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Our 20 Most Anticipated Movies of 2012

Rob Keyes — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:27:19 +0000

2011 had its share of disappointing movies, but among the good we had our favorites and it’s not dampening our spirits as we look forward to 2012 - where again, there are more major films releasing than there are weeks in the year.

From comic book, sci-fi and fantasy epics, to prequels, sequels and reboots, many of film’s iconic characters and actors make their way to the big screen again this year, and have earned their place among Screen Rant’s most anticipated movies of 2012.

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‘World War Z’ May Be The First In A Trilogy

Sandy Schaefer — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:06:51 +0000

Paramount Pictures’ adaptation of Max Brooks’ popular allegorical zombie novel, World War Z, has attracted its fair share of controversy due to a handful of issues – including, plans for the $125 million project to be Rated PG-13 and the substantial narrative differences between Brooks’ book and its cinematic counterpart.

Today, we have another piece of World War Z-related news that is also bound to be divisive; it turns out that the Brad Pitt-starring movie could kick off a new trilogy of zombpocalyptic flicks.

The LA Times is reporting that Paramount executives and World War Z helmer Marc Forster view the project as the first in three flicks which would blend “the grounded, gun-metal realism of [the Jason Bourne series with] the unsettling end-times vibe of AMC’s The Walking Dead.” The ...

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Brad Pitt Expects To Retire From Acting By 2014

Sandy Schaefer — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:26:40 +0000

It’s been a good year for Brad Pitt, between his well-regarded turn in Tree of Life and lead performance in Moneyball, the latter of which has been generating Oscar buzz for a while now. His future is looking pretty bright too, with parts in upcoming noteworthy titles like Andrew Dominik’s Cogan’s Trade, Marc Forster’s World War Z adaptation, and Steve McQueen’s Twelve Years a Slave.

However, the end is apparently drawing near for Pitt the performer, seeing how the man has tentative plans to hang up his acting hat in about three years (from the time of writing this).

Pitt revealed his plans earlier this week on the Australian 60 Minutes, saying that he still enjoys “the producing side” of the ...

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‘World War Z’ Movie Debate: Too Different From the Book?

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:31:56 +0000

Paramount’s World War Z has been gaining notoriety lately, ever since set pics of star Brad Pitt started hitting the Net. The adaptation of author Max Brooks’ ‘oral history of the zombie war’ has always had a question mark hovering over it, since the format of book involved a U.N. employee interviewing survivors of the zompocalypse about their experiences.

That’s a tricky narrative format to translate to film. Director Marc Forster could’ve snagged some great dramatic actors for a movie made in the style of a faux documentary; however, a lot of people figured that the World War Z film would go the route of, say, Interview With a Vampire (also starring Pitt), with U.N. worker Gerry Lane’s (Pitt) survivor interviews being the frame ...

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‘World War Z’ Will Begin In December 2012

Sandy Schaefer — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:49:59 +0000

It looks as though December 21st, 2012 will in fact be the end of days… that we’ll have to spend waiting to see some potentially cool literary adaptations and a new Johnny Depp movie.

Paramount has slated its pricy adaptation of World War Z for theatrical release on December 21st of next year. Director Marc Forster’s cinematic take on Max Brooks’ post-zombpocalyptic novel is being headlined by Brad Pitt – with some admirable names rounding out the supporting cast.

World War Z will open directly against Ang Lee’s 3D adaptation of the acclaimed novel Life of Pi and Disney’s Lone Ranger movie, which will star Depp as Tonto. Those three titles will arrive a week after Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey finally hits theaters, and four days ...

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‘World War Z’ Set Pics Reveal Brad Pitt On A Boat

Sandy Schaefer — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:49:49 +0000

Brad Pitt will traverse his way around the globe in the upcoming World War Z adaptation. The $125 million project stars the A-lister as U.N. worker Gerry Lane, a man who interviews survivors of a global zombie epidemic that devastated the world some ten years prior.

Previous amateur photos from the World War Z set revealed Pitt and Co. filming in the Republic of Malta, which is standing in for Israel. Now the production has moved onward to the UK, where shooting is currently taking place in the harbors of Cornwall, England.

A handful of new World War Z set images made their way online over the weekend, revealing Pitt and a collection of extras bundled up in winter gear, standing atop a salvage vessel that had been decked out in wax and fake icicles. More fan-shot photos of the England shoot have popped up since, showing the cast ...

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Casting Roundup: ‘Snow White’, ‘Bourne Legacy’, ‘World War Z’

Sandy Schaefer — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:54:42 +0000

Today’s batch of casting updates concerns the revisionist fairy tale flick, Snow White and the Huntsman; the Bourne franchise spin-off, The Bourne Legacy; and an adaptation of Max Brooks’ popular zombie tale, World War Z.

Out of those three titles, Snow White and the Huntsman has been the most buzzed-about in recent weeks, following its Comic Con 2011 panel and the release of character banners that teased the gritty nature of the project.

While Charlize Theron was cast as the Evil Queen/Stepmother to Snow White (Kristen Stewart) in Huntsman last year, THR has learned that the roles of the princess’ biological parents have just recently been filled. Model Liberty Ross will portray Snow’s mother, while Noah Huntley ...

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Brad Pitt in ‘World War Z’ Set Pics: Zombies Invade the Middle-East

Sandy Schaefer — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:39:14 +0000

Almost three years after he originally became attached to the project, Marc Forster has at last begun production on an adaptation of Max Books’ global zombie pandemic novel, World War Z.

Paramount managed to prevent the whole cinematic endeavor from collapsing a few months back by recruiting additional financiers for the costly $125 million project. Filming is currently taking place overseas in the Republic of Malta, which is standing in for Israel – the only country that closes its borders and instills a nationwide quarantine against the zombie hordes in Brooks’ original novel. The production will also be moving on to the UK and Hungary in the future.

World War Z was scripted for the big screen by comic book author/screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski (Thor) and Matthew Michael Carnahan (The ...

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Casting Roundup: ‘World War Z’, ‘Gangster Squad’, ‘Argo’

Sandy Schaefer — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:04:03 +0000

Another day, another fresh batch of casting moves. Today, the projects in question include Marc Forster’s World War Z adaptation; Zombieland helmer Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad; and Ben Affleck’s next directorial effort, Argo.

World War Z is the film that has experienced a significant turnaround in status over the past few months. The long-in-development big screen take on Max Brook’s best-selling zombie novel was in danger of collapsing this past March; now, it’s prepped to begin production within the month.

Variety says that James Badge Dale (The Pacific) is in negotiations to appear in World War Z as (appropriately) a solider who struggles to convince the authorities that there is a legitimate zombie threat on the horizon. Brad Pitt will serve as the film’s protagonist, a ...

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: May 29th, 2011

Niall Browne — Sun, 29 May 2011 10:26:04 +0000

This week:

The Wolf Pack mark their territory at the top of the box office as The Hangover Part II has a record breaking debut; Kevin Costner saddles up again for The Hatfields and McCoys; Bradley Cooper isn’t just a pretty face – he’s also a writer and he’s written a spec for Hyperion; The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein finds a writer; World War Z starts in June; Michael Mann takes on Le Mans as he prepares to Go Like Hell with Ford and Ferrari; Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium adds a beauty and moves release date – and has Thomas Jane taken a lethal Headshot from the producers of his new movie with Stallone?

The Wolf Pack’s back. The Hangover Part II topped the box office and broke records in the process. The Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis starring comedy grossed $31.6 million on Thursday, giving it ...

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‘The Killing’ Stars Line Up To Join ‘Safe House’ & ‘World War Z’

Sandy Schaefer — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:54:28 +0000

AMC’s The Killing has been making… well, a killing so far, between its stellar ratings and garnering loads of critical accolades. Now the stars of the show – Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman – look to reap the benefits as well, since the two are up to join the high-profile pics World War Z and Safe House, respectively.

Enos is currently in talks to costar alongside Brad Pitt in the expensive World War Z adaptation; Kinnaman, meanwhile, is officially onboard for Safe House, a thriller being headlined by Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington.

The costly $125 million price tag for World War Z left it in a development stalemate for a good chunk of 2010, and just last month there were concerns that Paramount might pull the ...

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‘World War Z’ Aims To Begin Production Soon [Updated]

Sandy Schaefer — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 18:11:11 +0000

The film adaptation of Max Brooks’ World War Z is a good example of how quickly things can turn around for a Hollywood production. A few weeks ago the project was said to be at risk of collapsing, with Paramount scrambling to find co-financiers for the pricey $125 million zombpocalypse thriller.

Just a week later there was word that Paramount had essentially secured that desired financial support and development of the flick was back on track. Now it looks like World War Z could actually begin filming as soon as next month – or possibly before the end of April, even.

Bleeding Cool has learned that director of photography Robert Richardson – who recently completed his duties on Martin Scorsese’s Hugo Cabret – is actively prepping for World War ...

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Financiers Could Make ‘World War Z’ Undead at Paramount

Chris Schrader — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:10:44 +0000

Last week, it was reported that Paramount might be in a bit of a bind with their upcoming adaptation of World War Z. The studio’s interest in the project has remained steadfast since they acquired the screen rights to Max Brooks’ post-apocalyptic horror novel back in 2006 – but the film’s projected $125 million price tag is evidently a burden that they can no longer bear on their own.

Paramount revealed that they might be forced to pull the plug on World War Z if they failed to lock down additional financing for the production. Fortunately, it looks like comparisons to the recent At The Mountains of Madness debacle can be put to rest. Even with its intimidating budget, World War Z probably remains a very attractive business proposition.

It has ...

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Paramount’s ‘Dune’ Is Dead; ‘World War Z’ Still Alive

Sandy Schaefer — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:28:46 +0000

Paramount invested over four years’ time in their attempt to launch a new cinematic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel, Dune, but the studio has officially lost the rights to the project.

Paramount is still striving to bring Max Book’s best-seller World War Z to the big screen, though, and is searching for assistance in financing the expensive zombpocalypse tale.

Taken director Pierre Morel was brought onboard last year to helm Dune after Peter Berg left the project to make Battleship instead (for an idea of what Berg had in mind, check out this Dune conceptual artwork).

According to Deadline, Dune rights holder Richard P. Rubinstein has admitted to being impressed with how Morel and screenwriter Chase Palmer reshaped Herbert’s sprawling source material into a feature-length script. What ultimately killed the ...

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Unknown Actor Listed as Robin In ‘Batman 3′, New Human Torch & More

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:07:06 +0000

Have you ever heard the name Cody Sousa? Yeah, me neither. That’s because he’s an actor who’s never really been in any major film productions (or even minor ones, far as I can tell). However, according to Mr. Sousa’s IMDb filmography, the young actor has some major films currently in production/development.

Yes, if the always-to-be-believed listings of IMDb are anything to go by [sarcasm alert!], then you could soon be seeing Cody Sousa starring in the likes of Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and World War Z – or as the titular hero in the big-screen adaptation of Johnny Quest. He’s also apparently been cast in prominent superhero roles such as Shazam! , the new Human Torch in Fantastic Four: Reborn ...

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Brad Pitt Officially Attached To Lead ‘World War Z’

Ross Miller — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:28:59 +0000

A film adaptation of Max Brooks’ 2006 best-selling novel World War Z has been in the works for awhile now, ever since Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B, snagged the rights (after battling it out with Leonardo DiCaprio’s company, Appian Way).

Since Pitt’s company is producing the adaptation, along with the fact he’s one of Hollywood’s top leading men, it’s no surprise that his name was being rumored for the lead role in the film. Now MTV Movies Blog has the exclusive on the news that Pitt is officially attached to the project.

MTV got the news straight from World War Z author, Max Brooks, while he was signing copies of the book at the Avatar booth during the preview night of the 2010 Comic-Con. I suppose we should wait until the studio officially announces ...

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Zombie Updates: Resident Evil 4 Confirmed & New WWZ Writer

Rob Keyes — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:22:13 +0000

To all of you Zombie rights activists out there, we have two bits of news for you movie needs today. Firstly, Resident Evil 4 finally got its unsurprising confirmation and the World War Z movie has seen some movement again with a new writer added to formulate the screenplay.

Details after the jump.

Two weeks ago, we heard from Shock Till You Drop that Resident Evil 4 was getting close to becoming a reality and that we’d likely see the finished product sometime next year. Today, Coming Soon found out that it has been confirmed with a release date of September 17, 2010 with Milla Jovovich back as the lead. The fourth installment will be called Resident Evil: Afterlife.

No director has been signed yet but they’ll be working from Paul W.S. Anderson’s script. They’ve ...

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Marc Forster To Direct ‘World War Z’

Rob Keyes — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:05:10 +0000

Marc Forster, director of this week’s opening Quantum of Solace, has been selected by Paramount to direct the upcoming zombie flick World War Z.

World War Z is the 2006 best-selling novel written by Max Brooks about a future global war against zombies. It is written in the form of interviews featuring multiple survivor perspectives from all over the world recounting their individual struggles throughout the war.

The novel began its translation to the big screen early last year when it was announced that Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B Productions, would be partnering with Paramount to produce the film. J. Michael Straczynski, who wrote the recent Changeling, was selected to write the screenplay.

I haven’t read the book yet even though it’s sitting here on the desk beside me. I hear a lot of great ...

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