Brad Pitt started filming in Glasgow for World War Z. The movie is set in a future Philadelphia but filming is taking place in Glasgow due to its architecture, wide roads and grid layout. World War Z is based on the 2006 novel,” World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War” by Max Brooks. The story takes place after a ten-year war of humanity versus the zombies; the zombies are humans who have been infected with an incurable virus that turns them into unintelligent beings having only the desire to consume living flesh.
Given the mindless, angry nature of mobs, it’s not a huge leap to replace “zombie” with “mob”. It’s almost eerie then that the movie is being filmed in the UK, where mobs have recently caused so much harm and that the movie will be set in Philadelphia; another place where mobs have recently wreaked havoc. The Sun (August 13, 2011) reports that Brad is expected to bring Angelina and their six kids to Glasgow with him for two weeks while he shoots the Glasgow scenes. Let’s hope that their only mob threat was diverted last week when a mob was stopped short in Glasgow; a 16-year old Glasgow boy was arrested for inciting riots on Facebook (The Guardian, August 9, 2011).
Dealing with the threat of mobs is not new for Angelina and the kids. According to US Magazine, they spent last week, in London’s Richmond neighborhood during the height of the violence. US also reports that they have ventured out recently as they were seen at The Toy Station, a boutique near their rented residence in Richmond. US also stated that while his family stayed low in London, Brad spent the time filming for World War Z, while safely in Falmouth, Cornwall (over five hours away from London). While he was safe from the mob this time, the mob is no stranger to Brad. Sources claim that many years ago, well before Angelina, Brad got romantically involved with a girl from Glasgow. The girl was the ex-love of a high-ranking Glasgow gang member. Brad became the target of this gang and had to leave. The Sun quoted him as saying “When I was in Glasgow I got involved with this girl. She happened to be the ex-girlfriend of a bit of a bad guy…I ended up having to get out of town because I was getting ‘that’ look from a guy behind a bar…I think there is something about rival gangs in the city (Glasgow) and I was about to find I was involved. I had to get out of there. It was heavy.”
Mobs, zombies, ex-gang girlfriends are likely to stay far from Brad and his family in Glasgow. But the mobs are likely to come out on December 21, 2011 when World War Z hits the big screen.