'Walking Dead' Mazzara To Develop 'Omen' Series

From zombies to the antichrist, former "The Walking Dead" showrunner Glen Mazzara is heading to Lifetime to develop a show about Damien, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Instead of re-imagining the beginnings of the demonic tyke featured in 1976's "The Omen," a la "Hannibal" and "Bates Motel," the show focuses on the adult version of Damien Thorn who "is faced with a series of macabre events and must finally face his true destiny: he is the Antichrist."

The original flick, which grossed more than $60 million domestically and was followed by two sequels, was written by David Seltzer, directed by Richard Donner and starred Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as adoptive parents to the hellion. As THR notes, there was also two "Omen" TV movies, a 2005 miniseries "Revelations" starring Bill Pullman, and the 2006 Liev Schreiber remake.

Mazzara will write and executive produce the show with his 44 Strong Productions production company. He is also writing "The Shining" movie prequel "Overlook Hotel." As for Lifetime, "Damien" follows "Witches of East End" and the apocalyptic "The Lottery" in a move to genre programming.

-Aaron Sagers

Frank Darabont Sues Over 'Walking Dead' Profits

Photo of Darabont, courtesy IMDB

We all know that "The Walking Dead" is one of the most successful television shows today and its developer, Frank Darabont, wants his piece of the action. To this day, he has not received any money as a profit participant and he hopes this changes.

According to Deadline,"...Darabont and his agency CAA filed a lawsuit (click here to read) against AMC, accusing the network in 'self dealing' by setting an unrealistically low license fee for the zombie series it also produces and employing questionable accounting practices thus depriving profit participants of compensation."

Filed on Thursday, December 17,  the complaint also alleges that Darabont was wrongfully fired from the show and should still be credited as an executive producer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the suit "directly connects his ouster from the show to AMC's desire to save money." It claims that AMC "fired Darabont without cause shortly before Season 2 aired precisely in order to avoid its contractual obligation to pay him increased profits (which vested fully at the conclusion of Season 2) and to avoid its obligation to negotiate to hire him as showrunner for Season 3."

Former 'Walking Dead' showrunner Mazzara writing 'Shining' prequel - and it might be cool

Former Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara is checking into The Overlook Hotel, reports Deadline. Mazzara, who was dismissed from TWD in December, is writing a prequel to the 1980 Stanley Kubrick film The Shining for Warner Bros.

Although my fanboy eyebrow (my fanbrow?) arches skeptically anytime I hear about a remake, reboot, re-imagining or long dormany prequel, this kind of makes sense. Long before the Torrance family moved into the Overlook for a really bad winter, the hotel had a notorious history. In Stephen King's 1977 novel alone, the hotel was the site of illnesses, tragic deaths, the murder-suicide of a family, gangland-style murders, ghost children, snakelike fire hoses, zombie wasps, evil topiaries and, oh yeah, is kind of an extension of Hell.

Mazzara could use a prequel to play with a lot of this material that never made it into Kubrick's film (which also had a funky masquerade swinger party and Indian burial ground)...

'Walking Dead' gets new showrunner

Gimple and undead, courtesy Scot Gimple

There has been much speculation as to whom the new showrunner would be on AMC's zombie series The Walking Dead. It turns out, it’s going to be recently fired Glen Mazzara’s number two man.

His name is Scott Gimple and he’s a top writer on the show. He jumped on the the zombie train during Season 2 and he’s written several episodes for not only S2 but also the upcoming third season.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting Gimple will "take the helm of the series when it resumes production later this year for season four."

Regarding Mazzara’s departure, "Both parties acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion about where the show should go moving forward and conclude that it is best to part ways," AMC said in a statement early Friday announcing the show's fourth-season renewal.

"This decision is amicable, and Glen will remain on for postproduction on season 3B as showrunner and executive producer."

One thing that the AMC statement did not touch on was THR's reports that Mazzara was frequently behind on his schedule and clashed with "very proprietary" creator Robert Kirkman.

So will this third showrunner be a charm? Or, will he meet the same fate as Mazzara and first (also fired) showrunner, Frank Darabont? As long as the show keeps getting renewed and our zombie lust is sated, we’re happy!

The Walking Dead resumes its third season this Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

-Larissa Mrykalo

New 'Walking Dead' clips preview season 3.5

Although the news that showrunner Glen Mazzara would be leaving The Walking Dead for Season 4, AMC has reminded us that there is a lot more action to look forward to in the second half of Season 3.

In a couple new clips for the remaining eight episodes for the Feb. 10 return, we get more of a glimpse of what might go down with the Grimes Gang and the Woodbury boys.

Check out the clips below, and pick them apart like we did. The first is more of a preview while the second is a clip picking up where we left off when Merle and Daryl meet again in Woodbury.





  -Larissa Mrykalo

'Walking Dead' returns for Season 4, Mazzara does not

With ratings that made it the top cable series of 2012 - and one that beat out some broadcast hits - it’s no surprise that AMC has renewed the popular zombie series The Walking Dead, based on Robert Kirkman's comics. It is quite a shock that showrunner Glen Mazzara, is not returning. Mazzara replaced Frank Darabont last year (after a very public firing) but Mazzara made this official statement on Dec. 21:

"My time as showrunner on The Walking Dead has been an amazing experience, but after I finish season 3, it’s time to move on. I have told the stories I wanted to tell and connected with our fans on a level that I never imagined. It doesn’t get much better than that. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the decision was an amicable one but, according to a statement from AMC, "Both parties acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion about where the show should go moving forward and conclude that it is best to part ways."

Let's not forget that AMC has a bad habit of pulling shenanigans like this, and has led to some vocal disagreement within TWD ranks before. As of yet, no replacement for Mazzara has been chosen but THR says someone on the writing staff may be in the running.

Should we speculate on whether that someone could be Kirkman himself, Gale Anne Hurd or Greg Nicotero?

The remainder of Season 3's eight episodes will start airing on Feb. 10. And Season 4 will premiere some time in October. Also look for an extra half hour of the popular Chris Hardwick-hosted, The Talking Dead to air at 10 p.m. ET, immediately following the new episodes.

-Larissa Mrykalo

Prison photos: 'Walking Dead' goes to the big house

The anticipation is already building for the October return of AMC's The Walking Dead - and Entertainment Weekly has just revved it up further by releasing these photos of the prison glimpsed in the Season Two finale. The prison is a pivotal - and fan-favorite - set piece of Robert Kirkman's comic. And the initial photos seem to be doing it justice.

In the first pic, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) is in mid-swing to deliver a helluva hatchet-headache for one zombie. In the second pic (after the jump) Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and co. seem to be surrounded by some undead inmates.

"I’m incredibly proud of the prison," showrunner Glen Mazzara told EW. "I think our crew has done a great job. It’s a huge sense of scale and magnitude I haven’t seen on any other show as far as construction. What’s important to us is the prison itself is now a character in the show. It’s a haunted house, it’s scary, it’s frightening, and there are parts of the prison that are always terrifying, that are always inaccessible to our group. It’s not necessarily the blessing that the prison in the comic book turned out to be."

After catching glimpses of badass zombie killer Michonne and the return of Merle, this is a big reveal.

-Aaron Sagers