The Walking Dead Exec Producer Gale Anne Hurd Talks Season 4’s Ravenous Zombies and More
The Walking Dead on AMC
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Ready for another “Dispatch” from the set of “The Walking Dead”? This week AMC chats with executive producer Gale Anne Hurd about Season 4’s ravenous new walkers, which characters would make great producers, and more.
Q: Sports teams have a boot camp-like practice to get back in shape for the season. What do you do to get everyone back in the swing of things on the set of “The Walking Dead”?
A: We have to hit the ground running every season. We do have zombie school every year so our walkers get up-to-speed. It’s really more of a winnowing-out process — extras who are eager to become zombies come in and audition for Greg [Nicotero], and he selects the ones that are most unique and believable. But in general, this is our fourth season, and people are so eager to get back. After the first set-up this year, everyone applauded and cheered.
Q: Every year the walkers show us something new. What can fans expect from Season 4’s walkers?
A: I think we’ll have walkers who are even more ravenous than before. We’re in a world where there are fewer people and more walkers, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw that on-screen this season.
Q: What’s been one of the biggest challenges of producing a show like “The Walking Dead”?
A: We have serious weather issues to contend with. We had one day where there was a torrential downpour and a tree fell on the set so you just have to roll with stuff like that. Other times you realize that a character that you thought might live actually has to die.
Q: Is being executive producer of a show about a zombie apocalypse similar to surviving one in any way?
A: I do ask myself that from time to time. The good news is I know who my go-to people are to survive, and those are important skills to have. I’ve learned a lot about surviving without the niceties and the air-conditioning and the other usual things that we take for granted. I’m pretty good in the woods now, too. And I’m looking forward to firing a crossbow.
Related Story: Official “The Walking Dead” News Archive
Q: Is there anything specific you do to try to keep morale up on the more intense days of shooting?
A: We, along with AMC, provide treats every week. The producers get together and provide something special; sometimes it’s late-night coffee or sorbet or gourmet mac and cheese — fun things like that. As the saying goes, an army runs on its stomach so we really do make sure that we have the best food available. If you keep people’s stomachs happy, it tends to make all the uncomfortable heat, humidity and bugs more bearable.
Q: As an executive producer, do you have a mantra that guides your work?
A: I think one of my mantras is, “Good enough isn’t.” There’s not one person on the show or behind the cameras who doesn’t embrace that. Sometimes people who’ve worked on other shows come here and are actually shocked that we take a show about a zombie apocalypse so seriously. There is not one character on the show that is the same as the actor portraying them. That’s remarkable.
Q: Which character on the show do you think would make the best producer?
A: Rick Grimes [Andrew Lincoln] would make a fantastic producer. He always puts the needs of everyone before his own, and that’s what a producer has to do. At the same time, I think that Daryl Dixon [Norman Reedus] has a fantastic ability to just get things done without being asked — another skill set important for producer.
“The Walking Dead” returns in the fall of 2013.
To stay up-to-the-minute on all things walker related, follow @WalkingDead_AMC on Twitter and visit “The Walking Dead” on Facebook. For more be sure to hit up the official “The Walking Dead” page on AMC.com.
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