Warner Bros. has officially announced a domestic release date of October 26, 2012 for the Wachowski siblings directed sci-fi epic ‘Cloud Atlas.’ In addition to the release date, Warner Bros stated that they have also acquired international rights to release the film in UK, France, Spain, Australia and Japan.
In a press release for the movie, Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, stated, “Audiences who have seen an early screening of ‘Cloud Atlas’ have been elated by its powerful and inspiring story, as well as its breathtaking visuals. An October release in North America is the perfect window to showcase this epic film.”
The film stars Academy Award winners Tom Hanks (‘Angels and Demons,’ ‘The Da Vinci Code’, ‘Forrest Gump’) and Halle Berry (‘X-Men,’ ‘Catwoman,’ ‘Gothika’) and includes Hugh Grant (‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits,’ ‘Bridget Jones’ Diary,’ ‘Love Actually’), Susan Sarandon (‘Robot and Frank,’ ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ ‘ Enchanted’) and Hugo Weaving (‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,’ ‘Captain America: The First Avenger,’ ‘Transformers’) who each will be taking on multiple roles throughout the film.
The movie is based on the bestselling novel by David Mitchell and “explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future.”
Like the book, the movie will span several centuries following 6 different main characters with interconnected stories going from a 19th century notary on a Pacific expedition to a bisexual musician in the 1930’s to a female journalist involved in a thriller in the 1970’s to an aging publisher in present day London to a clone in a futuristic dystopia and finally ending with a Pacific survivor in a post-apocalyptic world.
If that doesn’t sound complex enough, Hugh Grant had stated in an interview with Empire that he has six cameo parts and does a lot of killing and raping. “I wear an awful lot of prosthetic make up, too,” he explains, “You probably won’t know that I am in the film!” He also stated that he is “incredibly evil” in ‘Cloud Atlas ‘and one of his cameo parts involves him being a cannibal 2000 years in the future. On top of that, Susan Sarandon has a small role playing an Indian man.
From the sound of how well the screening was received and how epic the movie must be, the move to release the film in October puts it well in contention for awards season. Directing a novel like ‘Cloud Atlas’ is a daunting task but having the Wachowski’s involved in this project will definitely mean that audiences will be seeing something unique.
Source: Deadline
