not keep the vehicles out of the shot). I guess I would say that the hardest scene I could think of would be the Building 107 scene. There were so many extras involved in that scene, so logistically it would be harder to control them all, and seeing as it was an actual building, it was not set up to provide convenient camera angles, handle indoor smoke bombs, etc.

[darth los]

They considered just getting rid of it, but it had already been established in other shots & they didn't want to wreck the continuity, so they soldiered on. So let's get this straight. GAR was worried about continuity!?! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!! DAMN THAT'S FUNNY. This coming from a film where in the escape from the farm house scene it's pitch black outside and smack dab in the middle of the sequence it's daytime all of a sudden and then.....wouldn't cha know....nightime agian. Continuity? uh....ya. I'll say this though. If that is true it goes a long way toward explaining why he didn't want to bother with shit like that in the later films. Just too much of a pain in the ass for a laid back hippie dude like him.

[MoonSylver]

So let's get this straight. GAR was worried about continuity!?! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!! DAMN THAT'S FUNNY. This coming from a film where in the escape from the farm house scene it's pitch black outside and smack dab in the middle of the sequence it's daytime all of a sudden and then.....wouldn't cha know....nightime agian. Continuity? uh....ya. I shit you not. IIRC they specifically say that they went back & checked some of the film that had already been developed & yep, the coat rack is visible, so they kept it. As for the day/night shot, I don't remember they story on why they didn't catch that one, but I think there is one... Honestly, I'm not surprised at the technical goofs in Night. First time filmmakers, never done a feature length film before, extremely low budget, tough shooting conditions & schedule. But the sincerity was there. These guys were giving this movie 110% Frankly, I'd have ditched the damn thing & been done with it. I don't think anyone would have noticed nor particularly cared.

[AnxietyDilemma]

Wasn't it said that the scene where Steven comes back and they shoot him, a difficult one? After getting shot, he had to fall where he'd land off to the side so he wouldn't be in the way of the rest of the zombies.

[sammylou]

I forgot about that scene with the lights going off in the building, that probably was kinda tricky. But it defenitely was one of the coolest shots in the movie in my opinion.

[Harold W Brown]

I would think the beginning of Day (isolated city shots) would be tough. I don't imagine GAR having the budget for a soundstage or movie studio lot. I would imagine the planning involved would be tough. And Romero wasn't even there for that one. I believe Ernest Dickerson directed 2nd unit for that stuff.

[Griff]

What about the bit in dawn when some of the lights go out on multiple levels in the skyscraper just as the 4 are taking off in the chopper 4 the first time ! i always thought the logistics in that shot would be hard to pull off . I believe the windows were simply handpainted out.