They come over here, they kill our zombies ...

A quirk of tax law means that Scotland’s currently a good place for overseas film companies to make movies. A quirk of history means that some of Glasgow’s older architecture and grid street layout bears a striking resemblance to Philadelphia’s. A quirk of genetics, climate, and social engineering means that zombie extras apparently aren’t difficult to find.

All this made Glasgow city centre’s George Square and surrounding streets a shoo-in for the shoot of some key scenes from the upcoming movie of Max Brooks’s 2006 novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, starring Brad Pitt.

There’s a slideshow of the shoot here, and the Daily What has a fun little quiz to see if you can tell the streets and buildings of Philadelphia from those of Glasgow when they haven’t been all gussied up for $ (I got 80%).

I haven’t ventured into the city during the shoot—the location’s cordoned off to the hoi polloi, and by the look of that pic above, not without good reason. I’ve also not read the book, but if they film the climax on a Saturday night after a Celtic—Rangers soccer match, my money’s on the zombies.

Posted by YAFB on 08/23/11 at 10:23 PM • Permalink

Categories: I Don't Know Much About Art, But I Know What I Like • Geek Speak • Movies • Movie News •

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Brooks has done some lecture tours on surviving zombie attacks. It’s too bad his dad’s old buddy Marty Feldman isn’t alive for this film—he’d be a great zombie!

Comment by Oblomova on 08/23/11 at 10:42 PM

The book is great, and could possibly make a good movie, and the movie that gets made may even be good, but I doubt that it will be a good movie of that book.

Do yourself a favour and read it if you have any interest in zombies at all. It’s a one afternoon read with much better storytelling than is usual in zombie fiction.

Comment by MikeJ on 08/23/11 at 11:04 PM

damn, oblomova beat me to the punchline. so much for history of the world war z, part one

Comment by skippy on 08/24/11 at 02:36 AM

Braaaaaains!

That is all.

Comment by Hunger Tallest Palin on 08/24/11 at 08:13 AM

I used to spend a week or so in Philly each year (job requirement), so I thought I would do well on that quiz. Only got 70%. Feh.

Comment by Betty Cracker on 08/24/11 at 08:15 AM

I was just in Glasgow, but only for one night, and I’ve never been in Philadelphia. I only missed one, and that one had a Philly cab that had been shipped over to Scotland.