SCOOP: WORLD WAR Z Author Max Brooks Comments on Changes Made for the Upcoming Film Adaptation
During the Calgary Comic Expo, which took place between April 27th and the 29th this year, Brooks offered a few comments on the big screen adaptation of his novel which stars Brad Pitt and how it’s deviated from his work which favors the classic ‘slow’ zombies.
World War Z is based on the novel of the same name by zombie expert Max Brooks (The Zombie Survival Guide). The novel and presumably film, follow a reporter (Brad Pitt) as he documents the zombie plague by interviewing various people from around the world. The story is massive in scope and details the sweeping zombie outbreak as it engulfs the planet and how various countries and cultures cope with the pandemic, downfall of society and war against the walking dead.
The upcoming adaptation of World War Z will undoubtedly feature a few major changes to make it more of a crowd pleasing cinematic experience. One of those changes is the related to the zombie antagonists, who in the book were very classically portrayed akin to those from famous horror director George Romero's film. As opposed to the shambling walking dead which are featured in pages of Max Brooks’ novels, the film will showcase quick, agile and violently fast moving zombies; which seems to be popular characters trait recently incorporated into zombie mythology.
"I’m OK with it," said Brooks casually when I caught up with him at last weekend's Calgary Expo. "I mean, I liked 28 Days Later [laughed]."
Brooks noted that although he prefers classic zombies which follow the rules set in Romero's 'Dead Trilogy', he's not heartbroken over Paramount's decision to speed things up. Unfortunately the change was ultimately out of his hands, as he revealed that he has had absolutely "no creative input" on the film adaptation.
“We’re in the minority... those who prefer classic zombies. And they (the studio) are in the business to make money, and to do that they need to bring in a lot more people by making it more appealing.”
World War Z is directed by Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace) and stars stars Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox and David Morse. It is scheduled for release on June 21st, 2013.
