2:32 – “The Walking Dead” panel is over and done! “Game of Thrones” up next!
2:27 – Before wrapping up, we get the awesome new trailer one more time. Here’s a little play by play as fast as I can type and watch – Michonne vs. zombie trio, helicopter crash witnessed by Michonne and Andrea, Beth’s song singing around the fire out in the woods, the group finds the prison, a zombie battle within the prison gates, “we have to go in there, hand to hand, this prison is ours,” Michonne and Laurie are found in the woods, the group tries to secure cell blocks in the prison, Rick insists the group sticks together so they’re not confused for walkers, Michonne and Andrea are threatened by The Governor’s people, a shot of Woodbury, The Governor’s friendly side but Michonne doesn’t trust him, Andrea tells The Governor of her group, The Governor says they’re taking back what’s theres – the prison, Carl with a gun, Carol shooting walkers, Rick running for his life in the prison, Merle – “How’s about a big hug from your old pal Merle?”
2:26 – Here’s the last question, why do you make the women so scary? They tell people to do terrible things, but never actually do them themselves. Will that change? Surprise, surprise, the question is avoided, but Sarah chimes in saying she thinks that Laurie did everything she could with the situation with Shane.
2:24 – We’ve got a special announcement from Greg. He went through the crowd earlier and picked someone to become a zombie. The winner is going to come to his shop and he’s going to make a zombie bust of her.
2:21 – Norman recalls taking his son fishing. He admits he didn’t catch anything and it might have something to do with using old bacon as bait. On that note, he’s nothing like Daryl. Laurie says, “I’m probably closest to Andrea personally.” Steven says that early on, Glenn was a reflection of how he was when he was younger. For Lauren she sees a similarity in that Maggie is a romantic and jokes, “I like boys that usually attract 12-year-olds.” Danai says she wishes she was more like Michonne. David says, “If I was given half the chance, I probably would be like The Governor.”
2:19 – Yet another fan in love with Steven and it’s yet another underage girl. Chris jokes, “We know your demographic, Steven,” and that he should not be allowed in Lego Land. Despite her love for Steven, the question is who’s most and least like their character. Andrew jokes, “I look like my character,” but he doesn’t think he’s like Rick. Sarah chimes in and says she hopes she’s different from Laurie in some very significant ways. Chris piggybacks touching on how the line tends to blur between the character and the actor, fans assuming the actors are their characters. Sarah recalls someone shouting at her for being a home wrecker on TV while in the supermarket with her daughter.
2:14 – Another fan professes her love for Steven. He blushes and says, “Hi.” The crowd erupts when she reveals she’s 12. She asks what he thinks his chances of surviving would be if this really happened. “I can be resourceful, but also I’m sometimes a little lazy. It depends on how it all works out.” He adds that if there were a lot of attractive women around, he’d stay. If there were only a bunch of “bros,” he might just lay down.
2:13 – Someone who proclaims she loves sweaty rednecks steps up next. She asks Robert about whether or not they’ll learn the history of Daryl. He says that the show doesn’t go into flashback mode, but there’s a new game coming out that will.
2:12 – How did you get away with showing Andrea grabbing Shane on TV? Everyone gets a laugh and Laurie insist they didn’t show anything, but jokes that we should have seen what they did that got cut.
2:09 – Someone dressed up as Rick steps up next. For Andrew and Lauren, how’d they manage the American accents? Lauren credits her dialect coach and calls their Sunday sessions “kind of like church.” She also notes that Andrew stays in his accent from the moment he arrives to the moment he leaves. Andrew says they’re lucky they film in the south because the dialect is of the area. “I’m like a sponge, I just sort of absorb inflection.”
2:07 – Time for audience questions. In comes number one – for Andrew, if you could be any other character on the show, who would it be? He responds, “I’m having a bromance at the moment with Norman Reedus,” but he settles on Carl and notes how Chandler Riggs is an incredible actor. “He makes choices that are way beyond his years.” He says he’s keeping an eye on Carl’s arc this season.
2:05 – Another question for Andrew – where is Rick at now? What keeps him centered? Andrew says he was reading “The Road” and “I think Rick is very much at that point.” He points out that the time scale in the book and in this season of the show is very similar. “Rick has isolated himself from the group and in his marriage, and that’s the way that he is protecting everybody.” He says the season is about Rick realizing he needs other people to survive.
2:03 – And here’s another new cast member for you, David Morrissey. David says he came into the show as a fan. “When the opportunity came to work on it, I was very excited.” He continues, “People want to go to work and work on this show.” He says he’s thrilled to be at Comic Con and, looking out into Hall H, has to keep pinching himself.
2:00 – Series newcomer Danai is up now! Since her role was announced, her life has changed. She learned how to use a Katana sword and is thrilled to be embraced by the fans as well as the show veterans. Even though this role is extremely physical, she learned early on about going to natural food stores and maintaining her energy and nursing her joints and muscles that way. But, of course, there are times when “you crash and you crash hard.”
1:59 – Lauren’s up to talk about Maggie. “I think Maggie’s pretty lucky right now because she still has more family with her than anyone else.” Her priority is protecting her own. She compares the farm as a walk in the park as opposed to where the group is heading now.
1:57 – What’s up for Glenn? “Third season is kind of just manning up and doing what he’s supposed to be doing.” He says that he has a tough time answering all of these questions because they’re not allowed to say anything. He apologizes for generic responses.
1:56 – Of working with Danai, Laurie calls her wonderful and reminisces about making up songs together. They laugh, dance and Danai is fantastic. “I think you are going to love her as Michonne.”
1:55 – Moving on to Laurie who addresses being separated from the group. “It’s a very different season for Andrea.” She continues, “It’s wonderful storytelling as they’re battling the elements in this apocalyptic world.”
1:53 – Norman talks about Daryl. He’s finding himself needed and appreciated and it means a lot to him. “He’s kind of growing up.”
1:52 – The cast is up on stage now. It’s a massive panel and everyone is absolutely thrilled to be in Hall H with the fans.
1:46 – An exclusive look at a clip from the new season! Not really a clip – more of a revamped trailer and, wow! It opens with snippets of Michonne chopping up those walkers from the clip released the other day. From there we’re whisked away into a series of scenes, detailing the direction of the new season. The beginning is backed by a beautiful song sung by Beth (Emily Kinney) which then transitions into a tune more along the lines of a soulful rock song, but still rather tragic. There’s tons of material in the prison – Rick tells the group they’ve got to gain control of the location. Meanwhile, Andrea is buddying up with Michonne but the two suffer the wrath of The Governor who lives in a walker-free town called Woodbury. Everyone seems to be arming up this season – Carl and Carol included. The entire piece is absolutely brutal yet has a wonderful artful side that suggests the emotion is still very much in the forefront. To top it all off, the grande finale is a shot of Merle!
1:45 – Actually, here’s a little something – “We are back Sunday, October 14th at 9pm!”
1:43 – Glen says he thinks they’re really “in the zone” with this one. Think that announcement thing is a no-go. Conversation is moving in another direction.
1:42 – A big announcement coming?
1:41 – Gale says, ‘Michonne kicks ass with a Katana sword.” She continues, “The intensity level is incredible. We’ve got our cast inoculated now. The new people realize just what they’re in for.”
1:40 – “This season it’s been fantastic because we have not only a prison location, but we’re introducing Woodbury,” Gale points out. She also mentions Michonne and The Governor.
1:39 – Greg calls the director experience eight of the hardest days, but also notes that it was amazing.
1:38 – Greg says they’re going to use some animatronic puppets this year and that he’s also directing this time around. He just finished directing his first episode a little while ago. “It’s important to me to make sure the character stuff is grounded.”
1:36 – Chris passes the conversation to Greg to talk about the look of the zombies. “Every year we watch the show and refine and determine what we love about certain zombies.” He continues, “We really want to sell that they’re decomposing and emaciated.” He says they’re already working on episode six.
1:35 – David says that the thing he’s really loved is how the pace picked up in season two and says the same will be true of season three.
1:34 – Chris jokes with Robert about spoiling the third season. Chris recalls getting the chance to go to set the other week and passes it off to the others to discuss. Robert notes the prison set and calls it “pretty amazing.”
1:32 – Here comes Robert Kirkman, Dave Alpert, Greg Nicotero, Gale Ann Hurd and Glen Mazzara.
1:31 – And so it begins. Chris Hardwick is on stage riling up the crowd.
And we’re back! Took a little break during “The Big Bang Theory” panel, as I don’t watch the show, but I’ve got to admit, the chat was absolutely hilarious and makes me want to finally check it out. As obnoxious as this sounds, in all honesty, it was kind of a you-had-to-be-there thing. The fan Q&A was packed with odd questions and a rather large number of children, and the naturally amusing cast kept the crowd laughing the entire time. Someone will probably post the event on YouTube, so keep an eye out, as, fan or not, it’s worth checking out.
But now it’s time for a show that I not only watch, but am absolutely obsessed with, AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Norman Reedus, Laurie Holden, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, newcomers Danai Gurira and David Morrissey, executive producer and showrunner Glen Mazzara, executive producer Robert Kirkman, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, executive producer Dave Alpert and special effects makeup supervisor and co-executive producer Greg Nicotero are all set to take the stage to field some questions and present a sneak preview of the new season. Be sure to keep refreshing this page for live updates from Hall H!