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Diary of the Dead

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This article is about the George Romero film. For the 1976 film, see Diary of the Dead (1976 film).
Diary of the Dead
Directed byGeorge A. Romero
Written byGeorge A. Romero
Produced byGeorge A. Romero
Peter Grunwald
Sam Englebardt
Artur Spigel
Dan Fireman
John Harrison
Ara Katz
StarringShawn Roberts
Joshua Close
Michelle Morgan
Joe Dinicol
Phillip Riccio
Scott Wentworth
Tatiana Maslany
CinematographyAdam Swica
Edited byMichael Doherty
Music byNorman Orenstein
Distributed byVoltage Pictures
The Weinstein Company[1]
Release dates
September 8, 2007
(Toronto International Film Festival)
United States:
February 15, 2008
United Kingdom:
March 7, 2008
Running time
95 min.
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10,000,000[2]

Diary of the Dead (also known as George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead) is a horror film by George A. Romero. Although independently produced, it is distributed by Dimension Films and was released on February 15, 2008.[3]

Plot

After an introduction to the zombie documentary (The Death of Death) mostly filmed by Jason Creed, a film student at the University of Pittsburgh, the film cuts to the group of students filming a mummy horror movie in the woods. While the group argues, a student listening to the radio hears that something strange that is on the news -- the dead are waking. After hearing the report, the student playing the mummy, Ridley, decides to head to his home in Philadelphia, and invites the other students to join him and stay in his safe room. Jason lies that he'll go into the panic room, wanting to document the zombies, and while the rest of the group are busy stocking up, he sneaks away.

The script was written in the early to mid 90's and was a reaction to the budget cuts George Bush Sr. made to the national emergency funds, and what could happen in a disaster without any emergency response. The first scene where the student filmmakers panic is actually meant to be a pirate radio station in Berkeley broadcasting a replay of the LA riots. The students are seized with Y2k paranoia and attempt to drive to a safe room in Pittsburgh from Berkeley after this event, and check on their families along the way.

Cast

Quentin Tarantino, Wes Craven, Guillermo del Toro, Simon Pegg and Stephen King lend their voices as newscasters on the radio.[6] Shawn Roberts also appeared in Land of the Dead, making him the ninth actor to appear in two of Romero's zombie films, after Pegg, Joseph Pilato, Tom Savini, Gregory Nicotero, Boyd Banks, Alan van Sprang, Taso N. Stavraki and Romero himself.

Re-establishing the Dead franchise

The film is the fifth film in Romero's Dead series.[7] However, in "an attempt to re-establish a profitable franchise," the film is "a rejigging of the myth" says Romero,[3] and is meant as a side story during the same timeframe as Night. Even though the fourth film, Land of the Dead, was studio-produced through Universal Studios, Diary of the Dead was produced by Romero-Grunwald Productions, formed by Romero and his producer friend Peter Grunwald, with Artfire Films.[8]

History

Romero announced the film in August 2006 after signing a deal to write and direct it.[8] Filming began its four-week shoot in Toronto on October 19, 2006.[4]

Despite the low production budget, somewhere around 2 million dollars,[9] director George Romero made extensive use of computer-generated imagery, because it allowed him to shoot the film quickly and add the effects later. Also, the film's style, as if shot with hand-held cameras, necessitated a shift from his usual method of working, which involves filming multiple camera angles and assembling scenes in the editing room. Instead, Romero filmed much of the action in long, continuous takes: "The camera was 360, so everybody was an acrobat, ducking under the lens when the camera came past you," said Romero. "The cast was great. They had a lot of theater experience. I think they could have gone from scene one all the way to the end of the movie, all in a single shot."[10]

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Midnight Madness on September 8, 2007.[11] According to a poll taken by the Toronto Star, it was one of the most anticipated films at the Festival.[12] Just four days later, The Weinstein Company announced that it had purchased the rights to distribute Diary of the Dead in the United States and Mexico for $2.5 million. There, Dimension Films are distributing the film.

George Romero also won a 2008 Critics Award for Diary of the Dead.

Reception

The film had a mixed reaction from critics. On the film review website Rottentomatoes.com it sports a 61% approval rating[13], certifying it as "fresh". It is currently the lowest-rated entry in Romero's series. On Metacritic, the film has a positive overall score of 66 (out of 100). Roger Ebert however awarded the film three out of four stars saying "Diary” presents a world of post-9/11, post-Iraq-invasion paranoia and distrust of the “official story.”

DVD release

The DVD was released by The Weinstein Company and Genius Entertainment on May 20, 2008. Special features include a feature-length documentary, an audio commentary, deleted scenes, Behind the Scenes featurette, and five short films that came about via a MySpace contest. It was released the same day as a new edition of Night of the Living Dead. [14]

The film was released on Region 2 on June 29, 2008, in single disc [15], double disc and blu-ray editions[16]. The double-disc and blu-ray both contained a UK exclusive interview from Frightfest 08, and a feature length documentary entitled One For The Fire - The Legacy Of Night Of The Living Dead. The double-disc edition was released in limited, numbered steelbook packaging, and online retailer play.com sold an exclusive edition in a slipcase. [17]

On October 21st, 2008, a Blu-ray version was released in the United States.

References

  1. ^ CHUD.com - A film site for the brilliant
  2. ^ "Romero's 'Diary of the Dead' in the Can". Esplatter.com. 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
  3. ^ a b "Diary of the Dead, Teeth and Quarantine Get Dates!". Bloody-Disgusting.com. 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2007-11-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Diary of the Dead shooting and more Cast!". MoviesOnline. Retrieved 2006-10-29.
  5. ^ DeDekker, Jeff (2006-10-21). "Regina actress makes her mark in 'Booky' role". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved 2006-10-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Capone With George A. Romero!!".
  7. ^ Kincaid, Nina (2006-08-30). "Script Review: Romero's "Diary of the Dead"". Flixens. Retrieved 2006-09-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ a b . The film was produced by Romero's company and many might say it fulfils Romero's modern Dead film better than the mixed reviewed Land of the Dead. That being said, many stylistic conventions of previous Romero Dead films are absent. The film has virtually no musical soundtrack which has been a Romero staple (Specifically Dawn of the Dead with Goblin). Since the film is captured by internal sources (within the film and narrative) Romero's long still shots and crafty moving cranes are virtually absent. Since the film is taking on a different concept, and "re-establishing" a legendary horror tale, this all makes sense. McClintock, Pamela (2006-08-24). "Romero will raise 'Dead'". Variety.com. Retrieved 2006-09-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ and another 17 million was pledged just for the legal fallout but is still in arbitration. The zombie king returns to the 'Dead' - CNN.com
  10. ^ Hollywood Gothique: "Talking about 'Diary of the Dead'"
  11. ^ TIFF '07 - Films & Schedules George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead
  12. ^ Romero's 'Diary' breathes new life into the dead - USATODAY.com
  13. ^ Diary of the Dead at Rotten Tomatoes
  14. ^ FANGORIA® - America's Horror Magazine
  15. ^ Single disc dvd on play.com
  16. ^ Blu-ray release on play.com
  17. ^ Play.com Exclusive double-disc dvd
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