With only a month until the US release of CLOUD ATLAS, you may be wondering ‘what’s the back story on its creation?’ Well, The New Yorker has sat down with two of the film’s three directors (The Wachowskis) and has asked the questions we’ve all wanted answers to.
The siblings became aware of the book after filming with Natalie Portman on V FOR VENDETTA (which was written by the duo). She raved about it to them and they decided to give it a go. After deciding that this was the book for them, they rented a house in sunny Costa Rica with fellow CLOUD ATLAS director Tom Tykwer. There, they wrote out potential, filmable scenes one-by-one on coloured postcards, mixing up the order every few days. When asked about the six storylines, numerous characters and the fact that time reverses half way through the story, Lana Wachowski said:
‘It would be impossible to introduce a new story ninety minutes in.’
That it would. After days of wondering what to do, Tykwer came up with the idea of one actor playing several characters – in his words, ‘playing souls, not characters’ – just before they left to return home. Talk about leaving things until the last minute! After deciding on the final plot sequence and who would play whom, the trio checked everything over with CLOUD ATLAS author David Mitchell. After he confirmed that he agreed and liked it, they moved onto getting money behind the project. However, this seemed to be a hurdle they had to jump together, as Warner Bros. initially turned them down. After mulling it over, the company accepted and decided to back the project.
Only problem now: who would play their leading man? In the words of Lana, they wanted to find an ‘Everyman’ to portray some of the film’s most prominent and important characters. First person who came to mind? Tom Hanks. After pitching the idea to Mr Hanks, he signed on immediately, but he hasn’t denied that fact that the script is complex:
‘The script was not user-friendly. The demands it put upon the audience and everybody, the business risk, were off the scale.’
After securing the rest of their cast members (and enough money to start production), the trio split up to start directing. The Wachowski’s took half the scenes, while Tykwer took the other half. Although they worked separately, they made sure that everyone knew what everyone else was doing and when and, soon enough, the film was finished. Now the only thing we’ve got to do it watch it!
CLOUD ATLAS, starring Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, Jim Sturgess and Jim Broadbent (amongst others) is due for a UK release from 22nd March 2013. US fans eagerly await the 26th October 2012 release (lucky so-and-so’s!)
Source: The New Yorker
