When, oh when will this project get moved out of developmental hell? Despite the fact that even I have begun to suspect that the zombie sub-genre has petered out (my review of the Day of the Dead remake is soon-to-come), Max Brooks' World War Z is a novel I thoroughly enjoyed, a horror epic that could completely regenerate not just the subgenre, but the entire genre if done properly.The venerable Moriarty of Ain't It Cool News has posted a review of the script based on the book, which was written by J. Michael Straczynski a year ago--not long after the novel was optioned by Brad Pitt's Plan B production company. Since the completion of the script, not a word has been heard about the project, but the AICN review is most promising. Not sure why they chose to review it now, other than the fact that they've been big Brooks supporters going back to his first work, the bland and vastly inferior Zombie Survival Guide.
Moriarty speculates as to possible directors (Peter Jackson, Sam Raimi, etc.), but the fact remains that nothing new is known. However, his review does reveal a lot about how the book's complex story--focusing on a series of testimonials recorded by a reporter from a series of witnesses in the wake of a worldwide Zombie War--would be treated on film. Keep your fingers crossed on this one, as it could be the Citizen Kane of gut-muncher flicks. Could insiders be getting cold feet due to oversaturation of the marketplace? Let's hope not.
