(L to R) June Squibb as Eleanor, Rita Zohar as Bessie in ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Like many actors before her, Scarlett Johansson moves from in front of the camera to behind it for her directorial debut, ‘Eleanor the Great.’ And there is talent there: Johansson’s direction is mostly unfussy and she largely stays out of her own way in laying out this intimate comedy-drama.
She’s also aided immensely by another tremendous performance from 95-year-old June Squibb, who’s as irascible and steadfast as she was in her knockout 2024 starring vehicle, ‘Thelma.’ But both the director and her leading lady are let down in part by a script that makes a fatal Hollywood mistake – and all in service about what is occasionally a profound story of loss and remembrance, told in the shadow of the Holocaust but dangerously coming close to undermining it.
Story and Direction
Scarlett Johansson, June Squibb on the set of ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Eleanor Morgenstern (June Squibb), 94 years old, is widowed yet living contentedly in Florida with her best friend, Bessie (Rita Zohar). But an abrupt change in circumstances forces Eleanor to move to New York City, where she initially moves in with her daughter Lisa (Jessica Hecht) and her grandson (Will Price), a scenario with which no one is particularly comfortable.
Feeling adrift and distant from her family, Eleanor wanders into a support group for Holocaust survivors – and begins to tell the story of Bessie, herself a survivor who never shared her experience with anyone but Eleanor, as if it was her own. She attracts the attention of a young journalism student named Nina (Erin Kellyman), who is making a film about the survivors, and soon becomes a friend and mentor to Nina and even meets her father, a local New York news anchor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) – all while her ill-conceived lie takes on a life of its own.
Scarlett Johansson on the set of ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
And that is where Tory Kamen’s script goes wrong: in pretending to have lived Bessie’s life, Eleanor creates a terrible problem that didn’t need to happen. She could easily walk into that survivors’ group, apologize for being in the wrong room, but still offer to talk about her friend Bessie – and perhaps even be welcomed. There’s another version of this movie in which she does that. But her mistake – lying that she herself is the survivor — feels less organic than contrived for the purposes of making this movie, which gives the movie an air of being deliberately manipulative even as it struggles with its tone.
That’s not to say that Johansson and her actors don’t get a number of good moments out of this material. They do, particularly in Eleanor and Bessie’s early scenes together, and later when Eleanor is desperate to salvage the relationships she fosters in New York. The film does also have some poignant meditations on grief and the role of family, and it’s also a nicely realized New York City movie in a year that’s seen some good ones already. But the seriousness of Eleanor’s mistake, and the needlessness of it, clashes with both the darkness of Bessie’s story and the more lighthearted aspects of the film.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) June Squibb as Eleanor, Erin Kellyman as Nina, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Roger in ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Jojo Whilden. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
The cast here is quite strong – and Johansson adds a note of real gravitas by casting real survivors as part of the support group – but this is June Squibb’s show all the way. Despite the script’s problems, which threaten our empathy with Eleanor, Squibb overcomes that with her wit, her candor, and her mix of compassion, heartbreak, and stubbornness, giving this actor another impressive notch in her incredible career renaissance.
Ejiofor and Hecht are good in somewhat underwritten roles, but the other standout is Erin Kellyman as Nina, who is dealing with her own sense of loss and trying to find her way in the world as a young woman. Her intelligence and charisma shine through.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) June Squibb as Eleanor, Erin Kellyman as Nina in ‘Eleanor the Great’. Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
We’ll certainly give Scarlett Johansson kudos for tackling difficult material as a first-time director, and for the inarguable decision to cast June Squibb. But the weight of the subject matter is at odds with the film’s overall tone and aesthetic, plus there are other aspects of the story – like whether Eleanor can rightly be left on her own – that are glossed over. ‘Eleanor the Great’ has its moments, and might even produce some laughs or a lump in the throat, but great it’s not.
‘Eleanor the Great’ receives a score of 65 out of 100.
June Squibb as Eleanor in ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
What is the plot of ‘Eleanor the Great’?
Witty and troublesome 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein moves from Florida to New York City following a devastating loss. She soon tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own, while befriending a 19-year-old journalism student.
Who is in the cast of ‘Eleanor the Great’?
June Squibb as Eleanor Morgenstein
Erin Kellyman as Nina
Jessica Hecht as Lisa
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Roger
Rita Zohar as Bessie
Will Price as Max
(L to R) Scarlett Johansson and June Squibb on the set of ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Available on digital beginning August 5th, before arriving on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on September 9th is the box office hit ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, which is the seventh movie in the series and begins a whole new chapter for the beloved franchise.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Gareth Edwards from Thailand about the ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’s digital and home entertainment release. Edwards discussed his love for the original movie, taking the franchise in a new direction, the alternate opening, the deleted scenes and why they were cut, and designing the look of the dinosaurs and other creatures for the film.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Edwards, and actors Luna Blaise, David Iacono and Audrina Miranda.
Director Gareth Edwards on the set of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Moviefone: To begin with, were you a fan of the ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Jurassic World’ movies before making this film, and what does it mean to you personally to be leading this new chapter of the franchise?
Gareth Edwards: I think on the fan front, so basically New Year’s Eve 2024, which is when I was offered the gig, my girlfriend was like, “What do you want to do?” I said, “I don’t really want to go out. Let’s just go down the road. We live near Universal Studios.” I was like, “Let’s just go on the ‘Jurassic World’ ride, and that’s how we’ll celebrate New Year’s Eve.” So, I took a picture of myself and I’m friends with Colin Trevorrow who did the ‘Jurassic World’ movies, and I sent it to them as sort of an embarrassing, like this is how rock and roll I am, that we’re going on a ‘Jurassic World’ theme park ride for our New Year’s Eve. But I didn’t expect in my wildest dreams that two months later, I was going to be in a room with Steven Spielberg pitching him my take on that screenplay. So, it’s been a surreal, crazy journey, to be honest with you.
Director Gareth Edwards on the set of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
MF: I understand there will be an alternate opening as well as deleted scenes available with the digital release. Can you talk about what the alternate opening is, as well as the deleted scenes and why they didn’t make the final theatrical cut?
GE: So, there’s an alternative opening. ‘Jurassic Park’ basically has a lot of strong themes within it, and one of them is man versus nature, obviously. So, I started the movie with basically the rainforest getting destroyed a little bit, by these giant machines were building this lab where the movie opens. It just took a little too long visually to get there in time. So, as we were just trying to tighten the movie, it was just one of the things that came out. But I always missed it not being in the film. So, it doesn’t have all finished VFX, but you really see all the temporary previs of that. Then there’s two deleted scenes, one that people might recognize who saw the trailer, which is a velociraptor scene that got removed. The reason for that was because if you imagined it in the actual film, it was like a double beat moment where you have this reveal of raptors in the beginning of the third act in the film at night, and then suddenly the Mutadons appear, and it just felt like a hat on a hat a little bit. So, we’re going to be putting that on the digital extras. Then also my favorite scene that got cut out that I was just sad about and wanted it to be in the movie, but it basically just stopped the momentum at one point. But it’s a scene, without getting into too much information, it’s basically when Scarlett sees a payphone and tries to make a call and it all goes a bit wrong from there.
(L to R) Luna Blaise and the T-Rex in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
MF: Finally, can you talk about designing the look of the dinosaurs and the new mutated creatures?
GE: Well, when I started the film, I walked into this empty office and they go, “Okay, your first meeting is in a few days with Mattel, the toy company.” I was like, “Okay, why?” They said, “Well, they want to see all the designs for the dinosaurs. They need a year to build the factories to make the toys.” I’m like, “We don’t have any designs.” So basically, I put out this bat signal to all my favorite concept artists that I’d worked with that could do creature designs. We did this massive Zoom session where I just said everything I could possibly think of. Dozens and dozens of the top people in the world just went away that night and within about two or three days we had about 300 designs and it was fast to nail the look of the dinosaurs. The only problem ones were the mutant dinosaurs because obviously the canvas is so large. There was one called the D-Rex, which was really, I felt like I could see it in my peripheral vision if there was a crime and you were trying to explain it to the police. I felt like I got a good look at that one. The one I didn’t quite see was the Mutadon, which is the smaller, more raptor-like mutant dinosaur. There are no toys of those for a reason because we took nine months to figure that one out. So sorry, kids, maybe at Christmas, if you pester your mom and Mattel, you might get one.
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What’s the story of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’?
Five years after the events of ‘Jurassic World Dominion’, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.
Scarlett Johansson plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure the genetic material. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on a forbidden island that had once housed an undisclosed research facility for Jurassic Park. There, in a terrain populated by dinosaurs of vastly different species, they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ will be available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray™ and DVD September 9, 2025.
EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURES AVAILABLE WHEN YOU BUY AT PARTICIPATING DIGITAL RETAILERS:
ALTERNATE OPENING
DELETED SCENES:
MUTADON ATTACK – Featuring Scarlett Johansson, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Rupert Friend, Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda.
RAPTORS – Featuring Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda.
JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH: HATCHING A NEW ERA DOCUMENTARY
THE WORLD EVOLVES – Journey into a reimagined Jurassic World with
Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali and the rest of the cast
and filmmakers.
OFF THE DEEP END – Dive into the thrilling ocean sequence and learn about the challenges of shooting on open water, the one-of-a-kind gimbal used to toss around the Essex and Mariposa, and the VFX wizardry that brought the Mosasaurus and Spinosaurs to life.
TREKKING THROUGH THAILAND – Follow the cast and crewʼs footsteps as they navigate the challenges of shooting in exotic jungles, beaches, and tall grass fields that become home to the Titanosaurs.
REX IN THE RAPIDS – Brace for a TRex encounter thatʼs different than anything experienced before with a nail-biting river chase recreated from Michael Crichtonʼs original Jurassic Park novel.
DONʼT LOOK DOWN – Soar into the Quetzalcoatlus sequence with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Bechir Sylvain as they train for and shoot their cliff rappelling scenes.
MINI-MART MAYHEM – Go inside the heart-stopping third act of Jurassic World Rebirth and witness the process of crafting sets that allow the movieʼs mutant dinosaurs to step out of nightmare-inspired designs and stop on an exhilarating rampage. Featuring Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Audrina Miranda, David Iacono, Luna Blaise, Rupert Friend and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.
GAG REEL
MEET DOLORES – Meet the animatronic Aquilops with an extraordinarily lifelike personality.
MUNCHED: BECOMING DINO FOOD – Get a victim’s firsthand view inside the frightening jaws of deadly dinosaurs that munch, chomp, and chew their way into creating unforgettable death sequences.
A DAY AT SKYWALKER SOUND – Actress Audrina Miranda guides a personal tour of Skywalker Sound in California to meet the audio editors, foley artists, and mixers who design the movie’s wide array of sounds.
HUNTING FOR EASTER EGGS – Find out where to look for cleverly hidden Easter eggs that pay homage to everything from the first Jurassic Park film to other Steven Spielberg classics.
FEATURE COMMENTARY with Director Gareth Edwards, Production Designer James Clyne, and First Assistant Director Jack Ravenscroft.
FEATURE COMMENTARY with Director Gareth Edwards, Editor Jabez Olssen, and Visual Effects Supervisior David Vickery.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ will be available exclusively on digital platforms to own or rent starting August 5th.
Kristin Scott Thomas directs, co-writes and stars in ‘My Mother’s Wedding’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Kristin Scott Thomas about her work on ‘My Mother’s Wedding’, developing the screenplay from her own life story, which characters she relates to the most, how her experience as an actress informed her work as a director, working with the cast, and shooting the complicated wedding sequences.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with Thomas and Emily Beecham.
Kristin Scott Thomas in ‘My Mother’s Wedding’. Photo: Vertical.
Moviefone: To begin with, I understand the film is loosely based on your own life. Can you talk about the process of writing the screenplay with John Micklethwait and did you always intend to make this project your directorial debut?
Kristin Scott Thomas: They always say, “write about what you know”, and I know this story very, very well in that the experiences that these girls, in particularly, the character played by Scarlett Johansson, had, as children, were my experiences. So, all the memories that Catherine has in the film are my memories. This aspect of my life has been touted quite a lot during every time there’s a profile written about me, they’d have this little paragraph about my tragic childhood. Now that I’m grown up, I felt, well, hang on, it’s my turn to tell this story. So, here we go. So, what we did from there was to use my memories of my father and my stepfather and use them as a kind of catalyst if you like, to tell a story that is pretty much invented about these three women who returned to their childhood home to witness their mother getting married for the third time to a man who they find frankly disappointing. But their own love lives are all in turmoil. The fact that their mother is so deliriously happy, you know, makes some sort of quite comedic moments.
MF: Do you feel that there is a little bit of you in each character, or was there one character specifically that you can really relate to?
KST: Well, I think when you’re creating something, certainly as an actor, I know there’s always a tiny bit of me in it, there’s a tiny bit of my next-door neighbor, or there’s a tiny bit of, you know, we’re like magpies. We see things that we like, and we gather them all, and we put them into characters when we’re an actor. So, when you’re a writer, I think it’s the same thing. You know, you’re inventing a character, but I’m inventing it from things I’ve seen and things I’ve experienced during my life. So, I think there’s a bit of me in in everything, really, in all of them. Certainly, the character of the mother is somebody, I’d love to be that kind of a mum, you know, really sort of forthright and knows what’s what. I’d love to be so certain as she is.
(L to R) Scarlett Johansson, Emily Beecham and Sienna Miller in ‘My Mother’s Wedding’. Photo: Vertical.
MF: With all your experience as an actress collaborating with directors on different sets, do you think that informed the way you worked with your actors as a director on this set?
MF: I think it did. I think that I was very aware. If I started off making the film very much as an actress, as an actress directing a film, and then little by little, I got into the groove of being the one answered the questions and just made the decisions. But to begin with, I was very conscious of the actor’s needs. So, I had a way of sort of shorthand in talking to them and managing to explain what I would really like to see. But if they wanted to bring anything else, you know, great. That’s what I saw, I saw an enormous amount of sort of invention on their part and their imaginations were inspired and it went well.
MF: Finally, as difficult as a film can be to produce, so is a wedding, and you had to do both for this movie. Can you talk about shooting the wedding sequence?
KST: Oh, that was fun. I mean, as an actor, I’ve always sort of dreaded those big set pieces, because you sit around for hours, and you get bored and all. So, I tried to make it as relaxed as possible, and I tried to make it as mobile as possible. So, you don’t get stuck in one thing. So, you kind of jump around a bit, and there are sweet moments and quite funny moments. I tried to keep it as kind of busy as possible, towards the beginning anyway, to set it all up, and to keep it all kind of a bit feverish. So, that’s what we were aiming to do and then this glorious moment when Geoff (James Fleet) sings, when everyone just goes, “What’s he going to do”? He’s singing and then there’s the relaxing into it, because he’s so brave to get up there and sing this rather affecting song. You know, you have nothing but admiration for him, even though he’s not a singer. You’re touched by that. You’re moved by that. It was so generous of him.
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What is the plot of ‘My Mother’s Wedding’?
Three sisters (Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller and Emily Beecham) return to their family home to attend the wedding of their twice widowed mother Diana (Kristin Scott Thomas). All three sisters have had different life experiences, with Georgina being a palliative nurse, whilst Victoria is an actress, and Katherine is a captain in the Royal Navy.
Who is in the cast of ‘My Mother’s Wedding’?
Scarlett Johansson as Katherine
Sienna Miller as Victoria
Emily Beecham as Georgina
Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana
Freida Pinto as Jack
James Fleet as Geoff
(L to R) Emily Beecham, Sienna Miller, Kristin Scott Thomas and Scarlett Johansson in ‘My Mother’s Wedding’. Photo: Vertical.
Her latest movie, ‘Jurassic World Rebirth‘, which is a continuation of the popular dinosaur franchise and opens in theaters on July 2nd. In honor or her new film, Moviefone is counting down the 20 best movies of Scarlett Johansson’s impressive career, including her latest.
Scarlett Johansson in ‘Iron Man 2’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, must forge new alliances – and confront powerful enemies.
The mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) of a severely traumatized daughter (Johansson) enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer (Robert Redford) to help the girl’s equally injured horse.
When an unexpected enemy emerges and threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins!
Two quirky, cynical teenaged girls (Thora Birch and Johansson) try to figure out what to do with their lives after high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric, middle aged record collector (Steve Buscemi), one of them befriends him, which causes a rift in the girls’ friendship.
As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos (Josh Brolin). A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment – the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.
Scarlett Johansson is Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Five years after the events of ‘Jurassic World Dominion‘, covert operations expert Zora Bennett (Johansson) is contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world’s three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that’s been hidden from the world for decades.
Following the events of ‘Age of Ultron‘, the collective governments of the world pass an act designed to regulate all superhuman activity. This polarizes opinion amongst the Avengers, causing two factions to side with Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) or Captain America (Chris Evans), which causes an epic battle between former allies.
Chris (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a former tennis player, looks for work as an instructor. He meets Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), a wealthy young man whose sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer) falls in love with Chris. But Chris has his eye on Tom’s fiancee Nola (Johansson).
A mysterious story of two magicians (Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy — full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
Natasha Romanoff (Johansson) aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
Two girlfriends (Rebecca Hall and Johansson) on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter (Javier Bardem), unaware that his ex-wife (Penélope Cruz), with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.
In the not so distant future, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely writer, purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user’s every need. To Theodore’s surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system (Johansson). This unconventional love story blends science fiction and romance in a sweet tale that explores the nature of love and the ways that technology isolates and connects us all.
After the cataclysmic events in New York with ‘The Avengers’, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), aka Captain America is living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow (Johansson), Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon (Anthony Mackie). However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.
Scarlett Johansson in ‘Lucy’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
A woman (Johansson), accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.
A World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler, Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.
A stage director (Adam Driver) and an actress (Johansson) struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal extremes.
After the devastating events of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin). With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.
Scarlett Johansson in ‘Lost in Translation’. Photo: Focus Features.
Two lost souls visiting Tokyo — the young, neglected wife (Johansson) of a photographer (Giovanni Ribisi) and a washed-up movie star (Bill Murray) shooting a TV commercial — find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other’s company, away from their lives in America.
A scene from ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Preview:
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ has taken a sizeable chunk out of the domestic box office.
Gareth Edwards’ movie earned more than $317 million globally.
‘F1: The Movie’ was pushed to second place on the grid.
It would seem that audiences aren’t quite as over dinosaurs as ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ itself feared.
A hefty part of the early storyline for the new ‘Jurassic’ offering talks about how the giant beasts are seemingly unable to survive in the present-day client and that humanity, once enthralled by the reconstituted giants, is now more annoyed by the likes of an escaped example in New York slowly dying because it’s messing with the morning commute.
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But the new movie has clearly struck a chord with audiences, who turned out in droves to see it this past holiday weekend, notching $91.5 million over the three-day weekend, and thanks to an early Wednesday release to take advantage of Independence Day holiday filmgoing, it took $147.3 million over its first five days.
How did ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ fare internationally?
(L to R) Luna Blaise and the T-Rex in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ played well to audiences around the world. Opening in 82 markets, it earned $171 million outside the States, which, combined with its domestic total, put it at $318 million for this initial weekend.
The likes of China, the UK and Mexico were the big performers.
But how does ‘Rebirth’ compare to other ‘Jurassic World’ offerings?
Scarlett Johansson as skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
That’s where the story looks a little less successful.
The numbers for ‘Rebirth’ are certainly impressive taken on their own, but compared to the most recent trilogy of dino-outings, it’s coming up short.
The new movie cost $180 million to produce, not including a hefty marketing budget, which admittedly is a smaller figure than the previous three (one benefit of having Gareth Edwards, a man who know how to deliver effects spectacle on lower budgets, in the director’s chair). It may not need to hit a billion to be profitable, but Universal will certainly hope it gets there (or close), given that the other ‘World’ movies all crossed the benchmark.
Add to that the pressure for ‘Rebirth’ to spawn a new trilogy of its own. This is certainly a solid start –– now we see whether this thing has legs.
Here’s David A. Gross, of the FranchiseRe movie consulting firm on the film’ success:
“The series has been especially good overseas and, so far, foreign business is outstanding. Dinosaur action is understood in all languages and across all cultures.”
This was Universal’s president of domestic distribution Jim Orr celebrating its success:
“ ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ is exactly what audiences want to see in a summer blockbuster: a great cast, great direction and great visuals. Word of mouth is phenomenal, which points to a great run throughout the summer.”
What else happened at the box office this weekend?
With ‘Rebirth’ as the weekend’s only new wide release (no one wanted to go up against the return of the dinosaurs, even via counter-programming), the success of the film shoved the competition down a space or two.
‘F1: The Movie’, which stars Brad Pitt as a skilled yet down-on-his-luck racing driver recruited to be part of a Formula One team, was a distant second, taking home $26.1 million from 3,732 venues in its second weekend of release.
The movie, which has made $109 million in North America and $293.6 million worldwide after 10 days in theaters, has officially surpassed director Ridley Scott’s 2023 historical epic ‘Napoleon’ ($221 million) as Apple’s highest-grossing movie.
That is perhaps not as impressive as it might seem given the company’s low level of output so far and underperforming theatrical releases. But it’s still a boost.
Even with a solid take so far, ‘F1’ will need to stay on track significantly, as it cost $250 million to make, let alone market.
In third, the live-action adaptation of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ earned $9.7 million domestically. The movie has so far taken $224 million domestically and $516 million globally to date.
Fourth was the fellow family friendly Pixar offering ‘Elio’, about a kid mistaken for an ambassador for Earth by aliens, continues to hugely underperform. It fell to fourth place with $4.9 million from 3,235 theaters in its third week of release. The intergalactic adventure has earned just $54 million in North America and $96 million globally, and is shaping up to be among Pixar’s lowest-grossing movies.
At fifth place we find ‘28 Years Later’ with $4.6 million from 2,917 venues, a 53% drop from last weekend. After three weekends on the big screen, the horror sequel has amassed $60.2 million domestically and $125.8 million globally against a $60 million budget.
Follow-up ‘The Bone Temple’ is due in January. Has the first film done well enough to crack open Sony’s wallet for funding of planned third movie? Time will tell!
What’s the future for the ‘Jurassic World’ franchise?
Though no formal plans have been announced, Universal and Amblin are, as mentioned previously, hoping this will lead to a new trilogy.
Whether that means with the surviving characters of ‘Rebirth’ or a completely new dino adventure remains to be seen. But the franchise certainly still has some teeth at the box office.
Scarlett Johansson is Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
(L to R) Luna Blaise and the T-Rex in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Everyone loves dinosaurs!!!
Based on author Michael Crichton‘s book ‘Jurassic Park’ and beginning with director Steven Spielberg‘s classic 1993 movie, the ‘Jurassic Park‘ and subsequently the ‘Jurassic World‘ series of movies have become one of the top 15 highest grossing franchises of all time earning just over $6 billion worldwide, not to mention spawning countless animated TV shows and specials.
‘LEGO Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit’. Photo: NBC.
It’s 2012, and Simon Masrani (Dhirendra) has an idea for a new attraction that is guaranteed to keep Jurassic World at the forefront of theme park entertainment. It’s the greatest thing since the discovery of dinosaurs, but in order for it to succeed, he needs his right-hand, can-do problem solver, Claire Dearing (Britt McKillip), to get a trio of dinosaurs across the park to the new, super-secret exhibit. Reluctantly teaming up with newcomer Owen Grady (Ian Hanlin), the animal behaviorist she hired sight unseen to deliver the dinosaurs, the duo sets out on a fun-filled adventure across the island. Unfortunately, delivering the dinosaurs to the new attraction is not as easy as they thought.
‘LEGO Jurassic Park the Unofficial Retelling’. Photo: NBC.
After finding his journal, Chaos Mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm (Bradley Duffy) recalls the mishaps and mayhem from 30 years ago about the island amusement park filled with prehistoric dinosaurs who escape and run amok…
‘LEGO Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar’. Photo: Nickelodeon.
Set in 2012, three years before the ‘Jurassic World’ movie, Owen Grady (Ian Hanlin) and Claire Dearing (Britt McKillip) team up on Isla Nublar to deal with everything the Jurassic World park throws their way, including a mysterious saboteur who wants to destroy the park forever!
‘Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Hidden Adventures’. Photo: Netflix.
After a big storm, food is scarce — and hungry dinos are everywhere. It’s up to you to help the Camp Fam survive in this thrilling interactive special.
The Camp Cretaceous gang comes together to unravel a mystery when they discover a global conspiracy that brings danger to dinosaurs — and to themselves.
(L to R) Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt in 2018’s ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
Three years after Jurassic World was destroyed, Isla Nublar now sits abandoned. When the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.
(from left) Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) and Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) in Jurassic World Dominion, co-written and directed by Colin Trevorrow.
Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard star as Owen Grady and Claire Dearing and are joined by Academy Award® winner Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum, who reprise their roles as Dr. Ellie Sattler, Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ian Malcolm.
Scarlett Johansson as skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Five years after the events of ‘Jurassic World Dominion’, covert operations expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) is contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world’s three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that’s been hidden from the world for decades.
William H. Macy in ‘Jurassic Park III’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
In need of funds for research, Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) accepts a large sum of money to accompany Paul (William H. Macy) and Amanda Kirby (Téa Leoni) on an aerial tour of the infamous Isla Sorna. It isn’t long before all hell breaks loose and the stranded wayfarers must fight for survival as a host of new — and even more deadly — dinosaurs try to make snacks of them.
(L to R) Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins in 2015’s ‘Jurassic World.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
Twenty-two years after the events of ‘Jurassic Park’, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond (Richard Attenborough).
Julianne Moore in ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Four years after Jurassic Park’s genetically bred dinosaurs ran amok, multimillionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) shocks chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) by revealing that he has been breeding more beasties at a secret location. Malcolm, his paleontologist ladylove (Julianne Moore) and a wildlife videographer (Vince Vaughn) join an expedition to document the lethal lizards’ natural behavior in this action-packed thriller.
Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm in director Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jurassic Park.’
A wealthy entrepreneur (Richard Attenborough) secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.
Scarlett Johansson as skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ receives 5.5 out of 10 stars.
Opening in theaters on July 2nd is ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, the latest in the long-running dinosaur franchise that originated with 1993 classic ‘Jurassic Park’.
(L to R) Luna Blaise and the T-Rex in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
The latest entry in the ‘Jurassic World’ franchise –– all birthed, of course, from the DNA of Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel ‘Jurassic Park’ and the all-time classic movie Steven Spielberg made from it –– arrives with plenty of promise.
You have director Gareth Edwards, who has shown an ability to bring humanity to big-scale movies (even if his box office results don’t always align), and original ‘Park’ screenwriter David Koepp back unleashing the dino chaos from the page.
Loaded with references to how the world at large is generally over reconstituted dinosaurs coexisting (and that the creatures themselves are dying in our modern climate), it’s a meta meditation on how the movie franchise itself has evolved (not to mention the various attempts to bring giant creatures to the screen in other monsterverses) and every new effort needs to up the wow factor.
Script and Direction
Director Gareth Edwards on the set of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
If you weren’t aware that David Koepp wrote the script for ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, the initial chunk of the screenplay might make you wonder whether it was someone else who had fed Koepp’s previous work into Chat GPT and asked it to replicate that, while throwing in some truly egregious movie cliches.
Following a relatively effective opening sequence which (briefly) introduces the new big bad dinosaur, we’re treated to expository title cards explaining how the public’s interest in the giant beasties has waned, and how they’re slowly dying out aside from in certain areas near the equator, which have become strict quarantine areas.
Then, the same information is repeated in a news broadcast, and at least one of the main characters says something similar. You’re beaten over the head with the details in such an inorganic fashion that you wonder if it was added in as studio executives panicked that we as an audience might not get it.
Director Gareth Edwards on the set of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Likewise, the vast majority of the characters beyond a couple of leading figures are less one-note, more half-note, and at least two might as well have “dinosaur snack” written on their foreheads in place of personalities. Yes, that’s par for the course in a ‘Jurassic’ outing, but it’s all so poorly laid out here.
Gareth Edwards knows his way around an action sequence, and he’s certainly shot some lush locations here, bringing agreeably crunchy reality to moments. Some of the set pieces, such as an early Mosasaur encounter and one with giant flying Quetzalcoatlus creatures are well-realized, as is the amusing initial appearance of a toothy franchise stalwart.
But some moments are so clearly and painfully ripped off from the original ‘Jurassic Park’ you can almost hear that movie calling this one to demand its toys back. The initial glimpse of the Titanosaurus echoes the Brachiosaurus reveal from the first film, while the human characters trying to evade becoming dino food in a convenience store is essentially that movie’s raptor kitchen scene. In this case, Easter eggs feel like less like fan service and more a lack of original thinking.
Cast and Performances
Mahershala Ali is Duncan Kincaid in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Scarlett Johansson’s “security and extraction expert” Zora Bennett is at least a more interesting character than some of the ‘World’ movies’ equivalents, and she certainly brings an entertainingly glib style to her initial scenes. But even Johansson can’t rescue a character burdened by first-draft personal pain, and she’s ultimately less successful than she might have been.
Rupert Friend is Martin Krebs, who represents the company looking to profit from the medical material that the team has been sent to retrieve. Friend does what he can with the role, but he’s mostly just a hissable antagonist from word one.
Jonathan Bailey plays paleontologist expert Dr. Henry Loomis, recruited to help on the mission, who blossoms into a more active character in the Jeff Goldblum mold. Still, as with everyone else, he’s limited by the script.
(L to R) Jonathan Bailey as paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Likewise Mahershala Ali, a man with two Oscars on his mantle at home, who puts all he can into ship captain and all-round fixer Duncan Kincaid. He has some good moments, but the character is lost among a wash of others.
Prime among them is ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’s Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, playing Reuben Delgado, a father to two daughters who is sailing with them near the dangerous waters, and whose boat is attacked by Mosasaurs. Garcia-Rulfo is typically good in the role, but even he’s saddled with cliché and convenience, such as one of his kids bringing an annoying, lazy boyfriend along on the trip and an injured leg from the early dino attack that mysteriously heals itself later in the movie.
Final Thoughts
Scarlett Johansson is Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
While some sequences and Edwards’ commitment to tactile, real-world locations and some practical effects among the digital soup offer minor pleasures, the hulking weight of a cliché-ridden script and dino action that doesn’t so much as reference what’s gone before but rips it off wholesale, the new ‘Jurassic’ entry is miss.
This ‘Rebirth’ turns out to be largely a ‘saur disappointment.
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What’s the story of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’?
Five years after the events of ‘Jurassic World Dominion’, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.
Scarlett Johansson plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure the genetic material. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on a forbidden island that had once housed an undisclosed research facility for Jurassic Park. There, in a terrain populated by dinosaurs of vastly different species, they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades.
Who is in the cast of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’?
Scarlett Johansson as Zora Bennett
Jonathan Bailey as Dr. Henry Loomis
Rupert Friend as Martin Krebs
Mahershala Ali as Duncan Kincaid
Ed Skrein as Atwater
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Reuben Delgado
Luna Blaise as Teresa Delgado
David Iacono as Xavier Dobbs
(L to R) Jonathan Bailey as paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis and Scarlett Johansson as skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
In director Wes Anderson’s 11th full-length feature film, ‘The Phoenician Scheme,’Benicio del Toro stars as Anatole ‘Zsa-zsa’ Korda, a wealthy 1950s industrialist who somehow keeps just barely avoiding death as he pursues his greatest venture yet, rebuilding the infrastructure of the obscure region of Phoenicia. To make sure his affairs are in order, Zsa-zsa reaches out to his estranged daughter, a nun named Liesl (Mia Threapleton), to join him on his quest and take over if necessary.
Accompanied by administrative assistant Bjørn (Michael Cera), pursued by assassins, and challenged by a business consortium that hopes to foil his plans, Zsa-zsa and Liesl hit the road to meet with Zsa-zsa’s own network of investors and raise the money necessary to cover the shortfall (‘The Gap’) in his funding. Along the way, Zsa-zsa (sort of) rediscovers his own humanity and begins to repair his relationship with Liesl.
As with all Anderson movies, ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is a mix of whimsy, deadpan comedy, and emotional truth, set in Anderson’s distinctive, colorful, and surreal world, and stacked with a cast of both Anderson regulars and new players that this time includes Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks, Riz Ahmed, Jeffrey Wright, Willem Dafoe, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Bill Murray (as God, of course). Anderson, del Toro, Threapleton, Johansson, Cera, and Cranston were on hand recently for a press conference about the film, and Moviefone was there to get the details.
Wes Anderson says that the movie’s protagonist, business tycoon Anatole ‘Zsa-zsa’ Korda, was based partially on his father-in-law, a Lebanese businessman named Fouad Malouf to whom the movie is dedicated.
Wes Anderson: I had a sort of idea of a tycoon, a Euro-tycoon, like somebody who would’ve been in an Antonioni movie or something. I did have this idea that he was probably hurting, that he was going to be in physical distress. Somehow, that was the image, of this guy who you sort of can’t kill, and he has a very expensive watch, something like that. But in the course of time, it started mixing with my father-in-law, my wife’s father, Fouad, who was an engineer and a businessman and he had all these different projects in different places. He was a kind, warm person, but very intimidating, and he had all his business in these shoeboxes. He walked [my wife] through his work at a certain point, because he thought if he is not able to see everything through, she needs to know what he’s got. And her reaction was what [Mia’s character says] in the movie: “This is just crazy.” So it was a mixture of those two things.
2) The Opening Credits Sequence Was Shot In Slow Motion
For the sequence that plays under the opening credits – a single take filmed from overhead in which an injured Zsa-zsa recovers from his wounds in a bath as a fleet of nurses tend to him – Benicio del Toro says that Wes Anderson proposed a strange way to shoot it.
Benicio del Toro: I sat in the bathtub and Wes walked up to me and he said, “We’re gonna shoot this in slow motion.” And I said, “Oh, cool”…And then he said, “But I need everyone to act really fast.” And now I went, “Wait a second, if we’re gonna act fast and you’re gonna be doing it in slow motion, doesn’t that cancel the slow motion? Let’s do it in normal speed.” And he said, “No, no, no, no, it’s gonna be different.” And then I got to see it after he put it together. We were there for a long time ’cause it was all done in one take. We did it, I don’t know, like, 30 times? It was a lot of moving pieces. There’s a lot of nurses, I think six or seven, they’re doing different things…But basically, I think that when you see it, it’s unique.
3) Mia Threapleton Did A Lot Of Research To Play A Nun
To prepare for her role as Liesl, Zsa-zsa’s estranged daughter who has become a nun, Mia Threapleton dove into studying Catholicism before heading to the shoot at Studio Babelsberg in Berlin.
Mia Threapleton: I had, I think, three months from the time of finding out that I had been offered the job to when I landed in Berlin. So that felt like a good amount of time to just get claws-deep into this as much as I can. Which included, but was not limited to, talking to a deacon of a Catholic church, going to Rome — because I had to go there for a fitting — absorbing as much Catholicism that was there, and reading the Bible, chatting with Wes about portions of the Bible…I did send [Wes] my little to-do list of things that I was doing and he said, “Yes, this all looks very, very good.”
4) This Was Michael Cera’s First Wes Anderson Filmmaking Experience
A new member to the Wes Anderson stable of players is ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’ star Michael Cera, who recalled his initial rehearsals with Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, and the director.
Michael Cera: It was really the first time we’d all met, and it was just like developing a sense of our little team, our little unit. We did rehearse and we read the scenes, but I mostly remember our lunches together, and just getting our little rhythm going together. For me, it was sort of the first time saying the lines out loud and trying the accent — kind of like lightly getting in, dipping into it slowly. But it didn’t kind of get up to speed until we started, I feel like. And then we just picked our lane.
5) Mia Threapleton’s Veil Originated With Tableware
While doing costume tests for her role as Liesl, who is a nun, Mia Threapleton says she came upon a very unusual inspiration for her veil.
Mia Threapleton: There was some sort of mock nun habit, and some polite little plimsoll shoes, and it was very nice. But the one thing that was missing was a proper veil. I think all we had were nurse’s caps or something like that and [Wes] just was like, nah, it’s not quite right. It was reaching the end of the day, and we were trying to figure out how to make this work. I looked over to the coffee table and there was a napkin from lunch that was not stained with anything, so I said, “Does anybody have any hair pins?” I quickly pinned this thing to my head, and Wes came over and [he adjusted it], and took a photo of it, and that’s apparently where the veil came from.
6) Wes Anderson Creates Characters With Actors In Mind
Over the years, Wes Anderson has assembled a top-shelf troupe of actors who regularly appear in his movies, from Bill Murray to Owen Wilson to Scarlett Johansson (now on her third Anderson outing) to Jeff Goldblum. Anderson says that he (and frequent co-writer Roman Coppola) wrote several parts in ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ with specific performers in mind.
Wes Anderson: The part for Scarlett we did think, okay, if Scarlett will do this, then we had her in mind for that. Bryan and Tom Hanks together, I think the characters partly came out of imagining them as much as it was the other way around. And Benicio too. So, yeah, many of the roles we sort of cast ’em as we go, and I tend to also, as soon as we have the idea, I tend to send the email and say, “this could be like maybe October” or something like that and try to get on the books if they’ll have me.
7) A Wes Anderson Script Requires Time and Concentration To Read
Bryan Cranston says that Anderson’s screenplays are so packed with details and information that a quick read is not only not possible, but not recommended.
Bryan Cranston: Until you see the cartoon, as Wes puts it, the animatic — the full animatic film that he voices all the characters on — until you actually see that, it’s not always clear where he’s going, because the scripts are very dense in detail. There is no skimming in a Wes Anderson-Roman Coppola script. And oftentimes, I go, wait, what was that? If you miss one little bit, it’s not going to track, so you have to really read them carefully to understand. That’s probably why you read it three or four times.
8) Benicio del Toro Wanted To Cut Dialogue – But Couldn’t Figure Out What To Cut
Benicio del Toro is in just about every scene in ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ and delivers reams of dialogue as Zsa-zsa Korda. But when he tried to reduce the amount of lines he had to say, he couldn’t make it work.
Benicio del Toro: There were a couple moments where I went up to Wes and I said, “Well, maybe we can take this dialogue out.” And then I went back to it, and it wasn’t as good. So I had to go up to him and go like, “I think you need to put it back, ’cause we’re passing information that I think you need.” But that’s why I couldn’t join these people every day for dinner. I had to go up into my room and talk to myself, you know?
9) Wes Anderson’s Films Are Not As ‘Calculated’ As They Look
Even though Wes Anderson’s movies all share a look and stylization that makes them easily recognizable as his work, Scarlett Johansson says that within Anderson’s carefully composed framing and designs there is still lots of room for the actors to experiment.
Scarlett Johansson: The blocking may be specific, and the camera moves are specifically what they need to be, and there’s sometimes a timing element to it, which is a little bit more, I don’t want to say restrictive, but it’s just particular, I guess. But then the performances, I think [Wes is] very playful within that, because he’s just enjoying it and encouraging variety. I’ve gotten some questions when we’ve done press for Wes’s films, and it seems that it comes across that everything is so calculated. But I think the actual process of it doesn’t feel that way at all. Maybe, again, because the camera moves are very calculated, and sometimes there’s specific props and all of that stuff, and the edit is very sharp, it gives it a feeling that it’s so calculated, but I don’t think the performances are. If it becomes so calculated it doesn’t work, because then it feels like a schtick or something.
Wes Anderson says that he doesn’t always know what he’s trying to say with his movies, and that it sometimes takes seeing the completed film for him to understand what it’s about.
Wes Anderson: After making the movie and seeing it when we have it all put together, then I think sometimes you realize what you had in mind, but you’re not totally conscious of it. I told my agent my theory, and he was like, “That’s obvious — of course that’s what the movie is. I don’t understand, how could you not know that?” But I didn’t realize it was obvious. I think the whole story of the movie, this whole mission that [Zsa-Zsa] goes on in our movie, he’s being confronted with the possibility of his death again and again. And what he thinks he has is a business plan that he wants to make sure goes through. But I think maybe from the beginning, in a way, his whole business plan is really a mechanism for him to get back together with [his daughter]. He’s acting like he’s making her his successor, and really, it’s more about what’s going to happen between the two of them right now. The business plan almost becomes like a ritual for him to be reunited with his daughter, and in that sense, his plan goes great.
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What is the plot of ‘The Phoenician Scheme’?
Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) appoints his only daughter, a nun (Mia Threapleton), as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins.
(L to R) Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton and Michael Cera star in ‘The Phoenician Scheme’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera and Mia Threapleton about their work on ‘The Phoenician Scheme’. Del Toro discussed his experience reuniting with director Wes Anderson and what he enjoys about working with him, while Cera talked about what it was like to join Wes Anderson’s company of actors and explore the unique worlds he creates on screen, and Threapleton discussed her character’s estranged relationship with her father and why she accompanies him on his journey.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews.
Moviefone: To begin with, Benicio, can you talk about reuniting with director Wes Anderson after ‘The French Dispatch’ and what do you enjoy about working with him?
Benicio del Toro: Well, I enjoy everything, especially the final product. But the character for ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is a much more challenging character, full of contradictions, with a hell of an arc that it required a lot of motivation to say the least. It kept me up at night, put it that way, to make sure that I deliver what needs to be delivered day in, day out. But I think that Wes’s foundation as a filmmaker, aside from the fact of the visionary he is, also, he’s an incredible writer. He really is. We were talking about this. The script reads like a novel. You could publish it and it would read like a novel. Usually, I get many scripts, I’ve done many movies, and in many of them, I create the backstory of my character. Here, I think you get the backstory of all our characters that have arcs. Michael’s, Mia’s and me, we all have arcs, but we also get the backstory, which it reads like a novel would do that. So, I think that’s the thing that makes Wes’s projects for me so powerful, beyond just a comedy or a beautiful story. Something that his movies always have, is that you can touch them, but the foundation is a story and the writing, and I think that’s really one of his strengths.
MF: Michael, what was it like for you to join Wes Anderson’s company of actors and have an opportunity to explore the unique worlds he creates on screen?
Michael Cera: It’s such a wonderful group to join. Wes just populates his productions with the most amazing people you can think of, and Mia included in that. It’s so much fun to come in. It’s always an exciting thing about jumping into a project that has this caliber of people working on it, and yeah, the worlds are just so much fun. This movie is an anthology in a way where it’s like the three of us are this unit that hop from story to story, and each one of those was brought to life by the various guest players that would come in for that week or two weeks to work on their sequence and inject a whole new energy and atmosphere into the movie. It was just amazing, and it’s great seeing those people show up and bring that character to life in front of your eyes too, and see what they look like suddenly, and sound like.
MF: Finally, Mia, can you talk about Sister Liesl’s estranged relationship with her father and why she decides to help him on his journey?
Mia Threapleton: I think when we meet her, she has her own reasons for agreeing to meet with him, which are not just because she’s been invited, but she has a lot of unanswered, long time burning questions. Because he’s invited her, I think she realizes, “Okay, he wants something from me. Well, I will acquiesce to this, but I can also get him to give me the answers that I want as well.” So, it’s a little bit like a business negotiation initially, and then by the end of that conversation, I think she realizes, “Okay, actually this is a lot larger than I thought that it was going to be, and maybe he can give me more answers over time. Maybe I’ll find out more information.” I think because of her upbringing within a convent, she literally says it. “I forgive you. We’re taught to.” So, I think there is this forgiving side of her, but I also think that she sees that he is very complex and complicated and wants to understand that more. But perhaps that’s one of the many reasons why she decides to stick it out with this rapscallion, if you will.
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What is the plot of ‘The Phoenician Scheme’?
Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) appoints his only daughter, a nun (Mia Threapleton), as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins.
After being disappointed by his last outing, ‘Asteroid City’, I’m happy to report that director Wes Anderson has returned to form with ‘The Phoenician Scheme’, which is awkwardly funny and gives off ‘Royal Tenenbaums’ vibes. The movie takes full advantage of Anderson’s unique and quirky humor and is beautiful to look at. Each frame is meticulously designed, and is so breathtaking, it’s like watching at a moving painting.
Benicio del Toro gives a commanding performance as notorious businessman and family patriarch Zsa-zsa Korda, while Mia Threapleton is wonderful in her role as Sister Liesl, Korda’s only daughter and heir to his empire. But its actor Michael Cera that gives one of the best performances of his career as the mysterious Bjørn Lund. Cera is perfectly cast in the role and seems born to be in a Wes Anderson film as his own quirky persona fits the filmmaker’s aesthetic like a glove.
The film begins by introducing us to Zsa-zsa Korda (del Toro), a notorious businessman who has survived several assassination attempts. Fearing that his enemies will eventually be successful, Korda summons his only daughter Liesl (Threapleton) who has recently joined a convent and suspects him of killing her mother. Despite having nine young sons, Korda has chosen Liesl to be his heir and take over his empire. Korda believes that his risky new enterprise, will provide for his family for generations to come.
Korda and Sister Liesl embark on a journey to secure the rest of the funds they’ll need for their venture by visiting acquaintances like Leland (Hanks) and Reagan (Cranston), Marty (Wright), Cousin Hilda (Johansson), and eventually Korda’s brother Uncle Nubar (Cumberbatch), who may be Liesl’s real father. They travel with a mysterious young man named Bjørn Lund (Cera), who becomes Korda’s personal assistant and has feelings for Sister Liesl. Along the way Korda survives several attempted assassinations from an opposing group led by Excalibur (Rupert Friend), each time having a near death experience where he goes to heaven and eventually speaks to God (Murray).
Wes Anderson’s quirky brand of humor is not for everyone, but it is my favorite type of humor. I love absurdly bizarre situations played dead serious, and no one does that better than Anderson. ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ is my favorite of his films, although I really enjoyed the recent ‘The French Dispatch’, and ‘Phoenician Scheme’ is very similar to ‘Tenenbaums’. Both revolve around an eccentric, arrogant, rich patriarch who struggles with being a father and has delusions of grandeur.
Anderson is a unique and singular director. No one else before him or after has ever made a movie that looks like a Wes Anderson film. Everything you see in a Wes Anderson movie was thought out and meticulously placed. Each frame of his movies is like watching a beautiful moving painting. The gorgeous over the head shot of Korda in a bathtub that runs during the opening credits is a perfect example. Congratulations to Anderson and is production design team for their attention to detail, which makes this film and Anderson’s work in general a visual delight.
The three leads completely carry the film including del Toro, Threapleton and Cera. Benicio del Toro, who first worked with Anderson on the criminally underrated ‘The French Dispatch’ fits in to Anderson’s world exceedingly well. Here he is commanding, purposely over-the-top at times, but also measured, playing deadpan at the right moments and he has excellent chemistry with Threapleton.
In fact, Mia Threapleton is a revelation in this film, not surprising as her mother is the iconic Kate Winslet, and obviously the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. She adapts to Anderson’s style and pacing impressively well, and brings heart and humor to the ridiculous situations her character finds herself in.
Michael Cera, who’s dry delivery was on display in ‘Arrested Development’, ‘Superbad’ and ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’, perfectly fits Anderson’s aesthetic as if the actor was born to be in one of the director’s films. As Bjørn Lund he creates a character that is as likable and sympathetic as he is completely ridiculous. And without giving away any spoilers, the actor is also believable in the character’s surprise turn in the third act.
The returning cast of “Wes Anderson Players” were all welcomed, even if most of their roles only amounted to glorified cameos. Bryan Cranston and Tom Hanks are quite funny as the basketball playing Reagan and Leland, respectively. Jeffrey Wright is equally funny as Marty, electing to adopt a very strange characterization.
Scarlett Johansson, marking her third outing with Anderson, shines like an old school movie star and is excellent in her limited role. Playing the pivotal character of Uncle Nubar, Benedict Cumberbatch is fine but perhaps not as intimidating as the role calls for. Richard Ayoade is very funny as revolutionist Sergio, and Anderson mainstay Bill Murray gives a very dry but hilarious performance as God, of course.
While Wes Anderson’s movies might not be for everyone, ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is one of his better recent films and is reminiscent of perhaps his greatest movie, ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’. Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, and Mia Threapleton all give excellent performances, surrounded by a marvelous cast of frequent Anderson collaborators. If you like meticulously beautiful and absurdly funny movies, then this one is for you.
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What is the plot of ‘The Phoenician Scheme’?
Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) appoints his only daughter, a nun (Mia Threapleton), as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins.
