It’s clear from the early teaser trailer that World War Z is going to be very different from Max Brooks’ book. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, except when you consider that it was the book’s unique approach to the material that really made it stand out. Instead of a cross-section of eyewitness accounts of the zombie apocalypse and its aftermath, it appears the film will focus solely on Brad Pitt and his efforts to stop the zed-word plague. But who’s to say the upcoming film isn’t going to be good in its own right?
Based on this trailer that will air during Sunday’s athletic festivities, could this be the big budget action-zombie movie we’ve been wanting? I honestly couldn’t tell you, but I can say I want to see it before I make up my mind. The movie has a lot in its corner, Brad Pitt for starters. World War Z opens June 20th, World War Nerd starts in the debates after the first midnight show.
@justin
From everything that I’ve heard and read, Max Brooks has pretty much separated himself from this movie. Go check out Maxbrooks.com, I couldn’t find a word about the movie, and something like that would be front-and-center if he was supporting it.
My guess is that Max Brooks fans will vote with their wallets, which probably won’t matter because the non-reading masses will show up for CGI zombie mobs and Brad Pitt with long hair. Some Hollywood execs will make a pile of money and congratulate themselves, then greenlight something else with explosions while creativity curls up in a corner and weeps.
Then again, it could flop, which would send the message that fans aren’t idiots and if you try to dupe us, you’ll be sorely disappointed. One can only hope.
“But who’s to say the upcoming film isn’t going to be good in its own right?”
Me,… I will say that… it has been said.
My issue is not that it’s not 100% faitful to the book (or 10% or 1%), but rather that it eliminates the chance for someone else to recreate the events of the book we’ve come to enjoy and instead commits a very blatant and disingenuous branding ploy.
They could have named the movie LITERALLY anything else rather than tantalizing those who love the novel with promises of an upcoming movie for years and then dropping the boom on them.
I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.
sooooo basically, its *nothing* like the book!
oh.. except for zombies
isn’t Max Brooks a part of this movie too? Let’s give it a chance. If he is a part of it, then I trust it will be ok.
If they wanted to call it something else, that’s one thing. But to take a beloved book title (because they’ve purchased the film rights) it creates a certain expectation that the film producers are going to use some to all of said story in the movie.
Doing otherwise creates a situation that is closer to a bait-and-switch.