The original "Dawn of the Living Dead" was the second installment in director George A. Romero's "Dead Trilogy", with the inception of the zombie culture dating back to the first installment, "Night of the Living Dead", in 1968. There was a nearly ten-year gap between these two works, mainly because when this concept was first introduced, the director himself couldn't come up with a well-thought-out version, and it seemed quite rough, not gaining much market recognition.
It wasn't until 1979 when George A. Romero shot "Dawn of the Living Dead" with a budget of $500,000 that it was released and earned over $20M in the United States and a total global box office of over $50M, finally earning him acclaim.
However, George A. Romero was an eccentric director. While he excelled at zombie-themed films and could draw audiences, his attempts at other genres flopped. As a result, he struggled to gain recognition in the industry and gradually faded into obscurity.
In the many years that followed, there were several attempts to remake this classic film, but the rights holder, Marc Abraham, had no intention of rebooting it. It wasn't until the arrival of Eric Newman, armed with a well-adapted story and some improved zombie concepts, that the idea started to gain traction.
With various circumstances, this project eventually fell into the hands of Zack. However, even with these three individuals pooling their resources, they still lacked the necessary funding and distribution channels. This led them to consider collaborating with others, and Firefly Films was one of their options.
But after Lyman read the script, he felt that the plot was too clichéd and didn't immediately agree. Instead, he asked Zack to bring in the scriptwriter and the producer for a discussion.
The next morning, the three of them met in Snyder's studio. After some initial greetings, Lyman got straight to the point: "I'm willing to invest and help with distribution, but the script needs some changes."
Eric wasn't someone who attached great value to his own creations, or perhaps he was more interested in ensuring the smooth operation of this project. After all, the main driving force behind remaking an old film was often the pursuit of financial gain.
So, seeing the investment opportunity, he cheerfully replied, "Mr. Lyman, please go ahead."
"The style of this film needs to change. Just because it's a zombie film doesn't mean it has to be scary and gory. Have you ever thought about taking a different approach?" Lyman suggested, "Have you heard of "Resident Evil"?"
"I've heard of it," Eric replied honestly.
"Well, that film has a similar concept, and its story is quite innovative. So if we want to make a zombie film set in modern society, we can't just follow the same old path. The main characters don't have to face constant life-threatening situations and triumph over adversity every time. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Are you talking about character torture?" Eric looked puzzled.
Lyman took a blank sheet of paper from his desk and grabbed a pencil from a nearby holder. As he drew a scene that resembled a train station, he continued, "In works centered around the zombie theme, whether they are comics, games, or even the movie I mentioned, "Resident Evil", they have all carved out their unique paths. If we simply replicate "Dawn of the Living Dead", it's just riding on the coattails of the original without bringing anything new to the table. It might not be well-received by the market. Therefore, we need innovation. In your script, I don't see much of that."
"So, how should we design the plot's development?"
"Human nature. Think about it: in a society suddenly plunged into chaos, what will happen when people face a crisis similar to doomsday? The choices each person makes, their decisions in the face of disaster—doesn't that have meaning? Shift the focus from the zombies to the humans."
"Is the scope too large? It's challenging to depict it in detail," Eric, the screenwriter, immediately identified the issue.
Character ensemble has always been the most challenging aspect, which is why films rarely expand their settings. For example, in "The Day After Tomorrow", even though it was about a global natural disaster, it only focused on the city of New York and a group of suffering refugees.
Lyman nodded in approval, saying, "You're right. That's why we need to proactively narrow down the scenes to depict the story in detail. Imagine, what would happen if there were infected individuals on a moving train?"
As he spoke, he handed over the sketched scene.
In the cramped train carriage, on one side were the infected zombies, and on the other side, a panicked crowd...
"This is a fantastic idea."
Zack, who was watching on the side, couldn't help but chime in, "Using a moving train as the setting directly intensifies the dramatic conflict. It's very intriguing."
"Exactly because it happens suddenly, it tests how the public will react," Eric continued, "The entire train station turns into hell, and the difficulty of survival is infinitely magnified."
"Yes, that's the idea," Lyman nodded. "So, a film like this will put more emphasis on the ensemble cast, rather than focusing on a few main characters. It won't have the graphic and gory scenes that are typical in zombie films; instead, it will be more brutal."
"It sounds like it's going to be thrilling," Zack was completely ignited with the desire to shoot this creative concept.
Eric looked at Lyman and asked, "What about the main storyline? How should we design it?"
Lyman thought for a moment and said, "Let's center it around a father and daughter. The father, who is also the male lead "A", is a white-collar worker and a divorcee with a daughter."
"A single-parent family?"
"Yes, that's the reason for their trip to the train station," Lyman continued, "During the daughter's vacation, she insists on visiting her mother, and the father, helpless, takes time off to accompany her. As for the train route, it ends in New York. I've already thought of a name for the movie: "Train to New York". As for how the virus outbreak occurred, you can think of reasonable clues to bury in the story. Regarding how the infected individuals infiltrated the train station, you can come up with a scenario that allows the audience to see something unusual but doesn't reveal what will happen exactly. Maintain a certain level of mystery."
"Okay, I'll think it through," Eric said, taking notes on the ideas.
Afterward, he hesitated and said, "But if we go with this idea, there will be many different film locations, and we'll have to deal with the New York City government. In terms of cost..."
Initially, their project had a budget of only $25M, mainly because of the high expenses for extras. However, now, if they followed Lyman's creative concept, roughly estimating, they might need at least $50M to start with. This calculation didn't even include the possibility of top-tier actors joining the cast. If they did, it could easily turn into a $100M production.
"You don't need to worry about that," Lyman replied.