Brad Pitt Clears Up Rumors of 'WWZ' Tiffs
Following rumors of creative differences and off-camera disagreements between World War Z director Marc Forster and the film's star/producer Brad Pitt, USA Today sat down with the Oscar-nominated actor to get his side of the story.
While acknowledging that they did do a 40-minute reshoot of the film after being disappointed by the first cut, Pitt denies industry rumors that he and Forster stopped talking, simply stating, "That's just not true."
As a matter of fact, Pitt reminisced on the process fondly, saying, "I've really enjoyed especially this last six months, getting back in there and fixing it."
Pitt cited the rhythm of the film as one of the biggest issues that led to the reshoot, but what worried him the most seemed to be the story's climax. To fix this, Pitt enlisted the help of Lost creator Damon Lindelof to script a new ending with Drew Goddard.
"I was really excited about everything that I saw," said Lindelof, who is said to have come up with a more intellectualized finish than the bloody zombie battle that closed out the original cut.
RELATED VIDEO: Brad Pitt's Backstory
It's no wonder that the making of the movie was a strenuous process, as Pitt eloquently stated, "We're dealing with a genre that's been pretty well mined and done really well ... We're not the gore of The Walking Dead. Ours operates more of as a thriller. Ours is really intense."
Pitt's longtime producing partner Dede Gardner praised the actor/producer's dedication to excellence and making a great movie, raving, "He's the first person to say 'Let's keep going.' And that's hard, you know? Everyone has lives and families and multiple responsibilities. It's easy to get to 'OK' and he's not satisfied with 'OK.' Which is, I think, a remarkable quality."
The 49-year-old actor also reveals in hisUSA Today interview that it was his son Maddox, who has an unaccredited role in the movie, that got him into zombies. "He's the one who started the whole zombie craze in the house, so it's his fault we're sitting here now." Pitt adds that his son also shot a zombie movie. "He made it with his little friends in the backyard kind of thing. ...It's a zombie-baby, actually."
World War Z opens June 21.