Marc Forster to Direct Max Brooks’ World War Z
Zombie fans are going to be watching Quantum of Solace a little bit closer this weekend, because it has just been announced that QoS helmer Marc Forster has signed on to direct the adaptation of the Max Brooks novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. I haven’t read the book, but I know a lot of people love it, and it recounts stories of a zombie outbreak in a serious, journalistic manner — basically treating it as if it was a World War of its own. The script is being written by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski (Changeling).
Forster hasn’t really done anything in the horror genre as of yet (although some might consider Monster’s Ball kinda scary), so this will definitely be something new for him. The majority of his filmography has consisted of indie dramas such as The Kite Runner, Finding Neverland and Stranger Than Fiction. Still, I like the idea of giving this project to someone outside of the genre, because the way in which the story is told seems rather unique. Forster told Variety that it reminds him of “the paranoid conspiracy films of the ’70s like All the President’s Men“. World War Z is in development at Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B, although it is unclear if Pitt himself is interested in starring. Has anyone out there read World War Z? Will it make for a great movie?
Comments (6)
ive read and love the book, but i’m trying to figure out how they will make it a movie. the book is formatted as a report of the zombie war from outbreak to the end, jumping from country to country, interviewing people that were involved in important events. i hope they keep a documentary style to the movie.
Posted by Todd H on November 14th, 2008This is one of the best zombie books ever written (I’ve read tons of them) and I can’t wait to see how they adapt it for the big screen.
Posted by Section 31 on November 14th, 2008Documentary style would suit this film perfectly & if done correctly, the film could easily become one of the best zombie movies ever made.
If you haven’t read it yet, do so immediately!
Oh yeah…
Posted by Section 31 on November 14th, 2008The zombies in this book are the slow, shambling type. I hope they keep that style for the movie because the ‘28 days later’ style of fast zombies would ruin this film.
They’ll have to do a lot of flashback scenes, or it’ll just be people sitting around talking about the Zombie War. I love the book, but the accents used in the audio book are so stereotypical that they sound a little silly.
Posted by paulm on November 14th, 2008I’d love to see Peter Watkins make this, he’d be the perfect director. I don’t know if the man still works any more though.
Posted by kurt on November 14th, 2008I`m curious as which chapters will they put in the movie? Definitely Yonkers and when the millitary finally wins one.
Posted by Hassan Shah on December 17th, 2008Leave a Reply