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'Queens of the Dead' director Tina Romero reveals why Santa scares her more

George A. Romero, as a dad and a filmmaker, loved a good practical effect.
 By   and 
Kristy Puchko
 on 
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Tina Romero on the Say More couch talking about 'Queens of the Dead'
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On Mashable's Say More, hosts Kristy Puchko (Mashable's Entertainment Editor) and Mark Stetson (Senior Creative Producer) bring humor and their trusted insights to the biggest shows, films, digital trends, and cultural moments. From viral-worthy rants and passionate raves to smart recaps and first-look teasers, they cover what everyone is talking about. Celebrity guests join the conversation for real talk about their careers, upcoming projects, and what’s trending online.

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What was it like to be raised Romero? "I sat on a zombie's lap before I met a mall Santa," Tina Romero told Mashable Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko on the the full interview on YouTube.

Romero also shared an insight into what growing up was like when your dad is a horror master. "People do ask me all the time," she said, "'Was your childhood a little fucked up?' And I say, 'No, no, no. It wasn't the zombies that messed me up. It was Santa Claus.'"

Romero went on to explain how her father used his skills in filmmaking and and practical effects to sell his kids on Santa's existence. "My dad was [a] really creative, detail-oriented, wonderful Santa Claus," she shared, revealing how her father made a wallet full of preciously detailed props to prove it was Santa's billfold that had been left behind after dropping off gifts. But that's not all.

"The cookies were eaten, but there were just these special, special details. If there was a note, there was a wax [seal]. It was so legit," she went on, adding that the elder Romero even staged a Santa visit to be caught on a camera.

"They put a camera at the top of the staircase and in real time let it play out," she recalled. "So they waited until like 3 a.m., and my dad had his friend come in with, like, a pillow under the suit, do the thing at the tree. And then he rigged the lighting outside our house so that there was a gobo [a cutout placed on a light] with a silhouette of a sleigh taking off outside the window. Like, he did a full-on production."

See Tina Romero follow in her father's footsteps with her full-on production of queens that slay in Queens of the Dead.

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Topics Film LGBTQ

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Kristy Puchko

Kristy Puchko is the Entertainment Editor at Mashable. Based in New York City, she's an established film critic and entertainment reporter who has traveled the world on assignment, covered a variety of film festivals, co-hosted movie-focused podcasts, and interviewed a wide array of performers and filmmakers.


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