SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hello, my fellow Dreadites. Welcome to the Dread Alert Podcast. I'm Vince, and today we have some special guests with us. We are joined by Jeff Whitehead, the COO of the George A. Romero Foundation, and Ryan Carr, the artist in residence at the George A. Romero Foundation. In addition to those duties, these gentlemen have written a graphic novel based on George A. Romero's lost film and PSA, The Amusement Park, which I am extremely fond of, and I'm so excited to welcome them to the podcast. We'll dive into a little bit more of what they might be known for during the course of our conversation, but that's what brings us all together today. Gentlemen, welcome. Thank you for joining me here on the Dread Alert Podcast. We are thrilled to have you.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

Thanks for having us.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

And Ryan, I was telling you this is the first time we could do this together.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

So a special occasion. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I've been really excited about it. It's great.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Very much so, same. We got the exclusive here. We're thrilled. Um, I wanted to dive in with talking about the George A. Romero Foundation, what it does, why it's important, and how you all play into that. If if you want to take a stab at that, I know that's a big question.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

It is a big question. I'll start and then hand over to Ryan here. Uh, when the foundation was was formed by Suze Romero after George's untimely death in 2017, I came on pretty early to help build the organization and then put it on the path that it's on today. Uh, specifically and importantly, it provides scholarships, mentorships, and training programs for future filmmakers, engages in some creative projects with those same people, including short films and other creative artistic enterprises, one of the reasons and how we got to know Ryan, as well as helps to restore and cherish George's work. And so one of the first projects was the restoration of the amusement park. We're working on uh preserving another of George's pieces right now so that we can make sure that his legacy lives on for generations to come.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

That's amazing. As a Pittsburgh guy, uh, George's work is super important to me and as a horror fan. And I think that the opportunities he gave to a lot of the local artists that we worked with when we ran a theater company, um, it's that knowledge has been transferred through those people to other artists. There's an unbroken chain of legacy that George started. So it's wonderful that you're preserving the work. Ryan, how did you come on board to the foundation?

SPEAKER_02 2:29

They had me come on um in 2020. I was working on some newsletter stuff. That's how we kind of started. And uh I was doing illustration work for newsletters and it kind of snowballed into different projects, shirt designs or uh posters that we were thinking of doing. And and Jeff and I really both had wanted to uh uh do a comic book graphic novel. Uh, I mean, we're both comic book people, so um, that's kind of what how this all came out. Uh it's just our our love of comics too, and both being a part of the Romero Foundation.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

That's awesome. I uh and you mentioned that the amusement park was one of the first projects that the foundation tackled. Um tell me a little bit about how that came about. Uh I know the film was lost for a number of years.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

That's a good Jeff question. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Yeah, so so lost, and then yeah, Ryan, we can talk a little bit about how how we did how and why we decided to to change modes for it uh when we when we built the comic book. The film was quote unquote lost, right? People knew that it existed, and and there were some screenings of it uh in the 70s, and then occasionally it would pop up here and there. Uh when George passed, Suze began to determine that there were things that belonged in an archive that he had had. Uh, so a part of that exercise was actually going through everything and determining what was worth putting into what has now become the George A. Romero collection in the Horror Studies Archive over at the Hillman Library, which is very close to where I'm sitting. Yeah. And one of the things that they found was a real reel of the amusement park, which Suze knew about and had had, you know, asked George about and everything, and sort of was one of these little pieces of work that was not quite long enough to be released as a feature in theaters, designed by uh the Lutheran, the Lutheran Society, as you had correctly said, a public service announcement about elder abuse. And we thought it was interesting for the audience who admired George and people who were interested in horror and just interested in film as a whole, um, cinephiles, if you will, to be able to see it uh in a way that was accessible and in a format that looked presentable to our modern eyes. And so in in early 2018, uh we started to look at what it would cost to restore it and bring it up to 4K as a foundation that led by Suez and brought in our friends at IndieCollect to help with that. And then throughout the next about 18 months, we engaged in a restoration project that wound up uh with a really nice piece of art that we premiered at MoMA and then distributed through Shutter. Uh, and so as we were going through that process, we started to think about how we might extend its legacy and bring it to new fans and new new media. And that's when Ryan and I started to talk with Suze about making it into a graphic novel.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

It's a very surreal film. Um and I find that it lends itself quite nicely to the graphic novel medium. Ryan, were there challenges in taking those images that George produced? And produced very quickly, I think in three days with a bunch of volunteers, uh, and taking those interesting-looking people, these not movie star people, and capturing their likenesses or telling the story in a different medium.

SPEAKER_02 5:53

Uh I I love the grotesque nature of some of the imagery in that movie. I think I'm kind of drawn to illustrating in that way, anyways. So um that felt really like I was kind of at home working that way, working with those uh references. And um I think early on too, the movie kind of reminded me of a little had a little Twin Peaks element too, like where they're in the waiting room at the beginning and then there's this kind of like duality. And um I I I really uh connected with the film pretty early, like the the the after that first viewing I had, I um I knew it had to be something that uh we worked on together and that we uh could could could transform into this new medium that like it did seem accessible, like it didn't seem it didn't seem like it was a tall order or anything. It actually felt like it could translate really well. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:48

Lengthwise it probably is more suited to an adaptation in the trade paperback as well. It's not like it's it's 55 minutes, it's not you don't have to cut a lot uh to transfer it.

SPEAKER_02 6:59

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

I think your artwork perfectly captures the likeness of Lincoln Mazel in a and uh all the rest of the characters as well, but there's something about Lincoln that's so distinct, and you really captured his essence. Uh when we were doing our review, I wanted to have that frame of the film mirrored with the uh the cover of the graphic novel because I think it's so well captured. And I also observed the presence of death to be a much stronger force in this. Uh, how did you figure out where to put him uh whenever he pops up? He's a he's in a few parts of the movie, but I feel like he's lurking a lot heavier in the graphic novel.

SPEAKER_02 7:35

Jeff and I wanted him there as a much more prominent figure, right, Jeff? Like we we talked about that a lot.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

We did. Uh, when we were going panel by panel, page by page, uh Brian and I talked about where we could and should be inserting some of the elements that we we know George wanted based on the hints that he gave, not overtly. It's basically him hiding in the background, sort of like this notion that death is always lurking. And in this case, in this amusement park where people are going through some pretty traumatic experiences as they wind their way towards you know, the inevitable. And so we looked at where we could fit that to remind the audience that even though you hadn't seen him for a little bit of time, as Blinken is going through this maze, uh, he's there and always there and always present. We we started it similarly when we did the book ending and looked at some of the more public service announcement stuff and said, you know, this isn't really going to come off very well as a graphic novel. Uh, you know, it's very, very, very dialogue heavy. And we think we can draw some interesting plot here that we think George may have really liked based on some of the notes that we have in the archives, matter of fact, on the film itself, but that they just couldn't do because of budget or time. And so we gave it a little bit more universality, tried to pull it from the 70s into modernity that way, too. Because for those of you who are not from Pittsburgh, the park's no longer there. Uh, the park is uh, you know, a little shopping chain now. However, there is in fact still one of those carousel horses in Westview, where Westview Park was, which is how we drew the inspiration. Um, and I drove around one day taking a bunch of pictures of the place for Ryan to use as sort of like his uh his inspiration and comps for the art of the town itself, which is very fun.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

The last thing I wanted to say on that note, too, was the first page in the book is a photo that Jeff took. And I thought that was so appropriate because um the prominent uh image in that is is I know we have West View and behind it, but there is this dead tree that smack dab in the middle, and that like death is just always there. It just felt like we had that was a perfect way to start the book. And even though the main character is walking down the street and not looking at it, it's it's right smack dab in the middle, and it's the most like obvious thing in that shot, whether you realize it or not.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

So outstanding. I didn't realize the carousel horse was still there. Actually, the first time I well, the second time I viewed the movie, I looked down on my phone to check the weather, and I was in Westview earlier that day, and my weather app hadn't updated and it said Westview, and I was like, oh my god, we are all in the park. Um surreal experience. But and that was my next question, actually. Was uh I and I didn't realize Death was that scripted in the writing process, which is uh wonderful to know, Jeff. But were there challenges outside of the bookends? Which, if you haven't seen the film, uh Lincoln Mazel does this direct address to the camera at the beginning and the end, which probably two to three minutes uh each segment, laying out what the film is, how a little bit of how it was made, and why you should care about this film, and then at the end what you can do to sort of help. And I think that that works on film, but like you mentioned, it's not narratively interesting for the story. Were there other challenges in streamlining this? There is some additional dialogue here and there, some clarifications.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Yeah, we we try to just do some with the writing in particular, then, and then Ryan's art, of course, draws it all together because he's a genius. The the knitting work that we did was specific to where we thought the vignettes didn't intersect or mesh very well. And so a lot of the work that we did on the writing side, particularly with the panels and the art, was to do transitions a little more eloquently. Yeah, because you know, when when you're racing against the clock, your money's running out, you're working with volunteers, you're trying to chop as much together as you possibly can against uh against those things, uh, it can tend to get a little choppy. And so we tried to smooth some of those edges a little bit in the book, have it uh have it flow a little more eloquently, and also have that that story arc for Lincoln be a little bit more on the nose than even they were in in the film itself, to be like, yeah, this guy's getting old. He's going through a park right now. That park is full of challenges for him, and we're going from one station to the next, and it's it's not a mistake, it's not, it's it's the natural progression of how this works. Uh, and then it's of course an allegory for real life.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

Yeah, I think it was done extremely successfully. I I would be hard pressed, knowing that I love this film, I would be hard-pressed to tell you what my favorite iteration of it is. I think you were extremely successful in both the writing and the art process in capturing what we should all be leaving this film thinking and feeling. And if I may, I I think that what we're talking about here is clearly aging, death and dying, and the neglect and the loneliness epidemic uh that seniors face, the abuses and the uh the ways they're taken advantage of. Is there anything else you'd like the audience to leave thinking or feeling or doing once they've completed reading this book?

SPEAKER_01 12:47

So there is the inevitability, which we've talked about already. But I think the PSA piece of it still holds true. And I think if people are coming out of this book with the recognition that the same theme still holds true from 50 years ago, that we still may not recognize terrifically well that some of the people around us are in a bad way or are struggling with their own aging processes or some of the things that start to fail as a result of those. That we have a little more patience, take a little more time, be a little bit more understanding about some of the things that they may be going through, which we will all eventually go through, but may not be doing yet.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

Empathy is really uh a value that's important to me. And I think that is a strong, strong point of this whole project. And um we are that person. We are we are that person we see that's struggling. So like we like we we have to we have to take the time to think about that. And um a lot of I I I try to think a lot about like what the amusement part like actually means to and yeah, it's life and it's also a lot of illusion and like these kind of distractions and illusions that like come in and out of our lives from like what what's really important and and um not that should we should be dwelling on death all the time, but it is gonna happen and it's something that our culture really tries to distract us from thinking about that we will get old and we will die one day. And um yeah, it's it's it's interesting that the amusement park is this like big figurehead for that.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

I love that this serves as a sort of artistic memento mori. That is something that is uh a new framing for this. I I've spent a lot of time with this piece and I've reviewed this piece, and I love that I'm coming out of this interview uh with a more nuanced and textured understanding. I think uh hopefully the audience is as well. I'm I'm having a blast here. Hopefully you are too. Um So at the end of the day, the Romero Foundation got a large part of its start here, uh, as and I think it's an interesting comparison that George was sort of stopgapping his own company and doing work for hire here. Uh, is there anything that we that you all see as the work for higherness of this as opposed to the artistic output? Was there anything in George's notes that was his opinion on doing work for hire as opposed to his own artistic statement?

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Yeah, so he, you know, he's he's surviving as a filmmaker in the 1960s and 70s. He had made Night of the Living Dead, was looking for the next thing. Um, we all know the story of Night of the Living Dead in terms of how uh how it wasn't as lucrative as it possibly could have been based on some of the situations. So he was continuing to hunt for projects. This was an interesting one that came his way, that he was able to create a really interesting piece of art and basically you know take the assignment, which was do a PSA about elder abuse and create these really this really interesting piece of art. He has done a number of documentaries or did a number of documentaries throughout this this period of time, too, called The Winners, which are which are completely different, but but no less eloquent and interesting in that he's you know highlighting famous sports figures and other personalities. Uh, so he's got all of this that the whole company does. There's there's other people involved in this as well. The company itself is coalescing, trying to find the funding to make their next movie through Hooker by Crook, by doing PSAs, by doing whatever they can. And then finally, it does come together for them uh, you know, in the late 70s and early 80s, and then George becomes George and makes all of his all of his films from then until his untimely passing. There's a lot of stuff from the archive unrealized that they were doing at this same time, all the ideas they had, all the scripts that they wanted to do. So that it's very interesting to see the trajectory of his career as well, because we only know, or at least before the archive existed, we we know what was realized. Yeah, and that's just scratching the surface of everything that they would have, could have, and and you know, should have done, or you know, had they been given the opportunity. Uh the thing that I always think about when I think about George is how fiercely independent he was and and the entire creative family was. Growing up in film here, uh, and really building, as you say, a creative family that has influenced an entire city because of his very distinct priority of making this family and making these films in Pittsburgh, particularly in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

unknown 17:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

I mean, John Amplis was my freshman year acting teacher at in college. Uh, and people like Mark Tierno have worked with my company. I've worked with Deb Gordon, who was in uh Day of the Dead, and just a number of folks, it would be uh wrong of me to start naming people because I couldn't name everyone who's helped me along my way running a theater company or as a performer. Um it's it's just such a blessing to the city, and I'm so grateful that the foundation is preserving this and would love to get to the archive one day and rifle through or maybe talk about it on the channel because I think it's something that we should all be supporting and and more people should know about. With that said, I want to talk about some influences on both of you. Uh Jeff, you as a writer and a producer, uh, and and a podcast host yourself, and Ryan, you as an artist. Uh, but let's start with the obvious question. What's your favorite Romero film?

SPEAKER_02 18:20

I think Jeff and I both share this. I think we're both Day of the Dead guys, right, Jeff? I don't want to speak for you, but you know, I just love Day of the Dead so much. So I I think that was the first one I really I mean, I think the first one I ever saw was Night, but I I just Day of the Dead clicked with me really early on, and I I've always loved that movie. I could read the the rewatchability of that one is very easy.

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Yeah, it's a solid choice. I I I I couldn't I couldn't uh talk you out of it. It's a solid choice. Um now moving into broader horror, uh I would assume as uh you know, someone who's writing horror, someone who's drawing a lot of horror, uh Ryan, you've worked on the creep show book, you've uh done work for Fangoria magazine. I have right behind me your uh illustrations from the David Lynch issue. What's your favorite, broadly speaking? What's your favorite horror film, guys?

SPEAKER_01 19:12

Uh it's hard for me to pick just one. You can ramble off a few if you like. My early influences were Day of the Dead, as Ryan has said, Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Exorcist. Um those four I watched over and over and over again as a kid. So those have been pervasive for me. Um, but I I really am a fan of a lot of the classics. I love Halloween, I love Texas Chase on Masquerom Psycho. So quite a few that I could point to as as influences, but I think those four were the ones that really set me on the path when I was a kid, uh, and they've stuck with me.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

Yeah. Uh I'd have to say I think the thing, the thing I keep coming back to is definitely definitely John Carpenter's The Thing is the one that I keep coming back to. I just think it's got everything. And uh I think growing up, I I rewatched Psycho and uh the original invasion of the body snatchers just over and over and over. I love the black and white um you know, atomic age sort of or cold war uh paranoia horror films too. So um but yeah, I think I think I the the thing might take my spot. That's that's probably it.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

If I'm not mistaken, when I was social media stalking you both, uh you have a really cool illustration of the thing that was posted on Instagram that I stumbled across, Ryan. It was well done.

SPEAKER_02 20:36

It was the anniversary yesterday, so yeah, exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

And and and you should be following these these guys on social media. There it's it's a a wellspring of cool art and information and events stuff that might be happening near you. So go go follow both of them. Um, which leads me to my next question. Uh, what are you working on now? Do you have anything going on, either one of you?

SPEAKER_02 20:58

Jeff, I know you. Yeah, we got we got post-season two coming up here.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Yeah. Season two. So uh Vince, you talked about me being a podcast host, but actually um I write primarily radio drama. And so I have uh three projects that are current, including The Dead, which is a partnership with Bloody Disgusting and the Foundation. Um, but then we spun off a couple of other things. I I've done Creepy Places with a friend of mine, John, uh, who's the host for Creepy, and that's been great. Uh and then, of course, what you heard Ryan mention was was uh a real wish list item for me in particular, was to be able to do the Edgar Allan Poe works. Uh and so we spun up this really fun gothic radio drama. Uh, Ryan has done all the cover art just spectacularly beautifully. It was it was really popular, and so we were really blessed that we were able to get a second season. I just finished writing all of those, and so those will go into production sometime late summer, fall for uh late fall, early winter release. So very excited about season two. It's a little darker, a little more brooding. And so I think it'll be really interesting for the audiences, particularly those who liked season one. And we've got a number of graphic novel projects that we're pitching. And I have a number of film projects that are in various stages of both development and production. So lots of good stuff happening right now.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

We're in a horror renaissance. And uh I think audio dramas are really underserved. Um only a few come across my desk for review. And so I'm happy that you're out there fighting the good fight because I think it's a necessary gap in the market. Anything, anything you want to add, Ryan?

SPEAKER_02 22:37

I'm I'm currently working on uh the the John Carpenter um Tales of Halloween Night uh book 11. Uh I got a I got a story in there. Um it's about 13 pages, so I'm almost done with that. I finished up uh for Creep Show. I did interiors for a really fun story with uh Tom Kerzewski and Ted Raimi that'll be coming out um uh in uh I think it's probably November, but that was a fun one. So that that's on its way too. So um yeah, and then now, you know, uh working on Poe Evermore season two. I um yeah, I always really enjoy working on those every month. And um yeah, so keeping the keeping the art game going strong and fun.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

You you both find yourself in some uh incredible and envious company here. Like the you're working with great people, you're doing great work. I'm always excited to hear uh about cool projects. Lastly, since to bring it back around to the amusement park, uh, where can folks buy the book? Where do you prefer folks buy the book? And uh where do you prefer folks buy the Blu-ray as well if they're interested in that?

SPEAKER_01 23:42

This is where you would buy comics in your in your comic book stores. They're stocking up quite a few. Uh, we'll have it on the foundation's website very soon as well, particularly signed copies that that you know Ryan has has uh inked up. And then we'll have a couple of special editions with some other you know fancy signatures as well. Uh same thing with Storm King. I think it'll be up on their website too. Storm King was incredibly gracious with us to uh partner to put this book out. They did an absolutely beautiful job. Uh the layouts are incredible, the printing quality is incredible. It really fits their brand. I mean, this is what they're known for, put putting out really high quality, very beautiful books. That's why I've got a lot of them in my personal collection. And so it was just terrific to be able to do this with them. And uh they'll have they'll have their own uh their own special editions on on their website soon, too, with some other fancy signatures. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:34

That's fantastic. If I'm not mistaken, uh did I read that proceeds, some proceeds from the amusement park Blu-ray benefit the foundation? Yes. We just want to make sure that uh if you're gonna buy it, make sure you're buying it uh uh from the foundation if you can, or get it wherever you can. Support the foundation at the end of the day. Just they're doing great work, and we want to see them around for as long as humanly possible. That's thanks, Vince.

SPEAKER_01 24:57

It's it's an all-volunteer organization, and so it is passion work, and so it's an important thing to note, too, where all of the funding that we get above cost goes right into our scholarship, mentorship, and training programs so that we can just pass that along for future generations.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

That runs down my list of prepared questions. Is there anything you uh either of you want to close on uh and message uh to the dread alert audience?

SPEAKER_02 25:23

We're just happy to be on here, man. Thank you for having us. And it's been I would I could talk with Jeff about the project, I'm sure, all day long. So we we had a really great time for the last couple years working on this and getting it completed. And it was a real labor of love for for both of us for sure. We're not done.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

Yeah, we've got a lot more to do. Uh we've got to make a wish right now in the pipeline as well as some other projects that we're working on together too. And so, you know, I'll be excited to continue collaborating with Ryan on other book projects here in coming years. I'm hoping that we can get some things out within these next few years that will be really, really amazing. So stay tuned.

SPEAKER_00 26:01

I think the amusement park is amazing. So if what you're talking about is gonna be more amazing, sign me up. Uh, we will be there on day one. We can't wait. Thank you both for joining us. Uh, we are deeply, deeply grateful. We're deeply moved by the work, and we just want to share it with as many people as possible. So we appreciate your time today. And as always, stay spooky, my friends.