Birth of the Living Dead Page #2

it was enough

to rent the farmhouse,

buy some film stock,

and we started to shoot.

We started to shoot not knowing

if we were ever

going to finish.

Romero is 27 years old.

We lived on that farmhouse.

And we had to go out

to the little stream

in order to wash off.

So it was real

guerilla stuff, you know.

Talk about dedication.

And everybody went

along with this!

You know, somehow I'd

say, "Okay, guys."

It's going to be rough, but,

you know, we'll make a movie."

And everybody'd say,

"All right."

Did that surprise you?

It did! It did!

Completely.

I'd expect people to say,

"What are you, crazy?"

George Romero's jobs

include cinematographer,

editor, and director.

I didn't know very much then.

What's a director

s'posed to do?

I dunno!

Walk over here!

I think the first time

you try to do anything,

especially when you're trying

to do something new, um,

you're learning on the job.

And essentially everything

that can go wrong will go wrong.

Whether it's issues

with cameras or cast members

who really don't have

a lot of experience.

Crew members who don't quite

know what they're doing.

I tried to build a clay hand

and I tried to leave it hollow

and fill it with blood.

It looks like sh*t!

I mean, it's, it's not great.

There were very few independents

being done at that point.

And here's a guy

from Pittsburgh, PA,

who gets an idea for a film,

manages to raise

a small amount of money

and just had

the courage, the passion,

the persistence to get it done.

It's really remarkable a film

that has become such a classic

came out of an environment

where everyone was

learning on the job.

Many in the cast and crew

take on multiple jobs

to make up for

the lack in budget.

Russ Streiner's duties

include producer and actor.

John Russo's include

co-screenwriter and zombie.

Initially I had written

it as a short story.

And then I started to adapt

it into a screenplay.

And then we actually started

to have to start to shoot,

so Jack Russo took over

finishing the screenplay

and we collaborated

on it after that point.

Karl Hardman is producer,

make-up artist and actor.

Marilyn Eastman is

make-up artist and actor.

Karl and Marilyn started

this audio production company.

And so they provided all

the audio recording equipment

when we made

"Night of the Living Dead."

They did the zombie make ups

and were incredibly energetic

and just would do any job

that needed to be done.

It was a new impetus

for people to uh,

honestly, to f***

the system, you know?

It's like we can

do this ourselves.

We don't have

to go to Hollywood

with our little script

about zombies

that everybody would

never have supported.

It's too freaky, uh,

they're too busy making

Charlton Heston epics,

you know,

and uh "Mary Poppins."

Friends, friends of friends

and colleagues

comprise the rest of the crew.

"Night of the Living Dead" was

very much a collaborative work.

There was a sense

of improvisation on the set,

which I think helps the movie.

Crews, you know,

it's where it's at, man.

I mean, you're reliant

on all these people.

And it's the only way

it happens, ever.

You don't make the movie,

you don't make the movie,

you can't go out

and make a movie!

You know, you can't make

this movie without this guy!

And look, he's doing it all!

Look, isn't it,

that's what it is, man!

Alright, Vince,

hit him in the head,

right between the eyes.

For many, like investor,

production director

and actor Vince Survinski,

this is their first experience

with filmmaking.

Vince Survinski owned

a roller rink in Pittsburgh

and said, "Ah, I always

wanted to get into movies."

Vince was always

a go-to guy.

He would get things done.

We'd all be sitting

around puzzling,

"Oh, this is a great farm house,

but you have to wade

across a stream

to get over there."

So Vince'd say, "Ah, I'll

build a little bridge."

And Goddammit,

with his own hands

he built this

little wooden bridge

that you could actually

drive a car over.

Oh, the demolition crew!

Vince's brother, Reg, and he had

a partner named Tony Pantonello.

They used to do fireworks.

They were not the Zambelli's

but, you know,

if you needed some fireworks

down at your church

you called these guys.

They did all

the pyrotechnical stuff

and they were hilarious guys,

I mean, you know.

Tony would have this cigar

constantly burning in his mouth

and he's working

putting a fuse together

and he couldn't see very well,

so he's like this

and this cigar and I'm like,

"Tony, you're gonna

blow your fingers off!"

They did all the squibs.

Squibwork and the explosives,

and all that.

Actor, lighting person,

and investor Bill Hinzman

and John Russo both volunteer

to be set on fire.

Given no protective clothing

they simply agree

to roll on the grass

if they get hot.

I think maybe that

was Reg's suggestion.

"It starts to feel hot,

just lie down."

"Want anything from

the supply wagon, Kuss?"

No, we're alright.

Hey, Kass, put that thing

all the way into the fire,

we don't want it

getting up again!

Chief, Chief McClelland,

how's everything going?

Aw, things aren't going too bad,

men are taking it pretty good.

You want to get on the other

side of the road over there!

Bill Cardille who was

a TV personality,

he came out to be the news guy.

And he had to interview

Kuss as the Sheriff.

So, all those lines,

the greatest lines in the movie

were all ad libbed by Kuss.

Are they slow moving, Chief?

Yeah, they're dead,

they're all messed up.

All that sh*t was

completely off the cuff.

This is Bill Cardille,

WIIC, TV 11 news.

Bill Cardille, almost every

Saturday night he would plug us

and say there are these

guys in Pittsburgh

that are actually

making a horror movie.

And I'm going to go out

and I'm going to appear in it.

So we got a little

bit of a profile.

And, because of that profile

I think people believed

that we were going to,

probably more than us,

that we were actually

going to finish this movie.

Yeah, Chief, we're going

to stay with it

until we meet up

with the National Guard.

- Where'd you get the coffee?

- One of the volunteers.

You're doing all the work,

why don't you take it.

Bill Cardille came out

and brought the camera guy

from Channel 11

and he brought his gear.

The helicopter pilot

for local radio station KQV

lets Russ Streiner ride

with him to get aerial shots.

We called the Police,

we got real police

to come out and cooperate.

I mean, all we had to do

was call up and say, "Guys!"

And, you know and they

brought the vans out

and the dogs

and everything else!

You know, it was amazing

all the cooperation

that we used to get.

I mean, it was incredible.

Everybody was sort of with us

because we were trying

to actually make a movie.

The dozens of zombies

are played by friends,

family, local townfolk

and clients of Romero's

commercial production company,

the Latent Image.

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