Originally posted by n.phelge
There is a new remake of DOTD coming out next year, and the 2 disc set is timed to coincide with that theatrical release. The last news I read on the 2 disc set stated that only producer Richard Rosenberg (sp) had recorded a commmentary track at that point, and they were hoping to get Romero and Savini to do one as well. Hopefully Anchor Bay won't totally drop the ball on this one like they did with the NOTLD 30th Anniv. set.

Originally posted by sracer
As for them dropping the ball... I doubt that they will. Since Bill Lustig left, Anchor Bay has done an excellent job of redeeming itself with regard to Romero's films with the release of the Day of the Dead:SE.

An Anchor Bay representative contacted Creature-Corner this afternoon to let eager fans know that this information is only partially correct. We've got the full skinny straight from the horse's mouth.

Dawn of the Dead is indeed arriving March 9th but in a single-disc package under Anchor Bay's Divimax banner (similar to the aforementioned Day of the Dead and this year's Halloween: 25th Anniversary Edition). This disc will feature a 16 X 9 theatrical cut transfer and a few Extras that are still being finalized.

Later in '04, Anchor Bay will release a multi-disc Special Edition of Dawn some time before Halloween/late summer. The number of discs contained within is a detail still being worked out by the disc's producers. Our AB rep assures us that this package will contain multiple cuts of the film and numerous commentaries. Also expect brand spankin' new interviews with cast and crew, amongst them: George Romero, Dario Argento, David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross.

Originally posted by djtoell
What aspect was Lustig reponsible for that people would blame him? Did he write the new scenes? Did he hire and direct the godawful new actors? Did he compose and perform the atrocious score? Did he choose what to edit out of the original cut? Did he do the awful make-up job on Bill Hinzman?
DJ

DVD producer Perry Martin (right) and film info manager Michael Felsher of Anchor Bay were on hand with the inside skinny on what's dead ahead from the fan-fave distributor. Top of mind being a certain zombie epic, so what follows are their word-for-word comments on ...

DAWN OF THE DEAD: Martin: That's going to be our big release for 2004. It's going to be an amazing [set] ... we're still up in the air as to HOW MANY discs it's going to be. Felsher: To say it's going to be the biggest thing we've done is understating the matter. ... What our current plans are, and please, I wish I could write this above our heads: SUBJECT TO CHANGE -- because we've had so many false starts and stops on this project: We're going to have a single-disc version of George Romero's theatrical cut of the film. I have seen portions of the new high-definition transfer that was done and it looks stunning. Martin: It's amazing. You've never seen the movie like this before and that's before cleanup! Felsher: Even before cleanup it already looks miles better than any other version of the film. So, there's going to be a single disc of that, hopefully with commentary by George Romero and Tom Savini [FX guru]. Martin: We're scheduled to do that in two or three weeks. Felsher: We'll have that out in time for the remake of the film in March. ... Then coming in late summer will be a multi-disc edition of Dawn. At this point, it will be at least three discs and could go all the way up to five. It's going to contain at least two versions of the film: theatrical cut, plus the extended version. ... Just the other day, we recorded a new commentary with producer Richard Rubenstein. It's the first time he's ever done anything like this before and it's very, very cool. Martin: He talked about a lot of things I don't think he's gone on the record about before. That's just one. We're also going to do an all-new commentary, as Michael said, with George Romero, Tom Savini and hopefully Mike Gornick [cinematographer]. There's possibility of even a third. Felsher: We're trying to get a commentary with all four cast members. We know at least three of them are all about it, because I've talked to them at various conventions over the past couple of years. Martin: It's really just a logistical issue. Some of them are in Los Angeles. Some of them are out here [in New York]. We'll fly two of them somewhere ... Also, I'm trying to put together a "making of" featurette that will run a minimum of one hour, maybe 90 minutes ... very comprehensive coverage of the whole production history. We'll interview everybody. Felsher: He's already got interviews with Dario Argento, Claudio Argento, Goblin, everyone ... Martin: We want to do the project justice, so it's going to be quite extensive. It should be a lot of fun. Felsher: Another wildcard, as we're still talking to the licenser, is including Document of the Dead, which is a documentary Roy Frumkes did during the shooting of the film. We've already acquired a director's retrospective that will be on there. Then we're going to get trailers from all over the world. Martin: Hundreds of stills. ... Your thumb's going to get worn out before you get to the end of the still gallery. Felsher: We had six still galleries on Day of the Dead. We're probably going to have almost a dozen on this one. We'll also have the screenplay on there. Martin: Again, the goal is to produce the ultimate DVD version of this film, so stay tuned!

Originally posted by EPKJ
Why was it awful? I thought it was a great transfer with sufficient extras included. Also, I listened to the commentary and will state flatly that there is absolutely no indication that Romero dislikes Lustig.

Originally posted by sracer
I don't know the particulars about the deal made between Lustig (Anchor Bay) and Russo, but I do know that AB bankrolled the 30th Anniv effort and had significant involvement and oversight in the project.