George A. Romero's "Diary of the Dead"

[DWEarhart]

Romero Breaks Silence on "Diary of the Dead"

From Rotten Tomatoes.com

In an excited letter sent to Ain't It Cool News, Romero gushes that "Diary of the Dead" is a movie that comes from "the heart. It's not a sequel or a remake. It's a whole new beginning for the dead."

Here's the letter in its entirety:

Quote:

Hi, guys,

Lemme tell ya about Diary of the Dead. I love it. It's the first film since my original Night of the Living Dead that I can say is completely my own.

I’ve been trying to work under-the-radar, with no hype or press, but lately I've started hearing all kinds of shit about "What's goin' on with Romero?" "What's with his new film?"

Gimme a break over here! I'm up in Toronto workin' my ass off, making Diary the best it can be. Truth is, I'm having a blast. I've gone home to the kind of filmmaking that I used to do, back in the day.

Diary is a hundred percent independent, made with my partner, Peter Grunwald, and our new friends at Artfire. I haven't had this much freedom since 1968. The cast, of what film critics will probably call "unknowns" (they won't be for long) is, in my opinion, f***** great.

This one comes from my heart. It's not a sequel or a remake. It's a whole new beginning for the dead.

Thanks to all of you who are out there waiting and wondering. You guys, the fans, have always kept me going. Now Diary's keeping me going, night, dawn, and day.

I love this movie. I hope you will, too. I'll be back here from time to time to keep you posted.
Stay tuned.

Stay scared.

George A. Romero

Cool. No suits sticking their noses in his business. Here I am with my fingers crossed, hoping that this film will see the light of day in my lifetime.

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

Here I am with my fingers crossed, hoping that this film will see the light of day in my lifetime.why wouldn't it?,isn't it completed already.

[smartalek]

This film was being shot the exact same time the zombie film I was working on was being shot, about a few miles away from each other. Toronto/Hamilton is the zombie capital of the world.

[DWEarhart]

Here's a poster.

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/4135/diaryofthedeadmoviepostaw5.jpg

[HomerJay]

I love the plot of this movie.
It's an independent film crew out in the country shooting a low-budget zombie movie when a REAL zombie outbreak occurs. It sounds like a cross between Blair Witch and the original Night Of The Living Dead.

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

It sounds like a cross between Blair Witch and the original Night Of The Living Dead.
ironically cloverfeild is another hybrid like this,instead replace zombies with giant city destroying monster..

[Dennis K]

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q54/DLKern1963/Jay.jpg

[Badfish40oz]

I'm not as quick to trust George as I used to be after Land of the Dead.

::sigh:: What has happened to horror movies . .

[Dennis K]

I'm not as quick to trust George as I used to be after Land of the Dead.

::sigh:: What has happened to horror movies . .



Uh.... see your avatar....


I kid, I kid!

[DDM]

I think George Romero is literally placing himself in the zombie film with this feature given the premise. Enough with the zombie films Romero.

[Rattlehead]

It certainly can't be any worse than Land of the Dead. What a horrible dissapointment that thing was.

[DWEarhart]

The trailer is up. (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=25823794)

[Ramiel]

ironically cloverfeild is another hybrid like this,instead replace zombies with giant city destroying monster..

From that trailer this is basically the feeling I'm getting, too. It looks pretty good, but I think it could go either way, much in the same way I feel about Clover, but I'll probably still end up watching it.

So, from the OP, is he saying this is completely disconnected from the rest of the dead series?

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

From that trailer this is basically the feeling I'm getting, too. It looks pretty good, but I think it could go either way, much in the same way I feel about Clover, but I'll probably still end up watching it.

So, from the OP, is he saying this is completely disconnected from the rest of the dead series?well it has alot to live up to considering the zombie diaries not only beat Romero to the punch, but it is also an outstanding film that makes great bone chilling use of the first person camera perspective. however judging by the trailer Romero just might have risen to the occasion. it definitley looks better than LOTD thats for sure.

[DWEarhart]

And the straight to dvd remake of Day of the Dead is out this week, I think. Ving Rhames is back.

[rick]

It certainly can't be any worse than Land of the Dead. What a horrible dissapointment that thing was.


You really think so?

Funny I thought it was way, way better then the Dawn of the Dead remake from the same year.

[Captain Trips]

You really think so?

Funny I thought it was way, way better then the Dawn of the Dead remake from the same year.

I liked Land of the Dead and the original Dawn of the Dead. But I thought the remake of Dawn was awesome.

[rick]

I liked Land of the Dead and the original Dawn of the Dead. But I thought the remake of Dawn was awesome.

I enjoyed the first 10 minutes well enough, but after that the film just fell apart under the weight of it's own illogical plot.

[DWEarhart]

I was never interested in the Dawn of the Dead remake, and all the rehashes of the original Night of the Living Dead have, in my opinion, been wretched, though I haven't checked out the latest (is it the latest?) 3-D treatment, and much like the Dawn and Day of the Dead remakes, I am not interested.

Even 28 Days Later reminded me (and others) of a bit of Day and Dawn mixed, only the creatures moved at hyper capacity.

I have yet to see Land of the Dead, which is weird for me and those that know me, especially if it involves Romero and Asia Argento.

I wonder if the people that suffered motion sickness with The Blair Witch Project are aware of Cloverfield and Diary's first person shooting style, and if they are, did they learn their lesson, and if they're not, for a quick giggle, you might not want to tell them should you know anyone of that type. Unless when they vomit they could potentially spew out their guts, literally. Then, I would recommend telling them.

[Ottmeister X]

And the straight to dvd remake of Day of the Dead is out this week, I think. Ving Rhames is back.

April 8th.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489018/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulvle4RT7Bk

[DWEarhart]

Dass the one. Here's the cover. They went all out on this one. (http://img49.imageshack.us/my.php?image=daydeadbslq7.jpg)

Will be commencing with pranks. again.

[blackdragon6]

well it has alot to live up to considering the zombie diaries not only beat Romero to the punch, but it is also an outstanding film that makes great bone chilling use of the first person camera perspective..the zombie diaries are really ridiculously good considering its meager budget. George will have to match that movie if not surpass it in order for me to enjoy diary of the dead.

[Michael P]

"Monday:

Braiiiiiiiiins. Brains. Braiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiins.

Tuesday:

Brains. Brainnnnnnns..."

[DDM]

"Monday:

Braiiiiiiiiins. Brains. Braiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiins.

Tuesday:

Brains. Brainnnnnnns..."

That's the Return of the Living Dead films to deviate from the Romero zombie films. In the George Romero films, the ghouls eat all the human parts. They are not picky.

[king mob]

the zombie diaries are really ridiculously good considering its meager budget. George will have to match that movie if not surpass it in order for me to enjoy diary of the dead.

The Zombie Diaries has some nice bits in it but it's a disorganized mess with some very rubbish writing. It uses it's Hertfordshire locations well, & it borrows a lot from Survivors (which 28 Days Later did) which is nice to see, but it never really realises it's potential.

[blackdragon6]

The Zombie Diaries has some nice bits in it but it's a disorganized mess.i think that added to the movie.....

[DWEarhart]

Thinking about it, what I like is that it's Romero doing what Romero wants to do. No studio-heads sticking their noses in. Romero claims that they messed with Land of the Living Dead alot, but the bottom line is, most people disliked the film, and Romero's name is on the director's credit.

Diary gives Romero a chance to show us the world through his eyes, almost literally. The first person perspective gives us a chance to see a zombie infested experience through his eyes, almost. That sounds pretty cool to me.

[DWEarhart]

Not to derail anything, but there's a new documentary on George Romero nearing completion, or it's just been completed.

Dead On: The Life and Cinema of George Romero (http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/first-trailer-for-romero-doc-dead-on/)

[BoosterBronze]

Not to derail anything, but there's a new documentary on George Romero nearing completion, or it's just been completed.

Dead On: The Life and Cinema of George Romero (http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/first-trailer-for-romero-doc-dead-on/)

I think it should be called "BRUISER and KNIGHTRIDERS: The Life and Cinema of George Romero."

That I would go see.

[DWEarhart]

Bruiser was harsh, in a not-so-good way, in my opinion, but I liked what he was going for with that one.

Knightriders just friggin' rules.

[Winterwolf]

SO what do you guys think about Romero's next Zombie flick?

I am excited, it looks like such a departure from his regular style of movie.

[DWEarhart]

http://images.apple.com/moviesxml/s/weinstein/posters/diaryofthedead_l200802111618.jpg

New trailer. (http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/diaryofthedead/trailer1/)

[ultramandingo]

.........romero blew it . enuff with the annoying kids with cameras - who cares if they get eaten ? . he shoulda gone with more bearded amish scyth action . cmon ! a good ole zombie barn raising ! ............." baarrrrrnnnnns !! "

[Cash Lone]

Bruiser was harsh, in a not-so-good way, in my opinion, but I liked what he was going for with that one.

Knightriders just friggin' rules.

the last 5 minutes of Knightriders with Ed Harris riding on his bike is great.

[david r]

Has anyone seen George Romero's new zombie film? It's playing at a local theatre here, and I'm thinking about seeing it. But have heard no reviews on it at all. Is it any good?

[ultramandingo]

.......... started out ok - but went nowhere fast - wich sucks cus its romero - hes run outa ideas iguess - xcept one really good one . see post # 33 -

[Willminus2]

Has anybody on here seen the newest Romero Zombie movie?

It's filmed in that first person camera/shaky camera style used in such movies as Cloverfield and Blair Witch.

It looks interesting.

However, I've only liked Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead in the romero series.

[king mob]

It's a great film & it's great to see a filmmaker like Romero try new techniques and use them well. It won't please everyone (as this thread has shown) and it really won't please people expecting a continuation from Land Of The Dead or more of the same.

This along with Redacted & Cloverfield shows just how to use new technology in storytelling & reacts to the Youtube/Facebook way of watching video clips. I loved the film though there are flaws, don't expect anything more than one-dimensional characters & some very flat dialogue, but it's still better than you'll see in most American blockbusters.

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

i must say i slightly prefer zombie diaries to this, but yeah i liked it. the small gripe i had was romero not fully committing to the first person concept. ok i know this new 1st person gimmick is not for everybody. but still Romero should have either stuck with it fully, or played it straight as a movie instead of a pseudo-documentary. and the fact that the survivor STYLISHLY edited everything together so neatly kinda took me out of it..

[blackdragon6]

i must say i slightly prefer zombie diaries to this,..me too, but to be fair i think zombie diaries is not for everybody because it literally looks like some random people shot it during a zombie outbreak. while diary appears to be more broader in appeal due to it more polished production.

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

me too, but to be fair i think zombie diaries is not for everybody because it literally looks like some random people shot it during a zombie outbreak. while diary appears to be more broader in appeal due to it more polished production.i think that added to the gimmick, zombie diaried looked and felt real, like wise with REC. the only thing that DIARY does better than the two titles mentioned before is the gore...especialy the very last scene which is fuckin SICK!!

[meethraa]

So bad... so bad...

Putting aside the horrible dialogue and somewhat illogic characterization at times, the whole premise of the film is not believable at all. For one thing, maybe it was something I missed, but did they explain at the beginning why the director of the mummy film kept shooting after the scene was over? I'm pretty sure there wasn't even a cut when he actually yelled "cut"...

If he was documenting the shooting, why would he use the same camera. It made no sense.

I spent the whole freakin movie wondering why the hell he was filming what anyone would assume were uninteresting events... just when something interesting happened to take place unexpectedly. Very shoddy script...

Other than that, everything was generic and stereotypical. For some reason I really was expecting Romero to push the whole zombie concept forward..

The only two things in the whole movie that I actually liked were the little gags he worked in there. The Amish guy writing his name as people's bits were raining over him, and the zombie clown.

[blackdragon6]

I spent the whole freakin movie wondering why the hell he was filming what anyone would assume were uninteresting events... just when something interesting happened to take place unexpectedly. Very shoddy script....to be fair it was edited by one of the survivors.

[meethraa]

to be fair it was edited by one of the survivors.

Ok, fair enough. That would explain why only that footage is there, but it doesn't justify why he would be shooting on those occasions to begin with.

This may sound like nitpicking, but that was the main reason that ruined the movie for me. It felt completely forced and gimmicky, while in Cloverfield the concept was mostly well sold.

[Salvester]

This one sucked...but stay strong zombie fans...World War Z will soon be a movie.

Then we can all lovingly bask in the genius that is Max Brooks on the big screen and smile happily as we see zombies f*ck shit up at Yonkers and see the zombie genre taken a step or five up.

And Xombie (www.xombified.com) may also be a movie soon as well...

[the goddamn batman]

Yeah, this wasn't very good. The acting was pretty bad and man, I dunno... was I the only one that expected some inovation from Romero?

[Royal]

This movie was alright.

While this is an interesting idea. I wished there was more effort to connect us with the situation. The opening sequences of Dawn had more power then this.

I do enjoy Romero basing the concept around "It's our duty to inform ourselves when the shit hits the fan", but his coverage of tech really felt Clancy-esque.