{"id":25455,"date":"2014-09-11T23:10:13","date_gmt":"2014-09-11T15:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=25455"},"modified":"2014-09-11T22:40:34","modified_gmt":"2014-09-11T14:40:34","slug":"night-of-the-living-dead-director-romero-unimpressed-by-todays-zombies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/09\/11\/night-of-the-living-dead-director-romero-unimpressed-by-todays-zombies\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Night of the Living Dead\u2019 director Romero unimpressed by today\u2019s zombies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Toronto Zombie Walk “Special Director’s Cut Edition” at the Toronto International Film Festival. Photo by Josh Jensen<\/a> \/ Flickr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MONTREAL\u2014What scares George A. Romero, the director credited with creating the modern zombie horror genre with his landmark \u201cNight of the Living Dead\u201d?<\/p>\n

\u201cRob Ford,\u201d he says, bursting into laughter.<\/p>\n

The New York-born Romero, who moved to Toronto about a decade ago after marrying a Canadian, didn\u2019t elaborate on why the controversial mayor gives him the shivers, but he\u2019s pretty clear that current horror movies aren\u2019t rattling him.<\/p>\n

There are \u201cvery few horror films that I think are worth their salt,\u201d says Romero, who has directed several other \u201cDead\u201d movies as well as \u201cCreepshow\u201d and the Stephen King-inspired \u201cMonkey Shines,\u201d among others.<\/p>\n

\u201cOddly, I\u2019m not a big horror fan,\u201d he says. His favourite movie is, in fact, 1951\u2019s fantasy opera \u201cThe Tales of Hoffmann.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the oldies,\u201d Romero says. \u201cI find that the craftsmanship … the amount of time that they had to shoot them, it just makes me drool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Romero points out he\u2019s never done a horror movie just for the sake of being horrifying.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe horror films that I\u2019ve made have been satirical in one way or another or political and I really think that\u2019s the purpose of horror. I don\u2019t see that happening very often.\u201d<\/p>\n

Romero\u2019s \u201cNight of the Living Dead\u201d was shot for $114,000 in black and white in 1968. Considered the father of the modern zombie flick, its tale of people besieged by shambling, grunting reanimated corpses is considered a landmark film now and has been endlessly examined for its social and political messages.<\/p>\n

It is even in the permanent collection of New York\u2019s Museum of Modern Art where it was screened in May with the warning, \u201cAttendees are reminded: NO BITING IN THE AUDIENCE.\u201d<\/p>\n

Romero will be a guest of honour at this weekend\u2019s Montreal Comiccon, kicking off his appearance with a screening of \u201cNight of the Living Dead\u201d on Friday.<\/p>\n

Fans won\u2019t just be saluting his cinematic legacy, however. He\u2019s also in the midst of writing \u201cEmpire of the Dead,\u201d a 15-issue comic book series for Marvel.<\/p>\n

Romero doesn\u2019t mind not making zombie movies for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like everybody\u2019s doing it. I\u2019m happy to be taking a little break from it and doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 74-year-old says comic book creation has a different rhythm than making a film. For example, you\u2019re working with an artist and there are often adjustments that have to be made before the book goes to press.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a surprisingly slow process,\u201d he says. \u201cWriting it is really just the start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Romero, who says he was always interested in horror going back to when he was a kid devouring the lurid EC Comics and watching the old \u201cFlash Gordon\u201d sci-fi serials, made \u201cNight of the Living Dead\u201d when he was living in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

It was there he got his start in movies, while working for local TV station WQED on \u201cMister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood.\u201d He laughs that a short film on tonsillectomies he made for the children\u2019s show launched his horror movie career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI often joke about it and say that was the scariest movie I ever made.\u201d<\/p>\n

He describes Rogers, who he says gave him his first job as a filmmaker, as \u201ca wonderful guy. Just a great guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

But while the soft-spoken children\u2019s show icon was always keen to give people a break, he had his limits when it came to one idea for \u201cNight of the Living Dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI originally wanted a local actress named Betty Aberlin, who was Lady Aberlin on \u2018Mister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood,\u201d\u2018 Romero says. \u201cHe wouldn\u2019t allow that. I originally wanted to use her in the role of Barbra and Fred put his foot down and said no.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbra is the female lead who gradually descends into insanity as the zombies attack the farmhouse where she\u2019s cowering.<\/p>\n

That casting decision was where Rogers\u2019 opposition ended, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved the film,\u201d Romero says. \u201cHe came and loved it. He was always a huge supporter over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The filmmaker, who points out he never called his monsters zombies in \u201cNight of the Living Dead,\u201d laments the trend to big-budget special effects-driven movies about the undead.<\/p>\n

Romero is not a fan of such flicks as \u201c World\u00a0War Z,\u201d which depicts a more nimble version of the creatures, although he acknowledges friend Max Brooks\u2019 book is so wide-ranging it would take several movies to do it justice.<\/p>\n

Romero also declined a chance to direct an episode of the popular TV drama \u201cThe Walking Dead,\u201d calling it a \u201csoap opera\u201d although he says he liked the first few seasons and the graphic novel it\u2019s based on.<\/p>\n

He warns that big budgets are no guarantee of success, saying \u201cway too much money\u201d was spent on his \u201cLand of the Dead,\u201d which got overshadowed at the box office by \u201cBatman Begins\u201d in 2005.<\/p>\n

Romero says he believes \u201cNight of the Living Dead\u201d has endured because it has a solid story, but even he is surprised by its longevity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a story there and it\u2019s not about the zombies,\u201d he explains, pointing out he had considered making the danger in the film a hurricane or the aftermath of an atomic bomb. \u201cThe zombies could be anything. They could be any disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says he enjoys living in Canada and praises Canadian crews he has worked with because he says they really care about the end product.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe work ethic is just sensational up here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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