Zombie Movie … just for Brad’s kids

Not many people would make a zombie movie with their kids in mind but Brad Pitt is nothing if not unconventional when it comes to family matters.

The father of six children all under the age of 11 with long-term girlfriend Angelina Jolie, the Hollywood hunk says the appeal of his new thriller World War Z was to make something his kids could watch when they’re older, of course.

“This whole thing started because I just wanted to do a film my boys could see before they turned 18, one that they would like, anyway,” said Brad.

“The zombies in the film are scary as hell but primarily it’s complete summer fun and, frankly, something I wanted to do for my sons to enjoy.”

“And they love a zombie,” said Brad, whose eldest son, 11-year-old Maddox, makes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him appearance in the movie as one of the undead.

Brad plays Gerry Lane, an ex-United Nations investigator whose drive through Philadelphia with his wife and two children is interrupted by a massive traffic jam.

As police helicopters buzz the sky, Lane senses this is no ordinary gridlock and leads his family to comparative safety just as pandemonium breaks out. A lethal virus is spreading through the city like wildfire, with a single bite from an infected carrier turning healthy humans into something unrecognisable, unthinking and feral.

All the Philadelphia scenes were actually shot in Central Glasgow, which caused traffic chaos all of its own around George Square for two weeks in August, 2011.

Brad believes that with his film following so soon after the release of Iron Man and Superman, it will make a welcome change for cinema audiences to see a hero only armed with the same tools as them to fight a world-threatening situation.

It was also his family that, once again, gave him a lead into playing his character.

“Gerry can’t fly, he can’t beat up bad guys, he has no superpowers. He’s a dad, with a burning need to keep his family safe,” explained the 49-year-old actor.

“To do that, he can only rely on his intellect, his instincts and his experience.

“It was something I could relate to because the only thing that keeps me up at night is thinking is everyone safe? Are the kids safe, is mumma (Jolie) safe, is the house locked?”

Keeping on the family theme, Brad was happy to report that Angelina, who accompanied him to the film’s premieres in Paris and Berlin earlier this month, was “doing great” after undergoing a preventative double mastectomy.

“It’s been business as usual and onwards and upwards,” he said. “And nice not to have to worry about it any more.

World War Z is out on June 21.