Night Of The Living Dead Director Isn't Happy That Zombies Went Hollywood

The Godfather of the Dead doesn't necessarily approve of the direction zombies have gone.

Night of the Living Dead director George Romero recently told IndieWire that Brad Pitt's World War Z and AMC's The Walking Dead have made it more difficult for him to work in the genre that he basically invented.

"I harbor a lot of resentment," Romero said. "I used to be the only guy on the zombie playground, and unfortunately Brad Pitt and The Walking Dead have it 'Hollywood-ized.' I was ready to do another one, a $2 million to $3 million one, and nobody will finance a zombie film now."

He later took back the bit about resentment. "It's not really resentment," he said. "I've had a terrific run. But [my movies] have always been political. It's not gore. It's not just horror. I've always tried to put a little something in there. I felt that I almost found a niche, but it was bound to happen. There was no way to prevent that from happening."

In addition to the original Night of the Living Dead, which premiered in 1968, Romero was behind the 1978 version of Dawn of the Dead and 1985's Day of the Dead. He returned to the genre in recent years with a new batch of movies including 2005's Land of the Dead, 2007's Diary of the Dead, and 2009's Survival of the Dead, but those flicks didn't have widespread success.

A few months ago, he announced George A. Romero Presents: Road of the Dead, which is about zombies who are forced to drive cars in a Rollerball and Mad Max-type competition. However, that's the movie he's had trouble financing.