Whoever would have envisioned that Oscar award winning actress, Meryl Streep (‘The Iron Lady’) would ever end up doing science fiction? It really doesn’t seem her thing. Sure she may have done a voice in Steven Spielberg‘s 2001 ‘A.I.’, but she’s never actually acted in science fiction before. Yet here she is in talks to join Jeff Bridges (‘Seventh Son‘, ‘Tron: Legacy’, ‘Iron Man’) and Brenton Thwaites (‘Maleficent‘, ‘Oculus‘) in the upcoming film adaptation of ‘The Giver’.
While Thwaites is a relative newcomer to the big screen (he’s done a lot of television), Bridges clearly brings with him a powerhouse of science fiction work from his past. While not having done too much in the genre that we love, Meryl Streep has her own list of accomplishments and having her name attached to the project could absolutely work, especially after you read the role they have her targeted for will be! More on that in a minute. First let’s finish talking about the background for ‘The Giver’.
The film was originally a novel by Lois Lowry and is currently setup by The Weinstein Co. and Walden Media to be directed by Phillip Noyce (‘Salt’). With a budget of $25 million, it has a decent chance of looking pretty decent and with the current line up of actors, it has a chance of some real talent in it as well.
That, of course, begs us to question, what’s the film about?
The official synopsis for the novel goes as follows:
Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver.
The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.
In the film we will see Brenton Thwaites portray the role of Jonas, who will become the Receiver of Memories and work with The Giver (who is played by Jeff Bridges) and will learn to eventually take his place. Streep is looking to play the society’s Chief Elder who assigns the young their tasks as well as perform what few authoritative tasks that needs to be done. As I mentioned above, that sounds like a role she was born to play!
Since it’s release, ‘The Giver’ has won a Newbery Medal in 1994 and has become a prime example of what could happen when people give up their humanity and freedoms to create a stable and pain free society. It examines the true cost and what happens when someone chooses freedom over paying the price.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter.
