dear mr. jenkins here is my movie
I am writing this letter in regard to your search for a suitable director for Anthem. I was thrilled to hear that Production Company has decided to make this film. Please allow me to share some of my ideas with you - perhaps a little insight into my own personal vision will convince you that I am more than qualified for the job. I hope that through collaboration, I can work with you and Canal 5 to bring the film to its fullest potential.
Finding the perfect person to play Equality was a challenge. There are only a handful of young actors that can pull off his hidden, quiet ferocity, vanity, and strong intellect without being overly dramatic. In my mind, he’s youthful, striking, fearless, and dashing - yet he still possesses a distinct, unworldly naïveté despite his age. Equality was raised in a sheltered world, but he is still a highly intellectual being with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Since there is little dialogue for the majority of the film, it’s important that he is played by an actor that’s capable of wearing his emotions on the outside. I felt that Frenchman Gaspard Ulliel (Hannibal Rising, A Very Long Engagement, Paris) was fit for the part because he exudes many of these characteristics. He actually started out as a model before pursuing a career in acting.
As for Liberty, a.k.a. The Golden One - I was initially torn between Claire Danes and Natalie Portman. Both actresses are young, beautiful, and radiant, but not nearly bitter enough. In the end, I chose newcomer Saoirse (pronounced SEER-shuh) Ronan (Atonement, The Lovely Bones). Although she’s not quite seventeen, she is stunning and has incredible stage presence - and she knows it, too. I find this quality very appealing because Liberty is supposed to epitomize passion, beauty, vanity, and strong-mindedness. Liberty’s character mirrors her muse, and I think that Ronan’s simple elegance, looks, and facial expressions will convey that same array of raw emotions quite well - from fierce to gentle to desperate confusion - very much like Equality.
Anthem, as I’d imagine, is set in a desolate, futuristic suburbia minus the modern technology and identical housing. The only buildings that stand are massive, two-story, warehouse-like facilities. There is little to be said about any recreational areas, because there aren’t any. Everything is flat and colorless. Bold colors are taboo. The more uniform the surroundings are, the better it is, because creativity is certainly forbidden. The first things one would notice are the cleanliness of the streets and sidewalks, the odorless air, the eerie silence.
The main concept of the novella is the importance of individualism. In a world where collectivism dominates, Equality and his fellow brothers and sisters are taught never to act in ways that would only benefit oneself. There, people become each other: faceless nobodies that are constantly fearful of voicing their opinions.
Consequently, society becomes stagnant and loses all drive for innovation and self-improvement. Those who are intelligent and brave enough to discover their independence forge their own paths, like Equality. And these individuals are found in every society, no matter how hard The Man tries to stamp them out. Personal achievement will always triumph. It is but a basic part of human happiness, after all. We can all relate to this, whether we’re fifteen or fifty.
Music: mellow tones, but pivotal scenes (Equality meeting Liberty for the first time, Equality’s encounter with the Scholars, etc.) should be set to epic orchestral crescendos.
Costumes: simple, white cotton shirts and dresses; practical brown pants for guys; no shoes.
Opening shot: It’s autumn and red-golden leaves are piled high around the tree trunks of an old forest. The camera pans across the woods, across a field of women planters, across a valley, and into a patch of weeds, where finally Equality’s secret place slowly comes into focus. It enters the metal grill and into the earth. We find him deep inside the tunnel where it is pitch black despite the high noon sun. His features are lost in the shadows, but his eyes and hands are illuminated by a single, flickering candle. The scratching of his pen on the paper echoes throughout the gloomy darkness. As the camera zooms in on the words, he begins to narrate and the scene fades into his memories, beginning with his childhood in the Home of Infants.
As you can see, I’ve put a lot of thought into this. I would hope that you find some of my ideas and suggestions worth considering. I think that this movie has the potential to win a number of positive nods and it would be my greatest wish to help make it a reality. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Maria Fermindoza
Finding the perfect person to play Equality was a challenge. There are only a handful of young actors that can pull off his hidden, quiet ferocity, vanity, and strong intellect without being overly dramatic. In my mind, he’s youthful, striking, fearless, and dashing - yet he still possesses a distinct, unworldly naïveté despite his age. Equality was raised in a sheltered world, but he is still a highly intellectual being with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Since there is little dialogue for the majority of the film, it’s important that he is played by an actor that’s capable of wearing his emotions on the outside. I felt that Frenchman Gaspard Ulliel (Hannibal Rising, A Very Long Engagement, Paris) was fit for the part because he exudes many of these characteristics. He actually started out as a model before pursuing a career in acting.
As for Liberty, a.k.a. The Golden One - I was initially torn between Claire Danes and Natalie Portman. Both actresses are young, beautiful, and radiant, but not nearly bitter enough. In the end, I chose newcomer Saoirse (pronounced SEER-shuh) Ronan (Atonement, The Lovely Bones). Although she’s not quite seventeen, she is stunning and has incredible stage presence - and she knows it, too. I find this quality very appealing because Liberty is supposed to epitomize passion, beauty, vanity, and strong-mindedness. Liberty’s character mirrors her muse, and I think that Ronan’s simple elegance, looks, and facial expressions will convey that same array of raw emotions quite well - from fierce to gentle to desperate confusion - very much like Equality.
Anthem, as I’d imagine, is set in a desolate, futuristic suburbia minus the modern technology and identical housing. The only buildings that stand are massive, two-story, warehouse-like facilities. There is little to be said about any recreational areas, because there aren’t any. Everything is flat and colorless. Bold colors are taboo. The more uniform the surroundings are, the better it is, because creativity is certainly forbidden. The first things one would notice are the cleanliness of the streets and sidewalks, the odorless air, the eerie silence.
The main concept of the novella is the importance of individualism. In a world where collectivism dominates, Equality and his fellow brothers and sisters are taught never to act in ways that would only benefit oneself. There, people become each other: faceless nobodies that are constantly fearful of voicing their opinions.
Consequently, society becomes stagnant and loses all drive for innovation and self-improvement. Those who are intelligent and brave enough to discover their independence forge their own paths, like Equality. And these individuals are found in every society, no matter how hard The Man tries to stamp them out. Personal achievement will always triumph. It is but a basic part of human happiness, after all. We can all relate to this, whether we’re fifteen or fifty.
Music: mellow tones, but pivotal scenes (Equality meeting Liberty for the first time, Equality’s encounter with the Scholars, etc.) should be set to epic orchestral crescendos.
Costumes: simple, white cotton shirts and dresses; practical brown pants for guys; no shoes.
Opening shot: It’s autumn and red-golden leaves are piled high around the tree trunks of an old forest. The camera pans across the woods, across a field of women planters, across a valley, and into a patch of weeds, where finally Equality’s secret place slowly comes into focus. It enters the metal grill and into the earth. We find him deep inside the tunnel where it is pitch black despite the high noon sun. His features are lost in the shadows, but his eyes and hands are illuminated by a single, flickering candle. The scratching of his pen on the paper echoes throughout the gloomy darkness. As the camera zooms in on the words, he begins to narrate and the scene fades into his memories, beginning with his childhood in the Home of Infants.
As you can see, I’ve put a lot of thought into this. I would hope that you find some of my ideas and suggestions worth considering. I think that this movie has the potential to win a number of positive nods and it would be my greatest wish to help make it a reality. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Maria Fermindoza