Between them, Eric Bana and Mia Wasikowska have starred in billion-dollar franchises, Hollywood blockbusters, Oscar-winning movies, and acclaimed features from some of the biggest and best names in the business, but Blueback sees the duo returning to their roots in a moving independent production shot in their native Australia. 173v12

Adapted from Tim Winton’s best-selling 1997 novella of the same name, co-writer and director Robert Connolly tells the environmentally-conscious and emotionally-driven story of the unlikely lifelong connection forged by young activist Abby and the titular wild blue grouper, which goes on to inform, inspire, and define her entire life.

Set across three distinct time periods that sees Ilsa Fogg and Ariel Donoghue also play Abby at different points, Bana lends as the roguish abalone diver Macka, who ends up having a huge impact on the inspiring conservationist. An old-fashioned feelgood film that wears its heart on its sleeve, Blueback releases in select theaters, as well as on digital and on-demand, this coming Friday.

Ahead of the release, We Got This Covered had the chance to talk to Bana and Wasikowska about the project, the difficulties of shooting on location during the pandemic, their own thoughts on the perils of climate change and much more, which you can check out below.

Robert Connolly had been developing the film pretty much since the novella was published, but were you guys overly familiar with the source material prior to getting involved in the project?

Mia Wasikowska: Yeah, Blueback is quite a classic here in Australia. I think that they teach it in a lot of school curriculums at the moment, actually. So it’s a pretty well-known story over here. Did you already know that as well?

Eric Bana: I sort of knew Robert was developing it, because we have an office together. And then one day he turned up with this polystyrene fish. And I was like, “What’s with the polystyrene fish">via Quiver Distribution

Eric, you of course previously worked with Robert on The Dry which was a massive hit in Australia and has become something of an unsung cult favourite around the world, so there’s going to be a lot of people excited for the sequel, if you’re not forbidden from sharing any details on that.

Eric Bana: Yeah, we shot the follow up – which is called Force of Nature – last year, and we’re just finished in the post-production phase, literally within the last couple of weeks. So we’re really excited. We’re thrilled with how the film’s looking, and looking forward to sharing that with Australian audiences and the rest of the world.

Probably towards the end of this year would be a rough guess. But no really, really excited. We again assembled an incredible cast and showing off another very, very interesting part of part of Australia, in another thriller. So it was a lot of fun to make. Really excited about it.

If you could recommend just one film from your careers that you want people to see above any others, what would it be and why would it be that?

Eric Bana: Over to you!

Mia Wasikowska: No, no, no, no, no, you go first! Oh, this one! I would recommend Blueback.

Eric Bana: Yeah, I have to recommend Blueback today. I think it’s one that if you sit down as a family, you’ll really enjoy.

That was a cop-out.

Eric Bana: Total cop-out!

Mia Wasikowska: No way, I’m serious!

Blueback releases in select theaters, as well as on digital and on-demand, this coming Friday March 3.

Kiernan Shipka is travelling far from Greendale for her next role. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina alum has signed on to star in psychological thriller Berlin Nobody, which hails from producer Ridley Scott and his production company, Scott Free. Shipka, most known for playing teenage witch Sabrina Spellman in the hit Netflix series, will appear opposite Hulk and Star Trek veteran Eric Bana.

As per Deadline, Berlin Nobody will follow American social psychologist Ben Monroe (Bana) as he investigates a local cult connected to a disturbing event. While Ben immerses himself into his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy (Shipka), becomes involved with a mysterious local boy who introduces her to the German capital’s underground party scene. As father and daughter’s lives converge, Mazzy will find herself in great danger and Ben will need to race against the clock to save her.

The movie, which is set to shoot in Berlin this September, comes from writer/director Jordan Scott — who happens to be the daughter of Ridley. This is Scott’s first feature film effort since 2009’s Cracks, another psychological thriller, starring Eva Green. Berlin Nobody is loosely based on Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel Tokyo. Protagonist is handling worldwide sales on the project alongside Augenschein Sales.

Ridley Scott said the following in a statement, praising the film’s “timely” story:

“I’m delighted to be working with our friends and partners at Augenschein and Protagonist on this fantastic thriller set in the great city of Berlin. We couldn’t be more excited to bring this timely story to life. I’m also thrilled to be collaborating again with Eric Bana as well as the wonderful Kiernan Shipka. Scott Free is committed to bold, original films and filmmaking and Berlin Nobody couldn’t be a better example of that.”

Kiernan Shipka said goodbye to Chilling Adventures when Netflix canceled it after four seasons in 2020. She recently reprised her role as Sabrina, however, for an episode of The CW’s Riverdale last fall. The SAG-winning actress will next appear in Roku’s Swimming with Sharks and HBO’s White House Plumbers. As for Bana, this is his second collaboration with Ridley — who is fresh off his two 2021 directorial efforts, The Last Duel and House of Gucci — after 2001’s Black Hawk Down.

Deadfall is an intense thriller from director Stefan Ruzowitzky. It stars Eric Bana as a vicious bank robber named Addison who is on the run with his sister Liza (Olivia Wilde) after their car crashes in the snow. They are forced to split up in order to avoid detection from the authorities and Addison is quick to eliminate those who are unfortunate enough to get in his way. Liza almost freezes to death until Jay (Charlie Hunnam), an ex-con with his own reasons to stay clear of the police, rescues her and soon after falls for her. But with all these characters desperate to avoid jail time, not everyone is going to get away clean. Deadfall recently had its press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, California and in attendance were director Stefan Ruzowitzky, Eric Bana, Charlie Hunnam and Olivia Wilde. They talked about what attracted them to the film, what it was like working in the freezing cold of a Canadian winter, how they approached their characters and more. Check it out below. We Got This Covered: Eric, what was it about the role of Addison that fascinated you so much? Eric Bana: I just thought that Zach (Dean) did an amazing job with the script. Sometimes you get real interesting scripts with not the best dialogue, and sometimes you get great dialogue without a great story. In this case it was a great marriage of the two. I was immediately compelled by Addison and thought he was really interesting, and I found him to be quite hilarious actually. That was one of the reasons I wanted to play him. We Got This Covered: I understand that you actually started out as a stand-up comic and there is definitely a comic element to this. Did you see playing Addison as an opportunity for you to some dark comedy? Eric Bana: Yeah. I don’t think there was anything deliberately funny in Addison, but I think the situations that all the characters find themselves in and some of the things he does are inadvertently very funny. It wasn’t like playing for laughs but I knew the audience probably would laugh at some of the ridiculous nature of what we’re all forced to do. We Got This Covered: Charlie, you were filming in temperatures that looked to be below freezing and yet you showed quite a bit of skin in the film. Was it extra challenging to be in the freezing cold and wearing almost nothing? Charlie Hunnam: It was. I had actually been really excited about a period in the cold weather because we shoot Sons of Anarchy in LA through the course of the summer, and I’m a skinny guy who wants to look as big as possible so I wear several layers of clothing; it gets really old being that hot. But I must say that a couple of days in, I was craving the sunshine. You know when you’re really hot you get miserable and a little bit grumpy, but the cold is really debilitating. Olivia Wilde: I love that the snow is two things: At once it is able to cover your tracks so you can hide things and clean up a mess very quickly, but it also reveals a lot. When I read the script I thought the landscape was one of the more interesting things, particularly in that first scene with the image of the car in the snow which was the first thing that caught my eye. Stefan Ruzowitzky: Visually it’s great because the snow is very graphic. It allowed us to work with a lot of really wide shots especially in the beginning. That was fun to do. We Got This Covered: Olivia, your character has some interesting dynamics going on with Addison and Jay. How did you go about establishing your chemistry with the both of them? Olivia Wilde: Well I think with Addison she’s a perpetual child, she’ll always be his little Liza. So that established what that dynamic was like in that she’s very dependent on him, she’s terrified of him and yet she is still very drawn to him. But the romance between Jay and Liza allows her to be a woman, and you really see her coming into her own. So naturally in the writing they were very different relationships and that kind of did the work for me. We Got This Covered: Eric, can you talk a little more about working in that cold weather? Eric Bana: I’d so much rather be cold on a production that goes to the trouble of shooting in real snow than be comfortable while sitting around fake snow. We Got This Covered: Eric, did you see this role as a bit of return to Chopper just in of the ruthlessness of the character? Eric Bana: Not really. I sort of read Addison as being morally straight and quite humorous in a way, and I didn’t see him so much as a bad guy. He had a strong sense of purpose in what he was doing and that is what makes those characters so scary, knowing you can’t really negotiate with him. In his mind everything he’s doing is completely and morally correct and there’s a real reason for it. It’s not the actor’s place to judge, but I’m more than happy to be morally corrupt for a few months for the benefit of my career. We Got This Covered: Charlie, could you tell us how you got into the psychology of your character Jay? Charlie Hunnam: I always find that the trick is to identify a way to get close to the character emotionally without having to resort to intellectual analysis or empathy. I’ve experienced working out a lot and then stopping and what a negative effect that has on the psyche, and I felt that was a very close area to where Jay was coming out of prison. I’ve also always been interested in boxing so I put myself through an intense boxing academy where I got up and ran five miles every morning and then went and had breakfast and boxed a couple of hours and then came home and watched fights all day long and then went and swam, and I did this seven days a week for five weeks before filming this movie. Then when I got to Montreal (where the film was shot) I wanted to stop completely and feel the absence, and I knew that was going to have a very negative effect on my psychology. It’s kind of a shortcut, rather than intellectually empathizing, to actually feeling the emotion. I got into a very dark and happy place during shooting because of that preparation. We Got This Covered: Stefan, what led you to cast Sissy Spacek and Kris Kristofferson in Deadfall? Stefan Ruzowitzky: I felt they were sort of the iconic American parents. What I enjoyed is that they really liked the idea of working together for the first time, especially Kris who said he had ired Sissy for a long, long time and wanted to have this opportunity. There was a scene which is not in the movie anymore where he was supposed to give her a kiss on the cheek, and that turned into something bigger. They liked it! We Got This Covered: The sexual tension between Liza and Addison was kind of disturbing. Was that in the script initially? Eric Bana: That wasn’t in the script. Olivia Wilde: That kind of underlined the tension between them. I heard someone say that the relationship between ion and rage is very close, and there’s a violence to our upbringing in our lives that I think it could just easily fall over into sex. It was really helpful to read about incestuous relationships and to know quite a lot about how that tends to happen, and yet it’s a very subtle part of the film. There are only one or two spots where it’s hinted at and I’m glad we didn’t over explain it because it does leave it a bit of a mystery, but it adds so much to the story. We Got This Covered: The great thing about Eric’s character was that he was so unpredictable at times. Was that something palpable on set and was he surprising you all a lot? Olivia Wilde: The creepiest thing about Eric is that he can be laughing and generally affable, and then a second later when they call “action” the most terrifying motherf**ker I’ve ever seen in my entire life! The first time when we were in the snow and it’s the scene where we are getting our stuff together before we separate, I looking at Eric and seeing him be Addison for the first time and being really chilled by it. I think the most terrifying villains are the really charming ones, and that’s what I loved so much about his performance. And yes you could sense it on set that the unpredictability was making it very electric. We Got This Covered: Did filming in the cold and snow create any technical challenges? Stefan Ruzowitzky: Yes. We were shooting in March and April and of course we were worried that we would be running out of snow at some point. And I learned that if we had shot the movie one year later it would have been a disaster because it was a mild winter and the snow was gone in March. So we’ve been lucky overall, and I think we had a so called snow budget for adding snow digitally or snow machines but the budget was limited in a way and I think that was a huge factor logistically and in every way.

I’ve never been part of a movie production, but I would wager a guess that making a movie is by no stretch of the imagination an easy experience. Whether trying to write a script that conveys ideas clearly (or mysteriously in some cases) or trying to direct with a personal flair that makes your film stand out, many people put a lot of themselves into the movies they create. Knowing this makes it such a huge shame when the finished product just doesn’t live up to what those involved were aiming for. Such is the case with Deadfall, an ambitious project that shows cracks of promise through its bleak and icy exterior. Following siblings Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde) after a successful heist, the two become stranded in a blizzard and split up in hopes of meeting up beyond the Canadian border and enjoying their freedom. As Addison heads into the woods, Liza hitches a ride with newly paroled Jay (Charlie Hunnam) and plans to ride with him to his parents’ house on the border for Thanksgiving dinner. However, Jay is on the run from the cops after accidentally injuring an old coach of his. Jay’s parents, Chet (Kris Kristofferson) and June (Sissy Spacek) are told of the escaped criminals by Hannah (Kate Mara), an old friend of the family who is also the only woman deputy in her tiny department. Chet, a retired sheriff, s the hunt for the duo. As the plot hurtles towards an unlikely Thanksgiving meeting, there are a number of problems that hold Deadfall back from being the crafty drama that it aspires to be. There are simply too many characters taking up screen time, and most of them are either unnecessary or motivated by reasons so stupidly arbitrary that they have no right to exist. Hannah is the biggest offender of this. Her character is portrayed as a tough cop who is being held down by the misogynistic police force led by her father (Treat Williams). However, her struggle is complete fluff. Halfway through the movie, we find out she’s been accepted into the FBI Academy, and she shrugs it off because her daddy just doesn’t care. Every time she gets a proper lead and follows it, she gets talked down to and disregarded. The movie would have ended twenty minutes in if people had listened to her. But what’s most frustrating is that she has no important bit part to play for the story. At the end of the film, she has accomplished nothing and done even less to affect the plot. She literally exists to kill time and do nothing else. This is just one of the many examples of the poorly written script hampering what could have been an intensely interesting story. The dialogue feels stilted most of the time, with characters exchanging laughable conversations. Bana’s southern accent comes off more Forrest Gump than southern gentleman, and it gets painful to listen to about two lines in. Perhaps the creepiest part of the whole movie is the suggested incestuous relationship between Liza and Addison. Throughout the film, they talk about how their father was a bad man that Addison killed for the good of the family, so we gather that they’re connected through the need to protect each other. But around the time Addison is watching Liza takes a piss in the woods is when it got creepy. Liza’s romance with Jay is more conventional,  but just as unlikely and ionless. It’s a monumental shame that the final product couldn’t live up to what must have been a great idea on paper. Director Stefan Ruzowitzky has an eye for the bleak, frozen wasteland he films in, creating scenes of quiet beauty and striking, crisp violence. Certain scenes feel like they were shot for a better movie than Deadfall, especially since most of the cast is working below their paygrade. Eric Bana is a fantastic actor, and while he gives the best performance to be found here, it still hurts to see him in a movie this uninspired. Olivia Wilde is sexy and alluring as always, and actually manages to put in a better job than everyone but Bana. Deadfall was an aggravating watch because it was constantly reminding me of how much better it could have been. So many opportunities were missed that could have elevated it above its peers, but instead it seems content to be a forgettable experience. Although not a terrible movie, the glimpses of greatness hidden behind the forced mediocrity only serve to remind viewers that Deadfall could have been a tauter, more focused experienced than what they were given.

Empire is reporting that Aussie actor Eric Bana is in talks to star in Scott Derrickson’s police paranormal thriller Beware The Night. The script, written by Derrickson and Paul Boardman, will have Bana plaing a NYPD officer who “investigates real life demon possessions, exorcisms and other supernatural creatures, including werewolves.” Sounds pretty lame, right? Screen Gems is backing the whole thing and they originally wanted Mark Wahlberg in the lead role. When he ed, they went to Bana and now the actor is in talks to . No other cast have been announced yet but as always, we’ll keep you posted when we hear more. While nothing about this project sounds particularly appealing, I did enjoy Derrickson’s last film, Sinister. It wasn’t perfect but it was a chilling horror film with a nice twist and some truly creepy moments. Though Beware the Night sounds a bit dull and rehashed, I do trust Derrickson’s direction and Bana is usually pretty solid in his roles, so maybe there’s hope for this one yet. What do you think? Are you looking forward to seeing Eric Bana in Beware The Night?

The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards are coming up on January 12, 2012 on VH1. Leading up to the big day I will profile the nominees in the major categories beginning with a look at the nominees for Best Action Movie. Fast Five It’s big, it’s loud and it’s incredibly dopey but there is no denying that the action of Fast Five is top notch. Director Justin Lin will never be known for subtlety but his reputation for massive action spectacle is fully intact thanks to his bombastic, over the top work in Fast Five. Most importantly, Fast Five features a one on one showdown between modern action icons Vin Diesel and The Rock. If that isn’t a guarantee of great action what is? Drive Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive is not a typical action. Drive is a moody, meditative character study that happens to feature sudden, shocking moments of violence. Does Drive qualify as an action movie? That’s a matter of conjecture. Based on the film’s bloody violence and car chases it qualified for me. On the other hand Drive is so much smarter and more artful than your average action movie. Rise of the Planet of the Apes What’s great about the action of Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the slow build to action in the film. The character of Caesar is pushed and pushed toward violent uprising until leading his ape troops into battle was the only option. The emotional build toward the film’s climactic action scene gives the action an emotional undercurrent that makes it all more impactful and exciting. Hanna The action of Hanna is sleek yet gritty. Star Saorise Ronan’s graceful fighting style, and that of Eric Bana as her father, is a jaw dropping visual. Director Joe Wright makes the lithesome form of Saorise Ronan into an elegant weapon while Ronan gets to the heart of a frightened girl who happens to have the capabilities of a killer. Super 8 J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg’s family alien action movie Super 8 made this list because of the spectacular train derailment sequence. The special effects in the train derailment are spectacular and watching the scene in IMAX 3D gave audiences the feel of being in a train derailment minus all the pesky bone crushing potential for death. Vote for your favorite of this category at VH1.com and be sure to watch the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards on VH1 Thursday, January 12^th. [Sorry, this video is currently unavailable]

Eric Bana has been cast as Elvis Presley and Danny Huston is in final negotiations to play President Richard M. Nixon in the independent movie Elvis & Nixon, the directorial debut of actor Cary Elwes. Deadline is reporting that Elvis & Nixon will focus on the visit Presley paid to Nixon at the White House on December 21, 1970. The singer-actor initiated the meeting with the president by writing him a six-page letter. Presley suggested he become a “Federal Agent-at-Large” in the bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. To help persuade Nixon, Presley also brought family photos and a Colt 45 as a personal gift. Elwes co-wrote the screenplay for Elvis & Nixon with Joey Sagal and Hanala Sagal. Bana will produce the film through his production company Pick Up Truck Pictures, which will mark the company’s first U.S. movie. What do you think of Bana and Huston’s casting in the film, are they well suited for the roles?

It’s hard to believe that someone with Eric Bana’s build has not had any hand-to-hand combat scenes in his entire career. But that seems to be the case. In some of the promotions that Focus Features have been airing for their latest film Hanna, we have seen Bana actually throw a punch, something movie audiences or fans of his are not normally used to seeing him do. Along with his hand-to-hand combat scenes, Bana talked with us about a couple other things relating to his newest film. Check out the interview below, audio version included at the end of the page. Bana plays as former secret agent Eric Heller, who is not only hiding in the outskirts of Finland, but also acting as a surrogate father to Hanna (Saorise Ronan), a secret government project that Marissa Weigler (Cate Blanchett) hopes to bury by disposing of those who were connected to the project. Over the course of the production process, the actor explains how he closes himself off to other scripts and how he puts his mind and entire world into the production process. Bana said that he does not like to be bothered by incoming scripts no matter who they are from or how interesting they may be. This is perhaps one of his best qualities as he will not be distracted by the idea of how he could project off the project or how he could use it to bolster his acting resume. Another way the actor does not distract himself during filming is that he does not do anything during his off time other than spend time on the actual set. One of the things he was most disappointed about with Hanna is that he could not spend more time with Cate Blanchett. The two share very few scenes together, both of which are very intense and filled with some high octane action. But the actor expressed that during those few scenes he wished that he could spend more time interacting with Blanchett’s character. Bana did talk about how he survived against the elements with the cold weather not agreeing with his thin Australian blood. During the film the actor had to wear an assortment of skins and furs to keep him warm and set the tone for the realism. In addition to this, the actor had to wear a suit during the evening in Finland. He also explained the beauty of the scenery that the film has and how Finland’s landscape is vast and beautiful. One of the scenes that will have audiences excited is the one shot take of the fight scene between Heller and secret agents who are sent out to retrieve or kill him. Bana had explained that he was not used to a fight scene like this and the only fight scene he could recall that was like this particular one was the fight scene in Troy. The actor continued with the fact that the area had been closed off for only 45 minutes and during that window of time they took between five or six takes before going with the second one. I don’t want to spoil anymore of the interview as it was quite interesting so take a listen below and enjoy! Be sure to check out our Hanna review, our interview with director Joe Wright and our interview with star Saoirse Ronan. Unfortunately, the audio file for this interview has been removed. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.

As someone who has worked in powerful meaningful dramas, one should be surprised that director Joe Wright has decided to take on a film like Hanna. This is the first time that we have seen Wright direct something that can be considered his own. His previous works have tied him down to two things, staying true to the novels (Pride and Prejudice and Atonement) while creating his own adaptation and staying true to the real story (The Soloist) without embellishing or staining it. But now that the director is no longer restricted to those factors, he is able to direct the film how he wants to and how he wants his audience to see it. We have seen what Wright is capable of with his directorial skills, often going to his two muses Keira Knightley and Saoirse Ronan for his films. But one of things about Hanna that made the picture so wonderful is the fact that he did have a limited budget. Not all action films require a blue screen or green screen, they can use the natural environment around them as the actual set, and that is what happened with Hanna. Due to the limited budget they were given, Wright was forced to shoot on location. This means building up a threshold against the blistering cold weather in Finland and dealing with the heat in Morocco. As it turns out, shooting on location was a benefit for the director as it gives the film a sense of realism. The director also talked about how this isn’t your typical action film. Wright says that most action films are misogynistic and in this film he wanted to prove that women can be of power without the use of sexual exploitation. Normally there are films like that, but in a completely different genre. With Hanna however, there is that sense that you can empower a woman without the use of short skirts, fishnets, and lollipops. Wright also talked about how he is a huge fan of The Chemical Brothers and is afraid to it that he attended one of their concerts in 1992. Joking aside, the director talked about how the music group worked on the music beforehand and how that pre-produced music was integrated into some of the scenes. After the films completition, The Chemical Brothers would go on to complete the entire soundtrack. And in of music, the director talked about his attendance at a Lady Gaga concert in Berlin. While he its he is not a fan of her music and only attended because it was Ronan’s birthday, he did say that he understood the facisnation fans had on her and that she is an inspiring person to all and is glad that she is one of the musicians sending a positive message through her music. Want to hear more? Check out the full audio of the interview below. Be sure to check out Hanna when it hits theatres on April 8th. And make sure you take a listen to our interview with star Saoirse Ronan, and our interview with star Eric Bana. Also, make sure you to give our Hanna review a read. Unfortunately, the audio file for this interview has been removed. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.

A cold vast icy environment pans itself towards one of its inhabitants. A deer’s breath is clearly visible as it breathes through its nostrils and just like that it is struck down by an arrow. A female adolescent walks up to her target and says “I just missed your heart.” Director Joe Wright introduces us to Hanna (Saoirse Ronan), a stealthy and cunning 16 year-old teenager raised in the cold forests of Finland by her former CIA agent father Erik Heller (Eric Bana). Hanna doesn’t realize it but she is a secret government project, who has been trained in survival and fighting skills by Heller in order to protect her from Marissa Weigler (Cate Blanchett), a cold and ruthless CIA agent on the hunt for those who were connected to the young girl. Hanna isn’t your typical spy action thriller; the film also shares the elements of fairy tale wonder and discovering one’s own identity. At first the idea is sound and with actors like Ronan, Bana, and Blanchett in the film, how could it go wrong? Well, editing is the first problem. The film seems out of order, misplaced, and it’s easy for the audience to get lost and forget what happened in previous scenes. Another reason this film lacks perfection is the pacing. While the plot of the film is clearly established by Wright, his directorial style makes it seem as though the pacing is awkward and forced. Finally, Wright doesn’t allow the audience to familiarize themselves with Hanna. From the moment we are introduced to Hanna to the time she ends up in the Moroccan desert, the only thing we know about her is that she is a secret government project and that she does not know what it’s like to hear music. Wright cleverly attempts to cover his tracks by disorientating the audience with elliptical shots, flashing lights, and blasting the score to its maximum volume level and for a while this works, but for a majority of the time it doesn’t. Luckily, it’s not all bad. What works are the visuals, performances, and score. Wright was given a very limited budget, and to compensate for that lack of a budget, the director chose to shoot on location rather than have a green screen or shots that would hurt the studio’s wallet during post-production. From the icy distant environments of Finland and hot deserts of Morocco to the urban areas of Berlin and an abandoned fairy tale amusement park, the setting establishes the tone for each of the characters in their respective scenes and feels natural. Performances all around are fairly strong. Ronan is magical and alluring as Hanna. She displays all the characteristics of a child who lacks the ability to understand what a true family is, or what it is like to have a real boyfriend, but isn’t afraid to throw you down. She eases herself abruptly into a hippie family vacation where the eldest daughter takes her out into the world of music and boys. Blanchett is a scary meticulous CIA agent whose ruthlessness and cold, distant demeanor and big bad wolf persona is strangely attractive. Bana fits his role as Heller perfectly and has a strong screen presence while Tom Hollinder’s performance as a playful hitman who whistles the main theme is fun to watch. The score by the Chemical Brothers is everything you come to expect from the musical group and more. You have a soothing tune that seems to be the theme for Hanna’s sweet innocent side, while there is a threatening and powerful theme that represents the polar opposite. Most of what you hear was created before the film started shooting and was created to match with each and every movement in the action sequences. But like TRON: Legacy, since the film lacks depth, it looks like a near two-hour long music video. One of the film’s lifesavers are the one-take action scenes. Bana taking on a group of CIA agents all by himself makes you not want to blink, while Ronan running and jumping from container to container in a shipyard will take your breath away. These scenes are exciting and exhilarating and I wish there were more. Hanna tries to hard to be the spy thriller that separates itself from the rest of the spy thrillers that have been or will be released. The unstructured editing, pacing, and one dimensional characters are a determent to this film, but audiences may be able to over look all of it if they can appreciate the cinematography, score, and performances from Ronan, Blanchett, and Bana. The film doesn’t miss the mark totally, but I think it could have been a lot better than what we get here.

Rising star and apparently avid Lady Gaga fan Saoirse Ronan recently spoke to us while promoting her new film Hanna. The young actress stars as the titular character, who goes on a large scale journey to find herself and stop a cold and ruthless CIA agent from killing her. Ronan’s character Hanna is a secret government project raised by Eric Heller (Eric Bana). Heller is training Hanna with different sets of survival and fighting skills, as well as educating her. He plans to unleash Hanna onto her pursuer, the cold hearted CIA agent Marissa Weigler (Cate Blanchett). Ronan is one of Hollywood’s fastest rising stars. With notable roles in recent films like The Way Back and The Lovely Bones, the young actress is quickly making a name for herself. She is also linked to a number of high profile films like The Hobbit (which she claims is a rumor) and The Brothers Grimm: Snow White. Director Joe Wright is also eyeing Ronan for his next film, Anna Karenina. To clear things up, Ronan first made it clear that she is currently unconfirmed for any role in The Hobbit. The actress then went onto talk about what it was like to film Hanna during the cold weather in Finland and the extreme desert heat in Morocco. Ronan talked about all the different types of layering she had to wear during filming in Finland, ranging from deer skin and a fur hat to fingerless gloves. Despite this, she did have fun during the shoot. When asked about what skills she thought she could use from the training she had received from filming she said that she would take the hand-to-hand combat skills as well as archery skills. She did add that she would also take her skills from her firearms training but said that she would probably never use them in real life. As to what she would never use, she said that she would never use her stick combat. When you watch the film you will probably understand why she or anyone else for that matter would use such a skill. During filming the actress celebrated her 16th birthday and was fortunate enough to be working on that day. But like any normal sixteen year old, she is a huge fan of music and loves Lady Gaga, she even managed to work a concert into the busy production schedule and took director Joe Wright as her date. One of the things that is fantastic about this movie, aside from Cate Blanchett’s character’s cold demeanor, is that you get to see Ronan do some pretty amazing stunts. I say pretty amazing only because these are stunts a 16 year old is doing and to see her fly across the screen is something pretty spectacular. She said that she never felt scared to do any of the stunts and that all the stunt workers made her feel safe throughout the process. I won’t dive too much further into the interview as I want you to experience it for yourself. Check out the full audio below and be sure to see Hanna when it hits theatres on April 8th. Also, take a listen to our interview with director Joe Wright and out interview with star Eric Bana. And be sure to give our Hanna review a read. Unfortunately, the audio file for this interview has been removed. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.

In 2009 audiences saw the work of Sheldon Turner go up on the big screen with his adaptation of Up in the Air. That little project directed by Jason Reitman and starring George Clooney was nominated for an Oscar and although the screenwriter did not win the award, he did receive his just desserts. Now Turner is looking towards his directorial debut of By Virtue Fall. In addition to directing, he screenwriter will also pen the script. Eric Bana and Colin Farrell were both reported last year to be interested in the independently financed picture, and The Hurt Locker producer Nicolas Chartier had been on board to produce. Farrell wound up opting out, and Chartier says he’s no longer involved with the project. But Bana is now very much on board, telling 24 Frames he hopes to make it his next movie after he finishes shooting Blackbird, the thriller he’s currently making with Olivia Wilde. (Of his character, Bana says drolly, “He’s not a great guy.”) Also ing the project are James Spader, Ryan Phillippe and Carla Gugino. Shaping up to be a great cast, don’t you think?