Welcome to the inner-Sanctum

(Above) TA-DAH! The Sanctum poster on display at the AIMC, as snapped by the clever Ryan Makepeace

It is the footage the whole world has been waiting to see and breathtaking scenes from James Cameron’s Sanctum were shown exclusively to delegates at the Australian International Movie Convention last Wednesday. The films star Rhys Wakefield and producer Andrew Wight presented the three full scenes, and one package reel, in 3D.

The first clip showed Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd’s character flying a helicopter to the opening of the main cave system, which they dive in the film. The coast has never looked so good, with the footage showing the Broadwater and Gold Coast Hinterland in breathtaking 3D, including the Cedar Creek Falls on Tamborine Mountain. The film’s executive producer James Cameron gave an introduction to the scenes via videolink and said he thinks the use of 3D technology will `create a great sense of Claustrophobia’. He also thanked the Australian industry for supporting the film so far.

Former Home & Away actor Rhys Wakefield plays one of the central characters in the film, Josh, who is reluctantly taken on a cave diving expedition by his estranged father Frank, played by Richard Roxburgh. However, as the team of divers begins their journey through the unexplored cave, a freak storm blocks the exit, trapping them below and forcing them to find another way out. The story is based on the real life experience of producer and writer Andrew Wight, who has worked with Cameron previously on several films.

Wakefield (below) has just returned from working in LA and when asked if he could be heading on the same trajectory as Sam Worthington after he filmed Avatar with Cameron, he said he would wait and see. “It’s bizarre, I still feel very disconnected from the whole scene in LA,” he said. “Even seeing James Cameron just up there (on screen), it’s kind of surreal, I’m watching him going that’s the king. I feel fantastic to be a part of it, it’s such a great script and you only have to spend five minutes with Andrew Wight and his incredible story and the experiences that he’s witnessed first hand . . . I feel like the story is in really great hands. And the LA thing I guess will happen when it happens.”

The second scene showed the film’s protagonists diving inside the cave system, scaling rock faces and abseiling into the depths. Wight said most of the cave scenes were created in Warner Roadshow Studios, although some were filmed in real caves. “It’s a very ambitious film to make,” he said. “For a $25m (AUS) budget, or there abouts, to go into this alien environment which is actually here on Earth in these cave systems which have flying water, fast moving currents, underground rivers and high-tech diving equipment . . .it was on a fairly grand scale. It was difficult to make in the respect that there were a lot of physical challenges. More specifically for the actors like Rhys who had no background in doing their own stunts or doing underwater work. They have done it so well.”

Wakefield said he had to undergo `a lot of physical preparation’ for the role. “The character himself starts out kind of juvenile and he’s forced to grow up through this heightened sense of reality where its do or die, sink or swim, and it wasn’t dissimilar to the actual experience to be honest,” he said. “I had to learn to scuba dive, rock climb, I was doing boxing and fighting. It was a lot of fun, and a lot of pressure, but I think we all created something that is worth a watch.”

Cameron said one of his goals with the film was to prove that you `didn’t have to have a $100m budget’ to make an excellent 3D film. The third scene screened was the most suspenseful and featured the characters trying to survive amidst the flooding caves. The package reel showed clips of footage from the entire film including fight scenes, rock climbing, explosions, underwater actions and what, for the most part, looks like an intense and thrilling ride. Sanctum was filmed on the coast earlier this year and at Warner Roadshow Studios. Local director Alister Grierson is at the helm and said he is currently putting the `final touches’ on the film during post-production in Melbourne.

Read more...

Sanctum wraps shooting in QLD

(Above) Alister Grierson and James Cameron on the set of Sanctum.

Underwater 3D epic Sanctum finished filming in Queensland today and I spoke to director Alister Grierson exclusively about it. The Gold Coast director and the stars are flying down to Mt Gambier on Monday to shoot the final underwater cave scenes.

Grierson says they have spent the last three days filming on Dunk Island in North Queensland and are now on the ``home stretch''.
``It's very exciting, but I've got more work to do supervising the shoot with the second unit in Mt Gambier," he says.
``It has been physically demanding for the actors and quite dangerous.
``It's always stressful when you have people in the water in these dangerous situations but they really stepped up to the challenge.
``They're relieved to finish in a way, but it's always sad when you finish a film because it's like a community and you form some really close bonds.''

Sanctum stars Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd and Australian actors Richard Roxburgh and Rhys Wakefield as three divers on a cave-diving expedition gone wrong. It is based on the real-life experience of the producer and writer Andrew Wight and is being executive produced by Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron (also known as God).
Majority of the film has been shot on the Gold Coast at Warner Roadshow Studios and Grierson says the post-production will be done in Melbourne.
``Heading into the editing room, adding the visual effects and all the sound, it's my favourite part of the filmmaking process,'' he says.

He says they will deliver the finished film to the studio in October, with a late 2010 theatrical release most likely.


Despite having a budget of only $30 million, James Cameron says he thought Sanctum would be able to utilise his 3D technology better than Avatar.
``Avatar is much more expansive, but the thing that most people don't understand with 3D is that it works best in a very claustrophobic environment,'' he said.
``With Sanctum you can really feel that those rock walls in the cave are only a few feet away.
``It works exceptionally well in creating a sense of claustrophobia.
``There will accelerated heart rates, tight breathing and white knuckles when they (audiences) go through a lot of the experiences in this film as a result of the 3D putting them right there in these constricted places.''

If you have been living underwater in a cave for the past few months, you can check out my previous Sanctum stories here, here and here.

Read more...

A recap of James Cameron's Sanctum

(Above) Richard Roxburgh on one of Sanctum's cave sets at Warner Roadshow studios.

Later today I’m heading on the set of 3D underwater epic Sanctum and interviewing James Cameron. And yes, I’m most likely to pee my pants with excitement given he’s the Jesus of fanboys (and girls) everywhere. In the mean time, I thought I would recap his latest project and throw in some exclusive updates too just because, well, I’m awesome.

Note: If by some ungodly chance you are a Sanctum virgin, then I suggest you check out my exclusive with director Alister Grierson and location manager Chris Strewe in November here.

The Concept

Sanctum is set underwater and tells the story of a cave-diving team, made up of a billionaire and a father and son, who become trapped during an expedition to the unexplored and least accessible cave system in the world. It is based on the real-life experience of the film’s producer and writer Andrew Wight, who was trapped underwater with 14 other Aussies for around 30 hours when the entrance to a cave they were exploring under the Nullarbor's Pannikin Plains collapsed during a freak storm. The drama happened in 1988 and Wight made a documentary about the ordeal before managing to convince his mate `Jim’ to make a movie. Wight and Cameron have a close working relationship and have collaborated on a number of projects including Ghosts of the Abyss.

The ball got rolling after Cameron saw footage of Gold Coast director Alister Grierson’s low-budget war drama Kokoda and pursued him for the role of director. Grierson’s no fool and jumped at the opportunity to direct under the guidance of one of Hollywood’s most successful directors ever.

Grierson won the prestigious Tropfest short film festival five years ago and is using many of the same crew members on Sanctum as he did for his short film.

The Cast
The stars of the film are Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd (above) as the billionaire underwriting the diving expedition, the perpetual villain Richard Roxburgh as `the dad' character and up and comer Rhys Wakefield (below) as his teenage son. The Home & Away alumni was very impressive in The Black Balloon and this is likely to be Wakefield’s breakthrough into mainstream Hollywood. The three characters
The rest of the small cast is made of Aussies too, including the perpetual villain Richard Roxburgh, although his role is unknown.

A sneaky source who works at the accommodation where Gruffudd is staying in Broadbeach tells me he has been on the Gold Coast since late December with his wife Alice Evans and their baby Ella (who is ridiculously cute by the way).

Filming

(Above) Director Alister Grierson on the Sanctum set at Jacob's Well.

Shooting began at Warner Roadshow studios on the Gold Coast in November, with opening exterior shots filmed at properties in Bonogin and Jacob's Well. Set in Papua New Guinea, majority of the filming is being conducted in Sound Stages 2 and 8, with crews filming underwater scenes in the studio's $2.1 million water tank.

Grierson says filming should wrap towards the end of March and then post-production work will begin. Sanctum is tagged with a 2010 release date but could be pushed back to early 2011.

(Above) On the Sanctum set.

I hope that catches you up on everything Sanctum-related. It’s set to be the first underwater 3D fiction-film which, although is a very specific category, is sure to be incredible given the people behind the project.

Stand by for Movie Mazzupial's interview with James Cameron, director Alister Grierson and producer Andrew Wight this afternoon and more on-set pics.

Read more...