Land Of The Dead Premiere

kaf11

kaf11

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Hey everyone, just got back from the U.S. premiere of the latest film by George A. Romero, "Land of the Dead." They held the showing at the historical Byham Theater in downtown Pittsbugh, where the film is set. It was very surreal to see a movie such as this set in the city where you live. For those that are unaware, two of his films, "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dawn of the Dead" were filmed in my area, and Romero himself lives in my neighborhood.

Now I'll discuss the evening, and I'll try my best to leave out any spoilers. First of all, allow me to address the concern some of you have been having over the style of the film. While the trailers might lead you to believe that the film is "extreme" and for the MTV crowd, nothing is further from the truth. It is without a doubt the best zombie movie I have ever seen. The characters, plot, acting, gore, and action are all superb. It has everything you could ask for, and Romero has lost nothing. The development of zombies and the struggle of the last human city (once again, VERY cool to see my city in this film) is what makes this my favorite out of all of his previous films.

Not only did I get to see this amazing film, but the way in which I was able to experience it was even better. For starters, I was able to meet Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, Tom Savini, as well as two of the actors in the film. Romero was there, and gave a very well spoken speech before the film was shown. Whenever Simon arrived, Quentin yelled out "Shaun in the house!" Im still in shock that i was able to meet everyone. Theres not much more that I can say.

I took many pictures of everyone, and Im getting them developed tomorrow. Ill post all of the good shots in this thread sometime tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, if anyone has any questions, please use this thread as I will be returning back to it as often as I can in order to respond.
 
Once again, you are the luckiet mofo ever. I'm catching the first show tomorrow night at 12:15 PM. I can't WAIT. Its gonna rock.
 
trust me, you will not be let down. I went in with the slightest of doubt, and i left with all expectations surpassed.
 
Amazing man, good for you. I'm looking forward to this even though I'm one of the folks who said it looks awful. We shall see
 
Cant wait to see it, been waiting a long time.
 
I hope your opinion is not blinded due to the film being based in your town. A question, is this based more on action or on characters like in dawn of the dead or it's a stupid action flick like resident evil 2, I'm really looking fwd to this movie, I hope it's not to "hollywood".
 
I can't wait to seeeeeeeeee this and wtf this message box is different...
 
This movie looks interesting. Definitely on my "to see" list.
 
Contrary to what you're saying Kaf most Romero fanatics aren't really liking this movie very much and are even saying that last years Dawn of the Dead is superior to it.

What made Romero's movies so fun was the cheesyness, the B-movie feel, etc, and every review I've read says it's lost this.
 
Adrien C said:
I hope your opinion is not blinded due to the film being based in your town. A question, is this based more on action or on characters like in dawn of the dead or it's a stupid action flick like resident evil 2, I'm really looking fwd to this movie, I hope it's not to "hollywood".
Click to expand...
i wouldnt be any more biased to like it because its pretty much in my backyard, because ever since i was a kid i knew about NOTLD being in my area, and I've been to the Monroeville mall where DOTD is filmed. Romeros committment to our area is well known and accepted here. To answer your question, I would definitely say it is more based on character development. It avoids the hollywoodization of its action. Its all excellent and well rounded by the characters.

To Craig:
The only explanation I can offer is that perhaps other hardcore fans were looking for Dawn of the Dead on a larger scale (i.e. entire city instead of one structure). I was not dissapointed because I believed this to be his zombie masterpiece, a zombie movie of epic porportions. Once you see it, I hope youll agree that this well produced film captures that much better than a more "cheesy" B-film atmosphere would have.

Also, its weird that Romero fans are now saying they liked last years Dawn, because every time I say I like it, even if just for a zombie fix, any hardcore fan shoots me down. Not a poke at you, just a poke at those fans.
 
I've heard the story and social commentary, which Romero's zombie movies are truly about, were fantastic. The trailers did this movie no justice in my opinion because the reason I like his movies are the social commentary they deliver and not the gore and action. The trailers seemed completely action oriented and didn't even tease at the underlying story.

Did you find the story and social commentary on par quality-wise with his version of Dawn? Did the action in Land get in the way of the story at all? All that concerns me is a good story. I can't stand trailers nowadays. They are all action, action, action. It turns off the story people from seeing the movie and ends up disappointing the action crowd after they've seen it.
 
craig said:
Contrary to what you're saying Kaf most Romero fanatics aren't really liking this movie very much and are even saying that last years Dawn of the Dead is superior to it.

What made Romero's movies so fun was the cheesyness, the B-movie feel, etc, and every review I've read says it's lost this.
Click to expand...


The only reason they have a B-movie feel is because NOTLD and DOTD were around in the 60s and 70s. There weren't many available realistic ways of depicting gore. Romero did go for a sort of comic book feel to DOTD but not in the B-movie way.
 
omfg we have to wait until 9th of September, WTFOMGBBQFS!!1111!11eleven

I honestly don't know why the U.K. gets it last, I mean we have to wait for a month after the rest of the Europe!
 
whats up with the black zombie with the gun? is he the main zombie?
 
mortiz said:
omfg we have to wait until 9th of September, WTFOMGBBQFS!!1111!11eleven

I honestly don't know why the U.K. gets it last, I mean we have to wait for a month after the rest of the Europe!
Click to expand...
and the movie's even in english, real bummer, man, though they may have to cut some from the US release
 
ahhh you met tarantino you lucky bastard!

good that you thought the movie was excellent, I don't want to be let down.
 
ok, to address some concerns: the social and political commentary are the most poignant yet. Just as "Dawn of the Dead" made perfect use of the "zombies in the mall" parallel to our society, this film perfectly captures our current social/political post 9/11 world. Dont look to the trailers and judge the film, go into it with an open mind. Trust me guys, you wont be dissapointed.

@ Adrian: The world as the title says, now belongs to the zombies. There is one remaining walled city in which humans live. Within this city is a massive skyscraper in which the elite live in luxury. It is this aspect of the film from which most of the commentary is directed and it is the dynamic relationship between the privelaged humans and everyone else that is so compelling.


Ill go get my pictures ready and post them in a minute.
 
Ok, here are my pictures. I must apologize for the terrible quality. My friend was going to let me borrow his digital, but he had to go home for a doctors appointment. I was forced to use a disposable.

Event Billboard
http://img221.echo.cx/img221/3298/billboard1mp.jpg

This is one of my many terrible shots from the balcony (sorry) as an example of how close I was to Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Edgar Wright, and Simon Pegg (listed in the order in which they sat). Robert is always easy to find. Hes the one in the blue shirt and his ever-present cowboy hat. When Romero took the stage he got excited and started to wave it above his head. George commented that the last time he saw Robert without his hat on was at the premiere of his own film. The view of the screen from this seat was perfect.
http://img296.echo.cx/img296/569/close0wj.jpg

This is a shot of Simon's entrance
http://img296.echo.cx/img296/2627/simonarrives1ia.jpg

Here is another shot of my best friends in the world...
http://img74.echo.cx/img74/1696/theboyscopy2dl.jpg

Robert waves to fans
http://img74.echo.cx/img74/3597/robertsalutes3fp.jpg

The man himself arrives. When George entered the room he recieved a long standing ovation.
http://img74.echo.cx/img74/2686/romeroenters3zz.jpg

George Romero speaks. Once again, sorry for that bad quality.
http://img74.echo.cx/img74/4886/romerospeaks5br.jpg

Pedro Miguel Arce
I was able to meet him, and while I stood next to him I tried to hand my camera to someone to take our picture together. Everyone stood there with their posters to be signed and looked at me with a blank expression. I got pissed, took his picture from a distance and left. Hes a very nice guy though and the character he plays is cool.
http://img74.echo.cx/img74/3800/pedromiguelarce7km.jpg

Eugene A. Clark (Big Daddy in the film)
It took at least 15 minutes of waiting to get someone to take my picture with him. Once again, very nice guy.
http://img168.echo.cx/img168/5060/eugeneaclarkandi1ty.jpg

Free stuff
http://img168.echo.cx/img168/2698/freestuff4ov.jpg

Those are most of the good pictures I took. When I ran into Quinten, Robert, Edgar, Simon, and Tom Savini I wasnt able to get a picture with them. Quinten and Robert dissapeared imediately after I shook their hands and was talking to Simon. I was following them out of the theater directly behind Simon. As we got into the lobby I could see that Simon was making for the stairs to go catch his ride to the after party. He was a very cool guy and Im sure he would have stopped for a picture had I talked to him again, but there were so many people around trying to stop him that I know if i did he would have been stuck there for at least an hour. I followed him to the steps to watch him go and left him in peace. By this time I was almost hyperventilating and virtually in a state of shock. As I made my way to the bus to go home it was very surreal to walk the streets that just moments before had set the stage for the largest zombie infestation ever caught on film.
 
haha, Eugene Clark looks way badass compared to you :D

lucky guy, nice pictures even if some of them lack a bit of quality.
 
Ennui said:
haha, Eugene Clark looks way badass compared to you :D

lucky guy, nice pictures even if some of them lack a bit of quality.
Click to expand...
hes much more badass than I will ever be. he is the foremost zombie in my free poster.
 
How do you get an invite to these things anyway? Do you just turn up and hope you get in?
 
Hmmm... I held strong doubts that Romero's latest installment wouldn't hold as being a classic, let alone a hit. I'm seeing the reviews, write-ups, and talk that this could well be Romero's masterpiece. To me, the trailer looked shite - cliche, mediocre, and poor. I guess I'll have to see it for myself this coming Sunday. I'll pass judgment then.
 
yes, i met him and he is just as god-like as you could imagine him. i was able to go because they were selling tickets to the general public. all proceedes are going to benefit local pittsburgh filmmaking, and fund a screenwriting contest later in the year. and once again, i cant stress this enough:

the trailer is terrible. it does not do the film justice, please go out and see this movie and judge it afterwards.
 
Just saw Land of the Dead yesterday and i got to say it was very good.

4/5 APPLES!
 
Ken may have been there (I think I remember him being named in Romero's speech), however I was unable to meet him if he was.
 
Haha, check out this review I found, it's exatly what I was afraid off :
Ok first off this is not that great of a movie. It's not even that great of a zombie movie. It was just only so-so. The acting was bland and you didn't give two *****s about the characters. The gore factor was unneeded and seem to just take up time where no clever story points could come to mind. Also I don't care if George Romero was zombie king in his day because he has not learned the lesson that 28 Days Later and the Dawn Of the Dead remake has taught us

SLOW ZOMBIES ARE NOT SCARY! MAKE THEM FAST AS *****.

Yes sir your sleep walking dumb ass dead are back. They may have become smarter and realized how to use guns here and there but their main weapon of flesh ripping bites are just not a big deal if they only seem to walk 1 MPH. Of course they seem to have the element of surprise EVERY *****ING TIME. The "military" in the movie seem to be as good as the Canadian Navy.

What you have here is any other given post-apocalyptic movie but with with Zombies. I'm sorry but the real draw with zombies movies are right after the infection starts. The world getting taken over and people fighting for their lives and not knowing where to go or what to do. When everyone is organized and all know about them there's no real mystery or thrill to it.

Sorry George but the times have change and you broke too many rules to make the movie enjoyable.

LIST OF THING GEORGE ROMERO DID WRONG IN THE MOVIE

Slow zombies
Idiot humans
Bad actors
Bad music (again Dawn of the Dead has a *****ing wicked sound track)
Lame intro
Pathetic scenery
Created a "leader" zombie

THINGS HE DID RIGHT

The humor when implemented was almost always spot on.
Special effects were decent
Once again used his political views in the movie without running them into the ground.
Had at least one boobie shot.

So for any Zombie fans out there hoping for greatest thing in zombie movies ever, sorry guys you'll have to wait till Zack Snyder re-makes Day Of The Dead or better yet creates one of his own.
 
Nothing personal, but I do indeed think kaf's opinions are a tad swayed :)

I mean, zombies using guns...hey, it was cool back in the day of Doom, but anything more than a pistol or shotgun being awkwardly aimed is just too goofy for me. I mean comon, a Steyr AUG? You gotta have god damn military training with that thing to be effective. That big black zombie is obviously the leader figure, or just a reoccuring zombie "boss". Maybe it would make more sense if I actually knew where the zombies came from, a virus? Hell? To me, a zombie infestation means chaos, pure chaos. Unorganized extermination, and what Land of the Dead shows me (based on previews) is cage fighting? What the hell? Organized cage fightings? I really hope there's a point to that o_O

I'll watch it when it comes on pay per view, I really don't trust kaf enough to make a trip to the theatres. Don't get me wrong kaf, you may be right, this movie might rock, but given the chances, it's nothing special :)
 
Adrien C said:
Haha, check out this review I found, it's exatly what I was afraid off :
Ok first off this is not that great of a movie. It's not even that great of a zombie movie. It was just only so-so. The acting was bland and you didn't give two *****s about the characters. The gore factor was unneeded and seem to just take up time where no clever story points could come to mind. Also I don't care if George Romero was zombie king in his day because he has not learned the lesson that 28 Days Later and the Dawn Of the Dead remake has taught us

SLOW ZOMBIES ARE NOT SCARY! MAKE THEM FAST AS *****.

Yes sir your sleep walking dumb ass dead are back. They may have become smarter and realized how to use guns here and there but their main weapon of flesh ripping bites are just not a big deal if they only seem to walk 1 MPH. Of course they seem to have the element of surprise EVERY *****ING TIME. The "military" in the movie seem to be as good as the Canadian Navy.

What you have here is any other given post-apocalyptic movie but with with Zombies. I'm sorry but the real draw with zombies movies are right after the infection starts. The world getting taken over and people fighting for their lives and not knowing where to go or what to do. When everyone is organized and all know about them there's no real mystery or thrill to it.

Sorry George but the times have change and you broke too many rules to make the movie enjoyable.

LIST OF THING GEORGE ROMERO DID WRONG IN THE MOVIE

Slow zombies
Idiot humans
Bad actors
Bad music (again Dawn of the Dead has a *****ing wicked sound track)
Lame intro
Pathetic scenery
Created a "leader" zombie

THINGS HE DID RIGHT

The humor when implemented was almost always spot on.
Special effects were decent
Once again used his political views in the movie without running them into the ground.
Had at least one boobie shot.

So for any Zombie fans out there hoping for greatest thing in zombie movies ever, sorry guys you'll have to wait till Zack Snyder re-makes Day Of The Dead or better yet creates one of his own.
Click to expand...


Dawn of the Dead remake was so-so. Land of the Dead is just as good as the originals. Zombies cannot run because of rigor mortis. The guy who reviewed that is as another poster would say "style over substance". The characters weren't bland nor was the acting bad. I thought it was great. 4/5 stars. And once again, running zombies are ****ing retarded. ****ing. Retarded. THEY CANNOT RUN. Zombies are never really very scary anyway. Unneeded gore? Its a ****ing zombie movie, why wouldn't there be gore. And who the hell wants to watch another movie about a zombie outbreak? And besides the fact the movie is a sequel to the others in which the zombies have already taken over the world...where the hell is this guy's sense? All he was expecting was Dawn of the Dead 2004. Trust me, the movie is just as good as the originals, possibly better.
 
also, please dont think the zombies progressing is a bad thing. observational learning had been demonstrated in day of the dead. in dawn of the dead a zombie is walking around with a rifle. granted he doesnt even know its a rifle, but he keeps it with him. in the end he even exchanges it with another one he likes better. these are things george had introduced in the past, and has developed since then. i too was very sceptical over the whole "smart zombie" thing but once you see them in action its very well done. and as a side note, zombies are not as advanced as your assuming they will be. as i said, everything is based off of observational learning (of which lower forms of animals are capable of) and you wont see a zombie repelling in through a window spraying an uzi at a group of humans. their gun usage is awkward and only occurs 2-3 times.
 
lmfao @ the Canadian Navy comment, so true lolololol.
It's a zombie movie, it's not supposed to be Oscar worthy material but just have cool shit - i.e: fllesh eatting living dead, boobies, guns, cool deaths, explosions, and other cool stuff :)
 
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