Annihilation (film)
| Annihilation | |
|---|---|
.png)
Teaser poster
| |
| Directed by | Alex Garland |
| Produced by |
|
| Screenplay by | Alex Garland |
| Based on | Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer |
| Starring | |
| Music by | |
| Cinematography | Rob Hardy |
| Edited by | Barney Pilling |
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by |
|
Release date
|
|
| Country |
|
| Language | English |
Annihilation is an upcoming science fantasy action horror film written for the screen and directed by Alex Garlandbased on the book of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer.
The film is scheduled to be released in the United States and United Kingdom by Paramount Pictures on February 23, 2018, and released in other international markets by Netflix.
Contents
[hide]Plot[edit]
A group of soldiers enters an environmental disaster zone and only one comes back out alive, though he is grievously injured. In an attempt to save his life, his wife Lena, a biologist, volunteers for a second expedition into the zone to figure out what happened to him.
Cast[edit]
- Natalie Portman as Lena, the Biologist
- Jennifer Jason Leigh as the Psychologist, the leader of the group
- Gina Rodriguez as Anya Thorensen, the Anthropologist
- Tessa Thompson as the Surveyor
- Tuva Novotny as the Linguist
- Oscar Isaac as Lena's husband
- David Gyasi
- Sonoya Mizuno
- Benedict Wong
Production[edit]
On March 26, 2013, it was announced that Paramount Pictures and Scott Rudin Productions acquired the film's right to the first novel Annihilation in Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy.[1] The film would be produced by Scott Rudinand Eli Bush.[1] On October 31, 2014, Paramount hired Ex Machina's writer-director Alex Garland to adapt and direct the film, about a biologist trying to discover answers about the disappearance of her husband in an environmental disaster.[2]
On May 7, 2015, Variety reported that Natalie Portman was in early talks to join the sci-fi film, while the studio was keeping an eye on Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton to add to the cast, but their negotiations would begin right after Portman's casting finalization.[3]
In November, Portman's casting was finalized and it was also announced that Gina Rodriguez would also be joining the cast.[4] On January 4, 2016, the casting of Tessa Thompson was announced.[5] Jennifer Jason Leigh joined the cast on February 10, 2016.[6] Oscar Isaac joined the cast in March 2016.[7]
Garland revealed to Creative Screenwriting that his adaptation is based on only the first novel of the trilogy, saying, "At the point I started working on Annihilation, there was only one of the three books. I knew that it was planned as a trilogy by the author, but there was only the manuscript for the first book. I really didn’t think too much about the trilogy side of it."[8]
Filming began in the spring of 2016 in London.[9] Production was confirmed to begin when actor David Gyasi was added to the cast.[10] Location filming by Lighthouse Pictures Ltd occurred starting in late April in South Forest, Windsor Great Park.[11][12] Some test shooting had already been done in St. Marks, Florida, but the vegetation in the area turned out to be too dense to give any depth perception on screen.[13] Lighthouse Pictures have a charge arrangement registered with UK Companies House regarding this matter.[14] On May 9, 2016, cinematographer Rob Hardy began sharing pictures from the set of the film.[15] On July 13–14 filming took place at Holkham beach and pinewoods in North Norfolk.[16]
Release[edit]
The film is scheduled to be released on February 23, 2018.[17] On December 7, 2017, it was announced that due to clashes between Scott Rudin and David Ellison, and the shift in Paramount's leadership, a deal was struck with Netflix handling international distribution. According to this deal, Paramount will handle the US, UK and China release, while Netflix will begin streaming the film overseas 17 days later.
Due to a poor test screening, Ellison became concerned that the film was "too intellectual" and "too complicated" and demanded changes to make it appeal to a wider audience – including making Portman's character more sympathetic and changing the ending. Rudin sided with Garland in his desire to not alter the film, defending the film and refusing to take notes (Rudin also has final cut on the film).[18] In an interview with Collider a week later, Garland admitted to being disappointed by the turn of events and the deal, stating, "We made the film for cinema. I've got no problem with the small screen at all. The best genre piece I've seen in a long time was The Handmaid's Tale, so I think there's incredible potential within that context, but if you're doing that – you make it for that [medium] and you think of it in those terms. Look... it is what it is. The film is getting a theatrical release in the States, which I'm really pleased about. One of the big pluses of Netflix is that it goes out to a lot of people and you don't have that strange opening weekend thing where you're wondering if anyone is going to turn up and then if they don't, it vanishes from cinema screens in two weeks. So it's got pluses and minuses, but from my point of view and the collective of the people who made it – [it was made] to be seen on a big screen."[19]
No comments:
Post a Comment