Famous Monsters #270 - Night and Dawn articles

[thxleo]

Just wanted to let you guys know that the new issue of Famous Monsters, #270, contains a retrospective on Night of the Living Dead written by Jim Cirronella(DubiousComforts) and then an article by me on the making of Dawn of the Dead. I'm really proud of the piece on DAWN, it's got a lot of information on the production and when things were shot, including the real reason why Romero changed the film's downbeat ending(it's not because he liked the characters too much). But unfortunately the editor omitted the best part of the article which was about a feud between Tom Savini and explosives expert Gary Zeller. It's a shame because it definitely gave you a look into an incident that occurred during production that fans would have found fascinating. Anyway, hope you'll take the time to check it out.

[Neil]

Nice stuff! Love to get this, but this $10 mag would cost me another $19 to ship over

[thxleo]

Nice stuff! Love to get this, but this $10 mag would cost me another $19 to ship over If I had an extra one I'd mail you one, Neil! FM only provided 1 complimentary copy for myself though.

[Neil]

Very kind of you, and I certainly wasn't fishing for a favour

[Doc Foster]

I just happened to come across this thread while browsing the forum after a long absence. Lee, I have recently purchased a copy of that magazine and found your article fascinating. Just where did you get all that production info with exact shooting dates? And would it be possible to elaborate a bit on the Savini/Zeller "feud"? I have heard that Gary Zeller left the production of DAWN prematurely, is that true? And if so, did it have anything to do with whatever "problems" there were between the two?

[thxleo]

I just happened to come across this thread while browsing the forum after a long absence. Lee, I have recently purchased a copy of that magazine and found your article fascinating. Just where did you get all that production info with exact shooting dates? And would it be possible to elaborate a bit on the Savini/Zeller "feud"? I have heard that Gary Zeller left the production of DAWN prematurely, is that true? And if so, did it have anything to do with whatever "problems" there were between the two? Thanks, Doc, for the kind words. I'm very proud of that article, but still pissed about FM deleting the section on Savini and Zeller. Zeller did leave "early", but not as early as you might think. He left with about a week or so left of filming. Something like that. If you have the Anchor Bay 2004 special edition DVD box set set there is some bts super 8 footage from Robert Langer and in it there is footage of George on his birthday, which is Feb. 4, and in the background you can see Zeller. That shows just how long he was there. I'm still deciding on what I should do with that story about Savini and Zeller. Trust me though, Zeller was BRUTAL when he spoke of Savini and Tom was just as brutal when I asked him about Zeller. Zeller made a strong accusation against Savini and Tom verified that the accusation itself was indeed accurate, meaning Zeller claimed Tom did something unethical during filming. Tom denies it, but did admit that Zeller made the accusation. As for the filming dates, I was provided with a crew member's personal time log from the filming. He kept it to ensure he was paid correctly. LOL

[Doc Foster]

Thanks for your reply, Lee. This is very interesting stuff - I hope you'll be able to reveal the full story one day, although I understand it is somewhat "delicate".