George A Romero, Zombie Movie Director of Films like Night of the Living Dead, Dead at Age 77

[tbone909]

Wow ! this one hurts. A major fan of all his films. 

RIP George A. Romero

 

http://ew.com/movies/2017/07/16/george-romero-dead-night-living-dead-director-dies/?utm_campaign=entertainmentweekly&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&xid=socialflow_facebook_entertainmentweekly

 

Night of the Living Dead filmmaker George A. Romero dies at 77

 

 

George A. Romero, the legendary director of horror classics such as Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Dead, has died at 77 after a brief, but aggressive battle with lung cancer, his manager Chris Roe confirmed Sunday via a family statement.

The famous zombie film creator passed away peacefully in his sleep, with his wife Suzanne Desrocher Romero and daughter Tina Romero by his side, as the score of his favorite film, The Quiet Man, played.

“He leaves behind a loving family, many friends, and a filmmaking legacy that has endured, and will continue to endure, the test of time,” said his family in a statement.

Romero is known as the father of the zombie genre, having produced several films within it, beginning with 1968’s cult classic Night of the Living Dead, which he directed himself (and co-wrote with John Russo), followed by 1978’s Dawn of the Dead, 1985’s Day of the Dead, 1990’s Land of the Dead, 2007’s Diary of the Dead, and 2009’s Survival of the Dead. Each successive film followed the evolution of a U.S.-set epidemic that turned carriers into zombies (a.k.a. the “living dead”), and chronicled the various ways in which humankind attempted to deal with it.

GALLERY: George A. Romero Photos: The Late Director’s Life and Career in Pictures

 

 

His other, non-zombie filled work included producing the anthology horror show Tales from the Darkside, as well as directing the horror films The Crazies, Martin, Monkey Shines, The Dark Half, and the horror anthology Creepshow(which featured a screenplay by noted horror writer Stephen King).

Romero, a Bronx-born, Cuban and Lithuanian American filmmaker, was a big film buff from a young age, even riding the train into Manhattan as a kid so that he could rent film reels to watch at home. Later, he attended Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University in 1960, after which he took on commercial film work, including shooting short segments for Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, including one that saw Mr. Rogers undergo a tonsillectomy at the hospital (fittingly titled “Mr. Rogers Gets a Tonsillectomy”).

Romero’s films have impacted a whole generation of filmmakers, not only in terms of his directing style but also with how far ahead of their time, many of the themes he explored in these films were. His films also featured inclusive casting at a time when no other films really did.

[DonLever]

Associated Press:

 

George A Romero, the zombie film pioneer who directed Night of the Living Dead, has died. He was 77. 

The legendary filmmaker died in his sleep after a “brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer”, Romero’s producing partner Peter Grunwald  told the Los Angeles Times. 

Romero's family said he died while listening to the score of "The Quiet Man," one of his favorite films, with his wife, Suzanne Desrocher, and daughter, Tina Romero, by this side.

 

Romero's Night of the Living Dead, which he wrote with John A. Russo, jump-started the zombie genre in 1968 and became a cult classic. 

Romero’s sequels included 1978’s “Dawn of the Dead,” 1985’s “Day of the Dead,” 2005’s “Land of the Dead,” 2007’s “Diary of the Dead” and 2009’s “George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead.”

 

The original movie set the rules imitators lived by: Zombies move slowly, lust for human flesh and can only be killed when shot in the head. If a zombie bites a human, the person dies and returns as a zombie.

Romero's zombies, however, were always more than mere cannibals; they were metaphors for conformity, racism, mall culture, militarism, class differences and other social ills.

"The zombies, they could be anything," Romero told The Associated Press in 2008.

 

"They could be an avalanche, they could be a hurricane. It's a disaster out there. The stories are about how people fail to respond in the proper way. They fail to address it. They keep trying to stick where they are, instead of recognizing maybe this is too big for us to try to maintain. That's the part of it that I've always enjoyed."

 

Stephen King paid tribute to the director who cast him in 1980s films Knightriders and Creepshow, which was written by the science fiction author.

He said: "Sad to hear my favourite collaborator - and good old friend - George Romero has died. George, there will never be another like you."

Actor Mark Gatiss also paid tribute to the "charming, legendary zombie king" while director Robert Rodriguez hailed him as a "true legend" who "started it all".

"Martin is one of my favourite horrors. An honour to have met him," Gatiss added.

"Night of the Living Dead," made for about $100,000, featured flesh-hungry ghouls trying to feast on humans holed up in a Pennsylvania house. In 1999, the Library of Congress inducted the black-and-white masterpiece into the National Registry of Films.

Many considered the film to be a critique on racism in America. The sole black character survives the zombies, but he is fatally shot by rescuers.

 

Ten years after "Night of the Living Dead," Romero made "Dawn of the Dead," where human survivors take refuge from the undead in a mall and then turn on each other as the zombies stumble around the shopping complex.

 

Film critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the best horror films ever made - and, as an inescapable result, one of the most horrifying. It is gruesome, sickening, disgusting, violent, brutal and appalling. It is also ... brilliantly crafted, funny, droll, and savagely merciless in its satiric view of the American consumer society."

 

Romero had a sometimes combative relationship with the genre he helped create. He called "The Walking Dead" a "soap opera" and said big-budget films like "World War Z" made modest zombie films impossible. Romero maintained that he wouldn't make horror films he couldn't fill them with political statements.

"People say, 'You're trapped in this genre. You're a horror guy.' I say, 'Wait a minute, I'm able to say exactly what I think," Romero told the AP. "I'm able to talk about, comment about, take snapshots of what's going on at the time. I don't feel trapped. I feel this is my way of being able to express myself."

 

The third in the Romero's zombie series, 1985's "Day of the Dead," was a critical and commercial failure. There wouldn't be another "Dead" film for two decades.

 

"Land of the Dead" in 2005 was the most star-packed of the bunch - the cast included Dennis Hooper, John Leguizamo, Asia Argento and Simon Baker. Two years later came "Diary of the Dead," another box-office failure.

There were other movies interspersed with the "Dead" films, including "The Crazies" (1973), "Martin" (1977), "Creepshow" (1982), "Monkey Shines" (1988) and "The Dark Half" (1993). There also was 1981's "Knightriders," Romero's take on the Arthurian legend featuring motorcycling jousters. Some were moderately successful, others box-office flops.

George Andrew Romero was born on February 4, 1940, in New York City. He grew up in the Bronx, and he was a fan of horror comics and movies in the pre-VCR era.

 

 

[Templeton Peck]

RIP George Romero.

 

 

Looking forward to the Walking Dead episode where they throw pies at the Walkers.

 

 

[Where's Wellwood]

He wasn't involved with 2004's Dawn of the Dead?

[Stanky Legs]

The world lost an icon. What will happen now to The Walking Dead?

[Apples]

RIP

[Nuxfanabroad]

Didn't he set one of the 70's classics in a shopping mall? The man forecast what western society would become!

[tbone909]

1 hour ago, Where's Wellwood said:

He wasn't involved with 2004's Dawn of the Dead?

Zack Synder directed the 2004 re-make. Romeo got a writing credit as the story was based off his story from 1978.

[tbone909]

38 minutes ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

Didn't he set one of the 70's classics in a shopping mall? The man forecast what western society would become!

Yup, the 1978 second part called Dawn Of The Dead.

[tbone909]

Tom Savini who was the special effects artist on the original Dawn Of the Dead and Day Of the Dead (1985) Directed a pretty good re-make with B movie Legend Tony Todd as Ben. Savini also had a cameo in the 2004 re-make.He also had bit parts in Land (2005 ) and Dairy of the Dead (2007) . He didn't have any involvement in 2009's final dead film Survival Of The Dead.Greg Nicotero (Walking Dead ) was the Effects man on the last 3 dead films Land (2005) Dairy(2007) and Survival Of The Dead (2009).

[PhillipBlunt]

Rest in peace, George. Although, if you came back, everyone would have expected it. 

 

Night of the Living Dead not only helped to change how cinema approached gore and violence, but truly defined horror in general. 

 

A truly revolutionary cinematic voice and mind. 

 

[Hortankin]

George of the dead.

 

RIP you legend you.. just don't try and eat me! 

[Angry Goose]

Night of the Living Dead (1968) is onw of my most favorite movies.  I remember seeing this when I was 10. Survival horror terrifies a young mind lmao.  

[HerrDrFunk]

Damn, he really did change zombies forever. Before Night of the Living Dead, zombies were pretty much just mind controlled victims of voodoo rather than the flesh eating ghouls we know today.

[Rocky Balboa]

1978 Dawn of The Dead was the most...err...realistic? 

 

I love TWD but they'd all be dead in reality.  1978s DOTD is slightly more plausible in how they survived. 

 

2004 remake was a piece of poop.