George Romero Strives for "Survival of the Dead"

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Interviews

Published on Tuesday, 08 June 2010 22:04

Written by Brad Balfour

For a few moments on a recent Sunday, the zombies invaded Manhattan. Or at least they ambled along from 23rd Street to the East Village. And I don't mean just addled club-goers getting home after the usual 4 a.m. closing: Trundling down a portion of Second Avenue came a line of bizarrely dressed and horribly made up folks -- okay, so maybe particularly weird or horrible for New York City -- until they hit the Village East Cinemas where legendary filmmaker George A. Romero waited to greet his fans and devotees before screening the latest in his Dead saga -- Survival of the Dead. That gave a few of us worshipful journos a chance to wedge in a few questions in between the groaned and grunted queries by audience members -- zombiefied or otherwise.

Ever since he made the black-and-white Night of the Living Dead in 1968, New York-born Romero's name is mentioned in the same breath when the word "zombie" is thrown about. When the now 70 year old went to Pittsburgh's Carnegie-Mellon University, he started shooting industrial films and commercials but soon went on to produce and direct what became one of the most revered American horror film, one inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 1999. Made for just over $100,000, it returned its investment and was also hailed as a benchmark in indie cinema. 

Romero's next films such as The Crazies (1973) and Martin (1977) weren't as acclaimed as Night of the Living Dead, but offered social commentary while still being horror-related. Like almost all of his films, they were shot in, or around Pittsburgh.

In 1978, Romero returned to zombies with a film that topped his first. Dawn of the Dead (1978) told the tale of four people who escape a zombie outbreak and lock themselves inside a mall before the solitude makes them victims of themselves. Shot on a $1.5 million budget, the film earned over $40 million and. in 2003, it was named one of Entertainment Weekly's top cult films. It also marked Romero's first work with the acclaimed make-up and effects artist Tom Savini.

After that, Romero and Savini teamed up on films including Knightriders (1981), where Romero first worked with an up-and-coming Ed Harris. Then came his Hollywood-like film Creepshow (1982), which marked the first, but not the last, time Romero adapted a story by famed horror novelist Stephen King. 

To be that one voice who exemplifies this genre is accomplishment enough, but this summer Romero does have a new zombie film available, and it takes off from where his last film, Diary of the Dead left off. Summer means horror films, and for reanimated-dead fans, that means at least one by Romero.

Q: This is the latest in the series. What do attribute the longevity of the series to?
 
GR: If I could figure that out, I would know why I’m still here. I don’t know. Zombies have become idiomatic. Videogames [even] more than films have done that. For some unknown reason my stuff has a shelf life. I think that I’ve always tried to have a little theme underneath and maybe the stuff looks quaint.

It’s like looking at an old movie like A Gentleman’s Agreement -- it’s like, wow, "They were actually talking about something," and it becomes a bit quaint. I don’t know. I should ask you; I’m not the guy to ask. I’m just happy that it's happened.
 
Q: What was the inspiration that made you wake up and say, "Zombies?"
 
GR: You mean way at the beginning?
 
Q: Day one.
 
GR: I’ve never thought of them as zombies; I never called them zombies. When I made Night of the Living Dead, I called them flesh-eaters. To me, zombies were those boys in the Caribbean doing Lugosi’s wet work for him [in White Zombie (1932)]. I never thought of them as zombies.

It was only when people started to write about them and said these are zombies that I thought maybe they are. All I did was make them the neighbors; take the voodoo and mysterioso out of it and make them the neighbors and I don’t know what happened after that. The neighbors are scary enough when they’re not dead. Maybe that’s what made it click.

Q: I heard that you were producing or developing videogames, and if you do that would be one of the most amazing things ever, like anyone else who’s played Left for Dead or Resident Evil.
 
GR: In the past usually people come to us and say they just want to buy my name or the brand or whatever and "stay home. You don't know about videogames." It’s true; I don’t. I’m not a gamer.

I just did a talk show as part of the tour for this film where we looked at Left for Dead 2 and zombies are like tarantulas; on the ceiling, up the walls, crazy, running. I understand that mentality that it has to be like Tetris; faster, faster, faster, faster.

My zombies don’t do that. My zombies are still slugging along just like the rest of us are. So I’m not sure that I get the mentality. I was talking to a game company executive and asked is it possible to do a slower, more intellectual game? And he actually said "I'm not sure." But we’re talking to people about it – we’re still talking to people about it – and I would love to be involved with a game, I’d love to write the story of a game, but I won’t do it if it has to be…
 
Q: Are you ever going to switch over from slow zombies to fast zombies?
 
GR: Never.
 
Q: What is it about slow zombies that you like over fast zombies?
 
GR: Because that’s the way they would be; they’re dead. Like in the first film the sheriff says, "They’re dead; they’re all messed up." If they ran their ankles would snap so by me they move slow.
 
Q: Would you outrun the zombies?
 
GR: Yeah. The whole point is you can easily get away, just nobody addresses the problem and humans screw themselves up. With my movies that’s what it's about; it's about humanity making the wrong movies.
 
Q: Would have any advice besides run to survive a zombie?
 
GR: You’ve got to talk to Max Brooks [who has written a series of zombie books such as World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War]. Max believes this is really going to happen one day; I don't. With me it's pure allegory.
 
Q: How would you fare in a zombie apocalypse?
 
GR: What I need to tell you first of all, is that it's probably not going to happen. If you want to know what weapon to buy, call Max. He's the guy to tell you. I think Max halfway believes that it might happen. He's a buddy of mine and we hang out and we argue about this all the time.

I don't know. Come on! Find a tank; a tank is the best thing. Get inside a tank, you'll have a big gun, and you’re safe in a big thing of metal. It's like give me a break over here. It's not going to happen. I promise you it won't happen. Or else, worse shit will happen before it does.

Q: What allegory are you trying to tell with this film?
 
GR: It's about the same theme that I’ve been beating on forever. It's war, it's like enmities that don't die, people, even faced with huge game-changing event still shooting at each other instead of addressing the problem.

Q: Do you think that society’s listening to what you’re saying in your films?
 
GR: No. Society doesn't listen to anything. Society has not listened to shit from the beginning of time.
 
Q: To be that one voice, is that why you make these films?
 
GR: It's fun to be silly and make fun of people because people are just not learning. We haven’t learned squat; we’re still fucking fighting abortion and homosexuality and everything. We’re still fucking fighting, it’s like ridiculous. Give me a break; I thought we were past that.

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