Brad Pitt’s ‘World War Z’ is a behind-the-scenes horror story itself, says report

Written by Ethan Sacks, New York Daily News, June 13, 2012
Photo courtesy of Jeff J Mitchell, Getty Images

Much of the horror in Brad Pitt's zombie apocalypse epic “World War Z” is reportedly happening behind the camera.

Paramount’s blockbuster project was originally set for a December release, but was bumped to June 2013 after major problems that one insider called “a nightmare from top to bottom,” including a budget that swelled to $170 million and a convoluted ending requiring weeks of reshoots, according to a Hollywood Reporter account.

Before the cameras started rolling, the studio had high hopes — possibly even as the first installment of a trilogy — for the movie based on Max Brooks’ popular novel, particularly given the popularity of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

It should be remembered that James Cameron’s “Titanic” — beset by an out-of-control budget and delays — was compared to the nautical disaster before sailing on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time.

Pitt, who doubles as the film’s star and producer through his company Plan B, personally tapped “Finding Neverland’s” Marc Forster, but the director had no experience on a major effects-heavy movie the scale of “World War Z.”

Though Forster had helmed a Bond movie — 2008’s “Quantum of Solace” — it was largely considered a disappointment compared to its predecessor, “Casino Royale.”

To surround him with an experienced crew, Pitt and producing partner Dede Gardner hired several industry veterans, including second-unit director Simon Crane, but that led to too many chefs stirring the pot, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“The director was not empowered,” an insider told the publication. “There was nobody that steered the ship. … When you get [a director\] who can’t do it all … you get a struggle as to whose is the singular voice.”

Among other problems plaguing the production, according to the report, are:

l Just weeks before the film was set to shoot, the filmmakers were struggling to determine the look for the zombies, arguably the single most important decision for a genre film.

l In August, Pitt himself had to rescue a female extra from being trampled during the filming of a scene that involved 700 actors swarming George Square in Glasgow, Scotland.

l Two months later, the production was temporarily halted after a Hungarian anti-terrorism unit confiscated 85 fully functional, military-style assault rifles that were supposed to be used in the movie in a raid. The movie company’s employees apparently made a mistake — and an illegal one, at that — by acquiring working automatic rifles.

“The film is already over budget and over schedule,” a source told US Weekly at the time. “Brad is furious.”

l Though the principal shoot is long done, Paramount just tapped “Prometheus” screenwriter Damon Lindelof to rewrite the last act of the movie, which will require the reshoots.

“The footage from this film looks fantastic, but we all agreed it can have a better ending,” Paramount film group president Adam Goodman told Hollywood Reporter. “Getting the ending correct is essential, and we are in that creative process. ‘World War Z’ is a giant summer movie and we are confident it will be a global hit when it’s released June 2013.”