Post by nigel on May 12, 2005 9:41:16 GMT -5
GEORGE A. ROMERO
George A. Romero never set out to become a Hollywood figure. However, by all indications, he was very successful. The director of the ground-breaking Dead trilogy was born February 4, 1940, in New York City. He grew up in there until attending Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's renowned Carnegie Mellon University. After graduation, he began shooting mostly short films and commercials. He and friends formed Image Ten Productions in the late 1960s and they all chipped in roughly $10,000 apiece to produce what became one of the most celebrated American horror films of all time, Night of the Living Dead (1968). Shot in black and white on a limited budget of just over $100,000, Romero's vision, combined with a solid script written by him and Image co-founder John A. Russo--along with what was then considered an excess of gore, enabled the film to earn back multitudes more than what it cost, became a cult classic by the early 1970s, and was inducted into the United States' National Film Registry in 1999. Romero's next films were a little more low-key and less-seen, including There's Always Vanilla (1971), The Crazies (1973), Hungry Wives (1973) (where he met future wife Christine Forrest) and Martin (1977). Though not as acclaimed as "Night" or some of his later work, these films had his signature social commentary while dealing with issues (usually horror-related) at the microscopic level. And like almost all of his films, they were shot in or around Romero's favorite city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1978, Romero returned to the zombie genre with the one film of his that would top the success of NotLD, Dawn of the Dead (1978). He managed to divorce the franchise from Image Ten, which screwed up the copyright on the original, making them entitled to nothing from video prints. Shooting in the Monroeville Mall during late-night hours, Romero depicted the sorrowful tale of four people who escape a zombie outbreak and subsequently lock themselves up inside what they think is paradise before the solitude makes them victims of their own (and a biker gang's) greed. Shot on just $1.5 million, the film earned over $40 million worldwide and was named one of the top cult films by Entertainment Weekly in 2003. The film also marked Romero's first work with the brilliant make-up and effects artist Tom Savini. After 1978, Romero and Savini teamed up many times. DotD's success led to bigger budgets and better talent for the filmmaker. His early 1980s films had better casting. First was Knightriders (1981), where he first worked with an up-and-coming Ed Harris. Then came perhaps his most Hollywood-like film, Creepshow (1982), which marked the first--but not the last--time Romero adapted a work by famed horror novelist Stephen King. With many major stars and major studio distribution, "Creepshow" was a moderate success and spawned a sequel, which was also written by Romero. The decline of Romero's career came in the late 1980s. His last widely released film was the next "Dead" film, Day of the Dead (1985). Panned by critics, the film did not garner much at the box office either. His latest two efforts, The Dark Half (1993)--another King adaptation--and Bruiser (2000/I), went directly to video. Even the Romero-penned, Savini-directed remake of Romero's first film, Night of the Living Dead (1990) was a box-office failure. Pigeonholed solely as a horror director and his recent films no longer achieving the success of his earlier Dead films, Romero has not worked much since, much to the chagrin of his following. He still resides in Pittsburgh, working on a possible fourth chapter of his Dead series.
George A. Romero never set out to become a Hollywood figure. However, by all indications, he was very successful. The director of the ground-breaking Dead trilogy was born February 4, 1940, in New York City. He grew up in there until attending Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's renowned Carnegie Mellon University. After graduation, he began shooting mostly short films and commercials. He and friends formed Image Ten Productions in the late 1960s and they all chipped in roughly $10,000 apiece to produce what became one of the most celebrated American horror films of all time, Night of the Living Dead (1968). Shot in black and white on a limited budget of just over $100,000, Romero's vision, combined with a solid script written by him and Image co-founder John A. Russo--along with what was then considered an excess of gore, enabled the film to earn back multitudes more than what it cost, became a cult classic by the early 1970s, and was inducted into the United States' National Film Registry in 1999. Romero's next films were a little more low-key and less-seen, including There's Always Vanilla (1971), The Crazies (1973), Hungry Wives (1973) (where he met future wife Christine Forrest) and Martin (1977). Though not as acclaimed as "Night" or some of his later work, these films had his signature social commentary while dealing with issues (usually horror-related) at the microscopic level. And like almost all of his films, they were shot in or around Romero's favorite city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1978, Romero returned to the zombie genre with the one film of his that would top the success of NotLD, Dawn of the Dead (1978). He managed to divorce the franchise from Image Ten, which screwed up the copyright on the original, making them entitled to nothing from video prints. Shooting in the Monroeville Mall during late-night hours, Romero depicted the sorrowful tale of four people who escape a zombie outbreak and subsequently lock themselves up inside what they think is paradise before the solitude makes them victims of their own (and a biker gang's) greed. Shot on just $1.5 million, the film earned over $40 million worldwide and was named one of the top cult films by Entertainment Weekly in 2003. The film also marked Romero's first work with the brilliant make-up and effects artist Tom Savini. After 1978, Romero and Savini teamed up many times. DotD's success led to bigger budgets and better talent for the filmmaker. His early 1980s films had better casting. First was Knightriders (1981), where he first worked with an up-and-coming Ed Harris. Then came perhaps his most Hollywood-like film, Creepshow (1982), which marked the first--but not the last--time Romero adapted a work by famed horror novelist Stephen King. With many major stars and major studio distribution, "Creepshow" was a moderate success and spawned a sequel, which was also written by Romero. The decline of Romero's career came in the late 1980s. His last widely released film was the next "Dead" film, Day of the Dead (1985). Panned by critics, the film did not garner much at the box office either. His latest two efforts, The Dark Half (1993)--another King adaptation--and Bruiser (2000/I), went directly to video. Even the Romero-penned, Savini-directed remake of Romero's first film, Night of the Living Dead (1990) was a box-office failure. Pigeonholed solely as a horror director and his recent films no longer achieving the success of his earlier Dead films, Romero has not worked much since, much to the chagrin of his following. He still resides in Pittsburgh, working on a possible fourth chapter of his Dead series.