MGM to release "Return of the Living Dead" DVD in 2002 (1 Viewer)

[Michael Allred]

Ross, I'm not sure if Mr. Brenner was aware of HTF's existence or not but I do know I was the one who pointed him to this thread.
Mr. Brenner told me he'd be interested in helping with the DVD. I've also recently chatted with William Stout who was the production designer from the movie, he too is interested (not to mention he still has like 95% of the stuff he created for the film!)
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My DVD collection--> http://members.tripod.com/~evilbaby/DVD_Collection.html

 

[Jules]

The discussion of aspect ratios here, as well as some emails I've received, leads me to think there are some who might want to get into the more technical details and, for them, I've added a faq sheet on the subject to my RotLD page. I hope it will clarify some of the questions. Also, having received permission from American Cinematographer Magazine to reproduce their article, it's now available there for all to read and to print out.
Count on my support for your efforts and thanks for yours regarding our film!
Jules http://variagate.com/jbmovies.htm?forum

 

[Michael Allred]

There is some word leaking out that MGM will be making a special edition DVD but at the moment they're not sure what materials they have or what kind of condition they may be in.
Still...check out the link in my signature, continue writing MGM and make sure they know, "ROTLD" deserves a special edition.
PS I hope to speak with Dan O'Bannon soon.
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Sign up for a "Return of the Living Dead" special edition DVD at the following URL!
http://members.tripod.com/~evilbaby/ROTLD.html

 

[Michael Allred]

Here's an update (kinda) from MGM;
(1) they are aware of and sensitive to this film's special qualities and potentials as a long term classic;
(2) they are aware of an active fan base for the movie, and
(3) they are exploring possibilities of a special edition.
They are not sure of what kind of materials they have or what condition they may be in.
However, William Stout, the film's production designer has roughly 90% of all the materials he made for the flick....he has said he'd be willing to participate with the DVD.....as has the film's DP, Jules Brenner. Actress Linnea Quigley has also expressed an interest. I *hope* to get a call from Dan O'Bannon sometime soon.
Anyway, there *are* materials that exist that could be used for a special edition. MGM can easily record a new audio commentary track plus Fangoria has a convention that wil feature James Karen, Thom Mathews and Quigley so that's an opportunity for MGM to get some footage.
Check out;
http://members.tripod.com/~evilbaby/ROTLD.html
for ways to contact MGM and ask for a special edition DVD for "Return of the Living Dead"!

 

[Joseph Young]

Mmm.. Linnea Quigley

Uh..

Watching her on that gravestone back in the 80's inspired me to spend most of my young adult life as a goth..

 

[Michael Allred]

After months of working on my "Return of the Living Dead" DVD campaign....I finally got to speak with it's creator, Dan O'Bannon this evening (although it was very brief.)
He called me earlier this week but I wasn't home. I returned his call this evening.
We spoke for about 11 minutes.
He seemed as if he didn't even know about the DVD release next year! After I mentioned my whole campaign he kept saying "fantastic".
Unfortunately we couldn't get into much detail, he sounded a bit busy at the moment so he asked me to call him back Thursday afternoon, noon his time. He'll "grab pen and paper and discuss this further" with me then.
hehe, he mentioned something along the lines of "getting my original ending back on there" under his breath, which I thought was funny.
I'll keep you updated!

 

[Artur Meinild]

Cool Michael, please keep up the great work, it is highly appreciated!

 

[StephenA]

I'll definately pick this movie up if/when it's released on DVD. It's one of my favorite zombie/horror movies. Hope it does get the special edition treatment. Strangely enough, I rented the VHS of this movie at Blockbuster. It probably was cut to pieces though.

 

[Michael Allred]

Spoke with Dan again today, this time for about 30 minutes or so. we exchanged home addresses and whatnot.
he and his manager will look into contacting MGM home video about getting involved (hopefully) with the DVD.
he kinda scoffed when i called "return of the living dead" a 'classic' as if he's surprised people think of it that way.
he talked about doing some of the effects he did on "star wars". Lucas was swamped with work and needed to finish the film in a hurry so he asked Dan to help. Dan loved the first film but was disappointed with the sequels, specifically "jedi" as he thought it was a carbon copy of the first. "why remake your own movies?"
he's only seen bits and pieces of the 2 sequels to his film, he's not terribly interested in watching them entirely.
he said he has some "horror stories" he'd like to tell me about all the problems they had with the make-up and FX from "living dead" in the next couple of days.
he's gonna create his own web site soon and i offered my help in promoting it (he accepted.)
he said he's basically a private person but with all that's being said on the internet, he felt it best that he control it himself by having a place where he sets it straight.
i complimented him on his work to which he sounded very flattered (i don't think he hears much from fans at all and has no idea of the following "living dead" has.)
i think we'll be talking again in more detail, it should be fun!

 

[Artur Meinild]

So Michael, what's up?
Any news on this matter, or should we wait and see what happens in 2002?

 

[Michael Allred]

UPDATE:
MGM tried and failed to find a way to contact director Dan O'Bannon.
However, when my campaign was posted on www.dvddrive-in.com the owner of that site told me that one of his MGM contacts wanted to speak with Dan about the DVD and needed contact info and so I ws asked to relay his phone number. I readily agreed.
Earlier today I was told that MGM did call Dan and left him messages.
To confirm this, I called Dan myself and sure enough, they did! He told me that he will be calling them back on Monday (he's just getting over the flu apparently.)
So because of me, Dan and MGM are hooking up! Cool or what?

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I don't know about you guys, but I am utterly amazed at the amount of power this thread is displaying! We have none other than the director of photography of the film with us! That alone is amazing enough, thank you Jules for clearing up the ratio matter.
But we also have Michael who actually spoke with the man himself, and hooked him up with MGM!
Incredible.
If we do get a SE of this classic, we have Michael to thank for getting involved, and given these wonderful turn of events, things are looking up. Kudos my man, you rule!
BTW, what are the chances of getting a group commentary done with not only Mr. O Bannon, but Thom Matthews, Linnea Quigley, James Karen, and how about you Jules?
It's times like these that make me proud to be part of this forum!

 

[Michael Allred]

Dan and I talked about him doing an audio commentary, he's very interested in that. Jules Benner and Linnea Quigley have both told me they'd love to take part in the DVD as well but I dunno if that'll happen. As for James and Thom, I have not yet found a way to contact those guys but considering they do ROTLD reunions at horror conventions (they were supposed to be at Fangoria's earlier this month) it would seem they'd be up for it as well.

 

[Michael Allred]

UPDATE
I spoke with Dan O'Bannon on the phone today. Though he was busy writing, he took a few moments to speak with me for which I was thankful.
He did indeed talk to the folks at MGM and that the most likely thing he'll do is do an audio commentary track. He also said that he specifically wants to add the alternate ending as well as a few other cut scenes but he doesn't know if that material can be found, he's hopeful though. Also mentioned were Dan's wishes to both color correct the film and tone down the level of music in some scenes which unfortunately garbled some of the actor's lines. He said he'd know more in a few weeks when things begin to move forward.
Shockingly he said all of this was because of me. I shrugged it off but he said he never would've known of this had I not contacted him. He also said *I* should do a commentary track to which I laughed but he said he liked what I had to say about the film. Can I say I feel humbled?
I should be talking to actor James Karen soon!

 

[Beau]

I REALLY hope that this comes out soon. I love this movie. I would have had this on VHS already but it's out of print. This is my horror movie of all time and I'm glad to hear that there may be commentaries and deleted scenes.

 

[Damin J Toell]

I should be talking to actor James Karen soon!

please tell Mr. Karen that i still love his old Pathmark commercials.
DJ

 

[Michael Allred]

I spoke with James Karen yesterday afternoon. We spoke for about 40 minutes and I found him to be an extremely friendly fellow and was very keen to just sit and talk.
He did not know the film (ROTLD) was coming to DVD this year but mentioned that he hadn't gotten a single royalty check in over 10 years.
Also there is a MAJOR ROTLD reunion being held this June in Baltimore. Virtually the entire cast will be there! Plus some of the crew like make-up guy Kenny Myers, prod designer William Stout, DP Jules Brenner and Dan O'Bannon also might go! Check out http://www.creepcon.com for more info!

 

[Michael Allred]

An online petition is now available at;
http://www.petitiononline.com/ROTLDDVD/petition.html

 

[Michael Allred]

Ok, here's cool news about MGM's upcoming DVD release.

I received a phone call from Dan O'Bannon today and learned some cool stuff.

First, Dan and William Stout recorded the audio commentary for the DVD about two weeks ago! It sounded like he enjoyed doing it.

Dan had to rush off to another studio as he was scheduled to work on the video transfer (color correction and all that.) He said the movie will probably look the best it ever has. He then mentioned that in a few weeks he will go into a sound studio to work on the audio from the film. He said the differences will be subtle.

He did mention that MGM wants to release the DVD soon (no release date was mentioned as a possibility) but he said he'd ask tonight and try to call me back tomorrow with news on that.

He also mentioned the idea of the original opening/ending shots being reworked but didn't know if this would be on the upcoming DVD or perhaps a seperate release sometime later.

Thought you'd like to know!

 

[Beau]

SWEET! It's SO cool that commentary has already been done! I hope that they release it by summer. I havent seen this movie in a LONG time and have always LOVED it.