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Gale Anne Hurd to Receive the Career Achievement Award at ScreamFest

Over the past eight seasons and nearly ten years of The Walking Dead, fans have not only grown to know and love the characters and actors of the zombie drama but the creative team behind it as well. One of those team members is producer Gale Anne Hurd, who has been with the series since the beginning, helping to bring the beloved world to life while constantly communicating with the fans. Her brilliant mind extends far past just The Walking Dead though, and that’s why she will be receiving the Career Achievement Award at this year’s ScreamFest Horror Film Festival in Los Angeles. Truth be told, we can’t think of a better recipient.

gale anne hurd
Gene Page/AMC

Hurd’s producing filmography speaks for itself in the world of action and horror. She’s been behind iconic films such as The Terminator, Aliens, Tremors, Armageddon, The Incredible Hulk, and 2018’s Hell Fest, which is currently in theaters. On the small screen, she’s obviously the executive producer for The Walking Dead and its spinoff Fear the Walking Dead, but she has also produced Hunters, Falling Water, and Amazon’s Lore. ScreamFest will air special screenings of Aliens and The Terminator after Hurd receives the award.

Gale Ann Hurd and Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes - The Walking Dead _ Season 5, Episode 2 _ BTS - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Gene Page/AMC

Of course, while we have so many fantastic films and tv shows to thank Hurd for, there’s one decision that she’s behind that deserves its own award – casting Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes.

[row]“I remember calling up Frank Darabont and saying, ‘God, there’s something to this guy.’ At that point, we didn’t even know if we would be able to find our Rick Grimes. It was that serious,” Hurd said. “We had already cast Jon Bernthal because we knew we had our Shane Walsh, and then when we brought Andrew over to the US and did that initial test in Frank’s garage, in the car, that’s when we said, ‘Oh my God, we have our Rick Grimes.’ And who thought it was gonna be this Royal Academy of Dramatic Art-trained UK actor, that we only knew from Love Actually. Literally, people thought we were nuts, she told EW at SDCC earlier this year.”[/row]

Gale Anne Hurd to Receive the Career Achievement Award at ScreamFest

The ScreamFest Horror Film Festival will take place Oct. 9-18, at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood. The event will also be hosting a special screening of Bride of Chucky, followed by a Q&A with the film’s writer Don Mancini and producer David Kirschner. For more information about the festival, you can head here!

The Walking Dead will have its debut its season nine premiere this Sunday at 9/8c on AMC! You can check out our full review of the premiere here!