What footage was shown?
The zombie apocalypse broke out in Manhattan today with the 2010 New York Comic-Con coming to an end with AMC’s The Walking Dead panel.
In the main hall, the panel included “The Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman, director and executive producer Frank Darabont, and cast members Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden and Steven Yeun.
The Walking Dead is based on the black and white comic series by Kirkman and Image Comics, which started in 2003. The TV show will follow a group of survivors during the zombie apocalypse as they band together to survive after an undead breakout has taken over the world.
The panel was easily the biggest during NYCC’s five-year existence. Watchmen, Terminator: Salvation and Hellboy all had less attendance. I would say close to 500 people were turned away for this The Walking Dead panel and AMC gave the crowd that could get in exactly what they were waiting for.
The moderator opened with a brief synopsis of the show and followed it with a six-minute 30-second clip from episode two, which drew a few laughs and comments from those in attendance given no one has seen episode one.
The clip starts with an aerial view of a run down city street, with a swarm of zombies centralized in one area. We would later find out that the first season of six episodes was shot in Atlanta, Georgia. As the camera zooms closer to the ground, we see the zombies surrounding a tank. Inside is our hero Rick Grimes, a small-time police officer played by Andrew Lincoln. He searches the dead body lying on the floor nearby, looking for anything to use as a weapon. Rick then hears a voice calling to him through the radio. Rick picks up the receiver and answers back. The voice strongly encourages him to get out of the tank and run as fast as he can. Rick wastes some more time asking for specifics but finally leaves the tank. Upon opening the hatch, Rick is met by a zombie who is disposed of quickly and graphically.
From there, Rick moves from the tank down the street unloading his 15-bullet clip before he is met by the young man named Glenn (Steven Yeun). Glenn’s arrival attracted the loudest applause by the panel’s attendees.
Glenn and Rick ascend a fire escape and then into a neighboring building. From there, the two come across a small pack of zombies that block their escape at the bottom of the stairs. Before Rick and Glenn can react, two men dressed in a mixture of black riot gear, football pads and catchers equipment attack the zombies with bats, allowing them to pass. The two enter a door to the department store and are met by a group of survivors who curse at Rick for bringing the zombies with him. A confused Rick turns toward the front window and sees hundreds of zombies attempting to break into the store. At this point, the lights come back on and a huge applause erupts from the crowd.
From here, the moderator introduces the panel’s first three guests; Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, producer of such films like The Terminator, Aliens, Tremors and Armageddon, and Frank Darabont.
Kirkman revealed he wrote the fourth episode of the show and expressed his pleasure of the entire production getting the look of his characters to be so right. He noted, “I almost teared up the first time I saw the Glenn character for the first time.”
Next, he talked about the often under-appreciated Day of the Dead by George Romero – Kirkman’s favorite zombie movie of all time.
Hurd and Darabont explained that the series will not follow the comic exactly. It is important that they not copy the comic scene for scene but that they get the feel right adding that the events they create on television could happen within the world Kirkman has created. Darabont continued, “It will go off the path a bit to allow for surprises to even the most dedicated fans. Going off the path isn’t that serious as long as you know the path, you can get back on the path.”
Darabont then talked how production pushed the graphic gore given “TV’s boundary” noting it will be, “farther than you think. I think the people will be shocked with how far we will go, as you can see in the clip.” Hurd emphasized the show is being shot on film, noting the goal was “the feel and look to be a zombie series.” She continued that the, “Look of the zombies needed to be Night of the Living Dead.”
It was her desire to not do “sprinter zombies.â Darabont later added, “If we were doing this as an R-rated feature, I don’t think we will do anything different. I mean look at Breaking Bad, we will make them look like pussies!”
Another clip featured the supporting ensemble cast, including Andrea’s sister Amy (Emma Bell) Rick Grimes’ wife, and his partner Shane who is showing Grimes’ child how to tie a knot and others working on the engine of a broken down bus. Soon, contact is made with the other survivors trapped in the department store, as seen in the first clip. A few words are heard through the static before communication cuts off completely.
Up next was the introduction of the cast of Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori Grimes), Laurie Holden (Andrea), Steven Yeun, Jon Bernthal (Shane), and Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon). Bernthal was boo’ed pretty loudly by the crowed, which drew a huge smile from the actor. “God bless you New York! They didn’t do that in San Diego. That’s how it’s suppossed to be done!” Later, Bernthal added that if he were to do his job as an actor right, that reaction would mean he was successful in his role.
The cast, who had auditioned in Darabont’s garage, individually mentioned that they did not read the entire series, only just enough to get a feel in order to let the script take them into the world of the walking dead. Lincoln stated, “What is so wonderful about the Walking Dead is that the characters are so rich and complicated.” He finished, “I see it as a great piece of literature.”
The Walking Dead is set to premiere on AMC Halloween night. For trailers and images follow this link!
Source: Thomas Ryan Tinneny
