Jackman Film Role News

[mamaleh]

I'm somewhat relieved to learn he's not taking a supporting role in a YA-aimed movie. I was hoping he'd take on meaty, dramatic roles in prestigious films post-X-MEN. But as to producing, that's great.

Ellen

[jo]

I would be okay with a cameo to push the movie


Jo

[JH4HJ]

He's not starring in a new movie, but . . .

Hugh Jackman is producing an adaptation of young adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Fox 2000 have acquired Sherman Alexie's novel, which was first published in 2007 and was awarded the National Book Award for Young People's Literature prize that same year.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sherman will write the screenplay for the movie, while Hugh will be producing with Temple Hill Productions, who made The Fault in Our Stars and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, as well as Donners' Company, who are responsible for recent hits Deadpool and X-Men: Apocalypse.

It has also been reported that the X-Men star will appear in the film in a supporting role.

Full article

[jo]

Dec 1, 2016 13:47:00 GMT -5 jo said:

www.thewrap.com/hugh-jackman-absolutely-true-diary-of-a-part-time-indian-fox-2000-sherman-alexie/


This article is a revised version of an earlier reported news that Hugh would be playing a role in the movie adaptation.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated Hugh Jackman would also star in the film, but his reps and the studio have confirmed he is only serving as a producer. TheWrap apologizes and regrets the error. 

The report from The Hollywood Reporter seems to have been superseded ( about a supporting role) by the above later report from The Wrap.

We'll see -- maybe a long cameo to help push the movie?


Jo

[jo]

The Hollywood Reporter in its December 7, 2016 update says that Hugh is still eyeing a supporting role.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/part-time-indian-movie-first-native-american-lead-a-studio-film-953449

[hughmanity]

Wasn't quite  sure where to include this; it was film news  at one time.  Anyway, I remember being quite upset when Hugh bowed out of this film.  Based on reviews, guess I should have trusted  his decision at the time!

[jo]

Yes, the review from THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER is fairly negative!

www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/collateral-beauty-review-955614

I wonder if it would have been received differently with Hugh, a not too glittery cast, and with the original director?

The script itself was a sensation in the Cannes market ( where it was sold for a record $ 2 million, if I remember correctly) and among film bloggers.

Its main competitor for new releases this week will be STAR WARS:ROGUE ONE!


Jo

[hughmanity]

Dec 13, 2016 19:35:49 GMT -5 jo said:

Yes, the review from THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER is fairly negative!

www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/collateral-beauty-review-955614

I wonder if it would have been received differently with Hugh, a not too glittery cast, and with the original director?

The script itself was a sensation in the Cannes market ( where it was sold for a record $ 2 million, if I remember correctly) and among film bloggers.

Its main competitor for new releases this week will be STAR WARS:ROGUE ONE!


Jo

Interesting conjecture!

[jo]

Thinking it over, I think I was excited about the script because it involved the theatre and its age-old truism that in the theatre, it will work if there is suspension of disbelief by the audience. The idea of the concepts of time, love, and death represented by theatrical actors

SPOILER: Click to show

who might not have been real-life actors at all

being personified by people who persuade people to believe in something not believable!

Maybe the cinema is not the venue for that kind of story to work?

I wonder if this storyline belongs more to the theatre than the big screen?


Jo

[jo]

There has been no official update on the Jackman/Affleck/Damon faith-based film project called APOSTLE PAUL. There's a report on IMDB of a script update as of July this year, but nothing else.

But supposedly, the musical theme has been completed to some extent and published by the composer on YouTube in early 2016??

Hmmm...

[carouselkathy]

Who is the composer? Never heard of him.

[jo]

Eficio Cross has done 1 or 2 film scores, according to IMBD. But I don't even know if he is still attached to the project or if the project is still very much alive

But the music seems stirring and poignant.

Jo

[jo]

[jo]

www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/917243-hugh-jackman-is-also-part-of-dundee?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hugh-jackman-is-also-part-of-Dundee

Hugh Jackman is Also Part of Dundee!
Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns HomeHugh Jackman Movie News super bowl
By CS ON January 27, 2018

Hugh Jackman is also part of Dundee!


Hugh Jackman revealed this morning that he is also part of Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home, which is expected to be a Super Bowl spot and not an actual movie.

RELATED: Watch a Scene from Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home

Starring Danny McBride (Vice Principals, Eastbound and Down, Pineapple Express) and Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers franchise, Thor films), the project is produced by Rimfire Films (the company behind the first two Dundee movies). Crocodile Dundee is back. Well, actually, he’s missing in the Outback. And the only person who might be able to find him is the loudmouthed American son no one knew he had. Introducing Danny McBride as Brian Dundee. This son of a legend is forced to channel his Aussie roots as he embarks on the ultimate adventure in the land down under. It’s time to live up to the family name. Unlike his father, Brian grew up a true city kid. But that won’t stop him from picking up his dad’s oversized knife and launching into the Australian outback, completely unprepared for what lies ahead.
Hemsworth plays Wally Jr., the son of Dundee’s business partner Walter “Wally” Reilly as played by John Meillon in the first two films.

The original 1986 Crocodile Dundee was a fish-out-of-water comedy written by and starring Paul Hogan as the Australian bushman Mick Dundee who comes to New York City. A sleeper hit, it grossed $328 million at the worldwide box office and spawned two sequels, 1988’s Crocodile Dundee II and 2001’s Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, neither of which met the expectations of the original.

[jo]

[jo]

New voiceover role for Hugh in film animation project--

www.empireonline.com/people/hugh-jackman/hugh-jackman-zoe-saldana-zach-galifianakis-laika-latest-animated-movie/

www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/hugh-jackman-zoe-saldana-zach-galifianakis-starring-animated-film-laika-1105775

geektyrant.com/news/hugh-jackman-and-zoe-saldana-join-laikas-next-stop-motion-animated-film-project

Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana and Zach Galifianakis have signed on to star in Laika's next stop-motion animation feature film. This is the same animation house behind Kubo and the Two Strings, Coraline, ParaNorman, and Box Trolls.

Laika is partnering up Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures for the film which is just being called Film Five at the moment. ParaNorman director Chris Butler is helming the film. Unfortunately, we have no idea what the plot entails. What we do know is that the movie will be a globe-trotting comedy-adventure "bursting with humor, heart and a profound message of acceptance and finding one's place."

Laiki President and CEO, Travis Knight, who is currently directing Bumblebee, had this to say in a statement:

"Our next film represents an evolutionary shift for Laika. It's an exciting bridge to our future. Director Chris Butler and the wizards at Laika have crafted a moving work of art, layered with wit and imagination and soul. Plus it's really, really funny. It's a privilege to partner with Megan and her exceptional team at Annapurna to bring this beautiful original story to the world."

I'm such a huge fan of the kind of work that Laika is doing. They are creating these wonderful stories in the coolest and unique way. All of their films are like a work of art and that art comes from hand-made love. I can't wait to see what this next film turns out to be!

[jo]

A little more background on LAIKA, the film producing outfit.

collider.com/laika-new-movie-cast-hugh-jackman-zoe-saldana-zach-galifianakis/

LAIKA, the stop-motion animation studio behind the Academy Award-nominated Kubo and the Two Strings, The Boxtrolls, ParaNorman, and Coraline, has announced its fifth film. The feature, which is currently being referred to as simply “Film Five,” is in production at the studio and will be released in the U.S. by Annapurna Pictures. The announcement was made today by LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight and Megan Ellison, Founder and CEO of Annapurna Pictures.

Though it doesn’t yet have a title, the presumably original story for “Film Five” is described briefly as follows: “Bursting with humor, heart, and a profound message of acceptance and finding one’s place, the animation team at LAIKA is thrilled to be bringing this globetrotting comedy-adventure to life.” Chris Butler (ParaNorman) directs a voice cast led by Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana and Zach Galifianakis. The film was previously announced as having a May 18, 2018 release date, but no follow-up date has been announced just yet.


Here’s what Knight had to say about the future for LAIKA and “Film Five”:

“Our next film represents an evolutionary shift for LAIKA. It’s an exciting bridge to our future. Director Chris Butler and the wizards at LAIKA have crafted a moving work of art, layered with wit and imagination and soul. Plus it’s really, really funny. It’s a privilege to partner with Megan and her exceptional team at Annapurna to bring this beautiful original story to the world.”


Ellison followed up, saying:
“We’re excited for the opportunity to collaborate with Travis and the amazing team at LAIKA. We appreciate their trust and look forward to having some fun together.”


The switch over to Annapurna Pictures from Focus Features, which has released all of the studio’s films to date, is an interesting one. It might not be just the technological evolution that is shifting at LAIKA but also their distribution model. The studio, niche though it may be thanks to the painstaking, slow, and expensive approach to animation, released its best box-office performer almost ten years ago with its first film, Coraline. The feature films, be they originals or adaptations, have had decreasing performances at the domestic box office each time, even as the critical acclaim and awards nominations pile up and technological achievements make a LAIKA stop-motion film more and more difficult to distinguish from straight computer-generated animation. Their craft is incredible; I only wish the payday would reflect that.

Maybe that’ll change under Annapurna’s approach. Still a relatively small distributor with relatively few solo releases and more co-distributions, Annapurna is pumping up its own distribution game with more than a dozen titles to come in the years ahead. Here’s hoping the partnership between LAIKA and Annapurna is a lucrative one for both parties that keeps the stop-motion animated gems coming for years ahead. Bringing Butler back into the fold at the director’s chair and landing that stellar core cast with international appeal certainly goes a long, long way.

[jo]

The news is welcomed by such respected film blogger sites like LRM --

lrmonline.com/news/new-laika-film-stars-hugh-jackman-zoe-saldana-to-be-distributed-by-annapurna/

While LAIKA isn’t a production company that’s brought in wads of cash like the likes of Pixar and Illumination, their very existence is a wonderful and healthy thing in the animation industry. Their films are beautifully-crafted pieces of art, and I know they bring a lot of passion into each one. They are perhaps best known for films like Coraline and ParaNorman, but their latest movie came in the form the solid, but financially-disappointing Kubo and the Two Strings.

In the time since that film hit theaters, director Travis Knight moved over to Paramount to helm the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee, and many wondered if that box office fumble would be the one that sends them to an early grave. Well, it turns out the studio is alive and well — they’ve just moved over from Focus Features to Annapurna.

According to THR, LAIKA is partnering with Annapurna to distribute their fifth movie, Film Five, which is set to be helmed by ParaNorman‘s Chris Butler. Its plot is currently unknown, but it’s being called a globe-trotting comedy-
adventure “bursting with humor, heart, and a profound message of acceptance and finding one’s place.”

“Our next film represents an evolutionary shift for Laika,” said Knight. “It’s an exciting bridge to our future. Director Chris Butler and the wizards at Laika have crafted a moving work of art, layered with wit and imagination and soul. Plus it’s really, really funny. It’s a privilege to partner with Megan and her exceptional team at Annapurna to bring this beautiful original story to the world.”

Furthermore, this film is to star Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, and Zach Galafianakis. Clearly, we are far from the end for this studio.

Hugh's choices for his voiceover work are not the typical Disney-blockbuster-a-laugh/spectacle-a-minute types but rather films that have good storylines/messages ( Happy Feet/Flushed Away/Rise of the Guardians).

[jo]

Has Hugh actually completed the voiceover work for FILM FIVE (tentative title)? Or just enough for purposes of the footage bound for CANNES ( the festival runs from May 8-19, 2018)?

deadline.com/2018/04/stuart-fords-agc-boards-international-sales-on-hugh-jackman-animation-film-five-1202377332/

Stuart Ford’s AGC has boarded international sales rights to animation project Film Five (working title), which is currently in production at Laika. The big-budget project was announced yesterday with Annapurna Pictures on board for domestic. The pic features the voices of Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana and Zach Galifianakis. ParaNorman helmer Chris Butler is on board to direct.


AGC International will introduce the film to buyers in Cannes via an invitation-only private screening of footage from the film, accompanied by an on-stage discussion between Ford and Laika’s Travis Knight.

Animation outfit Laika is known for Kubo And The Two Strings, The Boxtrolls, ParaNorman, and Coraline.

[jo]

It looks like the animation project with Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, etc., will be pre-sold for distribution rights at Cannes ( which is both a place of film exhibition and a marketplace for new project proposals) --

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stuart-ford-talks-new-indie-film-venture-life-im-global-split-1107465

What are you bringing to Cannes?

We have two behemoth projects, by independent standards, both $100 million films: an Annapurna animated project with the voice talents of Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana and Zach Galifianakis; and Roland Emmerich’s World War II epic Midway. Cannes is an important milestone for us as a new company, and I think these will make a major statement.

[jo]

It seems we now have a title for the new voiceover animation work from Hugh --

MISSING LINK


variety.com/2018/film/news/cannes-film-festival-market-netflix-1202800862/

but this year’s Cannes isn’t lacking for big-budget extravaganzas. Lionsgate will offer up “The Kingkiller Chonicles,” a $120 million fantasy billed as the next “Hunger Games.” There’s also the World War II romantic action thriller “Midway,” and Laika’s new animated feature “Missing Link,” with a voice cast that includes Hugh Jackman. Both films are budgeted at roughly $100 million and will be sold by newbie venture AGC Studios.

[jo]

From the same article --


Interesting excerpts ( although the full article is quite informative) --

“What it is now very hard to find in the independent world is a title that checks all the right boxes: Good director, good script, familiar faces or good actors, guaranteed U.S. distribution.”

Those types of sexy projects may be harder to come by, but this year’s Cannes isn’t lacking for big-budget extravaganzas. Lionsgate will offer up “The Kingkiller Chonicles,” a $120 million fantasy billed as the next “Hunger Games.” There’s also the World War II romantic action thriller “Midway,” and Laika’s new animated feature “Missing Link,” with a voice cast that includes Hugh Jackman. Both films are budgeted at roughly $100 million and will be sold by newbie venture AGC Studios.

“Big-budget action and family entertainment are the two genres the international marketplace is crying out for,” said AGC founder Stuart Ford.


These are the types of films that would have been backed by major studios a decade or so ago, but those players are now largely consumed with backing comic book movies and sequels to pre-existing franchises. It’s a void that indie players – financiers producers, sales agents and distributors – are hoping to fill.



“There is money out there prepared to take risk outside the studio environment,” said Alex Walton at Bloom, which has “Luce,” starring Naomi Watts.

“I think that sellers have caught up a little bit to what’s actually a theatrical proposition in today’s world, and what is the appropriate valuation,” observed FilmNation Ent.’s Glen Basner.


Then there’s China. The Middle Kingdom has long enticed Hollywood — its vast population has become a key source of box office revenue. It’s also increasingly a major source of equity investment. For instance, Chinese companies are footing the bill for “Midway.”


“Midway,” with its epic battles, is the kind of film that demands to be seen on the big screen. But buyers carp that there aren’t enough of those types of sweeping entertainments being offered up for sale.

“I haven’t seen many top, wide-release theatrical titles announced to date,” said STX president of international sales John Friedberg.

The truth is that some of the heat has gone out of the film business. Compared to just a decade ago, it is far harder just to bring a film onto the market.


For sales companies, financing movies is “more complicated, because the pre-sale model has shifted, putting more emphasis on equity and soft monies,” said David Garrett, at Mister Smith Ent., which is selling romancer “The Sunlit Night,” with Jenny Slate (“Obvious Child”).

Television continues to attract top talent and more lavish budgets. Few movies have tapped into the cultural zeitgeist in the way that water-cooler shows such as “Game of Thrones” or “Big Little Lies” have managed. Independent distributors say that with the possible exception of “La La Land” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” few films financed outside of the studio system have pushed the boundaries of the medium in revolutionary ways. That needs to change.


“What we’re all missing is a new creative approach to the independent film world,” said Constantin Film’s chief Martin Moszkowicz. “The only way we can compete with Hollywood’s studios is by making more innovative and fresher movies than the studios.”

In the light of Hugh Jackman's move away from the box-office-bait Wolverine roles...and his seeming interest in indie type of movie projects at this point ( The Front Runner...and if it happens for him, Bad Education) - it would be interesting to see if he will also be interested in other big-budget action movies more associated with both studio and indie type of backing.

Also, at this point, I wonder why the China release of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ($ 16 million) was not that successful compared to box office performances of something like LOGAN ($ 106 million) and even LA LA LAND ( $ 36 million) and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST ($ 86 million).

www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=greatestshowman.htm

There was some speculation that it got an unfavorable release date -- right before the Chinese New Year when people are travelling to come home and would not be watching movies. But I thought it had a Chinese investor who might have or could have helped secure the China release? So, it seems musicals could also be rich sources of international revenues, if properly distributed. Had China matched the box office for La La Land, The Greatest Showman would have surpassed worldwide gross of LA LA LAND and LES MISERABLES. The Greatest Showman is currently at $ 431 million worldwide ( in its closing days in the UK and Japan) while La La Land and Les Miserables had worldwide grosses of $ 446 million and $ 442 million, respectively.

The Greatest Showman also had a relatively disappointing run in South Korea ( $ 10 million), compared to La La Land ( $26 million) and Les Miserables ( $ 39 million). Was it poor distribution and marketing to these 2 countries? It was surprising that Hugh did not do any promo event in China and South Korea during the premiere of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN in that side of the world. On the other hand, Japan was the 2nd highest source of revenue ($ 45 million as of April 29), after the UK ($ 63 million as of April 29).

What is an excellent aspect of Hugh Jackman's appeal to film producers/distributors would be his unique talent of fitting in with almost all kind of movie genres -- action movies, movie musicals, dramatic movies, thriller movies, animation movies voiceover work, and family-friendly movies ( The Greatest Showman/Real Steel). He is also a much more gifted performer because he is accomplished in both film and stage.

Jo

[jo]

POTENTIAL SPOILERS******POTENTIAL SPOILERS*****POTENTIAL SPOILERS*****POTENTIAL SPOILERS
POTENTIAL SPOILERS******POTENTIAL SPOILERS*****POTENTIAL SPOILERS*****POTENTIAL SPOILERS
POTENTIAL SPOILERS******POTENTIAL SPOILERS*****POTENTIAL SPOILERS*****POTENTIAL SPOILERS


At last -- a new exciting big film project for Hugh Jackman!!

But awaiting official announcement!


And to co-star Rebecca Ferguson!! Both are action stars, too!

Action/sci-fi/romance... with a female director, with Liza's husband Jonathan Nolan co-producing ( Chris Nolan's brother who co-scripted THE PRESTIGE) !!

Black List script!




deadline.com/2019/01/hugh-jackman-rebecca-ferguson-reminiscence-lisa-joy-jonathan-nolan-michael-deluca-aaron-ryder-berlin-film-market-1202545314/

Hot Berlin Pic: ‘Westworld’s Lisa Joy Directs Hugh Jackman…

Breaking News
Lisa Joy To Direct Jackman & Ferguson In Sci-Fi 'Reminisence'

Hot Berlin Pic: ‘Westworld’s Lisa Joy Directs Hugh Jackman & Rebecca Ferguson In Sci-Fi Thriller ‘Reminiscence’

by Mike Fleming Jr

January 30, 2019 9:44am


EXCLUSIVE: As the Sundance deal avalanche abates, it is time to focus on the film packages to be unveiled next week in Berlin. In what instantly becomes a hot property there, Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson are finalizing deals to star this fall in Reminiscence, a film that Westworld executive producer Lisa Joy has scripted. She will make her feature directorial debut.




The film will be unveiled for major studios later this week by Endeavor Content, which is brokering domestic; FilmNation’s Glen Basner will be at the European Film Market to make international deals starting next week. Joy will make the trip to pitch her vision in a theater. Joy, Jonathan Nolan, Michael De Luca and Aaron Ryder will produce a film that is being mounted as a co-production between Kilter Films, Michael De Luca Productions and FilmNation Entertainment.

Principal Photography begins October 21 for a film that will shoot in New Orleans and Miami. This allows Joy and Nolan to complete their work on the third season of their HBO series Westworld.



It is a re-team for Jackman and Ferguson, who worked together on the hit musical The Greatest Showman. The script, which made the Black List several years ago, is complex and layered, but essentially, Jackman will play a private eye who deals in recapturing vivid cherished memories for clients. He becomes vexed by one of those clients (Ferguson). It is set slightly in the future in a Miami that has been changed by global warming, with much of the city submerged underwater.

Joy partners with Nolan on Westworld, which took an old Michael Crichton script and blew it up into an intricately woven world that has fueled two seasons and heads into a third. The world in Reminiscence is just as complex. While she’s stepping behind the camera on a feature for the first time, Joy has been writing and imagining this film for the past five years. “It has been a labor of love and also vision,” she told Deadline. “I know exactly what I want this to be, including all of the action set pieces, and turning Miami into a sunken world. Working on Westworld has been an incredible experience in learning to make something with the scope of a feature on a TV timeline with a budget nowhere near what you would expect for a feature film equivalent.”

Joy, in fact, conceptualized the movie so completely without giving away its spoilers that, in a first for Deadline, I have invited her to pitch her vision here. If you’ve never been pitched a big movie project by a ferociously intelligent, passionate filmmaker, buckle up.


“I’ve always been fascinated by memory and I remember Jonah, when we first started dating, was working on something involving memory. It was early on in our relationship and I was like, damn it, I wanted to do a movie on memory. That was Memento. It was a fascination that took me back years and years. I remember in high school; one of my science teachers was talking about how, when people are having brain surgery and their brains are being operated on and when different nerve endings are stimulated given the electronic impulse, patients having the surgery report having the most vivid memories, while they are under.

Almost as though that electrical stimulation is unlocking some raw date file in their mind, from a moment from long ago that they haven’t thought of, since. Our memories, the way we tend to experience them, are sort of fuzzy around the edges, like a watercolor that has bled into the past and is not totally clear. In this procedure, when people would think back and have this stimulation in their nervous system, the memories that they impact are so immersive and vivid, it was like they were there, again. The smells, the touch, the sound. It wasn’t like they were remembering from a distance, a third party on their own life. It was like they were transported over time, to that very moment.




I was thinking about that phenomenon a lot, while I was writing this piece. I was pregnant, for the first time. It’s such a beautiful and strange moment, and there’s this whir of hormones and feelings you are going through. As I was finishing the first draft, I had my baby daughter, and I remember holding her in my arms. It was that feeling for me where, there is that smell…I remember holding my daughter, this tiny baby in my arms, and I remember smelling her hair. And that precious smell that only babies have, and that evaporates after a while, and you never smell it exactly the same, again. But in a moment when you are smelling it and you’re holding them in that dark room, trying to get them to sleep, and you’re sleep deprived and crazy, but it’s still the most magical moment in your life. And you think, I wish I could bottle this moment, this smell, the feel of their little hands in mine. The feeling that I have, right now, with all my fears and my worries, and my dreams. I wish I could go back to this moment, forever.

There was a lot happening in my life. There was birth; there was family members passing away, and there was this idea of the ephemerality of all these experiences and how, even if you have the happiest of lives, it’s sad at the end. Even if you live to be a ripe old age, you live long enough to see the people you love pass away. You live in memory, and wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go back and feel those sensations, again. That’s kind of the underpinning, conceptually, of this film.




Reminiscence posits a world where that technology does exist. And there’s a character named Nick Bannister, played by Hugh Jackman. He is a kind of a P.I. of the mind — think Wolverine meets Humphrey Bogart — and he has a business where, when people want to remember something, they come into his office and he’s almost like a psychologist. All the files from our past are stored in our minds, and the question is, which one do you access? How do you get it to the right moment, the moment you’re looking for. His skill is asking questions and taking people through this lulling experience, where he finds the moments that you desire to reengage with and immerses you back in them. For a small fee.


People come back to remember their youth, their loved ones, their children, the dog that they used to run around with in a field behind their parents’ house in childhood, old lovers, things like this.


One day, a beautiful mysterious woman comes into his office. And she has a very simple request. She lost a set of keys, and she just needs a quick nudge, to remember where she dropped them. That meeting is the beginning of a really epic romance, where they fall madly in love and you just watch the relationship evolve. And then one day the girl, suddenly, goes missing. Nick Bannister is completely bereft, confused and lost, at the loss of his love. He decides he has to find her. He has to get her back.

It turns into a thriller, where, to get the girl, he has to unpack her past. And see different aspects of her personality that he didn’t know before, in order to find her again. This entire thing, the heart of it, is this love story.

It’s wrapped in this very thrilling world of action set pieces that we haven’t seen before. I’m a huge fan of directing action, it’s one of my favorite things. This world is particularly unique, so it lets me do action set pieces that I’ve never seen before. Part of the conceit of this world is, it’s set mostly in Miami, and it’s ten years from now.

For futurism, there tend to be two different types. I love both. One is an iPad store, sleek, gleaming buildings, flying cars, holographs. It’s beautiful but it’s a little cold to the touch. And it’s a little far away feeling from where we are now. Then there is the dystopian, very gritty version of the future, which is also very thrilling to watch. Neither of those is what I’m going for. What I’m going for is the way the future will probably naturally unfold. Buildings don’t change that much over ten year’s time. If you look out the window, it’s probably the same bodega that was there 20 years ago. Cities tend to have an evolutionary pace, all their own.

The one thing that has changed the evolution of this city, as it’s Miami and global warming has made the oceans rise. You see a much changed Miami, where the waters encroach the land itself and the outskirts of the city are flooded. The dry lands that are more inland have become the home of the rich, who have taken over the dry inland part and left the rest of the community to create new communities on the flooded outskirts. The way that this looks onscreen will be beautiful, as though Miami — turned into Venice — meets the floating markets of Thailand. That’s what this culture looks like. I wanted to create a really immersive culture of life and sensuality that’s really appealing. My parents are European, and Asian on the other side. So whenever I would travel I would look at different communities and the way they are often presented with a distanced gaze as though their way of life is apart from ours, and something to be pitied or idolized. To me it’s like, no, this is just life, and it’s beautiful and it’s rich and complicated. And you get the hustle and bustle of what Miami would look like, in those circumstances.



There’s one other element to it. Which struck me when I went to Spain for work. When it gets hot enough in Spain, they have siestas, and they take naps in the middle of the day because the sun is just so unbearable. So I extrapolated that principle for this, and imagined not only a world where the waters have risen, but where the city has essentially become nocturnal. So when the city sun starts to set and the neon lights go on, on Ocean Drive with the waves washing over them, and people commute to and fro in boats, you see school children waking up as the sun goes down, and packing off to school. You see commuters waking up, eating cereal and bagels in the morning, and ferrying themselves off to work.

It’s an inverted day rather than a night dynamic and that itself creates really interesting opportunities for action set pieces that, typically, when you’re in the chase or meeting the villain, it happens at night on a dark and gloomy street. Here, it happens literally at high noon. There’s a touch of that Western aspect, where the sun is beating down on you and our heroes are winded, sweaty and looking through the city that is essentially empty save for the people who are the denizens of the night. That’s the general world we’re looking at.



A little bit about the characters and the love story. The beating heart of this, is the love story. For me, there’s a reference within the film, but it’s loosely inspired by that myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus is this man who’s a wonderful singer, and the love of his life, Eurydice, dies. She’s bitten by a snake and goes down to hell and Orpheus’ grief is so extreme that he descends into hell, of his own volition, to try and barter with the devil and get his love back. And the song that he sings, is so beautiful and pure of heart, that it even moves the devil himself. He says, you can have your life back, you can take Eurydice back to the world, on one condition: don’t look back. As you’re descending up to the mortal realm, you can’t look back at her. The struggle is, will he or will he not look back. It started me thinking about love, itself. Both my philosophy on love, and there’s this meta-philosophy about film.

For me, love, and I married my love and we’ve been married a long time, but love is an ever changing thing. You fall in love with one person, but that’s not who they are, entirely. An entire person takes awhile to discover. It’s not just the glossy exterior. There are regrettable moments, from their past and that will happen in the future. There are flaws and darkness, along with the light and the beauty. For me, true love means not just seeing the good and saying I love you, but rather seeing all of it, the entire portrait of a human being, flaws and all, and saying, you. I love you. The greatest act of love is seeing, unconditionally, and accepting. In this movie, in order for Bannister to be reunited with his love, that’s exactly what he has to do. He has to learn to see her.

For me, in terms of film and TV, and it’s something I think about a lot on Westworld, it’s the ideas of tropes in femininity and masculinity. Film has this way of being able to say, push closer. Look at this person, fully. Don’t just look at who they should be, or who society thinks they should be. Try to embrace all of them. For me that’s really important for the women and the male characters. A lot of time in thrillers and any kind of major genre films, the women are either the good girl, a little bit passive and waiting around for love. Or they’re the bad girl, that comes with sexuality and all sorts of things that are thought of as more risqué. And the truth is, that’s complete nonsense. Women have just as many multitudes as men. And men have more dimension to them than we are usually allowed in film. This odyssey in love is seeing characters, fully. Both the women and the men.


That’s why casting was critical for these really challenging roles. For the woman, you have to be the romantic hero, the siren, the girl who needs saving, the girl with secrets. All twists and changes. While Bannister is discovering that about the woman, he’s going through his own changes and you see different sides of him. He starts just as the laconic veteran of a war who’s a bit closed off. He opens up into this emotional creature with this woman. He goes through these twists and turns within his own arc that take him through from hero to villain and potentially back again. And you have to be with all of these characters and totally understand their emotional landscape, throughout.


All the years I was writing this, I would see the scenes fully in my mind and I was directing it and planning the set pieces and drawing the artwork for the world. The one person who was always in my mind, from the first day, was Hugh Jackman. It’s this crazy love story and it’s totally unreal to me. I drew his costume on him, I have all these sketches and I thought, it has to be him. This is a man who, whatever character he inhabits, whether it’s in Prisoners, or The Greatest Showman, he has a range that’s like that of a character actor. You always believe his characters. He has so much heart. Even if he’s playing a flawed character. You can just see that heart underneath that and you forgive him because you see in his flaws, your own.


Then you couple that with, my God, he’s Wolverine. The most charismatic, handsomest movie star. The idea he’s all those things combined, with the sensitivity and the action, the sheer physicality to pull off this physically demanding role. He was all I could picture. I didn’t talk to anyone else. I sent him an email and went out to meet him and we talked about the script. I stayed so long, they were like, you want to have dinner here? We were in his living room that long. I decided to leave him to dinner with his family and not encroach anymore. It was an instant connection in that way. He totally viscerally understood and inhabited that character.


I just recorded some voiceover with him and it was so moving to see him say these words that I’d imagined in my head so long. The life he brought to them was even better and more nuanced than I had imagined. That’s my lead.


Once I started talking to Hugh, it was, who do I find for May, his romantic partner, this mysterious and elusive woman? For me, these films are always about the woman. It has to be someone who, you want to be her, you want to be her friend, you understand her, even if she’s doing something morally compromised. When I started watching Rebecca Ferguson, I was blown away. In very intense scenes with huge movie stars, my eyes would drift to her because she was this powerful core in the center of this whirlwind film. She has this intelligence to her eyes and her performance speaks volumes. You just want to keep looking closer to figure out who she is. She’s got this timelessness to her performances that defies expectations and she’s beautiful and sexy. But that is literally just the tip of the iceberg.


She’s riveting and you can see all these emotions, roiling underneath her surface. One of my favorite actresses is Lauren Bacall, especially in To have And Have Not. I thought, who’s the actress today who could do that line, “You know how to whistle, don’t ya?” Who is that person who can have every man, woman and child lean forward and just stop breathing for a second? For me, that’s Rebecca Ferguson. Then, unbelievably, this builds into a love connection where my emails are now just filled with the back and forth with Rebecca Ferguson, where we are finishing each other’s sentences when we talk. It’s a really great creative match, and they have great chemistry. They worked together before, and I thought, I want to see more of you guys together. I want this to be the main story and now it can be.”

Joy and Jackman are repped by WME; Ferguson is repped by ICM Partners and Tavistock Wood.

The director is a fan of Hugh Jackman !!

And Hugh kept mum about this possibility!


Jo

[mamaleh]

I read about this earlier today on Facebook. It sounds terribly exciting. I hope it comes to fruition unlike the Oddysey, Ferrari and GOOD SPY films that seem to be in limbo. HJ and Rebecca F. certainly have chemistry.

Ellen

[jo]

It has so many elements of Hugh's talent -- only thing missing is the musical side

When I saw them in THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, I hoped that in some future projects Hugh and Rebecca will be cast together. I was thinking more of like a great romance ( I guess that is no longer exciting for the more modern movie audiences ), although I have also thought they might make a good team for an action/adventure movie, given their film backgrounds! Only thing missing here was that I hoped it would be an European, not a futuristic setting!

This is set for filming on October 21!


Off to hunt for the Black List script, if I can find it


Jo