World War Z

It’s one of the biggest action set pieces in Paramount’s upcoming pandemic thriller, “World War Z.” A Belarus Airlines flight attendant opens a rattling closet door only to have a rabid zombie leap toward her. Moments later, a throng of newly turned zombies is sweeping toward the plane’s cockpit, and Brad Pitt’s ex-U.N. investigator Gerry Lane, reasoning that he’s got a better shot of surviving a crash than a zombie attack at 20,000 feet, grabs a grenade belonging to a soldier on the flight and blows apart the cabin. Gravity rips the zombies from the compromised fuselage into a bright blue sky, and Lane buckles in for dear life as the plane plummets earthward. “It’s something people haven’t seen before, an outbreak on a plane,” noted “World War Z” director Marc Forster, pausing for just a moment before making the […]

“World War Z” has unveiled a chilling new trailer and movie poster for the zombie apocalypse thriller. Instead of run-of-the-mill images of brain-eating zombies, we see disturbing images of infected, nearly rabid humans, like ants, swarming and surging toward their next feast. “World War Z,” slated for a June 21 release, is based on author Max Brooks’ bestselling book about a worldwide zombie epidemic. Directed by Oscar nominee Marc Forster, it stars Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, a United Nations fact-finder and devoted dad who frantically hopscotches around the world in a desperate bid to determine the origin of the zombie pandemic and save humanity. Brooks’ book revolves around an interviewer collecting firsthand recollections of what happened when the zombies took over. The film scraps that POV to present a more Hollywood-friendly approach that features nonstop action, though director Forster has promised […]

“World War Z,” author Max Brooks’ best-selling novel about the aftermath of a worldwide zombie epidemic, has an almost supernatural ability to attract performers you wouldn’t normally associate with zombies. Brad Pitt is starring in the big-screen version, directed by Oscar nominee Marc Forster. And now an expanded version of the book on audio has added another high-brow performer: Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese. Scorsese will perform the role of Breck Scott, a corrupt pharmaceutical developer who sells the American public on a placebo he claims will cure the zombie disease. It’s a slickster role the fast-talking Scorsese surely knocks out of the park. He appears on the upcoming “World War Z: The Complete Edition” audiobook, which features five more hours of stories from the book that were previously unavailable in audiobook form. Other performers appearing in the newly recorded segments include […]

Forget the Ravens vs. the 49ers. How does “Star Trek” stack up against “Iron Man 3″? More than half of the grown-ups who tune in to the Super Bowl on Sunday will be watching not for the game, but for the ads, according to a recent poll by Harris Interactive. And movie fans in particular have a reason to stay put on the sofa during commercial breaks, with new spots expected for “Fast Six,” “Iron Man 3,” The Lone Ranger,” “Snitch,” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Oz the Great and Powerful” and “World War Z.” All in all, it’s a movie marketing bacchanal. Some studios have started teasing their Super Bowl ads early — an ad for an ad, if you will– and one is using the event as an occasion to debut its own app. So before you whip up […]

The zombie apocalypse is on its way. “We’ve lost the East Coast.” “China’s dark.” Indeed, things don’t look promising for the human race in the new teaser trailer for the Super Bowl spot for Paramount’s Brad Pitt zombie movie, “World War Z,” the Marc Forster-directed adaptation of Max Brooks’ acclaimed novel. It’s the first footage from the movie since the release of a gripping first trailer for the film debuted in November. That clip played like a taut thriller tapping into modern fears about the fall of mankind. “World War Z” stars Pitt as Gerry Lane, a United Nations fact-finder and family man who desperately races around the globe to determine the origins of a zombie pandemic that has toppled civilization in short order. Mireille Enos, of late of “The Killing,” plays his wife. Forster was an interesting choice to […]

“The Dark Knight Rises” might have been the most watched movie trailer on YouTube this year, but with 2013 just around the corner, we here at Hero Complex thought it would be fun to collect the trailers for some of next year’s big releases — many of which debuted in what seemed like an onslaught of promotion in the last few weeks. “Star Trek Into Darkness” J.J. Abrams’ much anticipated follow-up to his 2009 reboot of the landmark television series beams into theaters May 17, and fans got a taste of what to expect with the nine minutes of the movie that played before Imax screenings of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” But the question remains, who is the villain that Benedict Cumberbatch is playing? Some fans seem convinced that Cumberbatch would appear as Khan Noonien Singh, the character made […]

Fans who were disappointed that the release of Paramount’s big screen version of “World War Z” was delayed from December to next summer might have reason to feel some cheer. A gripping first trailer (below) for the Marc Forster-directed adaptation of Max Brooks’ acclaimed zombie novel was just released, and the clip plays like a taut thriller that taps into modern fears about the fall of mankind and the ongoing fascination with the idea of the zombie apocalypse. “World War Z” stars Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, a United Nations fact-finder and family man who desperately races around the globe to determine the origins of a zombie pandemic that has toppled civilization in short order. Mireille Enos, of late of “The Killing,” stars as his wife. PHOTOS: On the set of ‘The Walking Dead’ Forster was an interesting choice to direct; […]