More Writers Enlisted to Help Fix World War Z's Ending
Posted 07.12.12 by Ryan
Poor World War Z. Already deemed an impossible-to-shoot book by its many fans, confidence wasn't high about a movie adaptation, and, as the production has moved forward, problems have continued to plague the movie like a, well, zombie outbreak.
Back in January, stars Brad Pitt and Mireille Enos were talking about World War Z as if it was the start of a trilogy, but, months later, the movie was pushed from December to June 21, 2013, giving time for director Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace) to engage in seven weeks of reshoots. Paramount president Adam Goodman told The Hollywood Reporter in June that "the footage from this film looks fantastic, but we all agreed it can have a better ending," prompting the studio to bring in screenwriter Damon Lindelof (Lost, Prometheus) to help rewrite the end of World War Z. While Lindelof reportedly helped figure out a new ending (which, considering the source, means there won't be an ending), another writer was brought in to pen the script and another writer might now follow, as well.
According to Deadline, fellow Lost writer Drew Goddard did the actual scripting for World War Z as Lindelof didn't have enough time. Goddard is no stranger to disaster movies and the horror genre, having written Cloverfield and Steven Spielberg's upcoming Robopocalypse. Still, Paramount may not be done bringing in writers, with the possibility of Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Jack Reacher) stepping in to punch up the ending if he has time.
There seems to be no start date for the re-shoots, which will incorporate the new ending, though September/October has been mentioned as a possibility previously.
For the many fans of Max Brooks' novel, here's hoping it all comes together. Men in Black III also suffered through script issues that required a team of writers to step in, and has so far earned $603 million worldwide.