At this year's Toronto Film Festival, I was able to talk with the cast and director Marc Forster about Machine Gun Preacher. With the movie opening in limited release this weekend (it expands next week), you can expect our video interviews in the next few days. However, with Forster currently shooting World War Z with Brad Pitt, I used some of my time to ask why he decided to change the story of the book for the movie. He said:
"You want to capture the spirit of the book, but at the same time, you have to create your own narrative for the film. There are a lot of things from the book that we are trying to incorporate into the film. It's a tricky balance."
He also talked about what drew him to the project and goes into more detail about World War Z. Hit the jump to watch.
If you haven't read World War Z, the plot of the book takes place after a zombie apocalypse and has a researcher for the UN going around the world to determine the cause. However, Paramount recently released the synopsis for the movie, and it's a lot different than the book:
“The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself.â€
While I'm sure fans of the book are up in arms, I understand the need for changing things to make a movie. Also, I always try and keep an open mind until I see the finished project. Saying that, this is a pretty drastic change, so I hope they know what they're doing. World War Z opens December 21, 2012. Here's Forster. Look for the full interview soon.
Marc Forster
- What drew him to World War Z
- :55 - Talks about changing the book to make a movie
