Arrival | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Denis Villeneuve |
Screenplay by | Eric Heisserer |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Bradford Young |
Edited by | Joe Walker |
Music by | Jóhann Jóhannsson |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 116 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $47 million[2][3] |
Arrival is a 2016 American science fiction drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Eric Heisserer, based on the short story "Story of Your Life" by author Ted Chiang. The film stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg and Tzi Ma.
Arrival had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2016 and is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 11, 2016 in IMAX by Paramount Pictures.
When multiple mysterious extraterrestrial spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team is put together to investigate, including linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams), mathematician Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), and US Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker). Mankind teeters on the verge of global war as everyone scrambles for answers—and to find them, Banks, Donnelly, and Weber will take a chance that could threaten their lives, and, quite possibly, humanity.
Villeneuve had wanted to make a science fiction film for some time although he "never found the right thing."[4] Meanwhile screenwriter Eric Heisserer had been trying to pitch an adaptation of Story of Your Life to no great success for years, and by the time producers Cohen and Levine approached him about a potential sci-fi project had largely given up on the idea. [5] Cohen and Levine however introduced Villeneuve to the novella which the director immediately took to, although his work on Prisoners meant that he did not have the time to properly adapt it into a screenplay.[4] Cohen and Levine meanwhile were able to get a first draft completed which Villeneuve later reworked into a finished script.[4] Villeneuve ended up changing the title in part because the resulting script became so far removed from the short story as well as the fact that "it sounded more like a romantic comedy."[4] Although Villeneuve by his recollection went through "hundreds" of possible titles, the resulting title, Arrival, was the first one the team came up with.[4]
Jeremy Renner joined the film on March 6, 2015 to play a physics professor paired by the government with Adams' character to help communicate with the aliens.[6] Forest Whitaker signed on to the film in April 2015, with Michael Stuhlbarg joining the cast as CIA Agent Halpern that June.[7][8]
Filming began in mid-June 2015, right after Renner completed the shooting of Captain America: Civil War.[6] Principal photography on the film began on June 7, 2015 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.[9][10]
Jóhann Jóhannsson began writing the score around the time the shooting had commenced, drawing on the screenplay and concept art for inspiration. He developed one of the main themes in the first week using vocals and experimental piano loops.[11]
A teaser trailer was released in August 2016 followed the next week by the first official trailer.[12] Paramount Pictures released a series of posters to promote the film, with one showing a UFO hovering above Hong Kong's skyline which included Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower. The inaccuracy angered many Hong Kong social media users. The posters were taken down and a statement was made which attributed the inaccuracy to a third party vendor.[13]
In May 2014, Paramount Pictures acquired U.S distribution rights to the film.[14] Shortly after, Sony Pictures and Stage 6 Films acquired international distribution rights to the film.[15] The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2016.[16] The film will also screen at the Toronto International Film Festival.[17][18] Telluride Film Festival,[19] and the BFI London Film Festival.[20] The film is scheduled to be released on November 11, 2016.[21][22]
Arrival will be released alongside Almost Christmas and Shut In and is expected to gross around $17 million from 2,200 theaters in its opening weekend, with the studio projecting a more conservative debut of $12–15 million.[2]
Arrival has received critical acclaim. On the review-aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 96%, based on 103 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's consensus reads, "Arrival delivers a must-see experience for fans of thinking person's sci-fi that anchors its heady themes with genuinely affecting emotion and a terrific performance from Amy Adams."[23] On Metacritic the film has a score of 80 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[24]
Awards | |||||
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Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
Venice Film Festival | September 10, 2016 | Future Film Festival Digital Award | Denis Villeneuve | Won | [25] |
Golden Lion | Denis Villeneuve | Nominated |