Wednesday
Mar182015
We Can't Wait #3: Macbeth
Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 7:01PM Team Experience is counting down our 15 most anticipated for 2015. Here's David to kick off the top 3...
Who & What: Yes, there have been countless Shakespeare adaptations through cinematic history, although the Scottish play is one of the Bard’s biggest plays that (perhaps) hasn’t landed a definitive English language adaptation as of yet (Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood will admittedly take some beating) – and that’s with auteurs as legendary as Orson Welles and Roman Polanski having taken a crack at it. Justin Kurzel, the Australian newbie who was much admired for the jagged savagery of his debut feature The Snowtown Murders, is in the directing chair, and has the awesome pairing of Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard as his royal Scottish schemers.
People getting in the way of their bloodthirsty lust for power include David Thewlis’ Duncan, Paddy Considine’s Banquo, rising star Jack Reynor as Malcolm and The Great Gatsby’s Elizabeth Debicki as Lady MacDuff. Behind the camera, talent includes cinematographer Adam Arkapaw (Snowtown, Animal Kingdom), production designer Fiona Crombie (Snowtown, Top of the Lake) and our beloved costumer Jacqueline Durran.
Why we're excited about it: Ever since it was announced, Kurzel taking on what might be the Bard’s most gruesome pieces of work has seemed like a delectable proposition, with Snowtown’s eerie form promising a take on the greed, manipulation and psychological demonics of Macbeth that doesn’t skimp on the utter blackness at its heart. Add two of the world’s finest – not to mention most beautiful – performers at the centre, plus all of that additional talent, and this apparently ‘gothic’ take on the material can hardly fail.
What if it all goes wrong?: Well, it’s been a long wait – is that something to be worried about? Hopefully not; a preview at Cannes last year seemed to impress, and Kurzel probably didn’t want to rush it out of the editing room just for awards. Natalie Portman’s exit from the project was never explained, but it doesn’t seem to have augured any rumours of trouble in the production.
When: What with those Oscar rumblings last year, we’d wager it’ll be a long, impatient wait until some time near the end of the year, ready for next Oscar season, especially with The Weinstein Company involved. IMDb lists November and December dates for France and Sweden, but every other country is still awaiting news of when the latest take on the Bard’s most infamous play will arrive.
People getting in the way of their bloodthirsty lust for power include David Thewlis’ Duncan, Paddy Considine’s Banquo, rising star Jack Reynor as Malcolm and The Great Gatsby’s Elizabeth Debicki as Lady MacDuff. Behind the camera, talent includes cinematographer Adam Arkapaw (Snowtown, Animal Kingdom), production designer Fiona Crombie (Snowtown, Top of the Lake) and our beloved costumer Jacqueline Durran.
Why we're excited about it: Ever since it was announced, Kurzel taking on what might be the Bard’s most gruesome pieces of work has seemed like a delectable proposition, with Snowtown’s eerie form promising a take on the greed, manipulation and psychological demonics of Macbeth that doesn’t skimp on the utter blackness at its heart. Add two of the world’s finest – not to mention most beautiful – performers at the centre, plus all of that additional talent, and this apparently ‘gothic’ take on the material can hardly fail.
What if it all goes wrong?: Well, it’s been a long wait – is that something to be worried about? Hopefully not; a preview at Cannes last year seemed to impress, and Kurzel probably didn’t want to rush it out of the editing room just for awards. Natalie Portman’s exit from the project was never explained, but it doesn’t seem to have augured any rumours of trouble in the production.
When: What with those Oscar rumblings last year, we’d wager it’ll be a long, impatient wait until some time near the end of the year, ready for next Oscar season, especially with The Weinstein Company involved. IMDb lists November and December dates for France and Sweden, but every other country is still awaiting news of when the latest take on the Bard’s most infamous play will arrive.
Previously...
#4 Mad Max: Fury Road #5 The Lobster #6 Crimson Peak #7 45 Years #8 Bridge of Spies #9 Taxi #10 Freeheld #11 A Bigger Splash #12 The Dressmaker #13 The Hateful Eight #14 Knight of Cups #15 Arabian Nights Sidebar 3 Animated Films Sidebar 2 Tomorrowland Sidebar 1 Avengers: Age of Ultron Intro Pick a Blockbuster
Reader Comments (24)
I'm very wary of this one because Weinstein made it sound like Shakespeare's language was trimmed down A LOT...which could certainly have the effect of making the project very generic.
I also wasn't convinced by the director's first film and I'm not sure that Fassbender is cast well for this.
my most anticipated movie of 2015. can't wait to see fassy and marion together on screen with the insane cinematography by the talented Adam Arkapaw
I'm cautiously optimistic about this. It's a difficult play at best, but it deserves the chance.
Could this show up at Cannes? I hope it's not given THE IMMIGRANT treatment by Weinstein with a delayed release and next-to-no promotion.
If it's not one of TWC's prime awards movies this year, and Fassy gets awards attention for STEVE JOBS or THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS instead, I could see TWC releasing it in Jan-Mar 2016 to cash in on the attention.
Steve G: When your choices for Fassbender bait are a Shakespeare movie by an up and comer, a Danny Boyle computer history drama (need I remind you that Boyle is a far less even director than Fincher (who couldn't even win for The Social Network) and certainly not someone who can reasonably be behind 2 Best Picture winners) and a Cianfrance adaptation of an obscure fictional novel, I'd lean on that first one.
I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan but a chance to see Marion's take on that crazy Lady Macbeth makes this one to catch.
Yeah this looks amazing. For my money, they're the two best actors working at the moment, so I have high expectations, to say the least.
Other than the fact that it's cursed, I'm all in for this Scottish play.
This is a tough play to get right on film. And will Marion and Michael have chemistry? I'm not so sure.
I'm totally looking forward to Marion even if my lazy ass STILL hasn't gotten to watching her last three movies.
Am I the only one who just loves Polanski's version? Just so f-in bizarre, which is the right tone for those witches and those ghosts. (Also, I feel like the witches are the key element in a good Macbeth.)
I wonder if it's even possible to do straight Shakespeare and have a really great film. The genius is already so much on the page that filming it doesn't add that much. Anyway, this one seems a little too conventional for me, but I'd love to see David Lynch's Macbeth at some point.
It doesn't really matter, but I'm assuming Marion will just be a french Lady Macbeth? I don't see her trying on a scottish accent, lol.
This is one of my most anticipated of the year too, two amazing actors that go so deep into their characters, a director who's previous film really fits the tone of this one, and Macbeth? Of course we have to be cautiously optimistic, but I've been dying to see Marion's Lady Macbeth ever since it was announced.
Can we just say thank god Natalie Portman didn't play Lady Macbeth???
I am surprised that this is so highly anticipated by many people.
I love that Kurzel was able to bring his Australian SNOWTOWN people over to this one, especially cinematographer Adam Arkapaw and his composer brother whose score for SNOWTOWN (or THE SNOWTOWN MURDERS in some countries) was the best of its year.
My two favorite actors.
I'm SO excited for this. It should be an acting orgasm.
My favorite Shakespear drama.
Nervous and excited at the same time!
I didn't see "Snowtown", so I am wary of both the director and the casting. Lady Macbeth with a french accent is definitely unconventional.
@Marsha Mason: The witches are a huge component of "Macbeth" and Polanski had the atmosphere all right. It has to be spooky or the play just doesn't work.
I am hoping for the best, but wish Branagh was in charge.
Orson Welles said the challenge with MacBeth is that the character transforms so radically that you essentially have to play two characters, and that the most actors are only able really nail one of them. So it'll be very interesting to see how Fassbinder attacks the roll.
Wouldn't it be cool if they changed all of Lady Macbeth's dialogue to French so that she wouldn't have to deal with crazy accent issues or stilted ye ol' English/Scottish specific language? In Branagh's Henry V, the entirety of Emma Thompson's performance was in French and they could take a similar page since she played a French princess married off to an English king. And like, maybe have Macbeth be the only one who can understand/communicate with her? That would free up so much room to play around in and you KNOW Marion would run with it.
Anyways, I'm curious to see a trailer at least. Macbeth calls for an serious understanding of gradual character change and if they map it right and keep the dreamy horror tone on point, it could be explosive.
It's obviously not one of TWC's prime awards movies this year - if Harvey thought he had something, he would have released it last year (just like that Michelle Williams/KST movie). He doesn't "hold" promising movies for a better cycle.
I think this is going to be great. Queen Marion will slay, as expected! I'm indifferent on Fassy, but he's clearly talented and adventurous in his role selections.
I agree with Suzanne that Harvey's probably going to dump this. It's very low priority for him. Carol and The Hateful Eight will be his major critical/AMPAS plays, Adam Jones is a commercial/AMPAS play. Tulip Fever (with a Tom Stoppard script and rising star Vikander) was also mentioned by him in an interview as a film he was hoping to handle well. He hasn't been mentioning Macbeth anywhere.
Kate: Wow. Talk about misjudgment. The Hateful Eight I understand. But let's talk about the wisdom of prioritizing Tulip Fever, Carol and Adam Jones aka Untitled John Wells project over Macbeth. 1. Even with Tom Stoppard and that cast, can we really trust Justin "Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom" Chadwick with a period comedy? 2. The Academy isn't into Todd Haynes nearly enough. I'm Not There should have gotten at least 3 nods (Supporting Actress, Costume Design, Cinematography), if not closer to 6 (Director, Sound Mixing, Screenplay), but only got one for Blanchett. 3. The ONLY reason to really push a John Wells film project is because of politics due to being a WGA president. 4. Fassbender is trusting Kurzel with HIS franchise (Assassins Creed, a kind of bizarre choice for film adaptation due to so much of the set-up being reliant on the medium that's presenting it, almost equivalent to making a Rear Window video game), so the probabillity is that this one is at least good.