The Inside Story The life story of the brilliant and murderous perfumer Jean-Baptiste Grenouille first appeared in early 1985, published by the Swiss Diogenes Verlag, and brought author Patrick Süskind (who also wrote "Der Kontrabaß"/“The Double Bass” and the scripts for "Kir Royal" and "Rossini oder die mörderische Frage, wer mit wem schlief"/"Rossini or The murderous question of who slept with whom", who was born in Ambach by Lake Starnberg in 1949, sensational worldwide success. "Perfume" was Number One for 15 weeks in the "Spiegel" bestseller charts and spent 449 consecutive weeks in the "Buchreport" bestseller charts. It sold over 15 million copies worldwide, 4 million of which were sold in German alone. The gripping novel was translated into 45 languages and there was even an edition in Latin. Since 1994, Diogenes has also been publishing "Perfume" in paperback, as part of the detebe series. “Perfume” is the most successful German language novel since Erich Maria Remarque’s "All Quiet on the Western Front". The Munich producer Bernd Eichinger obtained the rights to the film in 2001. Producer Bernd Eichinger read the novel when it was first published in 1985. He immediately approached the author Patrick Süskind, to obtain the film rights. "It was such a unique story, powerful on so many levels. I sensed that it would make an extraordinary film." But Süskind would not sell to anyone. The book remained on many illustrious filmmakers’ wish-lists for years, with Süskind refusing all offers. His reluctance to sell the rights became legend. "I thought it would be particularly easy because we were friends", Eichinger remembers, "but Süskind didn't want to sell at the time". By 1986, a year after the novel was published it had already become a worldwide best-seller. But stamina pays, especially in the fast-moving film business, and when Eichinger asked again in 2000, Süskind finally gave in and Eichinger, at long last, got the rights to bring "Perfume" to the screen. "When I became aware that he was no longer saying 'No, no', but 'Maybe', I asked the publishing house one more time. They explained to me that Patrick definitely did not want to be involved in any potential film project. Then Tom Tykwer entered the picture. "It was clear from the outset that Tom and I wanted to make a modern film. Tom is an extremly innovative director who is not afraid of experimenting, but still likes to construct a film around a classical framework. And in the end, the film looks exactly the same under his directorship as I had always imagined it," says Eichinger. The film eventually received financing from the independent German film company, Constantin Film, with whom Eichinger has close links as a former CEO and supervisory board chairman. Swiss entrepreneur and patron Gigi Oeri, (investing in a film project for the first time) and the Munich-based VIP Medienfonds also came onboard. "I heard that Gigi Oeri was interested in investing in a film; in particular this film. Thanks to her financial contribution we were able to maintain our independence and stay true to our vision and it also gave us the possibility to obtain a contract with Dreamworks for the US-Market, which had always been the ideal scenario for us.", Eichinger explained. But there was another problem. "The problem is also, of course, that the main character doesn't express himself. A novelist can use narrative to compensate for this; that’s not possible in film. An audience can usually only get a feeling for a character if the character speaks." "Our biggest problem was therefore a narrative one", says Eichinger, explaining the difficulties in drafting the script. "I’d met with many international directors and screenwriters. I didn't think of a German initially. But I couldn't find any consensus with them on the question of what kind of film it should actually turn out to be. It was a lot easier with my previous projects; we reached an agreement quickly, such as with Jean-Jacques Annaud with "The Name Of The Rose" or Bille August with The House Of The Spirits". It was much more difficult with Perfume, because we had to go right to the basics of narrative. Although many directors showed great interest, none of them could tell me how a potential movie would actually have to look. It all remained very vague," Eichinger recalls. Finally he He chose Andrew Birkin to help him bring his vision of Perfume to the screen in English. Birkin had been one of the writers on Eichinger’s cinematic version of "The Name Of The Rose". "We both started drafting the script. The big question of who could be the director came up again. With material like this it is especially important for a director to get involved in the script," notes Eichinger. After a great many meetings in search of the best director, the decision was in favor of acclaimed director Tom Tykwer. "Tom is incredibly innovative as an artist on the one hand, and on the other he also has a very popular approach as a filmmaker. He was already giving the right answers in our very first discussions. That's why we decided to work on the script together, so that we could get to know each other better. But at some point it was clear to us that he should become the director too," says Eichinger. Over the course of the next two years, the trio continued to hone the screenplay adaptation. For Tykwer, the adaptation was "a great challenge, since the novel is extremely complex, a strangely intimate epic. I suppose an important attraction for me was that there’s an underlying theme in the book that is similar to those in my previous films." Once the screenplay was finished, Eichinger and Tykwer began a meticulous preparation period with the engagement of three key creative crew members. First on board were cinematographer, Frank Griebe; production designer, Uli Hanisch; and costume designer, Pierre-Yves Gayraud. Cinematographer Griebe, multiple winner of the German Film Award ("Run Lola Run"), has shot all of Tom Tykwer’s films. Hanisch, German Film Award winner in the category of production design (for Oliver Hirschbiegel’s "The Experiment") has set the scenic tone on many of Tykwer’s projects. Gayraud designed the costumes for Tykwer’s award winning short, "True", having met the director through "Run Lola Run" star, Franka Potente, whom he dressed in "The Bourne Identity". While the decision to take on Alan Rickman as the cunning merchant Richis and Dustin Hoffman as Grenouille's master Baldini came easily, the search for a suitable Grenouille was difficult at first. "So many people have read this book, so we had to find an actor that wasn't only suitable for us, but who could also fulfill the expectations all former readers and future cinemagoers would have of him," Tykwer explained. "I then saw, on someone's recommendation, Ben Wishaw as Hamlet in Trevor Nunn’s production at the Old Vic in London, and felt immediately: 'I've got him!' There followed an audition, which immediately convinced Bernd of Ben's potential as well." By contrast, getting the multi-Oscar ® winning Dustin Hoffman to play Baldini was a simple agreement between friends. "I had always wanted to get him for a part. Furthermore, we are good friends. Dustin also wanted to work with me after he saw "Run Lola Run". When I took on this project I knew straight away that there was no one who could play Baldini better. It simply had to work because there's no way I could have accepted anyone else playing the part,"says Tykwer. "Alan was also my first choice as Richis. We didn't offer the role to anyone else. I wanted to give Richis ambiguity because he is, in the book and the film, someone who cuts himself off from his fellow citizens, has a sharp mind and strong intuition and an idolatrous love for his daughter," recapitulates Tykwer. "We did extensive casting in the United States, England and Germany. And it is the case that even a four minute performance that fails is enough to ruin an entire film. So if you don't know someone very well indeed it could end in a catastrophe. Supporting roles are incredibly important, which is why I make a special effort to find actors I can rely on for the supporting roles," states Eichinger. When it came to finding the right person to score the film, Tykwer stood out. An accomplished musician, Tykwer has scored all of his films. Together with his band mates, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil he wrote the score for "Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer". The spectacular shooting took place from 12 July to 16 October 2005; the first fifteen days was spent entirely on the largest stage of Bavaria Studios in Munich, shooting the scenes between Baldini and Grenouille in the former’s workshop. The remaining scenes, including the Paris fish market and the events in the "perfume city" of Grasse, were shot in Spain, specifically in Barcelona, Girona and Figueras. Tykwer was in command of a crew of up to 350 and a total of 5200 extras, sometimes with nearly a thousand at once. It was a massive effort of logistics. "It was a bit crazy at times, standing ankle-deep in fish entrails, giving instructions in four languages with nearly a thousand extras around me," Tykwer says with a laugh. To him, "one simply has to acknowledge that everything depends on very well-planned logistics." The most obvious question to ask is how they intended to portray Grenouille’s olfactory genius. "You cannot make the sense of smell visibly palpable on film. And the book doesn’t smell either. Süskind’s gift is in his ability to let his readers, through language, experience Grenouille’s world, which is revealed solely through his sense of smell," Eichinger notes. "We have done the same with a different language, one composed of sound, music, dialogue and, of course, image." Synopsis Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born in undignified circumstances at the Paris fish market in 1738. At a very early age he realises he has a very refined sense of smell. After surviving the murderous working conditions of the tannery in his youth, Grenouille starts an apprenticeship at the perfumery of Baldini. He soon surpasses his master at the art of mixing scents, but they also become his obsession, an obsession that drives him away from human company. Possessed by the idea of preserving human aromas, he unscrupulously murders young women whose virginial scent turns his head. The drama takes its course when Grenouille meets the beautiful Laura, who for him has a supernatural kind of scent, on the way to the perfume metropolis, Grasse. While further unexplained murders occur, Laura's father, the merchant Richis, suspects that his daughter's life is also in great danger. A real cat and mouse game of close fatherly love and deadly passion begins. The Verdict "Only Tykwer could have managed to pull off the impossible. Violent, beautiful, threatening, yet somewhat fascinating thanks to the performances of Ben Whishaw and Dustin Hoffmann; the first class imagery by D.O.P. Frank Griebe; the costuming of Pierre-Yves Gayraud, and the work of Production Designer Uli Hanisch. A mezmerizing film that will run your emotions through the ringer more than once. Well worth a look at. 3 1/2 STAR." The Critics

"It is Tykwer's particular cinematic gift that he can recreate the inner universe that his characters inhabit to such an extent that said subjective universe seems, if not normal, somehow perversely seductive." Andrea Chase KILLER MOVIE REVIEWS "It ventures so fearlessly down one limited, terrifying, seductive dead end, and finds there a solution both sublime and horrifying. It took imagination to tell it, courage to film it, thought to act it, and from the audience it requires a brave curiosity." Roger Ebert CHICAGO SUN-TIMES "Perfume is not gratuitously violent, nor does it focus on the act of murder itself. There are numerous suspenseful and creepy scenes showing Jean-Baptiste at work, but, primarily, the movie is the study of a troubled human being." Paul Doro MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL "The film's design is spectacularly vivid, from the gruesome muck of Paris to the lavender hillsides of Grasse to the town square freak-out climax. He keeps the tone intriguingly real; with wit, black humour and a refusal to fall for Hollywood cliches. He also draws heavily on parallels with "Frankenstein and The Devils". But it's the focus on the people that makes the film genuinely thrilling. Based on the notorious Patrick Süskind novel, this tale of a brilliant sociopath is disturbing and often uncomfortable to watch. And it's also magical filmmaking." Rich Cline SHADOWS ON THE WALL "Perfume was long thought unfilmable because of its dependence on the sense of smell. (And yet, that didn't stop the book, which also carries no odors). But director Tom Tykwer masterfully conveys the sensuality of smell via captivating images. The intriguing performance by newcomer Ben Whishaw conveys the profound effect of his supersensitive nose." Jack Garner ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE

Who's Who?

Ben Whishaw Dustin Hoffman Rachel Hurd-Wood Alan Rickman Francesc Albiol Simon Chandler David Calder Richard Felix Birgit Minichmayr Carlos Gramaje Sian Thomas Harris Gordon Corinna Harfouch Alvaro Roque Franck Lefeuvre Sam Dougla Joan Serratsr Bridget McConnell Jaume Montané Duna Jové Karoline Herfurth Timothy Davies Ramón Pujol Sara Forestier Paul Berrondo Joanna Griffiths Jessica Schwarz Anna Gelman Laura Gelman Guillermo Ayesa Anna Diogene Toby Harper Thomas Lenox Richard Collins-Moore Enric Arquimbau

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Jean-Baptiste Grenouille Giuseppe Baldini Laura Richis Antoine Richis Court Official Mayor of Grasse Bishop of Grasse Chief Magistrate Grenouille's Mother Police Lieutenant at Fishmarket Madame Gaillard Marquis de Montesquieu Madame Arnulfi Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (5yo) Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (12yo) Grimal Upholsterer Aunt Pélissier Young Woman Plum girl Chenier Lucien Jeanne Dominique Druot Marianne Natalie Albine Françoise Tallien Tallien's Wife Police Lieutenant Messenger Innkeeper Executioner

Run Time 147 minutes Rated MA 15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - Hoyts Distribution - All Rights Reserved ©2007 All Rights Reserved - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark Laws Apply.