It's not the end of the world

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past week or so, you'll know that Glasgow is caught in the grip of a zombie fever epidemic at the moment. The streets right outside the train station I use to get to work each day have been transformed into, er... what's that Bruce Springsteen song again? Oh yes... the Streets of Philadelphia. It's all for Brad Pitt's new movie World War Z, an adaptation of the novel by Max Brooks.

And let me tell you, what a right old tizz it's been causing. The politics of *why* they're filming the movie here aside - is it all that surprising, though? Don't locations in other countries double for locations in other countries all the time? - the stir is all to do with how convincingly the prop guys have managed to transform Glasgow's streets into American ones.

I'm not talking about some random Glesga back street here. I'm talking about the area around George Square, one of the city centre's busiest and most well-known regions. And suddenly there are yellow traffic lights and taxi cabs. Huge trucks with US licence plates. "Don't walk" crossing signs. Last night, while I surveyed the scene on my nightly walk back through the city, I wondered how they would hide the huge banners which adorn the lamposts in George Square - only to notice that they too had been altered to look like we were in Philadelphia. [How silly of me - did I think they would CGI them out?] There are USA Today newspaper stands. Philly SWAT cars. One of the ugliest buildings on the square now has a "United States Court House" sign on the front of it. And then down the road a bit, sticking out like a sore thumb, there is a Greggs the bakers. It's properly mental, so it is.

Needless to say, I haven't seen a single zombie (yet) - nor have I witnessed Mr. Pitt and Clan-jelina - although I have heard that some pretty intense sequences are being shot in the city. It's rather amazing, actually.

Naturally, it's causing a bit of a ruckus with some of the more po-faced of Glaswegians, who seem rather put out that they won't be able to sit their arses on a park bench in the square for a fortnight. "Why can't they just f*****g film it in Philadelphia?" asked one moaning minnie on Facebook the other day. Funnily enough, they're asking the same question in Philadelphia, accusing Glasgow City Council of "gloating" about the £2million the production is allegedly bringing to the city.

Well, I don't know how much cash the council are bagging as a direct result of the Hollywood machine taking up residence, but I do know there is a real positive buzz in the city at the moment. And for a movie that's depicting the end of the world, that's pretty neat, don't you think?