If a filmmaker (besides George Romero) – back in the late-’70s/early-’80s – had said they were setting out to make a big budget, large-scale zombie film, Hollywood would have laughed. And for a number of reasons. For one, Romero had the zombie market cornered. Who would attempt to match the intellectual quality he had thrust on the portrayal of a zombie apocalypse? Secondly, Hollywood wasn’t exactly throwing money at zombie-fueled entertainment back then. Moreover, Hollywood wasn’t too thrilled with the violence in the zombie films that were being made.
The climate has certainly shifted, however, and “zombies” today mean dollar signs. Flesh-eating – once an on-screen taboo – is pretty accepted these days and the undead no longer shoulder any sort of stigma. There is no bigger example of this than the existence of the largest studio-funded zombie project ever: World War Z. Based on the novel by Max Brooks and starring Brad Pitt (also wielding a producer credit), the film is a globe-trotting adventure set in the middle of a zombie outbreak and ShockTillYouDrop.com received a 20-minute preview of the Marc Forster-directed film.
You can read their report on the footage and Q&A with Forster by clicking here and check out three new photos from the June 21 release below. You can click on them for bigger versions.
