on the occasion of the worldwide release of the movie Artemis Fowl on Disney+ this Friday 12 June, the director of the film Kenneth Branagh has granted us an interview.
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[updated, 12 June 2020 08: 30] was originally Intended for release in cinemas on may 27, 2020, the adaptation of the first novel Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer produced by Disney+ has finally been shifted to an output exclusively in digital on the platform of streaming by subscription to Disney+. In an interview for Linternaute.com the director of the film Kenneth Branagh explains his feelings about this new situation caused by the sanitary crisis of the coronavirus that has seen the cinema closed for months, preventing the release of his film and its viewing in the flesh and bone in the red chairs. It also represents the genesis of the project as well as discussions they have had with the author of the eight novels of the saga, Artemis Fowl.
what is it that has you interested in the stories of Artemis Fowl ?
This is the story of the advent of a master of crime. I like the arc of a narrative to the Michael Corleone : a brilliant young man who ignores all of the misdeeds of his father, discovered with fury, all that he has hidden, and must finally decide if he will continue in this path or not. The first part of this decision is because his father has been kidnapped. It asks him to choose who he wants to become. There is also the idea to ask the question, “at the critical moment, will he turn to the light side or the dark side ?” This story has me very interested.
The film has taken 20 years to be done despite the sale of the rights in 2000. In your opinion, what is it that makes Artemis Fowl so difficult to adapt ?
Eoin Colfer has given the embarrassment of the choice in the filmmakers. His eight books are a gold mine of imagination. The shakespearian drama in soap-opera, luxury, accompanied by all the magical creatures from irish folklore. When I arrived, a lot of scenarios of hundreds of pages, had already been made and fed of all this. I, for my part, have chosen to start over from the first book : start where Eoin has started and let’s see where this story can lead us.
what Was the point the author of the novels has he been involved in this film ?
I had the opportunity to talk to him at the beginning of the preparation of the project. He also discussed with Conor McPherson, who wrote the first draft of the script. They live both in the same place in Ireland, they respect one another and share the same interest in ghost stories, the poetry and the jokes a bit null and void. They were made to appreciate. Eoin has made it clear that he appreciated the idea that it explores his stories in film and especially that one should necessarily deviate a little from the original. He felt that this first film would need elements of an origin story for those who know nothing of books. We had his blessing for us to express ourselves freely.
Hire actors irish was it important to you ?
It was capital. I wanted the film to go quickly, it may last for 1h30, he has the energy of a movie like Indiana Jones, that this is an adventure of multi-faceted, which is progressing at a steady pace. I therefore had to establish the Ireland and the characters irish easily. Without the sound of their accents, their attitudes, the phrase, the musicality of their talk… I would have had to dwell at length on all these items if the actors were not themselves irish.
Artemis Fowl is the first film to be taken directly to Disney+ due to policies of containment. This announcement has been a surprise to you ?
Not at all, honestly it was a relief. It would have been in a queue with all these movies, which must now brave the uncertainty about what will happen in terms of going to the movies. We knew that Disney+ had a lot of success and that the family audience which is a subscriber waiting with impatience a story like this : a new adventure, of great extent and full of a magic we need in this complicated period.
Would you be interested in a sequel to Artemis Fowl ?
I’d love to meet this challenge. It would be great to tell the result of these stories. I cross everything I can cross to that the incredible fans of Artemis Fowl will find their account in the movie and want to see a second.
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Synopsis – Following the disappearance of his father, the young Artemis Fowl from his research. With an extraordinary intelligence, and a bank account without the background of the teenager of twelve years old is already a genius of crime like her father. In his research, he discovers the existence of the People of the Fairies, an ancient civilization buried under earth and equipped with state of the art technologies. In order to find his father, Artemis is going to devise a risky plan that will stand up to these fantastic creatures.
check out the trailer of Artemis Fowl
