Cody
04-26-2008, 06:46 AM
The other Night of the Living Dead writer is making his own, Romero-sequel-ignoring follow-up to Night again. Russo has previously done his own sequels with the novel Return of the Living Dead (which is completely different from the movie) and the idea for Children of the Living Dead (which was also much different from the finished film). The infamous NOTLD 30th Anniversay re-edit and new scenes were all him, though.
This project was previously announced back in April '03 (http://www.horrordvds.com/vb3forum/archive/index.php/t-12015.html), with Russo planning to film it later that year.
“[DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN’s] Sam Sherman and I are teaming to produce the movie,” Russo tells FANGORIA. “I will write and direct, with Russ Streiner on as line producer. I want Debbie Rochon to star; she’s the Sigourney Weaver of zombie films.” Rochon previously worked for Russo on both the 30th Anniversary Edition of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and his new mob comedy SALOONATICS. ...
Like CHILDREN OF THE LIVING DEAD, which he co-produced and now disowns, ESCAPE is a loose sequel to the original NOTLD. Russo outlines his screenplay: “The movie opens with military people breaking into a medical compound. The place houses zombies that are being experimented on by a scientist to determine why they don’t die. The zombies escape in a van and into a rural area, where they come up against Debbie and her family. The story doesn’t stay there, however, because I didn’t want this to be like the first film. Besides zombies, there’s a sheriff and his deputy trying to figure out what’s going on, and some neo-Nazis who get mixed up in the action. There are a lot of twists and turns to the story, plus our heroine on horseback, motorcycles and zombies slipping on soap! It’s one thing after another. ESCAPE FROM THE LIVING DEAD is full of nutty surprises.”
That fell apart, and the script was eventually adapted into a comic miniseries from Avatar (http://www.avatarpress.net/v/escapeofthelivingdead/).
1971: It's been three years since the blood-soaked night that the dead rose from their graves, attacking and devouring the living. Now, the legacy of that horrific and unexplained event is about to be unleashed once again upon an unsuspecting world... But this time, there may be no escape for those in the terrifying clutches of the cannibalistic, living dead! Hidden within the concrete walls of a secret medical research lab, someone has been studying the last remaining undead remnants of the marauding zombie army.
I haven't read that yet, but I just ordered the Resurrected TPB that collects the whole thing.
Now B-D hears (http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/12051) that Escape is getting another chance at becoming a movie -
We caught wind this evening of a pretty interesting horror project from Monterrey Picture Entertainment entitled Escape of the Living Dead. John Russo, co-creator of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, wrote the script and is attached to direct the official sequel to Romero's classic '68 zombie flick. Joe Majestic, Sam Sherman will co-produce with Russ Streiner, producer of the original NOTLD. The official sequel will star Tony Todd (Candy Man, Final Destination), Gunnar Hansen (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Amber Stevens and Kristina Klebe (Halloween remake). No other details were revealed.
This project was previously announced back in April '03 (http://www.horrordvds.com/vb3forum/archive/index.php/t-12015.html), with Russo planning to film it later that year.
“[DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN’s] Sam Sherman and I are teaming to produce the movie,” Russo tells FANGORIA. “I will write and direct, with Russ Streiner on as line producer. I want Debbie Rochon to star; she’s the Sigourney Weaver of zombie films.” Rochon previously worked for Russo on both the 30th Anniversary Edition of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and his new mob comedy SALOONATICS. ...
Like CHILDREN OF THE LIVING DEAD, which he co-produced and now disowns, ESCAPE is a loose sequel to the original NOTLD. Russo outlines his screenplay: “The movie opens with military people breaking into a medical compound. The place houses zombies that are being experimented on by a scientist to determine why they don’t die. The zombies escape in a van and into a rural area, where they come up against Debbie and her family. The story doesn’t stay there, however, because I didn’t want this to be like the first film. Besides zombies, there’s a sheriff and his deputy trying to figure out what’s going on, and some neo-Nazis who get mixed up in the action. There are a lot of twists and turns to the story, plus our heroine on horseback, motorcycles and zombies slipping on soap! It’s one thing after another. ESCAPE FROM THE LIVING DEAD is full of nutty surprises.”
That fell apart, and the script was eventually adapted into a comic miniseries from Avatar (http://www.avatarpress.net/v/escapeofthelivingdead/).
1971: It's been three years since the blood-soaked night that the dead rose from their graves, attacking and devouring the living. Now, the legacy of that horrific and unexplained event is about to be unleashed once again upon an unsuspecting world... But this time, there may be no escape for those in the terrifying clutches of the cannibalistic, living dead! Hidden within the concrete walls of a secret medical research lab, someone has been studying the last remaining undead remnants of the marauding zombie army.
I haven't read that yet, but I just ordered the Resurrected TPB that collects the whole thing.
Now B-D hears (http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/12051) that Escape is getting another chance at becoming a movie -
We caught wind this evening of a pretty interesting horror project from Monterrey Picture Entertainment entitled Escape of the Living Dead. John Russo, co-creator of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, wrote the script and is attached to direct the official sequel to Romero's classic '68 zombie flick. Joe Majestic, Sam Sherman will co-produce with Russ Streiner, producer of the original NOTLD. The official sequel will star Tony Todd (Candy Man, Final Destination), Gunnar Hansen (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Amber Stevens and Kristina Klebe (Halloween remake). No other details were revealed.