Brad Pitt, Not DiCaprio Going to War

It sounds like the Celebrity Death Match to beat them all - Brad Pitt vs. Leonardo DiCaprio. On Wednesday, the two mega-star's production companies were involved in a bidding war for a hot book property about a zombie battle called World War Z. Max Brooks, author of the popular Zombie Survival Guide, will release the book this fall, but Brad Pitt's company Plan B, housed through Paramount, and Leonardo DiCaprio's shingle Appian Way, with the power of Warner Brothers behind it, were in a heated battle for the rights. A few details of the book were reported in The Hollywood Reporter, "In 2003, Brooks wrote "Zombie Survival Guide," which explained in great deadpan detail how to survive a supposedly impending zombie apocalypse. The book went on to become a surprise cult hit. "World War Z" also tackles the zombie genre but is set 10 years after a great global zombie epidemic and is a serious oral history of the future zombie told from many perspectives from around the world. Crown Publishing is putting the book out in the fall."

Galleys of the book went out last week with the two companies realizing that they might have a franchise on their hands and the bidding began. According to Reuters, "The bidding went back and forth between the two into Tuesday night and carried over into Wednesday. Sources say the rights sold for six figures, with the deal going to seven figures if the film actually gets made. Brooks was a writer on "Saturday Night Live" from 2001 to 2003 and did voice work on the "Justice League" cartoon series."

Plan B, Brad Pitt's company, was formed with the star and ex-girlfriend Jennifer Aniston, who gave up her part of the deal when the couple split up last year. Brad Pitt's company has been involved with the production of Troy, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and, believe it or not, Leonardo DiCaprio's highly-buzzed Fall film The Departed, directed by Martin Scorsese and co-starring Jack Nicholson.

Brad Pitt has been all over the press lately after the birth of his new daughter with Angelina Jolie, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt in a Namibian hospital late last month.

[Additional Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Rotten Tomatoes]