Director George A. Romero is not happy with 'The Walking Dead' on AMC. Famous for his 1968 zombie movie 'Night Of The Living Dead', the filmmaker, who has been credited with building the zombie genre, admitted he's having a hard time doing zombie films today because of the influence of the TV series.
Speaking openly with Indiewire, George A. Romero said he has some resentments over how 'The Walking Dead' has "Hollywood-ized" his beloved genre. He also faulted Brad Pitt's 2013 zombie movie 'Word War Z' of doing the same treatment to the genre.
By Hollywood-ized, Romero meant that studios would only do a zombie movie these days if it had a blockbuster or top-rating potential.
"I was ready to do another one, a $2-3 million one, and nobody will finance a zombie film now," he said.
The only one doing it
George A. Romero's resentment also roots from the fact that he used to be the only one doing movies about the undead. He acknowledged, however, that the proliferation of productions about zombies, the undead or walkers was not preventable.
This is not the first time the director criticized 'The Walking Dead' and other productions about zombies. In 2013, Romero claimed that the TV show is being masked as a zombie genre when it is, in fact, a soap opera. This was one of the reasons why he never agreed to direct an episode of 'The Walking Dead', even if he was asked to board the show.
In the new interview with Indiewire, George A. Romero once again pointed why his treatment of the zombie genre is different. His movies make a sociopolitical point. "It's not gore, it's not just horror — I've always tried to put a little something in there," he said.
Making another mark
The new movie Romero was trying to pitch to studios is called 'Road to the Dead'.
Matt Birman wrote the screenplay and it is about zombies who drive. Birman will also helm the film if given a chance.
First production poster for Road of the Dead. Here's looking forward to the trailer!! pic.twitter.com/ezAp8S0swN
— Weekend of the Dead (@weekenddead) July 1, 2017
Romero and Birman will be showing off their movie project at Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival in the hopes of securing a backing from a financier.
The director is excited as he describes 'Road to the Dead' as similar to 'Fast and the Furious', but with zombies. George A. Romero is also known for movies like 'Dawn of the Dead', 'Day of the Dead' and 'Monkey Shines'. 'The Walking Dead' special effects director and producer Greg Nicotero worked for him in one of his movies. Influences from Romero are often in the show's episodes.
