Movies
George A. Romero’s ‘Road of the Dead’ Gets Fresh Backing Ahead of AFM
George A. Romero, considered the godfather of the zombie subgenre, is taking his undead franchise on the road, as we first reported back in May.
Included in this summer’s Frontières co-production market, which returns to the Fantasia International Film Festival from July 20-23 in Montreal, is a brand new Romero zombie film.
Similar to how Don Coscarelli passed on the directing duties with the fifth Phantasm, even before his death Romero wasn’t going to direct George A. Romero Presents: Road of the Dead, this time passing the baton to Matt Birman.
Road of the Dead takes place six years after 2005’s post-apocalyptic Land of the Dead and is set on an island where zombie prisoners race cars in a modern-day Coliseum for the entertainment of wealthy humans.
“In the darkest days of the zombie apocalypse, the last safe place on earth is anything but, as a mad despot uses the spectacle of high octane carnage to keep control of his populous.”
Birman describes the project as Road Warrior meets Rollerball at a Nascar race, with significant inspiration from Ben-Hur.
Birman is the perfect choice to continue Romero’s legacy as he was the second unit director on several “of the dead” films, including Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and Survival of the Dead.
Romero co-wrote the screenplay with Birman who both produce with Matt Manjourides and Justin Martell.
ScreenDaily reports filming is gearing up with The Witch, Patti Cake$ and Pyewacket producer JoBro Productions & Film Finance and EMAfilms (Radius, Turbo Kid) on board as producers with Elle Driver, Birman, Manjourides and Martell taking executive producer credits.
The production features a number of other Romero collaborators, notably special make-up effects creator Greg Nicotero, co-founder of the Oscar-winning special effects group KNB EFX Group and co-executive producer, supervisor and occasional director on The Walking Dead.
Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s The Platform was a massive hit for Netflix back in 2020, becoming one of the most watched original movies in the streaming service’s history.
Coming soon? The Platform 2! Netflix has shared two first look images from the upcoming sequel this morning, which will again be directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia.
Milena Smit and Hovik Keuchkerian star in The Platform 2.
Netflix previews, “A mysterious figure has managed to establish a new law in The Platform, but can justice truly be enforced in hell? And who will enforce it?”
No word yet on a Netflix premiere date for The Platform 2. Stay tuned.
The first film is set inside a vertical prison system, where inmates are assigned to a level and forced to ration food from a platform that moves between the floors. Inmates on high floors eat better than those below, and one man tries to effect change so everyone gets enough.
Rafael reviewed The Platform for us at TIFF, raving in his 4.5-star write-up: “The Platform takes full advantage of its isolated setting and small cast to instead focus on a high concept, a tight script, and sharp dialogue that will make you laugh as often as it will make you think. This is a funny, heartfelt, at times disgusting, yet also thought-provoking sci-fi thriller that reminds of Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer, but with way better food.”
The Platform also made Daniel Kurland’s Best International Horror Films of 2020 list.
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