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Prisoners (2013)
Prisoners is a 2013 American crime thriller film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Aaron Guzikowski. The film has an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, and Paul Dano.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve · Shot by Roger Deakins · Cut by Joel Cox, Gary D. Roach · Music by Jóhann Jóhannsson · 153 min
How it was made
- Screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski's original spec script, partly inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, centred on a father who traps his child's hit-and-run driver in a well in his backyard.
- Before Villeneuve joined the project, actors Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio and directors Antoine Fuqua and Bryan Singer were each attached at different points.
- Timothée Chalamet auditioned unsuccessfully for a role in the film; he and Villeneuve later worked together when Chalamet was cast as Paul Atreides in Villeneuve's Dune films.
- Guzikowski credited producer Mark Wahlberg's attachment to the project as pivotal in getting the film actually made, saying his endorsement helped it gain traction.
- Originally planned to shoot in Connecticut, the production moved to Georgia for budgetary reasons, filming in and around Atlanta, Conyers, Monroe, Porterdale, Lithonia, Stone Mountain and Tucker between February and May 2013.
Behind the scenes
Elsewhere
More by Denis Villeneuve
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