Adaptation for World War Z

Adaption of the book World War Z

By: Austin Maher

 

For the adaptation for the book World War Z to work, you first need some really good special effects. And more than likely a very high budget, just because most of the scenes will be filled with explosions, zombies, and crashes exc. Also you need to keep the attitude of the soldiers, and normal civilians throughout. With the soldiers they have a mentality of just a little bit longer (which is a larger concept for everyone around the world at this point). As for the civilians, they seem to think this is all the governments fault, and everyone is turning against one another. Mainly because people will be like oh it’s just a scratch from a piece of metal when in reality it is actually a bite from a zombie and they are soon to become one of the living dead. So in this time trust is minimal.

A very simple and small scene to keep would be the very beginning of the story when they are talking about the “thought” of how the outbreak was started. Their idea was that somewhere in Africa while moon fishing a child went into the river and was bite by something and then later reanimated and that’s how it all started. But, I think this would be a good idea to place this scene at the end of the movie saying like 1 years before or something like that.

Around pages 50-120 they go into to detail about the army (Yonkers) who are there to kill the zombies, and contain them. This would be some good action to include in the movie, just because who doesn’t like to see someone snipe a zombie from the top of a business rooftop? Or a tank roll over a pile of discarded cars and fire a large shotgun like shell and blow 50 reanimated beings to kingdom-come? So this would be good in the middle of the movie and then towards the end to leave you sitting on the edge of your seat, only to see how it all “started” 1 year or so ago in Africa.

Around page 120-130 the book describes how people have the idea of moving north, because the zombies won’t be able to handle the winter. So as everyone is moving north and they arrive at their destination. At first everything is all nice and swell, but then people start to run out of food to find, such as fish or wild game around the surrounding area. So everyone gets very reclusive, and it turns into people killing one another. So it would be a good scene because in most movies they have the introduction, then it is followed by a problem which is fixed, then a larger issue occurs, and for the end everyone comes together and finished whatever it was off.

Two scenes that could be taken off I think is when they pan over to the other countries because it kind of throws you off. And it would be a lot easier to focus on maybe one country or specific area. Also the way the book is written as an interview, I feel like it should a view from a few people maybe like the son who is up north and a few soldiers, and not a reporter. Because you don’t really get a strong feel for any of the characters. Also when you pan around it disconnects you from the characters that you like in the one area, so then all you do is wait for them to return to the area that you did like.  

 

 

 

Book #1 Project

Book Project Number 1

Austin Maher

“The Horns Collectors Series and Experience”

With the grand opening of the replica foundry and disappearing tree house from the novel Horns we are hoping that people who haven’t even read the book will think “hey, that’s pretty cool”. The area will have the large Foundry that Ig stayed in for the last part of the book. To give the reader or soon to be reader a better idea of what it looked like. And what was located on the inside of it. Also in the back area where the chimney was located, more specifically where Terry was bite by the snake in the final battle of Ig, and Terry against Lee, and Eric. There will be a large cage (as you would see in a zoo) that displays the numerous snakes that followed Ig around. Once he became his devil like form. Mainly because people always seem to be interested in wildlife, so it will be a good way to get more visitors to come. And hopefully increase the book sales even more. Also a lot of times with books you get an image in your head of a location in the book, from somewhere that you have been before. So if you visit a replica, you may be able to build a stronger connection with those scenes in the book. While you are watching a movie (that was made from a book) you are always curious of who they will select to portray the characters from the story. So, just getting that visual will automatically create more interest for the book.

Our biggest idea and hopefully the most successful will be for people who like to collect things, and who doesn’t like memorabilia, if no one did. Then no one would be trying to get ahold of an autographed football from Peyton Manning. And there is always that thought in the back of your mind about, this may be worth something someday. If, I keep it protected and in good condition. So, inside the limited edition Horns collectors’ box is will include: A mask( for the devil) a set of horns, a ring to place on someone’s finger that lets you know if they are lying, a walkie talkie like device that lets you throw your voice, and a gold cross necklace like the one Merrin Williams wore. The reason we decided on these objects is because we found that they played a big part in the story, and they are also the most recognizable things from this novel.

The Devil Mask- This is one of the biggest and most notable things from the book. This mask will remind you of the change that Ig went through. Also if you see it somewhere your first thought may jump straight to this book. If you have read it previously, and we will give it a different design then what you may think of as your stereotypical Devil like face. And above all, it is just a pretty cool thing overall, and the design that we would like to try and go off of would be something similar to what you may see in the movie Hellboy. Where he has the horns and the red face, but it’s a little different than normal.

The Horns- Besides the book being named Horns, these will look good with the Devil mask that was previously reviewed. And like what was said before it is a very recognizable piece of the book. “They weren’t much as horns went” this is when he first discovers them after his hangover. And right off the bat you are like well, why does he have, and or need the horns? So we agreed that this would be a nice touch in the series.

Magic Ring- The ring is more of just something that people could have fun with, and will probably be the most liked item out of the box. Just because of the uses of it. And this goes along with the power of the horns for people to tell you their deep untold truths. But since that really isn’t possible, we came out with this instead. “People keep telling me things, awful things” this is when he is talking to the doctor about what is going on with the horns.

Walkie Talkie Device- This relates to when he is disguising his voice (Ig as the Devil) and he tricks Lee into coming down to the foundry-Ig made his voice sound like their friend Glenna-. So this will also be a neat novelty that goes along with the Devil in the book.

The Gold cross Necklace- This was what the beginning of everything was in the entire story. “She had left her little gold cross” This was when Merrin left the cross necklace on the church pew, after she had been reflecting the light into Ig’s eye all service. And this was how he met her when he was 16. So, if it hadn’t been for the necklace none of this could have ever started up. In other words the necklace is the most important thing of all. And personally I think it would be a good idea to make some of them “special” so they can be worth more money in the future.

Between the Location visits and the collector’s series box, I think the popularity of this book would skyrocket. And create long time Joe Hill lovers and also create more people who would like to read this book for the first time.