For most of you, Max Brooks needs no introduction. He wrote the novel "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War," which is currently on the road to getting a big screen adaptation with Marc Forster directing a script from Matthew Michael Carnahan.
Brooks was kind enough to take some time to chat with me a few weeks ago while he was promoting the Starz Inside documentary, "Zombiemania," which you can catch replays of this week (check your local listings for times). During the interview, I had to ask for a kickass zombie movies list to run with this week's special Halloween coverage. Brooks was more than happy to oblige, and he delivered quite a list. The last one in particular blew my mind, and I welcome anyone who's seen it to write in their reviews in the comments section below or @MTVMoviesBlog on Twitter. Read more...
If you haven't read it, "World War Z" is one of the sharpest books to be released in the past decade. Set in a grim possible future, the book is presented as a series of interviews with survivors of a globe-spanning zombie war, an incident which very nearly brought about the downfall of human society. Author Max Brooks, the son of Hollywood filmmaker Mel Brooks, employs the full spectrum of commentary to create a frighteningly believable scenario in which the human race responds to a complete societal breakdown.
Last week, I had the opportunity to speak with Brooks, who is busy promoting his upcoming appearance on the Starz Inside special Zombiemania, premiering October 13 at 10pm. He was more than happy to discuss the adaptation plans for "Z," which was picked up by Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment a few years ago. Read more...
Zombies. They're kind of a big deal these days. The release of "Zombieland" this week is only the latest example. The past few years have seen a surge in popularity for the mindless flesh-eaters, with films ("Shaun of the Dead") comics ("The Walking Dead," soon to be a TV show) and video games ("Left 4 Dead").
Books too: in 2006, Max Brooks published "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War," one of the most unique and original takes on the shambling movie monster popularized in the 1960s by George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead." The author added his voice to a number of others -- Romero included -- for a discussion of zombies in the present-day cultural zeitgeist on the Starz Inside documentary "Zombiemania," which airs on October 13 at 10pm. Brooks, who was kind enough to take some time out yesterday for a chat, believe there's a very specific reason for the current zombie trend. Read more...
Apologies for today's late-breaking Dailies; a battery of meetings threw off my publishing schedule. Then there was yesterday's absence, when The Dailies fell victim of a top secret screening. But I'm back now, baby. And there's lots of news in the movies world, so let's get right down to it.
-- This is rumor territory, so take it for what it's worth. Robert Rodriguez's "Grindhouse" spin-off, "Machete," got a pretty exciting casting update. Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Jonah Hill and Robert freaking De Niro may or may not be joining the cast. The shoot is supposed to get underway in a couple weeks, so we'll all know soon enough. (Bloody Disgusting) Read more...
Tags courteney cox arquette, Danny Trejo, david arquette, jonah hill, kevin williamson, machete, Matthew Michael Carnahan, michelle rodriguez, Pierre Morel, robert de niro, robert rodriguez, Scream 4, Taken, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson, world war z
When "Quantum of Solace" director Marc Forster was chosen to helm the adaptation of Max Brooks' "World War Z" zombie-stravaganza, we noted that it was a surprising pairing -- but with noted television, movie and comics author J. Michael Straczynski already penning the screenplay and Brad Pitt's Plan B producing, the project was certainly developing some heat. Now, with "Solace" in its fifth impressive week at the box office, MTV News spoke to Straczynski about the addition of Forster to the already buzzworthy project and how he plans to adapt Brooks' novel.
"We talk about it as a thriller, the closest comparison being 'The Bourne Identity,'" explained Straczynski, who's also penning a "Forbidden Planet" revisiting. "Most zombie movies to this point have been small, focusing on a few people in a house. And this has got real scare. You’re in India with hundreds of boats trying to get out of there with a tidal wave of zombies. The scale of what we’re doing here is phenomenal." Read more...
One of the most hotly anticipated zombie (or is that post-zombie?) books finally has a director! According to Variety, the adaptation of Max Brooks' insanely popular "World War Z" has snagged Bond helmer Marc Forster for the job. It's like they didn't think it was buzzworthy enough, what with J. Michael Straczynski writing the script, and Brad Pitt's Plan B producing.
If you haven't read the book, "World War Z" is a seriously detailed, often creepy account of the zombie apocalypse that wiped out humanity in the 2010s. Compiled by a U.N. Postwar Commission researcher, its a first-person retelling of the war that wiped out every country on the map. Forster was drawn to the project for its journalistic style. "The genre always fascinated me, and when they pitched it to me, it reminded me of the paranoid conspiracy films of the '70s like 'All the President's Men.'" Read more...
