By Michelle Russo. Posted October 29, 2014 at 06:10PM on “UO Close Up,” the official Universal Orlando blog:
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As a huge fan of The Walking Dead, there is nothing more exciting than stepping right into the middle of a zombie apocalypse in The Walking Dead: End of the Line house at Halloween Horror Nights 24.
This weekend, I got the awesome chance to talk with Greg Nicotero, co-executive producer and director of special effects make-up for The Walking Dead. Remember the premier of Season 5? The episode we couldn’t stop talking about? Yeah, that was his work.
He gave us an inside scoop on his experience here at Halloween Horror Nights and whether or not he would survive a zombie apocalypse himself.
What’s your favorite thing about the Walking Dead house here at Universal Orlando Resort?
There are so many great things about the house here. I love that you guys tell a linear story. It’s like the CliffsNotes version of the entire Season 4. For me, it’s tremendously exciting to be able to go through the maze and see moments that we spent a lot of time crafting. And clearly those moments resonated with Mike Aiello and his team because they reproduced them note for note. Like the Big Spot and the tunnel before Terminus and the country club… all those great moments!
Do you have a favorite scene in The Walking Dead house?
The Big Spot is pretty great. You guys actually put a helicopter inside the maze. When we shot that episode we didn’t even have a real helicopter, we used a CGI one but you guys actually put a real helicopter in there. It’s really great!
Besides the Walking Dead house, do you have another favorite house here at Halloween Horror Nights?
I love the Alien vs. Predator house, and I love the Halloween house as well as the original houses that you guys did, too. I’m an old school guy, so I like AVP and Halloween but the Dollhouse of the Damned was weird and creepy and strange.
I love that Halloween has now become Christmas! Thanks to our show and the dedication of our fans, people approach me on the street and say “Oh thanks for The Walking Dead! It brings our family together.” So, now they can take that one step further here at Universal Orlando Resort and experience it for themselves by walking through the prison and walking through Terminus. There is no higher form of praise for the actors and writers and the crew of the show.
Do you have a favorite character in our houses?
Michael Myers is pretty great… I really felt like I stepped into the movie. And I think with The Walking Dead maze, you get the same sensation.
I saw some of the zombies had blood dripping out of their eyes like we had done for the infection. They are all good! I can’t pick. It’s like picking a favorite kid. Oh, you’re all great!
Had you ever been to Halloween Horror Nights before?
I have been. I’ve been to the one in Los Angeles many times. I have been to the one here three or four times, and it gets better and better. I don’t know how you guys do it. We toured the [Aliens vs. Predator] maze today and we were looking at the alien puppets and they are so well crafted and so well thought out. I want to adapt your technology of what you guys do because it works really well.
And [Makeup Designer] Mike Burnett and his crew, just seeing what they come up with year after year. How they interpret the make-ups that we do on the show every day for seven months. It’s a fantastic tribute and inspiring to me and my crew to see the artistry and the level of detail that you guys put into every night.
How did you come up with the zombie look for the show?
I had done a lot of work with George A. Romero and Tom Savini in my early days. So, I had spent a lot of time refining the look of the zombies. We knew we had to shoot in Atlanta in the middle of June in the summer and heat and humidity. So we had to be very careful to design the prosthetics that would hold up through the elements. The custom dentures and contact lenses and using wigs on the walkers so the hair looked like it was falling out, we really pulled out all the stops.
Do you have a favorite walker on the show?
I always go back to the first one we did back in Season 1, Bicycle Girl, crawling in the park. I think maybe because it became the staple for the show, we really always try to aim that high with all the other zombies.
If there was a zombie apocalypse, would you survive?
Of course I would survive! I would do the best zombie makeup on myself in history and just walk around. Everyone would be like, “That zombie looks great!” They would never know.
The post A Halloween Horror Nights 24 Interview with Greg Nicotero appeared first on Close Up.
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