Written by new-contact on Feb 7, 2012. Posted in On Location

World War Z filming location in London to prioritise more optimistic projects

Zombies recently terrorised the Heygate Estate in South London for Brad Pitt’s thriller World War Z, but local authorities now want different projects. Southwark Council is worried that Heygate and the neighbouring Aylesbury Estate are being portrayed as gloomy crime hotspots.

Both the estates have been popular filming locations over the past few years, the BBC reports, but the projects have tended to be urban crime thrillers. Television projects filming on the Heygate Estate have included spy series Spooks and gritty drug drama Top Boy, while high-profile films have been Michael Caine’s dark vigilante piece Harry Brown and Joe Cornish’s gangs-and-aliens feature Attack The Block.

They were sick of seeing their estate portrayed as dirty, grimy and dangerous, and it had to stop.

Councillor Fiona Colley, Southwark Council

Councillor Fiona Colley is with Southwark Council and spoke to the outlet: “There was a very clear message coming through from the residents that they'd had enough of it. They were sick of seeing their estate portrayed as dirty, grimy and dangerous, and it had to stop.

“We will occasionally make an allowance. We've recently made an exception for World War Z on the Heygate Estate.”

World War Z doubled Glasgow for Philadelphia and also used the Heygate Estate as a double for Philadelphia’s housing projects, a move that made it easier for Southwark Council to accept the high-profile project.

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