Look at any Hollywood producer's career and you can usually gauge that producer's taste in projects. For instance, it's not much of a stretch to guess that Gale Anne Hurd -- producer of such hits as The Abyss, Aliens and The Walking Dead -- is really into horror, and it's partly that fandom that led to her latest TV series, the Amazon docu-drama Lore, based on the spooky podcast of the same name. CinemaBlend recently spoke with the acclaimed producer, who talked about why she loves Lore, and how she got involved.
It combines two things I love. I love horror, and I love nonfiction, and I've never been able to combine the two in the past. And having listened to Aaron Mahnke's Lore podcast, and then being approached by the folks at Propagate, who had acquired the rights, asking if I wanted to partner, I could not have imagined a better partnership than working with Aaron and Propagate, as well as [X-Files producer] Glen Morgan, who I've been trying to work with for a while, to bring this to life at Amazon.
It's definitely true that Gale Anne Hurd has offered up some amazing work in the horror (and sci-fi) fields, as well as on the nonfiction side of things, with documentaries like Choctaw Code Talkers and Manhunter. But her two worlds haven't really collided in any big ways in the past, and Lore is a pretty solid representation of what Hurd gets down with, since each episode hones in on a specific slice of horror-influencing reality, showing viewers the actual stories behind some of history's most horrific moments and events.
For instance, one episode deals with the onset of frontal lobotomies taking over in the medical industry as a "cure," and the episode makes clear enough connections to genre-related characters like mad scientists and over-curious medical professionals like Dr. Henry Jekyll. Others focus on a variety of other creatures and entities, explaining how a lot of those legends and myths (and sometimes genuine threats) became popularized, and in interesting ways that utilize dramatized performances, animation and other types of footage. (All complete with Lore creator Aaron Mahnke's voiceover, of course.)
Lore tells some dark stories, to be sure, which might make it seem like a show not ripe for binge-watching. But if this is the kind of stuff you love, then you will certainly want to keep the episodes coming. In fact, that's exactly how Gale Anne Hurd likes to experience the show.
I do think the way that we tell the stories -- yes, it leaves you wanting more -- but I think we primed the pump for people to want to binge the next episode, because these are fascinating stories about the origins of so many iconic myths and legends. Whether it's vampires or werewolves or changelings or poltergeists, connecting to the other side. So for someone like me, it's like having an oversized magazine and wanting to read the next chapter.
No doubt there will be millions of Amazon subscribers that will share Gale Anne Hurd's sentiments, and we can't wait to see it all come alive soon. For fans who can't wait much longer to see Lore come to live-action on Amazon, the wait will end on Friday, October 13, at 12:01 a.m. PT. Check out what Gale Anne Hurd told me about The Walking Dead Season 8, as well as her anticipation for the upcoming Punisher series. And for all the other spooky and reality-centered shows coming soon, head to our fall TV premiere schedule.
