World War Z Adaption

Handsome Bob

Brad Pitt will lead the cast of director Marc Forster's zombie movie World War Z.

PItt, who is also a producing the film through his Plan B company at Paramount, is expected to play a UN researcher gathering together interviews from the survivors of a zombie apocalypse.

Screenwriters J. Michael Straczynski and Matthew Michael Carnahan adapted the screenplay from Max Brooks's best-selling novel. The project was first announced in 2006, with Pitt beating Leonardo DiCaprio to secure the big screen rights.

"I'm glad they took their time, and are trying to make the best zombie movie they can," Brooks told MTV of Pitt's involvement.

Paramount has also reportedly snapped up the rights to Brooks's The Zombie Survival Guide and graphic novel The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a248369/brad-pitt-to-lead-zombie-film-world-war-z.html

Hard to know how they are going to adapt this. If it's faithful to the book I'm not sure whether jumping from one account to the next is "feasible". I'm not saying they shouldn't be faithful to the book, but rather that it will be quite difficult I imagine.

As for Pitt, he's reliable I guess, though I would have preferred if DiCaprio got the rights and was the lead man. :pac:

Kiith

I really, realy hope they dont **** this up. The book is fantastic, and deserves a faithful adaptation. Not sure how it will work, but it damn well better.

pixelburp

It shouldn't be a movie adaptation, a TV mini-series makes far more sense. The book itself was in episodic form to begin with & most of the enjoyment (for me) was reading the short stories, testimonies and little incidents that made the world seem real. Particularly the material set outside of the US; the stories in Tokyo, the Chinese sub, Russia & Israel really gave the world more texture.

I'm guessing here, but I imagine the movie will just follow America's response, so we'll get the Battle of Yonkers and everything around it. All those (more) interesting stories from around the world will likely get dropped.

Kess73

I'm guessing with The Walking Dead being made for the small screen, a second zombie tv series may have been a hard sell to the networks.


Am really looking forward to both though.

pixelburp

Kess73 wrote: »

I'm guessing with The Walking Dead being made for the small screen, a second zombie tv series may have been a hard sell to the networks.


Am really looking forward to both though.

Yeah but as the OP's article points out, the project has been knocking about since 2006, it could have been a TV serial from the beginning. I just think it's a real lost opportunity to properly adapt the scope & scale of the book. From Lost to Heroes, globe-trotting TV shows are fairly common these days, so it's not like the budget and technology isn't there to recreate all those great stories from the book.

conorhal

*nerd-gasim*

Zeouterlimits

pixelburp wrote: »

I'm guessing here, but I imagine the movie will just follow America's response, so we'll get the Battle of Yonkers and everything around it. All those (more) interesting stories from around the world will likely get dropped.

I disagree, I think it'll swing around alot, but cut out some of the lengthier ones, like the

Chinese Submarine.

filmfan

Brad Pitt has confirmed he's going to be taking the lead role in the adaption of the epic World War Z which is set in a zombie filled post-apocalyptic world. His production company, Plan B, managed to win the right from Leonardo DiCaprio's production company 3 years ago so looks like things might finally get underway now

Haven't read the book but it sounds interesting!

filmfan

Whoops I just posted up a thread about this at the same time and can't delete it!

Ooo. Interesting. Will certainly be looking forward to a big budget Battle of Yonkers!

Necronomicon

I agree that it would have been much easier to adapt to a television mini-series, but still excited - very good news that Brad Pitt is leading.

I remember a few months ago some concept art came out, from the Battle of Yonkers. Link here.

Mickeroo

Necronomicon wrote: »

I agree that it would have been much easier to adapt to a television mini-series, but still excited - very good news that Brad Pitt is leading.

I remember a few months ago some concept art came out, from the Battle of Yonkers. Link here.

Looks similar to the Captain America concept poster that came out yesterday.

Necronomicon

Necronomicon wrote: »

I agree that it would have been much easier to adapt to a television mini-series, but still excited - very good news that Brad Pitt is leading.

I remember a few months ago some concept art came out, from the Battle of Yonkers. Link here.

I loved those pictures. If they stick to something like this, it's going to be bloody impressive! I agree that it would be interesting to see how they do these - they will probably cut out a lot of it. That being said, I would love to see the zombie outbreak in America and the Battle of Yonkers especially.

paddyismaddy

i prefer pitt to leo in this

Dont be at yourself

I hope they keep it as an oral history, with a character going around, interviewing people and having them recount their tales - with the film effectively being a collection of smaller, connected stories. A la Sin City, but with zombies.

Loved the book. Hope they don't **** it up.

Mickeroo

The guy who wrote it is Mel Brooks' son? mad.

filmfan

Must pick up the book and see what it's like!

It's a superbly well written book. Guillermo del Toro was tipped to direct the movie adap at some point, but I don't think he is anymore.

conorhal

Deleted User wrote: »

It's a superbly well written book. Guillermo del Toro was tipped to direct the movie adap at some point, but I don't think he is anymore.

Thank God! del Toro is an awful hack more interested in the visual (at which he excels) than the narrative (at which he sucks).
It would bee cool if they'd gone left field in their choice of director. Personally I'd have loved to see WWZ made as a faux documentary directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, they made the behind the scenes doc about the collapse of Terry Gilliam's Don Quixote film 'Lost in La Mancha' and went on to make the brilliant (but little seen) faux documentary about the rise and fall of a 70's punk act called 'Brothers of the Head' which is amazing in it's surreal nuanced complexity and a really fantastic film. There’s no doubt in my mind that if you had somebody like that on board you’d have a zombie movie that would be as genre defining as Night of the Living Dead.

LittleBook

Not sure why this is on the wire again, Plan B have had the rights since 2006 and have done nothing with it What's changed?? Have they actually put it into production? :eek:

Forster to Direct Par's World War Z

As for "WWZ," "The genre always fascinated me, and when they pitched it to me, it reminded me of the paranoid conspiracy films of the '70s like 'All the President's Men,' " Forster told Daily Variety.

THAT would be very cool ... a political conspiracy thriller intercut with scenes of the evolving catastrophe from around the world, sod the interviewer stuff.

LittleBook

LittleBook wrote: »

Not sure why this is on the wire again, Plan B have had the rights since 2006 and have done nothing with it What's changed?? Have they actually put it into production? :eek:

Forster to Direct Par's World War Z



THAT would be very cool ... a political conspiracy thriller intercut with scenes of the evolving catastrophe from around the world, sod the interviewer stuff.

But the interview stuff was the backbone of the whole book. Also without it, what would Pitt's character do? The only role he had was gathering the stories.

I agree totally with conorhall - a faux documentary would be the best way to film this.

LittleBook

Deleted User wrote: »

But the interview stuff was the backbone of the whole book.

Meh, the stories work fine on their own and I'm willing to lose the interviewer. It just depends on whether they go pre or post-war with the script.

Deleted User wrote: »

Also without it, what would Pitt's character do? The only role he had was gathering the stories.

He could do ANYthing, again depends on the script they come up with.

Deleted User wrote: »

I agree totally with conorhall - a faux documentary would be the best way to film this.

Sure, but realistically speaking, that's probably not gonna happen.

A script leak I read about a coupla years back seems to combine an investigation (the interviews) and a conspiracy (the resulting report being suppressed) and includes flashbacks to "actual" events (the war).

conorhal

LittleBook wrote: »

Meh, the stories work fine on their own and I'm willing to lose the interviewer. It just depends on whether they go pre or post-war with the script.

A script leak I read about a coupla years back seems to combine an investigation (the interviews) and a conspiracy (the resulting report being suppressed) and includes flashbacks to "actual" events (the war).

The problem with that approach is that it's an attempt to craft (graft) an overarching narrative onto a story that is a loose, episodic series of first hand accounts of an event, and in doing so it nullifies what was interesting or unique about the book in the first place. The story is about the triumph and the debasement of the human spirit and how we face crisis, to take that and tack on some hoary old conspiracy theory (Umbrella Corp involved?) really lacks imagination. Now the book itself has some poignant moments, and some things to say, but it's no work of literary genius, to strip out what little about it that was unique would be to turn the film into a generic zombie flick, in which casewhat's point in making it.
I think that there is a good film there to be crafted out of the raw material, but not from that approach which smacks of a novel being mined for a few key action set pieces to wrap a pretty generic thriller around.

LittleBook

conorhal wrote: »

in which case what's point in making it

Is that a serious question conor?

In any case, I don't agree that the story is mainly about the human spirit and triumph of will, yadda, yadda.

As I understood it, one of the main aims of the book is a criticism of government ineptitude, corporate greed and corruption and a social commentary in general ... so the conspiracy element is not actually that far off the point.

In fact what impressed me most about the book wasn't the poignant stories (which I loved, "Mets Fan" nearly had me in tears) but the sheer scale of the "research". You could even argue that the personal accounts were simply used as a means to illustrate the social commentaries that Brooks was making.

That approach wouldn't even preclude the "faux documentary style" possibility which can be used on any subject that the "documentary" chooses to address and from whatever point of view.

Having said ALL that, I've yet to be convinced this is even being made!

Galvasean

Concept art looks inpressive. The zombies look the way decade old zombies should.

Richard Dower

^ lads you are alll wrong, they'll throw out everything but the action and the zombies, the battle of yonkers will be the primary part of the film, it'll be a zombie action flick...kinda like I Am Legend.

Outkast_IRE

Looks like the Max brooks WWZ novel is a step closer , they are delighted with the new script etc full story here http://ie.movies.ign.com/articles/111/1114041p1.html

Ah man this could be the lord of the rings of zombie movies i hope its epic

Duggy747

If done right, this could be an excellent movie. I love the concept that it's not total zombie apocalypse but that nations struggling have to change everything (military techniques, economy, security, etc)

I'd love to see The Battle Of Yonkers on screen when the army gets their asses handed to them in New York despite firing everything they have into the place. (They bring out all their best hardware more-so for show to the journalists and to pick up American morale)

Sir Gallagher

Good stuff, WWZ was such an entertaining read. There's enough stories in there to make for 20 movies.

Handsome Bob

Sir Gallagher wrote: »

Good stuff, WWZ was such an entertaining read. There's enough stories in there to make for 20 movies.

Interesting you mention that.

Brad Pitt has revealed that Paramount Pictures is planning World War Z as a trilogy.

Director Marc Forster intends to produce three films in his zombie apocalypse epic.

"Like I said, I like mixing it up," Pitt told the Los Angeles Times from the set of World War Z.

"You need to make it interesting for yourself to make it interesting for other people."

World War Z has been adapted from Max Brooks' novel of the same name.

The movie will star Pitt as a United Nations employee who travels the world in a bid to prevent the spread of a zombie plague.

The cast also features Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox and David Morse.

Forster has described Pitt as "inspiring".

World War Z will open in cinemas on December 21.

http://www.digitalspy.ie/movies/news/a358253/brad-pitt-world-war-z-is-planned-as-a-trilogy.html

I read the book over a year ago but I'm finding it hard to fathom how they can make 3 films out of it. There's plenty of stories alright but are any of them in depth enough to make 3 films?

Or could it be a Sin City type deal where they take 3 or 4 stories for the first film, then take another 3 or 4 stories for a sequel, etc...

Mickeroo

Handsome Bob wrote: »

Interesting you mention that.



http://www.digitalspy.ie/movies/news/a358253/brad-pitt-world-war-z-is-planned-as-a-trilogy.html

I read the book over a year ago but I'm finding it hard to fathom how they can make 3 films out of it. There's plenty of stories alright but are any of them in depth enough to make 3 films?

Or could it be a Sin City type deal where they take 3 or 4 stories for the first film, then take another 3 or 4 stories for a sequel, etc...

I've yet to read anything that suggests the story in this first movie is directly based on any of the ones in the book. I reckon it will be a new story but with a lot of the pivotal events happening in the background.

I thought a 3 hour long ensemble movie would be the way to do it, with the main focus on maybe 3 or so characters from some of the stronger stories. Tbh I think plenty of the stories in the book could be made into movies all of their own.

JP Liz V1

Mickeroo wrote: »

The guy who wrote it is Mel Brooks' son? mad.

:eek:

sillo

Richard Dower wrote: »

^ lads you are alll wrong, they'll throw out everything but the action and the zombies, the battle of yonkers will be the primary part of the film, it'll be a zombie action flick...kinda like I Am Legend.

I know you're joking but that would actually make a much more interesting movie to me personally than a full on adaptation of WWZ - a tale which held little appeal for me, I felt it lacked focus and was kind of all over the place.

Having said that I do recognise I'm in a total minority in that opinion

Mickeroo

sillo wrote: »

I know you're joking but that would actually make a much more interesting movie to me personally than a full on adaptation of WWZ - a tale which held little appeal for me, I felt it lacked focus and was kind of all over the place.

Of course it was, it was a collection of seperate short stories.

sillo

Mickeroo wrote: »

Of course it was, it was a collection of seperate short stories.

Yeah I know but I still expected something a little more coherent or gripping. Maybe the format just wasn't for me Or maybe it was zombie burnout.

Mickeroo

sillo wrote: »

Yeah I know but I still expected something a little more coherent or gripping. Maybe the format just wasn't for me Or maybe it was zombie burnout.

I thought it gave a great overview of how the war panned out. I nearly read it in one sitting too, found it very gripping. Each to their own I suppose

pixelburp

I thought the fact the novel was a series of short stories made it all the more gripping; reading all those testimonies & eye-witness accounts of terror and collapse on a global scale made it feel all the more tense & real. Surprisingly few movies / books / tv shows ever cover the actual collapse of civilisation - we always pick things up after the worst happened when we join our protagonists, and often in a very localised environment - it was good to see how things unravelled (and order is eventually restored) across the globe, and in countries not traditionally covered.

Which is why this movie saddens me - there's simply no way you can capture all those little stories & the scale of the plague within a 2 hour film.

Mickeroo

pixelburp wrote: »

I thought the fact the novel was a series of short stories made it all the more gripping; reading all those testimonies & eye-witness accounts of terror and collapse on a global scale made it feel all the more tense & real. Surprisingly few movies / books / tv shows ever cover the actual collapse of civilisation - we always pick things up after the worst happened when we join our protagonists, and often in a very localised environment - it was good to see how things unravelled (and order is eventually restored) across the globe, and in countries not traditionally covered.

Which is why this movie saddens me - there's simply no way you can capture all those little stories & the scale of the plague within a 2 hour film.

I would have loved if HBO had gotten a shot at it.

helimachoptor

Mickeroo wrote: »

I would have loved if HBO had gotten a shot at it.

Band of Brothers: Zombie Wars!

Mickeroo

helimachoptor wrote: »

Band of Brothers: Zombie Wars!

The could have done three seasons based on each section of the book. It could have been awesome

pixelburp

I suspect a big reason this becoming a movie was the Yonkers segment. It's easily the most epic scene in scope & certainly the most cinematic - it also ticked the boxes of the hoo-rah types who glory in nihilistic zombie carnage: I could easily see how scriptwriters focused on this as their pitch, while ignoring the 90% of the remaining novel that was more like a TV serial in its scope & presentation.

Mickeroo

pixelburp wrote: »

I suspect a big reason this becoming a movie was the Yonkers segment. It's easily the most epic scene in scope & certainly the most cinematic - it also ticked the boxes of the hoo-rah types who glory in nihilistic zombie carnage: I could easily see how scriptwriters focused on this as their pitch, while ignoring the 90% of the remaining novel that was more like a TV serial in its scope & presentation.

Yea for sure. Although I haven't actually seen anything that says the Battle of Yonkers is actually in this though I'd be very surprised if it wasn't. I'd love to see it played out on the big screen, but I wonder would they still depict how

everything went to **** and the army got their asses kicked

to the same degree it happened in the book.

Cork boy 55

Impossible to adapt the WWZ story in one movie far too large
So I guess they will just focus on the USA bit 95% and maybe tell the other bits
with a few voice over collages at one or two points in movie maybe start and end.

The USA stories alone would make for several movies.

It's not going to be a film adaption at all just a snapshot of WWZ book

I have said it before and I will say it again Holly wood is out of ideas.

pixelburp

Mickeroo wrote: »

Yea for sure. Although I haven't actually seen anything that says the Battle of Yonkers is actually in this though I'd be very surprised if it wasn't. I'd love to see it played out on the big screen, but I wonder would they still depict how

everything went to **** and the army got their asses kicked

to the same degree it happened in the book.

Ah well the reason I mentioned it was because early production / concept art heavily featured the Battle of Yonkers, so I'm somewhat putting 2 and 2 together here; it's hard to know at this point what will end up in the final film, as the movie seems to be centred around Pitt's character crossing the globe as the virus spreads.

I also believe, based on set videos, that the movie has changed the infected into fast zombies, with a very short 'turning' time. So I'd steal yourself for more 28 Days Later shenanigans.

Mickeroo

pixelburp wrote: »

Ah well the reason I mentioned it was because early production / concept art heavily featured the Battle of Yonkers, so I'm somewhat putting 2 and 2 together here; it's hard to know at this point what will end up in the final film, as the movie seems to be centred around Pitt's character crossing the globe as the virus spreads.

I also believe, based on set videos, that the movie has changed the infected into fast zombies, with a very short 'turning' time. So I'd steal yourself for more 28 Days Later shenanigans.

Oh yea had forgotten about the concept art!

There's no need for the fast zombies ffs.....

Galvasean

They finally adapt the work of Max L. Brooks... and change one of his cornerstones
You don't need fast zombies for them to be threatening, just look at the Walking Dead! WALKING!!!!

When the proverbial (eventually) hits the fan...

pixelburp

And just in case you think I'm a stinking liar, below is a set video from the shoot that took place in Glasgow (doubling as an American city before you think the movie's that global)

It's funny because I moaned in the Walking Dead thread in the TV forum about how empty & limited the zombie genre is; Brooks' novel was one of the few examples of a fresh, interesting take on the lifeless (hoho) premise & yet the film adaptation looks set to be utterly generic in its execution, defaulting to the tired old tropes ...

Meep meep! Fast Zombies!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma8l5udOlvc

Galvasean

What's the deal with yer man, getting beaten up by CGI?

Mickeroo

Galvasean wrote: »

What's the deal with yer man, getting beaten up by CGI?

looks like it, then he has a spasm and turns zombie by the look of it.

I had no idea they were going the running route until now.

The only thing that gives me a little hope is Brad Pitt rarely shows up in crap movies. I doubt this adaptation will be doing the book any justice :mad:

pixelburp

Galvasean wrote: »

What's the deal with yer man, getting beaten up by CGI?

I took it to be the infection taking hold - that it causes some form of spasms as it zombie'fied the person.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

and zombifies them in 5 seconds?
jesus christ
this movie is going to suck