The Walking Dead: 15 Awesome Things You Didn’t Know About Daryl

Caitlin Leale and ScreenRant present The Walking Dead: 15 Awesome Things You Didn’t Know About Daryl. Here are three of my favorites…

15. HE’S STRICTLY FOR TV
Don’t expect Daryl Dixon to pop up in the comics anytime soon – or ever, according to The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. He got fans’ hopes up on April Fool’s Day back in 2014 when he posted a joke comic book cover with Daryl on the front. However, Kirkman was quick to clarify that the cover was a joke, saying in an interview with MTV that he’ll never bring Daryl to the comics. The creator cited Daryl’s “immense popularity” as the main reasons that he’ll never write a crossover, explaining that despite the fact the television show is based on the comics, the two are on different paths and have core differences as a result. Unfortunately, Daryl just happens to be one of those differences.

10. YOU MIGHT BE READING INTO HIS TATTOOS TOO MUCH
Crossbow, motorcycle, tattoos – Daryl has all the “tough guy” bases covered. Daryl’s tattoos have been revealed on the show before, most notably in Season 3’s “Home.” Merle rips off Daryl’s shirt in the midst of a quarrel during the episode and reveals a host of scars over Daryl’s back. The point of the shot was to emphasize Daryl’s traumatic upbringing, but fans latched on to something else: what could Daryl’s devil-like back tattoos mean? According to Norman Reedus, not much. The actor has said that he opted out of covering his tattoos or giving Daryl his own unique designs and simply kept all of his personal tattoos for his Walking Dead character. Reedus also has several other tattoos besides the two revealed on his back: he also has his dad’s name (also Norman) on his chest, his son’s name “Mingus” on his right forearm, and several others.

3. DARYL WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN AS A RACIST DRUG ADDICT
It turns out Norman Reedus was an excellent choice to play Daryl Dixon, and not only because his talent shines through onscreen. Daryl was originally written as a harsher, more antagonistic character, akin to his brother Merle. Basically, he was just supposed to be another racist drug addict. Kirkman says you can see these characteristics come out the most in Season 1. However, Reedus wasn’t so convinced that this was the right choice for his character. As the show went on, the actor transformed his character from one exactly like his brother to one more resentful of his past and upbringing. Kirkman has said that it’s Daryl’s complexity that fans enjoy so much today is all due to Reedus’ creative choices, so if you’re a big fan of Daryl’s character, you have the actor to thank.

Jonathan Maberry Interview!

ComicBook101.com recently posted an interview with Jonathon Maberry that’s worth a read.

Jonathan Maberry is a NY Times bestselling author, executing a wide-ranging body of work for Marvel, Dark Horse, and more. He is currently doing loads of stuff with IDW, from the frenetically-paced, terrifyingly good ‘V-Wars’, to the angst-loaded, twist-laden ‘Rot & Ruin’. A fan would be breathless following the work of this writer, just as we were when he granted us the following interview, in which he promised lots of rot, ruin, and paranoia, among other things.

Check it out!

Seth Damoose, Jack Carter and John Wick!

I’ve been a Seth Damoose fan since I first saw his art.  There’s a joy to everything Seth draws.  I was extremely happy when Seth announced he was taking a few sketch commissions through the mail.  I jumped on board with a request for Jack Carter and John Wick.  As you can see, Seth came through like a champ.

You can see more of Seth Damoose’s art at his Facebook page, his Art of Damoose page, or follow him on Twitter.

Lee Goldberg & Simon Brand Present Victor Gischler’s GUN MONKEYS Test Footage!

From Lee Goldberg’s site:

Covert Media is also producing my screenplay adaptation of Victor Gischler‘s Edgar-nominated novel GUN MONKEYS , which will be directed by Simon Brand. The development history of GUN MONKEYS goes back years. I optioned the book myself, wrote the script on spec, and for a long while it was set up with actor Kevin Costner and director Ryuhei Kitamura. That project came real close to getting made…and then fell apart. A new producing team came on board, offers are going out to big-name actors now, and we’re on track to shoot in late 2017/early 2018.

Back in September, Simon shot an action scene from my script as a camera/lighting test…and I’ve just been given the okay to share it now that he’s posted it on his site. The key parts are played by his friends and it has a voice-over that isn’t in the script — I wrote it just for this so that the action makes sense out of context. I think the footage looks terrific. Here it is. I hope you like it!

Gun Monkeys from simon brand on Vimeo.

I dig everything about this test footage.  Gun Monkeys by Victor Gischler is an excellent book.  Kudos to Lee Goldberg for having the faith in it and himself to option the book, write the spec script and stick with it until a deal was made.

Goldberg managed in a short video that is mostly action to create a main character that we care about, a feeling that everyone in the clip has a backstory, plus he gives us a twist at the end not only in the climax but how things are resolved.  Bravo, Lee Goldberg!

My hat is also off to director, Simon Brand and director of photography, Pedro Luque.  I certainly hope that they will work together to create this feature film.  I don’t know who the actors are in the Gun Monkeys test but I’d like to see more of the actors playing Charlie and Milt.

I’ll be in line to get a ticket when Gun Monkeys hits the big screen and will keep us posted on any updates.

25 Things We Learned from the “Kong: Skull Island” Commentary

Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 25 Things We Learned from the Kong: Skull Island Commentary.  Here are three of my favorites…

5. The image that Bill Randa (John Goodman) hands Senator Willis (Richard Jenkins) was originally of Godzilla, but he fought against that as he felt the film needed to be about Kong from the beginning.

25. The post-credits scene almost didn’t make the cut as several voices felt it didn’t fit, but he argued successfully for its inclusion knowing that audiences would love the tease into the bigger monsterverse to come.

14. The helicopter occupant falling into Kong’s mouth is an homage to the 1933 film version where Kong actually ate people.

 

R.I.P. – Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell has passed on.  From his official website:

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and legendary singer and guitarist, Glen Travis Campbell, at the age of 81, following his long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Glen is survived by his wife, Kim Campbell of Nashville, TN; their three children, Cal, Shannon and Ashley; his children from previous marriages, Debby, Kelli, Travis, Kane, and Dillon; ten grandchildren, great- and great-great-grandchildren; sisters Barbara, Sandra, and Jane; and brothers John Wallace “Shorty” and Gerald.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Glen Campbell Memorial Fund at BrightFocus Foundation through the CareLiving.org donation page.

I was and continue to be a Glen Campbell fan.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

Andy “The Martian” Weir is Back with Artemis!

Andy Weir, who burst onto the scene with his blockbuster first novel, The Martian, is back with his second novel Artemis.

Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she’s stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.

If you’ve read this far, you’ll probably want to check out