| FEARSmag Takes a Guided Tour of THE LAND OF THE DEAD With Director George A. Romero. |
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| Wednesday, 22 June 2005 | |
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BY Joseph B. Mauceri It has been two decades since George A. Romeroís zombies have walked the screens. Once again the dead are rising to consume the living in LAND OF THE DEAD. The world as we know it is a fleeting memory. Whatís left of civilization has walled up in fortified cities while the dead roam freely in the wasteland. The wealthy and powerful try to maintain the illusion of life as it was. Some live in exclusive towers, like Fiddlerís Green, one of the last bastions of the ruling class. On the streets below the remaining less fortunate inhabitants eke out a hard life, seeking what little comfort they can in vices like gambling, prostitution, drugs or anything that offers even a fleeting respite from the hell their lives have become. Kaufman (DENNIS HOPPER) lords over the Fiddlerís Green. To bring in much needed supplies for the occupants of the city heís hired a hardened group of mercenaries. Headed by Riley (SIMON BAKER), and his second-in-command, Cholo (JOHN LEGUIZAMO), they run retrieval missions outside the city, protected by their massive armored vehicle, Dead Reckoning. Unrest and anarchy are on the rise among the cityís disenfranchised and, outside, the army of the dead is changing, evolving, learning to organize and communicate. When Kaufman shoots down Cholo in his hopes to buy a place among the elite of Fiddlerís Green he commandeers Dead Reckoning to extort enough money out of Kaufman so he find a new start. However, Riley is sent out to stop Cholo and retrieve Dead Reckoning for Kaufman. However, an army of evolving zombies is storming the city. Will Riley be able to stop Cholo and save the inhabitants of his city?
FEARS: Itís been several years between Day of the Dead and LAND OF THE DEAD. In that time frame, when did you come up with the idea for this fourth installment for the ìDeadî series? George A. Romero: I always wanted to do one, especially way back in the 90ís. I had this conceit where Iíd made a ìDeadî film in the 60ís, 70ís and 80ís, and I wanted to do one in the 90ís. I just missed it. Itís too long a story to go into, but we got into development on a lot of projects and nothing happened, and it was just one thing after another. I made a little film called ìBruiserî in 2000, and after that I started to seriously think about writing a story for another ìDeadî film. I wrote a screenplay, but it was more about, AIDS, homelessness, and things like that. It was about ignoring the problems, and it wasnít about 9/11 or post 9/11. When we finished the script and sent it around it was literally just days before 9/11 happened. After that nobody wanted to make a hard-assed movie. I pulled it back. After the invasion of Iraq, and all of that, I took it off the shelf and pointed it a bit more towards this new ìnormal.î Itís been in my head for a while but it took several major turns. FEARS: When you look back over your body of work, from ìNight of the Living Deadî to LAND OF THE DEAD, no matter how fantastical or bleak a story you chose to tell there is always this element of hope. What does hope mean for you and how significant is it to you that your films offer some measure of hope? George A. Romero: Iím not really sure, but I think it might have to do with the fact that Iím a child of the 60ís. We had all this hope. We actually thought that we were going to bring some change, or influence the world. It was all this peace and love. It didnít work out. I know for me, I do try to include it in my films, or at least have characters that are operating with hope. However, I usually end up with the situation disintegrating, or at least not getting any better. The biggest thing that Iíve notice over the course of my life is that is what happens. You start thinking things like, ìWow, we got this great new President, Jimmy Crater,î but than look what happens. I guess it is there underlying thematically in my films. FEARS: One of the characters we meet at the opening of LAND OF THE DEAD is ìBig Daddy.î In relation to your ìDeadî universe, is Big Daddy the son, grandson, or great-grandson of Bub the zombie in Day of the Dead?
FEARS: The film industry has made amazing technical advance since Night of the Living Dead, and even Day of the Dead. As a director, what do you see as the difference in the roles of digital and physical effects in a film? George A. Romero: I donít know, I still like Ray Harryhausenís stuff. There is a certain charm to it, and I would have loved to shot all of LAND OF THE DEAD with practical and mechanical effects. However, there were a few things that we just couldnít pull off, and that wasnít due to lack of trying. The only effect that is really computer enhanced is the priest whose head is dangling on his back and than flips it over. Greg Nicotero tried to pull it off with puppets but it just didnít look right. We ended up going to the computers for that. Most of the CGI we used in the film was to create the buildings, do gun-flashes, backgrounds, and moving cars. It was all the garbagie stuff thatís not really effects work. FEARS: I think when youíre dealing with a contemporary audience that is aware of computer games like Resident Evil and the like, CGI in a film is that special for them and you just donít get the same performance out of a CGI zombie that you can from an actor wearing makeup. George A. Romero: In the script I didnít have such extraordinary creatures that I needed CGI to pull them off. You can get away with murder that way. Still, the priest was the one where we had to commission a CGI house to do it. Iím not sure it works as well that we either. Some times CGI just lifts me right out of the movie. You see something thatís impossible and you think, ìThatís CGI!î Itís a bit less impressive. I have a thirteen year-old son whoíll say, ìItís too much CGI.î Look at a film like I, Robot. Iím not impressed. FEARS: The script is vintage Romero. Of course there are touches in the story from the other ìDeadî films, but there are also aspects of the story that remind me of your films like Knightriders, The Crazies, and even Martin. George A. Romero: Wow, even Martin! (Laughs) FEARS: Is this your quintessential Romero zombie film? George A. Romero: I donít know, but I hope it isnít the last one. Itís so hard, because we literally finished the film just a few weeks ago. Now, Iím still in the cutting room working on the DVD directorís cut. All I see are the details of it, scene by scene. I wonít be able to really watch it for a while. I think we pulled it off. I feel very good about LAND OF THE DEAD. Still Iím not going to be able to watch it and decide where I rank it among the four films until I can finally sit down and really watch it some months from now ñ really watch it as a flick. When Iím working on a film, or just finished a film, I just canít see it. All Iím thinking about is what we didnít get or what we could have done differently. Your looking at it for the details and you just canít see the whole. FEARS: As LAND OF THE DEAD hits theaters, youíre still entrenched in several projects ñ The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, The Ill, Diamond Dead, and youíre slated to do an episode of Masters of Horror for producer Mick Garris. George A. Romero: Iím hoping to do Masters of Horror. Thatís the plan, but you never know. If this movie opens really strong, all of a sudden everything might get trumped. ìIfî they want a sequel quickly, that trumps everything. Iíll have to wait and see when the movie opens.
George A. Romero: I think, unfortunately, what the audience expects is different. They expect to be thrilled, and they either expect a hundred-million-dollar effects flick or theyíre willing to accept something like The Ring, or Saw. My mind just doesnít run that way. I donít think either of those films, or The Grudge or any of those films, has really advanced the genre, or are a landmark in any regards. Thatís always been the case, as with the Friday the 13th flicks. People who go to a horror show are looking for a laugh in the dark or something ñ make me jump and Iíll come out somewhat satisfied. Thatís really been, as far as Iím concerned, sad. Nobody is using it as allegory or parable. These films are just looking to scare the shit out of you with some ridiculous premise -- not that the dead walking isnít ridiculous -- or itís an extravaganza. FEARS: So having said that, at the end of LAND OF THE DEAD what do you hope the audience comes away with? George A. Romero: I donít hope to be an influence that way. I just hope they dig it, man. I hope that itís idiomatic enough. My stuff has had this incredible shelf life, which Iím tremendously grateful for, so even the younger audiences have seen my other three movies. Hopefully there is some willingness on their part to go see the forth one. I hope so! I donít think that this film is going to influence the genre, influence the business, or how studios view these films. I hope it pays off and you get a few jumps. I hope itís irreverent, and, for audiences who want to think about it on that level, political enough. For me, Itís always about trying to walk that line. I try to make sure it has that underbelly, but, at the same time, I try to make sure that itís an okay ride. Thatís really all Iíve ever been doing, man. FEARSmag.coms LAND OF THE DEAD page with images, links, and a whole lot more! LINK THIS ARTICLE             |
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