World War Z! (June 21, 2013)

[Odin'sLaw]

i haven't seen it posted (did a search nothing) might be best to fuse it with another thread

Development

After a bidding war with Leonardo DiCaprio's production company Appian Way, Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment secured the screen rights to the novel in 2007.[7] The screenplay was written by Babylon 5 and Rising Stars creator J. Michael Straczynski, who identified the challenge in adapting the work as "creating a main character out of a book that reads as a UN Report on the zombie wars".[8] Marc Forster signed on to direct, and described the film as reminiscent of 1970s conspiracy thrillers like All the President's Men.[9] Straczynski, however, identified 2002 spy film The Bourne Identity as an appropriate comparison, and noted that the film will have a large international scope which maintains the political emphasis.[10]

When asked about his involvement with the film, Brooks stated that he had "zero control", but favored a role for Brad Pitt,[11] and expressed approval for Straczynski as screenwriter.[12][13] In an interview with Fangoria, Brooks said, "I can't give it away, but Straczynski found a way to tie it all together. The last draft I read was amazing."[14]

An early script was leaked onto the internet in 2008. Ain't It Cool News reviewed the script in March 2008, and said "This isn't just a good adaptation of a difficult book... it's a genre-defining piece of work that could well see us all arguing about whether or not a zombie movie qualifies as 'Best Picture' material".[15] The review also noted the film appears stylistically similar to Children of Men.[15] According to Ain't It Cool News, the film follows Gerry Lane as he travels the post-war world and interviews survivors of the zombie war who are "starting to wonder if survival is a victory of any kind." One of the first interviews is with Dr. Tsai, the first to encounter the zombies.[15]

Straczynski had hoped that the film would begin production by the start of 2009.[10] Forster, however, told <redacted> in March 2009 that the script was still in development and he was not sure if World War Z would be his next film.[16] Later in March, rumors surfaced that production offices were set up and the film was in early pre-production.[17] In June 2009, Marc Forster told an interviewer that the film would be delayed, stating that the film's script still needs a lot of development and is "still far from realization".[18]

In July 2009, Brooks revealed to Fangoria that the script is currently being re-written by Matthew Michael Carnahan. Brooks believes this "shows [the producer's] confidence in this project" because of the amount of money that was being invested in it.[19] Paramount Pictures and UTV Motion Pictures announced at the 2010 Comic-Con that Forster is set as director, and Brad Pitt has been confirmed to play the lead role.[20]

In March 2011, it was reported that Paramount was searching for co-financier, and would likely pull the plug on the adaptation without one.[1] The article also stated that "an eleventh-hour effort is being made to court frequent Paramount co-financier David Ellison." A week later, Deadline.com reported that "hot and heavy talks are going on with David Ellison's Skydance and as many as two other financiers."[21]

In addition to Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox, Ed Harris, Lucy Aharish,[5] and Julia Levy-Boeken[6] are in talks to star.[4] Enos will play Karin, Pitt's wife and mother of their two children.[3][4] Dale will play Captain Speke, an American soldier who "tries to warn the government that the threat of zombies is real."[4]
[edit] Pre-production

Pre-production began in April 2011 with Robert Richardson announced as the cinematographer.[22] Filming will begin in Malta in July 2011 and will be centered largely around the Valletta and The Three Cities.[23] Filming will also take place in Glasgow, Scotland in August 2011.[24] Glasgow will double as Philadelphia, "with false shop fronts being constructed and American cars on the roads."[25] The city was reportedly chosen after "many months looking for the perfect city centre location to play an important part in the film."[24] Philadelphia was passed on due to "uncertainties about state tax credits for filmmakers."[26] Other filming locations include London and Pinewood Studios.[27] Visual effects will be done by Cinesite.[28][29] In June 2011, New York Magazine reported that neither Matthew Fox nor Ed Harris would appear in the film. Fox had a scheduling conflict stemming from his prior commitment to star in I, Alex Cross with Tyler Perry at Summit Entertainment.[30]
[edit] Filming

On a budget of $125 million,[1] World War Z began principal photography in July 2011 in Malta, with the first images of production being released a few days later.[2]

Filming is set to move to Glasgow in August with the production company looking to recruit 2000 local extras for the shoot.[31] At least three thousand people showed up at a casting call in Glasgow on July 9th, hoping for the opportunity to appear in a scene set in a financial district in Philadelphia. A second casting call may take place on July 23rd.[32] Some scenes are also to be shot in Falmouth, Cornwall.[33]

was reported in yesterdays The Sun (newspaper) they we're filming in london

[Cantih]

Just saw this, may as well get the thread up and running now that it's out of development hell and primary filming will start.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...-west-14523503

The important bits

Parts of Glasgow are being turned into war-torn ruins for the next two weeks as filming for a new Hollywood blockbuster gets under way.
World War Z is a post-apocalyptic zombie movie starring Brad Pitt.
A cast and crew of about 1,200 people will be involved in shooting scenes in George Square and other city centre locations.
An open casting was held last month to recruit local people to star as zombie extras.
Although shot in Glasgow, the film is set in Philadelphia, so false shop fronts will be brought in and American cars will take to the city's streets.


...


Some filming for the Paramount Pictures movie has already taken place in Valletta in Malta and in Falmouth in Cornwall.
It is due to be released next year.

[Fievel]

Oh Brad, you so silly.

[Meresgi]

I heard it wouldn't follow the overall story of the book, which is a shame imo because the book was set up to make a really damn good movie or TV miniseries (probably miniseries imo to better give time to each person's story).

If they are just going to make it about 1 person during the events then...it's quite boring imo. The book was great because it gave an all encompassing feel of what the world was doing during the events, not just one person.

[Insanecyclone]

[Cichy]

The fuck is going on with all those zombies running fast like that?

[grantlogan]

The fuck? Those things are more like a rushing flood of water than zombies.

[Sutra]

Hey you gotta hand it to the syfy channel for breaking out their A game. Will probably be their best original movie to date.


Seriously though I hate when studios try and do this cash-grab crap by tacking a popular franchise on to something distantly related at best (wow they both have zombies!).

I dunno might even be a decent movie, in a brainless action flick kind of way, but it'll never come close to the expectations that the name carries.

[rezn0r]

not looking as good as i had hoped, i really love the book.

on a random side note my friend got married last new years eve, and his brother in law worked on this movie apparently. when i found this out i was the annoying drunk who kept asking him questions. all i really got out of him was that pitt was a really nice guy. yipee

[Qeomash]

The problem with World War Z (book)'s zombies was that they were the slow, shambling zombies. Not quite as scary thematically as Left 4 Dead cheating, running zombies. I understand why they went with that.

I just hope in ~20 years someone makes the book into a TV miniseries. Each episode could be one of the interviews.

[Brill Weave]

Hmm. Not sure if want yet...

[tyven]

ill def watch this but i heard that had to bring in damon lindelof to rewrite it and reshoot it so i wouldnt be surprised if its a muddled up piece of shitty shit shit shit

[Lurking Badger]

That's not zombies, that's a human stampede.

[kisada]

sniff, i was hoping for the high quality zombies of TWD, not cg masses

[Insanecyclone]

BOOM Zombies EXPLOSION BRAD PITT SAVES THE WORLD IN A WEEK BO-YAH!

[Cichy]

looks like something Michael Bay would direct if you gave him a zombie script

[DrClout]

Welp, it's Brad Pitt. How bad could it really be?

[Mots]

I like it. It feels more like a natural disaster movie than a Zombie movie. The zombies themselves are a force of nature of sorts. Its pretty clear they wanted them to look like a body of water overtaking everything in its path.

I also think a real adaption of the book would do well as a TV series.

[finitek]

The episodic nature of the book would lend itself well to a network doing a long running series. The book and the audio book are worth a read/listen.

[Chocoboy]

I agree about making this into a television series. This movie will be good, but didn't really need the World War Z title attached to it.