Ruben Fleischer's Zombieland is one of the most beloved horror-comedies to be released over the past decade. In addition to its 89% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently boasts a 7.6/10 IMDB-rating and 73/100 Metascore.

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Starring Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin, the film revolves around a foursome of strangers who band together in order to survive a hyper-violent zombie apocalypse. With undead ghouls abound everywhere they turn, the quartet sets out to reach the so-called safe haven Pacific Playland theme park. For more, here are 10 Things You Never Knew About the Making of Zombieland.

Zombieland's Famous Inspirations

Director Ruben Fleischer has openly admitted that Edgar Wright's genre-revitalizing 2004 zom-com Shaun of the Dead was a major reason for wanting to make Zombieland. Additionally, many believe the movie is also partially inspired by the 2009 hit video game Left 4 Dead -- where four players have to fend off waves of zombies -- developed by Valve.

During production, Valve even denied the film the rights to mention the zombie-based video game or the company in the credits at the beginning and end of the film.

It Was Originally Written As TV Pilot

In 2005, the original Zombieland screenplay was conceived as a speculative hour-long pilot TV episode. When the pilot idea was scrapped, drastic revisions were made to tailor the story as a feature film. The feature script went on to be included on the 2007 Blacklist, a compilation of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood. Legendary screenwriter William Goldman was responsible for uncredited rewrites on the film script.

According to writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, actor Kirk Ward was considered for the role of Tallahassee, who was later cast as the character in the unrelated 2013 pilot produced by Amazon. This pilot went nowhere as people still preferred the movie over its second coming.

John Carpenter Almost Directed The Original TV Pilot

While the project was still fashioned as a TV pilot, horror master John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing, etc.) was approached as the first choice to direct. According to writers Reese and Wernick, Carpenter was very interested in directing the pilot episode.

RELATED: 10 Best John Carpenter Movies, According To IMDB

When the script evolved and become a feature-length film project, though, Carpenter's interest began to wane. While the horror legend still loved the screenplay, his schedule at the time prevented him from directing a whole movie. Carpenter went on to make the poorly-received psychological horror film The Ward shortly after.

The Original Casting & Character Names Were Different

One of the most revered aspects of Zombieland is the chemistry among its four now-Oscar-nominated actors playing Tallahassee (Harrelson), Wichita (Stone), Columbus (Eisenberg), and Little Rock (Breslin). Not only were the characters named something different, but the actors playing them could have been different as well.

While the name Wichita remains the same, the other characters were initially referred to as Flagstaff (Columbus), Albuquerque (Tallahassee), and Still Water (Little Rock). Moreover, Jamie Bell was originally cast as Columbus but dropped out. Taylor Lautner was considered before Eisenberg was cast. Also, Emma Stone was originally cast as Columbus' neighbor 406 (Amber Heard). Megan Fox and Evan Rachel Wood also declined the role of Wichita.

Woody Harrelson Had Some Eco-Friendly Stipulations

Tallahassee Zombieland

Zombieland's fan-favorite cast member, Woody Harrelson, agreed to star in the film under four conditions. The first two stipulations involved the cast and crew while the other two mandated environmental conservationism.

One of the latter conditions required the production to foster an environmentally conscious set. The former included director Ruben Fleischer to stick to a strict vegan diet for a week during the shoot. Fleischer likened the lack of dairy products to an alcoholic told not to drink. However, the one-week challenge turned into an 11-month vegetarian diet for Fleischer.

Woody Harrelson's Arrest Delayed Production

Tallahassee points a shotgun holds his thumb up in Zombieland

Zombieland was filmed in Georgia in many of the same locations used on The Walking Dead. Recreational marijuana use remains illegal in Georgia to this day, something star Woody Harrelson was arrested for possessing while making the film. Production was delayed for one day as a result.

RELATED: Woody Harrelson's 10 Best Movies (According To Rotten Tomatoes)

Shortly after filming, Harrelson also accosted a paparazzo at LaGuardia Airport in NYC. Harrelson claimed to still be in character as Tallahassee and couldn't help attack what he considered to be a mindless zombie.

The Supermarket Was A Set

While many people think the infamous supermarket scene was shot in a real store, it was not. The entire supermarket was a set built from scratch, with many of the items on the shelves being fake paper props. The set was built because it was cheaper than renting a real supermarket and destroying all of the authentic merchandise inside.

While the supermarket set is fabricated, Woody Harrelson playing the banjo was 100% authentic. Harrelson took the time to learn how to play the instrument rather than have the music dubbed in postproduction.

All Of The Blood Is CGI

Jesse Eisenberg in Zombieland

Speaking of post-production, every single drop of blood seen in Zombieland was added digitally after the film was shot. Not a single drop of fake blood was employed on set while making the film.

While the film was ultimately praised for its fast-paced comedic hijinks, one of the gripes from critics included the use of CGI blood and how inauthentic it looked onscreen. Others cited the unconventional gore effects as being consistent with the campy, video game-esque tableau of the movie.

Bill Murray Doesn't Own His (In-Movie) Mansion

Tallahassee with Bill Murray in Zombieland

One of the film's most memorable moments comes when the foursome hides out in Ghostbusters star Bill Murray's elegant mansion. The mansion actually belongs to Lee Najjar, the wealthy Puerto Rican real-estate investor who starred as Big Poppa in the reality-TV series The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Constructed in 2008, the 33,000 square-foot mansion cost $13.8 million. The home comes equipped with nine bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, 7 kitchens, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and a recording studio.

Patrick Swayze Was The Original Surprise Celebrity Cameo

Prior to his cancer diagnosis, Patrick Swayze was originally offered to make the celebrity cameo appearance that ultimately went to Bill Murray. Swayze would have played a zombie that poked fun at his characters from Ghost and Dirty Dancing.

Additional zombie cameos from high-profile stars included Joe Pesci, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Bacon, Matthew McConaughey, Mark Hamill, Jean Claude Van-Damme, and Dwayne Johnson. While one actor was cast in the celebrity cameo role (who Fleischer refuses to name), he left one week prior to filming. As such, Woody Harrelson called his friend Billy Murray and convinced him to take the role.

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