Producer Todd Lieberman Talks Zombie Movie Warm Bodies

“Really wonderful” chemistry between Nicholas Hoult (dead guy) and Teresa Palmer (live girl)

The first image of zombie romance Warm Bodies was released last week and producer Todd Lieberman says the shoot has been a lot of fun so far.

“It’s been great, we’ve been having a blast,” he told SFX exclusively from the set. “I’m actually in Montreal right now and we’re filming it as we speak. Jonathan Levine – who adapted the novel and is directing the movie – is a unique talent.”

If that first pic makes this look like the zombie version of Twilight, Lieberman promises there’ll still be plenty of horror and comedy in the film.

“The reason I wanted to get involved with the movie is because it’s a challenging tone in that it’s a zombie movie that takes place through the eyes of a zombie. It’s also in a way a little bit self referential to the zombie genre, so there’s a slight humorous tone to it,” he said.

“But at its centre it’s a love story and it takes itself seriously – and there’s action and there’s horror and comedy, so really all of these different disparate tones. Hopefully we can balance those and make something that’s truly unique.”

Bookworms will already be aware of Isaac Marion’s novel Warm Bodies, which sees a zombie (Nicholas Hoult) eat the brains of a boy and gain his memories, including his love for a girlfriend (Teresa Palmer).

Lieberman says the two leads nail that central relationship: “It’s phenomenal. Their chemistry together is really wonderful and that’s tricky because generally through the movie Nicholas can’t speak because he’s a zombie so he’s kind of mumbling out words. So the fact that we’re able to have this great chemistry is a testament to their acting skills.”

As for the horror? Well, Lieberman says the choice to put this script into production comes with its own fear.

“It scares me in a good way. It scares me that I love the challenge of it,” he admits.

“I could chase conventional, safe material but I think in today’s marketplace not only are audiences looking for something that’s different and not derivative, they’re kind of demanding it. So as a filmmaker I welcome those challenges and love the idea of trying something different. I’d rather go down swinging big than just bunting for a single, to use a baseball analogy.”

Todd Lieberman also produced The Muppets, which opens 23 November 2011 in the US and 10 February 2012 in the UK.

Matthew Chpaman

Warm Bodies author Isaac Marion is interviewed in our Zombie Special, on sale now.