AMC’s The Walking Dead shooting again in Atlanta
Posted on 14. Nov, 2010 by Corey in All, Atlanta.
On Halloween night a few weeks ago, AMC debuted a pilot for the world to see. This 90 minute show was titled, The Walking Dead, and was viewed to great success. Receiving over 5.3 million viewers, it was easily the most-watched premiere episode of any AMC television series. The show had such great ratings in the first three weeks on Sunday evenings, that a second season has already been ordered.
The Walking Dead is a show about a group of survivors after a zombie takeover of the United States. Most people had been “bitten†turning into zombies, and the few survivors attempt to not be the next victims. The goal is to travel in search of a new home that is clean and away from zombie life.
I feel like I have seen this main plot many times in movies over the years, but decided to give it a chance anyways. The plot was slow to develop during the 90 minute pilot but has picked up with the two following 60 minute episodes.
Another plus for me is that the show was shot in Atlanta, Georgia, using the downtown and Grant Park area for most of the early footage. My buddy Mark lives in spitting distance from Grant Park, so it was neat for both of us to try to pick out where certain scenes were being shot.
Part of the first few episodes were shot on a side street in Grant Park, where our buddy Kevin and Nicole live. I heard rumors that everyone on the block was paid $100 to not mow there lawn for a few weeks to give the area a more desolate look.
The other morning I left Mark’s house, where I am staying to hang out for a bit, and began my one mile run to the local gym to get a workout. On Memorial Dr. SE I noticed tons of big trucks, security guards and cops directed traffic. As I got closer, I could see that a very large crew was set up to do some filming in the area. Very interested, I grabbed my camera and walked back up to all the action following my workout.
As I began to take pictures of all trucks, trailers and supplies, I asked a security guard watching the equipment what was being shot. He looked at me with a straight face and said, “Campbell’s Soup Commercial.â€Â A bit puzzled, I thanked him and moved on down the street.
I thought to myself there is no way all this is for one commercial, and that most of those are shot on a sound stage or big warehouse. Why the real need to do this in the middle of Atlanta?
The closer I got to the action, the heavier the security was. The next set of guards were standing there talking so I again asked what was going on and being shot. One guard quickly yelled out, “An episode of Sesame Street.â€Â Not believing him one bit, I moved on without a thank you or acknowledgement of his answer.
I tried to peak into the trucks and trailers to get some clues, but nothing was standing out. I tried to approach the main building where all the traffic was on Memorial, but I was quickly shoed away as I had no credentials. A younger man excited toward the street with an AMC baseball cap on so I decided to see what sort of smart ass answer he would give me. Appearing to me in a huge hurry, he answered, “some stuff for Walking Dead†and carried on down the street toward the trailers.
It all made sense knowing the show was shot nearby, and news of it being picked up for a second season was just announced. I thought it was very cool to see this action going on, even though I couldn’t really see much but lots of trucks, trailers and lighting equipment. Guess I will have to wait until season two of The Walking Dead to learn what was going on inside that large building.
Looked like cast trailers
So much equipment
Wish I knew what half this stuff was...
Guess all this stuff makes zombies look better
The high security building where everything was going down
Looked like a food tent for staff to eat maybe
Huge tents in the surrounding area
Trucks full of equipment
More trailers for The Walking Dead shooting
I work in Grant Park. Drove around today trying to figure out which “side street” has the houses from the pilot episode? Any specifics?
I was on Sydney, Orleans, Atlanta, Cherokee, Mead, Grant,etc, but couldn’t recognize any houses from the show.
Friend lives on Ormond…
Thanks for reading my entry…
Thinking about applying for an extra they keep advertising!!!