"Hey!" all George Romero fans!

[Noriko Takaya]

May 20: Now it’s DAY OF THE DEAD being remade (?!)

Sad, but inevitable… According to The Hollywood Reporter, a remake of George A. Romero’s DAY OF THE DEAD will be produced by Nu Image/Millennium Films, which will distribute the movie, in partnership with Emmett/Furla Films and Taurus Entertainment. The producers will by Avi Lerner, Randall Emmett and James Dudelson; no other talent has been attached, but it can be assumed Romero will have nothing to do with it. These guys are no strangers to reduxes; Emmett/Furla was part of the team behind the new AMITYVILLE HORROR and is currently involved with updates of THE WICKER MAN and TERROR TRAIN, while Dudelson recently directed and produced the unofficial sequel DAY OF THE DEAD 2: CONTAGIUM. —Michael Gingold

I am a fan of George Romero's Dead trilogy, and will probably go and see the new film Land of the Dead at the end of this month, however, I've come across this little bit of news which I could not believe, until someone sent me a link to confirm it. Romero remade his original Night of the Living Dead, and I found it passable, and kind of liked the remake of Dawn of the Dead in a somewhat bizarre fashion. But come on, this is enough already! It appears they are going to remake Day of the Dead! And while I feel that Day was the weakest of the three films, I did like it a lot, even with Bub the zombie running around and shooting a pistol. So, what are your opinions of this travesty? Is anyone out there outraged as well? Oh well, time will tell...

Original link

[Wes]

Well, Night would have been pretty hard to do - the running zombies would have torn that house a new one in about 30 min.

But yeah, Hollywood, creativity.

Edited June 20, 2005 by Wes

[Ladic]

If its good, I dont mind it.

[mikeszekely]

As much as I liked Romero's original Dead trilogy, I'm sick of zombie movies in general. I absolutely hated the Dawn of the Dead remake, and would classify it as gore without substance. And even Romero's own Land of the Dead just isn't looking all that appealing to me. I think Shaun of the Dead will be the last zombie flick I see for awhile.

[Pat S]

I love Zombie movies, and love Day of the Dead. A remake as good as the recent Dawn of the Dead would be awesome. Maybe they'll use Romero's original script with the trained Zombie Soldiers.

[Duke Togo]

The original was filmed were I used to live.

[promethuem5]

I dont get zombie movies at all..... when I see a movie, I want a PLOTLINE. I'd sit thru a zombie movie and be like 'This is great, but I want to know WHY the combies are attacking... where did they come from? How were they reanimated? Are they being controlled by someone? Is there a polot to this movie?'

[Roy's Blues]

I dont get zombie movies at all..... when I see a movie, I want a PLOTLINE.  I'd sit thru a zombie movie and be like 'This is great, but I want to know WHY the combies are attacking... where did they come from?  How were they reanimated?  Are they being controlled by someone?  Is there a polot to this movie?'

You guys that like zombie movies and comics should read The Walking Dead by Kirkman and Moore . It'd a Black and White comic. You can get the trades on Amazon

Edited June 20, 2005 by Roy's Blues

[Isamu Atreides 86]

I dont get zombie movies at all..... when I see a movie, I want a PLOTLINE.  I'd sit thru a zombie movie and be like 'This is great, but I want to know WHY the combies are attacking... where did they come from?  How were they reanimated?  Are they being controlled by someone?  Is there a polot to this movie?'

You guys that like zombie movies and comics should read The Walking Dead by Kirkman and Moore . It'd a Black and White comic. You can get the trades on Amazon

I agree. great stuff. I think there are two trades out now: Days gone Bye and Miles behind us. The third one should be coming out soon. Great story that focuses on human tensions. the zombies are only nuisances. other people are the greatest threats here. great stuff.

btw, read Kirkman's Invincible. a great superhero book. its also been collected into trades. 4 volumes out right now.

[Graham]

Will pass on this. Just like Dawn of the Dead, the original Day of the Dead is a classic IMO, which does not need to be remade.

And just for the record, I hated, the remake of Dawn, with it's Olympic sprinter zombies.

Graham

[Graham]

where did they come from? How were they reanimated? Are they being controlled by someone?

When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth.

Graam

[Ladic]

I dont get zombie movies at all..... when I see a movie, I want a PLOTLINE.  I'd sit thru a zombie movie and be like 'This is great, but I want to know WHY the combies are attacking... where did they come from?  How were they reanimated?  Are they being controlled by someone?  Is there a polot to this movie?'

You guys that like zombie movies and comics should read The Walking Dead by Kirkman and Moore . It'd a Black and White comic. You can get the trades on Amazon

currently reading

Zombie Survival Guide

and

Day by Day Armageddon

[Guppy]

Savini's remake of Night was very average. I'm a big romero fan, got all 3 dead movies. I still remember seeing the dismemberment scene near the end of Day of the Dead when I was in school! But I also loved the remake of Dawn of the Dead. I liked its unashamedly B-gradeness. And the scene where they're taking pot shots at celebrity zombies was comic genius!

[ShadowerV2]

look on the bright side. At least their not redoing the old ones like what GL is doing to the old trilogy.

You have the old and the new to compare. Sounds ok don't you think?

[mikeszekely]

where did they come from?  How were they reanimated?  Are they being controlled by someone?

When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth.

Graam

Yeah, but see, if I remember the original NotLD, there WAS an explaination. It had to do with some radiation or something that came from a crashed satellite.

The original was filmed were I used to live.

Really? I live right by where the original Dawn of the Dead was filmed. The mall's be remodeled a lot since it was filmed (the skating rink was where the food court is today), but it's still kind of cool to watch the movie and think, "I've been there."

[Ladic]

where did they come from?  How were they reanimated?  Are they being controlled by someone?

When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth.

Graam

Yeah, but see, if I remember the original NotLD, there WAS an explaination. It had to do with some radiation or something that came from a crashed satellite.

The original was filmed were I used to live.

Really? I live right by where the original Dawn of the Dead was filmed. The mall's be remodeled a lot since it was filmed (the skating rink was where the food court is today), but it's still kind of cool to watch the movie and think, "I've been there."

there was never an explanaition, only theories.

[Blaine23]

Never was much of a Romero's Dead fan - but I'll never understand how the idea of somebody making a remake somehow diminishes the value of the original. If you don't want to see a remake, then don't go see it.

I mean, I saw the Willy Wonka trailer yesterday and as much as I'm a fan of Burton and Depp - it looks like a complete waste of time and eerily identical to the original movie. I probably won't waste my time going to see it. But no matter how crappy it is, it will only make the original look that much better. Same thing with Planet of the Apes, or Psycho, or any other remake.

Only zombie movie I thought was plausible and cool was 28 Days Later.

[Roy's Blues]

where did they come from?  How were they reanimated?  Are they being controlled by someone?

When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth.

Graam

Yeah, but see, if I remember the original NotLD, there WAS an explaination. It had to do with some radiation or something that came from a crashed satellite.

The original was filmed were I used to live.

Really? I live right by where the original Dawn of the Dead was filmed. The mall's be remodeled a lot since it was filmed (the skating rink was where the food court is today), but it's still kind of cool to watch the movie and think, "I've been there."

there was never an explanaition, only theories.

I always thought the lack of information helped to add to the fear and hopelessness the characters had to face.

If they knew what caused it, someone may try to go fix the problem. Not a movie I would really like to go see. IMO zombie movies are basically natural disaster films with a human buffet.

[Ladic]

where did they come from?  How were they reanimated?  Are they being controlled by someone?

When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth.

Graam

Yeah, but see, if I remember the original NotLD, there WAS an explaination. It had to do with some radiation or something that came from a crashed satellite.

The original was filmed were I used to live.

Really? I live right by where the original Dawn of the Dead was filmed. The mall's be remodeled a lot since it was filmed (the skating rink was where the food court is today), but it's still kind of cool to watch the movie and think, "I've been there."

there was never an explanaition, only theories.

I always thought the lack of information helped to add to the fear and hopelessness the characters had to face.

If they knew what caused it, someone may try to go fix the problem. Not a movie I would really like to go see. IMO zombie movies are basically natural disaster films with a human buffet.

completely agree with you.

[JsARCLIGHT]

I know I say this in every Zombie movie thread but the whole "point" of the Romero zombie movie archetype is not the zombies but the downfall of man. Where the zombies came from, who made them, why they are here, etc are not important. What is important in the Romero zombie movie style is how man turns on man and the world falls into chaos. I liked the movie 28 Days Later because it was a true Romero style zombie movie in that the zombies where not the focus. Sure they sort of half-assed explained where the zombies came from but they where not the true focus of the film. Shaun of the Dead (while not really a horror movie) walked down the same path. The zombies where not the main issue, they where the "set" or the backdrop to which a human drama unfolds. IMHO zombie movies that make the zombies and their attacks the whole point of the movie usually fail and fail quite horribly... most of the time because they degrade into plodding B horror movie fare that rely more on grossout factor than actual fear. Movies like the Italian gore-fest "Zombie" come to mind, where the whole point of the movie was "lets see how many more gory, disgusting scenes we can put the paper thin cookie cutter cast into before people start barfing in their popcorn".

[MSW]

I dont get zombie movies at all..... when I see a movie, I want a PLOTLINE. I'd sit thru a zombie movie and be like 'This is great, but I want to know WHY the combies are attacking... where did they come from? How were they reanimated? Are they being controlled by someone? Is there a polot to this movie?'

*Cough ... what you are describeing is not plot but BACKSTORY and entirely unnecissary.

Besides pinning down the origins, motives, and rational of zombies in zombie movies is like asking George Lucas to pin down just how long ago, and exactly how far, far away Star Wars took place.

NOW PAY ATTENTION --> Somethings are much better left to the imagination <--THIS IS THE FIRST RULE OF HORROR FILMS

[Noriko Takaya]

I mean, I saw the Willy Wonka trailer yesterday and as much as I'm a fan of Burton and Depp - it looks like a complete waste of time and eerily identical to the original movie.

That being said, Burton's film is supposed to be a more literal transaltion of the book. From what I can recall, Roald Dahl hated the original movie, and this new one seems to have had input from Dahl's widow. At least the bed-ridden grandpa won't be getting out of the sack and singing that golden ticket song or whatever. Okay, back on topic...

[Ladic]

I mean, I saw the Willy Wonka trailer yesterday and as much as I'm a fan of Burton and Depp - it looks like a complete waste of time and eerily identical to the original movie.

That being said, Burton's film is supposed to be a more literal transaltion of the book. From what I can recall, Roald Dahl hated the original movie, and this new one seems to have had input from Dahl's widow. At least the bed-ridden grandpa won't be getting out of the sack and singing that golden ticket song or whatever. Okay, back on topic...

grandpa Joe was the best!

[Noriko Takaya]

grandpa Joe was the best!

Dude! There is something horribly wrong with that picture!

Edited June 22, 2005 by Noriko Takaya

[Slugworth]

This is for the person who doesn't understand why there are people who hate remakes.

My opinion is that remakes are pointless. Why make another version, Dawn of the Dead for example, when we already have a perfectly good Dawn of the Dead that is recognized as a classic film? A shot by shot remake like Psycho is useless because its exactly the same, and these retellings or "revisits", like some people call them, are also useless because they change so much of it, that the fans feel betrayed. Its a catch 22. Well people say, "Its different than the original! Quit comparing it to the original!" Then don't use the same damn title, silly! Call it something else and let it stand by itself. The producers bring on the comparisons themselves by using the same name. Clearly, they are only using the title to cash in on its name recognition. Plain and simple. They usually make it simpler, bland, and employ quick editing techniques for the mainstream audience to maximize profits from teenagers. And I think that sucks!

If you want truly want to honor or pay tribute to Dawn of the Dead, make a film like Shaun of the Dead which was an instant classic. They made their own story while still incorporating many of the elements that made the original Dawn of the Dead great.

I suppose there are exceptions to the rule. Cronenberg's remake of The Fly, for instance is extremely well done and far superior to the original. Same goes for Carpenter's The Thing. But mostly, I think remakes are crap.

Now, in the case of War of the Worlds and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, those were originally books, so even the original films are not original properties or stories. So I really don't have a problem with remakes of those. However, they still have sort of a responsibility to the source material. They rarely get it right...

Another thing, why is it okay to remake a movie, but no one rewrites books? I bet people would go ape poo if somebody had the balls to rewrite books!

But ultimately, does anyone have an original thought anymore? Now the current trend is to remake Japanese horror films. Here's a tip: Quit it! And don't get me started on TV show adaptations...

Just my opinion.

[Graham]

Well said Slugworth.

Graham

[Pat S]

There are a lot of young people who would never watch the original Dawn of the Dead because it's so old and outdated (the effects and music especially). At least a remake can get people interested in this type of genre again. I'd rather see a thousand Zombie remakes than a single Dukes of Hazzard one.

[baronv]

Ummm, since Macross DYRL is a "revist" or "retelling" of the Macross t.v. series, do you dislike that it was made at all. A lot of the members here do not mind and even prefer DYRL to the t.v. series being retold.

Edited June 22, 2005 by baronv

[Graham]

There are a lot of young people who would never watch the original Dawn of the Dead because it's so old and outdated (the effects and music especially).  At least a remake can get people interested in this type of genre again.  I'd rather see a thousand Zombie remakes than a single Dukes of Hazzard one.

Hey, the music in the original Dawn is great as are the special effects. Thankfully not a pixel of CGI anywhere to be seen (trust me, that is a good thing).

But then again, I no longer classify as a 'young person' and most music that kids listen to these days gives me a headache (hey, I'm turning into my parents).

Graham

[Guest Bromgrev]

My views exactly, Slugworth. Same goes for cover versions of songs.

Most of the music I listen to gives kids these days a headache.

[Wes]

This is for the person who doesn't understand why there are people who hate remakes.

My opinion is that remakes are pointless. Why make another version, Dawn of the Dead for example, when we already have a perfectly good Dawn of the Dead that is recognized as a classic film? A shot by shot remake like Psycho is useless because its exactly the same, and these retellings or "revisits", like some people call them, are also useless because they change so much of it, that the fans feel betrayed. Its a catch 22. Well people say, "Its different than the original! Quit comparing it to the original!" Then don't use the same damn title, silly! Call it something else and let it stand by itself. The producers bring on the comparisons themselves by using the same name. Clearly, they are only using the title to cash in on its name recognition. Plain and simple. They usually make it simpler, bland, and employ quick editing techniques for the mainstream audience to maximize profits from teenagers. And I think that sucks!

If you want truly want to honor or pay tribute to Dawn of the Dead, make a film like Shaun of the Dead which was an instant classic. They made their own story while still incorporating many of the elements that made the original Dawn of the Dead great.

I suppose there are exceptions to the rule. Cronenberg's remake of The Fly, for instance is extremely well done and far superior to the original. Same goes for Carpenter's The Thing. But mostly, I think remakes are crap.

Now, in the case of War of the Worlds and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, those were originally books, so even the original films are not original properties or stories. So I really don't have a problem with remakes of those. However, they still have sort of a responsibility to the source material. They rarely get it right...

Another thing, why is it okay to remake a movie, but no one rewrites books? I bet people would go ape poo if somebody had the balls to rewrite books!

But ultimately, does anyone have an original thought anymore? Now the current trend is to remake Japanese horror films. Here's a tip: Quit it! And don't get me started on TV show adaptations...

Just my opinion.

What you forget is that Hollywood does not work for logical reasons, just for money. And if it can make more money, that's the point.