CBR: Gale Anne Hurd Produces "The Walking Dead"

[CBR News]

CBR News spoke with veteran Hollywood producer Gale Anne Hurd during Comic-Con International about her work on "The Walking Dead," the origins of the AMC series and the level of violence featured on the show.


Full article here.

[jediracer]

pretty excited for this show

glad to hear it won't be ultra toned down

[mjhayman]

After this week's True Blood, where you'll believe that a vampire can have his head mashed into a gooey pulp with a mace, then mashed some more, to say nothing of vampire Bill's condition, the question of graphic violence in TWD has surely ceased to be an issue. No doubt there's ample precedent apart from that episode of TB, but in the "what've ya' done for me lately" world of showbiz, it stands as a direct example of what's possible if not exactly permissible.

I was jazzed when Darabont attached himself to the project. Shawshank consistently begs to sit in my all time top ten list, I can actually tolerate Tom Hanks in The Green Mile, and The Mist was a very good thriller. It's nice that he's found a project that isn't King related, though still chest deep in genre work which seems to suit him well. As expected he's brought some of his regular players with him, which is fine.

The addition of Hurd adds studio gravitas if nothing else, which on balance is a good thing.

Can't hardly wait.

[Donald M.]

After this week's True Blood, where you'll believe that a vampire can have his head mashed into a gooey pulp with a mace, then mashed some more, to say nothing of vampire Bill's condition, the question of graphic violence in TWD has surely ceased to be an issue.

One problem with that, True Blood is on HBO, a premium channel, whose shows have featured graphic violence in the past (Rome, Deadwood and OZ all spring to mind right away) not to mention graphic language and male and female full-frontal nudity.

The Walking Dead will be airing on AMC, a basic cable channel. They don't have to answer to the FCC, but they do have to answer to advertisers. There'll be violence, just look at some of the stuff they show on CSI, but nothing at the level you'd see in an R-rated move.

[StoneGold]

The Walking Dead will be airing on AMC, a basic cable channel. They don't have to answer to the FCC, but they do have to answer to advertisers. There'll be violence, just look at some of the stuff they show on CSI, but nothing at the level you'd see in an R-rated move.

I dunno, they've gotten away with some fairly messed up stuff on Breaking Bad. Remember what happened to Danny Trejo?

[mjhayman]

One problem with that, True Blood is on HBO, a premium channel, whose shows have featured graphic violence in the past (Rome, Deadwood and OZ all spring to mind right away) not to mention graphic language and male and female full-frontal nudity.

The Walking Dead will be airing on AMC, a basic cable channel. They don't have to answer to the FCC, but they do have to answer to advertisers. There'll be violence, just look at some of the stuff they show on CSI, but nothing at the level you'd see in an R-rated move.

It's funny you should mention that as I'd excised a line about the HBO/AMC difference when I was in preview mode, though I hadn't considered the advertising aspect and certainly see your point. I am aware of (some) strong graphic content apart from that lone episode of True Blood, of course, and probably should have been more clear.

The nudity question has long been the sticking point with American television, particularly with over the air networks and basic cable, though times are slowly changing where a nipple or a bum (if not the actual naughty bits) is tolerable, notwithstanding wardrobe malfunctions. That's actually heartening; the relatively non-gratuitous use of the human body gradually becoming nearly as tolerable as gore and mayhem among mainstream audiences (heartening in a soul destroying sort of way, but still...). While nudity isn't a huge issue with TWD, Darabont and Kirkman have made it clear that the show will contain many departures from the book, and one rather expects a good many underclothed animated corpses as a matter of course.

Strong language is the other bugaboo. I mean, Jon Stewart is still bleeped on a nightly basis, which is just... well, stupid. Not that I'm advocating a world comprised entirely of f-bombs and such, merely that fear of language is as ridiculous as fear of nudity.

At any rate, I still hold great promise for the show. Certainly greater than, say, Romero's last few offerings (much as I love the godfather of ghouls).

[Donald M.]

Romero keeps going back to the zombie well and he keeps coming up empty. He created the genre, but at this point it really just feels like he should quit while he's behind.

[mjhayman]

Romero keeps going back to the zombie well and he keeps coming up empty. He created the genre, but at this point it really just feels like he should quit while he's behind.

I kind of liked Diary, though the characters were largely beyond the pale. Land was overwrought and Survival was unnecessary. It's not that he keeps trying that bothers me, but what he produces. I think the problem lies in that by Day he'd really said all that he'd wanted or needed to say, at least within that genre. No doubt you've read the original screenplay, the conclusion of which would have been the end of the story (the dead guy on the beach not waking up, indicating that the plague had run its course). In some other dimension, that screenplay was produced and Romero went on to direct intense dramas and thrillers (with maybe the occasional team-up with Stephen King - but better than we got).

Which is what makes Kirkman's work so refreshing. I've never liked zombie comics, or horror comics much in general, as the medium doesn't lend itself to creating the required tension found in film or the printed word. So Kirkman's character driven road story is nothing less than a breath of fresh air, as it were. Not that there aren't fundamental problems with the whole subject, discounting suspension of disbelief. Wright's Shaun has come the closest to "accurately" portraying an outbreak, and it's conclusion, I think. Plus, you know, funny ha-ha.