Wrap Up From World Premiere: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, NOW IN 3D!
Jim here. San Diego-based 3D producer PassmoreLab, in conjunction with the Johnny Ramone Army, has confirmed that the iconic rocker’s memorial tribute was the largest ever, with approximately 3,000 fans showing up to pay homage to the guitarist and witness the World Premiere of “Night of the Living Dead, Now in 3D!” during the 5th Annual Johnny Ramone Tribute, which took place at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 3, 2009.
Ramones’ guitarist Johnny Ramone created the enduring template for punk rock guitar. With his blazing power chords and brutal licks energizing Ramones' classics like "Blitzkrieg Bop", "Rockaway Beach" and “Sheena is a Punk Rocker", Johnny inspired generations of punk bands until his untimely death from prostate cancer in 2004. His annual tribute, now in its fifth year, takes place at the foot of his 8 ft. memorial bronze statue inside the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Attending Hollywood celebrities and rockstars included actress Rose McGowan, actress Rosanna Arquette, actress PJ Soles, actress Virginia Madsen, actors David Arquette and Vincent Gallo, Sex Pistol’s Steve Jones, musician Pete Yorn, X’s Billy Zoom, radio personality Joe Escalante of the Vandals, Stan Lee of The Dickies, the Ramones’ Tommy Ramone, CJ Ramone and many more.
"This year’s event was spectacular and turned out to be everything we’d hoped for," said John Cafiero, Chief of Staff of the Johnny Ramone Army. "It was just a great night all around. The event was rich and diverse as a whole and so was the crowd. Commandos assembled from all over the world and it was the biggest turnout we’ve ever seen at the annual Tribute. I think Johnny would be proud.”
The event was a fundraiser with net proceeds benefiting the Johnny Ramone research fund at USC Westside Prostate Cancer Center lead by Dr. David Agus.
Fans enjoyed a full evening of Rock ‘N Roll and movie magic in both 2D and 3D with a vintage 1977 Ramone’s concert film “It’s Alive”; the rarely-seen “Rock ‘N Roll High School” original theatrical trailer, which was introduced by special guest PJ Soles, the original Riff Randall from the film; “Night of the Living Pinheads”, a unique clip from the “Ramones RAW” DVD where the band is seen in South America and their van is being mobbed by adoring fans fittingly intercut with shots from “Night of the Living Dead”; a rare memorabilia exhibit; an art show of original paintings by the legendary Ramones bassist Dee Dee Ramone; opening featurettes of animated music videos from the Johnny Ramone Army and the world premiere of Osaka Popstar’s “Wicked World” 3D video; NVIDIA’s new 3D Vision presentation of the horror game “Resident Evil 5”; and never-before-seen 3D photos of Johnny Ramone himself.
The evening concluded with the 3D World Premiere of George Romero’s original 1968 cult classic "Night of the Living Dead, Now in 3D!", produced by PassmoreLab, and was superbly introduced by actress and JRA affiliate Rose McGowan, a close friend of Ramone for many years.
“We had a huge turnout! What can I say? It was for the love of Johnny Ramone, a great cause and fantastic entertainment,” reflects McGowan. “Johnny would’ve been thrilled that so many people love & respect The Ramones.”
"The movie looked great in 3D," said Greg Passmore, president of PassmoreLab. "We took great care restoring and converting it, and I am very pleased with the outcome.”
"Night of the Living Dead", one of the greatest low budget cult movies ever made and originally shot in black and white over 40 years ago, was painstakingly restored, colorized and converted, frame by frame into full 3D using Passmorelab's proprietary technology.
“It was great to see this all come together," said James Humann, producer at PassmoreLab. "We are fans ourselves, and were happy to be a part of such an amazing event!"
The World Premiere of "Night of the Living Dead, Now in 3D!" and the Johnny Ramone Tribute event was open to the public for a $10 donation to the foundation. Attendees all received free 3D commemorative Johnny Ramone Army/“Night of the Living Dead, Now in 3D!” glasses upon entering.
“I think Johnny would have been very proud. He loved horror movies, and would have been thrilled that “Night of the Living Dead, Now in 3D!” had its world premiere at his tribute, in front of so many fans,” said Linda Ramone, wife of the legendary guitarist.
"Night of the Living Dead, Now in 3D!" can now be seen in selected US theatres and in wide release in 3D theaters in Europe. "Night of the Living Dead, Now in 3D!" will be available in anaglyph DVD on Amazon.com by Christmas, and a 3D TV version will be available when 3D BluRay becomes commercially available.
About PassmoreLab
Passmorelab, the “World’s Largest 3D Content Provider”, is a San Diego-based multi-media production studio that specializes in 3D production. The studio custom-designs and builds its own RED camera 3D rigs for both conventional and rugged film productions, shooting everything from feature films, television and science documentaries, to underwater diving, extreme sports and cave exploration. State-of-the-art facilities include a full 3D production studio, video/film post-production, optical development lab, and a software development environment. Production includes 2D, 3D, high dynamic range time lapse, stereoscopic microscopy and cutting-edge simulation technologies for real time SFX. PassmoreLab has additional offices in Russia and the Philippines. For more information, visit www.passmorelab.com.
About Johnny Ramone Army
For more information about the Johnny Ramone Army and tribute, visit http://www.johnnyramone.com
About Hollywood Forever Cemetery
For more information regarding directions, parking and screening rules, visit http://www.cinespia.org/howto
Photos by Paul Redmond. Under license to JRA LLC. Used with permission.
