What Do The Critics Say?

"I suggest the makers of "The Seeker" enter a witness-protection program posthaste. As literary muggings go, the film isn't up there with "The Bonfire of the Vanities," but it's thorough and dispiriting and certain to enrage the only people who stand to care about it. Choppy editing and Ritalin camerawork create confusion rather than excitement, and any larger message gets fumbled in the crush. What exactly are The Light and The Dark? The filmmakers sincerely hope you don't ask." Ty Burr BOSTON GLOBE "Clumsily made and not at all magical, with a confusing story, a bland young hero, a really boring villain and mediocre visuals. Read the signs and search elsewhere." Frank Swietek ONE GUYS OPINION "What's the fun of being a seeker if you don't actually get to do any seeking? Do not blame the film for having one-eighth the budget of The Chronicles of Narnia or any of the Lord of the Rings movies, but cast it aside for not having one-eighth of those films' heart and gravitas." Ed Gonzalez SLANT MAGAZINE "The forces of Light and Dark are at it again in "The Seeker", David L Cunningham’s stilted fantasy about a pubescent lad charged with defeating evil and earning millions of dollars for an American movie studio. Let’s all try to recall where we’ve heard that before.The Seeker feels passé and lacks a charismatic lead. "The Seeker" feels passé and lacks a charismatic lead. Too bad Daniel Radcliffe is an only child." Jeannette Catsoulis NEW YORK TIMES

"There's almost nothing magical or clever or amusing about "The Seeker." But Eccleston does score one genuinely scary moment, when The Rider disrupts a Christmas church service by singing "Joy to the World" with an enthusiasm that's truly jolting. Maybe the whole thing would have worked better as a horror movie. It communicates almost no sense of its own identity; everything seems borrowed and tired. Potter wannabe seeks Harry's magic." John Hartl SEATTLE TIMES "Walden Media's success at making the worlds of Narnia and Terabithia feel real on screen does not translate into the same magic in adapting Susan Cooper's series of young-adult fantasy novels. The result is a somewhat silly pre-Potter dissertation on "Light" versus "Dark" through the quest of a teen boy of prophecy whose powers, apparently, do not extend to defeating the evils of on the nose writing and acting." Robert Newton CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR "it frequently feels like its missing most of its formative folklore, and trails off into fits of formless meandering about two thirds of the way through, The Seeker is actually a rather good ripping yarn." Bill Gibron POPMATTERS "The book that inspired the film, The Dark is Rising, is one of a popular series written in the 1960's and 70's by British author Susan Cooper. But Cooper's lyrical story grounded in Welsh mythology is so diluted and dumbed down that even the most durable premise cannot sustain our interest. The 'Signs' may be invisible to everyone but The Seeker, but the plot developments will be obvious to everyone after the first twenty minutes." Nell Minow MOVIE MOM AT YAHOO!

The Inside Story Based on the critically acclaimed and Newbery award winning book sequence by Susan Cooper, "The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising" tells the story of Will Stanton, a young man who learns he is the last of a group of warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the Dark. Traveling back and forth through time, Will must find a series of clues known as 'the signs'. He is not the only one seeking the power that possessing the signs will bring. Led by 'The Rider', the forces of the Dark too seek their power. It will lead to a showdown involving forces of unimaginable power. "I was familiar with the Susan Cooper series of books, 'The Dark Is Rising' for many, many years," says Marc Platt (Legally Blonde"). "In fact, Susan and her former writing partner, the late great actor and writer Hume Cronyn, were very dear friends of mine. So, these are books I always followed with great interest in terms of their potential journey to film. And one day, about two years ago I had reason to call Susan just to wish her well, and see how she was doing." Platt asked her about the film options on her books. Cooper replied, "It's funny, you should call me today because the option expires today." What was Platt's next move? "I made a couple of phone calls. And literally within a week I had sold the movie rights to the book 'The Dark Is Rising' to Walden. I feel like there’s a destiny in this whole process, not just for the main character of the movie, but in our journey to bringing these books to the screen as well," he said. Platt says there was nobody who could better update Susan Cooper’s "literary treasure", than screenwriter John Hodge. "John Hodge is a writer whose work I've been familiar with for so many years. He’s written some great movies, particularly for the great filmmaker Danny Boyle. The marriage of John to this material felt particularly apt." According to Hodge, the challenge in adapting the story for the big screen lay in making a metaphysical tale a more cinematic experience. "I thought it was going to be tricky to adapt at first," Hodge said, "because a lot of the book is sort of flights of fancy inside the boy’s head. So as with any adaptation, you’re looking for ways to dramatize what is more internal in the novel. This one called for some sort of re-thinking. Scripts and novels have different demands. There's always far more in any novel than you could possibly fit in a screenplay. So anything that seems confusing or that duplicates, then you just have to kind of get rid of." "In the adaptation of any material from the written word to film, imagination is required to render as cinematic as one can elements that otherwise flow freely in the written word," says Platt. "We tried to be very true to the essence of Susan’s books, to always maintain the integrity of her books." "What I like about the conflict of an American family living in England is, from a filmmaking standpoint, that it gives you one more element to deal with, this cross-cultural clash. It seems that almost every fantasy movie, you have to be from England to have a fantasy story happen to you. I think this is going to bridge that gap," says the films director David L Cunningham. "Ultimately the filmmakers want audiences to enjoy themselves on this thrilling ride with The Seeker. "I want them to have a good time and to be entertained and to go along the journey with Will Stanton as he seeks the 'signs' that will ultimately restore the power of The Light," says Platt. He also hopes it will provoke audiences to go and discover Susan Cooper's great books once again. Aftre a long search Alexander Ludwig was cast as Will Stanton. "We discovered Alexander after a search far and wide. We pursued an aggressive search of every thirteen, fourteen and fifteen year old young actor across the world," says Cunningham. "He was very natural. And he had a certain pure joy about him, purity of spirit that, again, seemed to befit the character. So, we brought him in. He read and before we knew it, we had cast our Will Stanton." "The second that I read the script, I knew that this part was for me,” says Ludwig. "I absolutely knew it. Ever since I’ve been a little kid I’ve always wanted superpowers, which is the coolest thing in the world. So I read the script and loved it and I really, really wanted this part. You have no idea. I’ve never wanted a part more than this one." Amelia Warner was cast as Maggie Burns. "She kind of infiltrates the family through one of the brothers and tries to get very close to Will. She's pretending she’s inhabiting that world and pretending to be a schoolgirl, and very sweet and lovely, when in fact she's working for The Rider," Burns revealed. For Gregory Smith, the actor who plays Max Stanton, it turns out the world is indeed a small place. "Believe it or not, I grew up in a little town called West Vancouver, a small suburb of Vancouver, and Alexander is from the same place," he says. "He lives about a mile from the house I grew up in. His mom and I went to the same elementary school. They shop at the grocery store where my little brother's a bag boy. It’s a very small world." For the eccentric Miss Greythorne, the filmmakers cast 2003 and 2004 Screen Actors Guild Award winning actress Frances Conroy. "In casting Miss Greythorne, we were looking for an older woman who would be a little loopy. Someone who you wouldn't expect to be a great warrior, and then, in fact, have the wisdom and the strength that this character possesses," says Platt. Ian McShane jokes that he took the role of Merriman so he could make a film his grandchildren could watch. "I think the one thing I wanted to bring to this was reality," he says. "It was written in Old English. I wanted to make it as natural as we could without altering it. They weren’t characters out of some restoration comic book." Portraying the embodiment of evil in the film is veteran British actor Christopher Eccleston who read the book and enjoyed it. "It's close to me because it's couched in Celtic mysticism and it's a very intensely British book." Eccleston enjoyed the camaraderie amongst the players. "Ian I was aware of. Frances Conroy is a fantastic actress who I admire. And Jim Piddock, James Cosmo, and the American actors; we've formed a tight little unit. There's some great actors and I've made some great friends while we've been here shooting." And the films lead actor young Alexander Ludwig? "He's an amazing young man to carry a film like this," says Eccleston (who in 2005 played Dr Who in 13 espisodes). "I carried a film when I was twenty seven and couldn't really speak or think for the two months afterwards, but he seems like it's just water off a duck's back. He doesn't seem tainted by all the Hollywood that we all know so much about." About The Author Susan Cooper is one of the most distinguished children’s book writers. Born in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England om May 23rd 1935. Cooper attended Slough High School before going up to Oxford University. At Somerville College she read English. During her time at Oxford she was the first woman ever to edit the University newspaper, Cherwell. After graduating with an MA in English, she began work as a reporter on the Atticus Column of London's The Sunday Times (her first boss was Ian Fleming). She later became a feature writer. Her first books were born during this period. Written after work and at weekends, her first was a futuristic novel, "Mandrake". And in response to a publishing house competition for a children's adventure story, "Over Sea, Under Stone". This novel sets the foundation of Arthurian and Celtic mythology that permeates the entire series. Cooper drew great inspiration from the landscape and mythology of England and Wales, her home and the setting for the Dark Is Rising series. She grew up immersed in Welsh and Arthurian legend, among a variety of ancient folk beliefs, and held onto tales about the Lost Land, an ancient Welsh version of the Atlantis story, and about the magical properties of trees and the powerful forces that were released on Halloween, Christmas Eve and Twelfth Night. In 1963 Susan left England to marry an American, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and went "rather nervously" to live in the USA. She wrote two more books for adults: a study of America, "Behind the Golden Curtain" and a biography of J.B. Priestley, "Portrait of An Author". Susan Cooper is best known for her acclaimed sequence of fantasy novels, The Dark Is Rising, which includes Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark Is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King; and Silver on the Tree. One of the books in the series, "The Grey King", won the Newbery Medal in 1976. The prize is awarded yearly by the American Library Association for outstanding contribution to Children's Literature. It is perhaps a testament to the whole series that the award was made (The Dark Is Rising had been the only runner-up in 1974). The Dark Is Rising books were completed in 1977. After completion of The Dark Is Rising series, Susan Cooper began to work in the theatre, beginning by writing scripts for the annual Christmas Revels directed by John Langstaff. Several short plays, and her poem The Shortest Day, are still performed in Revels productions throughout the USA. Her first major play, "Foxfire", was written in collaboration with the Canadian actor Hume Cronyn. Jessica Tandy won a Tony Award for her performance in the play. In 2000 Susan Cooper published perhaps her finest book since "The Dark Is Rising" sequence, "King of Shadows". It has won numerous awards. In 2002 "Green Boy" was published. This was followed by "The Magician's Boy" and "Victory". During her long career, Cooper has written for child and adult audiences in news, television, film, and theatre. Synopsis

Young Will Stanton is to all outward appearances an ordinary boy, having led a quite ordinary life up until his fourteenth birthday. On that day he discovers, through the intervention of others of his kind, that he is special. He is one of the Old Ones, immortal beings of wisdom and benevolence, whose task it is to defend the largely unaware mass of humanity from the constant threat of the Dark. A vaguely defined 'force' of evil, with its own immortal adherents. As he is the last of the Old Ones to be born, in a linear sense, Will provides a spiritual 'completeness' to their numbers, which enables them to begin moving towards their individual destinies, and their ultimate goal: completing the physical, mental, and spiritual journey that will allow them to utterly defeat the Dark, by attaining control of the oldest and most powerful forms of magic in the universe (the Old Magic of creation, and the normally uncontrollable Wild Magic) for one night. To do so he must find the six signs before 'The Rider' does. Will he succeed?

The Verdict "Like "Eragon", "The Seeker The Dark Is Rising" promises much but delivers little. Never rises above being very ordinary. It's theme is a mixture of "Eragon", Sleepy Hollow", "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars". There's little conviction to the characters, all of whom come across as rather wishy-washy and terribly unconvincing. You'll cringe when the final confrontation comes between 'The Rider' and fourteen year old Will Stanton. There's obviously a good story buried below this crap. Pity it couldn't defeat the dark and step into the light. If it had, "The Seeker The Dark Is Rising" would have been a highly entertaining story, a spectacular film and one which would have appealed to a wide range of cinemagoers. Should have been left in the dark. 2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "THE SEEKER THE DARK IS RISING" stars .......
Alexander Ludwig ["Eve and the Fire Horse"]; FIVE time Gemini Award winner Wendy Crewson ["Bicentennial Man", "Eight Below", "The Covenant" and "The Santa Clause 3"]; Golden Globe Award winner Frances Conroy ["Scent of a Woman", "The Crucible", "The Aviator" and "Shopgirl"]; John Benjamin Hickey ["The General's Daughter", "The Bone Collector", "Flags Of Our Fathers" and "Freedom Writers"]; Golden Globe Award winner Ian McShane ["Too Scared To Scream", "Sexy Beast" and "We Are Marshall"] and 2003 Royal Television Society UK Best Actor Award winner Christopher Eccleston ["The Others", "24 Hour Party People", "28 Days Later" and TV'S "Dr Who"] as The Rider.
"THE SEEKER THE DARK IS RISING" was .......
directed by 2002 Heartland Film Festival Award winner David L Cunningham ["Beyond Paradise" and "To End All Wars"]; screenplay by John Hodge ["Shallow Grave", "Trainspotting", "A Life Less Ordinary" and "The Beach"]; adapted from the novel by Susan Cooper ["The Dark Is Rising"]; costume design by Vin Burnham ["The Never Ending Story III", "Lost In Space" and "Dead Fish"]; production design by David Lee ["The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising"]; set decoration by Steve Oakes [TV'S "Cinderella", "The Haunted Airman" and "New Tricks"]; cinematography by Joel Ransom [TV's "The X Files", "Band of Brothers" and "Battlestar Galactica"]; original music by EMMY Award winner Christophe Beck ["Without A Paddle", "The Perfect Man", "The Sentinel" and "We Are Marshall"]. Who's Who?

Alexander Ludwig Drew Tyler Bell Frances Conroy James Cosmo Wendy Crewson Mark Donovan Christopher Eccleston Edmund Entin Gary Entin Stephen Evans John Benjamin Hickey Jonathan Jackson Emma Lockhart Ian McShane Jim Piddock Gregory Smith Amelia Warner

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Will Stanton James Miss Greythorne Dawson Mary Stanton Fight Promoter The Rider Robin Stanton Paul Stanton Trickster John Stanton The Walker Gwen Merriman Lyon George Max Maggie Barnes

Run Time 99 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - Twentieth Century Fox Films - All Rights Reserved ©2007 All Rights Reserved - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark Laws Apply.