View source for Dead On: The Life and Cinema of George A. Romero



{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Dead On: The Life and Cinema of George A. Romero
| director       = [[Rusty Nails (filmmaker)|Rusty Nails]]
| producer       = [[Rusty Nails]]
| writer         = 
| starring       = [[George A. Romero]]<br>[[Dario Argento]]<br>[[Quentin Tarantino]]<br>[[Robert Rodriguez]]<br>[[Stephen King]]<br>[[John Landis]]<br>[[Ed Harris]]<br>[[Dennis Hopper]]<br>[[Richard Linklater]]<br>[[Roger Ebert]]<br>[[John Carpenter]]<br>[[Rob Zombie]]<br>[[Penn Jillette]]<br>[[Tom Savini]]
| music          = 
| cinematography = Jonathan Buchanan<br>Eric Burton<br>Timothy Cerjan<br>Matt Thiesen
| editing        = Debbie Brockman
| released       = {{Film date|2008|07||Melbourne}}
| runtime        = 
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = 
}}

'''''Dead On: The Life and Cinema of George A. Romero''''' is a 2008 documentary film directed by the [[film director|filmmaker]] [[Rusty Nails (filmmaker)|Rusty Nails]].<ref>[http://www.reelchicago.com/archive.cfm?storyID=835 Ruth L Ratny presents REEL CHICAGO | Welcome]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116103714/http://www.reelchicago.com/archive.cfm?storyID=835 |date=November 16, 2007 }}</ref> The film is about the life and career of the horror film director [[George A. Romero]]. Clips from his films are combined with interviews with Romero, his collaborators, and his admirers to show the whole story of his life. The film premiered at the 2008 [[Melbourne International Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/festival/2008?page=6|title=MIFF 2008 Film Archive|publisher=Melbourne International Film Festival|access-date=October 14, 2021}}</ref><ref>[http://www.esplatter.com/main/interviewrusty.htm ESplatter - Horror Movie News]</ref>
  
==Synopsis==
Nails' documentary, ''Dead On: The Life and Cinema of George A. Romero'' will go over Romero's body of film work as it stands to date. The film will also examine a number of aspects of George's work, working method, and association with the independent and Hollywood film communities. Among the interviewees are [[Dennis Hopper]], [[Ed Harris]], [[Stephen King]], [[John Carpenter]], [[Dario Argento]], [[Danny Boyle]], [[John Waters (filmmaker)|John Waters]], [[Quentin Tarantino]], [[Richard Linklater]], [[Penn Jillette]], [[Roger Ebert]] and [[Tom Savini]]. ''Dead On'' will investigate Romero's lifelong fascination with making films.<ref>[http://www.georgeromerodoc.com/ DEAD ON: The Life and Cinema of George A. Romero - George Romero Documentary] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216005836/http://www.georgeromerodoc.com/ |date=February 16, 2008 }}</ref>

== Production ==
The film was directed and produced by [[Rusty Nails]], a Chicago-based filmmaker. The project was a labor of love that spanned several years. Nails, who had previously directed the documentary ''Acne'', self-financed much of the production. He aimed to create a portrait of Romero that was more intimate and expansive than previous "making-of" featurettes, specifically wanting to highlight Romero's non-zombie films which often receive less attention.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interview with Movieside Programmer, Rusty Nails |url=https://www.artinterviews.org/cinema/interview-with-movieside-programmer-rusty-nails |publisher=Art Interviews |accessdate=2025-04-25}}</ref>

During the production, Nails also produced a featurette titled "Stay Scared", which was included on the DVD release of Romero's ''[[Land of the Dead]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rusty Nails' featurette "Stay Scared" part of DVD release of Romero's Land of the Dead |url=https://reelchicago.com/article/rusty-nails-featurette-stay-scared-part-brdvd-release-romeros-land-dead/ |publisher=Reel Chicago |date=2005-10-14 |accessdate=2025-04-25}}</ref>

== Release and reception ==
The film premiered at the [[Melbourne International Film Festival]] (MIFF) on July 27, 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title=DEAD ON: THE LIFE AND CINEMA OF GEORGE A. ROMERO (work in progress) |url=https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/13197/dead-on-the-life-and-cinema-of-george-a-romero-work-in-progress}}</ref> It was also screened at various genre festivals, including the Festival of Fear in Toronto.

Critical reception for the film, while limited due to its festival circuit release, was generally positive among horror fans and critics. ''Dread Central'' praised the film during its preview screenings, noting that the interviews felt "intimate" and appreciating the director's focus on Romero's entire career rather than just the ''Dead'' trilogy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Festival of Fear 2006 – Days 2-3 |url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/410/festival-of-fear-2006-days-2-3/ |publisher=Dread Central |date=2006-09-08 |accessdate=2025-04-25}}</ref>

== Cast ==
The documentary features interviews with a wide range of figures from the horror and independent film communities:
* [[George A. Romero]]
* [[Quentin Tarantino]]
* [[Stephen King]]
* [[John Carpenter]]
* [[Dario Argento]]
* [[Dennis Hopper]]
* [[Ed Harris]]
* [[Robert Rodriguez]]
* [[John Landis]]
* [[Tom Savini]]
* [[Roger Ebert]]
* [[Rob Zombie]]
* [[Penn Jillette]]
* [[Richard Linklater]]
* [[Debbie Rochon]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0852951|Dead On: The Life and Cinema of George A. Romero}}

{{George A. Romero}}

[[Category:2008 films]]
[[Category:American documentary films]]
[[Category:Documentary films about film directors and producers]]
[[Category:2008 documentary films]]
[[Category:Documentary films about horror]]
[[Category:2008 English-language films]]
[[Category:2008 American films]]

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{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Dead On: The Life and Cinema of George A. Romero|access_date=2026-03-02}}