Frank Darabont Developing Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Series For AMC

Basq

Darabont has done practically no wrong in my eyes.. and this sounds great!

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 Motion Pictures and David Alpert of Circle of Confusion are also on board to exec produce.

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. 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.

Creature

I'm a big fan of Darabont and really like The Walking Dead books so I like the sound of this. And its long overdue too. A TV series would be the perfect way to tell a post-apocalyptic zombie story. Thing is though, that unless its shown well after the watershed its unlikely to have much if any violence and gore.

humanji

I don't know if Darabont would really do a violent/gory film. I think the confines of television could lead to a really atmospheric creepy series instead. It could really work in his favour.

Necronomicon

Frank Darabont. I'll follow this one closely.

J-blk

Sounds promising... good change of pace from all the vampire stuff too.

missingtime

Those books are quite good. Its better to do it as a tv show as well; a movie wouldn't work.

Is AMC like HBO or Showtime?

Basq

missingtime wrote: »

Is AMC like HBO or Showtime?

Somewhat - they're a cable station whose most popular shows are 'Breaking Bad' and 'Mad Men'.

pickarooney

I've no idea who Frank Darabont is and zombies are right up there with vampires in terms of things I have no interest in. But.... AMC and my True Blood epiphany mean I might give this a shot.

Basq

pickarooney wrote: »

I've no idea who Frank Darabont is..

Writer and director of (among others): The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist.

JP Liz

sounds good

Also Starring LeVar Burton

basquille wrote: »

Writer and director of (among others): The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist.

To be fair Stephen King wrote the stories to the above 3, Darabont wrote the screen adaptation, but he's still a legend, those 3 films were awesome.

Basq

CaptainNegative wrote: »

To be fair Stephen King wrote the stories to the above 3, Darabont wrote the screen adaptation, but he's still a legend, those 3 films were awesome.

But they are three stunning screenplays for them alright..

.. even making a better job at the conclusion of 'The Mist' than King did IMO.

pickarooney

basquille wrote: »

Writer and director of (among others): The Shawshank Redemption.

So we can expect the finale to be in 6 parts?

iguana

basquille wrote: »

.. even making a better job at the conclusion of 'The Mist' than King did IMO.

King thinks the same, he said the movie had the ending he should have written.

I'm not sure how I feel about this, I initially liked The Walking Dead, but it got too weird.

Karl Hungus

Creature wrote: »

Thing is though, that unless its shown well after the watershed its unlikely to have much if any violence and gore.

To be fair, violence and gore is not what The Walking Dead is about, it's about the characters. That's not to say there wasn't gore in the comics, but rather that's not the focal point of it, and the story could be told without the gore without losing much.

Honestly, The Walking Dead is one of the very finest pieces of zombie fiction there is, if it's brought to the screen intact, it could be something downright incredible.