‘The Walking Dead’: See Greg Nicotero’s storyboards for the epic supermarket zombie scene — EXCLUSIVE

“One minute they’re safe, and the next minute they’re literally in the center of a zombie herd. They don’t see them coming because they’re not coming from any traditional way, they’re coming from above. So, Grace Walker built an amazing — it was between Grace, and Darrell Pritchett, and Russell Towery — because we built a set that was 15 feet high that had an eight-foot drop ceiling, and then above that there was an eight-foot section where we believe the roof of our store was. So, we hung dummies all over the set and we’re dropping dummies and stunt guys through the holes. And we would do stuff where we would be shooting the ceiling and a dummy would break through, and then when the camera came down we’d have a person in makeup stand up in the foreground. So, we did all these little switches where it would look like you were seeing one come through and then you’re like, ‘Oh, my God!’ and it stands up in the frame.”

Greg Nicotero, from the EW.com piece above

Don’t miss the link to the photo gallery/storyboard comparison! Thanks again, EW.com.

 

New ‘Walking Dead’ webisode series ‘The Oath’ is out now, and it’s a prequel

Now you can watch all three Walking Dead webisodes for this year (they generally do it between seasons, so this is the third batch).  For the first series we had the gruesome, gut-wrenching (in more ways than one, but damn it was sad) Bicycle Girl backstory. The second was a stand-alone featuring some really good talent (and a grim, satisfying payoff).

This year we get a prequel, and here’s a small spoiler as to what iconic moment from AMC’s The Walking Dead –come to think of it, the comic had it too–check out the four words from the below image (copyright AMC):

Screen shot 2013-09-14 at 1.48.01 AM

Buckle up and enjoy, these three new webisodes (ominously titled “The Oath”)  should hold you over until the season 4 premiere this Sunday …especially since Greg Nicotero created and directed them!

Exclusive: Extended Walking Dead Sneak Peek Confirms Time Jump, Mass Casualties and Terrifying New Enemy That’s ‘From Inside!’

Yeah, if it’s not zombies, or other people, what is it? Running out of food? That would eventually land in the category of ‘other people’, (Cannibalism gets pretty intense in the comics). What the hell is it? Fleas? Ugh, your guess is as good as ours. Anyway, check out the sneak peek!

Toronto: Eli Roth, Worldview Re-Team for ‘Green Inferno’ Sequel

Wow, that was fast.

We only need one hand to count the number of reviews online for The Green Inferno world premiere at TIFF Midnight Madness (as of this writing, anyway) and they’ve already got a deal in place for a sequel –and a great title– what, six hours after the credits rolled?

Three Eyeballs

We happened to catch this news because we’ve been up since E0513 of Breaking Bad aired Sunday evening and it took us this many hours to wind down and pretend we do NOT have to wait a week to see who survives the shootout (er, spoiler alert, retroactive) cliffhanger. Since it’s getting light out and we have to accomplish some things tomorrow today, we’ll have to post reviews for Green Inferno later (though we did Tweet a link to one). So far, the consensus among the three reviewers was 1. not enough characterization 2. a little too long to get to the action 3. sickest, goriest film yet from Eli Roth (practical effects provided by Greg Nicotero).  The last act does not disappoint — an absolute Grand Guignol (rather than torture porn; besides, there’s no duct tape in the jungle) gore extravaganza that one blog swore would NEVER get an R rating unless about ten minutes were cut. Most think it’s going to need to go to VOD because it might be too brutal even for the average theater-going horror fan. To which we say THEN BRING IT ON, BITCH!
Oops, another line from last night’s Breaking Bad episode. We still mean it, though.

greeninfernobonelady.png

 

Read This Meaty WALKING DEAD Season 3 & 4 Update W/Cast, Greg Nicotero, and Robert Kirkman (Interviewed By Collider at PaleyFest) -Minor Spoilers

Truthfully, they never tell us to scale back.  We pretty much go for it.  In Episode 10, when Daryl smashes the walkers with the crossbow and then smashes his head in the trunk of the car, since I’m directing second unit, a lot of times, I’ll go in and shoot those little accents later.  I’ll say, “Oh, this would be a great moment,” or “We need a little punch here, or little push here,” like tearing the face of the gas mask walker to see that hideous skull, or shit like that.

Greg Nicotero, on not scaling back with “Walker” kills (Hooray!)

Gregory Nicotero attending the 2007 Comic Con ...

If you’d rather read some great interviews Collider.com got to do–and they had great questions–before The Walking Dead Paleyfest Panel, which you can watch the actual footage of right here, and plenty of it-– we sure as hell found some! For the print interview w/Collider, click on the big red link below…

via THE WALKING DEAD Season 4 News from the Cast, Greg Nicotero, and Robert Kirkman at PaleyFest | Collider.

Among other topics, they discuss:

  • If Rick has totally lost his shit or not
  • Carl calling out Rick (last episode)
  • Mapping out Season 4 (including working on some make-up effects)
  • If Beth kissing Rick on the cheek was totally innocent or not (it was meant in a wholesome way, in case you’re wondering–phew)
  • and WAY, way more! If you’re a fan, it’s a must-read.

Enjoy! Here’s a really horrifying Walker (shown in a PR photo) that’ll be in Sunday night’s episode (insert your own corny joke about the importance of sunblock here)…

Screen shot 2013-03-03 at 8.40.40 AM

Fuck!

 

Lew Temple (a.k.a. Axel) Talks About The Latest ‘Walking Dead’ Shocker — EW.com EXCLUSIVE (SPOILERS!)

Be sure you read both pages, because there was a scene we didn’t get to see – AND a dark turn for Axel’s character that Robert Kirkman and Glenn Mazzara had locked and loaded in case they decided to go a different way. Plus, find out where did Greg Nicotero (or his body cast) showed up in this episode.

 

The Walking Dead – Robert Kirkman Talks About Tonight’s Show, ‘When The Dead Come Knocking’ – From EW.com (Spoilers!)

I’m way more into American Horror Story, but tonight’s episode was fucking intense. Not to mention, I spent the whole time waiting in dread for Maggie or Glen’s hand to get chopped off, or for Maggie to get raped… plus I KNEW there would be a goddamned cliff-hanger, but when it came I still cursed loudly.  I’m going to pretty much support Greg Nicotero no matter what he works on, he’s earned my loyalty for life. Plus, Robert Kirkman deserves the attention he’s been getting …and I’ve had Vol. 17 on pre-order from Amazon for months now …though lately I hear it’s so brutal, I’m a little nervous about it, too. Enjoy!

Behind the Scenes at Horror Boom: Walking Dead Season Two Finale (+ Cool Links)

Well, for a little change of pace today, I thought I’d give you some fascinating insights into my work process. Let’s see, I go online, then when I’m watching something, I jot some deep thoughts down onto my sophisticated equipment consisting of a pen and a series of cheap notebooks, pretty much whatever has enough space for me to scrawl some things down. I do use some very complicated technical terms. Here’s a photo or two of my elaborate notes during the last two episodes of Season Two of The Walking Dead.

My elaborate notes taken during one of the final season 2 Walking Dead episodes (which I ended up deciding not the review on the site).

As you can see, I use a large and varied vocabulary to express myself and make sure all the nuances of the show are captured.  In case you can’t decipher my complicated lingo above, here’s another example…

My ingenious note-taking system, wherein I take a complex, thoughtful approach to mapping out important points to highlight in my review for a Walking Dead S2 episode. I ended up not reviewing the episode I so carefully documented here.

Then I have my assistant re-transcribe– I”M JUST KIDDING. Nothing complex or fascinating ‘behind the scenes’ here at Horror Boom, really! If I had a staff, the site would actually contain breaking news and interviews multiple times, 24/7, if so.  I don’t have an assistant, unless you count one of my kittens strolling across the keyboard out of the blue. My husband gives it a fresh pair of eyes after I post a piece, if he’s not too sleepy at the time.  There’s nothing thrilling enough going on behind the scenes at Horror Boom to warrant a special alert, though if something thrilling DOES happen, like an SUV driven by Adam Green with Bruce Campbell riding shotgun containing George Romero, Stephen King, Greg Nicotero, and Samuel L. Jackson riding in it breaks down in front of our house while I’m working on/writing/researching the site, and they ring the doorbell to ask to come in and use my land line because none of their cell phones have a signal, then tell me it’d be really cool if they could hang out here 4-5 hours and in return, will let me interview them and offer to post blurbs endorsing the site and all pose for various photos with me and my husband (because in the imaginary scenario, they have nothing else better to do) watch some of my DVD/Blu-Rays and record simultaneous commentary for them exclusively, that’d be worth documenting.*  It’s more likely that a parade of polar bears riding tricycles pulls up in our driveway (although that’d be pretty interesting and good for some promotion, too), of course, but you get the idea. I try not to put stuff up that’s totally fucking boring to anyone but me, unless it’s some comic relief, as here.

Actually I vaguely recall taking these pics as a goof (I was still all hyper and geeking out after the next-to-last episode and season finale of TWD while all hell breaks loose. Lots of times I jot shit down I can’t read it myself afterwards or it’s in sentence fragments (ADD) that are really hard for me to re-create into concrete points, or my handwriting’s worse.  My husband laughed when I showed him these, so I kept them.

I have two–it maybe just one big one, but it’s definitely happening– very cool, very scary “Ways to Beat Summer Heat with Cold Chills” pieces coming up, but they were so creepy there is no way in hell I’m gathering my notes together and writing them after dark, when I have insomnia and am the only one awake in the house. Especially since one of them actually showed up in a nightmare last night. I don’t want to talk them up that much and have it by a let down, so I’ll quit with a good quote to celebrate the upcoming Blu-Ray release of Jaws. If you don’t recognize this one then you haven’t seen Jaws, and if you haven’t seen Jaws I don’t know why you’d be reading Horror Boom! It’s too bad this is waaaaay too big for a T-Shirt*. Watched the scene so many times it’s impossible to hear in my head without Robert Shaw’s voice.

Hooper: You were on the Indianapolis?
Brody: What happened?

Quint: Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, Chief. We was comin’ back from the island of Tinian to Leyte… just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in 12 minutes. Didn’t see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. 13-footer. You know how you know that when you’re in the water, Chief? You tell by looking from the dorsal to the tail fin.What we didn’t know, was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent… they didn’t even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, Chief, sharks come cruisin’, so we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know, it was kinda like old squares in the battle like you see in the calendar named “The Battle of Waterloo” and the idea was: shark comes to the nearest man… that man he starts poundin’ and hollerin’ and screamin’ and sometimes the shark will go away… but sometimes he wouldn’t go away. Sometimes that shark he looks right into ya. Right into your eyes. And, you know, the thing about a shark… he’s got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at ya, doesn’t seem to be living… until he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then… ah then, you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin’. The ocean turns red, and despite all the poundin’ and the hollerin’, they all come in and they rip you to pieces. You know, by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men. I don’t know how many sharks, maybe a thousand. I know how many men, they averaged six an hour.
On Thursday morning, Chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player. Boatswain’s mate. I thought he was asleep. I reached over to wake him up. He bobbed up, down in the water just like a kinda top. Upended. Well, he’d been bitten in half below the waist. Noon, the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us. He swung in low and he saw us… he was a young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper. Anyway, he saw us and he come in low and three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and starts to pick us up. Y’know, that was the time I was most frightened… waitin’ for my turn. I’ll never put on a life jacket again. So, eleven hundred men went in the water; 316 men come out and the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945. (pause) Anyway, we delivered the bomb.

The Jaws Blu-Ray  will be available August 14. Also, a bigger boat-load of links for features on Jaws and The Walking Dead after the jump!

famous poster

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

**but I have a couple of versions of “We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat” for a design on my upcoming print-on-demand online stores (whenever I have time for that).