World War Z Adaptation Has Budgetitis
Posted 03.23.11 by Ryan
It's been a while since anything has been heard from the adaptation of World War Z, which announced that Brad Pitt, whose Plan B production company has been developing the project, will also star in the movie. The reason for the delay is a common issue in Hollywood: budget.
Paramount is trying to find a partner to co-finance the $125 million budget of the zombie movie, based on writer Max Brooks' best-selling novel that has Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster attached to helm it.
"We're really committed to making a big, kick-ass giant movie with Marc Forster and Brad Pitt," Paramount Film Group president Adam Goodman told Vulture, though, clearly, the studio's commitment doesn't mean funding the project by itself. According to the report, if a partner cannot be found, the studio will likely pull the plug on the project.
While this is sad news for zombie fans, the reality is that World War Z's budget would be the biggest ever for a zombie movie, and, despite the book's popularity, would have to be a huge blockbuster in order for any studio to make a profit. Consider the recently released animated movie Mars Needs Moms, which was made for $150 million and has earned under $24 million worldwide in under two weeks of release, and last year's romantic comedy How Do You Know, which only made back half of its $100 million budget. Perhaps Paramount's hesitancy is a little more understandable.
Of course, World War Z isn't a romantic comedy or an animated kid's movie. It's a PG-13 rated zombie movie with Forster in the director's chair, Pitt starring, and a script from Matthew Michael Carnahan (The Kingdom) and J. Michael Straczynski (Changeling). Considering those involved, it seems like World War Z is poised for success... Provided it can cure itself of the budget sniffles.