Slipstream (2007 film)

Slipstream is a 2007 American film starring, written, scored, and directed by Anthony Hopkins, which explores the premise of a screenwriter who is caught in a slipstream of time, memories, fantasy and reality. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Hopkins composed the music for the film, while British composer Harry Gregson-Williams scored and produced it.

Slipstream
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnthony Hopkins
Produced by
  • Stella Arroyave
  • Robert Katz
Written byAnthony Hopkins
Starring
Music byAnthony Hopkins
CinematographyDante Spinotti
Edited byMichael R. Miller
Distributed by
Release date
  • October 26, 2007 (2007-10-26)[1]
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$27,769[2]

Cast

Production

Actor Anthony Hopkins first wrote the script for Slipstream for fun, saying, "I had no idea where it was going. It just kept evolving on itself. I always wanted to poke fun at the movie business and the acting profession – they take themselves so seriously. I wanted to poke them in the nose."[4] Hopkins explained his perspective of the premise:

I'm fascinated by time. I've written a script about the nature of reality ... It's about reality and the illusion of life because life to me, as I get older, is so illusion-like, so dream-like, that I think it's all a dream. It's about a man, who's caught in a slipstream of time falling back on itself and he remembers his own future. My own interpretation is if there's a God, that God is actually time. I'm fascinated by the fact the older I get every moment just slips past. What is real? You grasp this moment and then it's gone. I was talking 10 minutes ago but that's all gone, it's all a dream. Maybe the puzzle of life is asking what it's all about. I've got a theory that at the moment of impact of death we'll wake up and say, "Ah, that was it all along." My life has been governed a lot by those thoughts and feelings.[5]

Hopkins initially shopped his script to studios for whom he had been bankable. Executives expressed interest as well as input for the script, but Hopkins refused to take the input. Hopkins showed the script to director-producer Steven Spielberg, who praised the dialogue but warned that financing would be difficult. He proceeded to begin production,[4] initiating filming on June 12, 2006 in Los Angeles and moved to the California desert.[6] Hopkins rejected studios who wanted to have a final cut of the film, and he instead found a new, unidentified patron to finance the film for under $10 million.[4] During production, filmmakers invited six graduate students from Northern Illinois University to assist with the film for college credit.[7] Hopkins also composed the score for Slipstream and conducted the orchestra for the music.[4] In post-production, Hopkins used quick editing and digital technology to edit a fast-paced cut of Slipstream to speed audiences through the film.[8]

Reception

Critical response

Slipstream premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2007.[9] The film was met with confusion by Sundance audiences, who wondered about the actual meaning of the premise.[10]

The film was panned by critics. On the film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 23% based on reviews from 40 critics.[11] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 47 out of 100 based on reviews from 14 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12]

Not all reviews were negative. Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars and suggested that the film is worth seeing:

If you'll actively engage your sympathy with Hopkins' attempt to do something tricky and difficult. If you want to lay back and let the movie come to you, you may be lying there a long time.[13]

Box office

The film later experienced a one-week limited release in 6 theaters in the United States on October 26, 2007, earning $6,273 over the weekend and $8,965 in the full week.[14] The film closed on November 1, 2007, after a week at the box office grossing $8,965 in the North American domestic market and $18,804 in other territories for an international total of $27,769.

See also

References
  1. "Slipstream". Moviefone. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  2. Slipstream on Box Office Mojo
  3. "Sir Anthony makes a star of his Missus". Liverpool Daily Post. 2007-01-17.
  4. John Horn (2007-01-18). "Weird Slipstream Has Hopkins' Stamp". Los Angeles Times.
  5. "Hopkins suggests God is time in first screenplay". World Entertainment News Network. 2006-01-26.
  6. Tatiana Siegel (2006-06-14). "Seven more slip into pic for Hopkins". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-09-20. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  7. Sara Hooker (2006-07-17). "Star-struck Six NIU students selected to work on Anthony Hopkins' latest film". Daily Herald.
  8. Bob Tourtellotte (2007-01-22). "At 69, Anthony Hopkins feels like a film rebel". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  9. "Slipstream". Sundance Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  10. Claire Hill (2007-01-27). "Anthony Hopkins 's latest film Slipstream meets confusion and derision at Sundance". Western Mail.
  11. "Slipstream". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  12. "Slipstream (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  13. "Slipstream". Chicago Sun-Times.
  14. "Slipstream (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
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