Jack the Giant Slayer (previously titled Jack the Giant Killer) is a 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie and Dan Studney, from a story by Lemke and David Dobkin. The film, based on the British fairy tales "Jack the Giant Killer" and "Jack and the Beanstalk", stars Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, Eddie Marsan and Ewan McGregor. The film tells the story of Jack, a young farmhand who must rescue a princess from a race of giants after inadvertently opening a gateway to their land in the sky.
Development of Jack the Giant Slayer began in 2005, when Lemke first pitched the idea. D. J. Caruso was hired to direct the film in January 2009, but in September of that year, Caruso was replaced by Singer, who hired McQuarrie and Studney to rework the script. The main characters were cast between February and March 2011, and principal photography began in April 2011 in England with locations in Somerset, Gloucestershire and Norfolk. The release of the film was moved back in post-production to allow more time for special effects and marketing.
Ten years later, Jack (Nicholas Hoult), now orphaned and living with his uncle, is sent to sell a horse and cart at market. There, he runs into a disguised Isabel (Eleanor Tomlinson), whom he defends from an attack. The royal guard appears and Isabel is taken back to the castle. Afterwards, Jack realizes his cart was stolen and he is forced to head home dejectedly.
Lord Roderick (Stanley Tucci), second in command to King Brahmwell (Ian McShane), discovers that a monk had broken into his study. Roderick had collected the hidden beans and crown and intended to use the giants to take over. The monk had stolen the beans and Roderick commands the monk be pursued. The monk, desperate to escape, runs into Jack and exchanges the beans for his horse. Warning Jack not to get the beans wet, the monk flees, pursued by the guards.
Isabel, having been brought to her father, King Brahmwell, is scolded for running off. She is told she needs to start taking responsibility for her actions. While Isabel argues, the King refuses to listen. Isabel will be married to Roderick and must forget her dreams of love and adventure. At the same time, Jack is scolded by his uncle for accepting the beans. Jack is similarly told to start taking responsibility. His uncle then leaves to head to town himself.
Jack finds Isabel and Elmont in the giant kitchen and kills the chef to free them. The three flee towards the beanstalk, but find their way blocked by another giant. Jack and Elmont trick the giant into falling off the edge. When the giant hits the ground, the body is seen by King Brahmwell. Fearing a giant invasion, he orders the beanstalk cut down. Jack and Isabel climb down the beanstalk while Elmont stays behind to kill Roderick. During the climb, Jack and Isabelle admit to their growing feelings for each other and share a kiss.
Elmont attacks Roderick and, after a short battle, fatally wounds him. Fallon then takes the crown and wears it as a ring, claiming the title of king. At that moment, the beanstalk falls away and Elmont rides it to the ground. Jack and Isabel, still on the beanstalk, also manage to survive the crash. After Isabel is reunited with her father, King Brahmwell rewards Jack for her rescue, though Jack and Isabel are disheartened at the need to say goodbye. The group departs and Jack remains behind.
The giants are sent back to their realm and forced to cut down the beanstalks that allowed them access to earth. King Brahmwell changes the law and allows Jack and Isabelle to marry. They have twin children and are seen telling them the story of the giants, this time adding in the events they themselves had lived through.
It's a very traditional fairytale, probably the most traditional thing I've ever done. But it'll also be a fun twist on the notion of how these tales are told ... Fairytales are often borne of socio-political commentary and translated into stories for children. But what if they were based on something that really happened?.. What if we look back at the story that inspired the story that you read to your kids? That's kind of what this movie's about.
Screenwriter Darren Lemke first proposed the idea of contemporizing the "Jack and the Beanstalk" fairy tale with CGI in 2005 before the release of other contemporary films based on fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland (2010), Red Riding Hood (2011) and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012).[6] Lemke described the script as "a male-oriented story of a boy becoming a man" and drew a parallel between Jack and Luke Skywalker of Star Wars.[7] In January 2009, New Line Cinema hired D. J. Caruso to direct the script, which was subsequently rewritten by Mark Bomback.[8] By August 2009, it was reported that Bryan Singer might be replacing Caruso; this became official in September 2009.[9][10]
In April 2010, Singer re-teamed with screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie to rework the screenplay. Singer and McQuarrie had previously collaborated on Public Access, The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, and Valkyrie.[11] Singer stated, "Chris McQuarrie did a significant re-write for me. He brought a different structure. It was very much a page-one situation; a different storyline. It involved the same characters, but some we juggled around and switched around. He just brought a very different perspective".[12] McQuarrie's re-write included a deeper back story for the giants and explanation of their relationship with the humans, which Singer considered a "vast improvement"; it also upped the budget. To get the budget back in line, Singer brought in television writer Dan Studney to work on the project.[6]
In May 2010, ReelzChannel reported that production of the film would be delayed until February 2011. The report cited Singer's interest in being able to pre-visualize scenes with the digital giants in-camera with the live-action actors (a la James Cameron's Avatar) and the need for more time to work out the complex process as reasons for the delay.[13]
In October 2010, New Line gave Bryan Singer the green-light to begin pre-production work on Jack the Giant Killer, with production scheduled to begin the following spring.[14] In November 2010, Singer began screen-testing for the male and female leads. Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Hoult, and Aneurin Barnard were considered for the role of the young farmhand, and Adelaide Kane, Lily Collins, and Juno Temple tested for the princess role.[15]
In December 2010, Singer said, "I'm very much looking forward to using the EPIC Red for my next movie Jack the Giant Killer which will be shot in, what else, 3D. The camera's incredibly compact size and extraordinary resolution are ideal for the 3D format. But more importantly Jack the Giant Killer is my first movie set in a time before electricity. The EPIC's extraordinary exposure latitude will allow me to more effectively explore the use of natural light".[16]
In February 2011, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Stanley Tucci had been cast as the antagonist, the king's advisor who plans on taking over the kingdom, and Bill Nighy and John Kassir were cast as Fallon, the two-headed leader of the giants; Nighy would play the big head and Kassir would play the smaller head.[17] Also in February, Nicholas Hoult was offered the lead role.[18] Singer said he had liked him since Skins and was very supportive of his casting in X-Men: First Class.[12] Later that month, Ewan McGregor joined the cast as the leader of the king's elite guard, who helps fight giants.[19]
In March 2011, Eleanor Tomlinson was cast opposite Nicholas Hoult as the princess[20] and Ian McShane was cast to play her father, King Brahmwell.[21] Two days later, New Line and Warner Bros. announced a release date of June 15, 2012.[22]
Principal photography began on April 12, 2011, in the British countryside.[23][24] In May 2011, production moved to Somerset, England for two weeks with filming scheduled in Wells, Cheddar and secret locations in the county including scenes filmed at Wells Cathedral.[25] Also in May, scenes were shot at Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean near Coleford, Gloucestershire. Puzzlewood, which features unusual tree and rock formations, has previously been used for filming of the BBC TV series Doctor Who and Merlin. The same forest is said to have inspired J. R. R. Tolkien to write The Hobbit.[26] Later that month, filming took place at Norwich Cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk.[27]
About the performance-capture process Singer stated, "It's fascinating ... It takes you back to play-acting as a kid in your living room because you are running around and having to imagine that you are in Gantua and imagine that there are these weapons and all these giant things. But there's nothing when you are there other than styrofoam and blocks. It forces the actors to regress to when they would play-act as kids or do minimalist theatre. But in that way it's fascinating - I can see why Robert Zemeckis and James Cameron have started to shoot pictures this way".[12]
In January 2012, Warner Bros. moved back the release date by nine months, from June 15, 2012, to March 22, 2013. The Hollywood Reporter stated: "Warner can likely afford the move because of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, which opened in July. And moving the film back gives the studio more time for special effects, as well as a chance to attach trailers for it to Peter Jackson's Christmas tentpole The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey".[28] In October 2012, Warner Bros. again moved the release date, this time to March 1, 2013, three weeks earlier than the previous date. Warner Bros also changed the title of the film from Jack the Giant Killer to Jack the Giant Slayer.[29]
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