I'm so happy right now, I think I might cry. Have you read Image Comics' The Walking Dead yet? No? Do you live under a rock? It's too expensive you say? You sit at a Barnes and Nobles and read it there. No excuses allowed here fellas, it's time to go forth and read Robert Kirkman's comic masterpiece that's finally making its move to live-action. While I expected to see this land at HBO or Showtime, AMC has landed the property and attached filmmaking guru Frank Darabont (The Mist, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption) to write and direct the series. What could be better? Seriously, nothing could be better. NOTHING. Read on for all the fine print and then chat about it below.
AMC is venturing into zombie-drama territory with multi-hyphenate Frank Darabont.
Cabler is close to finalizing one of the richest development deals ever with Darabont to write and direct a series adaptation of the Image Comics graphic novel series "The Walking Dead," penned by Robert Kirkman. Gale Anne Hurd of Valhalla Pictures and David Alpert of Circle of Confusion are also on board to exec produce.
The project is set among a group of zombie survivors of an apocalypse who are led by a police officer, Rick Grimes, in search of a safe place to live. What makes this comic special is that it's about the survivors and NOT about the zombies.
Numerous editions of the "Walking Dead" graphic novels have been published since 2003.
Joel Stillerman, AMC's senior veep of programming, production and original content, said the project appealed to the cabler because of "the quality of the storytelling" in Kirkman's work. The series will stay faithful to the tone of the original novels, he said.
"This is not about zombies popping out of closets," Stillerman said. "This is a story about survival, and the dynamics of what happens when a group is forced to survive under these circumstances. The world (in 'Walking Dead') is portrayed in a smart, sophisticated way."
Stillerman noted that the cabler's annual "Fear Fest" movie showcase around Halloween is one of AMC's most popular programming events of the year.
"We've got an audience that loves this kind of material," he said.
Darabont and Hurd pitched the project to AMC and several other outlets. There is no studio attached yet. The duo's involvement made the project a must-have for the cabler, Stillerman said.
"These are two world-class filmmakers who are also brilliant storytellers with experience in the fantasy genre," he said.
I spend a lot of time busting people's balls here for being so negative and fanboy-ish, but I'm going to take my turn here. SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION = One of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, period. THE GREEN MILE = Pretty damn good. THE MIST = A steaming pile of unfocused, poorly written, poorly structured, dreadfully acted, preachy, nihilistic-because-it's-Hot-Topic-hip-to-be, wholly illogical, outdated, SyFy Channel-worthy horseshit on stale rye toast, washed down with rancid sewer water and followed by a sphincter-stinging case of the green apple splatters. I like Stephen King, I like the original story, I liked Darabont's work to that point, and I LOVE giant monster movies. What I hate is someone completely missing the mark with what should be sure-thing material... almost as much as I hate that half-assed, mark-missing effort being praised alongside some of the best movies made in my lifetime and yours. I believe Darabont can recover and make THE WALKING DEAD rock. I just hope he doesn't listen to the handful of fans who keep inexplicably insisting that his last genre film was anything other than a seriously wrong-headed misfire. If he believes the little bit of hype for THE MIST perpetuated by those select few, THE WALKING DEAD could turn out to be a train wreck.
This is the best news I've heard in a long long time!!! I was hoping for HBO or Showtime because the dialoge and subject matter is too intense for basic cable, but with the right staff this could be legen...wait for it...dary!!!
This news not only made my day, but it made my birthday. I love the comic, and it will always be better than a filmed version of the series, but this is just one of those stories that LOTS of people need to experience, and television or film is the best way to get that done.
Like Preacher. Though I'm secretly hoping Preacher never happens.
the only part about this that im worried about is if its on amc wont they have to edit it and make it lesss violent and such from the comic? because amc is a basic cable channel? BUT other than that this is the best horror related news i have heard in a looooonnnggg time and i cant wait!
I've been meaning to read the Walking Dead comics for years but never got around to it. Being probably one of the biggest zombie fans here I'm still definitely pumped for this shit. Wish they needed someone to write theme music
I loved "The Mist" a whole hell of a lot. Also, I mean, cool that this is moving forward, sure, but don't AMC edit the stuffing out of their movies and interrupt them with commercials? Wouldn't something like this be much better suited to either HBO or Showtime? While AMC's roster of films are usually great, what they do to them in the name of basic cable is unwatchable.
Darabont is smart enough to know that AMC butchers their content to make it family-friendly-commercial-drek. Hopefully, he'll make the series his way, give AMC the edited-for-tv version, and release the unrated version on DVD! I love the digital age...
This is great news! I enjoy the comic very much! I always thought a zombie series on TV would be something cool. Why they haven't done this before is beyond me. Let's hope it doesn't end up in development limbo.
My only worry is that there would be an attempt by the network to water TWD down to make it fit for mass consumption. It's not just the zombie gore that might make a network bean-counter flinch; most of the real horror in the series is perpetrated by living humans against other living humans, but the tone of the book is very dark and pessimistic. Kirkman is relentless-bordering-on-perverse in depicting a world turned homicidal and insane, and I'm not sure if the viewing demographic is there to support a TV series like this unless drastic alterations were made.
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