- Title: Keira Knightley braves a doomsday Christmas in 'Silent Night'
- Date: 17th September 2021
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 16, 2021) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, KEIRA KNIGHTLEY, ON HOW RELEVANT THE FILM'S THEMES ARE NOW THAT WE ARE IN A PANDEMIC AND ARE HAVING TO MAKE CHOICES AS TO WHETHER TO FOLLOW THE OFFICIAL LINE (POLITICAL OR SCIENTIFIC), SAYING: "You know, it was very, very strange because when we first started talking about this, this was utter fiction you know, and it was very funny because it was utter fiction. And I thought, you know, initially it was very much talking about selling it as going this is a Working Title Christmas movie and then we'll sell it and it will have this great twist and it will be hilarious. And I think actually, if we'd made this film five years ago, that is possibly the case. And then all of a sudden, you know, the last two years have been the last two years, and I do think it should come with a warning because I think we're all seeing it in a completely different way. And I think our experience of making it, it was completely different. And, you know, I make a lot of period films and people are always like, why don't you make something modern? And you think, oh, I think this is a bit too modern. You know, this is, this is a bit too relevant. And I think people were very, very frightened of it. But I don't think that's a bad thing." TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA (SEPTEMBER 16, 2021) (REUTERS) PRODUCER, TRUDIE STYLER POSING FOR PHOTOS (L-R) GENERAL MANAGER OF AMC+, COURTNEY THOMASMA, PRODUCER CELINE RATTRAY, TRUDIE STYLER AND GRIFFIN POSING FOR PHOTOS BEFORE BEING JOINED BY DEPP, DEPP HUGGING GRIFFIN AND JOINING GROUP FOR PHOTOS DEPP AND GRIFFIN POSING (SOUNDBITE) (English) WRITER-DIRECTOR, CAMILLE GRIFFIN, ON HOW YOU PROMOTE A FILM LIKE 'SILENT NIGHT' WITHOUT GIVING THE GAME AWAY, SAYING (PLEASE NOTE: THREE-WAY SHOT OF GRIFFIN, KNIGHTLEY AND DEPP IN VISION AT START OF SOUNDBITE): "So, the truth is, when we finish the film, we showed the studios last year and they were crazy about the film, but they were terrified by the film and they didn't want to show anyone the film. That's the answer to that question. And I think they wanted to wait until the pandemic, people had recovered because they understood that, we didn't know the pandemic was going to happen when I wrote and everyone was cast and we went into production, so I think we wanted society to have some sense of hope and recovery, which I think is what's amazing about the vaccine that, that's provided." (L-R) THOMASMA, RATTRAY, STYLER, DEPP AND GRIFFIN POSING FOR PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, LILY-ROSE DEPP, ON WHETHER THE CHARACTERS WHO CHOSE TO FOLLOW THE 'OFFICIAL LINE' MADE THE RIGHT DECISION IN THE END, SAYING: "You know seeing things unfold around you and a group mentality that they're trying to say like is the right thing and everything. And you're kind of like, well, I don't feel this way. Like I think that there's something really beautiful about the way that Sophie does stand her ground in her way throughout the movie and that she fights for her truth as well."
- Embargoed: 1st October 2021 14:32
- Keywords: Camille Griffin Keira Knightley Lily-Rose Depp Silent Night Trudie Styler
- Location: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA/ LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM/ UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- City: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA/ LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM/ UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- Country: Canada
- Topics: Canada,Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA003EV3Z619
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Keira Knightley stars in not-so-feelgood Christmas movie "Silent Night," about a group of friends getting together for the holiday and blissfully ignoring a looming doomsday.
Set in the English countryside, the friends eat, drink, sing and dance to enjoy their last Christmas, knowing everyone is going to die the next day.
The movie, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday night (September 16), was written and shot before the COVID-19 pandemic with the idea of promoting it as a Christmas movie with a twist, Knightley said.
But events soon changed that.
"It was very, very strange because when we first started talking about this, this was utter fiction and it was very funny because it was utter fiction," Knightley told Reuters in an interview.
"And then all of a sudden the last two years have been the last two years and I do think it should come with a warning because I think we're all seeing it in a completely different way."
In the film, which is writer-director Camille Griffin's feature debut, a poisonous cloud is approaching Britain, with online horror stories of it slowly killing people.
"When we finished the film, we showed the studios last year and they were crazy about the film, but they were terrified by the film and they didn't want to show anyone the film," Griffin said.
"I think they wanted to wait until ... people had recovered because they understood that we didn't know the pandemic was going to happen when I wrote (it) and everyone was cast and we went into production, so I think we wanted society to have some sense of hope and recovery."
The movie also stars "Downton Abbey" actor Matthew Goode, "Peaky Blinders" actress Annabelle Wallis, "Jojo Rabbit" star Roman Griffin Davis and Lily-Rose Depp, known for "The King" and "Voyagers."
Depp's character is the outsider of the group, and often at odds with them.
"I think that's representative of a larger sense of seeing things unfold around you and a group mentality that they're trying to say (this) is the right thing and everything and you're like, well, I don't feel this way," Depp said.
(Production: Lisa Giles-Keddie, Marie-Louise Gumuchian) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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