Paramount’s World War Z Starts Production In London

World War Z, starring Academy Award-nominee Brad Pitt and directed by Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace), will begin filming in the London Borough of Southwark later this month.
During filming, which will take place on the Heygate Estate, the production will provide young, aspiring film-makers from the local community with a unique opportunity to gain exclusive access to a major film set and gain unprecedented experience by assisting on the production.
The Heygate Estate is due for demolition as part of significant investment in the area and a major regeneration programme. Although some perceive the Estate as having negative connotations for the borough, the local council and Film London - the capital’s film and media agency - have worked with Paramount Pictures to bring the local community a special opportunity, on a production featuring one of the world’s biggest stars.
Due for release on 21st December 2012, World War Z is a geo-political thriller from Paramount and Skydance Productions. Made in association with Hemisphere Media Capital and GK Films, the project is a Plan B Entertainment/Apparatus Production. The film has also shot extensively across the UK including Scotland as well as in Malta and Hungary.
World War Z is one of a number of feature films currently shooting in the capital. The city’s unique locations, world-class crew and facilities make it attractive to film-makers all over the world. Feature film production is crucial to the city’s economy and generated approximately £866m for the capital in 2010, with early figures indicating that figure could rise in 2011.
Produced by Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Colin Wilson and Ian Bryce, the screenplay is written by Matthew Michael Carnahan (State of Play) from Max Brooks’ best-selling novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. Starring Pitt (Moneyball), Mireille Enos (AMC’s “The Killing”), Daniella Kertesz in her feature film debut, James Badge Dale (The Departed) and Matthew Fox (“Lost”), the film’s Executive Producers are Forster, Brad Simpson, David Ellison, Paul Schwake, Dana Goldberg, Graham King and Tim Headington.
(BMcN/DW)