World War Z

Anyone ever read this book before? It's about interviews of various people in the aftermath of a global zombie crisis. I haven't read it yet, but I am very experienced with zombies none the less.

From what I hear, it pulls off the theme of "uncertainty" very well. That's what I like most about zombie survival; you stop giving a # about your meaningless life because you're probably going to die anyway, and you start fighting because it is the only thing to do. Such a situation would bring out anyone's true emotions.

I'm thinking about maybe making a cheap but effective indie movie about a group of people trying to hold out during WWZ. I don't want actual zombies in it, but I want to show the effects of such a situation on the people involved. How would they live, knowing that they're going to die whether they stay or move. How would they die, by zombies, starvation, or a nuke?

Anyone know anything about making movies? I'm talking ragtag here, like at best two handheld camcorders. As for quality, I'll make it as real as possible (I can be very persuasive), definitely better than most homemade zombie movies on Youtube.

Apparently, World War Z is actually being made into a film.
I'm not sure how they'd structure it, as the book is a collection of incidents...but should be interesting...

If you haven't read Brooks' other book, Zombie Survival Guide, it's a must read for you....

The book is good! You should really check it out, even if you don't like the zombie genre. Hollywood is prepping it to be made. I think it was in a bidding war between Brad Pitt's company and Leonardo DiCaprio's. Pitt's company won the bid. Anyways if you don't want to read the book. The audiobook is good, even though it's abridged. Henry Rollins voiced on it, also Alan Alda and Mark Hamill - just to name a few.

I've got both, and yes, it's pretty enjoyable to hear the audiobook. I feel I got a much better understanding of things like Yonkers and Reddaker, that I just didn't catch as much when reading the book.

Anyone know anything about making movies? I'm talking ragtag here, like at best two handheld camcorders. As for quality, I'll make it as real as possible (I can be very persuasive), definitely better than most homemade zombie movies on Youtube.

Even Romero will tell you it's the stories of the PEOPLE (the human characters) that is the heart of a good zombie flick...not the zombies. You have to focus on developing the characters, the ones that get along, the ones that don't, their motivations, and ultimately a HUMAN has to be the ultimate villain, not the mindless horde, for a good zombie movie... You'll see this in most good zombie movies. You don't even have to film zombies much, just let us know they are there...(shambling people in the distance, anonymous arms coming through windows, moaning, banging on walls, etc.)...

reply to post by Gazrok


I read it.

It seems like everyone absolutely loves it. You can't go into a zombie thread anywhere and not see it mentioned. I liked it, but I would have liked it better if it wasn't written like an after action report.

It's the same reason I didn't like Day by Day Armageddon as much as I might have. However, it was still pretty good.

The thing is though, almost all zombie literature/movies, etc. start AFTER the problem has gone global, and we've failed to contain it.

THAT's what makes the horror.

In reality, a zombie plague would probably be contained quite easily. Simple reason, unless the catalyst for it is airborne, bites just aren't a good way for a contagion to spread beyond containment. An airborne virus though, could theoretically be a nasty way to go, and might be neat to see a movie show the slow growth of the problem. Some have, but even they used bites for the catalyst, in most cases.

reply to post by Gazrok


The biting could be effective in a place like China though or any other place with a high density of people.
I may buy world war z for my nook though is it good? if not try day by day armagedon the first was amazing!
Want the second one. Dimitri is epic even though me and him argue all day.

reply to post by trentyh


Personally I found it a really good book. Respectfully disagree with Gazrock, I thought it dealt with the spread of the contagion really well. The stolen body parts for transplant, the time it took for the disease to kill etc. It's got some really well thought out scenario's, believable characters, and some real hair stand up moments.

Can't wait for the film but we've been waiting so bleeding long now I've given up! Personally I'd like to see it as an HBO mini series like Band Of Brothers. A film couldn't do it justice. Yonkers would need to be a 2 parter. Mix in the Chinese sub, the downed chopper pilot, the nuclear exchange between Pakistan and India, The Roedecker (? think that's his name) plan, and all the other stories it would be awesome

I think you're on the money with a series...that format would be great for this...

The thing about the spread though, is that unless we're talking matching open sores...spreading by bite or scratching, etc. just isn't very reliable for a virus to spread...

After reading these books, I of course did a little fun research on it, and found a lot that (luckily) quieted my fears of any kind of zombie apocalypse happening (at least with a blood-bourne agent)....

www.cracked.com...

Granted, the site can have a lot of humor thrown in, but the reasoning is sound.

I loved the book myself...

In response to your threads main point...

movie trailer

World War Z, the post-apocalyptic horror novel written by Max Brooks, may well get a movie adaptation in a not too distant future: Paramount Pictures who won a bidding war back in 2006 for the feature film rights have renewed their option for a World War Z movie. So we're confident that the project will enter in production sooner than later. The film is currently listed for a release in 2012 on IMDb. Director Marc Forster is for now attached to the film and Actor Brad Pitt (he's already on board as producer) could well be part of the cast.

Unfortunately unlike the link said no trailer yet...



To your idea to make an indie movie on it... Go ahead... The film might actually get bought out if they like it... I personally after reading some of fan fiction's stuff think there is a whole lot of material that brooks did not cover...

Go ahead and make it... I will wait to see it on the big screen...

update....

Brad Pitt stars in WORLD WAR Z...

IMD

Directed by
Marc Forster

Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Max Brooks novel "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War"
Matthew Michael Carnahan screenplay
J. Michael Straczynski screenplay

Cast

Brad Pitt ... Gerry Lane

Mireille Enos

Anthony Mackie ... (rumored)

James Badge Dale

Julia Levy-Boeken

of extra note... did you see who wrote the screen play?

JMS

Joseph Michael Straczynski (born July 17, 1954), 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 author of The Complete Book of Scriptwriting. He was the creator and showrunner for the science fiction TV series Babylon 5, and its spin-off Crusade, and Jeremiah. Straczynski wrote 92 out of the 110 Babylon 5 episodes, notably including an unbroken 59-episode run through the third and fourth seasons, and all but one episode of the fifth season. He also wrote the four Babylon 5 TV movies produced alongside the series. From 2001 to 2007, he was the writer for the long-running Marvel comic book series The Amazing Spider-Man.

the creator of babylon five....... is one of the screenwriters for this...

Straczynski announced on February 23, 2007 that he had been hired to write the feature film adaptation of Max Brooks's New York Times-bestselling novel World War Z for Paramount Pictures and Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B.[38]

coming to a theater near you soon....

Normally I despise A-list actors... But Brad Pitt did a good job in both Inglorious Basterds and Fight Club so I guess they could do worse.

Considering the book also covered chemical and nuclear warfare, I expect it to be a huge movie.

I haven't seen Brad Pitt in a movie where he didn't lift it by his performance

Theres a few on set pics coming out at the moment. Looks like the Israeli border section by all accounts. Sorry, too lazy to link right now! I'll search for them later

Got a text from my mate (who I introduced to the book) yesterday, and apparently they're filming in Cornwall over the weekend. He's thinking of going down and trying to get some extra work as a zed

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi


I read both of Max Brooks books "Zombie survival guide" and "World War Z".

They are brilliant and i recommend them to everyone.

If you enjoy those two you can also read "THE OFFICIAL ZOMBIE HANDBOOK (UK): The Ministry of Zombies",which is in the same spirit as the above.

Who knows, we might need them

Originally posted by Phantom traveller
reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi

 

I read both of Max Brooks books "Zombie survival guide" and "World War Z".

They are brilliant and i recommend them to everyone.

If you enjoy those two you can also read "THE OFFICIAL ZOMBIE HANDBOOK (UK): The Ministry of Zombies",which is in the same spirit as the above.

Who knows, we might need them

Nice! I likey, you can never get enough zeds! If anyone fancies it, I'm playing this game www.zombiepandemic.com...
We've got a reasonable clan going......Who Of The Dead

So as typical of me I am tumbling down random rabbit holes and I find that World War Z is to be released on...wait for it...


DECEMBER 21 2012

So of course I thought I would give this thread a nudge back up and connect a random conspiracy dot to it...

reply to post by abeverage




Maybe they'll release the Solanum virus to coincide with the movie?

All I know is I really HATE Zombies...

If you get the chance, read some of Brooks' short stories, also set during World War Z. They are all excellent, and each one has a neat little mind twist to it, focusing on some tangent of what such a war would mean, that you may not have necessarily thought of before....

Originally posted by Gazrok
If you get the chance, read some of Brooks' short stories, also set during World War Z. They are all excellent, and each one has a neat little mind twist to it, focusing on some tangent of what such a war would mean, that you may not have necessarily thought of before....

Which short stories are you referring too? Within the book or separate?

One of the reasons why I like World War Z was because it was about so much more than just zombies. Indeed, it portrayed what measures world governments would take during such a global pandemic- including chemical and nuclear warfare.

It's been awhile since I read the book, but I still remember the part where Iran nuked its border with Pakistan to counter the influx of infected refugees, only to be nuked back by the Pakistanian government.