Lasse Hallström And Joe Johnston Sharing Director Credit On ‘Nutcracker And The Four Realms’
Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston will both be receiving “directed by” credit on The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Disney’s big-budget fantasy starring Keira Knightley and Mackenzie Foy.
The screenplay was written by Ashleigh Powell and Simon Beaufoy. Hallström was announced as director in March 2016 and completed principal photography in January 2017. In December of 2017, it was announced that Joe Johnston would direct 32 days of reshoots scripted by Tom McCarthy, due to Hallström being unavailable, though he will still oversee post-production.
Hallström is known for dramas such as The Cider House Rules, Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Johnston was chosen for his visual effects background and directorial work on such effects-driven movies as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, Jumanji, Jurassic Park III, and Captain America: The First Avenger. He worked on the original Star Wars trilogy at Lucasfilm during the 1970s and 1980s. Johnston will next direct the fourth installment in the Chronicles of Narnia film series, The Silver Chair.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Hallström said, “It was an absolute blessing to have Joe Johnston step in when it became clear that I wouldn’t be available for reshoots. Joe is the ultimate expert in visual effects and I enjoyed collaborating with him on this film.”
In his own statement, Johnston said, “I watched an early cut of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, and I saw something unique and fresh. When I was asked to direct the remaining elements, I saw an opportunity to complete Lasse’s wonderful and wildly inventive vision. I know we’ll both be proud of the end result.”
Although having a trailer debut in theaters before going online has become somewhat rare these days, a second trailer for the film debuted on July 5 with Ant-Man and the Wasp. The second trailer is expected to be released online soon.
The film’s synopsis reads, “All Clara (Mackenzie Foy) wants is a key – a one-of-a-kind key that will unlock a box that holds a priceless gift from her late mother. A golden thread, presented to her at godfather Drosselmeyer’s (Morgan Freeman) annual holiday party, leads her to the coveted key, which promptly disappears into a strange and mysterious parallel world. It’s there that Clara encounters a soldier named Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight), a gang of mice and the regents who preside over three Realms: Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers and Land of Sweets. Clara and Phillip must brave the ominous Fourth Realm, home to the tyrant Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren), to retrieve Clara’s key and hopefully return harmony to the unstable world.”
The rest of the film’s cast includes Eugenio Derbez as Flower Realm King, Richard E. Grant as Snow Realm King, Misty Copeland as The Ballerina, Miranda Hart as Dew Drop Fairy, Jack Whitehall as Harlequin, Ellie Bamber as Louise, and Lil Buck as The Mouse King.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms pirouettes into theaters on November 2, 2018.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
