Romero's input into NOTLD 90?

[i-eat-ears]

To settle an argument, does anyone know how much input Romero had into the 1990 version of NOTLD? According to IMDB he's only credited with writing the original screenplay but I thought he was more involved than that. Any info gratefully received!

[The Blind Dead]

I've read that Romero wrote the remakes screenplay.

[outkast]

You could hear his voice over the radio at the end?

[zombiekilling101]

i thought he helped out on the set and stuff.. but I dont know if its correct

[Bad Zombie Night]

He is listed as the Executive Producer for the movie... I'm sure he had some influence on how the film turned out, and was probably consulted quite frequently during the filming.

[flenser]

Cheers for that guys.

Got into quite a flame war on another forum over just how much Savini as opposed to Romero directed the film.:x

[Divided Soul]

Either way the movie was still a great remake!

[Jay Decay]

This is one of my favorite films, Tom Savini did a great directing job on it.

[goesaround]

I loved it. The zombies were THE BEST! They were better then the zombies in Land. Actually I read somewhere recently that George directed a lot more of the movie then people know. It was somewhere on the web I put a search in Google on Dead 90 and Romeros input and got back alot. Soooo from my research George did ALOT more the write the script and read the great radio voice, he actually directed alot. One of the reasons they did it was to recreate a copyright product or something that would make them the money they got gipped out of the first time.

[iamperfet]

This thread diserves 10x more talk.

This is one the best zombie movies ever made...perhaps THE best.

I'm wondering why there isn't more of a push for this movie being on DVD with some extra features and what not( netflix doesn't offer it, so that pisses me off)

[iamperfet]

Also, do you think the old man in the very begining; is he turning in to a zombie, or is he just insane?

There was also some discussion as to wether Johhny injured his brain, thus making his reanimation false. under further review, he in fact seems to have broken his neck.

Damn, I wana talk about every scene in this movie; barb almost got bit several times; twice coming EXTREMELY CLOSE!

[corgi37]

I read that Savini doesnt have very fond memories of making this film. Apart from the MPAA hassles, he had Romero breathing down his neck, plus the other original investers. I have no idea now where i read all the info. But, from what i recall, Savini was kinda pissed off with the interference.

I think it also explains why, after all this time and the use of "unrated" dvd's, this very, very tame movie hasnt been re-released with all the bells and whistles, and the gore reinstated.

I mean, one of the main reasons for doing this was to the original investors some return after the copyright debacle in '68. So, you'd think they'd try to milk NIGHT 90 a bit more, wouldnt you?

[Zombie-A-GoGo]

I got the impression that Savini wanted to direct it to 1) have the opportunity to direct a film, and 2) he loved the original. But Romero and the other originals mainly just wanted it made to reclaim title rights. I'm sure that discrepency alone would have made the creative process difficult.

[evilzombie20]

I tried talking to Savini about this film and he brushed off any questions I had about it very quickly. What I did manage to get out of him was he shot about 60% of what he wanted to do with it and the rest was based on Romero's take on how it should be. He's openly admitted on several occasions he did not like the way the film turned out. His original vision was much different and this was pre MPAA cuts. I am working on getting the workprint version of this film as I hear it has a few new scenes and the added gore.

I believe Romero was on the set at least 3 times a week to supervise what Savini was doing. Apparently, I do not know if this is true but I do remember hearing it some time back, when Romero wasn't around Savini would make changes to the script without Romero's concent and shoot what he wanted. I also heard the film's budget was around $2.5 million and Savini requested $5 million. The rest of the money is rumored to have actually been pocketed by Savini but it's never been confirmed nor has it been denied. Who knows.

I will say this - the film's awesome. One of my all time favorite zombie films and possibly the best remake I've ever seen. One of the very few that overshadows the original.

[Zombie Survivor]

It's one of my favorite zombie films! The zombies are so awesome, but it's over before you know it :cry:

[Morbidfilm]

There is a recent interview somewhere on the internet with Savini where he states that him and Romero had a falling out over Night 90. Savini was angry that Romero left the production to write another script in Florida. Tom felt like he was abandoned and left to deal with the producers and studio on his own.
He may have been hoping it was going to be like the Day of the Dead set. He continues saying that all the Laserdisc commentaries in the late 90's helped fix their friendship. It was a very interesting read.
I would have loved to see all of Savini's vision on the screen instead of just the 40% he claims is all that made it in the movie.

[dead and loving it]

I think out of all the movies that have been remade recently, this is the best. The zombies in this movie are the best ever.
Still, it's not as good as the original, that is a very tall order.
Mr. Savini does seem to be quite dissatified with his final product.
an interview can be heard here:
http://www.deadpit.com/