Movies
‘Night of the Living Dead’ 4K Restoration Now Has Theatrical Distribution
Last year, George Romero raved about a 4K restoration of Night of the Living Dead that the Museum of Modern Art and The Film Foundation whipped up from the original negatives. The digital restoration was shown just a couple times at MoMA last November, and Romero noted that it’s “closer than anything we’ve seen to the definitive version of the film.”
So when will you actually be able to see Night of the Living Dead in its proper glory? As it turns out, Gary Streiner revealed mere hours before the news of Romero’s passing broke this past Sunday that Janus Films has acquired the 4K restoration for theatrical distribution. It will begin screening at the Film Forum in New York City on October 13th.
“It all feels a bit surreal, a bit anticlimactic at the same time. After years of keeping quiet about MoMA and the restoration, we are now faced with a new reality. Night of the Living Dead® has found a home at Janus Films for its theatrical distribution,” Streiner wrote on The Living Dead Festival Facebook page. “Janus Films has already started booking Night into theaters. Its exclusive opening will be Friday, Oct, 13th at the renowned Film Forum in New York City. We at Image Ten are so happy that Janus of all companies is so energized to get Night back into theaters.”
“This is all very new information and as new bookings come in Janus will have their calendar up,” he added. “We will post update information here as well. This will be the chance you have all been asking for. Yes, with much pride Night will be coming to a theater near you! Could it be coming to Pittsburgh soon after its opening in NYC?”
Given the relationship between Janus Films and the Criterion Collection, many have been speculating that the 4K restoration of Night of the Living Dead will be making its way onto home video courtesy of Criterion. We have no confirmation at this time, but it sounds like the most logical way to present the restoration on Blu-ray.
Stay tuned for more info.
Movies
‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons Is No Fan of Generative AI: “Defeats the Purpose Entirely for Me”
There has been a lot of talk recently about filmmakers embracing generative AI as part of the filmmaking process, from Darren Aronofsky to Martin Scorsese. But what about filmmakers that are against the use of Gen AI for creative pursuits? You can count 20-year-old Backrooms director Kane Parsons among that group, which should give you some hope for the future.
In a new chat with The Australian, the self-taught young filmmaker makes it crystal clear that he won’t be using generative AI in any of his upcoming filmmaking projects.
“I think I’m in the same boat as most well-adjusted people,” Parsons tells the outlet. “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.”
“What interests me more is interrogating it artistically,” Parsons notes. “We already live in a world where you walk outside and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop. That’s become part of our visual reality. To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.”
He explains, “I’m interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects.”
Kane Parsons also notes during the interview with The Australian, “… there’s so much at stake and so many genuinely harmful consequences already happening.”
Backrooms marks young prodigy Kane Parsons’ feature directorial debut, and it’s based on his own series of YouTube videos that were brought to life using Blender, the open-source 3D computer graphics software suite. So it’s no surprise that Parsons, who has hand-made his filmmaking career up to this point, isn’t buying into the hoopla around Generative AI.
His debut feature is the #1 movie in the world, so perhaps he’s onto something.
What’s next from Kane Parsons, you ask? Stay tuned…
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