Michael Gibson In "Land of the Dead," Asia Argento, left, and Simon Baker star as mercenaries deployed to defeat the growing army of the dead who roam the wasteland outside of the city's perimeter. Click photo for larger image. Film Preview: Romero premiere to aid film project here When: June 22 at the Byham Theater, Downtown. Parties: At the pre-party at Cafe Euro in U.S. Steel Tower, ticketholders can mingle with Romero and other distinguished guests, nibble on food and sample beer, wine and "zombie martinis." The party afterward will be held from 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Deja Vu Lounge, 2106 Penn Ave., where DJs will play music on the club's three levels. Once again, partygoers will be treated to food, beer, wine and zombie drinks. Tickets: Now on sale: $50 for the movie, which is rated R and starts at 7:30 p.m.; $85 for the movie, a party afterward and parking; $175 for the movie, parties before and after, plus parking; and $1,000 for four tickets, parking, admission to both parties, plus a sponsorship listing in the event program. For $50 or $85 tickets, call 412-456-6666. For others, 412-894-8909. Go to www.steeltownentertain ment.org for more information on the event, corporate or personal sponsorships and the filmmaking competition. -- Barbara Vancheri

Pittsburghers can get a first look at the zombies lurching and lunching their way through George A. Romero's "Land of the Dead" at a special showing June 22 at the Byham Theater, Downtown.

Romero, 65, put Pittsburgh on the movie-making map. The premiere, three days before the national opening, will celebrate him and could pave the way for the next promising local filmmaker.

"It's our privilege to be able to honor George. He is seen around the world as a legendary filmmaker. In Pittsburgh, he's our neighbor," says screenwriter Carl Kurlander, who is helping to plan the evening.

Proceeds from the event will benefit a screenwriting competition called The Steeltown Filmmaking Project. It will be a black-and-gold variation of "Project Greenlight," with the best of Sundance workshops thrown in, and will provide guidance, insight and real-world advice to emerging filmmakers in Western Pennsylvania.

"This is much more heartfelt and committed," says Kurlander, with expatriates now in the TV and film business expected to return to nurture nascent writers and others. "It's not about winning. ... Everybody who ever thought about it can witness the process from soup to nuts and not see it as an esoteric art form, but also as a business."

The project will provide the sort of free public education that many seminar sponsors offer -- for thousands of dollars.

If the contest has a proper, fairy-tale ending, the winner will write and hone a script that will be turned into a low-budget, made-in-Pittsburgh sensation, much like Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" in 1968. Made for roughly $114,000, that movie opened in Pittsburgh to turn-away crowds and set the standard for zombie movies.

Nobody did zombies better than Romero, with his signature settings and lines ("They're coming to get you, Barbara"), sociopolitical undertones and zombies who could be terrifying or strangely sympathetic. "Night" spawned "Dawn of the Dead," which led to "Day of the Dead" and now, "Land of the Dead."

Starring Dennis Hopper, Simon Baker, John Leguizamo and Asia Argento, it presents a world where the living reside behind the walls of a fortified city but outside an army of the dead is evolving.

Romero will attend the Pittsburgh premiere fresh from a trip to Las Vegas, where he will be honored, and from a sneak peek of "Land of the Dead" at the Cannes Film Festival. The appetite for horror films -- especially smart ones -- has never been more insatiable, and the planets may be aligned for Romero on this one.

Universal Pictures, the studio releasing "Land of the Dead," and The Steeltown Entertainment Project are presenting the premiere.

The event is being held in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh Film Office and Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Ushers will be dressed as zombies, with a little help from makeup master (and director) Tom Savini, and patrons will receive a small poster called a one-sheet.

Tickets range from $50 each to $1,000 for a set of four.

And whether you think you have the bones of a blockbuster or the seeds of a sleeper, the Steeltown Filmmaking Project will provide rare insight into how a movie goes from page to pitch to picture.

"When we first started Steeltown, we realized everybody has a screenplay," or an idea for one, says Ellen Weiss Kander, executive director of the organization. "How do we do this in a fair and equitable manner?"

Although details are subject to change, a call for screenplays will go out in the fall at a public workshop designed to give writers of all stripes the chance to learn about screenwriting. The only stipulation: Screenplays would have to be for low-budget movies that could be made in Pittsburgh.

The winner, chosen after a series of lectures, workshops, evaluations by professional readers, pitch sessions, rewrites and more rewrites, will shoot a trailer (as previews are called) or representative scene, with support from Pittsburgh Filmmakers and other professionals.

He or she then will be flown to Los Angeles to meet with studio executives and Steeltown advisers who have Pittsburgh roots. And if the movie gets a green light, the film office would step in to secure permits, scout locations and help with a other details.

Steeltown Entertainment, co-founded by Kurlander, Weiss Kander and Maxine Lapiduss, organized an entertainment summit here in fall 2003 and attracted the likes of Romero, producer Bernie Goldmann, ubermanager Eric Gold, "Lizzie McGuire" creator Terri Minsky, writer Peter Ackerman, sitcom producer Jamie Widdoes, actor David Conrad, writers Maxine and Sally Lapiduss and others.

It was at that summit where Romero met Goldmann, who agreed to produce "Land of the Dead" and later proposed the Pittsburgh premiere. And it was at that summit that participants talked about developing indigenous talent and resources, educating them about how the industry works and using their clout in Hollywood to nurture potential projects.

And Romero's movie is the perfect premiere to help bring that goal into focus.