THE MOVIE PAGES presents BRENDAN FRASER & ANDY SERKIS in INKHEART inkheart.htm

What Do The Critics Say?

"The aesthetics of Inkheart are part of what make it such a surprisingly enjoyable experience to watch. For the young teens in its demographic wheelhouse, "Inkheart" packs a welcome amount of entertainment value, creating a genuinely original world of enchantment when that territory has otherwise been colonized by the imperial forces of Hogwarts and Middle Earth. "Inkheart" has a flag to plant, too: and it has a style and snap all its own."
Ann Hornaday WASHINGTON POST
"It's handsomely mounted, with supporting turns by Helen Mirren as the girl's flinty aunt and Jim Broadbent as the author of the book that caused so much fuss."
J R Jones CHICAGO READER
"Inkheart was shot in and around Liguria on the Italian Riviera, and it looks absolutely ravishing."
Marc Savlov AUSTIN CHRONICLE
"If you can ignore Fraser and his trademark lumpishness, Inkheart is imaginative and entertaining."
Tricia Olszewski WASHINGTON CITY PAPER
"Inkheart is a fantastic read, and I wasn't expecting the film to live up to it at all. Much simpler than the book, the film is still a pretty fantastic ride."
Jenna Busch JOBLO'S MOVIE EMPORIUM
"Any grown-ups deputized to accompany kids to this picture should find the usual watch-checking squirm factor to be surprisingly minimal. The story is likely to captivate anyone, of any age, who loves books. the story has a vivid originality. Roger Pratt's cinematography is ravishing beyond the call of demographics. "
Kurt Loder MTV

"Inkheart is a lovely little film, aimed at the bookish among us, and peppered with a love of the literary. As the villain of the piece, Andy Sirkis shines. It’s great to see the Lord of the Rings star step out from behind the CGI of Gollum and given a meaty, fun role to work with. There are rich layers and familiar characters and worlds to look for here that can be enjoyed by all the reading members of your family."
Cris Kennedy SCREENWIZE
"Inkheart has an engaging premise in its notion of a Silvertongue and a refreshing love of books."
Beth Accomando KPBS
"Keep your expectations reasonable, and you'll have fun."
Chris Hewitt ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS
"Absolutely adorable and enormously entertaining."
Staci Layne Wilson STACIWILSON.COM
"A whimsical, exciting and entertaining family flick."
Pete Hammond HOLLYWOOD.COM
"Inkheart is a well-timed and well-made family film."
Bill Clark FROM THE BALCONY
"The main attractions are the Serious British Thespians cutting loose and having fun while still displaying convincing commitment to the fanciful material."
Michael Dequina MR BROWN'S MOVIES
"I understand this is the first offering in an 'Inkheart' trilogy. If so, color me hooked. Fortunately, this movie bears no relation to Bedtime Stories, which focuses on a similar idea. With its fascinating characters, gorgeous scenery and unusual special effects, Inkheart comes across as much more exciting."
Betty Jo Tucker REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS

The Inside Story "What are the boundaries between what is real and what is imagined?" asks "Inkheart" director Iain Softley. "That’s something in which I’ve always been interested: the way that fantasy can impinge on the real world. And when you are talking about books and stories, especially in the mind of a child or an adolescent, then those boundaries between reality and imagination are even more fascinating to explore. One of the things that appealed to me about "Inkheart" is that it’s a story that bridges the everyday and fantasy realms." The film "Inkheart" is based on a best-selling book of the same name by internationally acclaimed author Cornelia Funke. An instant sensation when it was published in 2004, "Inkheart" became a #1 New York Times bestseller, spending a total of seventy weeks on the list and going on to be translated into thirty seven languages. he first novel in Funke’s Inkworld trilogy, "Inkheart" was followed by "Inkspell", published in 2005, and the latest book, "Inkdeath", which was just published in 2008. In 2005, Funke, who has written nearly fifty books, was named one of Time magazine’s "Most Influential People of the Year". "Inkheart" charts the adventures of Mortimer 'Mo' Folchart and his daughter, Meggie, as they battle the evil forces of a fictional world: forces Mo himself inadvertently called forth from the pages of a fantastical story by reading it aloud. While the thought of characters springing to life at the mere mention of their names could be perceived as a cautionary tale, Brendan Fraser, who plays the part of Mo, counters, "I think "Inkheart" advocates the written word read aloud. To have people read aloud to one another is quite powerful: parents to children, children to adults, teachers to children, children to each other. It’s an interesting notion that something real might come out of the story, but if the listener actually believes it in their imagination, it might as well be real. There is always room for a story that relies on the power of literature." Producer Diana Pokorny ("The Shipping News") knows exactly how much of an impact the novel has had on young readers. "My daughters are voracious readers and my eldest daughter’s favorite book is Inkheart. She knows the book backwards and forwards and talked incessantly about it, so it really did seem fateful that I would get the opportunity to be a part of the film. For me, it is a story about the love of reading and the power of books, but, more importantly, it is a story about home and family. And as the mother of two ardent fans, and as a fan myself, it was quite magical to see those words that we loved to read so much as a family actually come to life." Softley, who also served as a producer on the film, notes, "Cornelia provided us with such rich material that bringing it to life was the easy part. She created a wonderful, magical adventure, and her vivid descriptions and illustrations enabled us to step into her book within a book." Funke, who produced the film with Softley and Pokorny, says that she knew Softley was the ideal person to take the helm in bringing her book to the screen. "The Wings of the Dove is one of my all-time favorite movies, one of the most brilliant film adaptations of a book I’ve ever seen. So when I heard that Iain was interested in directing "Inkheart", I was thrilled. I knew he wouldn’t back away from the darker elements of the story, but would nevertheless fill it with warmth. He is an excellent actors’ director, but he’s also one of the most visual directors with an exceptional feeling for texture and color. I could not imagine a better choice." Together with executive producer Ileen Maisel ("The Golden Compass"), Funke was also instrumental in choosing David Lindsay-Abaire ("Robots") to adapt her novel.

The author worked closely with him throughout the course of crafting the screenplay, which was "a very interesting process for me as a writer. I believe if you stick too closely to a book, it can paralyze you creatively. I knew David loved the book, so I wanted to free him from being too faithful to it. When I finally saw the script, it was a magical moment. It was a thrill for me to see my story through the eyes of another artist. That is the greatest privilege of being a storyteller: to have the opportunity to work with so many incredibly gifted people to tell my story again in a different way. What a kick!" "I was very eager to work with Cornelia," Lindsay-Abaire says. "I had read the book a couple of times and relished every page of it. It’s a terrific story, filled with adventure and characters that were wonderfully rich and fun to explore, and I loved how complicated many of the relationships between them are. But I was mostly drawn to what Inkheart says about the power of books and storytelling. I was honored to be entrusted with adapting it and felt a strong obligation to stay true to the spirit and tone of her book. She and I were in constant contact while I was writing the screenplay. It’s her baby, after all." "One of the things I really look for in a script is if I can see the film in my head, and that was definitely the case with this one," notes 1995 ALFS Award winning director Ian Softley ("Backbeat"). "As I was turning the pages, I couldn’t wait to know what was going to happen next. The characters leapt off the page, really fascinating, diverse characters, each with his or her own distinct attributes." For Funke, the casting of 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award winner Brendan Fraser ("Crash") as Mo was the fulfillment of her original vision for the character. "Brendan inspired this character from the very beginning. I pictured Mo with Brendan’s face and Brendan’s voice. He has an exceptionally beautiful and expressive voice, which is very important for this character." Fraser ("Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D) recalls being surprised and honored when he was told of his connection to the character long before there was a screenplay. "I first learned about the book Inkheart when Cornelia sent me a copy with an inscription that read, 'Thank you for inspiring this character. I hope that you can read it aloud to your kids one day and enjoy it.' I was so flattered I didn’t know how to respond except to thank her." British actress Eliza Hope Bennett ("Nanny McPhee") was cast as Mo's daughter, Meggie. She won the role over hundreds of other young hopefuls. "Meggie is a bookworm like her father, but he does not allow her to read aloud, which frustrates her because she doesn’t know why. She’s always been very dependent on her father because he’s the only parent she’s had, but I think over the course of the film she is forced to become more independent. She grows up quite a lot by the end of the story." "There is something about Eliza that is very understated, very natural. She was just so effortlessly who Meggie was. And working with her was such a pleasure," says Softley ("K-PAX"). Securing Oscar® winning actress Helen Mirren ("The Queen") for the role of Meggie’s great-aunt Elinor was a real coup for the filmmakers. "To me, Elinor was a gift of a part; wonderfully amusing and with a great story arc," says Softley. "Right from the start, Helen was at the top of my list." It fulfilled his desire to work with her. "It was a dream to cast Helen Mirren as Elinor and I absolutely loved her interpretation of the role," says author Funke. Mirren ("Gosford Park") says that, in keeping with Elinor’s great love of books, her ideas for her character began with a literary figure.

"I based my character on poet Edith Sitwell, who is famously quoted as saying that her hobbies were 'reading, listening to music and silence.' I think that’s where Elinor starts out: she’s buried herself in books and finds all the excitement she needs there." "Helen felt there should be more emphasis on Elinor as a lover of reading as much as a lover of books. Elinor was a collector of books because she wanted to read, not because she loved the artifacts. To me that was a brilliant idea,"says Softley. For Oscar ® winning cast member Jim Broadbent ("Iris"), meeting Funke was something of a surreal moment. He plays the role of Fenoglio, the fictional author of Inkheart, the book within the film. 2002 BAFTA Film and 2007 BAFTA TV award winner Broadbent described meeting the author who first created his character as "a strange sort of parallel experience because she was there seeing all her characters come to life in much the same way that Fenoglio is seeing his characters come to life. It was very valuable for me to see her excitement at seeing us and the world that had been designed and built." Broadbent revealed that when it comes to accepting a role he has a simple formula: "If I think it’s a film I’d want to see then I want to be in it, and this was a story that excited my imagination at every turn." The night that Resa disappeared into Inkheart was the night that Mo released three very different characters from its pages: the homesick fire juggler Dustfinger, the evil Capricorn, and his knife-wielding confederate, Basta. Dustfinger is played by 2008 Hollywood Film Award winner Paul Bettany (The Secret Life Of Bees"). "It was interesting that when I was offered the role it coincided with my son reading the book, so it was a lovely, joyous time for me," says Bettany, ("Iron Man") who's wife and Oscar ® winning "A Beautiful Mind" co-star Jennifer Connelly, appears in "Inkheart" as Roxanne. Dustfinger has one attribute Bettany did not share: the ability to juggle fire. Bettany gamely tried to learn to juggle, starting with regular juggling balls, but he says, "I soon realized that if this man is supposed to be the best juggler on the face of the Earth; at least in Inkworld, I simply wasn’t going to achieve that. So we did a different thing called poi." Poi is a form of juggling originated by the Maori people of New Zealand. 'I had two great lads teaching me how to do it," Bettany ("Firewall') says. "Mostly I had to learn to avoid smacking myself endlessly." The role of the villainous Capricorn went to "Lord Of The Rings" star Andy Serkis. 2004 Screen Actors Guild Award winer Serkis ("LOTR: The Return of the King") observes that his character "didn’t have much going for him in Inkworld, but he discovers he can build an empire in the real world and has delusions of grandeur. He loves everything about this place, where everything he lays his hands on is much more preferable, especially the material gains. He was used to sleeping in forests with the beasts; now he lives in a castle and has become acutely aware of fashion." "I had been interested in working with Andy since I saw him as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings," says Softley. "Capricorn is a deceptively difficult part. On one level, he is the deliciously wicked villain of the piece and has to provide a level of jeopardy for our main characters. But he also has a lot of amusing lines and is something of an entertainer. That can be quite a difficult balance to strike, but Andy handled it brilliantly." Principal photography on "Inkheart" began on location in Liguria, Italy, which is also where Cornelia Funke’s original story unfolds. Their fifth film together, production designer John Beard worked with Softley to create sets that would bridge the realms of reality and imagination. Synopsis

For twelve years, bookbinder Mo and his daughter, Meggie, have been traveling the world and visiting secondhand bookstores. Meggie assumes her father is looking for her mother, Resa, who disappeared without a trace. What she doesn’t know is that Mo is a Silvertongue. When he reads a story aloud, the details and characters come to life. But when a character comes out of a book, someone has to go back in. Mo is searching for the book he was reading, "Inkheart". Mo,unaware of his powers read the story aloud, and his wife was taken in exchange for novel's villainous characters who were released. Then, while visiting a book fair, Mo is confronted by a Dustfinger. He's one of the characters from "Inkheart" and he wants to go home. Mo and Meggie must keep evil Capricorn and his henchmen from realizing their diabolical plot, and send everyone back into the book where they belong.

The Verdict

"By now, most regular cinemagoers have come to the realization that, like Nicolas Cage, Brendan Fraser seems to always carry the same demeanor into every film. "Inkheart" is no different, so don't let that detract you from seeing what is a reasonably entertaining film. The support cast, which features three Oscar ® winners is a joy to watch. The storyline is captivating and exciting. The locations are outstanding as is the cinematography. While it does have a few minor pitfalls and there are some changes to the storyline in the novel, "Inkheart" makes a great addition to the list of films that qualify as 'family' entertainment. There's nothing offensive or too frightening here. The film provides booklovers and families with a film that has intrigue, adventure and action. It also offers the opportunity to see Andy Serkis in a role that is light years away from how we saw him in "LOTR". His performance as Capricorn is just one of the films highlights. With a little care and a stronger finish, "Inkheart" would have been a 'super' film. Never the less, it is well worth having a look at. Recommended. 3 1/2 STARS." Who Plays Who?

Brendan Fraser
Paul Bettany
Helen Mirren
Eliza Hope Bennett
Andy Serkis
Sienna Guillory
Richard Strange
Rafi Gavron
Matt King
Steve Speirs
Jamie Foreman
Stephen Graham
Mirabel O'Keefe
John Thomson
Lesley Sharp
Tereza Srbova
Jennifer Connelly
Jim Broadbent
Roger Allam

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Mo 'Silvertongue' Folchart
Dustfinger
Elinor Loredan
Meggie Folchart
Capricorn
Resa
Antiquarian Bookshop Owner
Farid
Cockerell
Flatnose
Basta
Fulvio
Young Meggie
Darius
Mortola
Rapunzel
Roxanne
Fenoglio
Narrator

The Production Team

Director
Screenplay
Novelke
Producers
Original Music
Director of Photography
Film Editor
Casting
Production Designer
Art Direction
Set Decoration
Costume Designer

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Iain Softley
David Lindsay-Abaire
Cornelia Funke
Ileen Maisel/Diana Pokorny/Iain Softley
Javier Navarrete
Roger Pratt
Martin Walsh
Hubbard & John Hubbard
PJohn Beard
Rod McLean & Stuart Rose
by Niamh Coulter
Verity Hawkes