Oh yes boys and ghouls, I got my lazy, undead ass off the couch today and headed into the big, scary city to watch a taping of The Hour with guest George Romero! I totally missed the zombie walk in his honor on the weekend and was pretty bummed about it. My kids couldn’t get over their fear of zombies so I had to stay home. When I heard the news that we could go down there to see the taping of his interview for free, well, I jumped all over that chance.
While I probably missed out on actually meeting the great Romero in person at the zombie walk, I at least got to sit 10 feet away from him and listen to some great stories and his opinions on the current trend of horror and zombie flicks. Like a good undead legion member, I lathered myself in the blood of my fresh kill and shambled my way downtown.
Mmmm bloody! And check the t-shirt plug for the Zombie Walk!
After spending all that money (okay, 10 bucks but still) on makeup for the zombie walk that I didn’t get to use, it was nice to know that the piles of fake blood I had accumulated would be put somewhere other than a shelf. A word of warning though, blood packets for your mouth not only are unnaturally warm (I mean, why is it so warm when it’s just sitting on the counter??) but are the most unpleasant tasting items it has been my misfortune to put in my mouth. After all that torture I found that there wasn’t much blood in them anyway. What a terribly tasty way to find that out.
It was down to the tubes of fake blood to finish the job I had started and I think it turned out alright. I didn’t have much time to get ready because I had to drop the kids off at school and it’s really not a good idea to show up at a public school covered in blood. I don’t know, something about kindergarten kids being frightened of the scary man smothered in blood. With the help of my lovely girlfriend Charmaine, I pulled off the best zombie look I could in 30 mins and we set off.
I was almost hoping to be pulled over on the way there just to see the cops reaction but then I would have been late and missed the whole thing so it’s better that I didn’t. I at least turned some heads walking down the street towards the CBC building and the parking lot attendant wouldn’t let us park until we told him where we were headed. Good times!
So we get to the building just in time for the lineup! Dang, that building is huge, but there weren’t too many other zombies there. I think there ended up being about 7 or 8 of us mixed in with the regular looking crowd. This at least paid off for Charmaine and I since they wanted all the zombies to sit at the front. Maybe my scary looking mug will get on the TV box for everyone to see! You can be all like aaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnd there he is, I know that guy! I hope that isn’t my 15 seconds of fame already! HAHA!
There was alot of sitting and waiting and I got to quickly talk to Thea, the organizer of the Toronto Zombie Walk. It’s insane the amount of work that goes into those walks and I just wanna send my thanks to her and everyone that helps her, not only for setting up the Zombie Walk every year but for also letting everyone know about this taping. Without that knowledge I would have totally missed this.
Char and I in the studio. We figured if she looked good and I looked bloody, we'd double our chances to sit up front! HAHA!
A nice shot of my bloody facial handprint.
A couple of the other zombies in the crowd.
Some random guy had to entertain us while we waited for the taping to start but the brains jokes didn’t get old and it was funny to see him banter back and forth with the row of zombies. Finally we get to see the two Georges, Romero and Stroumboulopoulos. (Man, fun to say but impossible to spell!) I really like George Stroumboulopoulos’ skills in an interview. He always keeps it fun and informative. George Romero spoke about his experiences making Night of the Living Dead and the differences when he made films for big studios. He also touched on his opinions of the current state of horror movies saying that he feels they’re too mean spirited.
There was some talk about why the zombie genre seems to be so big and George Romero commented on how he always hears from 4 or 5 people at every convention about how they’ve made their own zombie flick. They spoke about how there’s just a built in fanbase for zombie movies and that might be the reason for the interest by filmmakers to create these films. When asked if the audiences responded differently in other countries towards his new film, Romero pointed out how the feeling and reactions were generally the same no matter where the movie played and this speaks alot of the zombie loving crowd. I guess zombies are really breaking down barriers through race, gender and financial position. The zombies are for all of us!
George Stroumboulopoulos and George Romero chat it up.
It was over way too fast but just in time for me to get my butt out of there and pick the kids up from school. Thankfully I had enough time to wash all that blood off. I wish I could’ve had the chance to shake Romero’s hand and score some pics with him but he was in and out and I was out of time. I’ll just have to start stalking him in the city dressed like a zombie the whole time.
It was a great day and Char and I had an awesome time. Again, thanks to Thea for spreading the word about the taping and making a typical Tuesday be anything but typical!
Under the marquee (munching some brains) – Will
looks like an awesome trip, I wish I could get a more interactive experience like this with my films. The closest I really got was seeing Tarantino’s Death Proof filmed in my city at the time (Austin, TX). I wish I could go to more Q&A’s and conventions. *sigh* Glad you enjoyed yourself.
It was an awesome time, even if I had to cut it short to get the kids. Living close to Toronto has it’s benefits when it comes to stuff like this. There’s plenty of film festivals, TV tapings and special events like the Zombie Walk and special screenings. I miss plenty of them myself since I’ve got kids now but any I can make it to, I’ll try to.
Hey, at least you finally get to see your idol in person. I’m just giddy that he’s a Canadian now :p
It was really cool to see him get interviewed because I don’t really see alot of him anywhere. He seems like a nice guy and I’d love to have a beer with him, I bet he’d be full of amazing stories! HAHA!
Whoa – close proximity to Strombo.
Being covered in blood gave us the chance to sit 2nd row just behind him! HAHA!
A meeting with the Godfather of horror? Such things only happen once a lifetime, so I’m sure you savored the moment.
Just out of curiosity, what did you think of that “Dawn of the Dead” remake a few years ago? I saw the original, and I thought the remake was scary as hell — in a different way, of course. And the commentary on mall culture and consumerism did get lost in the shuffle. But !@#$%! scary nonetheless.
Here’s my unpopular opinion: I thought the consumerism message in the original “Dawn of the Dead” was about as subtle and eloquent as a hammer to the forebrain. I honestly don’t know why it’s so revered, outside of the fact that it was probably the first zombie movie to take that angle. And DULL. Dull, dull, dull.
I love the new “Dawn of the Dead” dearly, minus a few mis-steps. And, of course, we couldn’t have a remake without an original, but I stick by my guns: the new one is the better viewing experience.
I did enjoy the remake of Dawn of the Dead but I still prefer the original. I think the consumerism concept is still in the new one. The fact that they feel so safe in the mall and you do see them enjoying themselves when they can take whatever they want.
Of his original trilogy I think Night is my favorite and Day would be second. Dawn is at the bottom but they’re all 10 times better than the crapfest that was Land of the Dead. I couldn’t stand that one!