British Film Industry

Everest (2015)

Directed by: Baltasar Kormakur
Produced by: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Nicky Barnes, Tyler Thompson, Brian Oliver
Written by: William Nicholson, Simon Beaufoy
Starring: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Emily Watson, Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Jake Gyllenhaal
Edited by: Mick Audsley
Production Company: Cross Creek Pictures, Walden Media, Working Title Films
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release date: June 23, 2015


Plot: In March 1996, expeditions from several countries arrive in Lukla, Nepal to climb Mount Everest. Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) is one of the three guides for Adventure Consultants whose clients include Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin), an experienced climber (John Hawkes), a former mailman pursuing his dream, and Yasuko Namba (Naoko Mori), a veteran climber who had previusly reached six of the Seven Summits and was attempting to become the oldest woman to climb Everest.

Development

 - The film was shot on location in Nepal on the foothills of Everest, the Italian Alps and at Cinecittà Studios in Rome and Pinewood Studios in the U.K. Universal will distribute Everest worldwide.

- Baltasar Kormákur directed the film, about the 1996 disastrous expedition to scale Mount Everest, which was scripted by Simon Beaufoy and Mark Medoff, with early script adaptations carried out by Justin Isbell and William Nicholson. The film was produced by Working Title Films. Universal Pictures distributes the film in US. The film was produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, and started shooting in November 2013. In September 2013, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films were set to co-finance the film, but in October they exited as co-financiers.

- After the production start date of November 6, 2013 had passed, Cross Creek Pictures and Walden Media joined the production on November 12, 2013, and financed the film with $65 million.The film started production on January 13, 2014, in the Ötztal Alps in Italy, after which production moved to Nepal and Iceland.On December 11, 2013, The Hollywood Reporter posted that South Tyrol's regional film board added $1 million to the film's funding.

- On January 30, 2014, Universal set a February 27, 2015 release date for the film, but on March 21, 2014, it was moved to September 18, 2015.

Pre- Production

- As of February 19, 2013, Christian Bale was in talks to join the cast of the disaster film to play Rob Hall, the leader of a New Zealander group who ran Adventure Consultants. On July 17, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke and John Hawkes were cast as leads in the film. Bale dropped out around this time. Gyllenhaal played Scott Fischer, the leader of the Mountain Madness expedition; Brolin played Beck Weathers, a doctor; Clarke took the role of Rob Hall, also an expedition leader; and Hawkes played Doug Hansen, one of Rob Hall's clients, who encounters difficulties on the descent from the summit of Everest.

- On February 4, 2014, Clive Standen also joined the cast, while shooting was underway. On February 7, 2014, more cast was added to the film, including Martin Henderson, Emily Watson, Thomas M. Wright, and Michael Kelly. Watson played a motherly base camp figure who works closely with Rob Hall, and Kelly played Into Thin Air author Jon Krakauer. On February 17, actor Micah Hauptman was added to the cast in the role of filmmaker and mountaineer David Breashears, who directed the 1998 IMAX documentary film Everest. On March 24, 2014, Sam Worthington and Robin Wright joined the cast. Worthington played Guy Cotter and Wright played Beck Weathers' wife, Peach.On May 1, DailyMail.co.uk revealed that Keira Knightley had joined the film as Jan Arnold, Rob Hall's pregnant wife.

Post- Production

 - Dario Marianelli composed the music for the film. The film uses the song "Yeh ladka hai Allah“ from a Bollywood movie. Another song in the film is "All I Wanna Do", performed by Sheryl Crow, which is accurate to the timing of the film's events, in 1996. The song "Weather with You" by Crowded House also features in the film

- After filming was complete, they re-recorded the entire dialogue of the movie.

- The team faced continuous trials whilst bringing the sound of the mountain to life, including recreating the natural elements of the mountain and the storm, and re-recording the entire dialogue of the movie.

Filming

 - The 44-member crew arrived on January 12, 2014 in Nepal and stayed in Kathmandu. They had permission to film from January 9 to 23. Later filming on Everest commenced on January 13, 2014. On January 14, Brolin and Hawkes filmed shots at local terminal of Tribhuvan International Airport, and then they were to be filming at Lukla Airport on January 15, then to Namche Bazaar  and later at the Everest Base Camp, news confirmed. After shooting completed in Nepal, the crews were to move to Italy (Schnalstal and Rome), and then in early March to UK, to film at Pinewood Studios.

 - On March 24, 2014 the shooting was said to be taking place at the Everest Base Camp in Nepal. Base camp exteriors were filmed on the backlot at Cinecitta Studios in Rome, where bright sunlight could be achieved to resemble the lighting at base camp.

- Filming at Pinewood Studios in England the team used SoftSun lights for creating sun on the summit, Hillary Step and icefall.. They had to be moved around on cranes because they are very heavy," Totino said.“ To photograph one scene during which expedition guide Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) is stuck on the mountain in the storm, Totino recalled: "We tented off a portion of the set with some very heavy plastic and brought in these giant refrigerating units, half the size of a semi truck, and we cooled that part of the stage down to about 26 to 28 degrees Fahrenheit [around -3°C] and brought in real snow. Baltasar really wanted the actor to feel like he was frozen. You really see and feel that." The film was shot with Arri Alexa XT cameras, using the Arriraw format.

Distribution

- Universal Pictures had originally slated the film for a September 18, 2015 release date in the United States and Canada. However, the film was released on September 18, 2015 exclusively in IMAX 3D, followed by a wide theatrical release on September 25, 2015.In the United States and Canada, it was released in Dolby Vision format in Dolby Cinema, the first ever for Universal Pictures.

- On June 4, 2015, the first trailer for the film was released online, with an appeal for relief for the April 2015 Nepal earthquake through Oxfam America in the coda.

Exchange

- DVD and Blu-ray release on January 19, 2016.

- As of November 1, 2015, Everest has grossed $42.3 million in North America and $132.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $175.2 million, against a budget of $55 million.Everest had the biggest September worldwide IMAX opening with $7.2 million, breaking the record previously held by Resident Evil: Retribution

Working Title Films (Prod. Company)

Working Title Films is a British Film Production Company, based in London and owned by Universal Studios. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. It produces feature films and several television productions. Eric Fellner and Bevan are now the co-chairs of the company.

Type: Subsidiary
Industry: Film Production
Founded: 1983
Headquarters: London, UK
Owner: NBC Universal 
Parent: Universal Studios

History

In 1991, Working Title was involved in a bid for the London Weekend ITV Licence. Working Title, Mentorn, Palace and Polygram wanted to take over from London Weekend Television and broadcast to London under the name London Independent Broadcasting. In the event LWT retained its licence; London Independent Broadcasting's proposals were deemed by the Independent Television Commission, which was overseeing the bid process, to fail the quality threshold.
When the company first began in the 1980' s, only 4 films were released. The film industry became increasingly popular and in the 1990's around 27 films were released.

The Working Title Company Logo is very effective. It has a transparent background which allows the harsh blue colour to stand out. The use of capital letters further draws attention to the logo, suggesting it is a serious company. The colour scheme blue is reinforced with the circle behind the logo with fading different shades of blue. It is an effective logo that states clearly the company name with no miscommunication.