Director: James McTeigue (directorial
debut)
Co-stars: Hugo Weaving, Sinéad Cusack, Stephen Fry, John
Hurt, Stephen Rea...
US Release Date: March 17, 2006.
Filming: from March 7th until late June of 2005 on
location in Berlin, Germany and London, England.
Natalie's Character: Evey Hammond
Plot Summary: In an alternate future in which Germany
wins WWII and Great Britain becomes a fascist state, a
mild-mannered young woman named Evey (Portman) is
rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked
vigilante (Weaving) known only as "V." Incomparably
charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat
and deception, V ignites a revolution when he detonates
two London landmarks and takes over the government-controlled
airwaves, urging his fellow citizens to rise up against
tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about
V's mysterious background, she also discovers the truth
about herself -- and emerges as his unlikely ally in the
culmination of his plot to bring freedom and justice
back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption.
Notes:
- For the role, Natalie shaved her head totally bald and
speaks with a British accent: "I worked with the
dialogue coach Barbara Berkery for a month and a half
before we started shooting, and she was with me the
whole time. We’d do exercises for an hour every morning
before we started (...) The first time I met Larry and
James McTeigue – I auditioned for them – they asked if I
would shave, and I said yeah! [Laughs] Everyone else
made a bigger deal out of it than I did." (CHUD.com -
July 2005)
- James Purefoy who was originally cast as V, left the
project and was replaced by Hugo Weaving after one month
of shooting:
"James Purefoy started out and after some weeks of
shooting they brought in Hugo because they didn't feel
it was working out. We didn't reshoot most of the stuff,
they're re-voicing." (AICN - July 2005)
- James McTeigue was first assistant director on the
"Star Wars" Episodes II & III and the "Matrix" trilogy.
- The screenplay by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski
is based on the acclaimed graphic novel "V For Vendetta"
by author Alan Moore & illustrator David Lloyd and
originally collected by DC Comics as a ten-part series
in 1988.
- Produced by Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski and Larry
Wachowski.
