We were able to look at the feedback on the level of violence, Hurd said during a panel session at the NATPE conference. We did tone it down for episodes we were still filming for later on in the season.
This whole backlash is weird. The show has had so much violence before the premiere. I thought the season 5 premiere when they were lined up at the trough was more gruesome... Don't remember people saying anything about that.
I almost wonder if the entire "backlash" is just a publicity stunt by AMC? They know viewers had issues with the story, so they blame the violence instead?
I think that episode was already in the can when this season premiered. They could have edited it. But I don't think we've seen any episodes they started shooting after the premiere though.
Reunited and it feels so good. Michonne and Daryl are among the characters now brought back together to fight back against Negan in the second half of the season. "All that she does now is about who she loves and its about this community," says Gurira. "So, even that rage and that desire to get back at Negan was all rooted in the love for these people, and the horrific loses that they just experienced, and how it's just not in her nature to just take that and say, 'Okay, I'll now submit to you because you've got us really good.' No. No. That's not who she is."
Hey, what the heck are Rick and Simon talking about here? Simon is patting Rick on the back in that super condescending Simon way while Rick is no doubt trying his best to keep his cool and not make Negans right hand man suspicious of his plans to take out the big bad. Meanwhile, they both just got photobombed by Aaron (Ross Marquand).
This is either a very poorly attended town meeting or a more informal gathering of Alexandrians. Are hush-hush plans to thwart the enemy being formed? Is Alexandria on a need-to-know basis and these are the people who need to know? Regardless, let's all congratulate Eric and Tobin for still being alive.
Wait a second, are Rick and Co. auditioning to become the new Post-Apocalyptic Action News Team? Because this a very dramatic-looking walking shot usually only pulled off by intense-looking local news broadcasters. The good news is, they appear steely and ready for battle. And so are we.
Okay, thats pretty disgusting. Just another example of some of the deliciously demented work of exec producer Greg Nicotero, who teases more treats to come. I think one of the most ingenious walkers is coming up in the second half, says Nicotero. Its something that weve never done before. The minute that you see it, youll know exactly what Im talking about. But what about this thing? Was it human or zombie before it turned into this?
We know Rick and Co. will try to persuade Ezekiel to join the fight against Negan. But we also know that the leader of the Kingdom enjoys the safety his arrangement with the Saviors has afforded his community. Is he willing to risk that to get out from under Negans thumb?
Lets be honest: This car doesnt owe anyone anything. It looks like its been through a few wars already. Plus, Im sure the gas mileage is terrible although finding gas in the zombie apocalypse never seems to be a problem for some reason. Go figure. Anyway, judging by what happened to the most recent passenger on the ground there, we may just choose to walk, thanks.
I think that episode was already in the can when this season premiered. They could have edited it. But I don't think we've seen any episodes they started shooting after the premiere though.
Joshua Hoover, who played Fat Joey on The Walking Dead through the first half of Season 7, revealed to ComicBook.com that more violent takes of his character's death were removed from the U.S. broadcast.
"Yeah I took a hit," Hoover said. I took a hit on the head from Mr. Norman Reedus, and it was a good hit. Norman Reedus has swung a metal pipe before in his life I think."
We never did see that hit or any of the following blows to his head in the cut of Hearts Still Beating episode which was aired in the U.S. on December 11, 2016. "There was the special effects that they do with the blood packet," Hoover revealed. "They had a blood packet on the pipe and it just went everywhere. Everybody said it looked so awesome, but also pretty graphic. So Im assuming thats why they didnt show that angle, they probably had a little too much already with Spencers guts."
I still think the context of the violence was what caused the backlash, obviously people aren't more or less dead depending on the method used but there is a barbaric savagery to smashing someone's head to a pulp with a barbed wire bat as opposed to shooting them or slitting their throat, it takes a sustained malice.
On top of that it was a long drawn out and itnense lead into it actually happening and then it happened in front of a pregnant Maggie while Negan laughed it up, there was a savage cruelty to it that I think sparked the response, at least from older fans.
I said at the time it was the most intense and miserable episode of TV I've ever sat through, but I think it served it's purpose well in setting the stage for what is to come and hating Negan, and hopefully the pay-off in the second half of the season.
This whole backlash is weird. The show has had so much violence before the premiere. I thought the season 5 premiere when they were lined up at the trough was more gruesome... Don't remember people saying anything about that.
I've seen more violent acts and equal if not more gore on the Strain and American Horror Story. I'm still not sure why TWD's S7 premiere drew such specific controversy.
I've seen more violent acts and equal if not more gore on the Strain and American Horror Story. I'm still not sure why TWD's S7 premiere drew such specific controversy.
I think the main reason is in the case of AHS is it comes off as a goofy cartoon, and The Strain is Vampires and science fiction. TWD was human on human savagery which was presented in a more realisitc way that I think effected more people as it didn't seem like cartooon violence like the other two shows.
I think the main reason is in the case of AHS is it comes off as a goofy cartoon, and The Strain is Vampires and science fiction. TWD was human on human savagery which was presented in a more realisitc way that I think effected more people as it didn't seem like cartooon violence like the other two shows.
I can't agree with that at all. There has been endless human-on-human violence in the Strain, and audiences have seen some explicit genocidal brutality via Eichhorst's back story with the Nazi party. Moreover, both of these shows have shown sexual violence, particularly AHS, which is something TWD has mostly avoided.
The reason TWD's premiere got such much attention is due to its place on the landscape of pop culture. TWD has a much larger viewership than The Strain or AHS. It's a cultural phenomenon much more so than those two other shows. There is a significant percentage of TWD's viewership for whom horror movies/shows aren't usual fare. They were used to TWD's somewhat light touch when adapting the source material, but the S7 premiere was simply too important to gloss over.
The Walking Dead executive producer Gale Anne Hurd raised eyebrows on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at the National Association of Television Executives conference in Miami when she seemed to confirm suspicions that producers may have toned down some violence on the show after the reaction to the gruesome season 7 premiere in which two characters were bludgeoned with a barbed wire-covered baseball bat. We were able to look at the feedback on the level of violence, said Hurd on a NATPE panel, first reported by Variety. We did tone it down for episodes we were still filming for later on in the season.
However, two exec producers tell EW that they did not change their approach at all after many viewers were critical of the graphic nature of the premiere. Showrunner Scott M. Gimple points out that the explicitness of that premiere baseball bat beating was intended to be above and beyond what the zombie drama usually does, and that nothing that came after was ever intended to come anywhere close to it.
The violence in the premiere was pronounced for a reason, says Gimple. The awfulness of what happened to the characters was very specific to that episode and the beginning of this whole new story. I dont think like thats the base level of violence that necessarily should be on the show. It should be specific to a story and a purpose, and there was a purpose of traumatizing these characters to a point where maybe they would have been docile for the rest of their lives, which was Negans point. But I will say again, the violence in the premiere was for a specific narrative purpose and I would never say that thats the baseline amount of violence that we would show on the show. If were ever going to see something that pronounced, there needs to be a specific narrative purpose for it.
Executive producer and director Greg Nicotero answers with a flat No when asked if anything was toned down later as a result of fan feedback, and he also says that if they could go back, they would not change a thing. As brutal as that episode 1 was, its still part of our storytelling bible, which is what the world is about. I dont think we would ever edit ourselves, and I think even after looking at that episode 1 again as tough as it was for people to watch, I dont think we would have done it any differently. I dont think well ever pull ourselves back. There is definitely a difference between violence against walkers and human on human violence, but truthfully, were serving our story.
We do know courtesy of Fat Joey actor Joshua Hoover that he was on the receiving end of a violent beat-down courtesy of Daryl Dixon, a more graphic version of which was cut from the Dec. 11 midseason finale. Yeah I took a hit, Hoover told ComicBook.com. I took a hit on the head from Mr. Norman Reedus, and it was a good hit. I got hit right square in the head. There was the special effects that they do with the blood packet. They had a blood packet on the pipe and it just went everywhere. Everybody said it looked so awesome, but also pretty graphic. So Im assuming thats why they didnt show that angle, they probably had a little too much already with Spencers guts.
Of course, it is entirely possibly that the Fay Joey beatdown was simply cut for time or because of a specific editing choice. Also, as Hoover notes, producers certainly didnt appear to skimp when showing Spencers guts spilling out of his body in that same episode, which certainly was not PG fare.
But then there is the infamous iron scene in episode 707 (Sing Me a Song), where Negan puts an iron to the face of one of the Saviors for hooking up with his former girlfriend (now one of Negans wives). When this big comic book event was presented on the show, it pointedly did not linger on the moment, and instead featured a lot of cutaways to other characters while the actual incident took place, before finally cutting back at the end to see the iron pulling off the face.
Did producers show less of that horrific moment because of reaction to the premiere? Specific to that scene, I guess specific to everything, no, says Gimple. Greg Nicotero is the greatest makeup special effects guy in the world, but what you dont see sometimes can be so much more horrible than what you see, what you imagine. And with the iron, thats a really good example. Thats something that I think the audience should do a little bit more of the work on. Also because as far as that kind of moment, the reality of what that would look like is strange looking. Weve been in fist fights when we were kids on the playground and theres amalgams to that violence, but that kind of strange burn, the audience doing that in their head, even hearing it, its just a different moment.
So you can believe Hurd that the violence was intentionally toned down because of fan reaction to the premiere, believe Gimple and Nicotero that viewer reaction played no part, or believe that the truth is in the nuances somewhere in between. Either way, you can expect there will be more victims when the show returns to AMC on Feb. 12.
I can't agree with that at all. There has been endless human-on-human violence in the Strain, and audiences have seen some explicit genocidal brutality via Eichhorst's back story with the Nazi party. Moreover, both of these shows have shown sexual violence, particularly AHS, which is something TWD has mostly avoided.
The reason TWD's premiere got such much attention is due to its place on the landscape of pop culture. TWD has a much larger viewership than The Strain or AHS. It's a cultural phenomenon much more so than those two other shows. There is a significant percentage of TWD's viewership for whom horror movies/shows aren't usual fare. They were used to TWD's somewhat light touch when adapting the source material, but the S7 premiere was simply too important to gloss over.
I watched The Strain up until part of the way through last season when I got bored of it, but I never saw anything in my time viewing that I felt was as remotely disturbing as what happened to Glenn. As for AHS, it's just hard to take that seriously to me, it reminds me of Itchy & Scratchy, so cartoony.
I think the audience "relationship" with Glenn certainly fueled the backlash, but I do think there are multiple parts to what happened in the scene that also led to the response.
So, recently John C. McGinley has been doing commercials for Halls, in which he plays a tough guy. With his slicked back, receding hairline, and his delivery, I can't help but think he would have made an excellent Negan.
I watched The Strain up until part of the way through last season when I got bored of it, but I never saw anything in my time viewing that I felt was as remotely disturbing as what happened to Glenn. As for AHS, it's just hard to take that seriously to me, it reminds me of Itchy & Scratchy, so cartoony.
I think the audience "relationship" with Glenn certainly fueled the backlash, but I do think there are multiple parts to what happened in the scene that also led to the response.
Eichorst's backstory showed something that was far more disturbing than what happened to Glenn. It wasn't as gory, but it had a sinister element in it that echoed events that actually took place in human history.
I don't know if you saw the episode where Eichorst was revealed to have once been a radio salesman with an affection for a woman named Helga, who was kind and encouraging to him. When Eichorst fell under the influence of the Nazis, Helga broke off their relationship because it was revealed that she was Jewish.
When other officers later learn that Eichorst once had a close relationship with a Jewish woman, he lied and said that she was fired from their workplace for stealing. Later in the episode, we see several Jewish people publically executed for petty (and sometimes, untrue) offenses. Helga is among them, and Eichorst realizes that his cowardly lie killed her. That scene had a disturbingly authentic element that TWD simply can't match because it's a purely fictional construct.
And while I'm no stranger to horror, I was cringing and gripping the armrests of my chair when Eichorst was ready to kill Dutch by ramming his vampire tongue up her vagina. There was something so cruel and dehumanizing about this that it actually made me a little queasy.
Great news! Sonequa Martin-Green landed the lead role on CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery, becoming the first African-American female to head up a Star Trek show or movie.
But after fans celebrated that historic news, they were left with all sorts of worry about what it meant for her character of Sasha on The Walking Dead. After all, there is a long, sad history of Walking Dead actors being killed off soon after news gets out about them accepting a different acting role.
Jon Bernthal landed a part on original Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont’s Mob City (then called L.A. Noir) in 2012 while season 2 of TWD was airing, and sure enough, his character of Shane was soon stabbed and shot by Rick and Carl Grimes. In 2014, AMC announced that David Morrissey would be starring in a pilot called Line of Sight (which the network ultimately passed on), and then his character of the Governor was soon disposed of on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Of course, both of them landed those jobs after their characters had been killed off (even if the episodes had not aired yet).
However, when Corey Hawkins (who plays Heath) landed the lead role on 24: Legacy as well as a part in Kong: Skull Island, his character — who was still alive — went out on a supply run, was seen in one episode this season, and then disappeared again, giving him the opportunity to return to the fold (as Lennie James did with Morgan) from time to time or on a regular basis should 24 not be renewed.
Considering she is the lead on Star Trek, it seems unlikely that Martin-Green would have time to stay on as a TWD regular due to the Trek shooting schedule (which begins filming this week), and she was predictably cagey when we asked her what her new job means for her current one. “Well, I can’t say anything,” laughs Martin Green. “I can say that the story is as impactful and powerful and dynamic as it always has been, and there’s nothing to worry about where that’s concerned.”
We also asked showrunner Scott M. Gimple if Martin-Green’s Star Trek gig was a sign that her Walking Dead tenure was about to come to a bloody end, and he left open the chance that the actress might be able to juggle both schedules. “Sonequa Martin-Green can do anything,” says Gimple. “I’ve seen her battle a horde of walkers this year while simultaneously battling a stomach flu that would have had most people crying in the dirt. She can fulfill the duties of a Lieutenant Commander on a Constitution-class starship whilst battling walkers, Saviors, and whatever gets in Sasha’s way. We’ve had to juggle before. I will certainly juggle for Star Trek any day of the week. Okay, maybe not on Sunday.”
But is Gimple bluffing? After all, he’s certainly not going to come out and say that Sasha is a goner. There may be a few clues as to what is going to happen from The Walking Dead comic on which the show is based. [SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you want to know about moments from The Walking Dead comic which may or may not occur on the TV adaptation. Seriously, stop right now if you don’t want to know.]
While Sasha is a character created for the TV version of The Walking Dead and does not exist in the comic, her romantic connection to Abraham mirrors one that a character named Holly had in the comics. Holly eventually sought revenge on Negan after Abraham was killed (with an arrow through the eye like Denise on the TV version), sacrificing herself at the Sanctuary to help the group escape. After being captured by Negan, Holly was then delivered with a bag over her head back to Alexandria. But when the bag was taken off her head, it was revealed that Holly was now a zombie, and she bit Denise, who, again, had not yet been killed in the comic.
Confusing matters even more, Fear the Walking Dead recently used the same zombie-with-a-bag-over-its-head prisoner exchange stunt from the comic, throwing into question whether Walking Dead would still use the same thing after it already aired on its prequel series.
So put it all together and what does it mean for Sasha? Will she meet her maker at some point in the back half of the season (which kicks off on Feb. 12), or simply disappear for a while next season like Heath?
Either way, we should have our answer soon enough. And let us not forget that star Danai Gurira is currently filming the Black Panther movie for Marvel, and Lennie James will be starring in a U.K. show he created and wrote called Gone. Start your speculation on what that means for Michonne and Morgan right now.
I think Morgan and Michonne are safe this season. Black Panther is shooting in Atlanta (the capital of the state where the TWD films) right now and TWD normally begins filming in May. She has plenty of time to do projects in between. I don't know much about Lennie James' UK show but I doubt it'll interfere with TWD's filming for next season. Especially if it's already being filmed.
The gang is finally back together on The Walking Dead. Well, most of them at least. If the preview for the second half of the season (which kicks off Feb. 12) is any indication, it appears Rick and Co. are off to the Kingdom soon, where they will hopefully be reunited with Carol and Morgan too. See, all good news!
Well, nothing is all good news on The Walking Dead. And there was a lot of bad news in the first half of the season. I mean, a lot. We had to watch our favorite characters bludgeoned (Glenn and Abraham), gutted (Spencer), shot (Olivia), tortured (Daryl), and beaten to a pulp (Aaron). And those who were not on the receiving end of those blows had to mourn those who were. So it was not exactly happy, happy, joy, joy time.
We asked exec-producer/director Greg Nicotero about all the carnage of the season so far and viewer complaints that it was simply too bleak, even for a show about the zombie apocalypse. He assures fans there is indeed a method to the madness.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: There were some complaints from people about the first half of the season and how depressing it was with everyone subjugated like that, and it got me thinking how you all always talk about trying to put the viewer in the characters position to see and feel what the characters are feeling, So was this something that the viewers had to get through in the same way the characters did?
GREG NICOTERO: Yeah, I would say that any investment, in any show, if your viewers arent emotionally invested then . Listen, I love my good TV Westworld, Game of Thrones, and all of these shows, and you go on this journey, and weve never shied from the fact that the material is dark. I mean, starting the season, seeing two characters killed, it was brutal and it was horrible. A lot of it really was to just show the brutality of the world and to show what kind of person were dealing with, with Negan, and its a challenge.
The fact that people responded so positively, just to the embrace between Daryl and Rick, seeing those two characters and knowing that they will rise again out of the ashes of what Negan has done to them, is thrilling and is exciting, but you cant get there unless you burn the place down first. Listen, its grueling and its heartbreaking and, yeah, it is, sometimes, difficult to digest, but the result of that will be seeing a stronger Rick Grimes, a stronger bond, and a more focused and dedicated group.
So they had to get beaten all the way down to get the strength to fight back?
We did something similar with the mid-season premiere last year when Rick finally realized that the Alexandrians and our group would only survive if they fought together. It was one of the most well-received and powerful episodes because it had some hope to it, and it had some positivity to it. So now, knowing that thats what Rick wants to do, thats where Rick is going, they want to fight, and knowing that earlier in the season he wasnt willing to fight because there was too much to lose, and now the idea that, Listen, we might lose people. Yeah, this might happen, but I would rather go down fighting than be a servant.
Were talking about how it was hard for the characters and for the viewers, but I spoke to the actors and they were very candid about how it was really tough for them as well.
Yeah. Listen, the first half of the season was rough. It was rough because the subject matter was dark. I told you before that after directing episode one, it emotionally took its toll on me because I felt very much like the actors. I felt like I had dragged these people to some pretty dark and pretty intense places, so recovering from that, for me was tough.
[Showrunner Scott M. Gimple] said, Listen, youre going to direct the episode that introduces the Kingdom, and thats probably the lightest episode that were going to have in the entire first half of the season, which was seeing Shiva and seeing King Ezekiel and Carol and Morgan. So airing that episode directly after the premiere really gave the audience an opportunity to catch their breath; otherwise, we would have had them in the rope, in the corner, and just been pummeling them, and thats not our intention. Our intention isnt to be sadistic. Our intention is to put the audience in a similar mindset that our characters are in.
Was Timothy Olyphant nearly Negan? Not according to the man himself...
Back in 2015, Olyphant - who stars in new Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet - was rumoured to have auditioned for the role of the Walking Dead villain.
But when Digital Spy asked Olyphant about his supposed screen-test, he told us that not only did he never try out for Negan, he's never even seen the show.
"I'm not familiar with it," he said. "I mean, I know it exists and I hear it's great. But if somebody offered me a part in The Walking Dead, I never heard about it."
Olyphant was named by The Hollywood Reporter as having gone up for Negan, along with Matt Dillon, Garret Dillahunt and Jeffrey Dean Morgan - with the latter winning the part.
Notably, the original article was later amended to remove mention of any actors bar Morgan. The plot thickens...
One star who's confirmed he auditioned for Negan is Henry Rollins - who actually served as the visual inspiration for the character in the original Walking Dead comic book.
"[Comic artist] Charlie Adlard based that guy on me and so I was a shoo-in for an audition," Rollins revealed. "I went for the audition, and there were five pages of really cool dialogue with all these curses and it was beautiful, but I didn't get it."
We're big fans of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's portrayal of Negan, so let's just agree - whoever did or didn't go up for the part - The Walking Dead probably picked the right guy in the end...
[Showrunner Scott M. Gimple] said, Listen, youre going to direct the episode that introduces the Kingdom, and thats probably the lightest episode that were going to have in the entire first half of the season, which was seeing Shiva and seeing King Ezekiel and Carol and Morgan. So airing that episode directly after the premiere really gave the audience an opportunity to catch their breath; otherwise, we would have had them in the rope, in the corner, and just been pummeling them, and thats not our intention. Our intention isnt to be sadistic. Our intention is to put the audience in a similar mindset that our characters are in.
I really don't understand how the complaining segment of viewers aren't seeing the formula. If I can draw a sports parallel, the elation of a stunning comeback win can't be experienced without first falling far behind. That's clearly what TWD is doing. Establishing a narrative mountain for the heroes to climb doesn't come without the viewer taking a few metaphorical shots to the gut, especially for a show that has been on as long as this one.
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