Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Role: Lucetta
Director: John Curran
Written by: Angus MacLachlan
Additional Cast: Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Enver Gjokaj, Liam Ferguson
Running time: 1 hr. 45 min
Box office: $9,479,718
Budget: $22 million
Release Date: 3 October 2010
On DVD: January 18, 2011
Synopsis
A convicted arsonist looks to manipulate a parole officer into a plan to secure his parole by placing his beautiful wife in the lawman’s path. (Credit: Internet Movie Database)
News
Stone is the latest film from The Painted Veil-director John Curran. Based on a play by Angus MacLachlan, the film stars Milla Jovovich as Lucetta, the beautiful wife of convicted arsonist “Stone”.
Milla Jovovich’s involvement in the film was confirmed in May 2009, shortly after which filming began in Michigan, and she has since discussed the production in select interviews. From ShockTillYouDrop.com:
It’s a psychological drama. I think they’re trying to sell it as a thriller ’cause it’s easier to sell, but it’s not much of like a mystery or whodunit or a chase sequence or anything like that. It’s pretty much a story about people that in a sense are living their lives and how truthfully can you live your life? In a sense, that if you live a life, you could live a life for many years, but at some point your world is going to explode around you so it’s pretty intense.
From Maxim (US), September 2009:
You’ve also got a movie coming out called Stone that stars Robert De Niro and Ed Norton. Nice job!
Yes I just finished filming that. It was such an incredible project, and I was so happy to get it. I worked really hard for the part… I had to do some really intense auditioning with Edward and Bob.
Isn’t it great to be able to call him Bob?
It really is. The first time I met him, he said, “Oh, call me Bob.” I was like, “Oh, sure!” Then when I got the part, I literally started crying. People ask, “What are some of the high points of your life?” Number one would have to be the birth of my daughter, but number two would be this movie.
Filming has since wrapped, and Stone is now in post-production, with an eye on a Fall 2010 U.S. release. An “R-rated” trailer for the film surfaced online in September 2009.
Reception
Stone has received generally mixed reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 47% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 79 reviews, with an average score of 5.8/10. The website’s consensus is:
Stone boasts a cast that includes Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, and Milla Jovovich, and it features strong dialogue, but it’s ultimately undone by its heavy-handed symbolism and overabundant plot twists.
Metacritic gave the film an average score of 57/100 based 22 reviews.
Roger Ebert, in a positive review of the film, writes:
“Stone” has Robert De Niro and Edward Norton playing against type and at the top of their forms in a psychological duel between a parole officer and a tricky prisoner who has his number.”
The film was a box office bomb; as of November 11, 2010, the film had grossed US$8,463,124, which is approximately one-third of its production budget.
Production
– The film was directed by John Curran, from a screenplay by Angus MacLachlan. Originally written by MacLachlan in 2000 as a play, it has been performed once, in 2003 as a staged reading. In 2005, MacLachlan turned it into a screenplay. The film was overseen by Mimran Schur Pictures, with the aid of producer Holly Wiersma. Stone is the debut of Mimran Schur Pictures, formed in 2010 by private investor David Mimran and long-time music business executive and former Geffen Records President Jordan Schur. Stone Productions, the film’s production company, also aided in the production of the film.
– Filming began on May 18, 2009, in Michigan. Prison scenes were filmed at the Southern Michigan Correctional Facility in Blackman Township. The Emmanuel Lutheran Church of Ypsilanti hosted filming for two days. The funeral service and a few outside scenes were filmed at the Church, with locals as extras. Mast Road, in Dexter, was closed for several weeks while the farmhouse scenes were shot at the historic Mast Farm house; and, at the end of the shoot, it was burned down.
– Filming was interrupted on June 5, 2009, when an intoxicated woman got past security and accosted Robert De Niro. She was arrested and admitted to a local hospital.
– Following a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, Stone premiered in the United States at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas on September 24, 2010.
– The main theme for the film was composed by musician Jon Brion.
Promotion Tour
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