A science fiction epic
in a post-Matrix vein that involves
South America and is based on an
original story idea by Darren Aronofsky.
Also Known As :
The Last man Production Status : In
Production Rated : R Production Company :
Protozoa Pictures Inc. Studios: Warner Bros.
Pictures, Inc., Regency Enterprises Financiers: Co-Financier:
New Regency Productions, Warner Bros.
Pictures, Inc. Filming Locations:
Montreal, Quebec, Canada Produced in: United States
Release
Dateee
November 22, 2006 (Wide)
Pictures and Media
Cast
and
Credits
Hugh Jackman : "Tom" ,
Rachel Weisz : "Izzi" , Ellen Burstyn :
"Lillian" , Sean Gullette , Sean Patrick
Thomas , Donna Murphy
Mark Margolis : "Father Avila "
Cate Blanchett is no longer
appearing in this film as previously
thought.
Notes
The post-modern sci-fi epic The Fountain
is the brainchild of director Darren
Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream).
Long known as the Untitled Darren
Aronofsky Project, and then as The Last
Man, the film has had a protracted birth
due to a slew of difficulties, including
script rewrites, budgetary problems, and
casting issues such as Cate Blanchett's
pregnancy and the loss of its leading
man, Brad Pitt, due to the script.
Aronofsky has described the picture as a
"post-Matrix metaphysical sci-fi movie"
and "the most ambitious thing I've done
to date and the biggest challenge."
According to him, "We've seen it all.
[Science Fiction is] not really
interesting to audiences anymore. The
interesting things are the ideas; the
search for God, the search for meaning."
Variety notes that the film is "the
journey of one man in the present as
well as both 500 years in the past and
into the future. Among the issues it
tackles are love, death and
immortality." The film opens in the year
1535, when Spanish conquistadors and a
priest are led by Captain Tomas Verde in
search of something mysterious deep
within the Mayan jungle. Then, in the
year 2500, another Tom makes an even
more dangerous and mystical journey by
spacecraft, as he travels with a
valuable cargo of astounding power.
Finally, we are transported to the year
2003, where Tommy Verde is working as a
surgical researcher on an advanced
cancer theory. In an ironic twist,
Tommy's wife, Izzi, is dying of cancer
and there is no cure. As the film
progresses, the connection between the
three time periods is revealed.
Aronofsky is directing on a budget of
$70 million from a script he co-wrote
with Ari Handle, an old college pal with
a PhD in neuroscience. The Fountain is
being co-financed by Warner Bros. and
Fox-based New Regency Pictures, which
came aboard when Village Roadshow
Pictures dumped the project. Aronofsky's
company Protozoa Pictures is also
involved in the production. Filming had
been scheduled to start in late October,
2002 in Queensland and Sydney,
Australia, but that has been postponed
due to Brad Pitt's departure from the
project. Before that, filming had been
scheduled for the fall of 2001, and was
then rescheduled for the summer of 2002,
only to be delayed because of Cate
Blanchett's pregnancy and script issues.
Although he has only been involved in a
few, mostly small films, Darren
Aronofsky has gained a reputation for
being one of Hollywood's most
freethinking directors, with ambitious
plans to re-invent entire genres. He was
born February 12, 1969 in Brooklyn, New
York. Growing up, he loved classic
movies and spent his teenage years doing
graffiti art, which probably did not
endear him to his neighbors. Aronofsky
attended Harvard University to study
film and won several film awards after
completing his senior thesis film,
Supermarket Sweep starring Sean Gullette,
which was a National Student Academy
Award finalist. Five years later,
Aronofsky made his first feature film,
Pi, which re-teamed him with Gullette,
who played the lead. The film was
considered an innovative success and was
about a genius mathematician obsessed
with numerical patterns, but his
breakthrough theories attract the
potentially dangerous attention of a
Hasidic cabalistic sect and high-powered
Wall Street firm. Aronofsky also wrote
and directed the well regarded Requiem
for a Dream, starring Ellen Burstyn,
Marlon Wayans and Jared Leto.
The Fountain - Official
site for the movie The Fountain,
starring Hugh Jackman as a 16th
century conquistador who is in
search of the "Tree of Life,"
which grants eternal life to
those who drink its sap. Also
starring Rachel Weisz, Ellen
Burstyn, Sean Gullette, and Sean
Patrick Thomas.
IMDb: The Fountain
- Cast/character credits,
quotes, user reviews, and
production details about the
2006 comedy Last Holiday.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky.
•
MovieWeb: The Fountain
- Features several video clips
from the movie The Fountain, as
well as photos, the trailer, and
a full synopsis of the film.
Trailer, Downloads and AIM Icons
The Fountain : Official site with a
limited availability of downloads right
now.
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