World War Z (film)
Encyclopedia
World War Z is an upcoming post-apocalyptic horror film
based on the novel of the same name
by Max Brooks
. The film is directed by Marc Forster
and stars Brad Pitt
, with a script written by J. Michael Straczynski
and Matthew Michael Carnahan
. The film is scheduled to be released on December 21, 2012.
's production company Appian Way, Brad Pitt
's Plan B Entertainment
secured the screen rights to the novel in 2007. 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". Marc Forster
signed on to direct, and described the film as reminiscent of 1970s conspiracy thrillers like All the President's Men
. 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.
When asked about his involvement with the film, Brooks stated that he had "zero control", but favored a role for Brad Pitt, and expressed approval for Straczynski as screenwriter. 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."
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". The review also noted the film appears stylistically similar to Children of Men
. 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.
Straczynski had hoped that the film would begin production by the start of 2009. Forster, however, told IGN
in March 2009 that the script was still in development and he was not sure if World War Z would be his next film. Later in March, rumors surfaced that production offices were set up and the film was in early pre-production. 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".
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. 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.
In March 2011, it was reported that Paramount was searching for co-financier, and would likely pull the plug on the adaptation without one. 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."
began in April 2011 with Robert Richardson announced as the cinematographer
. In the same month it was reported that filming locations will include Pinewood Studios and London
, England
. Also in April, Mireille Enos was cast as Brad Pitt’s wife and mother of their two children.
In June 2011, James Badge Dale
entered negotiations to join the film as an American soldier who tries to alert authorities that the zombie threat is real. The following day it was reported that filming will begin in Malta
in July 2011 and will encompass Valletta
and The Three Cities
. A few days later Matthew Fox
and Ed Harris
entered talks while Julia Levy-Boeken was set to join the film. The same day Lucy Aharish
joined the cast as a young Palestinian woman. It was also reported in June that filming will also take place in Glasgow
, Scotland
in August 2011. Glasgow will double as Philadelphia, "with false shop fronts being constructed and American cars on the roads." The city was reportedly chosen after "many months looking for the perfect city centre location to play an important part in the film." Philadelphia was passed on due to "uncertainties about state tax credits for filmmakers." Later in June, visual effects house Cinesite
announced that it will work on “a significant amount of shots”. At the end of the month New York Magazine
reported that neither Matthew Fox nor Ed Harris would be starring in the film despite previous reports. Fox had a scheduling conflict stemming from his prior commitment to star in I, Alex Cross
with Tyler Perry
at Summit Entertainment
.
, Scotland
in August with the production company looking to recruit 2,000 local extras for the shoot. At least 3,000 people showed up at a casting call in Glasgow on July 9, hoping for the opportunity to appear in a scene set in a financial district in Philadelphia. Some scenes are also to be shot in Falmouth, Cornwall
. Also in July 2011, Game of Thrones
actor Elyes Gabel
was cast as a character named Fassbach.
In August 2011, Bryan Cranston
entered negotiations to join the film in a "small but flashy" role. Also in August, filming was set to take place along a road on the perimeter of the Grangemouth Refinery
in Grangemouth
, Scotland. The location was chosen for the length of the road which is crucial to the shot. A few days later Paramount announced the film will be released on December 21, 2012. Later in the same month, filming began in Glasgow. The location manager for the film said Glasgow had been chosen because of its architecture, wide roads and grid layout. In October 2011, David Morse
was cast as a "prisoner living in an abandoned jail."
Filming in Budapest commenced on the evening of October 10, 2011. That morning, the Hungarian Anti-Terrorism Unit raided the warehouse where guns had been delivered for use as filming props. The 85 assault rifles, sniper rifles, and handguns had been flown into Budapest overnight on a private aircraft, but the film's producers had failed to clear the delivery with Hungarian authorities, and while the import documentation indicated that the weapons had been disabled, all were found to be fully functional.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
based on the novel of the same name
World War Z
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a 2006 post-apocalyptic horror novel by Max Brooks. It is a follow-up to his 2003 book The Zombie Survival Guide. Rather than a grand overview or narrative, World War Z is a collection of individual accounts in the form of first-person anecdote...
by Max Brooks
Max Brooks
Maximillian Michael "Max" Brooks is an American author and screenwriter, with a particular interest in zombies. Brooks is also a television and voice-over actor.- Early life and education :...
. The film is directed by Marc Forster
Marc Forster
Marc Forster is a German-Swiss filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger than Fiction, The Kite Runner, and Quantum of Solace.- Life and career :...
and stars Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, with a script written by J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
and Matthew Michael Carnahan
Matthew Michael Carnahan
Matthew Michael Carnahan is an American screenwriter who wrote the feature films The Kingdom , Lions for Lambs and the film adaptation of both the hit BBC television drama serial State of Play and the novel White Jazz. Carnahan wrote the screenplay for Lions for Lambs for United Artists...
. The film is scheduled to be released on December 21, 2012.
Cast
- Brad PittBrad PittWilliam Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
as Gerry Lane, a U.N. employee who scours the world, interviewing survivors of the Zombie apocalypse, referred to as World War Z. - Mireille Enos as Karin, Lane's wife and mother of their two children.
- James Badge DaleJames Badge DaleJames Badge Dale is an American actor who starred in the AMC drama series Rubicon. He is most famous for his role of Chase Edmunds in the third season of 24 and Robert Leckie in the HBO miniseries The Pacific.-Early years:...
as Captain Speke, an American soldier who "tries to warn the government that the threat of zombies is real." - Lucy AharishLucy AharishLucy Aharish is an Israeli news presenter, reporter, and television host. She currently co-hosts a late-night show and a current events program for teenagers on Channel One...
- Julia Levy-Boeken
- Elyes GabelElyes GabelElyes Gabel is a British Asian actor who played Dr Gupreet "Guppy" Sandhu in the BBC medical drama, Casualty. He starred as PE teacher Rob Cleaver in BBC drama, Waterloo Road and appeared in the ITV Drama Identity...
as Fassbach - Bryan CranstonBryan CranstonBryan Lee Cranston is an American actor, voice actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles as Hal the father in the Fox situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle, and Walter White in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad, for which he won three consecutive Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
- David MorseDavid Morse (actor)David Bowditch Morse is an American stage, television, and film actor. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack Morrison in the medical drama St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988...
as a prisoner living in an abandoned jail
Development
After a bidding war with Leonardo DiCaprioLeonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
's production company Appian Way, Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
's Plan B Entertainment
Plan B Entertainment
Plan B Entertainment is a film production company founded by Brad Pitt, Brad Grey, and Jennifer Aniston. In 2006, Pitt became the sole owner; the company currently holds a release deal with Paramount Pictures, along with Warner Bros...
secured the screen rights to the novel in 2007. The screenplay was written by Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
and Rising Stars
Rising Stars
Rising Stars is a 24-issue comic book limited series by J. Michael Straczynski about 113 people born with special abilities following the appearance of a mysterious light in the sky above Pederson, Illinois. The series explores how society may react to the advent of superpowers, and how those who...
creator J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
, 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". Marc Forster
Marc Forster
Marc Forster is a German-Swiss filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger than Fiction, The Kite Runner, and Quantum of Solace.- Life and career :...
signed on to direct, and described the film as reminiscent of 1970s conspiracy thrillers like All the President's Men
All the President's Men (film)
All the President's Men is a 1976 Academy Award-winning political thriller film based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post...
. Straczynski, however, identified 2002 spy film The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Identity (2002 film)
The Bourne Identity is a 2002 American spy film loosely based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, an amnesiac attempting to discover his true identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the Central Intelligence Agency . The film also stars Franka...
as an appropriate comparison, and noted that the film will have a large international scope which maintains the political emphasis.
When asked about his involvement with the film, Brooks stated that he had "zero control", but favored a role for Brad Pitt, and expressed approval for Straczynski as screenwriter. In an interview with Fangoria
Fangoria
Fangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...
, 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."
An early script was leaked onto the internet in 2008. Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...
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
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
' material". The review also noted the film appears stylistically similar to Children of Men
Children of Men
Children of Men is a 2006 science fiction film loosely adapted from P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. In 2027, two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in England, where the last...
. 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.
Straczynski had hoped that the film would begin production by the start of 2009. Forster, however, told IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
in March 2009 that the script was still in development and he was not sure if World War Z would be his next film. Later in March, rumors surfaced that production offices were set up and the film was in early pre-production. 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".
In July 2009, Brooks revealed to Fangoria that the script is currently being re-written by Matthew Michael Carnahan
Matthew Michael Carnahan
Matthew Michael Carnahan is an American screenwriter who wrote the feature films The Kingdom , Lions for Lambs and the film adaptation of both the hit BBC television drama serial State of Play and the novel White Jazz. Carnahan wrote the screenplay for Lions for Lambs for United Artists...
. Brooks believes this "shows [the producer's] confidence in this project" because of the amount of money that was being invested in it. Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and UTV Motion Pictures
UTV Motion Pictures
UTV Motion Pictures Plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Software Communications Ltd. , based in London media and entertainment production company...
announced at the 2010 Comic-Con that Forster is set as director, and Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
has been confirmed to play the lead role.
In March 2011, it was reported that Paramount was searching for co-financier, and would likely pull the plug on the adaptation without one. The article also stated that "an eleventh-hour effort is being made to court frequent Paramount co-financier David Ellison
David Ellison
David Ellison is an American film producer and actor. He is the son of billionaire Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison and Barbara Boothe.-Career:...
." A week later, Deadline.com
Deadline.com
Deadline.com, part of Jay Penske's PMC, is an online magazine, founded and edited by Nikki Finke.-Publication:The site is updated several times a day, with the infotainment industry as its focus.-History:...
reported that "hot and heavy talks are going on with David Ellison's Skydance
Skydance Productions
Skydance Productions is a film and television production company based at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood, CA. Founded by David Ellison in 2006, the company raised $350 million to co-produce and co-finance films with Paramount Pictures.-Filmography:...
and as many as two other financiers."
Pre-production
Pre-productionPre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
began in April 2011 with Robert Richardson announced as the cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
. In the same month it was reported that filming locations will include Pinewood Studios and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Also in April, Mireille Enos was cast as Brad Pitt’s wife and mother of their two children.
In June 2011, James Badge Dale
James Badge Dale
James Badge Dale is an American actor who starred in the AMC drama series Rubicon. He is most famous for his role of Chase Edmunds in the third season of 24 and Robert Leckie in the HBO miniseries The Pacific.-Early years:...
entered negotiations to join the film as an American soldier who tries to alert authorities that the zombie threat is real. The following day it was reported that filming will begin in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
in July 2011 and will encompass Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
and The Three Cities
Three Cities
The Three Cities is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Cospicua, Vittoriosa, and Senglea on the Island of Malta, which are enclosed by the massive line of fortification created by the Knights of St John, the Cottonera Lines....
. A few days later Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
and Ed Harris
Ed Harris
Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies...
entered talks while Julia Levy-Boeken was set to join the film. The same day Lucy Aharish
Lucy Aharish
Lucy Aharish is an Israeli news presenter, reporter, and television host. She currently co-hosts a late-night show and a current events program for teenagers on Channel One...
joined the cast as a young Palestinian woman. It was also reported in June that filming will also take place in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in August 2011. Glasgow will double as Philadelphia, "with false shop fronts being constructed and American cars on the roads." The city was reportedly chosen after "many months looking for the perfect city centre location to play an important part in the film." Philadelphia was passed on due to "uncertainties about state tax credits for filmmakers." Later in June, visual effects house Cinesite
Cinesite
Cinesite Ltd is a digital visual effects and post-production facility in London and one of the largest such companies in Europe...
announced that it will work on “a significant amount of shots”. At the end of the month New York Magazine
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
reported that neither Matthew Fox nor Ed Harris would be starring in the film despite previous reports. Fox had a scheduling conflict stemming from his prior commitment to star in I, Alex Cross
I, Alex Cross
-Plot summary:Detective Alex Cross is enjoying a birthday party with his family when he receives a call from his bosses informing him that Caroline, the 24-year old only daughter of his late brother Blake, has been found murdered in Virginia...
with Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...
at Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
.
Filming
On a budget of $125 million, World War Z began principal photography in July 2011 in Malta, with the first images of production being released a few days later. Filming was set to move to GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in August with the production company looking to recruit 2,000 local extras for the shoot. At least 3,000 people showed up at a casting call in Glasgow on July 9, hoping for the opportunity to appear in a scene set in a financial district in Philadelphia. Some scenes are also to be shot in Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
. Also in July 2011, Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones (TV series)
Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...
actor Elyes Gabel
Elyes Gabel
Elyes Gabel is a British Asian actor who played Dr Gupreet "Guppy" Sandhu in the BBC medical drama, Casualty. He starred as PE teacher Rob Cleaver in BBC drama, Waterloo Road and appeared in the ITV Drama Identity...
was cast as a character named Fassbach.
In August 2011, Bryan Cranston
Bryan Cranston
Bryan Lee Cranston is an American actor, voice actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles as Hal the father in the Fox situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle, and Walter White in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad, for which he won three consecutive Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
entered negotiations to join the film in a "small but flashy" role. Also in August, filming was set to take place along a road on the perimeter of the Grangemouth Refinery
Grangemouth Refinery
Grangemouth refinery is a mature complex oil refinery located on the Firth of Forth in Grangemouth, Scotland.Currently operated by Ineos, it is Scotland's only oil refinery , and is also the UK's second-oldest; it supplies refined products to customers in Scotland, northern England, Northern...
in Grangemouth
Grangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
, Scotland. The location was chosen for the length of the road which is crucial to the shot. A few days later Paramount announced the film will be released on December 21, 2012. Later in the same month, filming began in Glasgow. The location manager for the film said Glasgow had been chosen because of its architecture, wide roads and grid layout. In October 2011, David Morse
David Morse (actor)
David Bowditch Morse is an American stage, television, and film actor. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack Morrison in the medical drama St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988...
was cast as a "prisoner living in an abandoned jail."
Filming in Budapest commenced on the evening of October 10, 2011. That morning, the Hungarian Anti-Terrorism Unit raided the warehouse where guns had been delivered for use as filming props. The 85 assault rifles, sniper rifles, and handguns had been flown into Budapest overnight on a private aircraft, but the film's producers had failed to clear the delivery with Hungarian authorities, and while the import documentation indicated that the weapons had been disabled, all were found to be fully functional.