Slipstream (2007 film)
Encyclopedia
Slipstream is a 2007 American
science fiction film
starring, written, scored, and directed by Anthony Hopkins
, which explores the premise of a screen writer who is caught in a slipstream
of time, memories, fantasy and reality. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
. Hopkins composed the music for the film, while British composer Harry Gregson-Williams
scored it.
first wrote the script for Slipstream for fun, saying, "I had no idea where it was going. It just kept evolving on itself. I always wanted to poke fun at the movie business and the acting profession – they take themselves so seriously. I wanted to poke them in the nose." Hopkins explained his perspective of the premise:
Hopkins initially shopped his script to studios for whom he had been bankable. Executives expressed interest as well as input for the script, but Hopkins refused to take the input. Hopkins showed the script to director-producer Steven Spielberg
, who praised the dialogue but warned that financing would be difficult. He proceeded to begin production, initiating filming on June 12, 2006 in Los Angeles
and moved to the California
desert. Hopkins rejected studios who wanted to have a final cut of the film, and he instead found a new, unidentified patron to finance the film for under $10 million. During production, filmmakers invited six graduate students from Northern Illinois University
to assist with the film for college credit. Hopkins also composed the score for Slipstream and conducted the orchestra for the music. In post-production, Hopkins used quick editing and digital technology to edit a fast-paced cut of Slipstream to speed audiences through the film.
on January 20, 2007. The film was met with confusion by Sundance audiences, who wondered about the actual meaning of the premise.
On the film review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes
, Slipstream received a 25% rating based on reviews from 36 critics. On the similar site Metacritic
, the film received a metascore of 47 out of 100 from 14 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Not all reviews were negative. Roger Ebert
gave the film three out of four stars and suggested that the film is worth seeing, "if you'll actively engage your sympathy with Hopkins' attempt to do something tricky and difficult. If you want to lay back and let the movie come to you, you may be lying there a long time."
on October 26, 2007, earning $6,273 over the weekend and $8,965 in the full week. The film closed on November 1, 2007, after a week at the box office grossing $8,965 in the domestic market and $18,804 in the foreign market for an international total of $27,769.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
starring, written, scored, and directed by Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
, which explores the premise of a screen writer who is caught in a slipstream
Slipstream
A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid is moving at velocities comparable to the moving object . The term slipstream also applies to the similar region adjacent to an object with a fluid moving around it...
of time, memories, fantasy and reality. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
2007 Sundance Film Festival
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
. Hopkins composed the music for the film, while British composer Harry Gregson-Williams
Harry Gregson-Williams
Harry Gregson-Williams is a prolific British composer, orchestrator, conductor, and music producer. He is best known for his film scores, of which he has composed over sixty using electronic music and orchestral pieces...
scored it.
Cast
- Anthony HopkinsAnthony HopkinsSir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
– Felix Bonhoeffer - Stella ArroyaveStella ArroyaveStella Arroyave, Lady Hopkins is an actress and producer. She married Sir Anthony Hopkins at a private ceremony in Malibu, California on 1 March 2003. Before her recent move into film Lady Hopkins was an antiques dealer...
– Gina, the wife. (Arroyave is the real-life wife of Anthony Hopkins.) - Christian SlaterChristian SlaterChristian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
– Ray / Matt Dodds / Patrolman #2 - John TurturroJohn TurturroJohn Michael Turturro is an American actor, writer and director known for his roles in the films Do the Right Thing , Miller's Crossing , Barton Fink , Quiz Show , The Big Lebowski , O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Transformers film series...
– Harvey Brickman - Camryn ManheimCamryn ManheimCamryn Manheim is an American actress known primarily for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's The Practice and Delia Banks on CBS's Ghost Whisperer and as Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley in the 2005 mini-series Elvis....
– Barbara - Jeffrey TamborJeffrey TamborJeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development and Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show.-Early life:...
– Geek / Jeffrey / Dr. Geekman - S. Epatha MerkersonS. Epatha MerkersonS. Epatha Merkerson is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has won a Golden Globe, Emmy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Obie Award and four NAACP Image Awards. She has also received two Tony Award nominations...
– Bonnie - Fionnula Flanagan – Bette Lustig
- Christopher LawfordChristopher LawfordChristopher Kennedy Lawford is an American author, actor and activist and member of the prominent Kennedy family.-Life and career:...
– Lars - Michael Clarke DuncanMichael Clarke DuncanMichael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.- Early life :...
– Mort / Phil - Lisa Pepper – Tracy
- Kevin McCarthyKevin McCarthy (actor)Kevin McCarthy was an American stage, film, and television actor, who appeared in over two hundred television and film roles. For his role in the 1951 film version of Death of a Salesman, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of...
– Himself - Gavin GrazerGavin GrazerGavin Grazer is an American film actor and director. Grazer is the brother of Academy Award-winning film producer Brian Grazer...
– Gavin - Aaron Tucker – Chauffeur / Aaron
- Lana Antonova – Lily
- Jana ThompsonJana ThompsonJana Thompson is an American actress who has appeared in films such as Brain Blockers and Countess Dracula's Orgy of Blood...
Production
Actor Anthony HopkinsAnthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
first wrote the script for Slipstream for fun, saying, "I had no idea where it was going. It just kept evolving on itself. I always wanted to poke fun at the movie business and the acting profession – they take themselves so seriously. I wanted to poke them in the nose." Hopkins explained his perspective of the premise:
Hopkins initially shopped his script to studios for whom he had been bankable. Executives expressed interest as well as input for the script, but Hopkins refused to take the input. Hopkins showed the script to director-producer Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, who praised the dialogue but warned that financing would be difficult. He proceeded to begin production, initiating filming on June 12, 2006 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and moved to the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
desert. Hopkins rejected studios who wanted to have a final cut of the film, and he instead found a new, unidentified patron to finance the film for under $10 million. During production, filmmakers invited six graduate students from Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
to assist with the film for college credit. Hopkins also composed the score for Slipstream and conducted the orchestra for the music. In post-production, Hopkins used quick editing and digital technology to edit a fast-paced cut of Slipstream to speed audiences through the film.
Critical Reception
Slipstream premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival2007 Sundance Film Festival
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
on January 20, 2007. The film was met with confusion by Sundance audiences, who wondered about the actual meaning of the premise.
On the film review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten 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...
, Slipstream received a 25% rating based on reviews from 36 critics. On the similar site Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film received a metascore of 47 out of 100 from 14 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Not all reviews were negative. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film three out of four stars and suggested that the film is worth seeing, "if you'll actively engage your sympathy with Hopkins' attempt to do something tricky and difficult. If you want to lay back and let the movie come to you, you may be lying there a long time."
Box Office
The film later experienced a one-week limited release in 6 theaters in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on October 26, 2007, earning $6,273 over the weekend and $8,965 in the full week. The film closed on November 1, 2007, after a week at the box office grossing $8,965 in the domestic market and $18,804 in the foreign market for an international total of $27,769.
External links
- Interview with Slipstream director Anthony Hopkins at Filmmaker MagazineFilmmaker MagazineFilmmaker is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent film. The magazine was founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis...