George A. Romero may be well into his 70s, but he is still trying to do some new things in the realm of zombie movies. His latest flick, Road of the Dead, is trying to secure financing, but as new details keep coming to light, how can this movie not get made? The movie has been described as a hybrid between Road Warrior and Rollerball with some Ben-Hur style zombie racing. Now, Romero has revealed even more details about the upcoming zombie movie.
The man behind Night of the Living Dead and the original Dawn of the Dead, among others, recently spoke with Rue Morgue and dished some details on Road of the Dead. In the interview, he gave a more in-depth description of the plot, revealing that scientists have figured out how to make zombies stop eating people. Here's what he had to say about it.
"It's set in a sanctuary city where this fat cat runs a haven for rich folks, and one of the things that he does is stage drag races to entertain them. There's a scientist there doing genetic experiments, trying to make the zombies stop eating us, and he has discovered that with a little tampering, they can recall certain memory skills that enable them to drive in these races. So it's a demolition derby with zombies at the wheels, and of course the shit hits the fan in other ways. It's really a romp; it's great fun, with stunts galore."
Road of the Dead is going to attempt to secure financing at the Fantasia International Film Festival, which takes place in Montreal from July 20-23. In addition to these new details, the first poster for the movie was also revealed, which lives up to every bit of this description. George A. Romero also talked a bit more about what we can expect from the movie in terms of tone and, somewhat surprisingly, he says that this is going to be more of a comedy.
"This one is really almost a comedy, though it's got scares and spooky moments and all that. It's more about suspense than blood. While there is gore, it's not overt; there are no big, operatic sequences where people get torn apart. There's slapstick in it, but it's mostly stunts; it's quite different. One character dies, for example, in a tragic way, but was once in NASCAR and is able to come back and drive. It's that kind of looney-tunes. It's really The Fast and the Furious with zombies."
The Fast and the Furious with zombies? If this could be executed the right way, Road of the Dead could be not only unique, but possibly a hit. Sadly, George A. Romero isn't directing, but Matt Birman, who actually pitched the initial idea and worked with Romero as a second unit director on Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead, is set to direct. If the movie can secure financing later this month cameras could get rolling on this crazy zombie movie pretty soon. We'll be sure to keep you up to date as more details on the project are made available.
