Gemini Man is the a new movie directed by Ang Lee and starring Will Smith. It is a technical marvel that you should watch!
So let’s dive into some more trivia and facts about this new movie!
- Gemini Man is a 2019 American action thriller film
- It is directed by Ang Lee
- It is written by David Benioff, Billy Ray, and Darren Lemke
- Starring Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen and Benedict Wong
- The film follows a hitman who is targeted by a younger clone of himself
- Originally conceived in 1997
- The film went through development hell for nearly 20 years
- Several directors, including Tony Scott, Curtis Hanson, and Joe Carnahan, were all attached at some point
- And numerous actors, including Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Sean Connery, were set to star
- In 2016, Skydance Media purchased the rights to the screenplay (which had been through several rewrites) from Disney
- And in October 2017, Ang Lee signed on to direct for Skydance with Paramount handling the distribution rights
- Filming took place from February through May 2018
- Gemini Man premiered at the Zurich Film Festival on October 1, 2019
- It will be theatrically released in the United States by Paramount Pictures on October 11, 2019
- Gemini Man, based on a concept by Darren Lemke, was originally sold to be produced by Sony Pictures
- Along with Dom Murphy to produce and Tony Scott to direct in 1997
- Scott, Curtis Hanson, and Joe Carnahan had previously been attached to direct the film
- At the time, Disney’s now-defunct animation/visual effects department The Secret Lab developed a test short, known as Human Face Project
- This was to create visual effects for the film
- Which would involve creating a younger CG clone of the main actor
- Harrison Ford, Chris O’Donnell, Mel Gibson, Jon Voight, Nicolas Cage, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Sean Connery were all attached to the lead role
- The film never progressed at Disney, though
- As the technology was not developed enough for the film to be produced
- Lemke’s screenplay has since been rewritten by Billy Ray, Andrew Niccol, David Benioff, Brian Helgeland, Jonathan Hensleigh and the writing team of Stephen J. Rivele & Christopher Wilkinson
- In 2016, Skydance Media acquired the film from Disney
- With Jerry Bruckheimer, Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger as producers
- And Murphy, Mike Stenson, Chad Oman and Brian Bell as executive producers
- Ang Lee was hired to direct the film for Paramount Pictures and Skydance in April 2017
- The film is set to star Will Smith in the lead role with a release date set for October 19, 2019
- In January 2018, Clive Owen and Mary Elizabeth Winstead were cast in the film
- With Winstead winning the role over Tatiana Maslany
- Later, in February 2018, Benedict Wong joined the cast as filming began
- Principal production commenced on February 27, 2018, in Glennville, Georgia
- And includes locations in the city of Cartagena, Colombia
- Filming continued in May 2018 at Széchenyi Thermal Bath in Budapest, Hungary
- Like director Lee’s previous film Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, the film was shot digitally at an extra-high frame rate of 120 fps
- Modified for 3D, this time, on modified ARRI Alexa cameras mounted on STEREOTEC 3D Rigs
- The visual effects are provided by Weta Digital and supervised by Bill Westenhofer
- In the United States and Canada, Gemini Man will be released alongside The Addams Family
- It is projected to gross around $30 million in its opening weekend
- On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 48%
- Based on 23 reviews
- With a weighted average of 5.18/10
- The site’s critical consensus reads: “Gemini Man’s impressive visuals are supported by some strong performances, but this sci-fi thriller is fatally undermined by a frustratingly subpar story”
- On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 33 out of 100
- Based on 7 critics
- Indicating “generally unfavorable reviews”
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