The Woman in Black (2011 film)
Encyclopedia
The Woman in Black is an upcoming 2012 supernatural
thriller film directed by James Watkins and written by Jane Goldman
, and is based on Susan Hill
's novel of the same name
. It is produced by Hammer Film Productions
. The film will star Daniel Radcliffe
, Ciarán Hinds
, Janet McTeer
, Sophie Stuckey
, and Liz White
. It is due to release in the U.S. on 3 February 2012 and in UK cinemas on 10 February 2012.
) leaves his son in London to settle the legal affairs of the recently deceased Alice Drablow. He discovers that a series of inexplicable accidents and suicides have forced the parents of her village to barricade their children indoors, as if protecting them from an unseen foe. When Arthur stays the night all alone at the Drablows' foreboding house, he hears the screams of a drowning child and sees decaying children listlessly wandering the marshes. He will soon discover these haunting figures share the same date of death, and the same killer.
The ghost of a scorned woman, who was unable to save her beloved son Nathaniel from drowning, The Woman In Black, takes on a horrifying form. Set on vengeance, her veil hides gaping sockets eaten away by scavengers and her curse hides an even darker secret - whenever she is seen, a child dies.
In the face of hostility from the local residents, Arthur dredges up Nathaniel’s skeleton and buries it with his mother, hoping the evil spectre will finally rest in peace. In a cruel twist of fate, the Woman In Black turns her claws towards Arthur’s young son. To avoid a fate worse than death, Arthur must now sacrifice everything he holds dear and save his child.
as screenwriter
and later James Watkins as director
.
Daniel Radcliffe was announced as the actor playing the part of Arthur Kipps on 19 July 2010. He was quoted as saying,"I am incredibly excited to be part of The Woman in Black. Jane Goldman's script is beautifully written — both tender and terrifying in equal measure." Two months later, it was announced that fellow Potter actor Ciarán Hinds
would join Radcliffe along with Janet McTeer
as Mr and Mrs Daily, respectively. Before filming, Radcliffe saw a psychologist so he could better understand his character.
officially started on 26 September 2010. The next day, Radcliffe was pictured in costume just outside Peterborough, England. In early October the crew was filming in Layer Marney Tower
. Filming officially ended on 4 December 2010.
released a one minute teaser at Spike TV
's Scream Awards
on 18 October 2011, and a day later released a teaser poster.
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
thriller film directed by James Watkins and written by Jane Goldman
Jane Goldman
Jane Lauretta Anne Goldman is an English screenwriter, author, model and television presenter. Between 2003 and 2004 she fronted her own paranormal series, Jane Goldman Investigates, on the channel Living.-Personal life:...
, and is based on Susan Hill
Susan Hill
Susan Hill is an English author of fiction and non-fiction works. Her novels include The Woman in Black, The Mist in the Mirror and I'm the King of the Castle for which she received the Somerset Maugham Award in 1971....
's novel of the same name
The Woman in Black
The Woman in Black is a 1983 thriller fiction novel by Susan Hill about a menacing spectre that haunts a small English town.It was adapted into a stage play by Stephen Mallatratt...
. It is produced by Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
. The film will star Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series....
, Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...
, Janet McTeer
Janet McTeer
Janet McTeer, OBE is a British actress.-Life and career:McTeer was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom, the daughter of Jean and Alan McTeer...
, Sophie Stuckey
Sophie Stuckey
Sophie Stuckey is an English actress. She plays the lead role of Summer in Summer in Transylvania.Stuckey, who was born in Camden, also played Dora Southerly in Midsomer Murders, and is set to play Stella Kipps in the 2012 remake of The Woman in Black...
, and Liz White
Liz White (actress)
Liz White is an English actress, best known for her regular role as WPC/WDC Annie Cartwright in the BBC time travel drama Life on Mars, which began in January 2006...
. It is due to release in the U.S. on 3 February 2012 and in UK cinemas on 10 February 2012.
Premise
Young lawyer Arthur Kipps (Daniel RadcliffeDaniel Radcliffe
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series....
) leaves his son in London to settle the legal affairs of the recently deceased Alice Drablow. He discovers that a series of inexplicable accidents and suicides have forced the parents of her village to barricade their children indoors, as if protecting them from an unseen foe. When Arthur stays the night all alone at the Drablows' foreboding house, he hears the screams of a drowning child and sees decaying children listlessly wandering the marshes. He will soon discover these haunting figures share the same date of death, and the same killer.
The ghost of a scorned woman, who was unable to save her beloved son Nathaniel from drowning, The Woman In Black, takes on a horrifying form. Set on vengeance, her veil hides gaping sockets eaten away by scavengers and her curse hides an even darker secret - whenever she is seen, a child dies.
In the face of hostility from the local residents, Arthur dredges up Nathaniel’s skeleton and buries it with his mother, hoping the evil spectre will finally rest in peace. In a cruel twist of fate, the Woman In Black turns her claws towards Arthur’s young son. To avoid a fate worse than death, Arthur must now sacrifice everything he holds dear and save his child.
Cast
- Daniel RadcliffeDaniel RadcliffeDaniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series....
as Arthur Kipps, a young lawyerLawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
who has a child. - Ciarán HindsCiarán HindsCiarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...
as Sam Daily, a local landowner. - Janet McTeerJanet McTeerJanet McTeer, OBE is a British actress.-Life and career:McTeer was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom, the daughter of Jean and Alan McTeer...
as Mrs. Daily, Daily's wife. - Sophie StuckeySophie StuckeySophie Stuckey is an English actress. She plays the lead role of Summer in Summer in Transylvania.Stuckey, who was born in Camden, also played Dora Southerly in Midsomer Murders, and is set to play Stella Kipps in the 2012 remake of The Woman in Black...
as Stella Kipps. - Mischa Handley as Edward Kipps, Arthur's disabled son.
- Liz WhiteLiz White (actress)Liz White is an English actress, best known for her regular role as WPC/WDC Annie Cartwright in the BBC time travel drama Life on Mars, which began in January 2006...
as Jennet Humfrye, a woman who returned after death as a menacing spectre known as The Woman in Black. - Alisa Khazanova as Alice Drablow, the deceased sister of Jennet Humfrye who owned Eel Marsh House.
- Daniel Cerqueira as Keckwick, a local villager who takes Arthur to Eel Marsh House as he knows the timing of the tides well.
- Tim McMullan as Mr Jerome, the local agent of Kipps's firm.
- Aoife Doherty as Lucy Jerome, daughter of Mr & Mrs Jerome.
- Roger AllamRoger AllamRoger Allam is an English actor, known primarily for his stage career, although he has performed in film and television. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical Les Misérables....
as Mr Bentley, Kipps's employer. - Alexia Osborne as Victoria Hardy, daughter of Gerald Hardy.
- Victor McGuireVictor McGuireVictor McGuire is an English actor perhaps best known for playing Jack in series 1–3 of Carla Lane's Bread as well as Ron Wheatcroft in Goodnight Sweetheart, and Sean Hughes' neighbour Tony in Sean's Show .McGuire appeared as Gary, of the pair of "scouser thieves", in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and...
as Gerald Hardy. - David Burke as PC Collins.
- Ashley Foster as Nathaniel, the Woman In Black's son.
Development
The film was announced in 2009, with Jane GoldmanJane Goldman
Jane Lauretta Anne Goldman is an English screenwriter, author, model and television presenter. Between 2003 and 2004 she fronted her own paranormal series, Jane Goldman Investigates, on the channel Living.-Personal life:...
as screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and later James Watkins as director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Daniel Radcliffe was announced as the actor playing the part of Arthur Kipps on 19 July 2010. He was quoted as saying,"I am incredibly excited to be part of The Woman in Black. Jane Goldman's script is beautifully written — both tender and terrifying in equal measure." Two months later, it was announced that fellow Potter actor Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...
would join Radcliffe along with Janet McTeer
Janet McTeer
Janet McTeer, OBE is a British actress.-Life and career:McTeer was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom, the daughter of Jean and Alan McTeer...
as Mr and Mrs Daily, respectively. Before filming, Radcliffe saw a psychologist so he could better understand his character.
Filming
The film was planned to be shot in 3D, but that plan was later scrapped. Principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
officially started on 26 September 2010. The next day, Radcliffe was pictured in costume just outside Peterborough, England. In early October the crew was filming in Layer Marney Tower
Layer Marney Tower
Layer Marney Tower is a Tudor palace, composed of buildings, gardens and parkland, dating from 1520 situated in Layer Marney near Colchester, Essex, England.-History:...
. Filming officially ended on 4 December 2010.
Post-production
At the Kapow! Comic Con in London during April 2011, director James Watkins confirmed filming had been completed in December 2010 and post production will go on until June 2011.Marketing
On 10 April 2011, during the Kapow! Comic Con in London, the first official teaser trailer was unveiled. Another trailer of the film was attached to some showings of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 in July 2011, and a brand new worldwide teaser, depicting more footage from the movie, was released on 17 August 2011. The official UK teaser poster was released on 24 August 2011. The full UK trailer was released on 14 October 2011. CBS FilmsCBS Films
CBS Films is an American film production company founded in 2007, a feature film division of CBS Corporation. CBS Films is located on Wilshire Boulevard in West Los Angeles.-Company history:...
released a one minute teaser at Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
's Scream Awards
Scream Awards
The Scream Awards is an award show dedicated to the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres of feature films. Originally only having Scream Queen and Heroic Performance awards for actors, the personnel awards have expanded to include actors and actresses of all three recognized genres. In addition,...
on 18 October 2011, and a day later released a teaser poster.