Last year, Paramount brought on starsJeremy RennerandAmy Adamsfor a new alien thriller known asStory Of Your Life. We haven’t heard much about the movie since then, although the studio did showcase the project during itsCinemaConpresentation in April. It seems the studio has landed on a new title,Arrival, with the studio debuting the first two photos featuringJeremy RennerandAmy Adams. We also have word that the studio has settled on a November 11 release date, with the first trailer debuting tomorrow, August 9.
The story is based onTed Chiang’s 1998 novellaStory Of Your Life, which centers on a linguist named Louise Banks (Amy Adams), who is brought in by the government to decipher an extraterrestrial language when alien ships arrive on Earth.Jeremy Rennerstars as a theoretical physicist who is trying to determine what the aliens really want.USA Todaydebuted these new photos and spoke withAmy Adams, who reveals how different this project is than the superhero universe she has been inhabiting lately, includingJustice League, which she is currently filming.
“This isn’t agraphic-noveluniverse or creating a new universe. This happens in our world today, as it exists. Not having to transport myself to a universe where superheroes exist, which is also fun, really helped me ground the character and the experience. She felt real, like somebody I would know and somebody I would like to have a conversation with. Emotionally, the journey she takes in this was devastating to me. You can tell she’s been down this road before in helping out the government and it’s turned out poorly. She absolutely needs this, probably more than she knows.”
Her co-starJeremy Renneris also well known for his work within the superhero realm, starring as Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye in Marvel’sThe Avengers,Avengers: Age of Ultronand, most recently,Captain America: Civil War.Arrivalmarks a bit of a departure from his action-packed role as the archer Hawkeye, revealing what the biggest challenge was for his character, physicist Ian Donnelly. Here’s what he had to say below.
“I haven’t played a smart nerdy guy. I thought there was a great challenge in that.”
The story also touches on the global community’s fear of the aliens, as they share information with one another while harboring their own agendas, withJeremy Rennerrevealing that the film shows “the divide in the unity with people across the world”.Amy Adamsalso spoke about the scenes with these alien visitors, and the logistics of interacting with these characters. Here’s what she had to say about directorDenis Villeneuve’s visuals.
“Denisand the team have done a great job with the visuals and getting to something that looks familiar and not completely abstract. (These scenes involve) a very brightly lit white screen with these awesome puppeteers who ran around holding very long poles with big orbs on the end.”
With the first trailer debuting tomorrow, it isn’t known if we’ll get to see these creatures in the first footage, butJeremy Rennerpromises they aren’t ‘goofy creatures with guns who are going to kill us’.Amy Adamsadded that the aliens look ‘different than what you would have thought’, but we’ll have to wait and see if these aliens are showcased in the sneak peek. Here’s whatJeremy Rennerhad to say about thissci-fi movie, comparing it to a hybrid of aStanley KubrickandSteven Spielbergmovie, and not a ‘bigMichael Bayalien movie’.
“If you’re a parent, it’s going to wreck you. It’s big and there are thriller elements and tension, but it’s going to lean much more into a thinking person’s film.”
The supporting cast includesForest Whitaker,Michael StuhlbargandTzi Ma, withDenis Villeneuvedirecting from an adapted screenplay byEric Heisserer(Lights Out). The movie will hit theaters on November 11, going up against Universal’sAlmost Christmas, TriStar’sBilly Lynn’s Long Halftime Walkand EuropaCorp’sShut In. Take a look at the first two photos fromArrival, and check back tomorrow for the first trailer.
