The Road (John Hillcoat, 2009)

Jeff · **Posted:** Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:09 pm

The cast is starting to fall into place, and shooting starts next month.

Charlize Theron has signed on to join Viggo Mortensen in the bigscreen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's bestselling novel "The Road" for 2929 Entertainment.

Dimension Films will distribute domestically.

Story centers on a man who embarks on a nightmarish road trip after a nuclear explosion in an attempt to transport his son to safety while fending off cannibals. Aussie helmer John Hillcoat ("The Proposition") is directing from a screenplay by Joe Penhall.

Theron, who will play the wife of Mortensen's character, will be seen mostly in flashback. Although the role is small, Theron joined the project because she's a big fan of the book -- published by Knopf in 2006 -- and was eager to reteam with producer Nick Wechsler, with whom she worked on 2000's "The Yards."

Wechsler is producing alongside Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz. Shooting is set to begin next month.

Theron is currently filming "The Burning Plain," also for 2929. She recently wrapped "Hancock" opposite Will Smith and the indie drama "Sleepwalking," which she also produced.

miless · **Joined:** Sat Apr 01, 2006 9:45 pm

Theron will appear "mostly in flashback"? huh.
I also love their plot description... wow, the whole time I read the book I didn't realize it was just a nuclear bomb... I guess I'm a giant idiot (or Variety, or the film company, is trying to dumb it down)

Hai2u · **Joined:** Thu Apr 26, 2007 7:21 pm

Just checked out the IMDB page and see that Omar Little, Michael K. Williams, has been added to the cast. 8-)

Belmondo · **Joined:** Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:19 am **Location:** Cape Cod

miless wrote:

Theron will appear "mostly in flashback"? huh.
I also love their plot description... wow, the whole time I read the book I didn't realize it was just a nuclear bomb... I guess I'm a giant idiot (or Variety, or the film company, is trying to dumb it down)

Either you're not an idiot or we both are. We are clearly in a post apocalyptic world in which the characters trudge through a wrecked landscape heavy with ash, black snow, and little sun.
If they're smart, the Charlize Theron flashbacks will be in color and the rest of the movie will be in black and white.

miless · **Joined:** Sat Apr 01, 2006 9:45 pm

I think relying upon color cues is often a bit too cliche when dealing with flashbacks.
I'd prefer different color palettes for the pre and post apocalypse. Particularly since McCarthy goes to great lengths to describe the muted colors of the barren landscape (the orange on the horizon from the forest fires mixing with the grey tones of the ash/snow and cloud cover)
I just hope they don't go all digital on us and create a background. I always thought that a cheap way to film this would be to shoot it exclusively in locations that had been burnt by forest fire just the year before (and there are certainly plenty of those in the west, these days). Shooting in winter, with the snow on the ground, the grey in the sky and the burnt cinders of trees would make for beautiful visuals (and shooting, every once in a while, at sunset to get those golden hues).

Hai2u · **Joined:** Thu Apr 26, 2007 7:21 pm

Here is an interesting little article about The Road filming in PA.

Quote:

Simmons told “News” publisher Jamie Greathead that that the tunnels had been found in an online search for abandoned roads. He said a decision was made not to use computer-generated effects for “The Road” and called the old turnpike and tunnels perfect for the story.

Glad they've decided to forgo the CGI route.

Jeff · **Posted:** Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:36 am

U.S. release scheduled for 11-26-08.

Antoine Doinel · **Posted:** Tue May 20, 2008 8:19 pm

First pic.

Murdoch · **Posted:** Mon May 26, 2008 8:31 pm

Antoine Doinel wrote:

First pic.

After seeing this image I am both excited and apprehensive, but I really hate to judge the film based on one still. The coloring brings about a tone of desolation and despair, which matches the novel's tone. I think Hillcoat will do a decent job with the material, however based on the whole nuclear bomb thing mentioned I'm kinda scared.

Does anyone remember the flashbacks to the soldier's wife in Malick's Thin Red Line? I was always fond of those images and found them to be a beautiful evocation of an idealized past. I would like to see a similar style done with the Road flashbacks, but then again, Hillcoat is no Malick.

Antoine Doinel · **Posted:** Mon May 26, 2008 10:56 pm

The film has wrapped and will open in November. The NY Times has the story.

miless · **Joined:** Sat Apr 01, 2006 9:45 pm

that article did give me hope... except for this:

Quote:

The script does enlarge and develop in flashback the role of the man’s wife (played by Charlize Theron), who disappears quite early from the novel, choosing suicide rather than what she imagines will be starvation or worse.

which makes me worry even more... with how casual they seem to be about the changes here.

domino harvey · **Joined:** Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

A filmed adaptation shouldn't be chained to its source...

Murdoch · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2008 12:24 am

domino harvey wrote:

A filmed adaptation shouldn't be chained to its source...

I believe this as well. Why see a movie when it is the exact same thing as the source, except from a more subjective POV in terms of the images? When I'm particularly fond of the source I tend to get mad over any changes done to the story or whatever, but I think changes need to be made to make the adaptation something seperate from the source. Something that just follows the novel in every aspect becomes completely redundant.

miless · **Joined:** Sat Apr 01, 2006 9:45 pm

this may be true, but I'm worried that they'll expand upon the 'flashbacks' to make use of Charlize. I just hope they do it tastefully, with respect to the source material. This isn't a romance film, and the book's ambiguity regarding the woman's role in the narrative is very important. I just hope they keep that mystery alive. I don't want this to turn into a film that explains all the book's enigma.

I was worried they'd try to turn this into an action movie, but luckily that looks to be out of the question.

Steven H · **Joined:** Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:30 pm **Location:** NC

If Hillcoat takes a similar route a la The Proposition it will be the farthest away from a romance as a mainstream movie can get. That article and photo are definitely having a positive effect on my anticipation for this flick.

Cosmic Bus · **Posted:** Thu Aug 07, 2008 6:18 pm

USA Today with a brief report on the shooting locations and six new images from the film.

Nothing · **Joined:** Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:04 am

That's some nice production / costume design. Shame that he'll shoot and cut it like a music video, then.

lacritfan · **Posted:** Mon Aug 11, 2008 3:26 pm

Cosmic Bus wrote:

USA Today with a brief report on the shooting locations and six new images from the film.

In pic #4 the rear view mirror looks like Wall-e.

OK...sorry...I'll grow up now.

kaujot · **Joined:** Mon May 08, 2006 6:28 pm **Location:** Austin

Script review

hot_locket · **Joined:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 7:39 am

Glad to hear such good things. First I've heard about Guy Pearce, though. I'm thinking of the book and I can't think of a single part longer than 5 minutes he could possibly play...

Quote:

One added scene has "The Man" taking "The Boy" to the house he grew up in. My guess is that it has been added to hit home the idea of "what we've lost" but again, something about it seemed a tad extraneous.

Pretty sure that was in the book, unless I accidentally read a leaked copy of the screenplay.

Antoine Doinel · **Posted:** Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:19 pm

eez28 wrote:

I wonder if they can get Cave to do the music.

Yep.

miless · **Joined:** Sat Apr 01, 2006 9:45 pm

as much as I love Nick Cave (and his score for The Assassination... is just fantastic), I was seriously hoping that The Road would not be scored (especially since music no longer exists in the world described in the novel).

mfunk9786 · **Joined:** Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm

miless wrote:

I was seriously hoping that The Road would not be scored (especially since music no longer exists in the world described in the novel).

Yeah, No Country for Old Men showed just how effective having no score whatsoever can be. Hopefully this will be minimalist and appropriately unsettling and sparse, without big sweeping strings every time a landscape is shown.

Antoine Doinel · **Posted:** Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:06 am

Behind the scenes photos.

Antoine Doinel · **Posted:** Thu Oct 16, 2008 3:40 pm

The film may not be done in time for a 2008 release.

The Road (John Hillcoat, 2009)

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