Written by new-contact on Jun 24, 2011. Posted in On Location

Brad Pitt and Marc Forster to double Glasgow for Philadelphia in World War Z

Glasgow will double for Philadelphia in late August 2011 when Brad Pitt and director Marc Forster arrive for the filming of zombie thriller World War Z. The production will use city centre locations like George Square and Cochrane Street, and could bring GBP2 million to the local economy.

The production originally considered filming on location in Philadelphia, but scouting coincided with an administration change in the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office that cast doubts over the future of the state’s incentive scheme. In March the scheme’s future was safeguarded by the state, but it seems the process wasn’t fast enough for World War Z.

The production spent many months looking for the perfect city centre location to play an important part in the film. Glasgow's architecture, wide roads and grid layout proved the ideal setting for director Marc Forster.

Michael Harm, Location Manager, World War Z

Michael Harm, Location Manager on the project, said: “The production spent many months looking for the perfect city centre location to play an important part in the film. Glasgow's architecture, wide roads and grid layout proved the ideal setting for director Marc Forster. Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Film Office played an important part in welcoming the production to the city centre.”

Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “Our distinctive Victorian architecture has proved a vital attraction to many location managers over the years and it is great news that the producers have decided to come to Glasgow.”

Glasgow Film Office helps co-ordinate city-wide filming and does so for free. The city itself offers more than 100 local service companies and over 600 freelance crew members.

Homepage image courtesy of Glasgow: Scotland with style