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"It’s actually a nice dramatic piece of fiction that follows a group of characters," Kirkman says about the story in which a pandemic causes the entire world to become overrun by the living dead. "We see everything through their eyes, understand their struggles and watch them endure some horrible experiences.” As Kirkman recalls, that story point appealed to Frank Darabont - the director of films such as The Mist, The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption - when Darabont decided that Kirkman's comic would make an excellent TV series. Currently filming in Atlanta, the resulting show of the same name - for which Darabont serves as writer, director and exec producer - premiered on AMC last October. "Frank walked into a comic shop and discovered The Walking Dead," Kirkman says. "He loved it and immediately got in touch with my manager. He knew it would be great for TV. He kept pushing it to various networks. At one point, NBC was very interested, but that didn’t pan out. But Frank stayed in touch to let ne know that he was still trying to get the show made." When AMC grabbed up the property, events moved forward very quickly. The network initially commissioned six episodes for the first season. British actor Andrew Lincoln - seen in Love Actually - was cast as Rick Grimes - a former small town cop who must lead a group of survivors in this zombie dominated world. Other cast members include Prison Break’s Sarah Wayne Callies, who plays Rick’s wife, Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden, Michael Rooker and Norman Reedus. “The show can be enjoyed separately from the comics,” Kirkman says. “Anyone who loves the comic will love the show. And then anyone who likes the show can, of course, read the comic. However, stories between the two mediums will not be exactly the same. Things will happen in the comic that won’t necessarily happen in the show, and vice versa.” Meanwhile, the show’s zombie effects are the work of KNB EFX, a Los Angeles based special effects house that is no stranger to the world of horror entertainment. Most recently, the company has created effects for films such as Splice, Predators and Pirahna: 3D . "{KNB’s special effects creator} Greg Nicotero is doing some cool things with contact lenses and different prosthetics,” Kirkman reveals. “They’re doing everything practically. We’re not going to see any computer generated zombies – it’s all old school make up effects. I think Greg is just trying to pull the best zombie stuff from history and merge it into the perfect zombie.” The Walking Dead comic book, published in black and white, premiered in October 2003. Images were the responsibility of artist and co-creator Tony Moore for the first six issues. Moore was then re-placed by artist Charlie Adlard, but continued to draw covers until issue twenty-four. “I’ve always loved zombies,” Kirkman reveals. “But nearly every zombie movie that I’ve seen ends with people getting on a boat or helicopter and fleeing into the sunset.” As a result, Kirkman envisioned a never ending story in which a small group of humans would be forced to adjust to a zombie dominated world. “I feel that I can keep it compelling and entertaining. As long as I can do that, I would like to keep going. I have seen comic books go for seven hundred issues. Spiderman is still going, and I don’t see any reason why this can’t continue for a long time.” Kirkman says he would like to see a run of at least three-hundred issues. “People seem to be enjoying it, and I’m having the time of my life writing it. Logically it will have to end sometime, but hopefully it won’t happen for many years. It would be nice to stick with it for another decade or so. I would have fun doing that.” Info: Stars: Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden, John Benthal, Steven Yuen, Michael Rooker and Norman Reedus Executive Producers: Robert Kirkman, Frank Darabont, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Charles ‘Chic” Eglee and Jack Logiudice This ENTAction Special Preview Feature was originally posted on: 8 / 6 / 10 |
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© Simon Bacal / ENTAction.com 2005 / All Rights Reserved. |
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