After 11 seasons, AMC led the flagship show The Walking Dead to France for the spinoff “Daryl Dixon” and filmed seasons 1 and 2 of 160, 160 days and 160 days.
Speaking on a panel at the Deauville American Film Festival’s industry meet-up event, Benoliel and De Bellloy shared anecdotes about the filming that marked AMC’s first filming of the entire series in Europe.
The US network, which began season 3 of “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” on Monday and is preparing season 4, was thinking of coming to France first to shoot some looks.
“The Walking Dead is really a US tent pole, so AMC wanted to keep its momentum, raise the show and give the franchise a new impulse, so one day AMC executives would say, “What about Daryl Dixon under the Eiffel Tower?” joked de Belloi.
The line producer whose banners have taken physical production and VFX to the left said AMC knew that “we wanted to set the story in France, but we didn’t know if we’d film it in France.” They looked at other options, including Ireland, but Benoriel and De Bellault were able to demonstrate to them that “artistically and financially, it would make great sense to stay in France and even shoot the world here.” In fact, season 2 episodes take place in Maine and Greenland, but they were all filmed outside of Paris and in the Alps, respectively.
De Belloi pointed to recent examples of films shot in France despite being set elsewhere, including “Emilia Perez,” “Material” (which takes place in Mexico and Los Angeles, respectively), and Natalie Portman’s upcoming film, “The Gallerist,” starring Jenna Ortega.
In addition to the strong tax incentives that are a 40% rebate (30% for movies using VFX, an additional 10%), France is a hot destination thanks to landmarks. “I took them on a tour at the Louvre, but their initial response was, “No way, you can’t do one of the scenes with a zombie in front of Mona Lisa!” And I said, “Yes, that’s technically viable,” and Benoriel, who recently filmed Season 5 of France’s “Emily in Paris” and as an Italian executive and line producer. He pointed out that booking these iconic sites meant that a plan is planned, not a cost (which could be around 20,000 euros without security costs). He said that Louvres, like Versailles, are booked for one year at any time, so they must be booked in advance.
Most of “Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” is filmed on the exterior, while the rest is in the studio, mostly in Paris, the studio.
AMC then took the series to Spain for seasons 3 and 4, but the show maintains some of its main crew, including French stunt coordinators, and still works with Benoliel and De Bellloy on post-production and VFX. Therefore, production can still continue to benefit from a 40% French tax refund.
De Bellloy and Benoliel have put together a “99% French” crew to “maximise tax rebates” for AMC. “We had about 10 people, so executive producers, showrunners, David Zabelle, directors, Greg Nicotero (an award-winning make-up effects artist) brought him, but the rest was French, and the Americans worked with French film theatre actors, production designers, costume designers, and more. Artists.
Along with castings made by veteran casting director Juliet Menagher (Emily Impari, Franklin), there was also a “Zombie School” on the set launched and led by Nicoterror.
Nicotero’s “How to Find a “Hero Zombie”” was to “couple eight (dancers or flexionists) and train them for two days on how to move, behave, wear makeup and do some tests.”
The zombies were hired under a two-year contract with different status. De Bellloy described three different types of zombies in the show. “It’s a hero zombie spends two hours a day, a second layer that requires 30 minutes to an hour of makeup, and a third layer wearing a mask.” In total, “80 different zombies” worked in two seasons filmed in France.
However, the French zombies did not reach Season 3 as Nicoleto launched Spain’s second zombie school. “Now I’m full of Spanish zombies!” Delete Benoliel.
The executive producer, who is actively lobbying to strengthen tax rebates, also said that it can currently accommodate up to five major productions at the same time.
“At some point we had a ‘new look’. I shot “Emily.”
France does not have Pinewood or Babelberg, but it will expand its offer over the next few years. More than 50 soundstages are currently being built to strengthen production infrastructure as part of a $110 million investment plan from the French government. One of the new backlots, TSF Studio Paris, spreads over 120 acres and recreates the city of Paris. Meanwhile, in northern France, the 119-acre former aviation field has been acquired through his holdings by French billionaire and Media One co-founder Xavier Neil, transforming into a huge film studio.
The Deauville industry meet-event, organised by Head Hethbert, supported by the National Film Commission (CNC), included a panel of CASTORSING DERETSING ATING ATING ATING ATING DIRED DISID DISPHID, as well as Coralie Fargeat’s Oscar-winning Executive Producer and VFX Supervisor of “Materials” and intimate coordinator Chatherine O’Keeefe. A keynote speech by Joshua Astrachan, producer of Jim Jalmusch’s “Father Mother Mother Sisters” who was partially filmed in France and won the Golden Lion of Venice.
Industry events were also politically through the presence of Florence Portelli, vice president of culture in the Paris region. Portelli gave a fiery speech highlighting the importance of regional international filming, claiming it was Europe’s “number one hub” for filmmaking and production, “from a shooting day perspective,” and “financial support for filmmakers with a budget of 24 million euros per year.”
Portelli also flagged “a challenging context” due to “high production costs, the impact of the 2023 strike, and now tariff pressure.” “Europe, especially in Paris, offers a very strong alternative,” she said.
In addition to “Gallerist” with Portman, another US film shot in France is “Amateur,” starring Rami Marek.
