World War Z Super Bowl Ad Ruins Brad Pitt’s Day
Not much new to see.
This article is more than 2 years old
The biggest television event of the year, the Super Bowl is not just for football fans anymore. Putting the massive spectacle to good use, movie studios take the opportunity to tease the biggest and brightest of their upcoming tentpole movies. For example, Marc Forster’s (Quantum of Solace) Brad Pitt-starring zombie flick, World War Z, doesn’t swarm into theaters until June 21st. That, however, won’t stop you from getting a glimpse at a new TV spot during the intermission as the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens battle on the field. But you don’t even have to wait that long, because we have your first look at the promo right here.
Based on the best-selling novel by Max Brooks, World War Z is the “oral history of the zombie wars.” In book form, this takes the shape of a journalist who, after the fact, travels the countryside collecting the stories of various survivors. Many fans, myself included, have voiced concerns about adapting this particular work. While there is an overarching theme and structure to the book, there are no continuous characters, no storylines that continue throughout, and the entire thing resembles a compilation of short stories more than a traditional novel. At first glance it seems unfilmable.
The movie takes a more straightforward approach. A U.N. employee (Pitt) experiences the outbreak firsthand, and rushes to try and stop it. Basically, they turned the plot into every other zombie movie.
The production has run into major setbacks and delays. Reports made the third act out to be a mess, and a number of big-name writers—names like Damon Lindelof and Drew Goddard—were brought in to try and clean things up. Then there was the news that the film required extensive reshoots.
As problematic as adapting World War Z has proven, we’re still pretty excited to see it. Maybe the film will live up to the potential of the novel; maybe it will be a hot mess. Either way, it should be something to witness.
