Movie overview for university project

1. 1
DANISH
IQBAL
ASSIGNMENT: MOVIE REVIEW
UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI
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2. 2
DEPPARTMENT: MASS
COMMUNICATION
EVENING PROGRAM
SUBMITTED TO: MOHAMMAD INAM
BARI JAFRI
PRINCE OF PERSIA
THE SANDS OF TIME (FILM)
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3. 3
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Directed by
Mike Newell
Produced by
Jerry Bruckheimer
Written by
Jordan Mechner
Boaz Yakin
Doug Miro
Carlo Bernard
Starring
Jake Gyllenhaal
Gemma Arterton
Ben Kingsley
Alfred Molina
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Music by
Harry Gregson-Williams
Cinematography
John Seale
Studio
Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Distributed by
Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)
May 28, 2010
Running time
120 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$150 - $200 million
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5. 5
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is an upcoming 2010 action-adventure fantasy film written
by Jordan Mechner, Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard, directed by Mike Newell, and
produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The film is (loosely) based on the 2003 video game of the same
name, developed and released by Ubisoft Montreal.
Film Stars:
Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan
Gemma Arterton as Princess Tamina
Ben Kingsley as Nizam
Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar
It is the fourth film under the Walt Disney Pictures banner to receive a PG-13 rating by the
MPAA (and the first not in the Pirates of the Caribbean series) for intense sequences of violence
and action. Despite the film being primarily based on The Sands of Time, elements from Warrior
Within and The Two Thrones are also incorporated and will be made into films, as well.
Contents:
Premise
Production
o Casting
o Filming
o Soundtrack
Marketing
References
External links
Premise
The plot follows Dastan (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), a street urchin in the Persian Empire in the
sixth century. After showing valor in battle, he is adopted by the king as his heir, so the king's
two sons will not fight over the throne. Later on the teams up with Princess Tamina (played by
Gemma Arterton) to stop a common enemy - the villainous nobleman Nizam (Ben Kingsley) and
to take from him an ancient dagger known as "The Sands of Time" (a valuable dagger which
gives to its owner the ability to go back in time for short periods and change the past) and to
keep him from generating a sandstorm which could destroy the world.
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Production
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.
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.
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7. 7
Casting
On May 20, 2008, it was announced that Jake Gyllenhaal is to portray Dastan, the protagonist of
the film. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer explained his choice, "He's a wonderful actor. He's
someone I've been watching for a long time and somebody I've always wanted to work with."
Gyllenhaal claims he "over-prepared" for the role, gaining five or six pounds of muscle. The
actor says, "…I never knew how much they were going to ask me to do, so I just made sure I'd
be hopefully able to do anything." Gemma Arterton was announced to play the role of
protagonist Tamina, and Arterton reported she practiced horseback riding in Madrid before
filming. Sir Ben Kingsley is to portray the film's antagonist, Nizam. Alfred Molina is to portray a
character named Sheik Amar, who becomes a mentor to the prince. Toby Kebbell is to play
Prince Garsiv, Dastan's brother, and head of the Persian army.
Filming
In March 2008, director Mike 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 midJune 2008. By May 2008, actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton were cast into the lead
roles. With a new script by Jordan 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. The film is intended to be the first in a seven film series.
Soundtrack
It was confirmed that Alanis Morissette composed the theme song for the film, named "I
Remain". The score was written by composer Harry Gregson-Williams.
Marketing
Mechner, Gyllenhaal, Bruckheimer, and Newell at a panel promoting the film at WonderCon
2010;
The Prince of Persia poster made its debut as a background prop in a 2009 Bruckheimer
production, Confessions of a Shopaholic, similar to how Warner Brothers incorporated poster
for various developed but never filmed projects based on their comic-book characters in I Am
Legend. The week of Confessions of a Shopaholic’s release, Disney signed a merchandising deal
with Lego for the film.
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The trailer was released on the internet on November 2, 2009. In the trailer, it is shown that
Nizam has released the Sands of Time (via the dagger) to destroy the Kingdom, thus forcing
Dastan to take back the dagger and retrieve it to the "Secret Guardian Temple," along with
Princess Tamina. It also shows that using the dagger will cause half of the Prince's body to
become "flamed," homage to the element in Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (where the
Prince is possessed by The Sands of Time). Disney will also release merchandise such as action
figures, sets, costumes and a replica Dagger Of Time. It will also release a graphic novel called
Prince of Persia: before the Sandstorm, which will act as a prequel to the film. Also, a video
game is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal titled Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands that
will be released alongside the film; however, the game's story is unrelated to the film, and
instead serves as a midquel to the first two games in the Sands of Time trilogy.
Disney's marketing strategy includes a step by step release of the film. Prince of Persia will be
released first in Europe, with its world premiere being held in Westfield, London UK on Sunday
May 9th, then premiering on May 19, 2010 in France, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands
and on May 20 in Germany. It will be released on May 21, 2010 in the United Kingdom and on
May 28, 2010 in the United States in order to profit by higher viewer numbers on Memorial Day
weekend.
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