Movies: VISUALLY SPECTACULAR DRAMA BASED ON AWARD-WINNING NOVEL “A MONSTER CALLS”

Renowned actors Liam Neeson, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell and talented young actor Lewis MacDougall star in the entrancing drama “A Monster Calls” based on the novel by Patrick Ness of the same title.

 Directed by acclaimed and award-winning J.A. Bayona, best known for his nightmare-inducing “The Orphanage” and the catastrophic “The Impossible,” his latest movie “A Monster Calls” is a deeply-felt coming-of-age story of a young boy who must come to terms with her mother’s impending death. 

 “A Monster Calls’” screenplay adaptation is by the book’s author, Patrick Ness. Mr. Ness wrote the novel from an original idea by the late Siobhan Dowd.  The story had originated with Dowd but she succumbed to cancer soon after starting it. Ness reflects, “Siobhan wrote magnificent books, ones that teenagers deeply responded to; A Monster Calls was to have been her fifth. She had an opening; 1,000 words; an idea for a structure; and a few characters.”

 Bayona feels that “the book speaks about death in a direct and darker way. For the film, I wanted to transcend what we know is coming – the death of Conor’s mother – and be able to fuse the boy’s need to draw with the strength of legacy. There is light at the end of the story, resulting from the idea that art heals. Patrick’s screenplay has added themes while still being faithful to the novel; in making the movie, there are some elements of the book that we have taken further.”

 Young lead actor Lewis MacDougall as Connor was brought to the production’s attention; he had only just finished filming his first movie, “Pan.” Ness was shown MacDougall’s audition video and saw that “he was such a find, so true and so focused. You could read everything on that face.”

 Academy Award nominated-actress Sigourney Weaver was sought for the role of Conor’s maternal grandmother. “I’m a huge admirer of Bayona’s earlier films; I found them so powerful,” she reveals. “In the book and in the script, Conor says she doesn’t really look like a grandmother, so that was a wonderful place for me to start!

 When Bayona saw Felicity Jones in her breakout role in “Like Crazy” – as her Academy Award-nominated portrayal in “The Theory of Everything” had not yet been screened – he knew he had found the actress to play the role as Lizzie, Connor’s mom.   Jones took her character to heart. She states, “Lizzie is a vibrant, active woman who has never stopped loving art. In her home, there are arts and crafts that reveal her creative spirit. She has loved being a mother to Conor, although she’s a little unconventional.”

 As part of Bayona’s approach, Neeson (who voices the Monster) worked alongside Lewis MacDougall so that both actors could share ownership of their scenes together. Neeson reflects, “I’ve worked with children who’ve been swamped by the industry, and they’ve lost a kind of childlike innocence. Lewis has all that intact. He’s still a real kid – but also a powerful young actor.”

 Further in the production, the director chose not to give his young lead the script page for the very last scene in “A Monster Calls,” so that MacDougall would be able to convey the most natural, authentic response as the events unfolded. “And that’s just what Lewis gifted us with,” says Bayona.

 

                “A Monster Calls” opens November 2 in cinemas nationwide from Pioneer Films.

Movies: LIAM NEESON VOICES MONSTER IN ADAPTATION OF CHILDREN’S BESTSELLER IN “A MONSTER CALLS”

Double curiosity has struck me with the adaptation of the book to film most especially since finding out that both the writer and illustrator won awards for the children's book and according to Wikipidea. "A Monster Calls" "is the only book whose author and illustrator, whether two persons or one, have won both Medals."

Hoping to get to read the book before the movie comes out! 

Liam Neeson, widely known for his role as Bryan Mills in the worldwide blockbuster “Taken” film franchise, will once again surprise the audience with his newfound skills in his latest film “A Monster Calls.” 

I on the other hand will always remember him as Jean Valjean in the 1998 version of "Les Miserables." Yes, I'm old. I know!  

                Based on the award-winning novel of the same title by Patrick Ness, “A Monster Calls” is directed by highly celebrated director J.A. Bayona wherein Neeson stars in the titular role.   As the monster, Neeson’s character is seen by 12-year-old Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall) who escapes into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales. Dealing with his mother’s (Felicity Jones) illness has necessitated Conor’s spending time with his less-than-sympathetic grandmother (Sigourney Weaver). His daily existence at his U.K. school is one of academic disinterest and bullying by classmates. As Conor’s father (Toby Kebbell) has resettled thousands of miles away in the U.S., the boy yearns for guidance.

                Connor unexpectedly summons a most unlikely ally, who bursts forth with terrifying grandeur from an ancient towering yew tree and the powerful earth below it: a 40-foot-high colossus of a creature.  Portrayed in performance-capture and voiceover by Neeson, the monster appears at Conor’s bedroom window  at the strike of 12:07 one night – and at the same time on nights thereafter. The Monster has stories to tell, and he insists that Conor hear them and powerfully visualize them.  Conor’s fear gives way to feistiness and then to looking within; for, The Monster demands that once the tales are told it will be time for Conor to tell his own story in return. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth.

             As an actor utterly distinct in personality, voice, and stature, Liam Neeson was everyone’s first choice to portray the Monster, in both voiceover and performance-capture. The Academy Award-nominated actor was drawn to the story immediately, seeing it as “a fable about the complexity of our emotions, and navigating that complexity as we grow up.”

               

                “Bayona is a real cinema talent,” states Liam Neeson. “Occasionally you get to work with directors who are steeped in the love of what they do, and Bayona is one of those. He eats, sleeps, and drinks movies. He’s a walking film encyclopedia. He’s a bit like Martin Scorsese in that way.  He’s also very sensitive. He takes care of, guides, and nurtures his actors and that’s what I always hope a director will do. He allows you to experiment, so you both can get at the truth of what a scene is – and he will try for as long as it takes. I love working with a director like that.”

                As part of Bayona’s approach, Neeson worked alongside Lewis MacDougall so that both actors could share ownership of their scenes together. Neeson reflects, “I’ve worked with children who’ve been swamped by the industry, and they’ve lost a kind of childlike innocence. Lewis has all that intact. He’s still a real kid – but also a powerful young actor.”

                “A Monster Calls” is a visually spectacular and stunning adventure that will open in cinemas on November 2 from Pioneer Films.   Trailer link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Hpx-nO8o0

Movies: “INFERNO” TO BE RELEASED IN IMAX CINEMAS IN THE PHILIPPINES OCT 12

Sony Pictures Entertainment, IMAX Corporation and Imagine Entertainment has announced that “Inferno,” the latest film in the Dan Brown (“The Da Vinci Code”) franchise, will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX® format

The film, starring Tom Hanks as Dr. Robert Langdon and directed by Ron Howard, will be released into IMAX® theatres worldwide (including the Philippines), coinciding with the film's general release date on October 12^th.

(Watch the “Inferno” Vignette “Langdon's Super Power” at https://youtu.be/gX2mXN7qKK4.)

“Inferno” continues the $1.2 billion franchise, following the hits “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels & Demons.”

"Dan Brown's Robert Langdon is back, and `Inferno' is his most thrilling adventure yet with the patented Dan Brown twists and turns," said Rory Bruer, president of Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures. "We've had an extraordinary response to the film from audiences – it's testing extremely well. Ron Howard has made `Inferno' the most visually stylistic film in the series so far, with intense action sequences and cryptic dream sequences that will have audiences wanting to experience this film in IMAX."

"Beginning with the very first IMAX DMR® release—“Apollo 13”—IMAX and Ron Howard, along with the support of our partners at Imagine Entertainment, have created a longstanding and successful tradition of bringing awe-inspiring entertainment to movie-goers around the globe," said Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX Entertainment. "Together with our friends and colleagues at Sony, we are excited to continue that legacy with Dan Brown's latest franchise installment Inferno, which is sure to thrill audiences when it launches this fall in IMAX® theatres worldwide."

The IMAX® release of “Inferno” will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

Academy Award® winner Ron Howard returns to direct the latest bestseller in Dan Brown's billion-dollar Robert Langdon series, “Inferno,” which finds the famous symbologist on a trail of clues tied to the great Dante himself. When Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories. Together, they race across Europe and against the clock to stop a madman from unleashing a global virus that would wipe out half of the world's population. The film's screenplay is by David Koepp, based upon the novel by Dan Brown. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are the producers.

“Inferno” is distributed by Columbia Pictures in the Philippines, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.