A zombie with heart? That’s the latest spin in the ever-popular zombie genre, with Summit Entertainment’s zombie love story Warm Bodies. Based on the book by Isaac Marion, the author talked about the guts of the film at a San Diego Comic-Con press conference earlier today.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane director Jonathan Levine is set to direct the adaptation that centers on an existentially tormented zombie who begins an unlikely friendship with the girlfriend of one of his victims and starts a chain reaction that will transform him and his fellow zombies.
Read inside for the scoop from the press conference.
“Warm Bodies” follows the story of a tormented zombie named R that begins an unlikely friendship with the human girlfriend of one of his victims. Marion said the tale is “more sincere, more emotional” than others within the genre, but still has the key gory elements.
“When I first wrote the original story I thought it would be interesting to have that particular creature explored in that way,” he said.
“I didn’t want to sanitize it and call him something that he’s not – he’s a zombie.
“At the start you watch him kill people and eat people and he’s doing all the horrific things that zombies do.
“Then you see him go through these changes and he doesn’t understand why he has to do these things but he does (them).
“A lot of people can relate to that mindless repetition in life and doing things they probably shouldn’t and feeling guilty about it.
“Gradually he adopts more options as to what his choices are.”
Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class) has been cast as R and Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four) as his love interest. Although Marion said he “wasn’t directly involved” with the casting, he “totally approves” of the choices.
“I was made aware of who they were considering and so far it’s been falling into place,” he said.
“I think both of them would be great in those roles.”
Marion is also pleased with the appointment of The Wackness director Jonathan Levine as Warm Bodies’ writer and director.
“I really loved The Wackness and when they showed me he was one of the directors they were considering, I was very enthusiastic,” he said.
“I’m really excited, especially when I found out he was going to write it as well.
“He’s a director I’ve been watching for a while.”
Warm Bodies is scheduled to start filming later this summer and Marion said he would like to on the set “as much as possible.”
“The whole thing is exciting and fascinating.
“Maybe I can sneak into the background and get eaten by a zombie.”
Marion originally wrote his zombie twist as a short story, which he posted on his website and was discovered by a publisher who pushed him to expand it into a novel. Summit, the studio behind Twilight, picked up the rights for the film version. Marion said the interest in the project has something to do with an increased “fascination with supernatural creatures in general.”
“I’ve seen a lot of articles and there’s a lot of theories,” he said.
“There’s a lot of different perspectives, from deep psychological reasons to they’re just cool and I like to see things get eaten.
“It’s you and your friends against the world and although Warm Bodies is the opposite side, it’s still that perspective, that feel.“