NEW YORK (AP) — You’d be hard-pressed to find a stranger upcoming movie. “It’s a rumor.”
A biting commentary on the emptiness of political speech and the performance politicians put on, it starts out as a straight political satire focusing on G7 world leaders, but slowly slides into a horrifying zombie apocalypse. I’ll go. A mysterious giant brain whose origins are unknown, discovered in the middle of the forest. and an AI chatbot keen on sexual trapping.
Going from provocative to absurd in just a few scenes, the G7 leaders are no longer objects of criticism but jokes.
That’s kind of the point, according to the star and executive producer. cate blanchett.
“We’re all in a state of very heightened anxiety and fear about what’s happening with the climate, what’s happening with the global political situation. We’re on the brink of a world war. There are a lot of people in positions of power who feel like they’re in it and seem to be enjoying the moment,” Blanchett told The Associated Press.
She plays a fictional German Chancellor named Hilda Allman, a conference organizer who focuses more on optics than action.
“I think audiences come to this film looking for some kind of catharsis, and I think they can laugh at the absurdity of the situation we’re in because this movie is so ridiculous and so horrifying. “In that sense, I think this is a very generous film,” she said.
The directors, Guy Maddin and brothers Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson, wanted the film to feel like there was a “general wash of political disdain” and that they wanted it to include some sympathetic criticism. , stated that they did not want viewers to feel that way. They left the auditorium and walked out of the theater.
“I get pretty preachy when I talk to people. I don’t want to make films that are preachy. I just prefer films that aren’t. It gave me a bit of a mystery…” What am I doing, what am I seeing?’ What am I experiencing? said Evan Johnson, who wrote the screenplay and co-directed the film.
As for more absurd plotlines, Maddin said he and his collaborators share “an urge to come up with original recipes.”
And it’s certainly original. In a frank opening act, G7 leaders gather for their annual summit to try to draft an interim statement on an unnamed crisis. As the night progresses and they struggle to piece together a few meaningful sentences, they find themselves abandoned and attacked by “swamp people,” well-preserved mummified bodies from thousands of years ago. realize that they are exposed to. From there, hijinks and hilarious events ensue.
Evan Johnson, Denise Menoche, Galen Johnson, Cate Blanchett, Guy Maddin (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)
Nikki Amuka-Bird, who plays fictional British Prime Minister Cardoza DeWinto, said she kept asking herself, “What’s going on?” as she read the script. But the ridiculous plotline, which involves an apocalyptic invasion of zombie-like “swamp people,” was only part of the reason she took on the project.
“This kind of sheer courage to stitch together genres like this eliminates any kind of anxiety or fear you might have about it, because their[directors’]tongues are always firmly in their cheeks. “Because we are,” Amuka Bird said. “It’s a really imaginative exercise and it’s great to work with directors who are so bold and take chances.”
The cast is rounded out with a star-studded ensemble. Roy Dupuis is a melodramatic Canadian prime minister, Charles Dance is an American president with an incomprehensible British accent, Denis Menoche is a paranoid French president, Alicia Vikander He emerges as the enthusiastic leader of the European Commission.
Director Evan Johnson, Charles Dance and Nikki Amuka-Bird pose for photographers as they arrive at the premiere of their film Rumors during the London Film Festival on Sunday, October 13, 2024 in London. , directed by Galen Johnson. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
According to Blanchett, the film’s title is meant to evoke people who are respected. fleetwood mac album The song of the same name was reportedly written during a period when the band members were “all sleeping together, arguing and breaking up,” she said.
“What surprised me was that you would think, ‘Okay, this is a movie about the G7,’ but it’s like a soap opera with these kinds of huddles and liaisons and little arguments,” Blanchett said. . “It was a very unusual way to look at the mess we’re all in and the leadership that got us here.”
