There’s been a lot of interest in how World War Z is going to work on the screen. Much of the interest in Max Brook’s novel surrounded its ‘oral history’ set-up, with a journalist going around piecing together events that took place during a zombie apocalypse 10 years before, through the eyes of the survivors. So it’s essentially a history of something that hasn’t actually happened.
But how do you turn that into a movie? The book is largely vignettes and moments, with few characters to act as either protagonist or antagonist. While it was obvious some changes would have to be made, the plot description for the film that’s just been released in a press release suggest things will be very different from the novel.
Here it is: ‘The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Brad 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. (Merielle) Enos plays Gerrys wife Karen Lane; Kertesz is his comrade in arms, Segen.’
It sounds a more straight-forward way of telling the story, although it may retain a framing device that takes things on 10 years later. The plot description is likely to please some, who’ll be looking forward to a truly epic zombie flick that follows the apocalyse around the world, but will piss off many, who will realise that the film won’t really be World War Z at all, but a more generic movie using its name.
The film is shooting at the moment with Marc Forster directing and will hit cinemas December 2012.