Quote:The legendary creator of the "Night of the Living Dead" zombie franchise, George A. Romero, died Sunday at the age of 77, Fox News has confirmed.

Romero died "peacefully" while sleeping after a "brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer," his manager, Chris Roe, said in a statement. The filmmaker was "listening to the score of The Quiet Man, one of his all-time favorite films" with his family by his side, the manager added. Romero co-wrote and directed "Night of the Living Dead" in 1968, which went on to become a cult classic.  The movie was rare at the time of its release in that it starred an African-American actor in the lead role.

It also set the rules the creators of zombie flick remakes live by: Zombies move slowly, lust for human flesh and can only be killed when show in the head. If a zombie bites a human, the person dies and returns as a zombie.
Famous fans of his work mourned his death on social media. Stephen King called him his favorite collaborator and said, "There will never be another like you." Movie director Guillermo del Toro said, "The loss is so enormous."


 

'Night of the Living Dead' creator George A. Romero has died at age 77.  (REUTERS)

In 1999, the Library of Congress inducted "Night of the Living Dead" into the National Registry of Films.
The film, which was made for about $100,000, sparked the zombie film genre and spurred five sequels as part of Romero’s "Dead" film series.

Romero created "Dawn of the Dead" 10 years later, which film critic Roger Ebert called "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 maintained that he wouldn't make horror films if 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 Associated Press. "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 celebrated filmmaker graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in 1960. He learned the movie business working on the sets of movies and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.”
Romero was born in the Bronx to Cuban and Lithuanian parents. He is survived by his wife Suzanne and two children.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Quote:It’s been three months since George A. Romero died. In that time, like countless zombies that shambled through his films, an outpouring of affection from fans and colleagues refuses to die.
Mr. Romero, who forever made Pittsburgh one of the scariest places on earth , receives his latest honor next Wednesday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Quote:How many George A. Romero fans are going to dress up as as Zombies for his star ceremony on the 25th? I've been DYING to know!
— Ana Martinez (@wofstargirl) October 18, 2017

“The remarkable thing was, George always resisted Hollywood. He certainly could have gone at any point,” said Carl Kurlander, CEO of Steeltown Entertainment and a former collaborator.
“He always said to me, ‘I’m not from here,’ but Pittsburgh matched his independent spirit.”
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Mr. Romero was 77 when he died of lung cancer July 16. A native New Yorker, he earned his degree at Carnegie Mellon University and began a lengthy career as one of the founders of production company Image Ten. “Night of the Living Dead” terrified the next generation of filmmakers in 1968, including writer, actor, producer and director Edgar Wright, whose web blog and Instagram account prominently feature photos of Mr. Romero. Suzanne Desrocher, Mr. Romero’s widow, will accept the honor on her husband’s behalf. The ceremony will be streamed live at 2:30 p.m. EST at www.walkoffame.com.

To offset the cost of the Walk of Fame ceremony as well as [url=http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/movies/2017/08/25/George-Romero-Star-Hollywood-Walk-of-Fame/stories/201708250206]help pay for upkeep of the Walk, which is constructed of terrazzo and brass, honorees or their sponsors must contribute $40,000 to the Hollywood Historic Trust, a 501©3 charitable foundation.
When news circulated earlier this summer that a Generosity by Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign was underway for the star, Mr. Romero's fans raised almost $10,000 to help cover costs.

Each year, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce accepts nominations open to all, including fans. It then meets in June to choose 30 people or groups who will be honored. Once someone is selected, they have a two-year window in which to set a ceremony date, or they must apply again. In the case of posthumous awards (which does not apply to Mr. Romero), he or she cannot be nominated until five years after death.  In addition to the Walk of Fame event, which is free to the public, there also will be a private hotel reception Wednesday.

Mr. Wright, who directed the recent hit, “Baby Driver,” will speak at the Walk of Fame induction ceremony, along with North Hills native Greg Nicotero, director and executive producer of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”  Mr. Nicotero said his former mentor’s impact on the genre went well beyond filmmaking. On a personal level, “he offered me my first job. He supported anything that I did and encouraged it.  “So, talk about a guy who almost instantaneously welcomed me into his family, his filmmaking family.”  On Wednesday night, the Alex Theatre will host a ticketed tribute to Mr. Romero that includes a screening of "Creepshow."

“Night of the Living Dead” was shot around the Pittsburgh area. It opened with the iconic scene of a zombie attack in the Evans City Cemetery; the chapel there will be part of a fan tribute for Mr. Romero Sunday in conjunction with the nearby “Living Dead” weekend festival.  Ana Martinez, who is producer for the Walk of Fame events, recently tweeted she expected to see more than a few zombies in the crowd. Attendance at the public event, which will take place near the Hollywood Toy & Costume Store, is free.  Steeltown will host a screening of “Day of the Dead,” one of Mr. Romero’s many horror films, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Frick Fine Arts auditorium of the University of Pittsburgh. Pitt professor Adam Lowenstein had students choose the title, which features local actor Lori Cardille as a feminist heroine.  Afterward, Ms. Cardille and Mr. Lowenstein will discuss the sociological influences of the film, as well as the part Mr. Cardille’s father, the late Bill Cardille, played in promoting the horror genre.
“George himself was an intellectual. People in the know, know he was far beyond horror. You read scholarly articles about him, and they mention how they were really about our fears. ‘Night of the Living Dead’ was about Vietnam, about race,” Mr. Kurlander said.

Mr. Wright, who grew up in England, took an early stab at horror with his partner Simon Pegg when he wrote and directed 2004’s “Shaun of the Dead.” In his blog, he cites Mr. Romero’s influences:  “Myself and Pegg had this wild notion of making a film that took place in George’s universe, but with a distinctly North London response to his Pittsburgh zombie epics.”  They asked him to take a look (“To us, his was the only opinion that mattered.”) They arranged for him to watch a private screening in Florida.  “I remember standing in my flat in Islington when I got the call from him” wrote Mr. Wright, “and he couldn’t have been warmer and kinder about the movie. I remember him saying that it was ‘an absolute blast.’ That indeed became the sole poster quote for the movie in the United States.  “I frequently think back to this moment of standing in my house as the moment my life truly changed and the world got smaller.”

(04-28-2018, 05:40 PM)Zombie.Hunter Wrote: & since the apocalypse would be all around us that instantly cancels out my Student loans. YES!!!!!

(05-05-2018, 07:48 AM)priell3 Wrote: Zombies are all around us now.  Folks die and come back as Democrats.