Hollywood legendary director

The original work of "Dawn of the Living Dead" is the second part of the "Death Trilogy" filmed by director George-A-Romilow, and the opening of the walking dead culture comes from "Night of the Living Dead" in 1968. It is the first part of the trilogy.

There has been a gap of nearly ten years between the two works. The reason is that when this setting was first launched, the director himself had not been able to conceive it well, it seemed very rough, and the market did not buy it.

It wasn't until 1979 that George sold "Dawn of the Living Dead" for $500,000. After it was released, it was praised with more than 20 million rolls in the United States and a total of more than 50 million box office results worldwide.

However, the director of George-A-Romiro is also a strange thing. In addition to being able to shoot well on the theme of walking dead, this product is also a hit on the street. Therefore, it has not been on the stage since then. , Over time, it slowly faded.

In the following many years, it is not that no one thought of remaking this classic old film, but the problem is that the copyright owner Abraham does not intend to restart.

It was not until the appearance of Eric Newman that he was moved by the good adaptation of the story and some improved walking dead settings.

Going around, the director of this project fell to Zach Schneider.

But these people, together, did not have enough shooting funds and required distribution channels, so they thought of cooperating with others.

Firefly Pictures is one of their options.

However, after Lehman read the script, he felt that the plot was too old-fashioned, and he did not agree immediately. Instead, he asked Zach Schneider to call the script's screenwriter.

The next morning, the three gathered in Schneider's studio.

After greeting each other, Lehman said straightforwardly: "I think I can invest, and it's okay to help with the release, but the script has to be changed."

The screenwriter Eric Newman is not a person who values ​​his creation, or he hopes that his project can run smoothly, otherwise he would not think of remaking an old film.It's not all for money to be able to do this.

So seeing investment opportunities, he happily agreed: "Mr. Lyman, you say."

"The style of this film has to change. It doesn't mean that zombie films must be scary and bloody. Have you ever thought about changing your mind?" Lehman suggested: "Have you seen "Resident Evil"?"

"Have heard of it." Eric was very honest.

Well, only one movie adapted from the game has been released, and the market has not received much response. It is the reputation that has gradually accumulated due to the sequels.

"That movie also has a similar setting, and the story is also very innovative, so if we want to make a zombie movie that takes place in modern society, we can't take the repetitive path, and the protagonist may not always be dangerous every time. Overcome the crisis. Do you know what I mean?"

"The abuser?" Eric Newman looked puzzled.

Lehman simply found a piece of white paper from the desk and took out a pencil from the pen holder on the side. Xixi drew a picture of a scene, similar to a train station, and said as he drew: "Zombie-themed works , Whether it’s a comic or a game, or even the "Resident Evil" I was talking about, it has gone out of its own way. If you blindly restore "Dawn of the Living Dead", it will just eat your old books. There is no new idea, and it will not necessarily be marketed. Accept it, so you have to be innovative. I don’t see much innovation in your script."

"Then how to design plot development?"

"Human nature. Do you think, in a society that suddenly changes, what happens when the people encounter an infection crisis similar to the doomsday? Everyone’s choices and choices in the face of disasters are meaningless. Put the perspective from the zombies to Human beings."

"Will it be too long, it is difficult to express it in detail." As a screenwriter, Eric Newman saw the problem at a glance.

Portraits of people have always been the most difficult to portray, which is why the film rarely enlarges the pattern. For example, "The Day After Acquired", which is obviously a global natural disaster outbreak, only locks the city of New York, and a group of suffering people is the same.

Lehman nodded, full of approval: "You are right, so we have to take the initiative to reduce the scene to show the story that happened. You said, on a moving train, an infected person enters, what will happen? "

With that said, hand over the painted scene picture.

In the small carriage, there are infected zombies on one side, and the panicked crowd on the other...

"This idea is incredible."

Zach Schneider watched from the sidelines and couldn't help but said: "Using a moving train as a scene carrier directly intensifies the conflict in the drama. It's very interesting."

"Because it happened suddenly, what will the public's reaction be tested?"

Eric Newman continued: "A whole station is turned into purgatory, and the difficulty of survival is infinitely magnified?"

"Yes, that's it." Lehman nodded and said: "So such a movie is more a test of group portraits. It is not focused on a single protagonist, nor does it have the bloody large-scale shots that zombie movies like, but it is more cruel. ."

"Listen, it feels wonderful." Zach Schneider was completely inspired by this creative setting.

Eric Newman looked at Lyman, "How about the main line of the story?"

Lehman thought for a while, and said, "Let's start from the main perspective of a father and daughter. The father, the actor A, is an office worker and has a daughter who has just divorced."

"one-parent family?"

"Yes, this is the design reason for them to go to the train station." Lehman continued: "During the vacation, my daughter clamored to see her mother. My father was helpless, so he asked for leave to take her. For the train route, the final stop would be to New York , I thought about the name of the movie, and it’s called "New York Trip." As for how the virus broke out, you can think about how to bury the clues reasonably. Then, you can also think about how the infected people got into the station. Now, let the audience see something abnormal, but don’t know what will happen. Keep a certain sense of mystery."

"Well, I will conceive it well." Eric Newman took a note of the idea.

After speaking, he hesitated and said: "But if this happens, there will be a lot of movie scenes, and you will have to deal with the New York City government. In terms of cost..."

Originally, the project shooting budget they conceived was only 25 million US dollars. It was because they had spent too much on group performances. But now, if they are conceived according to Lehman’s creativity, rough calculations may not be possible without a 50 million base. come out.This is still under the premise of not considering the joining of big-name celebrities, if the first-line actors are invited to participate in the performance, a large production of hundreds of millions is properly done.

"Don't worry about this."