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Factoids of the Living Dead: DAWN OF THE DEAD/DAY OF THE DEAD


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oykvs8ePij8

 

Welcome to the second part of my trivia-scouring journey into Romero's Living Dead trilogy. Let's set the mood and start things off with Dawn of the Dead,the movie that convinced everybody to try and break into a mall during a zombie apocalypse.

 

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NOPE.

 

- The original story for Night of the Living Dead was so large in scope that (similar to Star Wars) that it was split into three parts, with the later two being stored away for later if the first one worked out. It did, so here we are.

 

- Was filmed at Monroeville Mall in Pittsburgh. The production took place at night and took a break during the Christmas season, because nobody feels like taking down and reapplying all those decorations.

 

- Every zombie extra was paid with a lunch, $20, and a t-shirt.

 

- Makeup artist Tom Savini was unable to work on the first film due to being drafted into Vietnam as a photographer. He's said that his experience there has helped him become a better makeup artist.

 

- Of all the zombie extras the crew worked with, the one the filmmakers thought was the most authentic was "the sweater zombie". Apparently, he had the look and mannerisms of a zombie down pact and was so good at staying in character that he didn't break it even when he stumbled onto the escalator by accident.

 

- The two zombie kids who attack Peter at the airfield are Tom Savini's niece and nephew. They are the only zombies in the entire Living Dead series who run.

 

- Tom Savini plays Blades, the leader of the biker gang that attacks the mall in the finale. Every member of that gang was given a name and personality by the crew, including Old Nick, aka the guy dressed as Santa Claus and played by George A. Romero.

 

- Romero also cameos in the opening scene in the movie as the television station director. His wife cameos as one of the crew members. This is not as awesome as Santa Claus, though.

 

- Many of the more unique zombie kills, such as the zombie getting his head chopped off by the helicopter, were thought up on set and quickly put together. Also improvised on set: Roger's delightful slide down the escalator.

 

- The blueness of the zombies was unintentional. It looks cool, though.

 

- Gaylen Ross didn't want to play a character who couldn't defend herself. When Romero asked her to scream for a scene in the movie, she refused.

 

- In the original movie, before settling on destroying the brain/burning as the only way to kill a zombie, the filmmakers joked about having pies to the face be their weakness.

 

That explains this scene.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Y2MeJNLCvsI

 

- Ironically, given that George A. Romero refused to tone down the bleakness of Night's dark-as-hell ending, this film was suppose to end with the last two characters committing suicide, one by shoving their head into a helicopter propeller, but was changed at the last minute so they would escape and live to survive another day. Thankfully, the dummy head that was to be used for the propeller scene was repurposed for the best zombie headshot ever.

 

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Now let's talk Day of the Dead.

 

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- George Romero has said that this is his favorite film in the Living Dead series, even if it is the lowest grossing.

 

- The estimation that the zombies now outnumber us 400,000 to one would mean that there are only 600 humans left at the beginning of the movie.

 

- The only movie in the series to feature a zombie talking.

 

- That awesome shot in the gif up there did not turn out the way it was intended the first time, and by that, I mean the freaking wall fell over on actress Lori Cardille.

 

- The appearance of 'Salem's Lot is a shout-out to Romero's good friend, Stephen King.

 

- Romero makes a cameo in the film as a zombie pushing a cart. He can only be seen from the waist down, but you can tell it's him thanks to the Doctor Who scarf.

 

- Lori Cardille told the actor working with her in a tense scene to slap her for real, in order to get a more real performance.

 

- Shot the movie to be unrated at the cost of half his budget. Totally worth it.

 

- Makeup artist Greg Nicotero used a zombie head from the production (which just so happened to be based off his own head) to prank his mother.

 

- Fact: Captain Rhodes is the greatest zombie movie villain ever.

 

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Pictured above: a well-balanced man.

 

Also fact: he suffers the greatest villain death of all time, period. Like, I would even rank it above Toht's melting face and Ursula getting stabbed in the boob by a boat and getting struck by lighting. I'm not posting it here because it's as NSFW with gore as you can get, but if you can stomach it, look it up, because it is a treat.

 

And as it turns out, the line that pushes it over the edge of awesome into bad-assery was ad-libbed.

 

So yeah, these movies are great. Bub and I salute both them and the forum-goers who took the time to read this blog post.

 

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