It was almost two years ago when we told you about Zombie King George A. Romero tackling the adaptation of the novel THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES by Harvard Psychologist turned author Steven C. Schlozman, M.D., which we followed up late last year with a smallish update in which Romero shared he was deep into the writing process but was unsure whether or not it would be his next directorial project. Now comes news that Romero has completed the script and that he's already shooting it out to studios.
According to Daily Dead's Jonathan James, who recently caught up with Romero in Chicago, the script for THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES has been completed and approved by Schlozman and is out to agents and studios. Romero states…
“Actually, the day before I left to come here, I finished the script and talked to Schloz about it. He approved it, so we sent it to my agents and they sent it around. You never know what’s going to happen, but it’s out in circulation and I hope it works out.”
Romero goes on to mention that it’s becoming more difficult to get funding for his own “Dead” projects due to interest in other zombie projects and fast-moving zombies:
“I hope [The Zombie Autopsies is my next project]. I never know what’s going to be next, because the one that’s going to be next is the one that finds the money first. I used to be the only guy in this playground, but now there’s too damn many. It’s very hard now, particularly with World War Z [the movie].”
I don't know about you, but I'd take another Romero zombie flick over another WORLD WAR Z any day!
Released in early 2011, Schlozman's THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES has the following synopsis:
“As the walking dead rises up throughout the world, a few brave doctors attempt to find a cure by applying forensic techniques to captured zombies. Based on the research of renowned zombie expert Dr. Stanley Blum, performed at a remote island where a crack medical team has been sent to explore a radical theory that may lead to a cure for the epidemic, THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES documents for the first time the unique biology of zombie organisms. Twenty-five detailed drawings of the internal organs of actual zombies provide an accurate anatomy of these horrifying creatures, including zombie brains, hearts, lungs, skin, and the digestive system, while Dr. Blum’s notes reveal shocking insights into how they function, even as Blum and his staff themselves begin to succumb to the plague. No one knows the ultimate fate of Dr. Blum or his researchers, but now that his notebook, THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES, has been made available to the UN, the World Health Organization, and the general public, his scientific discoveries may provide the last hope for humans on earth!
It'd be very interesting to see what Romero has done with THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES screenplay and hopefully some studio will cough up the dough to let him bring it to us on the big-screen!