It was a tragic loss for our city when producers of the post-apocalyptic thriller World War Z, starring furniture designer Brad Pitt, chose to film the city of Philadelphia in Glasgow instead of...Philadelphia. The Philly Film Office's Sharon Pinkenson was crushed when the anticipated $40 million project changed course and headed to Scotland. She told the Inquirer at the time: "This is huge. This is a killer. I was devastated about this. We lost jobs that people were counting on."
She wasn't the only one upset by the decision. Film and sci-fi purists across the land were also baffled, including Videogum's Kelly Conaboy, who went to college in Philly and still loves the city very much "even though it is kind of terrible":
What the F is going on here with Brad Pitt's World War Z kind of attempting to dress up Glasgow as Philadelphia? I mean, I think I might know why Brad Pitt's World War Z is filming in Glasgow rather than Philadelphia. Which is because Pennsylvania offers a tax credit thing for movies, I don't know, it's boring, and back in February it looked like it wouldn't be offered anymore....But. GLASGOW?! Today the wound has been reopened with the release of the film's trailer, which does indeed show the city of Philadelphia—as portrayed by the city of Glasgow. Some of the shots make you do a double take (is that the Union League?; Hey, Liberty Place!), while others elicit a confused head tilt. Above, some production photos of Glasgow-as-Philly from Andy Erupts and Ain't It Cool News that give you a sense of what you'll see in the film.
Tip o' the hat to Christopher Sawyer.
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