Chronicle

Chronicle Trailer

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CHRONICLE, a new film unlike any you’ve seen before.  It’s a superhero movie that’s not really a superhero movie.  On the surface it belongs in the relatively new sub-genre of “found footage” or “P-O-V” films, but it turns their conventions on its head.  It’s thrilling, yet relatable; rich with creatively conceived and executed camera work and visual effects, but grounded in reality.

So, what would you do if you suddenly obtained abilities beyond comprehension?  Would you don a special suit, fly off, and battle evildoers?  If you were a teenager, the likely response would be: hell, no.  You’d have a blast with them, pull elaborate pranks, and maybe exact revenge on those who’ve wronged you.  Maybe those powers would amplify your less noble qualities.  Or worse.

“In most stories, superpowers are generally applied to good and evil, but in reality they’d be applied to necessity,” says Josh Trank, who makes his feature directorial debut and also co-wrote the story with Max Landis.  “And when you’re a teenager, necessity is really about making yourself happy.  You’d want to laugh and have a good time with those powers.”

Trank was determined that CHRONICLE wouldn’t be “your father’s P-O-V movie.  The story is very grounded; it’s not a fantasy or genre film; it’s a story about young people.  It’s about real teens and not caricatures of young people.  Their lives are anything but perfect.  We get into their world and discover their challenges, long before anything extraordinary begins to happen.  By the time the guys have obtained their powers, that element is so firmly woven into the story and characters that the film segues into an exploration of how they come to terms with those powers.”

Adds Max Landis, who wrote the screenplay based on his and Trank’s story: “I think CHRONICLE is going to give audiences an experience, from which they’ll leave the theaters, thinking, that’s exactly what I would have done if I had telekinetic powers.”

Producer John Davis notes that CHRONICLE is anything but “cookie-cutter,” and fills a need for bold, non-traditional storytelling that speaks to today’s audiences.  “It’s really fresh and different,” says Davis, who has known screenwriter Landis since the latter was a child.  “CHRONICLE represents a unique vision that has remained intact since Josh and Max first discussed the concept.  It takes familiar concepts, like superhero and ‘found-footage’ films, and takes them in new directions.”

The title itself speaks to our obsession with self-documentation, through social networking or even by just carrying around a camera and recording our lives, simply because we have the means to do so.  “We live in a world where you can film anything you want to, at any time,” says Trank.  “There is an emerging aesthetic from this generation.  Kids in high school today are the most self-photographed people in history. Almost everyone has a camera in some form, and are uploading images every few seconds to social networking sites.  So we’re seeing more films inspired by this new style of shooting.”

Trank, whose experimental short film “Stabbing at Leia’s 22nd Birthday” was an online sensation amassing over ten million views, embraces this new aesthetic with a vengeance, while dialing up its potential and impact.  “Josh’s work in CHRONICLE is the next step in that kind of storytelling,” says producer Adam Schroeder. “We’ve seen movies that have made extensive use of someone’s point of view and hand-held cameras, but never in the way we use the camera here. It’s more than a device to tell a story; it’s a character, or an extension of our lead character.”

Most of the film is told through the point of view of Andrew, a troubled but creative young man with a keen visual eye and a high-quality HD camera.  “So, CHRONICLE is not really a conventional ‘found footage’ feature,” says Trank, referring to the often grainy-looking “shaky-cam” movies.  “Instead, we wanted a very controlled, thoughtful looking movie, seen through the eyes of a talented young man.  There’s an intelligence behind the way Andrew operates his camera and captures increasingly incredible events.”

Andrew’s newfound telekinetic abilities add an unexpected dimension to his camera operating skills, which give CHRONICLE a one-of-a-kind look and texture.  “Andrew begins operating his camera telekinetically, which opens up his entire world,” Trank explains.  “His camera is, in a way, attached to his brain, and he’s able to make it float, fly and capture action in a unique way.  Halfway through the film, you realize you’re watching something you’ve never seen before, and then in the last 15 minutes, it just becomes insane.  It’s constantly evolving, from the intimate and grounded to the epic and unexpected.”

As the film opens, Andrew is revealed to be an introverted, socially awkward teen who even before he becomes telekinetic, seems to be attached to his camera.  It’s the only thing to which Andrew is connected. “He’s the ‘fly-on-the-wall’ kid who everybody in school kind of knows, but they either ignore or bully,” says Trank.

Andrew evolves from teenage insecurity to full-blown narcissism in a way that could happen to anyone facing his extraordinary circumstances.  Says Dane DeHaan, who portrays Andrew:  “When you’re given the ultimate power, and if you’re experiencing something that nobody has ever experienced, there’s a certain God complex that comes of that.”

“Andrew is a loner, but he’s visually creative,” adds Trank.  “His constant companion – the digital camera – isn’t just a medium of storytelling.  The way it moves and what Andrew sees through it tells us a lot about him.”

In much of the movie Andrew is only “felt” as the unseen figure behind the lens, so it was critical to cast the role with an actor with a strong enough presence to register even when not in view. DeHaan, a noted theater actor, had the requisite chops to bring the pivotal role to life.  “Dane is also a very naturalistic actor, which was important because we wanted the character and his actions to feel real,” says Adam Schroeder.

“I really got excited about CHRONICLE because it just feels so new and different,” says DeHaan.  “It’s believable, even though by the third act it’s depicting some pretty incredible things.”

Andrew’s perspective – he’s behind a camera, recording everything he sees – allowed DeHaan to take on additional, behind-the-camera “duties” and approach his performance as if he were actually operating the camera.  At the same time, CHRONICLE director of photography Matthew Jensen and the film’s camera operators had to think like actors.

To convey Andrew’s perspective, the camera operators team had to “unlearn” their carefully honed skills. Jensen often worked over DeHaan’s shoulder to create the illusion that the character is recording his experiences, when in fact a team of seasoned professionals was operating the equipment.

Trank gave Jensen and his team free rein to conceive new ideas, new rigs and mounts, and to create ingenious ways to suspend the camera to obtain the “telekinetic” hand-held style.  The result is impressive: graceful and subtle camerawork that conveys the character’s powers.  “Josh was so specific that he graphed each camera movement,” says Jensen.  “By the end of the film, the camera is flying around through the streets of Seattle [where the story is set].  The camera has amazing freedom and flexibility that mirrors the growing strengths and powers our protagonists have developed through the story.”

The two other members of the newly empowered high school trio are Andrew’s cousin, Matt (portrayed by Alex Russell), and campus king Steve (Michael B. Jordan).  As the story opens, Matt is a cynical, know-it-all, too-cool-to-care teen.  But like his two new cohorts, Matt undergoes radical changes after an encounter with a mysterious force leaves him with incredible powers.

Australian actor Alex Russell reflects on playing the all-American high schooler: “What grabbed me about the project was that the concept is so surreal; it’s about teens with superpowers but at the same time it’s so ingrained with reality.  Matt couldn’t be more unlike Andrew and Steve – they would never have become friends under ‘normal’ circumstances – but they become incredibly tight through their shared experience.”

Michael B. Jordan, who was a series regular on the acclaimed “Friday Night Lights” and has a co-starring role in George Lucas’ historical epic “Red Tails,” portrays Steve, who, says the actor, “is everything a teen would want to be.  He’s the most popular student, a top athlete, and is not far from becoming school president.  He comes into Andrew’s life like a guardian angel, pulling him into the school’s social scene, and Andrew starts to feel good about himself.”

The starring cast also includes veteran character actor Michael Kelly, who portrays Andrew’s father Richard, an out-of-work firefighter whose failings as a parent impact his son as much as the latter’s newly-acquired powers; and Ashley Hinshaw as Matt’s girlfriend Casey, who discovers Matt’s secret when she finds herself in the middle of an incredible airborne battle.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Trank’s vision for CHRONICLE was meticulously…chronicled prior to the start of production.  Trank created previsualizations for every visual effect and camera angle, and wrote a detailed “Director’s Statement” outlining his plans, themes, and methodology.  Given the challenging nature of seamlessly marrying live action, stunts, visual effects and special effects, the pre-viz was a valuable guide for Trank’s department heads.

Trank’s mandate was to always keep it real.  “What’s different about this show is that it’s really a personal story; we get to know the kids especially well.” says Robert Habros, one of the film’s visual effects supervisors. “We want the audience to be living in Andrew’s experience and not thinking about how the kids are flying. The visual effects work had to disappear within the story, characters and emotions.”

The film’s flying sequences were extremely challenging and came to life through not only visual effects wizardry, but through the magic of innovative rigs designed by Simon Hansen, a noted visual effects supervisor who in the past worked closely with acclaimed filmmaker Neill Blomkamp.  Hansen invented techniques and rigs that created, says Trank, “flying like you’ve really never seen in a movie before.  It is really the most realistic flying I’ve ever seen.”

Hansen designed a circular rig that would simulate the freedom of skydiving and allow for all sorts of interactive lighting and elaborate flying moves, like corkscrews and somersaults.  The filmmakers wanted the characters to look like they were having the time of their lives flying.

The actors underwent extensive training to prepare them for the rig. “From the very beginning Josh wanted to do as much as possible in camera, live, and with the actors doing their own stunts,” says executive producer James Dodson.  “We had to effortlessly combine these fantastic live-action effects, which are actually happening, with additional enhancements that Simon created digitally.  I think that some of the shots we see in this movie have never been experienced, thanks to that invisible integration.”

The meticulous preparation, innovative flying rigs and intricate camerawork were critical for the film’s epic third act – a super-powered battle above the streets (and Space Needle) of Seattle.  The sequence features not only flight, but cars rocketing into the air, a bus smashing into the side of a building, and a city under siege.  Notably, Andrew’s ever-present camera, now destroyed, has been replaced by a plethora of recording devices capturing the battle, including telephone cameras, security cameras, automated bank teller cameras, and police dashboard cameras.

It’s a high-intensity climax, leading to an emotional resolution.  But what about the beginning – where did these powers come from?  Trank and Landis keep it fairly mysterious, but production designer Stephen Altman enjoyed creating the location where it all happens – a craggy hole in the ground, in which rests a chamber containing a massive crystalline rock structure that emits wispy clouds of light.

Altman confesses that the creation of this unknown “matter” was a highlight for him.  “It’s unlike anything I’ve designed before and I hope like nothing anyone else has seen.  Josh [Trank]’s vision of the matter was that it was not of this earth.  We don’t know if it’s animal, vegetable, or mineral.  Perhaps it’s a combination of all three.  To design the structure, we referenced geology, biology, and organic and inorganic matter.”

That set and what happens afterward will raise numerous questions for audiences – and that is exactly what the filmmakers wanted.  Says Max Landis: “Josh and I know what happened in that cave.  But in the movie it’s never meant to be explained.”

In addition to the groundbreaking visual effects, rigs, and stunt work, CHRONICLE features some impressive special effects, including using compressed gas to flip two 1,000-pound vehicles thirty feet into the air, and then have them land and be destroyed. Another scene that many will assume to be CGI but was actually captured in-camera depicts Andrew gently raising his arm and telekinetically crushing a car, which implodes and collapses within itself.  The car imploded on cue, thanks to 20,000 pounds of hydraulic pumps sucking in on actual metal and creating an unforgettable twisting, wrenching metallic sound.

Squashing cars just by thinking about it.  Flying. Wielding enough strength to level a city.  Who wouldn’t want to obtain these kinds of powers?   Who wouldn’t want to do the impossible?  What would you do, asks CHRONICLE, if you were Andrew, Matt or Steve?

What are you capable of?

ABOUT THE CAST

DANE DEHAAN (Andrew Detmer), just three years into his professional career, has wasted no time establishing himself as one of the industry’s fastest rising stars.

Dane is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Jesse on HBO’s Golden Globe®- winning series In Treatment. Joining Gabriel Byrne, Debra Winger, and Amy Ryan, his performance was lauded as a “revelatory breakthrough” by Variety, “brilliant” by the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as “the season’s most compelling client” by Entertainment Weekly.

Set to hit theaters within the next year is award winning director John Hillcoat’s gritty film Wettest County, in which Dane stars alongside Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, and Mia Wasikowska. Dane recently completed filming on Jack and Diane (with Kylie Minogue).  Dane joins Daniel Radcliffe, Elizabeth Olsen and Jack Huston in Kill Your Darlings, a thriller about a murder that brought together the writers would spark the Beat Revolution.

Last year, Dane was awarded an Obie® Award (Off-Broadway’s highest honor) for a performance so honest it was utterly disarming in Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre’s production of The Aliens, by Annie Baker. The play was named play of the year by The New York Times.

Dane is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and began his film career under the direction of two time Oscar® nominee John Sayles in his latest feature, Amigo.

ALEX RUSSELL (Matt Garetty), a native of Australia, is a graduate of that country’s prestigious NIDA acting program, and was one of the first actors in his class to land a leading role in a feature film. Alex starred in the film Wasted on the Young, which was one of the breakout films at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival and garnered him much attention. Upon his arrival in Los Angeles, Alex was cast in the independent feature, Almost Kings. He has since filmed the highly anticipated Australian film, Bait, opposite Julian McMahon and Xavier Samuel.

MICHAEL B. JORDAN (Steve Montgomery) has starred in two of the most significant television dramas of the past decade: The Wire, and Friday Night Lights. He  received critical acclaim for his portrayal of the hard-shelled, softhearted young urbanite Wallace in HBO’s dramatic hit series The Wire, and then he went on to star as the role of quarterback Vince Howard on Friday Night Lights (NBC).  Recently, he played a recovering alcoholic Alex, on NBC’s Parenthood.

Graced with the opportunity to begin a professional acting career early in his life, Michael caught the eye of Dr. Bill Cosby and was cast in the recurring role of Michael for the CBS sitcom series Cosby in 1999.  At the same time, he appeared on the HBO series The Sopranos. The following year, Michael was selected from hundreds of hopefuls, to play Jamal, in the Paramount Pictures feature film, Hardball, starring Keanu Reeves.In 2003, Michael became the youngest African-American actor to be contracted with the ABC network daytime drama series, All My Children. He played the role of Reggie, Erica Kane’s (Susan Lucci) adopted son. He landed a lead role in the independent film Blackout, starring Melvin Van Peebles, Jeffrey Wright, and Zoe Saldana. In 2007, Michael was cast in The N network’s sitcom The Assistants.His debut feature film was Pastor Brown, which premiered in the American Black Film Festival in the summer of 2009. Michael has had guest appearance roles for CSI, Cold Case, Lie to Me, Without a Trace and Law & Order. Michael plays the role of Maurice “Bumps  Wilson in George Lucas’ recently released epic film Red Tails, the story of the first African American pilots to fly in a combat squadron during WWII. Michael has received NAACP Image Award Nominations for Outstanding Male Actor in a Television Daytime Drama Series in 2005, 2006 & 2007.  He resides in Los Angeles, where he enjoys supporting charities such as Help USA and Lupus LA.

MICHAEL KELLY (Richard Detmer) was a series regular on Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, portrayed Matt Damon’s best friend in the film The Adjustment Bureau, and appeared in the feature Fair Game, with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts. He will soon be seen in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, set for release in 2013.In 2008, Kelly starred opposite Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich in Clint Eastwood’s Changeling, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. For his performance, Michael received a coveted spot as one of Daily Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch.  Also that year, Kelly starred in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill, which chronicled one Marine’s journey in the American-led assault on Baghdad in 2003. Kelly’s other feature film credits include Law Abiding Citizen, Did You Hear About the Morgans? Defendor, Invincible, Dawn of the Dead, Tenderness, The Narrows, Broken English, and Loggerheads. Kelly also appeared in M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable, Milos Forman’s Man on the Moon, and River Red.For television, Kelly recently appeared on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and on Fringe.  Michael also had a recurring role on The Sopranos and was a series regular on the USA network television series Kojak, and on the UPN action drama Level 9.  He has guest starred on numerous hit television shows, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order, C.S.I. Miami, The Shield, Judging Amy, The Jury, and Third Watch. A lifetime member of The Actor’s Studio, Kelly has performed in such plays as Arthur Penn’s production of Major Crimes, and Theatre Studio’s Miss Julie.

ASHLEY HINSHAW (Casey Letter) made her acting debut portraying a sultry stranger caught in a tangled web of deception on the hit television series Gossip Girl. She has also appeared on the series Fringe. Hinshaw will next be seen starring alongside Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore in the comedy, LOL, directed by Lisa Azuelos. Ashley plays Emily, Lola’s (Miley Cyrus) best friend, who wants to explore the world, but feels repressed by the pressure from her strict parents.Hinshaw grew up in the Midwest, and made the move to New York City at a young age to pursue a career in entertainment. She has been the face of some of the world’s largest modeling campaigns, including Abercrombie & Fitch.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

JOSH TRANK (Director, Story by) has been a film professional since age 14, when he began working as an editor for public access stations in Los Angeles. After graduating from high school, he was a post-production assistant in several L.A.-area post production facilities.  A few years later Josh made Stabbing at Leia’s, an internet phenomenon with over 10 million views online. He then made, with Robert Siegel, the critically acclaimed independent feature Big Fan.

MAX LANDIS (Screenplay, Story by), 26, has been writing habitually since age 15. He has completed over sixty feature scripts. Max briefly attended the University of Miami. CHRONICLE marked the beginning of a year-long streak of selling spec scripts and pitches that hasn’t ended yet.  The first half of the streak was commemorated by Max being featured on the cover of Script magazine.  He has many projects in various stages of development at the industry’s top studios and production companies.  In the future, he hopes to direct.

JOHN DAVIS (Producer), Chairman of Los Angeles-based Davis Entertainment, is one of Hollywood’s most prolific producers, having been a producer on more than 89 feature films and movies for television that have earned more than $4.8 billion worldwide.Davis Entertainment, established in 1986, has enjoyed a long-standing first-look production deal at 20^th Century Fox, but produces projects for all studios and mini-majors.Davis has produced an impressive slate of hit motion pictures in all genres, but with notable successes in two of the most profitable film genres – action-adventure-thrillers, and family films.Some of the Company’s action-adventure-thrillers include the sci-fi hit I, Robot starring Will Smith; the blockbuster The Firm, starring Tom Cruise; Courage Under Fire, starring Denzel Washington; Waterworld, starring Kevin Costner; Predator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; Behind Enemy Lines, starring Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman; Predator 2; Flight of the Phoenix, starring Dennis Quaid, the John Woo action film, Paycheck, starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman, for Paramount; and Alien vs. Predator, an action thriller combining the two classic creatures, among many others.Davis’ family films include the Jim Carrey starrer Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Norbit, starring Eddie Murphy (in their fourth film together) for DreamWorks/Paramount; Garfield and Garfield 2, both for Fox; the $100 million-plus hit Eddie Murphy comedy Daddy Day Care, produced with Revolution Studios; the two hugely successful Dr. Dolittle films, starring Eddie Murphy; the Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau trilogy Out to Sea, Grumpy Old Men, and Grumpier Old Men; Fat Albert, written by Bill Cosby; Marmaduke, based on the comic strip of the same name; and the Jack Black adventure comedy, Gulliver’s Travels ($200 million worldwide).Other Davis productions include When a Stranger Calls, a remake of the 1979 horror classic, for Screen Gems, which opened in the top spot its opening week; and the MGM film Heartbreakers, starring Sigourney Weaver, Gene Hackman and Jennifer Love Hewitt, which also opened as the #1 film in the country.A hallmark of Davis’ success is his ability to attract the industry’s most successful actors, directors, writers and other creative talent time and again to his productions. He has produced a quartet of successful films and their sequels, including the Predator, Grumpy Old Men, Dr. Dolittle, and Garfield films, which have grown into successful, multi-title franchises, making Davis well-known for his ability to brand entertainment, extending his titles beyond the theatrical applications.          Davis’ career is further distinguished as his films are routinely produced for responsible budgets and thus earn domestic and international box office success. The original Garfield, for example, was produced for $42 million and earned nearly $200 million worldwide.Davis too has proven to have a canny knack for securing the rights to projects long but unsuccessfully sought after by others, including the Garfield films, Fat Albert, The Sims, Marmaduke, the rights to the Ringling Bros circus story, Dr. Dolittle, Flight of the Phoenix, the two Grisham novels The Firm and The Chamber, and for television the life stories of Jesse Ventura and Little Richard, among others.

ADAM SCHROEDER (Producer) produced Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, Peter Weir’s The Truman Show, Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan, and The Tuxedo, starring Jackie Chan, as well as A Little Bit Of Heaven starring Kate Hudson, Gael Garcia Bernal and Kathy Bates.Schroeder was executive producer on Curtis Hanson’s Wonder Boys, Alan Parker’s Angela’s Ashes, Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out the Dead, Frank Oz’s In & Out, William Friedkin’s Rules Of Engagement, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Shaft, The First Wives Club, Changing Lanes, Orange County and Zoolander.He began his producing career as the co-producer of Amy Heckerling’s Clueless, and produced the ABC television series based on the film. He was co-producer of Albert Brooks’ Mother, Ron Howard’s Ransom, and on Marvin’s Room.

JAMES DODSON (Executive Producer), during his tenure as vice-president of production for Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation from 1996-2001, worked with filmmakers Joel Schumacher, the Hughes Bros., Steven Soderbergh, Laura Ziskin, Mike Newell, Art Linson, Don Murphy, and John Davis – on films such as Behind Enemy Lines, From Hell, Tigerland and Best Laid Plans. Dodson executive produced for Twentieth Century Fox, the films Catch That Kid, and Sunset Strip.

MATTHEW JENSEN (Director of Photography) has shot a number of episodes of television hits including HBO’s Emmy award winning Game of Thrones, Numb3rs on CBS, and HBO’s Golden Globe and Emmy award winning True Blood. His other television credits include episodes of Sleeper Cell, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Jensen shot the short films, Child Psychology, The Ecology of Love, The Car Kid, The Wedding Dress, and Morning Breath. His motion picture credits include the comedy Checking Out (with Peter Falk), Killer Diller, and Devil’s Pond

STEPHEN ALTMAN’s (Production Designer) impressive list of motion picture credits includes Lost and Found in Armenia, Dr. T and the Women, The Big Bounce, Hot Rod, The Sisters, the Academy Award-winning Ray, The Big Bounce, Grosse Point Blank, What’s Love Got To Do With It, Near Dark, and several Robert Altman pictures, including Gosford Park, Prèt-à-Porter, Short Cuts Cookie’s Fortune, The Gingerbread Man, Kansas City, The Player, Vincent and Theo, and Fool for Love.

ELLIOT GREENBERG (Editor) was editor on the features Devil, Sorority Row, Quarantine, and The Poughkeepsie Tapes.  He served in various editorial capacities on Clerks II, Red Eye, Cursed, and Who’s Your Caddy.  Greenberg edited the documentary short Train Wreck! and the short film The Masquerade.

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