Directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth, the epic-sounding drama Here is getting an earlier, wider release than initially expected this November.
A reunion between director Robert Zemeckis, screenwriter Eric Roth and star Tom Hanks, the drama Here has been in the works for at least a couple of years now. Long scheduled to premiere in the US this November, it was initially thought that Zemeckis’ film would get a limited release on the 15th of that month before getting a wider release a week or two later.
There’s been a slight change of plans, however, with Sony announcing that Here will open wider and earlier: TriStar Pictures will put the film in cinemas across the US on the original date of its premiere, the 15th November.
It’s potentially a sign of Sony’s confidence in the film, which has a sterling pedigree behind it at any rate. Roth, who previously wrote Forrest Gump for Zemeckis, has adapted a brief comic strip by Richard McGuire, which tells the story of the same location and the characters that inhabit it over the course of thousands of years.
(Interestingly, Wall-E director Andrew Stanton’s upcoming In The Blink Of An Eye is similarly era-spanning, though it’s perhaps more sci-fi leaning than Roth and Zemeckis’ film.)
Hanks, who’s appeared in several Zemeckis films, has a leading part, and he’s joined by the likes of Robin Wright, Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly and Michell Dockery, all in undisclosed roles.
Podcast: In conversation with Eric Roth
Zemeckis has long dabbled in cutting-edge technology for his films, not least in his run of CGI films in the 2000s, beginning with 2004’s The Polar Express, which all used motion capture to ground-breaking (if somewhat eerie) effect. It’s a path Zemeckis will continue to travel in Here, with the director and his collaborators using a piece of software called Metaphysic Live to create younger-looking versions of Tom Hanks and Robin Wright.
(It’s a wonder whether Wright experienced a bit of déjà vu here, given she starred in 2013’s The Congress, in which she played an actor who agrees to have her likeness digitally scanned to appear in films.)
It sounds like a similar ‘deepfake’-like approach used to create a younger version of a well-known Star Wars actor for an episode of The Mandalorian (we’ll keep things vague because, y’know, spoilers).
“I’ve always been attracted to technology that helps me to tell a story,” Zemeckis told The Hollywood Reporter in January 2023. “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.”
With news of Here’s updated US release, there’s the increased hope that it’ll get a similarly expansive run in UK cinemas. We’ll bring you any word on that front as we learn it.
Podcast: In conversation with Robert Zemeckis