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Blood and Chocolate (film)
Encyclopedia
Blood & Chocolate is a 2007 film directed by Katja von Garnier
, produced by Lakeshore Entertainment
and distributed by MGM. It is very loosely based on the young-adult novel of the same name
by Annette Curtis Klause
, which was adapted into a screenplay
by Ehren Kruger
. The movie was released on DVD on June 13, 2007 in the USA.
). To Astrid's distress, Gabriel left her after seven years in accordance with pack law to choose a new mate. The culmination of another seven years is only a few months away and Gabriel wants the reluctant Vivian as his mate.
Gabriel and Astrid have a son, Rafe, with whom Vivian has an uneasy relationship. Rafe, considering himself the future pack leader, has hunted and killed a human girl on his own in violation of his father's law which allows the loup-garou to hunt only as a pack. Every full moon the pack hunt a human prey who is either a danger to the pack or has offended one of its members (the first victim witnessed being a drug dealer). After having been cut to leave a blood scent, the human is sent to flee through the woods and if he manages to cross the river, is spared. However, no one has ever managed to reach the river.
One night, Vivian breaks into an abandoned church containing loup-garou iconography. There she meets Aiden (Hugh Dancy
), a graphic novel artist who also broke in for inspiration. Aiden is instantly smitten and pursues her for several days before she finally agrees to start seeing him. They meet in secret and fall in love. They are soon discovered by Rafe, and his four friends. Rafe informs Gabriel about the relationship between Vivian and Aiden and is ordered to do whatever is necessary to get Aiden out of the city, either by bribing or by threatening. Following a note from Vivian, Aiden goes to a chapel outside the city, where he is apprehended and threatened by Rafe (who actually sent the note). During the altercation, Rafe is revealed as a loup-garou and tries to kill Aiden, who manages to kill his attacker with the help of his silver medallion (silver being poisonous when entering a loup-garou's blood stream).
Gabriel and Astrid are devastated at the death of their son. Aiden is caught at the train station and is chosen as prey for the monthly full moon hunt. Running for his life, Aiden spreads his blood around on the trees to confuse his pursuers and stabs two wolves with a silver knife. He finally crosses the river but a furious Gabriel attacks him nonetheless. Vivian, in her wolf-shape, jumps in and pushes Gabriel into the river. Not recognizing her in her wolf-shape, Aiden slashes her arm with the knife. When she changes back into her human shape, he is stricken with guilt and tries to help her. They flee to a deserted film company which the loup-garou would not dare enter as it is riddled with silver dust. After a few tender moments, Astrid appears and confronts them with a gun. Vivian pleads for Aiden's life, appealing to Astrid's unhappy love for Gabriel, and Astrid lets them go. The two retrieve an antidote for Vivian from a human pharmacist working for Gabriel. However, the pharmacist alerts the pack to their presence and Vivian is captured while Aiden escapes.
Vivian is imprisoned and confronted by Gabriel, who disparages humans and relates to her a prophecy about a female loup-garou leading her people into an "age of hope". He had hoped her to fulfill the prophecy but now decides that the two must decide the conflict by hunting each other. Before the hunt can begin, Gabriel is shot by Aiden, who had been watching from a skylight. In the ensuing battle, Aiden blinds some of Gabriel's henchmen with silver dust, traps some and sets the building on fire. Gabriel attacks Aiden but before he can strike a possibly fatal blow, Vivian aims a gun at Gabriel. He taunts her that by shooting him she would become the hunter that once killed her family and shifts into his wolf-shape. Aiden pleads with Vivian to shoot Gabriel but she repeatedly refuses. However, when Gabriel sets out to kill Aiden, she shoots and kills Gabriel. Feeling guilty, she strokes Gabriel's fur. As the building explodes, she frees the trapped loup-garou and runs away with Aiden. The two escape the city in Gabriel's car (with several people in the street saluting the car by baring their throats as submissive wolves do). They discuss two destinations, either the "age of hope" or Paris, and drive through Bucharest's Arcul de Triumf
.
, Po-Chih Leong, Sanji Senaka and Rupert Wainwright
, before Katja von Garnier finally signed in January 2005 to direct the film. The book was originally adapted into a script by Christopher Landon
whose father Michael Landon
had a leading role in the film I Was a Teenage Werewolf
(1957).
Author Annette Curtis Klause was not kept up to date by the producers of the film. She had to find the information about the filming on the Web.
Filming was set in Bucharest
historic part of the city and at Media Pro Studios in Buftea
. However, as many of the American movies based in Bucharest, the movie failed to be accurate in presenting the real places in city, for example the Piata Romana
(Romana Square) is actually the Curtea Veche
yard (Old Court, a destroyed old palace), or Biserica Silvestru (Silvestru Church, in downtown Bucharest) is actually a church in Stirbey Palace, Buftea, a few tens of kilometres west of Bucharest.
, with 8 out of 63 critics giving it an approving rating.
was released on 23 January 2007 by Lakeshore Records
.
Katja von Garnier
Katja von Garnier is a German film director.-Biography:From 1989-1994, she studied at the University of Television and Film Munich. Her 1993 practice film Abgeschminkt! was shown in theatres all over Germany and attracted 1.2 million visitors...
, produced by Lakeshore Entertainment
Lakeshore Entertainment
Lakeshore Entertainment Group is an American independent film production company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum . Lakeshore Entertainment is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California...
and distributed by MGM. It is very loosely based on the young-adult novel of the same name
Blood and Chocolate (novel)
Blood and Chocolate is a 1997 romantic supernatural werewolf novel for young adult readers by Annette Curtis Klause. It is set in the contemporary United States.-The Loups-garoux:...
by Annette Curtis Klause
Annette Curtis Klause
Annette Curtis Klause is an American author and librarian, specializing in young adult fiction. Annette is currently a children's materials selector for Montgomery County Public Libraries in Montgomery County, Maryland. Born in Bristol, England, she now lives in Hyattsville, Maryland with her...
, which was adapted into a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Ehren Kruger
Ehren Kruger
-Life and career:Kruger was raised in Alexandria, Virginia, and attended college at New York University. He attended the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, graduating in 1990....
. The movie was released on DVD on June 13, 2007 in the USA.
Plot
Vivian is a nineteen-year-old Anamorphic. She was born in Bucharest, Romania to American parents who then moved back to America. When Vivian was nine years old, her parents and siblings were killed by two hunters and she moved back to Bucharest to live with her aunt Astrid, then the mate of the pack's leader, Gabriel (Olivier MartinezOlivier Martinez
Olivier Martinez is a French film actor. He became known after roles in several French films such as Un, deux, trois, soleil , which garnered him the César Award for "Most Promising Actor", The Horseman on the Roof , and The Chambermaid on the Titanic...
). To Astrid's distress, Gabriel left her after seven years in accordance with pack law to choose a new mate. The culmination of another seven years is only a few months away and Gabriel wants the reluctant Vivian as his mate.
Gabriel and Astrid have a son, Rafe, with whom Vivian has an uneasy relationship. Rafe, considering himself the future pack leader, has hunted and killed a human girl on his own in violation of his father's law which allows the loup-garou to hunt only as a pack. Every full moon the pack hunt a human prey who is either a danger to the pack or has offended one of its members (the first victim witnessed being a drug dealer). After having been cut to leave a blood scent, the human is sent to flee through the woods and if he manages to cross the river, is spared. However, no one has ever managed to reach the river.
One night, Vivian breaks into an abandoned church containing loup-garou iconography. There she meets Aiden (Hugh Dancy
Hugh Dancy
- Early life and career :Dancy was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of British philosopher Jonathan Dancy, a professor at the University of Reading and at the University of Texas at Austin. His mother, Sarah, is a publisher. His brother, Jack, is a co-director of the travel company, Trufflepig...
), a graphic novel artist who also broke in for inspiration. Aiden is instantly smitten and pursues her for several days before she finally agrees to start seeing him. They meet in secret and fall in love. They are soon discovered by Rafe, and his four friends. Rafe informs Gabriel about the relationship between Vivian and Aiden and is ordered to do whatever is necessary to get Aiden out of the city, either by bribing or by threatening. Following a note from Vivian, Aiden goes to a chapel outside the city, where he is apprehended and threatened by Rafe (who actually sent the note). During the altercation, Rafe is revealed as a loup-garou and tries to kill Aiden, who manages to kill his attacker with the help of his silver medallion (silver being poisonous when entering a loup-garou's blood stream).
Gabriel and Astrid are devastated at the death of their son. Aiden is caught at the train station and is chosen as prey for the monthly full moon hunt. Running for his life, Aiden spreads his blood around on the trees to confuse his pursuers and stabs two wolves with a silver knife. He finally crosses the river but a furious Gabriel attacks him nonetheless. Vivian, in her wolf-shape, jumps in and pushes Gabriel into the river. Not recognizing her in her wolf-shape, Aiden slashes her arm with the knife. When she changes back into her human shape, he is stricken with guilt and tries to help her. They flee to a deserted film company which the loup-garou would not dare enter as it is riddled with silver dust. After a few tender moments, Astrid appears and confronts them with a gun. Vivian pleads for Aiden's life, appealing to Astrid's unhappy love for Gabriel, and Astrid lets them go. The two retrieve an antidote for Vivian from a human pharmacist working for Gabriel. However, the pharmacist alerts the pack to their presence and Vivian is captured while Aiden escapes.
Vivian is imprisoned and confronted by Gabriel, who disparages humans and relates to her a prophecy about a female loup-garou leading her people into an "age of hope". He had hoped her to fulfill the prophecy but now decides that the two must decide the conflict by hunting each other. Before the hunt can begin, Gabriel is shot by Aiden, who had been watching from a skylight. In the ensuing battle, Aiden blinds some of Gabriel's henchmen with silver dust, traps some and sets the building on fire. Gabriel attacks Aiden but before he can strike a possibly fatal blow, Vivian aims a gun at Gabriel. He taunts her that by shooting him she would become the hunter that once killed her family and shifts into his wolf-shape. Aiden pleads with Vivian to shoot Gabriel but she repeatedly refuses. However, when Gabriel sets out to kill Aiden, she shoots and kills Gabriel. Feeling guilty, she strokes Gabriel's fur. As the building explodes, she frees the trapped loup-garou and runs away with Aiden. The two escape the city in Gabriel's car (with several people in the street saluting the car by baring their throats as submissive wolves do). They discuss two destinations, either the "age of hope" or Paris, and drive through Bucharest's Arcul de Triumf
Arcul de Triumf
Arcul de Triumf is a triumphal arch located in the northern part of Bucharest, on the Kiseleff Road.The first, wooden, triumphal arch was built hurriedly, after Romania gained its independence , so that the victorious troops could march under it...
.
Cast
- Agnes BrucknerAgnes BrucknerAgnes Bruckner is an American actress. She began acting on television in the late 1990s and has since appeared in seven films, including The Woods, Blue Car, and Murder By Numbers.-Early life:...
as Vivian - Hugh DancyHugh Dancy- Early life and career :Dancy was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of British philosopher Jonathan Dancy, a professor at the University of Reading and at the University of Texas at Austin. His mother, Sarah, is a publisher. His brother, Jack, is a co-director of the travel company, Trufflepig...
as Aiden - Olivier MartinezOlivier MartinezOlivier Martinez is a French film actor. He became known after roles in several French films such as Un, deux, trois, soleil , which garnered him the César Award for "Most Promising Actor", The Horseman on the Roof , and The Chambermaid on the Titanic...
as Gabriel - Katja RiemannKatja RiemannKatja Hannchen Leni Riemann is a German actress.- Life and work :Born as the daughter of two teachers, Katja Riemann spent her childhood in Weyhe, near Bremen. After high school she went to Hamburg to study music and theater...
as Astrid - Bryan DickBryan DickBryan Dick is an English actor, who has starred in multiple motion pictures, television series, and stage productions in both the United Kingdom and United States.-Background:...
as Rafe - Chris GeereChris GeereChristopher William "Chris" Geere is an English actor. He best known for his role as King Edvard/Eddie in the The Prince and Me sequels.-Private life:Geere lives in Putney, London....
as Ulf - Tom HarperTom Harper (actor)Tom Harper is a British film and television actor.-Career:Harper has appeared in over a dozen films and more than ten television productions....
as Gregor - John KerrJohn Kerr (actor)John Kerr is an American actor from a family rooted in British and Broadway stage, and a lawyer.- Early life :Kerr's parents, Geoffrey Kerr and June Walker, were both stage and film actors, and his grandfather was Frederick Kerr, a famed British trans-Atlantic character actor in the period...
as Finn - Jack WilsonJack WilsonJack Wilson may refer to:* Jack Wilson , American baseball player* Jack Wilson , American boxer and Olympic medalist in 1936* Jackie Wilson , American boxer...
as Willem - Vitalie Ursu as Constani
- Bogdan VodaBogdan VodaBogdan Vodă is a commune in Maramureş County, northern Romania. The commune was named after its significant native, Bogdan I, the second founder of Moldavia. It is composed of two villages, Bocicoel and Bogdan Vodă....
as Albu - Kata DobóKata DoboKata Dobó or Kata Dobo is a Hungarian actress.She was born in Győr, Hungary and emigrated to Los Angeles in the summer of 1999...
as Beatrice - Rodica Mandache as Mrs. Bellagra
- Sandu Mihai Gruia as Pharmacist
- Florin Busuioc as Jail Guard
- Helga Racz as Young Vivian
- Lia Bugnar as Young Vivian's Mother
- Mihai Calin as Young Vivian's Father
- Sofia Vladu as Vivian's Sister
- David Finti as Vivian's Brother
- Anatole TaubmanAnatole TaubmanAnatole Taubman is a Swiss actor, who has appeared in many films, such as a henchman in the latest James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace and as the monk Remigius in the TV miniseries The Pillars of the Earth.-References:...
as Bartender - Pete Lee-WilsonPete Lee-Wilson-Biography:His first role was in the television show, Metal Mickey. He has also appeared in The Bill, Spooks and was in the 2009 Doctor Who story The End of Time.-Personal life:...
as Krall - Maria DinulescuMaria Dinulescu-Early life:She graduated from the I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in Bucharest, Romania.-Acting career:She is best known as the lead actress in the 2007 film California Dreamin...
as Sexy Redhead - Raluca Aprodu as Girlfriend #1
- Simona Cuciurianu as Girlfriend #2
- Alexandru Barba as Little Boy
- Romeo Raicu as Truck Driver
- Iulian Pana as Club Bouncer
- Tudor Istodor as Tesk Man
- Mihai Dinvale as Maitre’d
- Jasmin TabatabaiJasmin TabatabaiJasmin Tabatabai is a German-Iranian singer, songwriter and actress.- Life and work :...
as Nightclub Singer - Silviu Sanda as Band Player (Bass)
- Cristian Anca as Band Player (Guitar)
- Razvan Gorcinski as Band Player (Drums)
- Dan Mihai Leompescu as Band Player (Keyboards)
- Cristi Dimitriu as Band Player (Percussion)
- Samela A. Beasom as Choir
- Susan Judy as Choir
- Christen Herman as Choir
- Daniel C. Plaster as Choir
Production
Since 1997, five directors were in talks to film Blood and Chocolate, namely Larry Williams and his wife Leslie LibmanLeslie Libman
Leslie Libman is an American television director. She also directed commercials and music videos.-Television work:Since 1995 she works primarily as a TV director on a number of television series, most notably directing multiple episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street, The 4400 and NCIS. Other...
, Po-Chih Leong, Sanji Senaka and Rupert Wainwright
Rupert Wainwright
Rupert Wainwright is an English film and television director, writer, and actor.Wainwright was born in Cotswolds, UK and started his film career in the 1980s as an actor...
, before Katja von Garnier finally signed in January 2005 to direct the film. The book was originally adapted into a script by Christopher Landon
Christopher B. Landon
Christopher Beau Landon is an American screenwriter best known as the writer of 2007 film Disturbia and as the son of filmmaker Michael Landon.-Career:...
whose father Michael Landon
Michael Landon
Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...
had a leading role in the film I Was a Teenage Werewolf
I Was a Teenage Werewolf
I Was a Teenage Werewolf is a 1957 horror film starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager and Whit Bissell as the primary adult. It was co-written and produced by cult film producer Herman Cohen, and was one of the most successful films released by American International Pictures...
(1957).
Author Annette Curtis Klause was not kept up to date by the producers of the film. She had to find the information about the filming on the Web.
Filming was set in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
historic part of the city and at Media Pro Studios in Buftea
Buftea
Buftea is a town in Ilfov county, Romania, located 20 km north-west of Bucharest. Its population is growing due to its proximity to Bucharest. One village, Buciumeni, is administered by the town....
. However, as many of the American movies based in Bucharest, the movie failed to be accurate in presenting the real places in city, for example the Piata Romana
Piata Romana
Piaţa Romană is a major traffic intersection in Sector 1, central Bucharest.Two major boulevards intersect in Piaţa Romană: Lascăr Catargiu Boulevard and Magheru Boulevard . The two roads also coincide geographically with the Bucharest Metro Line M2...
(Romana Square) is actually the Curtea Veche
Curtea Veche
Curtea Veche , built as a place or residence during the rule of Vlad III Dracula in the 15th century, now operates as a museum in the centre of Bucharest, Romania. The residence was moved under the rule of Radu cel Frumos, who moved the princely residence and the Wallachian capital to Bucharest...
yard (Old Court, a destroyed old palace), or Biserica Silvestru (Silvestru Church, in downtown Bucharest) is actually a church in Stirbey Palace, Buftea, a few tens of kilometres west of Bucharest.
Release
The movie was a box office bomb, taking in only $2.1 million in the United States on its opening weekend and dropping out of the top 20 grossing movies in only its second week of release. The film holds a 11% approval rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with 8 out of 63 critics giving it an approving rating.
Soundtrack
Blood & Chocolate: Original Motion Picture SoundtrackBlood & Chocolate: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Blood & Chocolate: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for the film Blood & Chocolate, released on January 26, 2007 over Lakeshore Records.-History:...
was released on 23 January 2007 by Lakeshore Records
Lakeshore Records
Lakeshore Records is the independent music division of Lakeshore Entertainment . They started out as WILL Records.Will Records were started by Skip Williamson in the early 90s...
.