George A Romero's Land of the Dead Interview 2 George A Romero (Writer / Director) Previous INTERVIEWER Is the John Carpenter story true, that the director of Halloween forced you to change the title from Dead Reckoning to Land of the Dead? GEORGE A ROMERO John did say that yes. But he wasn't the only one either! Everyone told me Dead Reckoning was a lousy title and that it had to be something `of the Dead' to keep it in line with the trilogy. He's a great friend and was a real advocate of the movie. INTERVIEWER What about fellow Pittsburgh icon Tom Savini who handled the ground-breaking special makeup effects for both Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985) before directing the Night of the Living Dead remake in 1990? GEORGE A ROMERO I probably would have asked Tom to join me on Land of the Dead had it been possible. But he's been promoting his acting career more of late and rarely does make-up anymore. We're still great buddies though and he has a cameo in the picture. Our special effects make-up supervisor is Greg Nicotero and he's a Pittsburgher who worked for Tom on Day of the Dead.  His company KNB Efx Group Inc. has the greatest reputation and the best credits to match. When you have a larger budget than normal, that's what it comes down to. INTERVIEWER Speaking of cameos, Shaun of the Dead actor Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright make an appearance in the film.  Do you think their cameos and Tom Savini's will distract audiences out of the suspension of belief? GEORGE A ROMERO Tom Savini really has a yellow highlight over him. Okay here's a break in the action…Ladies and Gentlemen - Tom Savini. I don't think it will stop the film dead though as it's in the middle of a huge action sequence.  It's a little bit of a wink to the fans. Simon and Edgar I'm not sure anyone will recognize, as they are all zombied up. Simon looks more like Bub (the domesticated zombie in Day of the Dead) than anything else. I'm not worried that such cameos will take audiences out of their involvement with the story. Both moments are where you can relax, and act as curtain raisers to scenes of absolute mayhem. INTERVIEWER You mention the more money and more action side of Land of the Dead. How much did you notice the former and was the latter a compromise to the contemporary market? GEORGE A ROMERO When you make a movie, whether you have five bucks or five hundred thousands, it's the same process. You figure out what this and that is going to cost and do what you can with it. The producers have been wonderful in that regard and I've also been working with my production partner (Peter Grunwald).  The Dark Half (1993) was my most expensive picture to date so Land of the Dead has remained pretty much guerilla-style film-making as I've always liked to do it. Conditions were incredibly brutal. Filming at night for forty-two nights in winter out in the freezing cold! Luckily we had a great cast and crew who all pulled their weight. As far as action goes, the movie starts off with hordes of zombies.  I only had a few to start off with in the three prior films. So the fighting force getting through the crowds in the Dead Reckoning vehicle automatically means more action anyway. Action is a progression in Land of the Dead. INTERVIEWER Can you talk about the casting - Dennis Hopper (Kaufman), Asia Argento (Slack), Simon Baker (Riley) and Robert Joy (Charlie)? John Leguizamo actively canvassed to play Cholo, the zombie killer, because he was such a fan of yours? GEORGE A ROMERO It blew me away that John wanted to be in the movie. When I first wrote the Cholo part and talked about casting in Hollywood, I said I thought someone like John would be fabulous, but that we'd probably never get him. Then when we found out he was more than interested…. Naturally I was thrilled to have him. He's just sensational. I'd always thought of Asia for the Slack role since I've known her. Her father, Dario Argento, co-produced Dawn of the Dead and I met her when Dario and I teamed up to co-direct Two Evil Eyes (1990). Dario brought her to Pittsburgh with him so I've known her since she was a little kid. The moment we started to work on this, I said she'd be great. As for Dennis, I never would've thought that he would have said yes. It was one of those situations where he was the perfect fit. And I feel kind of a connection with him because we both directed our first films in the late 60s, his being the landmark Easy Rider.  We had a lot in common - we're both guys disappointed the 60s ethos didn't work out! I wanted to play Steppenwolf's `Born to be Wild' from the soundtrack every time he came on set! Robert Joy I've known for years; he was in The Dark Half. And Simon Baker I only met recently but thought he'd be perfect for the role of the hero Riley. There's a Pittsburgh connection with Simon because he did a television series there titled `The Guardian'. People have said I've gone with a more Hollywood cast than in the previous three movies. I don't feel that way at all. John's a regular New York guy like me. Asia, Robert and Simon still have a freshness that feels very much like family. INTERVIEWER What can you really do with zombies these days that's different? Or is it just a case of they are the much loved zombies of Romero lore? GEORGE A ROMERO The zombies are just my old reliable buddies except they are the world now and they are from here to the horizon. My zombies are slow moving as usual. You can't run too fast when you're decomposing or things drop off. Most of them are still at the point of imitative behavior and not at the point where thy might join health clubs for Pilates classes. INTERVIEWER Have you felt under enormous pressure to deliver a picture that will satisfy both commercial demands and your fan base demographic? GEORGE A ROMERO I didn't while I was shooting because it was such hard work fighting the elements and trying to get the story told. It's only when I started editing did I think about expectations. Can I top myself? I hope so. During production it was just get the story told, that was the only pressure I felt. Because it is more character-driven I felt the need to make sure all that got across. I know I achieved that and with those basics in place I know the film will deliver. Frightening an audience is all about story, characters and things that go bump in the night. If you can suspend disbelief early on you can make anything scary. Land of the Dead is going to make you jump on top of it, being an adventure epic that's primarily a people story with a little bit of an underbelly if you want to think of it politically. INTERVIEWER Where will your Dead concept take us next, or have you painted yourself into an apocalyptic corner now? GEORGE A ROMERO No, not at all. This is one through-line that can progress. Knowing it was going to be a Universal Pictures release, we made a few adjustments before we started shooting to allow for a sequel. I anticipated that and for the first time ever, I have left myself an opportunity to carry on with some of the same characters - both zombies and humans. The Dead movies have become a format that I can keep going back to as a way to say, here's an idea, here's a spin on this, here's the way I'm thinking about society today, but always with a little wink; and little jokes amongst the observations.		Home Interviews Antoine Fuqua Interview King Arthur Interview Arv Grewal Interview Asia Argento Interview Behind the Scenes of "War of the Worlds" Bernie Goldmann Interview Clive Owen Interview Dakota Fanning Interview Dennis Hopper Interview George A Romero Interview Greg Nicotero Interview The Hulk Press Conference Ang Lee Press Conference Ioan Gruffudd Interview John Leguizamo Interview Kathleen Kennedy Interview Keira Knightley Interview