- Title: Hugh Jackman chases memories in submerged Miami in 'Reminiscence'
- Date: 11th August 2021
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (AUGUST 11, 2021) (REUTERS) ACTOR, HUGH JACKMAN (WEARING MASK) HUGGING ACTOR THANDIWE NEWTON WHILE WRITER AND DIRECTOR LISA JOY GREETS ACTOR REBECCA FERGUSON / FERGUSON GREETING NEWTON
- Embargoed: 25th August 2021 22:52
- Keywords: Hugh Jackman Lisa Joy Rebecca Ferguson Reminiscence Reminiscence movie Reminiscence premiere London Thandiwe Newton
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM, ROME, ITALY AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM, ROME, ITALY AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA001EPU48Y5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: He may be a Hollywood superstar but Hugh Jackman says he could not believe his latest leading role was written specifically for him.
"In my head, I was like 'oh, Brad Pitt turned down the part, right?'," Jackman said of his role in the sci-fi thriller "Reminiscence".
"I said 'yes' before I read the script," the Australian actor said as he joined his co-stars Rebecca Ferguson and Thandiwe Newton and the film's writer and director Lisa Joy for a socially-distanced blue carpet premiere in London.
Set in war-torn and flood water-covered Miami of the future, "Reminiscence" stars Jackman as hardened veteran Nick Barrister who together with his business partner Watts (Newton) offers a service that allows people to relive their memories. Unexpectedly, Barrister falls in love with a mysterious client, Mae (Ferguson), with a violent past. When she suddenly disappears, Barrister sets out to discover who the object of his desire really is.
Joy, who together with her husband Jonathan Nolan created the HBO series "Westworld" makes her feature film debut with "Reminiscence".
The filmmaker said she wrote the script as she prepared for the arrival of her first child while mourning the loss of her grandfather.
"I like to think in some respects that I co-wrote it because I was pregnant at the time and I had a little baby in my tummy who, she takes credit now, she's seven, of having given me the inspiration for it from within. But it was a magical thing. And it's incredibly magical to be able to see it brought to life," she said.
In the movie, set in the near-future, Miami is protected from the rising seas with leaking walls. People have become nocturnal to escape the heat of the day.
"The movie is all about global warming, rising sea levels, Miami is submerged in water, and it makes for a really amazing looking movie but it's also scary," said Newton.
"I think Lisa has created a very time correct idea of where the world is going, whether or not we become nocturnal or not. It's a very fascinating philosophical thought. What would happen with us if we flip things around? said Ferguson.
But Joy said she did not want the movie to be all doom and gloom, either.
"This film attempts to create a portrait of the future that acknowledges the difficulties we might face, but also acknowledges the hope that exists for us to band together and create the kind of world that we'd like to live in."
Asked what memories they would personally like to revisit, both of the lead actors thought of children and childhood.
"In my personal life, I'd love to hold my babies again. I'd like to pick them up, you know, from their car seat when they're asleep into bed, putting them on their pyjamas without waking them up. All that sort of thing. I miss those days," said Jackman.
"What I'd go back to is childhood nonconsequential, you know, euphoric happiness. That we kind of miss when we grow up, the kind of excitement when someone chases you, then climbing a tree, the tickles, the butterflies, your birthday, the night before," said Ferguson, who last week shared a tender photo on Instagram of herself and actor Tom Cruise marking the end of filming for her on "Mission: Impossible 7".
"That's seven, there's an eight coming. I love wrapping any film. We were on set and I said 'oy, Tommy boy, come here. I want a picture, Chris, take it'. And we posed for a picture and it was fun. But it's human. It's real. It's what we do, I have done it for six years with him now. You know, more to come," she said.
"Reminiscence" will be released globally from August 18, hitting cinemas in the United States and the UK on August 20.
(Production: Gerhard Mey, Hanna Rantala) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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