German Newsletter

Esteemed clients, dear friends of ARRI,

Enclosed, please find the most recent edition of the ARRI Film & TV newsletter, this time to announce the theatrical release of Roland Emmerich's Anonymous. In this cinematic extravaganza the director ponders the question of the true authorship of the works attributed to William Shakespeare. This suspenseful thriller set in the literary world is the first feature film shot entirely on ARRI's digital ALEXA camera system.

Also opening this week is A Dangerous Method from Canadian director David Cronenberg: a film about the early days of psychoanalysis and its founders Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

Enjoy the read!

All the best,

Angela Reedwisch and Josef Reidinger

OPENING IN GERMAN THEATERS NOVEMBER 10, 2011: ANONYMOUS

Director: Roland Emmerich Screenplay: John Orloff DoP: Anna J. Foerster Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Centropolis Entertainment, in collaboration with Studio Babelsberg German Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing   DI Producer: Kenneth Stiller DI Colorist: Florian 'Utsi' Martin Title Design: Lutz Lemke   ARRI Services: On Set Services, Digital Intermediate, Title Design, TV Mastering, Digital Cinema Package, Lab   ARRI Rental: Camera, Light and Grip Equipment

Anonymous is a first in many ways. It's the first film in many years Emmerich has directed in Germany and it marks his departure from the big-budget blockbuster movies he's known for. Although this 30 million dollar production shot at the Babelsberg Studios in no way needs to fear the comparison to Hollywood productions when it comes to production design and effects.

The film, based on a screenplay by John Orloff, was produced by Roland Emmerich, Robert Leger and Larry Franco. The Executive Producers were John Orloff, Volker Engel and Marc Weigert,  Co-Producers for Studio Babelsberg were Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter. Anonymus was shot by DoP Anna J. Foerster. Columbia Pictures proudly presents Anonymous a Centropolis/Anonymous Pictures Limited/Vierzehnte Babelsberg Film GmbH production. Sony Pictures Releasing GmbH is bringing the film to German movie theaters.

The film, a highlight at the box office this fall, is also a milestone in ARRI's proud company history because  Emmerich's Shakespearean thriller shot in 2010 is the first international production filmed entirely on the ALEXA, ARRI's digital camera system. ARRI Film & TV in Berlin and Munich was on the set and in charge of postproduction. (On Set Services, Digital Intermediate (DI Producer: Kenneth Stiller, DI Colorist: Florian 'Utsi' Martin), Title Design (Lutz Lemke), TV Mastering, Digital Cinema Package, Lab).

An interview with DoP Anna Foerster about the filming of Anonymous can be found in the upcoming VisionARRI edition 07/2011: www.arri.com/news_and_events/visionarri.html

Links: Sebastian Armesto as "Ben Jonson"; Rechts: Vanessa Redgrave as "Elisabeth I"

Left: Jamie Campbell Bower as the young "Edward de Vere" and Joely Richardson as "Princess Elisabeth Tudor", Right: Director Roland Emmerich with Rhys Ifans on the set of Anonymous. © 2011 Sony Pictures Releasing GmbH

Shakespeare wasn't Shakespeare is how one could sum up producer and director Roland Emmerich's latest film if it weren't for the opulent images capturing the Elizabethan London of the late 16^th century that provide the backdrop for this gripping thriller filled with subtle undertones. A film in which politics meet literature and literature meets politics. 

Generally the questions surrounding the true authorship of William Shakespeare's body of work only keeps up Oxford scholars but Emmerich spins such an enthralling yarn that he creates yet another Shakespearean drama filled with all the typical ingredients including: thirst for power, intrigue, ill-fated love, incest, treason and even murder. 

The fact that Emmerich is vehemently perpetuating a thesis that is highly contested in literary circles is in no way spoiling this highly enjoyable tale. Emmerich and his screenwriter John Orloff believe Edward de Vere, the 17^th Earl of Oxford, to have been the actual Shakespeare. To them, the man carrying that name was but a mediocre actor serving de Veres and his goals by playing his straw man receiving money and undeserved glory in return.

OPENING IN GERMAN THEATERS NOVEMBER 10, 2011: A DANGEROUS METHOD

Director: David Cronenberg Screenplay: Christopher Hampton DoP: Peter Suschitsky Production Company: Lago Film German Distributor: Universal Pictures International   ARRI Services: Lab works   ARRI Rental: Camera

A Dangerous Method was directed by David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises, A History of Violence, Crash) from a screenplay by Academy Award® winning writer Christopher Hampton (Atonement, Dangerous Liaisons), who adapted his own stage play The Talking Cure for the screen. The film also brings together Cronenberg's creative team, with whom he has a long history of collaboration on such titles as A History of Violence, Eastern Promises and eXistenZ. This includes the three-time Academy Award® winning composer Howard Shore, director of photography Peter Suschitzky and editor Ronald Sanders. A Dangerous Method was produced by Recorded Picture Company. Universal Pictures International is releasing the film in Germany.

The production company entrusted ARRI Film & TV with the labworks. ARRI Rental delivered the camera equipment.

Left: The analysts Carl G. Jung (Michael Fassbender, left) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen); Right: The charming muse Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) © 2011 Universal Studios

On the eve of World War I, Zurich and Vienna are the setting for a dark tale of sexual and intellectual discovery. Drawn from true-life events, A dangerous Method explores the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the beautiful but disturbed young woman who comes between them.

Sensuality, ambition and deceit set the scene for the pivotal moment when Jung, Freud and Sabina come together and split apart, forever changing the face of modern thought.