Following the award-winning 1994 film Forrest Gump, Robert Zemeckis, Tom Hanks, and Robin Wright are reuniting for another project, thirty years later.
Their adaptation of Richard McGuire's unorthodox graphic novel, Here, will be released in late November. Given the timing and format of the release schedule, it would appear that Miramax and TriStar Pictures are priming the film for an awards season push.
Audiences should expect a cinematography masterpiece if the film's visuals try to replicate the distinctive composition and art style of the graphic novel.
The film will receive a limited release in NY and LA on November 15, followed by a limited theatrical run on November 22 before opening wide on November 27.
Variety describes the film as "an original film about multiple families and a special place they inhabit. The story travels through generations, capturing the human experience in its purest form for a tale of love, loss, laughter and life."
It's noted that Hanks and Wright will be digitally de-aged for certain segments of the film.
In addition to Hanks and Wright, the film will also star Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly, and Michelle Dockery. Zemeckis co-wrote the film alongside Eric Roth (who also wrote Forrest Gump).
On de-aging Hanks and Wright, Zemeckis stated, "I’ve always been attracted to technology that helps me to tell a story. “With ‘Here,’ the film simply wouldn’t work without our actors seamlessly transforming into younger versions of themselves."
"Metaphysic’s AI tools do exactly that, in ways that were previously impossible! Having tested every flavor of face replacement and de-aging technology available today, Metaphysic are clearly the global leaders in feature-quality AI content and the perfect choice for this incredibly challenging, emotional film."
Sony purchased distribution rights to the film at the Cannes Film Festival.
Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman previously stated, "I had the privilege to observe close at hand, Bob and Tom break the typical storytelling mode with Castaway, to audiences’ immense delight. With Here, Eric and Bob have written another, perhaps even more remarkable, exquisitely emotional, and entirely unique story."
About Here (graphic novel): Richard McGuire, an American cartoonist and artist, published the graphic novel Here in 2014 after previously starting the project as a six-panel comic in 1989.
Every page of the book starts in the same exact spot, in the corner of a 1950s suburban living room in New Jersey; however, the difference is that the room is shown at a different point in time, ranging from a prehistoric BC era to 10,175 AD.
Smaller, superimposed panels within the main panel, simultaneously show the space at several different time periods. For example, a mirror falling off the wall in the 1990s is juxtaposed with a devastating flood that occurred in 2030.