Damon Lindelof was recently hired to rewrite the ending for "World War Z," which wouldn't be such a big deal if the film hadn't already finished shooting last year.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "World War Z" was rife with apparent onset strife, the result of an inexperience director (Marc Forster) who had no control over the proceedings.
"There was nobody that steered the ship," an unnamed source told THR. "When you get [a director] who can’t do it all ... you get a struggle as to whose is the singular voice."
Pitt brought Forster on himself to direct the adaptation of Max Brooks' acclaimed zombie novel, but the director wasn't allowed to bring his usual collaborators along for the ride. Forster's lack of comfort might have something to do with the rough shoot, which was short on time and even ran into legal issues. In October of 2011, Hungarian police raided the set of "World War Z" and confiscated 85 unauthorized weapons. (The guns, to be used in the film, weren't actually supposed to be operational.)
Of course, this isn't the first time Forster has run into trouble on a big-budget blockbuster. The director was also in charge of the much-derided James Bond film "Quantum of Solace," which was rushed into production due to the writers' strike.
"On 'Quantum' we were f-cked," star Daniel Craig told Time Out London about the film. "We had the bare bones of a script and then there was a writers' strike and there was nothing we could do. We couldn't employ a writer to finish it."
As for "World War Z," there is still apparently some hope. Despite what could amount to weeks of reshoots, Paramount president Adam Goodman said the film isn't a total loss.
"The footage from this film looks fantastic, but we all agreed it can have a better ending,” he told THR. "Getting the ending correct is essential, and we are in that creative process. 'World War Z' is a giant summer movie and we are confident it will be a global hit when it’s released June 2013."
For more on the troubled "World War Z," including which Oscar-winning crew member almost quit the production, head over to THR.com.
[via THR]
