Zombie film produced by George Romero's daughter, boasting a gay theme, under the approval of her late father.
Tina Romero's Zombie Bash: Meet Tina Romero, the offspring of horror legend George A. Romero, ready to unleash her directorial debut, Queens of the Dead, premiering at Tribeca Film Festival on June 7. In a heart-to-heart with Entertainment Weekly, she discussed her pops' impact on her filmmaking journey.
"Hey, I'm his kid. You can't deny it. He's had a massive impact on me," Tina said, bursting with pride. Queens of the Dead offers a wink towards her ol' man's oeuvre, boasting Easter eggs that honor his legacy. "This monster, this genre - it's his baby. I enjoyed sprinkling Romero references throughout the flick, and we have some real doozies;" she grinned, hinting at appearances by heavyweights like makeup artist and Dead alum Tom Savini and Dawn of the Dead leading lady Gaylen Ross.
The zombie holocaust has always been a treasure trove for social commentary. Tina couldn't resist using it as a vehicle for a message. "I can't call myself Junior without attempting to say something meaningful through undead hordes. In Queens of the Dead, I aimed to honor my pop's universe while making my own mark - it's not something he'd make, but it plays by his rules. This one also sports a queer twist, because, for Pete's sake, it's about time the gay community got a decent zombie flick!"
Tina was careful about diving into the genre. "I wouldn't touch it unless it resonated with me," she explained, adding, "Queens of the Dead revolves around a wild night in the queer party scene - a warehouse drag show disrupted by zombies. The idea came from watching catfights on social media while I was spinning discs as a DJ."
She went on to recount, "One promo cat called out the queer community, asking, 'When will the queer community stop consuming itself?' It hit me like lightning! I thought, 'This is how I want to tackle the zombie genre within the domain of queer nightlife.'" Katy O'Brien, known for her role as the Mandalorian's baddie, takes on the part of the fictionalized promoter in the movie. Tina thanked Tom Cruise in the credits for letting the crew take a break from their Mission: Impossible shoot to film the gorefest.
Tina dreams of Queens of the Dead shedding light on the hunger for more genre films that represent queer scream queens with a twist of her dad's horror-comedy flair. Sadly, George A. Romero never got a chance to read the completed script, but he did offer his guidance during the development process.
Tina confessed, "He was all, 'I love it! Go for it!' Unfortunately, he never made it to the finished script - it took me about seven years to get this off the ground... but I did have this blessing."
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Fun fact: George A. Romero's films often tackled social issues such as racism, consumerism, and class disparity, a tradition that Tina Romero continues in Queens of the Dead.
- Tina Romero, in an homage to her father's work, has infused her directorial debut, Queens of the Dead, with Romero references, drawing inspiration from the likes of Tom Savini and Gaylen Ross.
- In an interview, Tina expressed her pride in her father's influence, stating, "I can't call myself Junior without attempting to say something meaningful through undead hordes."
- The Gizmodo and io9 websites might be great places to catch news about upcoming movies, including those from the genres of entertainment, movies-and-tv, sci-fi-and-fantasy, and specifically Queens of the Dead.
- George A. Romero's films were known for tackling social issues, and Tina Romero carries on this tradition in Queens of the Dead, where the movie offers a queer twist and addresses themes within the queer nightlife scene.
