Can we just appreciate how Jeffrey Demunn (dale) was so loyal to darabont by deciding to leave as they had worked together on the Green mile. Seems like they where good friends
@@jaxchacky9358 He actually quit in loyalty to his friend. But Frank chided him and told him it was still a great role for him, and asked he not quit because of what had happened to him. Jeff went back to the producers to say he had a change of heart, but they told him the wheels were already in motion for his departure. It's quite clear that they didn't want Frank's long term collaborators on the show. And Jeff offering to quit, made it easy to get rid of one. But it also clearly shows why Laurie Holden was written out at the first opportunity, too. Look how long Andrea lived in the comic in comparison.
@@trevorheimler7520 2 started off well enough, he was involved for the first few episodes but then you could feel his absence. The rest of season 2 and all the way through season 4 were alright for what they were, but as the series went on, they had various episodes that were there that didn’t move the story along and were essentially there to just pad the seasons out as the series went from a 6 episode first season to a 13 episode second season and for the rest of the series the seasons have 16 episodes. I think the 11th and final season has a few more due to it ending, but I can’t remember off hand so I may be wrong with that. But they basically have more episodes, with the story drawn out more than it needed to be.
@@Jared_Wignall I think season 5 was the last enjoyable season. Season 6 had a couple good moments but overall yeah the show played its course and all it had was the likable cast that was gradually dwindling.
Spoilers: There were several good seasons in there. But the reveal at the end of season 2, that the girl they’ve been looking for the whole season was in the barn with the rest of the walkers, was a gut punch.
I don’t think the emails are bad. The things Stanley Kubrick said, for example, was way worse. They don’t hire directors to be babysitters. They’re they to make great film and earn money. TWD wouldn’t be on TV if it weren’t for him
Honestly dude. Especially if the crew is being incompetent. I wonder how the show would be different. It probably would have ended already before it got stale
It baffles me how Vince Gilligan hasn't yet had a major creative control problem with AMC when it comes to Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul. I thinks he's worked with them for about 15 yrs. Not to say AMC are the good guys. They're clearly not. Maybe he has but it's just been hidden from the press due to studio compromises with him and NDA's?
@@Owen-ub3fv I thought about that. I think it's because TWD is a cash cow, and AMC wants to control it. Keep in mind I don't think AMC actually owns the rights to Breaking Bad or BCS. With TWD they actually own the rights to the show when it comes to TV/Film rights.
They knew the man, his temper and his TALENT. That said, either the reality of who he was may have been too much to handle or AMC needed to make the extended deal to get him to sign on, once a hit was in the can well, so was he and the expenses that came with him. Ultimately it screwed the fans from realizing what WTD could have been in its best form, but that die was cast when Kirkman sold it to AMC and lost creative control due to budget. Hopefully, Skybound will find a way to build the Clementine story arc into a mainstream series that will follow a more gritty reality that Darabont hinted at and Tell Tale captured in its animated video game series.
There has to be some good in the ole boy. He brought too many of his actors along. People don't always remember the ones who help you get where you are. He did. Just watch The Mist, it's like watching TWD with all the familiar faces. Yes, season 1 is my favorite.
Yes I see a bunch of articles saying Frank actually fought for the cast and crew (pay and working conditions)....but it seems he ended up not liking a few of them.
I can only wonder how much better the show would have been if Frank had stayed. All the stupid crap that was totally ridiculous in Seasons 6-8 would probably not have happened. Just terrible writing. Being pissed is fine, it happens, but saying crazy shit about killing people is never acceptable. Probably what got him fired.
It sounds like no one has ever told Frank no while working on a project before and he didn’t take it well. Threatening to harm people Is never acceptable, even if you have talent.
Not really enough reason to fire and a breach of his contract. That's why AMC ended up having to settle and paid him 200 million, just 50 million short of what he had sued them for.
What I Ioved about the show was not the action or plot, it was those simple moments of humanity between crises, from characters you were invested in. It was seeing how they were getting by and imagining what you'd do if in that position. It was the tightness of the group- they became a family. To me I think the CDC episode is what really started the beef with kirkman. Personally I didn't like the CDC episode at all but I love everything else Frank did and think the show would have remained extremely strong if he'd stayed with it. The show was still good for a few years, and tolerable for a few more, but it was just never the same post Frank.
The first season is still the best. The second was the worst for a long time. But you kept watching because it had so much potential. I kept watching casually. I waited to get behind several episodes then I would catch up. But after Rick left, it just wasn’t the same.
Honestly his crazy emails don't even come across that crazy to me. Yeah it wouldn't fly in most jobs, but in creative fields like film, I feel like it could've been so much worse. I think they did him dirty for sure, but I'm not convinced the show was worse off without him in the long run. Here's one thing I will never, ever, understand: why on earth would they cut the budget after the shoe's successful first season? Honestly it's a miracle the show is as good as it is given AMC and all the behind the scenes drama with showrunners.
Greed maybe - AMC in court says that the lawsuits are because these people (Frank, Robert, Gale, etc) are greedy. These people are saying it's AMC that is greedy. A judge will decide. So greed seems to be the best answer to why they expected twice the production for way less $.
I don't think he has a dark side. I just think he was angry in those emails that got leaked to the press because he genuinely cared about the show and the wellbeing of others. Not for his own vanity or ego. Now I don't know him personally but Frank Darabount seems like an incredibly smart and caring man. Like James Cameron but with more of a kind human quality about him. I get the impression he is just like Andy Dufresne from the Shawshank redemption and wrote a lot of himself into that character. A champion for the common good and good people. You can't blame him for losing his temper with those AMC execs. They are unfoundedly horrible and stupid excuses for human beings. Trust me.
No doubt if it weren’t for Frank Darabont, there is no Walking Dead show. It definitely sounds like Frank and AMC had a tumultuous relationship. Like Andrea said to Shane about his ideas & opinions being right it’s just that his approach was all wrong, this sounds like what happened to Frank. No matter what you have to get your point across in a respectful manner. It sounds like Frank failed to a certain degree behind the scenes in that area. With that said, season 1 was indeed brilliant. It’s hard to say how the Walking Dead would’ve turned out if Frank wasn’t ousted. Keeping in mind as much of a genius Frank might be, he isn’t perfect. When making The Shawshank Redemption, Frank wanted the ending to be Red riding the bus on his way to see Andy. After this ending failed with test audiences his hand was forced to have the ending of Red making it to the beach to be reunited with Andy (this ending being very much against Frank’s will) completing a magnificent ending to a movie everyone loves.
All good points. It's hard to work with people - Frank with people or people with Frank - I've had the same issues on projects. Minus the genius part haha
I wish he was able to keep his cool. I mean they probably would have fired him even if he didn’t say anything about killing people. He had a right to be pissed about everything he talked about. They let Vince Gilligan and his crew have complete creative control over breaking bad. It should have been the same here it’s so disappointing.
Now there's a tiny girl slaughtering waves of walking dead. I like Darabont for all the work he's put into the horror genre, I think there's way too much mindless nonsense in the show now, it's meant to be horrific and yet we never get to embrace that. I think he was right about a lot of those working on it, sad thing is that those same people now run the damn thing.
Hi James, nice content, as ever. I believe geniuses are often difficult to live and work with. Darabont is, clearly, a genius. If Frank was allowed to advance the show his way what a feast we would have had. Even Covid 19 would have been afraid to interrupt the schedule! Even with the poor writing and production that followed him the seeds he sowed in terms of pace, mood, drama and spectacle ensured 10 more seasons of ever more diluted action and, in most cases, inaction. I can only dream of where Darabont would have taken this show. It just shows you don't have to be a genius to be an asshole but, usually, in my experience you need to be an asshole to be a genius.
The episode where Dale dies you can tell the quality of the show took an unfathomable unfathomable dip after that, to me it was Frank's last episode Think about the season 2 finale it was all shooting up guns a blazing instead of scary
It would’ve benefited the series in the long run had he stayed on, but they fired him and wanted to shoot the show with a limited budget. Financially AMC made the right call but as a result, the shows legacy is just being a stepping stone for other projects and having seasons that all vary in quality.
The show would have survived all the way to season 25. Even if he had stayed on as a adviser after season 11 had ended. I think the show would have had a much bigger following and fan base if Frank had stayed, because he was a great big famous Director and he was a real good story teller director. Frank could have greatly saved the series from low viewership.
I totally agree with you. Although I think his frustration is 100% warranted, the words he chose were his mistake. I now don't blame AMC for cutting ties. I always hated th decision but now, I see things in a new light.
I don't think Frank is the asshole you're making him out to be here. Look at Sam Witwer when he's talking about TWD and Frank. If everyone was afraid of Frank and only talks good about him because of it, it would be noticed. Sam did not show any signs of that. He talks like he means what he says about Frank. You also have many actors that have been in numerous movies with Frank directing, which I doubt would happen if Frank was an asshole. However, sometimes you do need to be an asshole to get your point across.
I do not know either way about Frank for sure - but I have been the boss many many times and it's hard not to be called an asshole by people - no matter what happened. Just the way it is. I agree that people like Sam and Andrew Lincoln do not say bad things about Frank - he was one of the main reasons Andrew said yes to the part.
Thanks for the insight. I still wish Frank was involved. Loved the show until about season 5 and it went downhill fast. I use to have such anticipation for the episodes to be let down equally each week back then. Edit: the email about killing people and throwing out the door. I hear it, I understand how you interpreted it. But I kind of hear it differently as he is talking about killing characters off. Maybe I’m being naive. But that’s how I take it.
The Walking Dead had the most Awesome beginning you could ask for...... Kirkman and Darabont - Just Genius...... The rest is petty bs...... How about some gratitude that he got the whole thing rolling ?! I have never stopped watching..... Through the good, the sad, and the shocking, its all pure Magic to me...... TWD got me through some crazy times in real life, and I will always be Thankful......
Man I loved season 1 it’s def in my top favorite seasons of all the shows.. but some things just still bug me till this day! Like the walkers using bricks and climbing ladders and tall fences or the little girl picking up her doll.. when I go back and Watch season 1 those things get to me.. only because they never do those things ever Again.. I try to imaging if the show kept the walkers that way and kept them smart what would the show be like..
Everything about season 1 and 2 gave the real vibes of a real zombie movie. It was art. But I don't think TWD would have lasted as long on TV if he was still there
Never new about all the details. Man that's crazy. If things could have been different I wonder how different the show would be if he had stayed around much longer.
The man is talented. But please remember this. In any line of work in any company in the world there is a code of conduct. Regardless of talent or skill if any employee said to their bosses about colleagues what Darabont said it would be an instant dismissal case.
@@TWDExplained well…take away the hat, the southern drawl and the darkness of the mustache, and he basically resembles Frank. He’s constantly claiming to be the voice of God (echoing Franks detractors, basically saying he’s a megalomaniac) and he’s obsessed with family and he’s kinda sentimental and emotional. I mean……I don’t really believe that that’s what deliberately happened, per se……but if it was, I can’t say I’d be that surprised. AMC says “final season? Let’s make a villain look like Darabont for fun.”
He made the show what it is. If anybody that came after him were the ones who initiated the show, it would have been just like any mediocre TV show. It is correct that they hire completely incompetent writers and 'talent'. Over paid who do their 'job' but with zero actual talent. And high incompetence and lack of professionalism. It is evident throughout all Walking Dead TV how bad some of the writers are. While others are decent. Nobody came close to Frank. However, it was completely his fault for getting canned. There was no conspiracy. No dirty motives. No bureaucracy or corporate politics. He was 100% out of line and unprofessional in his own way. There is zero excuse for ever losing your temper. Yes there were problems with the production. But no matter how major, you address it in a civil and professional/respectful manner. And present yourself as a positive individual to be around.
Just stumbled on this but great video. AMC was moronic for firing this dude. Think about what Walking Dead could have been with 1 competent director doing 5-9 seasons instead of the soap opera it became
I've watched interviews with Jon betnthal and Sara wyane calis and they both said that frank was amazing and when he was fired it was all about money and timing if he would of stayed on the show much longer he would of been making more money that's all it comes down to course AMC tried to make it about other things
I don't really have an opinion on any of thos but I will say this.....Season 2 was is and always will be my favorite season. Seasons 1 and 2 are what got me into the show. 3 was good but from 3 on the show changed alot. My favorite time period was frank darabonts baby. So maybe he was better for the show...idk
I would say that was way to far on his part.. like you don’t just threaten people’s lives over things not going your way.. that’s life? I feel he may of had a few brews before writing that lol but still yeah you don’t say things like that
I dunno man if u experienced the shit that he did u might do the same thing Its like the kid that says a joke then other kid says the same joke and everyone laughs , he revived a somewhat dead genre at that time he bŕought a team a cast his stroytelling... just so it gets taken out by a greedy company to me that is too far ,
I don't know why people still try to defend anything after season 2 The only good thing was in season 3 is David Morrissey, in season 4/5 terminus and carol Rambo mode was enjoyable but that's all. Anything else is pure shit including the new characters
Everyone who has ever worked know that in creative projects you say things you dont mean when the pressure builds up, i believe he just cared really much for his show and he could have made great things. PS. If you pay people to work and they dont do their work as they should after you told them how to do it, i mean yeah fuck them.
Watching this show and getting angry about the decisions they have made, how things are portrayed, the focal plot points, and the morality, often makes me upset, and feels like they seriously squandered this show. It is painful how things continually do not make sense with the zombies and they seemingly change things on the fly. That would not be happening with the high-level Darabont who had huge drive, will, and vision for this show. For it to go 11 seasons....it makes me so sad to wonder how it could have been had it kept him at the helm and had the production crew actually been up to par. Still not good for him to say those things of course. It sucks. I can barely get through the last few seasons. Just started season 10, trying to get through it to see this out, but its been rough. Hope Darabont gets what he deserves if they did him wrong.
@@MonasteryOfSilence Actually, i’ve owned and run a successful business for fifteen years. Based on how mad you got from my one off the cuff comment I feel you have anger issues and I feel sorry for anyone forced to work on a project with you. Please consider anger management classes and maybe a girlfriend or boyfriend. 😻
@@thecatnat3574 You must feel very smart after that comment. I wasnt even mad by the way and since you feel i have anger issues from a random comment in the internet you should close the successful business you run and become a psychic, about considering a girlfriend or boyfriend i could use your cat Nat :D
The first few seasons were great. Once they started killing off characters and bringing in new people to fallow that i had no care for i stopped watching it.
Yeah, I hate to say it, but Darabont had it coming. He was good, but you have to maintain your professionalism. He sounded kind of arrogant, like he's the only one who knows what to do.
And looks like he was actually the only one who knew what to do because the show nosedived in quality after he left. Frank is one of all time greatest filmmakers and those angry rants need to be taken in context, AMC screwed him and he was given an incompetent crew, people often say things they regret after when they are pissed off, it's not like he lost his cool in normal circumstances.
@@kdscool1536 , true. I often wonder what the show could've been if he had stayed. I know the budget was a huge source of contention. I can see today how a low budget has affected the quality of the show.
I think Frank was completely justified and everything he said. One it's just words. People are too damn affected by words. Also, we need to judge somebody on their actions. Anyway, Frank Derabonte is the director of the series. He brought it to life. AMC is just the money that's it. The man has a filmography to marvel at. He directed 2 of the greatest films ever made. Now,'The Walking Dead' was his new baby, and he wanted it to look the way he wanted. Studios are constantly coming in and messing with the directors vision. These idiots are not being paid to be imaginative. They don't know the first thing about storytelling. It is JUST a product to them. Not an art form. These Studio heads need to stay in their lane. They are the business side of the agreement. Leave the production to the storytellers. That is why they were hired for their imagination. There is always an agreement before production. An agreement to what Frank would be allowed to do and what he wanted. Somebody went back on their word, and I don't think it was Frank.
Just me! My opinion ONLY! AMC EXISTED before the TWD! Back then they showed Old western movies exclusively! So, maybe the executive of the channel resented the stock holders for wanting more diversity in programming. So, they chose the show because they wanted TWD to Fail!
ON THE DARK SIDE The dark side's callin' now, nothin' is real She'll never know just how I feel From out of the shadows she walks like a dream Make me feel crazy, make me feel so mean Ain't nothin' gonna save you from the love that's blind Slip to the dark side and cross that line On the dark side, oh yeah On the dark side, oh yeah
