George A. Romero and Me

Back in mid-February, I conducted an interview with legendary horror-film creator George A. Romero, on my KCSB 91.9 FM radio show, "The Freak Power Ticket," discussing the 40 years of zombie cinema that he pioneered. This year, Romero's movie, "Diary of the Dead" (his fifth "Living Dead" work), received a select theatrical release, and it is now available as part of The Weinstein Company's Dimension Extreme line of DVDs. 2008 also marks the 40th anniversary of Romero's first feature, the all-time classic, "Night of the Living Dead." Our conversation focuses on the topicality and impact of Romero's works. Tune in here.

I've been obsessed with Romero since, ...oh, I don't know, I was about 14 or so. I remember hearing about "Dawn of the Dead" during the long nighttime drive back from a "field" trip that my Babe Ruth League baseball team (the Cardinals of East Sacramento) took to Marriott's Great America in Santa Clara, California: an older kid in the van described that crazy movie in some detail, and I was from that very moment dying to see it. I finally got a chance a year or 2 later with my brother and his then-girlfriend at a packed & rowdy midnight screening at Sacramento's now-defunct Capitol Theater. It definitely changed my life. Have seen it dozens of times since, and I also went on to watch all of his Dead flicks repeatedly. I even got to meet the man in person at an industry preview screening of "Land of the Dead" in 2005 in Los Angeles (for more on that encounter, read this and this). His studio handlers wouldn't let him do any interviews at that point, though, so I guess you can say I've been chasing this one for a few years (25+ years, perhaps?). Romero's a big fish, clearly. My white whale, maybe?

It was a real pleasure being such a big fanboy with him (off mic) and getting to gush appreciatively about his influence on me, at the end of the interview. Sorry I didn't share that moment with you in the recording I posted online. But the rest is worth it too, I believe. Here's hoping you enjoy listening to it half as much as I loved the chance to do it!