Principle Photography in Morocco and London for the
live action scenes of the much expected blockbuster Production of Mike Newell
and
Jerry Bruckheimer's Prince of
Persia: The Sands of Time has wrapped up and began post Production back
at the Disney Studios. New Stills and feedback from the Studio give an inside
look into one of the most expensive films to be released internationally in the
Summer of 2010.
In Medieval Persia,
Dastan (Jake
Gyllenhaal) and the evil vizier Nizam (
Ben Kingsley ) enter in deadly rivalry for the
Sands of Time
Set in medieval Persia, the
story of an adventurous prince Dastan (Jake
Gyllenhaal) who teams up with a rival princess (Gemma
Arterton) to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could
destroy the world. Which is why after the prince was tricked by a dying Vizier (Ben
Kingsley) to unleash the Sands of Time that turns out to destroy a
kingdom and transforms its populace into ferocious demons. In his effort to save
his own kingdom and redeem his fatal mistake, it's up to the prince and the
princess to return the sands to the hourglass by using the Dagger of Time,
which also gives him a limited control over the flow of time …
Jerry
Bruckheimer speaks about Prince of Persia: Sands of Time to ABC
The Film faced
several delays due to the Hollywood Screenwriters Strike which halted production
and explains why the film's release was postponed to 2010 instead of this year …
In March 2004, the
production company Jerry Bruckheimer Films sought to acquire feature film rights
to the 2003 video game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time with the film
to be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Under John August as executive
producer, the series' creator Jordan Mechner was hired to write the script.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer's
Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy served as a touchstone in how a
theme park ride was converted into a film franchise. According to Mechner,
"Rather than do a straight beat-for-beat adaptation of the new videogame, we're
taking some cool elements from the game and using them to craft a new story."
Mechner previously considered producing an animated film based on the games, but
could not resist Disney and Bruckheimer's offer. In February 2006, Disney hired
screenwriter Jeffrey Nachmanoff to write a new script for Prince of Persia.
Early in 2007, Disney
announced Prince of Persia as one of its tentpole films and by June had
scheduled a release date for July 10, 2009 before having a final script or any
actors attached. By November 2007, Disney entered negotiations with Mike Newell
to direct the film based on a script by Mechner and Nachmanoff, though the
studio held off production until the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
was resolved. Newell was fond of Bruckheimer's films, and loved the "exciting
[and] immensely romantic" script, which reminded him of Lost Horizon. His
assistant played the video games and gave the director key details. Mechner, in
writing the script, re-conceived the storyline to shift the perspective from the
interactive one experienced by video gamers to the non-interactive experience by
film audiences. The screenwriter left out elements of the Prince of Persia video
games Warrior Within and The Two Thrones and did not anticipate including these
elements in the film's possible sequels.
In March 2008, Newell selected Morocco as a shooting
location for Prince of Persia and also planned to film in Pinewood Studios.
Production was scheduled to begin in mid-June 2008. By May 2008, actors Jake
Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton were cast into the lead roles. With a new script
by Mechner, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard, and Boaz Yakin, filming began in July 2008
in Morocco as well as London. Eight weeks were spent in Morocco before the first
unit moved to Pinewood.
When filming began, the
film's release date was postponed to May 28, 2010 with the studio seeking enough
time for the post-production process in designing the film's special effects.
The profit margin on the Pirates of the Caribbean films was compromised by
overspending as special effects teams rushed to complete the films for their
release dates. Variety also ascribed the postponement to avoiding the potential
2008 Screen Actors Guild strike so the studio could ensure that the film leads
to a "mega-franchise" similar to its successful Pirates of the Caribbean series.
Other reasons for the release date change were that the film was originally
scheduled a week before
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Disney needed more time to
co-ordinate its marketing campaign.
Some fellow compatriots may
be disappointed that the film was not shot in
Iran which is the actual
Persia where the story is supposed to take place. Also the first images seem
to suggest that the film Sets such as the Palace seem to bear more similarities
with Indian or Arabian architecture than those of the Medieval Safavid Palaces
that can be found today in the enchanting city of
Isfahan . The same can be said as well about the costumes. Which is a shame
…
However let's not judge the
movie before its release and lets not forget that its first and foremost a story
based on a computer game to begin with aimed at recreating the visual world of
its creator. We will certainly have more to chew on in the year to come. So Stay
tuned … ;0)
