World War Z Director Announced

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:34 pm

Gregg Popabitch wrote:
Spartan wrote:http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/07/16/mat ... rld-war-z/

Whatגs going on with the big screen adaptation of Max Brooksג book World War Z? J. Michael Straczynski wrote a screenplay, which seems like over a year ago, and Quantum of Solace helmer Marc Forster has been attached to direct. But aside from comments from Stazzynski or Foster here or there, we really havenגt gotten an update on the project in a long while.

Brooks, son of comedy legend Mel Brooks, revealed that Paramount Pictures has hired a new writer for the project, while making an appearance on Fangoria Radio. Who is the new writer? Matthew Michael Carnahan, brother of director Joe Carnahan, and writer of The Kingdom, Lions For Lambs, and State of Play. Brooks said that Carnahan is גone of Hollywoodגs hot A-list writers, so if they went after him and paid him a mountain of gold, it definitely shows their confidence in this project.ג Still no word an an updated production timeline.

Straczynski has also called the film גa thrillerג, comparing it to the Bourne films, and stating that it would be the first large scale zombie film:

גMost zombie movies to this point have been small, focusing on a few people in a house. And this has got real scare. Youגre in India with hundreds of boats trying to get out of there with a tidal wave of zombies. The scale of what weגre doing here is phenomenal.ג

Like every other industry in America, Hollywood is cutting back. Is it possible that the rewrite might address budget concerns? It might not be the right time to make a story this epic in scale.

AICN called Straczynskiגs previous draft of the screenplay גa horror epic, a serious, sober-minded adult pictureג, potentially גa genre-defining piece of workג with Best Picture potential (really?!). The basic premise of the book is that it is an oral history of the zombie war, compiled by an unnamed government employee. The movie follows this researcher, named Gerry Lane (possibly to be played by Brad Pitt, who is producing the project), as he travels the world conducting interviews with survivors, 10-years later.

The book was released in 2006, and is available on Amazon for $16.47. Iגve included the official plot description from the book after the jump:

גThe Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, גBy excluding the human factor, arenגt we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isnגt the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as גthe living deadג?ג

I'm getting kind of sceptical now. It's supposed to be an epic with large scale set pieces and there's budget concerns incredibly early on.
if this is your concern, you should've been skeptical from the jump. peeping the whole scope of the movie, you kinda knew there'd be budget concerns at some point or another. if they stayed word for word as best they could, shit would cost gazillions like titanic.

Snyder's Watchmen seemed to overcome that obstacle, I was hoping for the rest to follow suit.

Gregg Popabitch1 · Post by **Gregg Popabitch1** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:15 pm

Spartan wrote:
Gregg Popabitch wrote:
Spartan wrote:http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/07/16/mat ... rld-war-z/

Whatגs going on with the big screen adaptation of Max Brooksג book World War Z? J. Michael Straczynski wrote a screenplay, which seems like over a year ago, and Quantum of Solace helmer Marc Forster has been attached to direct. But aside from comments from Stazzynski or Foster here or there, we really havenגt gotten an update on the project in a long while.

Brooks, son of comedy legend Mel Brooks, revealed that Paramount Pictures has hired a new writer for the project, while making an appearance on Fangoria Radio. Who is the new writer? Matthew Michael Carnahan, brother of director Joe Carnahan, and writer of The Kingdom, Lions For Lambs, and State of Play. Brooks said that Carnahan is גone of Hollywoodגs hot A-list writers, so if they went after him and paid him a mountain of gold, it definitely shows their confidence in this project.ג Still no word an an updated production timeline.

Straczynski has also called the film גa thrillerג, comparing it to the Bourne films, and stating that it would be the first large scale zombie film:

גMost zombie movies to this point have been small, focusing on a few people in a house. And this has got real scare. Youגre in India with hundreds of boats trying to get out of there with a tidal wave of zombies. The scale of what weגre doing here is phenomenal.ג

Like every other industry in America, Hollywood is cutting back. Is it possible that the rewrite might address budget concerns? It might not be the right time to make a story this epic in scale.

AICN called Straczynskiגs previous draft of the screenplay גa horror epic, a serious, sober-minded adult pictureג, potentially גa genre-defining piece of workג with Best Picture potential (really?!). The basic premise of the book is that it is an oral history of the zombie war, compiled by an unnamed government employee. The movie follows this researcher, named Gerry Lane (possibly to be played by Brad Pitt, who is producing the project), as he travels the world conducting interviews with survivors, 10-years later.

The book was released in 2006, and is available on Amazon for $16.47. Iגve included the official plot description from the book after the jump:

גThe Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, גBy excluding the human factor, arenגt we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isnגt the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as גthe living deadג?ג

I'm getting kind of sceptical now. It's supposed to be an epic with large scale set pieces and there's budget concerns incredibly early on.
if this is your concern, you should've been skeptical from the jump. peeping the whole scope of the movie, you kinda knew there'd be budget concerns at some point or another. if they stayed word for word as best they could, shit would cost gazillions like titanic.
Snyder's Watchmen seemed to overcome that obstacle, I was hoping for the rest to follow suit.

well the watchmen was helped by NO FUCKING ALIEN and the source material not being a complete clusterfuck of insanity.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Wed Mar 23, 2011 6:03 am

Brad Pittגs World War Z Could Be (Un)Dead If Paramount Canגt Find a Partner
3/21/11 at 10:35 PM

Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP/Getty Images
World War Z, Brad Pittגs movie about a global undead apocalypse, may be dying (or is it re-dying?) unless Paramount can find a co-financier. The film currently has a price tag of more than $125 million, and the studio is fervently searching for a partner to share the risk. Our sources tell us that if they can't find one, it's likely that Paramount will pull the plug on the adaptation of the Max Brooks book, which was to be directed by Quantum of Solace's Marc Forster and star Pitt, who would also produce.

Insiders say an eleventh-hour effort is being made to court frequent Paramount co-financier David Ellison (Mission: Impossible IV, Top Gun II) as well as another, unspecified investor. Paramount Film Group president Adam Goodman insists to Vulture, "We're really committed to making a big, kick-ass giant movie with Marc Forster and Brad Pitt." Pressed on whether the studio would move forward without a financial partner, Goodman declined to elaborate, saying it was too early to tell. Absent such a financial partner, it's highly unlikely that Paramount would go forward; in today's economic climate, few studios are shouldering such budgets alone. Just two weeks ago, Universal shut down Guillermo del Toro's similarly costly and graphic adaptation of the H.P Lovecraft novel At the Mountains of Madness. But, to be fair, Del Toro was intent on an R rating, while Goodman says that Paramount signed a deal with Forster assuring them of a PG-13 cut.

This is getting more and more bleak. I would have even settled for a PG-13 cut considering how much can be gotten away with the censors these days. Damn this recession!

360 · Post by **360** » Wed Mar 23, 2011 7:07 am

They should make it an single season 13 episode HBO zombie epic.

Gregg Popabitch · Post by **Gregg Popabitch** » Wed Mar 23, 2011 1:02 pm

360 wrote:They should make it an single season 13 episode HBO zombie epic.

that would be brilliant actually.

like a cross between band of brothers and walking dead.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:00 am

Paramount Pictures signed actress Mireille Enos as Karin Lane, the wife of Garard Lane, in the horror גWorld War Z.ג

Enos has appeared in several television shows lately including גThe Killingג and גBig Love.ג

The film is an adaptation from a Max Brooks novel about a zombie war. Here is the bookגs synopsis:

גThe Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. גWorld War Zג is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

גRanging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.ג

The film will be directed by Marc Forster and with Brad Pitt in the starring role. Pitt will also be a producer on the project.

Apparently World War Z is on track again with shooting kicking off this summer.

Gregg Popabitch · Post by **Gregg Popabitch** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:06 am

I don't have my hopes up.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:10 am

i want to believe.

Truth. · Post by **Truth.** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 8:29 pm

Matthew Fox and Ed Harris likely joining World War Z
by Sean O'Neal June 14, 2011

After being rescued by Megan Ellisonגs more broadminded brother Davidגwho, in turn, rescued America from a future with one less zombie apocalypse movieגWorld War Z continues to shape up pretty nicely, which is good because itגs the one film in that genre with arguably the most riding on it. The adaptation of Max Brooksג novel already had Brad Pitt attached to star, and now Pittגs supporting cast will likely include both Matthew Fox and Ed Harris, who will bring to the project their particular breed of manly gravitas (one sort of petulant, the other slightly gruff). Rounding out the ensemble are two AMC drama veterans: Rubiconגs James Badge Dale, who will no doubt have lots of backhanded compliments to offer The Killingגs Mireille Enos on her similarly slow-burning show getting a second season.

360 · Post by **360** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 12:33 am

I just can't see this book being a movie with out it being completely torn apart and ruined. I still want it to be an HBO 1 season banger.

Although, a movie would have the budget to properly capture images such as the battle of yonkers, the mountain path in india, the breaker yard in south africa , and the epic finale battle.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:56 am

If they go a two part film route that's in vogue right now, then a lot of the book could get crammed in. It was a tough enough job finding financing though so it's hardly likely. They'll probably focus more on the more epic sequences would be my guess.

Great to read names are being discussed for casting.

ALASKA · Post by **ALASKA** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 9:10 am

do you think they will skirt the budget issues by making it appear as a documentary, with first person perspectives, news reel footage and photos? I think they can do it well without a huge budget, almost a ken burns wwII sort of thing.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 11:21 am

That would be the sensible option considering it's approximate budget is $125 Million. Not an awful lot of money for a film centred around a zombie apocalypse on a massive global scale.

drizzle · Post by **drizzle** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 11:37 am

ALASKA wrote:do you think they will skirt the budget issues by making it appear as a documentary, with first person perspectives, news reel footage and photos? I think they can do it well without a huge budget, almost a ken burns wwII sort of thing.

this is a good way to do it, not just because of budget issues but simply because that approach is really fitting to how the book is written

really really hoping ed harris plays the locked up south african dude

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 9:21 am

Behind the scenes pics in Malta. No zombies in action yet.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... War-Z.html

360 · Post by **360** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 9:43 am

Well, it's definitely good to see evidence.

Jayou Ayen · Post by **Jayou Ayen** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 9:47 pm

Fuck.

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-tal ... 51305.html

גWorld War Zג Movie Causes Controversy on the Web
By Claudine Zap | Movie Talk ג 3 hours ago

Sorry, "World War Z" fans: It seems that the movie, which will star Brad Pitt and be directed by Marc Forster ("Quantum of Solace"), may be very different from the best-selling book by Max Brooks.

And movie buffs on the Web are certainly rising up like an undead army to denouce the not-yet-finished horror flick.

The novel charts a U.N. worker's accounts of oral histories of a decade-long zombie war. The movie, according to bloggers who saw the press release, will take place as the zombie world war is breaking out when there is still time to stop it -- completely different from the premise -- and the timing -- of the book.

There had been reports that this atypical monster tale would certainly be a challenge to put into film. Paramont's seeming solution? As the AV Club sees it, "Make a typical zombie movie anyway."

Movies.com quotes the press release as explaining the film this way: "The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself."

Comments were, well, apocalyptic. On the Movies.com blog, a typical negative swipe: "Based on Paramount's plot synopsis, the film should say 'Inspired by the same stuff that inspired the book World War Z by Max Brooks.'"

Another disappointed commenter wrote, "When I heard they were going to make this into a movie I was really excited to see what this would look like on film. I'm no longer excited. Thanks, Paramount."

Still another fan noted, "Of course we're all still seeing it, but what we're seeing isn't 'World War Z,' plain and simple."

Interest in the zombie flick grew on Yahoo! with news of the controversy: In the last day, lookups all increased for "world war z," "world war z movie," and "world war z movie trailer."

Brad Pitt has already arrived in Glasgow to begin filming the monster-war movie. The massive enterprise includes a cast and crew of 1,200, fake sets that remake the U.K. city into "war-torn" Philadelphia, and plenty of locals to play undead extras.

It's certainly possible the press release doesn't do the cinematic plot justice. At least, fans of the book can certainly hope that's the case.

The zombie doomsday movie is set to open on December 21, 2012.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 11:26 am

Terrible news

Gregg Popabitch · Post by **Gregg Popabitch** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 12:03 pm

If this is true, I refuse to watch at theaters, on blu ray, or on tv.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:19 pm

World War Z' is a strange one. It's the type of thing that no one would have predicted a few years back, a big-budget zombie film with Brad Pitt in the lead. With that immense budget estimated at $125 million, the likelihood seems that the film will nab a PG-13 rating. That's pretty unheard of for zombies as they're typically associated with George A. Romero-esque gore.

PG-13 or not, the negative attitude of the undead hasn't been toned down at all if the set videos below are any indication. They aren't your average from-a-bad-angle wobbly set videos that you normally see. Whoever was behind the camera got a fantastic vantage point. It's cinematic in itself. Security in Glasgow, Scotland is as lax as it is over here in North America.

The film is based on the novel, 'World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War' from author Max Brooks. During his visit to the set, he had nothing but good things to say. It's always a positive when the author of the novel of which a film is based on doesn't express their utter disdain for what they're seeing. He's probably getting a good piece of the pie, though. That always uplifts a mood.

Pitt plays Gerry Lane in the film, a United Nations representative who interviews various people from different walks of life about their experiences during the war with the undead. Also in the film are Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, and possibly Bryan Cranston in a small role.

Marc Forster directs. 'World War Z' is scheduled to hit theaters next holiday season on December 21, 2012.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 3:58 pm

It's been pushed back to next summer and now they need to do reshoots? Kind of worrying.

Seven Weeks of Reshoots Under Way on World War Z

After hearing in March that the release date for World War Z was being moved from December of this year to June 21, 2013, we wondered if maybe things weren't going so well for the film, and now we have our answer: Star Brad Pitt has joined some of his fellow actors in Budapest for seven weeks of additional shooting.

Per the UK's Daily Mail, the picture started filming nearly a year ago and then wrapped last summer ג but clearly director Marc Forster and his producers arenגt happy because seven weeks is a long time to re-shoot a film. Details are sketchy at this point as to exactly how much of the flick is being modified, and itגs not certain whether or not all of the filmגs other stars such as Matthew Fox and James Badge Dale are with Pitt for the new shooting schedule, but we'll keep our eyes and ears open for additional info.

The novel is set 10 years after a global zombie epidemic and is an oral history told from many perspectives around the world. Brad Pitt is playing a U.N. worker gathering stories of the great zombie war, and his Plan B shingle is producing. Mireille Enos ("Big Love", "The Killing") plays his wife, a mother of two girls.

Assuming all goes well, look for Forster's adaptation of the Max Brooks zombie infestation novel World War Z in theatres next summer.

Jayou Ayen · Post by **Jayou Ayen** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:23 pm

Spartan wrote:It's been pushed back to next summer and now they need to do reshoots? Kind of worrying.

Seven Weeks of Reshoots Under Way on World War Z

After hearing in March that the release date for World War Z was being moved from December of this year to June 21, 2013, we wondered if maybe things weren't going so well for the film, and now we have our answer: Star Brad Pitt has joined some of his fellow actors in Budapest for seven weeks of additional shooting.

Per the UK's Daily Mail, the picture started filming nearly a year ago and then wrapped last summer ג but clearly director Marc Forster and his producers arenגt happy because seven weeks is a long time to re-shoot a film. Details are sketchy at this point as to exactly how much of the flick is being modified, and itגs not certain whether or not all of the filmגs other stars such as Matthew Fox and James Badge Dale are with Pitt for the new shooting schedule, but we'll keep our eyes and ears open for additional info.

The novel is set 10 years after a global zombie epidemic and is an oral history told from many perspectives around the world. Brad Pitt is playing a U.N. worker gathering stories of the great zombie war, and his Plan B shingle is producing. Mireille Enos ("Big Love", "The Killing") plays his wife, a mother of two girls.

Assuming all goes well, look for Forster's adaptation of the Max Brooks zombie infestation novel World War Z in theatres next summer.

Seriously, it just gets gayer and gayer.

http://collider.com/damon-lindelof-worl ... 5/?_r=true

39

jamrage · Post by **jamrage** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:26 pm

Better they get it right than release a shitty product.

Reason · Post by **Reason** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:09 am

i take it a lot of you who are doubting this film are big world war z (the book) fans? is it must-read material?

if they get it right as jamrage suggested they are trying, a world war z newbie like me would probably dig the flick while being ignorant of its being detached from the original source

but isn't there just a small possibility that you book-lovers will still be movie-lovers even if it betrays the story that you loved first?

EMCEE DARTH MALEK · Post by **EMCEE DARTH MALEK** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:53 am

the book is poorly written and the characters are flat and not at all memorable. it's broken up into mostly unrelated short stories so the format wouldn't work for a movie. the strength of the book is the social commentary on amerikkka, china, japan, russia mostly with other countries touched on as well. there are some big scenes that would be awesome to see on film. bottom line they need a main character to tie the plot together, or else feature film is the wrong medium & they should make a miniseries.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:44 am

EMCEE DARTH MALEK wrote:the book is poorly written and the characters are flat and not at all memorable. it's broken up into mostly unrelated short stories so the format wouldn't work for a movie. the strength of the book is the social commentary on amerikkka, china, japan, russia mostly with other countries touched on as well. there are some big scenes that would be awesome to see on film. bottom line they need a main character to tie the plot together, or else feature film is the wrong medium & they should make a miniseries.

A TV mini-series wouldn't be a sure fire guarantee in bringing the book to life. Chances are there's the possibility it could still stray significantly from it's source material like what The Walking Dead has done for example.

Really though, the book's central character was the interviewer recording the possible source - Patient Zero, how shit broke down, Battle of Yonkers and mankind's fight from the brink, not too mention the high price the human race had paid. A two hour film could still highlight those points home in a series of short scenes and vignettes and still tie everything together pretty well if there was a faithful treatment given. Fuck any kind of character development, the book wasn't about that and I don't see why the limitations in a film's running length would want to include any of that either when it's based around a fantastical global catastrophe. It can be done.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:27 am

[quote]The road to get the big screen adaptation of the Max Brooks novel, World War Z, into theatres has been as bumpy as we have ever seen. Prop seizures. Reshoots. Rewrites. You name it, this production has suffered through it. Insiders close to the flick have already started dishing dirt.

The Hollywood Reporter recently ran an article with said insiders in which they fill in some of the blanks of exactly what happened that sent this project flying off of the rails.

As Per THR:

גA nightmare from top to bottom,ג describes one source with ties to the production, which appears to have been hampered from the outset by a lack of clear creative direction. Pitt hired the director of his choosing, Marc Forster (The Kite Runner, Finding Neverland), but Forster -- who has limited experience on effects-heavy tentpoles -- was not allowed to bring along his usual team. Instead, several more seasoned players were hired. The result, say multiple sources, is a seemingly headless enterprise driven by conflicts. At this point, the movie, with a price tag now said to be north of $170 million, needs as many as five weeks of complex reshoots, which are not expected to get underway until at least September. Paramount has taken the unusual step of hiring Prometheus scriptwriter Damon Lindelof to rework the filmגs third act. The studio announced in March that it was moving the film to June 2013 from December.

Trouble emerged early: Three weeks before shooting was to begin in June 2011, sources say Forster had not made critical decisions about what the zombies would look like and how they would move. גThey just couldnגt get it right,ג one insider says. גThere was a lot of spinning of plates, a lot of talking. [But] they did not have a plan.ג Meanwhile, seasoned below-the-line talents were hired, then replaced, including line producer Colin Wilson (Avatar) and Oscar-winning effects man John Nelson (Gladiator). Cinematographer Robert Richardson, who has three Oscars, is said to have asked to leave the production on more than one occasion. (None would comment for this report.)

World War Z is one of several recent projects that underscore the risks associated with big effects films, especially when untested directors are involved. Disney saw first-time live-action director Andrew Stantonגs John Carter bomb in March, and Universal is facing serious problems with the $175 million to $200 million Keanu Reeves samurai film 47 Ronin, which it pushed into 2013 after first-timer Carl Rinsch presided over a chaotic shoot. Industry veterans say World War Z is another example of a film that was greenlighted and sent into production with a concept and script that were not fully baked. And they cite this situation as one of many in which studios set release dates and then push to finish in the timeframe allotted, leaving insufficient prep time.

In Paramountגs case, World War Z is the third film -- along with Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and G.I. Joe: Retaliation -- to be shoved out of 2012, leaving the studio with just a trickle of movies for this year. Sources involved with the project believe it was assured a greenlight because of the longstanding relationship between Pitt and Paramount chief Brad Grey, who once managed the star and was a partner in Pittגs Plan B production company. (When Grey took the job at Paramount in 2005, Plan B promptly moved there from Warner Bros.)

Paramount insulated itself on World War Z to some degree by taking on partners, including producer Graham King and Silicon Valley scion David Ellisonגs Skydance Productions. Sources say both made efforts, to little effect, to intervene as the movie got into trouble.

Several sources question Pittגs choice of Forster to direct. The only film on Forsterגs r

jimmy78 · Post by **jimmy78** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:51 am

This is fucking annoying.

Agree with both Spartan and Malek on some of the points. Don't agree on a mini-series, do agree the books characterisations are shit, although they don't really need much fleshing out as it's more about the various settings/countries reaction to the outbreak, then the people involved.

There could be some incredible set pieces, Yonkers, the Submarine, the blind guy fucking geeks up with his trowel, the jap kid climbing down from his apartment.

I feel the suits may have butt-fucked this film hard.

The book is a must read if you like the genre IMO

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:14 am

Should have been the Gawd Romero in the director's seat. He invented that shit. His lifelong dream was to create the Ultimate Dead film, World War Z was a perfect fit for him.

Tommy Bunz · Post by **Tommy Bunz** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:33 am

I love Romero but he's way too far past his prime to direct something as massive as this.