Want to show the world how big a fan of The Walking Dead you really are? You can now customize your Mac or PC desktop with instant messenger icons from the AMC site. Choose anything from a cast shot to zombie wallpaper.
The series’ award-winning writer, director, and executive producer, Frank Darabont gives the scoop on why Lincoln was the right man to play former police officer Rick Grimes.
“Andy is so good in this. He has a fantastic ability to intrigue the viewer,” said Darabont. “It’s that Gary Cooper thing. You wonder what’s going on. You want to know what he’s thinking. He holds back just enough to draw you in — that’s a very rare knack for an actor.”
“You put this guy on a horse and he really does look like Gary Cooper. It’s great,” added Darabont.
In fact, the filmmaker said he realized early on that the story of a small group of survivors navigating a dangerous, zombie-filled America was more like a Western than he would’ve guessed coming into the project.
“I always kind of knew it, but it really came home as we’ve been shooting the last few days — it really does turn into a Western at times,” he explained. “You see [Lincoln] riding into the dusty streets of the town here, only it happens to be Atlanta with these skyscrapers, [and] it’s a very cool mix of visual elements.”
“There’s a little John Ford meets ‘I Am Legend’ thing going on here,” he laughed
The Daily Bash have done a great interview with 10 year old Addy Miller who plays the youngest zombie in The Walking Dead… Addy got her first role as an actor by playing a young Dakota Fanning on the film The Secret Life of Bees but she’s a bit of an old hat at playing zombies as this is not her first role playing a zombie- although she didn’t have the full make up or padding before! Addy’s favourite actors as include Joey King, Anne Hathaway and Heather O’Rourke and her favourite movies are the animated Spirit and the new Alice in Wonderland. But luckily she’s also a fan of horror movies and even likes Poltergeist! In the interview below Addy talks about her favourite moments from working on the show, stunt training and impressing Frank Darabont- not bad for a ten-year old! Q: You’re only 10 years old so it looks like you’ll have a great career if everything works out, what kinds of movies do you want to make as you grow older? Do you want to keep doing horror films? Addy: Well I don’t mind doing some horror, but I like dramas and also want to do a happy movie. I am also interested in some behind the scenes stuff, you know, a crew member. Q: Greg Nicotero is one of the greatest makeup and effects artists of all time, did he do your makeup? What was it like seeing yourself all made up like that, from what we’ve seen it’ pretty horrific and realistic? Addy: Greg Nicotero is the nicest guy! He designed my makeup. He was who did all my fittings. On the day of my scene, he and his crew worked on me. On set, Greg put on the blood and eye contacts on me. I had about 2 hours with the other guys and about 1 hour with Greg. Seeing my makeup when it was done actually made me a little sick to my stomach. I couldn’t look at myself, I thought I looked so scary. Everyone on set kept looking at me and saying how awesome I looked. Greg did a great job and it felt good. Q: Since you’re fairly young, are you going to be watching The Walking Dead when it comes out this Halloween? Addy: Of course - I have to watch myself on TV (laughing). I actually read the comic books…love them! I am waiting for volume 13 to come out now. Q: What was your favorite memory from working on the show with the cast and crew? Addy: The stunts for sure! I had so much fun. It was the first time I went through stunt training and got to do that on camera. I had pads everywhere on my body too, and the stunt teacher worked with me practicing on every break to make sure I would not get hurt. I also liked it when Frank Darabont jumped up and get excited and dance after my scenes. It really made me feel good. He was so funny. Working with Greg also was a great memory and he is the one person I miss most from being on set.
Move over vampires as we are predicting zombies to be THE next big thing to hit the small screen. For quite some time now we’ve been bombarded with TV series and movies featuring our favourite blood sucking friends. Twilight, The Vampire Diaries and of course True Blood, have made vampires one of the biggest trends to dominate TV and film in recent years.
But what about zombies? In film, zombies have been a real success- just look at 28 Days Later, Zombieland and Dawn of the Dead. But sadly on TV zombies haven’t been so popular. They seem to have been relegated to something of a figure of fun- think Charlie Brooker’s take on zombies in his recent series on E4 “Dead Set”. Until now that is… “The Walking Dead” has made it clear that it wants to fly in the face of these zombie stereotypes by dealing with some hard hitting socio-cultural issues and keeping to the more serious tone of Kirkman’s comics. Personally I can’t wait.
Like lots of monsters, Zombies have their roots in folklore. According to some researchers, the walking dead originated in Haiti, a country also known for their witchcraft, voodoo and black magic trickery. There are several possible origins for the word “zombie”. These include jumbie, the West Indian term for “ghost”, and nzambi, the Kongo word meaning “spirit of a dead person”. A law condemning zombie creation went into effect in Haiti in 1835. Article 246 of the Haitian Penal Code classifies the administration of a substance that creates a prolonged period of lethargy without causing death as attempted murder. If the substance causes the appearance of death and results in the burial of the victim, the act is classified as murder.
Although zombies appeared in movies as early as 1919 many people credit George A Romero with setting the standard for modern zombies. In the classic movie “Night of the Living Dead,” Romero portrayed zombies as slow-moving, flesh-eating corpses, reanimated by radiation from a satellite returning from Venus. The radiation affected the recent, unburied dead, and the resulting zombies were invulnerable until someone destroyed their brains or separated their heads from their bodies. In “Night of the Living Dead,” zombies were neither intelligent nor self-aware. They had a very limited use of tools, mostly confined to using blunt objects as cudgels. In Romero’s later work, zombies became somewhat capable of thought, and in some cases self-aware. They still generally moved slowly and had minimal intelligence.
Many movies and video games have used Romero’s concept of zombies. For the most part, zombies are:
· Newly dead corpses reanimated by radiation, chemicals, viruses, sorcery or acts of God
· Human, although some depictions include zombie animals
· Very strong, but not very fast or agile
· Impervious to pain and able to function after sustaining extreme physical damage
· Invulnerable to injury, except for decapitation or destruction of the brain
· Relentlessly driven to kill and eat
· Afraid of fire and bright lights
Tell us your favourite Zombie depiction on our facebook page. We’d love to compare notes!
There are certain rules one must follow when it comes to the zombie genre. Films such as Zombieland and 28 Days Later make it clear that rules are key to survival in a zombie-infested post apocalyptic world.
AMC’s Walking Dead Twitter page has been tweeting “Zombie Rules” all this month and they are currently at rule 8, with more to come. Please make a note of the following in order to survive a possible attack: Zombie Rule #1: Ability to run is based on the amount of time a zombie has been undead, and how much decay has set in. Zombie Rule #2: Zombies decay but at a much slower rate than humans, and it’s still possible to differentiate between young and old zombies. Zombie Rule #3: Zombies are like lions: if they’ve eaten, you can walk by them without fear, but a pack of hungry zombies will attack you. Zombie Rule #4: The quickest speed of any zombie is a shambling run. see Night of the Living Dead. NO sprinters exist. Zombie Rule #5: Zombies are not dexterous. They cannot pick up or use any items more complex than a rock or a stick. Zombie Rule #6: Zombies have poor eyesight but they do have a strong sense of smell. Zombie Rule #7: Zombies cannot speak but can communicate by pack mentality. The herd tends to move together if they sight food. Zombie Rule #8: There is no overt recognition of people or places, there is a sense of familiarity that can dictate where a zombie moves.
