"While Schwentke keeps the pace up, this is an actor’s movie, and these actors, especially Parker, Malkovich, and Willis perform in such a way that I had a smile on my face almost the entire time. Malkovich affects me much the way Jack Nicholson does. I can’t remember seeing him in a film in which I didn’t enjoy his performance, regardless of the quality of the film." Tony Medley TOLUCAN TIMES "This film is driven by the camaraderie of this merry band of ex-CIA cohorts. That, and the relationship between Willis and Parker, who actually have some good mojo going on. Now this is a fun film!" Jeanne Kaplan KAPLAN VS KAPLAN "It's a totally wild ride, full of gun battles, explosions and fisticuffs, liberally sprinkled with the tongue-in-cheek comedy we've come to expect from Mr Willis. I especially liked Mirren as the deadpan, machine gun-toting Victoria. Don't take this film seriously, and you will be highly entertained." David Kaplan KAPLAN VS KAPLAN "Stars four Oscar-winning actors. It's not every day that you're able to use Helen Mirren and heavy artillery in the same sentence, but Red gives you the opportunity. The script has decent comic snap." Peter Canavese GROUCHO REVIEWS "Bruce Willis does what Bruce Willis does best, with terrific support from Morgan Freeman and the edgy John Malkovich who makes a spectacular entrance. Mary-Louise Parker is marvellous as Sarah, who is not at all sure she has met Mr Right. Karl Urban is a great villain as the CIA's attack dog. Funtastic and escapist, it's little wonder RED got the green light; it's full of well observed characterisation, detail and is fitted out with an almost credible ultimate baddie. An ultra cool movie." Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE

"Adapted from Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer's comic book, RED is an irreverent blend of spy games and gunplay where chemistry and quips between the leads rightly take centre stage. Thrilling fistfights and shootouts are choreographed to within an inch of their life, with Willis, Urban and Mirren doing the heavy lifting in this department. Malkovich, however, gets to have the most fun as Marvin. Expendable? Perhaps. Better RED than dead? Most definitely." Scott Henderson FILMINK "If anything, Red works better as a comedy than as an action film, which automatically makes it better than most of its peers. Red, above all, belongs to its cast." Simon Abrams NEW YORK PRESS "The cast are clearly having such an immense amount of fun you really can't help but join them." Amber Wilkinson EYE FOR FILM "It is the strong cast, which also includes Richard Dreyfuss and Brian Cox, which elevates this film and makes it a fun watch. Indeed, this is a good film for proving that ageing actors can still do the business and be entertaining with it. Willis shows there’s plenty of life in the old dog yet." Roz Laws BIRMINGHAM POST "A freefall of an action thriller with laughs and class, RED couples a high concept with endearing minutiae as dastardly characters charm, alarm and entertain us. Like the camera, we jump, zoom, flip from one location to the next. The circumstances are far from predictable as is everything that happens in this syncopated film that sizzles with director Robert Schwentke's feather-light touch and in which attitude flies as high as our spirits." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

The Inside Story "Red", the graphic novel written by Warren Ellis, illustrated by Cully Hamner and published by DC Comics Wildstorm imprint, was originally written as a complete work but was in fact, released as three chapters over three months. Later, it was released in its entirety in book form. Although the graphic novel is just sixty six pages long, Gregory Noveck, Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs at DC Comics, knew immediately after reading it that it was a perfect vehicle for a film adaptation. "I loved the book instantly. Warren and Cully are two of the brightest lights in the comic book universe and together they created a very slick, very cool action thriller with an awesome central character and an intriguing central theme. We had a mandate at DC Comics not to just adapt our superhero characters but to take advantage of the other amazing titles in our library. "Red" was one of those titles that I had targeted very early on after joining the company. Obviously Warren’s story had to be expanded in order to make a two-hour movie. But all along the way we aimed to retain the best element of the book: a complex, conflicted hero and to stay true to Warren’s central theme; the idea of how our society readily discards people, in this case old guard CIA operatives and Cold War spies, once they’ve reached a certain age and replaces them with a new wave of younger, more tech-savvy agents." Noveck acting on that DC mandate, then brought onboard Jon and Erich Hoeber, and took the adaptation idea to di Bonaventura Pictures executive Mark Vahradian, who in turn, showed it to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura ("G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra"). "Lorenzo and I were immediately impressed with the edgy quality, the attitude and the stylization of the graphic novel. We loved the espionage context and both of us were fascinated with the idea of what happens to these old spies when new administrations come in and clean house. We had also been looking for projects that could attract some of the great, older actors that might never be given the opportunity to work on a 'comic book movie' so it seemed like a very natural fit for the company." di Bonaventura agrees: "Warren and Cully created a very provocative piece of work that stands alone in its genre as a graphic novel but we saw the potential in their work for a movie that could combine action, espionage, romance and comedy and could deliver a subtle message about ageism to the audience no matter what the age of the demographic. And it was of paramount importance to us that we stay true to the essence of what they created: especially with the character of Frank Moses; so that both of them could feel vested in our endeavor. And I think we’ve done that quite well. It was my first time working with the Hoebers.And they were the only two writers on the film from start to finish." After just one meeting with Summit Entertainment executives Erik Feig ("The Hurt Locker" & "Knowing") and Geoff Shaevitz ("Twilight" & "Push") and just one draft of the screenplay later, Summit greenlit the project. "The Hoeber’s first draft was remarkable," di Bonaventura ("Shooter" & "Salt") said. "We all read it and all had the same first reaction; now this is a movie." They then asked Summit what they thought. di Bonaventura says "they agreed so we all started to try to put it together. I think we all knew we were in for a great ride." "When it came to writing a script, it was all about elaborating on what was in the graphic novel," says producer Vahradian ("Transformers" & "Nancy Drew"). "Jon and Erich took the ball and ran with it." "Because the graphic novel is so short, we knew we were going to have to use it just as a jumping off point for a longer-format story," says Jon Hoeber. "That jumping off point began with the Moses character. Here is a guy who has spent his whole life undercover avoiding personal connections with other people. So when we meet him, newly retired, he’s discovering for the first time what it might be like to live a normal life," Jon explained. "You can’t help but fall in love with him a little." "We then came up with the idea that if Frank Moses is an older agent who is now retired and then targeted," says Erich Hoeber, "then there must be other retired agents out there. That notion led us to create the other characters in the film and gave us the freedom to elaborate on all those other lives besides Frank's." "I knew going in as they bought the option and the book went into development as a film that it would be massively expanded," says Ellis, who also dropped by the set for a few days in Toronto, "so there was no sense on my side of having to be precious about it. I never had worries of faceless, marauding Hollywood monsters killing off my darlings." Headlining the ensemble cast is two time EMMY award winner Bruce Willis ("Moonlighting" & "Friends"), an actor whose body of work has included everything from drama ("Pulp Fiction", "The Sixth Sense" and "Nobody’s Fool") to romance and comedy ("Moonlighting" and "Death Becomes Her") and, of course, action (the "Die Hard" franchise and "Armageddon"). "Honestly, just look at the cover of the graphic novel and try to think about anyone else other than Bruce to play Frank Moses,"says di Bonaventura. "It was a no-brainer for us: we all wanted Bruce for this role and we sat on the edge of our seats; waiting and hoping he would sign on." And sign on he did. "There was something really fresh about the concoction of this project, and that intrigued me. There is a caper element to it, a comedy element to it, a romance element to it and a big action movie element to it," Willis offered. "Once he did come aboard, it was like the flood gates opened and all the rest of these brilliant actors wanted to join in on the fun," di Bonaventura recalls. "Gathering a cast like this reminds me of when I was at Warner Bros. putting together "Oceans Eleven". It begins slowly with one person signing on and then it just starts to take on a life of its own. And so with "Red", as each role was cast, the wow-factor increased exponentially." The cast list reads like a who’s who of esteemed actors from stage, film and television, from living legend and 1956 Oscar® winner Ernest Borgnine ("Marty") to 2008 New Zealand Film Award winner Karl Urban ("Out Of The Blue". "To say that this movie is a character-driven piece would be a major understatement," Vahradian said. After Willis, the first heavy-hitter to sign on was 2005 Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman ("Million Dollar B"), who was cast as Joe Matheson, the senior member of the Red team. Freeman ("Driving Miss Daisy") admits he never could have imagined or predicted being part of such a stellar cast. "Clearly I knew I’d be working with Bruce again," He says, referencing the 2006 film, "Lucky Number Slevin", "and he and I always have a lot of fun on the set. But I didn’t know I was going to get a shot at working with Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker and Richard Dreyfuss, too. I mean there is nothing better than getting to work with people you greatly admire. Nobody was shucking and jiving on this show. Everybody was playing their A-game." Next to hop on the RED bandwagon was 2007 Oscar® winning Best Actress Dame Helen Mirren C.B.E.("The Queen"). "We don’t generally write roles with specific actors in mind," says Jon Hoeber ("Whiteout"), "because it is such a long shot that that person would be interested in or even available to do the movie. However, we did write Victoria with Helen in mind and we were so blown away when she agreed to do it." "Needless to say, I was flattered when I was told that Jon and Erich wrote this part with me in mind," four time BAFTA TV Award winner Mirren says. "But there were a lot of other reasons I was attracted to the project, first and foremost, the chance to get to work with Bruce. It sounds like such a cliché when people like me sit here and say 'Oh God he’s such a great guy', but he is such a great guy." Noveck also championed 2008 Independent Spirit Award winner John Malkovich ("Juno"), who was cast in the role of Marvin Boggs, a master of disguise CIA operative turned-guinea pig after being given daily doses of LSD for eleven years by the Agency. "When I was first approached about the role I was already in negotiations for something else, but luckily that fell through and I was able to come back to this project which was fantastic for me. I liked the script and the character very much as well as all the filmmakers involved. Marvin, as they say, doesn’t get out much anymore." Mary-Louise Parker (TV'S "Angels in America" & "The West Wing") was cast as Sarah. Two time Golden Globe winner Parker ("Angels In America" & "Weeds") credits director Robert Schwentke for maintaining a workplace on set where the atmosphere was completely collaborative. "Robert was really good for me to work with. He’s very, very cerebral and intelligent on one hand but at the same time he’s really sensitive and doesn’t over talk things so his direction always felt really useful to me." The theme of 'the old guard versus the new wave' of CIA operative is personified in the relationship between the older, world-weary Frank Moses and the younger, hi-tech hit man William Cooper, played by New Zealand actor Karl Urban. "Cooper is a young, relatively new CIA hit man who was trained with all the state of the art spy techniques and technology," says Urban, whose research included reading books and articles written by former CIA field officer Robert 'Bob' Baer, who served as a consultant to the film. "The role was also interesting to me because Cooper has a wife and family, which is something that Frank and his contemporaries could never have back in 'the old days'. That element of being a family man juxtaposed against being a coldhearted killer is a really nice character arc to get to play." "Karl is brilliant in the role," says di Bonaventura. "He was relentless in getting this character right, from his research with Bob Baer to the intense and time-consuming weapons and physical training. He came into this movie alongside all these acting veterans and he holds his own. Karl is a consummate professional and we were so fortunate to have him among the illustrious cast of this film." Production began on January 12th 2010, in the middle of a typical Toronto winter with a shooting schedule that would eventually end much further south in a much warmer New Orleans. Producer di Bonaventura says the two cities were chosen specifically for their extremely diverse looks and locales. di Bonaventura and the filmmakers credit production designer Alec Hammond for keeping the film’s 'itinerary on track'. "At any given moment on any given day, Alec could tell us exactly where we were," says Vahradian. For Hammond, "RED" was another creative opportunity to work with director Schwentke, D.O.P. Florian Ballhaus and costume designer Susan Lyall. "We all worked together on Robert’s Flightplan," says Oenslagger Prize winner Hammond, "so RED was a very familiar and collaborative environment for all four of us." Once filming ended in Toronto in late March 2010, the company headed south to New Orleans for two weeks to film the rich exteriors that are the architecture and topography of that unique city and region. What It's All About

Frank, Joe, Marvin and Victoria were once the CIA's top agents. Now retireand pensioned off Frank is finding life a bit of a drag. It's the same old same old routine, every day, except for one: the day his pension cheque arrives. On that day he rings Sarah, a young woman who works in the call centre handling customer enquiries about an payment errors. Their regular chats have raised his interest in her and he hopes they'll catch up soon. Little does Frank know that they will soon meet, but the way he envisages. It seems he and his fellow retirees know to much about a top secret covert operation that went bad in South America and someone wants them silenced. In the early hours of the morning, under the cover of darkness, Frank gets a visit from a hit squad. Making good his escape, he realizes Sarah is now in danger. On the run he must call in his fellow-retirees, before they all end up dead.

The Verdict "Retired Extremely Dangerous, three words that adequately sum-up "RED", latest bigscreener from Summit Entertainment who have had a hand in either producing, co-producing or distributing such well know films as, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", "Memento", "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", "Bridge to Terabithia", "In The Valley Of Elah", "Michael Clayton", "The Hurt Locker", "The Ghost Writer", "Letters to Juliet" and of course, the "Twilight Saga". "RED" should prove to be another notch in their long list of success dating back to 1999 when they joined forces with Columbia Tri-Star Pictures for "Cruel Intentions" and Universal Pictures for, "American Pie". The latter, with a modest budget of $US11 million, took US$235,483,004 worldwide, kicking off a highly successful franchise for Universal Pictures with the three films grossing US$754,485802 worldwide. "RED" is a skillful adaptation of the Warren Ellis graphic novel, by Jon and Erich Hoeber who have worked as screenwriters in Hollywood for the last ten years. It's populated with loveable characters, a barrel load of laughs and, action sequences that rival anything in its genre. While "The Expendables" was serious 'oldies' in action, "RED is serious fun with 'oldies' in action: the 'oldies' in "RED" are in the main, retired or still working for the CIA. The oldies in the main cast are: Ernest Borgnine 93, Morgan Freeman 73, Brian Cox 64, Helen Mirren 64, Richard Dreyfuss 63, John Malkovich 57, Bruce Willis 55, a youthful 46 year old Mary-Louise Parker and the baby of the bunch, Karl Urban at 38. Part of the fun in "RED" is watching Willis's character Frank Moses (originally Paul in the graphic novel) and Urban's character William Cooper going toe to toe, using every dirty trick in the book, belting the crap out of each other in a no-holds barred man on man slugfest. The added bonus in "RED" is you get to see Dame Helen Mirren C.B.E. firing a .50 caliber machine gun. Like US critic Tony Medley, I find, no matter what the film, Malkovich is always a standout. Younger fans shouldn't be put off by the fact that "RED" is out of their 'comfort zone': because it isn't! The action and chase scenes are first-class as is the storyline. Massively entertaining, this is one film, you really will be hoping, spawns a sequel. 4 1/2 STARS." Who's Playing Who?

Bruce Willis Helen Mirren Morgan Freeman John Malkovich Mary-Louise Parker Richard Dreyfuss Ernest Borgnine Karl Urban Brian Cox Heidi von Palleske Jefferson Brown Chris Owens Rebecca Pidgeon Jaqueline Fleming Randy Wade Kelley Jason Giuliano

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Frank Moses Victoria Joe Matheson Marvin Boggs Sarah Ross Alexander Dunning Henry aka The Records Keeper William Cooper Ivan Simanov Woman Neighbor Fred Hanged Man Cynthia Wilkes Marna Paramedic Endercott

The Crew

Director Screenplay Graphic Novel Producers Original Music Cinematography Film Editing Casting Production Design Set Decoration Costume Design

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Robert Schwentke Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber GWarren Ellis & Cully Hamner Lorenzo di Bonaventura & Mark Vahradian Christophe Beck Florian Ballhaus Thom Noble Deborah Aquila Alec Hammond Carolyn 'Cal' Loucks Susan Lyall

Run Time 111 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2010 - Icon Film Distribution - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2010 The Movie Pages & impact Internet Services. All Rights Reserved. Protected by Australian and International Copyright. Trademark Laws and Intellectual Property Rights apply.