By Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
Back in the beginning of August, Warner Bros. Pictures Canada treated some lucky media and members of the public to a special event hosted at the CN Tower – followed by a phenomenal meal at Horizons – where we got to see some clips from the hotly-anticipated new movie Pan, followed by a Q&A between Director Joe Wright and beloved Film Critic, Richard Crouse.
First-off, the footage of Pan that we were privileged to see was absolutely remarkable. Wright certainly took on an ambitious project and luckily from the snippets we were shown, Pan certainly looks to be as magical as Neverland itself. However, aside from the breathtaking footage we got our first real glimpse at performances in Pan and with all eyes being focused on Hugh Jackman portraying Blackbeard, everyone was pleasantly enthused with how involved he made himself, breathing life into the well-known character.
Back when Pan was announced, there was a ton of controversy framing the Film. The controversy mainly sparked from the casting of Tiger Lily who is portrayed in the original Disney Film as a Native American. Rooney Mara who is an incredible actress by any regard, was chosen for the part despite not fitting the part racially and the world of Cinema responded. When Wright was asked about his choice of Mara to portray Tiger Lily, he responded by saying they auditioned thousands of people from across the globe and in the end Mara was the best fit, despite not being an exact match to the original.
The reason why Wright had joined the project in the first place was because of his children. It was something that pushed him to do a Family Film in the first place. His other projects have been The Soloist, Atonement, Pride and Prejudice, Hanna and Anna Karenina, different in many ways from something as fantastical as Pan. However what really made Wright excited about the project was the sets. The sets were not completely green- screened and built on a scale that even surprised experienced actors such as Jackman. Overall, the event was a blooming success, filling everyone’s heart with hope and magic.
Warner Bros. Pictures Canada release PAN on October 9, 2015. Keep an eye out for the magic as it approaches theatres.
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