'Walking Dead' Panel: How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

 

By Erin Maxwell

AMC's "The Walking Dead Panel": How to survive a zombie apocalypse and/or create a hit show in nine easy steps:

Lesson One: Find a leader

Chris Hardwick moderated AMC's "The Walking Dead" panel, and was just as passionate about the material as the cast and crew were.

"I once scared a group of girls away at a party because I kept talking about "The Walking Dead" and actually said, 'No! If there was ever a zombie apocalypse, that is exactly how it would be!'"

Lesson Two: Get the word out

"I heard AMC was interested from Frank and Gail after the did the pitch. It was all a fairly quick process. You have  to hand it to AMC to be a network to try something this crazy," said comicbook creator Robert Kirkland. "I was of the mind that the comic would never, ever be a show becauase it is dark and about zombies. The premise is people being eaten and torn apart. Eventually Frank came along and never went away."

Lesson Three: There is safety in numbers

The cast and crew first got together because of their love of the source material. "I immediately saw it as a show, from the first comic," said producer/director Frank Darabont.

"Growing up in Pittsburgh I assumed everyone loved zombies," commented producer/special fx guru Greg Nicotero. "For me, I have a pedigree of working on zombie projects, but for this, we followed the spirit of the comic book. Even when it came to casting to each zombie perform, we set up a zombie camp. We started with great faces and built it up from there."

Lesson Four: Find a group who can sympathize with your efforts

"This year we have a room full of writers that know the show. As fans, and after seeing the first mini season. The first season, no one knew about it but me. Now everyone loves it and wants to work on it," said Darabont.

"Partner with the most talented people you can find. And three of them are sitting right here," said Hurd.

Lesson Five: Face your fears

"This is my second Con, but it is just as scary," said star Andrew Lincoln at the panel.

Lesson Six: Watch for hidden dangers

"There are ticks where we shoot. They are small. You don't notice them. One climbed my...mountain. And put a flag on my...mountain," said Yeun.

Lesson Seven: Understand your enviornment

"I would kill myself. I hate to sound morbid, but I've written this stuff for so long, I know what would happen. I hate people who think they would hole themselves up. The whole world is a prison. I would jump off a bridge," said creator Robert Kirkland.

"That's not a headshot," joked Gurd. "Read the comic. Know the rules."

Lesson Eight: Know the surrounding dangers

"You start to realize that the most dangerous things out there are the monsters inside," remarks star Sarah Wayne Callies.

Lesson Nine: Sometimes you need a little luck

"When I got the part, I couldn't believe my luck. It's the greatest job ever, and it keeps getting better and better," said star Andrew Lincoln.

"You work as hard on a failure than you do on a success," said Sarah Wayne Callies. "It is a joy, and it's hard to overstate...I think I might be whacked in the next episode for saying that."

"Other actors might hate me for this, but I just moved to L.A. prior to pilot season, and the stars aligned. I read for it and got on board," said Steven Yeun, who plays Glen. "I knew about the coming, but didn't recognize it at first when I got the script. Then I read it was like, 'Holy F...resh!'"

"I run around with a crossbow and shoot zombies in the brain. It's like I'm nine years old." said Norman Reedus. "It starts with getting a script that blew me away. It was the best pilot I ever read. It had character and atmosphere, it was so rich," said Jon Bernthal. "Usually with jobs, you meet your bosses and cast, and change happens, and it gets tainted. Not on this job. My bosses and castmates just make this better. And because of you, the fans. You are the smartest and most bad ass. You are hungry for it, and we want to feed you."