Everest is set for the world premiere tonight in Venice Film Festival and it is the opening film of the festival. The film is based on a true story of an attempt on the summit of Mount Everest in 1996, directed by Baltasar Kormakur who made action-thrillers 2 Guns and Contraband.
The movie is penned down by William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy. The film focuses on two expeditions simultaneously. One is led by Rob Hall (Jason Clarke), head of New Zealand’s Adventure Consultants, as he leads a group including Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin), Doug Hansen (John Hawkes), Guy Cotter (Sam Worthington) and, among others, a reporter (Michael Kelly) embedded with the group to tell the story of their climb. Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) of Mountain Madness is leading the other expedition.
It is rather remarkable how well Kormakur manages to make all of them three-dimensional human beings, particularly when all hell breaks loose on the mountain. But that is also what makes the movie work as well as it does: You care for this group. Although the main female characters don’t have as much to do, both Keira Knightley as Hall’s pregnant wife and Robin Wright as Weathers’ wife add warmth, as does a spirited Emily Watson who plays Helen, the coordinator for Hall’s expedition.
The film is shot out of Nepal and the Italian Alps. The special effects are mind-blowing including the sound work. Cinematographer Salvatore Totino did a remarkable Job and utilized the locations perfectly. The drama plus adventure thing made the movie looks more interesting. It could lead to the Oscars too.
“There’s a tremendous responsibility trying to re-create something which has happened,” Gyllenhaal said at the “Everest” Lido press conference.
He was contacted by Fischer’s two children, who were concerned about how their father would be portrayed.
“It was a beautiful thing to sit down with the two of them and hear what their father was to them and to feel him through them,” Gyllenhaal said. His responsibility, Gyllenhaal said, was “to try to find the energy, not the specifics, ultimately it was the essence of Scott Fischer which was most important. The essence of that expedition was the essence of everybody on it.” and his interest in the movie “has always been about the people who climbed Everest on this expedition and their reasons for doing it.”His own conclusion: “It’s not about getting to the top; it’s about community and the connection with the climbers around you. “
The film is set for a September 18, 2015 release date. Let’s see how it turns out to be for the audience.
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