Who Plays Who?

Saoirse Ronan Mark Wahlberg Rachel Weisz Christian Thomas Ashdale Stanley Tucci Susan Sarandon Amanda Michalka Michael Imperioli Jake Abel Rose McIver Reece Ritchie Nikki SooHoo Carolyn Dando Andrew James Allen Anna George Charlie Saxton

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Susie Salmon Jack Salmon Abigail Salmon Buckley Salmon George Harvey Grandma Lynn Clarissa Len Fenerman Brian Nelson Lindsey Salmon Ray Singh Holly Ruth Samuel Heckler Mrs Singh Ronald Drake

What Do The Critics Say

"THERE is much to see, think about and feel as The Lovely Bones works through its testing tale. Some will find the headier, heavier concerns of The Lovely Bones are just too much to handle in the one sitting. Stick with it as best you can, for the emotional payoff in the final act cannot be denied: devastating, yet curiously uplifting." ADELAIDE NOW REVIEWS "If you read Alice Seabold’s 2002 best-seller, you know this is a ghost story, of sorts. The afterlife concept isn’t a new one. It’s been done before, memorably by Robin Williams in "What Dreams May Come" and others. But not like this. Peter Jackson: aided by cinematographer Andrew Lesnie; drenches the screen with exquisite visual imagery of a celestial limbo. A striking, surreal, melancholy meditation, based on Alice Seabold's best-seller." Susan Granger SSG SYNDICATE "Although the movie's messages about love and loss are ultimately positive, the film is often deeply sorrowful and, at times, quite violen. tHaunting mystery-drama examines a child's murder." S Jhoanna Robledo COMMON SENSE REVIEWS "Bringing a popular book to the big screen is a treacherous proposition for any screenwriter. Those who haven't read the book may actually get more enjoyment out of the feature film adaptation than those who have read Sebold's novel." Rebecca Murray ABOUT.COM "The threads of the story itself, the thriller aspect if you like, are allowed to sway in the magical wind as Jackson lets us drift on the currents of imagination. It's an ethereal if not exactly spiritual adventure, in which we can feel Jackson urging us to soar in a realm we cannot know - the nether world which can only be presented in tangible visuals on the screen. It's not your average film." Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE

"Any lingering fears that Peter Jackson might have lost his touch for directing small, personal scenes after punching out four mammoth blockbusters in a row are soundly quelled by The Lovely Bones. And it's quite a relief. It is unusual, emotionally satisfying and, in an echo of his early exploitation splatterfests, darkly funny. Tucci turns in a piercing performance. As with all great movie serial killers, it's the calm that masks a murderous heart that is most unsettling." Jim Schembre THE AGE "It's a tough subject, but elegant, smooth filmmaking keeps us comfortable when we know bad things are going to happen." Fred Topel SCI FI WIRE "There’s always a challenge in adapting a novel as popular as Alice Sebold’s best-selling "The Lovely Bones" into film form: particularly if the book also features the supernatural and has a time frame that seems particularly fluid. A hard subject beautifully handled, with an artistry that makes The Lovely Bones a memorably intelligent and emotional experience." Marshall Fine HOLLYWOOD & FINE "A beautiful piece about how we love and the horrors of life that get in the way." David Poland MOVIE CITY NEWS "Letting go and learning how to cope are the central themes of Peter Jackson's haunting drama that uses fantasy to illustrate a magical and enticing afterlife. The film is a mix of genres: murder mystery, family drama, romance, ghost story and fantasy, all melded seamlessly together by Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens' adroit adaptation and Jackson's skilful direction. It grabs you by the shirt tails, delivers shocks and surprises and paints an effective and often thrilling juxtaposition of the real world beside an uplifting and perfect one beyond the grave." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

The Inside Story In 2002, a novel came out of nowhere to become a near-instant classic of our times, resonating deeply with readers and critics around the globe. Alice Sebold’s second novel, The Lovely Bones, appeared on the surface to be a dark tale of modern crime about an ordinary suburban child’s haunting disappearance and murder. Narrated from beyond the grave, the story of The Lovely Bones offers a unique and very personal take on the notion of the afterlife. It is a tale about death that is filled with unexpected light, beauty and hope. At the heart of the book is the endearingly honest, funny and brave Susie Salmon, who, after having departed this life at far too young an age, watches over the living from a mysterious personal realm where she can have anything she desires or imagines, except to be back with those she loves. From this world once removed from our own, Susie watches her family as they come to grips with overwhelming loss. As the family grapples with grief and growing frustration over the police’s failure to solve the crime, Susie tries to guide her father towards uncovering the identity of her killer. Strengthened by the love and compassion she feels for those she left behind, Susie eventually comes to understand that she must move on to enable her family to come to terms with her death and find some measure of peace. The novel was hailed as a "triumph" by Time Magazine and a "stunning achievement" by the New Yorker and became one of the most talked-about and widely read books of the last decade. Among the millions of readers immediately taken with the story of Susie Salmon and her family’s search for justice and grace was one of today’s most imaginative filmmakers: Peter Jackson. "Alice Sebold’s novel is one of those great books where you don’t know what to expect; it is a tough, thrilling, emotional story. As a filmmaker, that’s terrifically interesting," he said. Jackson has a reputation for spellbinding storytelling on screen. He is best known for having written, directed and produced "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, creating an indelible screen life for the fantasy world forged by J.R.R. Tolkien. Combined, the three films grossed almost three billion dollars at the box office, been nominated for thirty Academy Awards®, and won seventeen Oscars®, including Best Picture for the third film, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". Jackson took home Oscars® for his direction and for the screenplay of "The Return of the King". In 2005, he went on to direct, co-write and produce a contemporary adaptation of one of the best-known stories of all time: "King Kong", which grossed over five hundred million dollars and won three Oscars®. Earlier in his career, Jackson wrote and directed a darkly emotional, critically acclaimed film that was based on a true story, called "Heavenly Creatures" which starred a then nineteen year old actress who would later become a 2009 Oscar® winner. That actress was Kate Winslet and the film was, "The Reader". It was while Jackson was still in post-production on "TLOTR: The Two Towers" that he first read "The Lovely Bones", given to him by his longtime filmmaking associates Philippa Boyens and his three time Oscar® winning wife Fran Walsh, who were ardent fans of the novel. "People were starting to rave to me about this book and so as soon as I could, I grabbed it. I wanted to see what the excitement was about," Jackson recalled. "I found it to be a tremendously powerful and evocative story. On the face of it, the novel is about every parent’s darkest fear: the loss of a child. Yet, ultimately, it grows into a story about the redeeming power of love, which is why I think, so many people are drawn to the book." Jackson’s interest was piqued, but in order to proceed the team needed both the rights to the book and Sebold’s blessing. The novel had already been optioned in unfinished manuscript form thanks to the smart good taste of Aimée Peyronnet ("The Life Before Her Eyes"), a producer from Wild Child Films, and also James Wilson, who was then an executive at Film4. Jackson, Walsh and Boyens’ huge passion for the book eventually led them to Film4’s door, at a time when this exciting collaboration became possible. "There was a real connection when we met Alice," Boyens, who co-produced "District 9" recalls. "She’s a funny, generous, open-hearted person who is brutally honest with a dark sense of humor. We felt so lucky when she came back to us and said we were the right people to tackle the book." Wingnut and Film4 formed a partnership and Ken Kamins ("Valkyrie"), the team’s longstanding manager, took Peter, Fran and Philippa’s script: which was written on spec; to the market where it landed at DreamWorks. This is when three time Oscar® winner Steven Spielberg (who had been in love with the novel since its publication), came aboard as executive producer, joining Tessa Ross from Film4, along with Kamins and James Wilson ("Sexy Beast"). "Steven had a genuine respect for the book and a real desire to see this film made," says Jackson. "It was a natural fit for us and he was full of ideas in developing the screenplay and beyond. He provided great support any time we needed advice." Boyens credits Walsh (mother of Katie & Billy Jackson) with finding a way into the storyline for "The Lovely Bones" adaptation. "Fran always had an innate idea of what the story could be, why it was worth telling and how it could be told with a mixture of magic and the chaos of reality. She saw how it could weave multiple film genres together. It’s an especially tricky story to adapt. It’s so incredibly layered and emotional and it’s not linear, so it was an ongoing process, step by step, of finding our way through." A big part of that challenge was determining how to depict the story’s highly unconventional main location: the place which Susie refers to as, 'The In-Between'. The screenwriters knew that they wanted Susie’s experience of the afterlife to be completely personal and specific to Susie’s understanding of the world. They wanted it to transcend religious traditions and celestial imagery and to instead reflect Susie’s inner-consciousness and emotional life. The character at the center of it all; the fourteen year old girl left in an ethereal limbo by her own murder, Susie Salmon: proved to be the most challenging role to fill. Jackson was searching for someone who could not only embody Susie Salmon’s girlish exuberance and innocence, but also had the courage and skill to expose her raw emotions as she confronts the aftermath of her departure from earthly life. "A lot of teenage girls turn up at auditions with a pre-packaged screen persona," Jackson says, "but for Susie, we wanted the opposite, someone who would give the sense of being a very ordinary and real fourteen year old girl. What we didn’t expect is that we would find our teenager from Norristown, PA in Ireland." In a flood of casting tapes, it was the one from Saoirse Ronan that quickly rose to the top. Raised in pastoral County Carlow, Saoirse followed in her father Paul’s footsteps and pursued a career in acting. Ronan is best known for her role as the young Briony in Joe Wright’s critically acclaimed film "Atonement". Producer Carolynne Cunningham was the first to see Ronan’s audition tape. "I was knocked out. It was a homemade tape done by her father, an actor himself, and there was something very special about it." "What I loved about playing Susie was that she was just a normal teenager, with dreams and hopes for the future, full of life and love," Ronan ("Death Defying Acts') states. "And though she is taken away from her family, her dreams are as alive as they ever were, even though she is haunted by the nightmare of her murder. One of the things I love most about the movie is that, even though Susie can't give her Mom a hug or tell her Dad how much she loves him in person, she discovers that they can still feel it from where she is." To achieve this Susie must reach out from the 'In-Between'; a mixture of breathtaking beauty and frightening darkness; it is comforting and sad, beautiful and strange, and profoundly connected to events that unfold on Earth. To play Susie's grieving father Jack, the filmmakers chose Mark Wahlberg ("Shooter" & "The Departed"). "This is a film about love and one of the strongest connections in the movie is that between Jack and Susie as father and daughter," says Jackson. "When Susie doesn’t come home, there can be no resolution for the family,"says 2007 BAFTA TV Award winner Wahlberg ("Entourage"). "There’s no body, no evidence of what happened, so of course Jack is obsessed with figuring out what became of his daughter. He can’t sleep. He can’t eat. He can’t do anything until he finds out who it is that took this tremendous love from his life." Academy Award® winner Rachel Weisz ("The Constant Gardener") was cast as Susie's mother Abigail. "What I like about her is that she’s not a heroine. She’s someone very human, very fallible and quite flawed; and she’s trying to figure her life out in spite of all that. That basic humanity," says Weisz, flourished through Peter Jackson’s mix of the everyday with the magical and unknowable. "Peter has an incredible sense of character and drama, but at the same time he has this gift with magical fantasy worlds. This film is a marriage of those skills." The Salmon family has a second matriarch who is equally important to the family dynamic: Grandma Lynn, played by Oscar® winner Susan Sarandon, (Sister Helen Prejean in "Dead Man Walking"). "Grandma Lynn is a fantastic creation, an inappropriate, outrageous woman who has this wonderful energy and ability to cut through stuff and get to the heart of the matter," Boyens explained. "Susan plays the role beautifully because she is smart and her sense of comedy is impeccable." Sarandon describes her character as "completely egocentric. She says what everybody’s thinking but she’s the only one insensitive enough to actually say it. She doesn’t worry about people’s feelings. And, consequently, she’s really funny." Rachel Weisz loved working with two time David di Donatello Award winner Sarandon ("Thelma & Louise" 1992 & "Dead Man Walking" 1996). "Susan was fantastic as the drop-dead sexy, manicured woman who is also a difficult and overpowering mother. It’s a very funny role yet Susan brings not only humor, but glamour, strength and complexity to her character." The star stuuded cast also include two-time Golden Globe® winner Stanley Tucci as Mr Harvey: 2004 Emmy winner Michael Imperioli ("Sopranos") as Detective Len Fenerman; Rose McIver ("Power Rangers R.P.M.") as Lindsey; Nikki SooHoo ("Fields of Mudan") as Holly and Carolyn Dando who makes her bigscreen debut as Ruth, Susie’s offbeat classmate who has a supernatural connection with Susie after her death. So, how does Jackson describe the film? "l like to think of the movie as an emotional thriller," Jackson says. "It’s about an evil man who takes pleasure in murder and it's also about a family trying to figure out how to rebuild their lives in the face of overwhelming loss." Synopsis

"These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence. The connections: sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost. But often magnificent: that happened after I was gone." Susie Salmon, was a shy, never been kissed, loving daughter. At fourteen years of age she was brutally raped and murdered after being lured into a trap set by a neighbour in December 1973 on her way home from school. After her death she continues to watch over her earthbound family, while her killer remains at large. Trapped in a wondrous hereafter, Susie must choose between her desire for vengeance and her yearning to see her loved ones heal and move on. To do so, she must help them find her killer. What begins as a shocking homicide unravels into a suspenseful and visually inventive journey through the bonds of memory, love and hope: finishing in a surprising and emotional reckoning.

The Verdict "Peter Jackson's latest film "The Lovely Bones" is a challenge and one I am sure not everyone will be up to: especially those who are familiar with the best selling novel by Alice Sebold. I suspect that, based on feedback I've had in the past from those who have read a novel which has later been adapted for the screen, some may not like what they see depicted in "The Lovely Bones". To be fair, the reason many people find book adaptations are sometimes a let-down, is because they have so many preconceived images running through their mind. I luckily, didn't read the novel until after I had attended the Adelaide premiere of the film and to be honest, I'm glad I didn't. The book is so mutlilayered layered in its storytelling that anyone attempting to adapt it for the screen, was faced with a huge challenge. So, if you were thinking of reading Sebold's "The Lovely Bones" take my advice and do what I did: see film and then read the novel. By films end most cinemagoers will feel totally drained, yet at the same time elated. Drained because it is a very dark and harrowing storyline. The elation comes from the fact that both Susie and her family can now move on. The final act is very edge of your seat and when you see "The Lovely Bones" you'll understand what I mean. Well worth your attention. It may be demanding emotionally but it will reward you for your patience. Walsh, Boyens, Jackson and the cast are to be commended for their effort. 4 STARS." The Production Team

Director Screenplay Adapted from Producers Original Music Cinematography Film Editing Casting Production Designer Art Direction Set Decoration by Nancy Steiner

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Peter Jackson Fran Walsh/Philippa Boyens/Peter Jackson the novel "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold Carolynne Cunningham/Peter Jackson/Aimée Peyronnet/Fran Walsh Brian Eno Andrew Lesnie Jabez Olssen Scot Boland/Victoria Burrows/Jina Jay/Liz Mullane Naomi Shohan Jules Cook George DeTitta Jr & Meg Everist Nancy Steiner

Run Time 135 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2010 - Paramount Pictures - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2010 All Rights Reserved Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - Protected by Australian, International Copyright & Intellectual Laws. Trademark Laws Apply.