Nim's Island

[Geekyfanboy]

Saw this preview recently and thought it looks pretty good... check it out

[Geekyfanboy]

Nim Cut Fantasy Characters

The directors of the upcoming fantasy film Nim's Island told reporters that some of the fantasy elements seen in early trailers were cut from the final film but will appear on the DVD.

"There are scenes that were cut, and they'll all be out in the DVD," co-director Mark Levin said in a news conference in Los Angeles earlier this month. Those include scenes between Nim, the young girl at the center of the movie, played by Abigail Breslin, and some imaginary friends (the film is based on the popular children's book by Wendy Orr).

"Nim had some imaginary friends that lived in her imagination, [including] Huck Finn and Alice in Wonderland from the books, who kind of brought to life the idea of a girl who lived on an island and what her imagination must be like," said Levin, who co-directed the film with his wife, Jennifer Flackett. "But when we made the movie and then we shot them and saw them in the context of the movie, we realized that the girl alone, and her aloneness, made her situation much more poignant, and it just drove the story better."

The story centers on Nim, who lives on an island with her father (Gerard Butler). When dad disappears, Nim seeks the help of a reclusive author (played by Jodie Foster), who created one of Nim's favorite action heroes.

Flackett added: "It's always sad when you leave characters on the floor. Jodie had an assistant and, in this same kind of way, you just realize these characters were meant to be by themselves. And so they all fell away, and you're amazed because you killed yourself to shoot those scenes! Now they're not in the movie anymore."

Flackett said the movie still feels fantastical. "There's a magical realism that, I think, kind of permeates the movie, and there is this idea of a world that is slightly better than real," she said. "And that has a little bit to do with the storybook quality and the wish fulfillment of the movie."

An early trailer depicts one of the imaginary characters who didn't make the final cut. "Long John Silver [is] in an early trailer, actually," Levin said. "Her friends, who were Huck and Alice and Long John Silver from Treasure Island, were the embodiment of her fears. So in a couple of scenes, he'd show up in a story and shout at her, or there would be a scene where he'd come in the woods, and she'd try to fight him off."

Flackett added: "We were most sad to lose the sword fights!"

Nim's Island opens nationwide on April 4. --Mike Szymanski

[Rico]

Looks like a lot of fun!  I'll be seeing it!