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Frank Darabont writing and directing 'The Walking Dead' series for AMC

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HALLELUJAH!

Q: Kirkman’s dialogue is very wordy. It can work on the page, but I imagine you have to streamline the hell out of it, or else just start over from scratch to make it work on screen.

A: You really do discover a lot about the characters you’re writing as you’re working on these scripts. They do take on a new life because there are actors portraying them, and they become another thing that has been lifted from the page of the comic book, and is its own reality. One of the things I’ve discovered is that the more terse my dialogue for Rick is, the better the moment, the better the show, the better the scene.
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Cast photo from EW's Comic Con gallery:
Walking-Dead-cast_400.jpg
 
gdt5016 said:
Any info on whether or not the footage will be put up online?
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I haven't heard anything, but AMC is pretty good about disseminating info when it's out there. I assume that they'd prefer to release a good copy of something rather than have the fans watching camera phone versions. They seem pretty aware of how to manage the internet hype on TWD, too. Just speculation on my part, though. We'll find out soon...
 
Opus Angelorum said:
She does not look much like her there, but the cast promo image is uncanny.
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Your avatar confuses the shit out of me sometimes because I used that same exact pic of Mandy as my avatar for a couple of years. Shit I guess I'm still using it..............
 
I'm sort of geeked about this show. I'm no the sort who anticipates TV shows or movies very often. I really hope AMC puts this up on the Zune marketplace, because I cancelled my cable dammit and I don't want to get drug back in.
I guess they decided to make Andrea a lot older :lol
I'm fine with whatever changes they want to make if its still good. Comics =/= TV

75 is in stores? I don't even know when that shit drops anymore.
 
Newsarama said:
Darabont spoke about the adaptation process, "As long as we don't stray too far, Robert's ideas are great--so why not use every other idea he's come up with. There will be things that readers will not expect in the show but they will recognize things that are familiar too." Kirkman added, "I don't want anyone who reads the comic to say 'I know what's going to happen next!'; I want the two to exist separately."
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Thoughts on the clip:
Sepinwall said:
Crowd very enthusiastic over "Walking Dead" sizzle reel. Production design and makeup-wise, it looks great.
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THR Live Feed said:
Walking Dead trailer at CC looks AMAZING
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IMDB Live said:
Epic trailer for The Walking Dead just premiered here... Shaping up to be a must-see in October
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Screenrant said:
And here comes the first footage screened from The Walking Dead. Stay tuned for a description:
•The first scene is of a sheriff’s dept forming a roadblock to catch two crooks. A gunfight ensues and Sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is shot. He slips into a coma and wakes up 28 Days Later style in new world – that’s being overrun by zombies. His wife and son are gone, and the dead are everywhere. Grimes gets himself armed and rides out on horse back to find his wife and son. At one stop, he is forced to draw his gun on a young girl zombie. Cut to black.
•Next is a montage of different scenes from the series, including Grimes on the hunt for his family, plus lots and lots (and I do mean lots) of zombie-killing moments.
•The series looks dark, gritty, emotionally gripping and just…great. Another AMC winner.
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Awesome about Bear but I was hoping he would do game of thrones. I guess it's still possible but it seems like he has a lot of projects on his hands.
 
This is going to be DOPE. AMC really know their stuff, they could not POSSIBLY have put better people on this or be any more respectful of the source material (when I was on the set with Kirkman they treated him like a God) and there is really NOTHING even remotely like this on TV, nor really has there ever been. I think it's going to be huge.
 
- Sepinwall's writeup on the panel
Before the sizzle reel, Darabont was asked if he needed to set up the clip.

"It's a show about zombies," he said. "Roll it."

And I will say this (with the usual caveat that it's easier to make a good trailer than a good show or movie): zombies aren't really my thing, but that trailer looked terrific. Great make-up work (by zombie specialist Greg Nicotero, who was on the panel), great production design on the abandoned, ruined post-zombie civilization, lots of chills, etc. The crowd went nuts for it, and eagerly watched it again at the end of the panel.
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- Extremely poor quality off-screen video of the trailer from Comic Con. Probably will get taken down soon.

EDIT:
- Jon Bernthal interview from Comic Con
 
Gary Whitta said:
This is going to be DOPE. AMC really know their stuff, they could not POSSIBLY have put better people on this or be any more respectful of the source material (when I was on the set with Kirkman they treated him like a God) and there is really NOTHING even remotely like this on TV, nor really has there ever been. I think it's going to be huge.
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Sadly it will most likely be similar to Mad Men. A lot of critical success and awards but won't get huge ratings.
 
ollin said:
Sadly it will most likely be similar to Mad Men. A lot of critical success and awards but won't get huge ratings.
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Mad Men does pretty great ratings for a cable show if I'm not mistaken. Cable ratings aren't measured in the same way broadcast networks are.
 
:o @ the footage

MUST HAVE HIGHER QUALITY ONE
 
ollin said:
Sadly it will most likely be similar to Mad Men. A lot of critical success and awards but won't get huge ratings.
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I think if somebody said to me "my prediction for your new TV show is that it's going to be like Mad Men" I would very happily take that :lol
 
In terms of the show's marketability, they're also doing a big global roll out for it. Not sure if I got my facts straight from the panel today, but it sounds like they're putting it out worldwide in October in 30 different languages.
 
Matrix said:
:o @ the footage

MUST HAVE HIGHER QUALITY ONE
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Waiting to hear back from my roommate. He was at the conference today supposedly in the 2nd row from the front.
 
wenis said:
Waiting to hear back from my roommate. He was at the conference today supposedly in the 2nd row from the front.
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lucky :( , hopefully he got footage.
 
- Todd VanDerWerff over at the Onion A|V Club with another writeup of the panel
The real proof is going to be in seeing whether Darabont and company can pull off a unique blend of the deliberative pacing of an AMC series and the mounting dark intensity of the comics. if they can, they'll have something very unlike anything else on television at the moment. The trailer screened suggests they've gotten the look right. The cast camaraderie on stage suggested the actors just might be right for the parts (and the little bit seen of Lennie James as Morgan in the trailer suggested he might steal the show). But now comes the hard part, which is making sure this captures the spirit of the comics without being a slavish adaptation and, indeed, running toward what makes TV work. If they can find that middle ground, they'll be good. But sticking the landing will be tough.
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Gary Whitta said:
I think if somebody said to me "my prediction for your new TV show is that it's going to be like Mad Men" I would very happily take that :lol
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Yeah, AMC will gladly take the awards and critical success Walking Dead gets. I'm just saying it's a shame these type of shows and most of AMC tv series never huge ratings.
 
ollin said:
Yeah, AMC will gladly take the awards and critical success Walking Dead gets. I'm just saying it's a shame these type of shows and most of AMC tv series never huge ratings.
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Sure but AMC is the perfect home for a show like this. They can make it as gory as they want, and big ratings don't matter so much because the model is totally different on cable. If they tried to do this on, say, NBC, they'd have to make all kinds of compromises and it would probably not generate enough of an audience to be sustainable. And then there would be fan outrage when it's canceled after three episodes. Trust me, it's better this way. :D
 
I couldn't wait, i saw the crappy capture of the trailer. I'm so weak, but it looked awesome.

Given how popular the zombie sub-genre is now, i'm sure this show will do well for AMC. Now all that needs to happen is Dish Network getting AMC in HD.
 
ollin said:
Yeah, AMC will gladly take the awards and critical success Walking Dead gets. I'm just saying it's a shame these type of shows and most of AMC tv series never huge ratings.
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What do you define as huge and how haven't Mad Men and Breaking Bad reached it?

I think you're confusing cable ratings with broadcast ratings. They both have different "highs." Everyone gets broadcast TV, dude.
 
ollin said:
Yeah, AMC will gladly take the awards and critical success Walking Dead gets. I'm just saying it's a shame these type of shows and most of AMC tv series never huge ratings.
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Honestly, it kind of sounds you have no idea what you're talking about. Mad Men and BB do great for AMC, where expectations are much, much lower than broadcast cable.

Edit: If this show starts out with Mad Men ratings, AMC will be ecstatic.
 
Also, I'm pretty sure AMC shows do pretty well on the DVD market. The show will be fine, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it turned out being a premiere ratings hit for them.
 
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