Matthew Macfadyen Monday - The Three Musketeers

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Ray Stevenson: Pompeii (shooting starts in 2012) (International Business)

Pompeii (shooting starts in 2012)

If Earth makes it past the Dec. 21 deadline conspiracy theorists insist is the end of the world, Resident Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson is set to release Pompeii, a disaster flick set during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The movie won't just feature volcanic CGI destruction, but will also include a love story, according to reports that will star Christoph Waltz, Logan Lerman, Ray Stevenson and Milla Jovovich.


Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (April 20)

The end of the world doesn't have to be all doom and gloom as this flick might suggest. Rom coms have taken audiences from working girls climbing the corporate ladder to faked orgasms in Katz's Delicatessen to lifting a boombox in front of a professed love's home, but doomsday?

Sure thing!

In "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World", as an asteroid hurls towards Earth, Dodge (played by Steve Carell) searches out his long-lost high school sweet heart after he wife jets in a panic. Dodge's neighbor Penny (played by Keira Knightley) joins him, putting a wrench in his plans. Directed by Lorene Scafaria.

Men in Black III (May 25)

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones launch this third 3D installment from the Men in Black franchise, but this time, it's a future mankind they're out to save.

This flick will time travel back to 1969 after Agent J (Smith) catches word that an evil alien named Boris is threatening to destroy the world. Agent J meets the younger Agent K (Jones) in the battle against the baddies.

Prometheus (June 8)

Director Ridley Scott's upcoming sci-fi action flick will pit a team of explorers against an alien life force driven to destroy the human race.

In the movie, a group of researchers venture to the darkest coerners of the universe to find the beginning of life only to find an unknonwn enemy that the film makers say will lead them to "fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race."



World War Z (Dec. 21)

Just in time for the alleged doomsday date of Dec. 21, this novel-inspired film takes a look at a post-apocalyptic world destroyed by flesh-eating zombies. The movie stars Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, a U.N. employee " who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself," according to reports. In the original novel, Lane interviews zombie survivors in an effort to piece together a world war that destroyed every nation on Earth. Directed by Marc Forster.

Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans, Ray Stevenson | 'The Three Musketeers| The making of

Breakdown of The Three Musketeers_in Rodeo FX shots from Animaxart VFx on Vimeo.

Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans, Ray Stevenson | The Three Musketeers | Review - BestMovie.it

D'Artagnan against airships
BestMovie.it

A huge thank you to our friend Simona Fonda for the wonderful translation!


by Gabriele Ferrari, OCTOBER 2011

The Three Musketeers returns to cinemas with a new “hybrid” version, that combines the elegance and magnificence of costume drama with touches of modern steampunk. An adventurous journey to the Court of France, at the hands of one of the most adrenaline directors of Hollywood today.

A young man went on a journey, with only fifteen crowns, a horse and a letter.
This wrote, in 1844, Alexandre Dumas at the beginning of The Three Musketeers. The young man called D'Artagnan and was headed to Paris to join the guard of the King Louis XIII.

And he' probably had previewed the new film by Paul W.S. Anderson, and found that to serve the king of France, you're flying on giant blimps armed with gun, challenge (slow motion) beautiful ladies with martial arts and maneuver a flamethrower with the dragon's head. We are not crazy: we are “only” speaking of The Three Musketeers 3D, a new effort by the director of Resident Evil and twenty-second film in the history of cinema based on the novels of Alexandre Dumas. And if these lines will have you to scream treason, if you think this movie is a bad idea, wait a moment and go right ahead.

Probably many of you associate the idea of “Musketeers to cinema” with Leonardo DiCaprio trapped in the Iron Mask and the various Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich and Gérard Depardieu.

The most cinephiles will think about Gene Kelly who plays a D'Artagnan, a little “aged” in The Three Musketeers dated 1948, or Richard Chamberlain and Oliver Reed chasing Diamonds of The Queen in a movie of 1973, and the bravest will quote the much criticized Disney's version with Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Chris O'Donnell. None (or almost) will remember Tim Roth, Nick Moran and Mena Suvari engaged in duels in wuxipian style in D'Artagnan by Peter Hyams.

The reason is simple: we are Europeans, and any exotic reinterpretation of one of our classics of literature makes us turn up our noses. Or maybe not? After all, the Sherlock Holmes all “one-liners and punch” of Guy Ritchie has dug out the box office.
«Dumas himself wrote to entertain the audience and make money: he published a chapter a week, they did end up with blatant cliffhanger and after all I think he would approve what I did with his story», Paul Anderson notes. In short, he must be said to himself when Constantin Film has entrusted him the project, why limit yourself to yet another period movie and not try something new and brave? No sooner said than done: the understanding that «the story of the Three Musketeers remains that», Anderson decided that «we live in the post Jack Sparrow, a world in which the pirate adventures are told with a modern eye, and I want to tell the story of D'Artagnan through this lens».

And so, a filmmaker who has so far experimented with science fiction (the excellent and underrated Point of no return, with Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neil), horror (Resident Evil saga) and even a movie machine (Death Race) has bracing arms, baggage and 3D cameras and headed to Germany, «which is full of wonderful castles that have never been used into a movie», for shooting his first movie in costume.

With him, a group of rising stars and established faces to compose a cast that should convince even the most skeptical. Starting, of course, by D'Artagnan: Percy Jackson and the Gods of Olympus is not perhaps the best reference to take an audition, but it is hard to imagine a young best suited for the role of a cadet of Gascony than Logan Lerman. «Long face and dark hair, high cheekbones, look smart, too big to be a boy, too small to be an adult, would not be hard to mistake it for the son of a pastor», wrote Dumas, and try to say that Percy is not the spitting image! Nineteen years, self-described «movie geek», Lerman is probably the most vigorous “new musketeers”: «My D'Artagnan is definitely more badass than you're used to and is the most dangerous of the group, a kind of superhero the age». It will be he who, join the trio of veterans (Athos, Porthos and Aramis), set in motion the events of the movie.

Events that, at first glance, appear based on those novels: Richelieu (the new ultimate villain in Hollywood, Christoph Waltz) wants to conquer the throne of France, and he will organize an illegitimate affair that will sow confusion among the King Louis (Freddie Fox) and its newly-wife, Queen Anne (Juno Temple, which we also see in The Dark Knight - The Return). But like all great villains, Richelieu did not dirty their hands, and entrusting to Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich: it is obvious to call her “the muse of Anderson” because the two are married) and the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom, who returns to the superprodactions, after the goodbye to the saga the Pirates of the Caribbean), who have the “thankless” task to seduce Anna. A plot in style of appendix novel, with at least two big news. The first is just the trio of the title: say goodbye to stalwart and infallible warriors you're used to, because these Musketeers are more similar to those seen in The Iron Mask. Aged (if not flabby), humiliated by former ally Milady, we meet them in a decidedly downward phase of their illustrious career.

The faces chosen by Anderson - about you can say everything, but not that he does not have talent in the casting - they are perfect in this sense. The leader Athos, for example, has sad eyes and the face a little “worn” by Matthew MacFayden, accustomed to a period film as demonstrated by Pride and Prejudice and Robin Hood of Ridley Scott. And if the gigantic Porthos was given to Ray Stevenson from Thor, Luke Evans, expected in the coming months Immortals and The Hobbit, will play Aramis. Do you remember the quiet man of faith of the literary tradition? Delete him and replace him with «a sort of cross between Batman and a ninja, the real James Bond of the group».

Which brings us, inevitably, the last road of “transformation” of the Musketeers «sexy, fun and modern. Without sacrificing the historical setting, as the Paris of the seventeenth century is a fascinating environment to explore, especially in 3D, but I wanted decidedly to add a steampunk feature at all of this».
Translation: Anderson has decided to play with technology, introducing all gears of war machines and puffs of steam (“steampunk” refers precisely to this), and exploiting them to spill the action over alert levels.

«I want to tell the same story, but in a somewhat different, and I do not think that the technology that I used was so out of place. The airships and blimps? Within a century, however, would have been invented...». Also because Anderson is one that can do the spectacular scenes - his latest effort, Resident Evil: Afterlife, is the triumph of choreography on the history - and it would be a shame to give up the chance to «make a real movie in costume, with hundreds of extras on horseback and explosions, and to do so with true 3D, not a terrific conversion in post-production».

The movie The Three Musketeers 3D will be «historic, but shot in a modern way, different from other stories but also to my usual Musketeers movie. And it's a tale of swashbuckling in which I have included explosions and action». A bold move by a director who someone had accused to sit on our laurels. A bet that Anderson is sure to win: «It will be an incredibly exciting movie. These Musketeers are not familiar with your parents version».

The Three Musketeers 3D - review

The director of Resident Evil saga reinvents in its own way one of the most famous novels of French literature: an adventure to one thousand per hour, including Musketeers ninja, mysterious and beautiful women, flying machines and flamethrower...
Aramis seems Batman. Athos wielding a flamethrower in the shape of a dragon's head. Milady dance in Matrix-style to avoid cannon balls covered with thorns. The seventeenth century must have been an exciting time, according to Paul W.S. Anderson. For his first period film British director, creator of the Resident Evil franchise, has decided to raise the volume to maximum.

The story is always the same: D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman's Percy Jackson and the Gods of Olympus), cadet of Gascony, he went to Paris to join the corps of Musketeers. There he meets the “three” of the title, that are, Athos (Matthew MacFayden, Pride and Prejudice), Porthos (Ray Stevenson, Thor) and Aramis (Luke Evans, Immortals), whose career is on the wane.

To recover from the dust, the four will face a trio of villains of exception such as Cardinal Richelieu (a diabolical Christoph Waltz, who here seeks to conquer the throne), the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) and the former allied Milady (Milla Jovovich, in costume for the first time since the days of Joan of Arc). The similarities with the Dumas novel, however, end there because Paul Anderson has decided to give a pass of steampunk technology to his seventeenth century, Paris peppering with dirigibles and a hearty dose of martial arts.

A risky move, reminiscent of what has been done by Gore Verbinski for Pirates of the Caribbean, an inspiration that Anderson does not hide: «If you can modernize the stories of pirates do not see why you can not do the same with the Musketeers».
Purists will be offended, for others it is coming one of the most enjoyable experiences of the year.

Luke Evans and Milla Jovovich video

Milla & Luke from models.com on Vimeo.

Damage Report: The Three Musketeers

Coming Soon

Source: Edward Douglas

November 7, 2011

Another new semi-regular feature where we look at a few of the recent movies after they've been released and ask "What Happened?" Paul W.S. Anderson's The Three Musketeers is one of the cases where one would think everything would add up to at least a mid-sized hit in the $30 or 40 million range, but after two weeks, it hasn't even made $20 million domestically.

You may notice that there wasn't a review of the movie on the site, but that's because Summit Entertainment decided not to screen it for critics and it took us a few weeks to get around to seeing it. It's not a great movie and has problems--like the 20 minutes where none of the 3 Musketeers appear on screen--but you can tell that it certainly has potential, and it deserved to do more business than the $16 to 17 million it's made so far.

This was supposed to be one of Summit Entertainment's bigger non-"Twilight" movies of the year and clearly, they thought they were getting a lower-budget "Pirates of the Caribbean," but probably the first mistake they made was trying to open it against Paranormal Activity 3, which made sure that it would be completely overshadowed. It ended up making just 8.6 million its opening weekend, not the worst opening of the last couple months, but absolutely terrible when you realize the movie cost $90 million to make.

I'm pretty sure that director Paul W.S. Anderson and the entire cast also thought they were making "Pirates of the Caribbean" as well, and while Anderson is a visionary filmmaker, he hasn't proven he can deliver the quality of films as Gore Verbinski, nor did he have Johnny Depp. Other than Anderson's baby mama Milla Jovovich and possibly Christoph Waltz, there really wasn't a star of any size caliber that could get people into theaters.

Sure, Logan Lerman had starred in Chris Columbus' Percy Jackson & the Olympians and others like Ray Stevenson and Matthew Macfadyen had at least appeared in relatively popular movies even if few would recognize them. Really, the casting of the Musketeers themselves weren't bad but there were quite a few other bad performances, most notably Orlando Bloom, who was playing a villain for once... and badly at that. Jovovich herself tried to play a nodding and winking character called Milady, who was constantly trying to make the movie look "Fun! Fun! Fun!" but really just came off as quite annoying.

Even though the movie clearly didn't have a strong enough cast to get people into theaters, the fans of the Alexandre Dumas books probably saw the movie as an aberration with all its newfangled tech that made the movie look a bit too much like a Wild Wild West, and that hurt any sort of namebrand value that having the title "The Three Musketeers" might have had in bringing in fans of the books or the previous movies.

The pushing of the 3D probably didn't help, because audiences are still very dubious of the format after being ripped off all year - in fact, the theater I saw it at completely forgot to hand out 3D glasses and those of us who realized this had to go back down three flights to get them. One older couple watched the entire movie without glasses, never realizing why it was so blurry! So yeah, 3D hasn't really caught on, at least not in the way that many (including yours truly) have hoped, and if theater employees don't seem to realize they have to give out glasses for people to see the movie properly, who knows why dumber moviegoers who don't realize they're paying a premium when they go to see 3D movies don't also realize they need glasses to watch them properly?

That may have been an isolated incident, although certainly, there never seemed to be any sort of incentive to pay extra to see the movie in 3D and it was immediately removed as soon as stronger movies came along.

At least the movie is doing much better in other regions, including Germany, UK, Russia, and Brazil where it's grossed more than the domestic gross with $94.7 million internationally. Fortunately for Summit, they didn't pay for the movie to get made and were only distributing domestically, but they also don't see any of that money from international either. Chances are that selling off the distribution rights has helped the movie make back its money (or it will once DVD sales and rentals come into play) but this was clearly an experiment gone wrong, and it's doubtful Anderson will be able to turn this into a successful franchise ala the "Resident Evil" movies (which they've already gone back to make a fifth movie.)

You can read regular box office, awards and festival coverage on the new Weekend Warrior Blog and to keep up with the latest articles and posts, you can follow the brand-new Twitter feed.

Read more: Damage Report: The Three Musketeers - ComingSoon.net http://www.comingsoon.net/news/weekendwarriornews.php?id=83985#ixzz1d3x30ixF

The Three Musketeers -Review

Swashbuckling Musketeers featured in must-see film

Posted Nov 3, 2011 By Mark Haskins emcstlawrence.ca


MOVIE: The Three Musketeers

STARRING: Logan Lerman, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, Matthew Macfadyen, Mila Jovovich, Christopher Waltz, and Orlando Bloom

DIRECTOR: Paul W.S. Anderson

RATING: PG-13

EMC Entertainment - Intrigue, adventure, evil machinations, romance, sword fights, and just a hint of steampunk, The Three Musketeers has it all.

After a failed mission where they were betrayed by Milady de Winter (Mila Jovovich) the Three Musketeers, The King of France's elite warriors, find themselves out of favour. As it seems their country doesn't need them Porthos (Ray Stevenson), Aramis (Luke Evans) and Athos (Matthew Macfadyen) have found other pursuits. Mostly brawling with and embarrassing Cardinal Richelieu's (Christopher Waltz) guards. That is until they meet D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman).

D'Artagnan has come to Paris to become a Musketeer like his father. In the short time since he's left home D'Artagnan has had a run-in with The Cardinal's enforcer Rochefort (Mads Mikkelsen), and managed to insult each of the Three Musketeers. D'Artagnan was just about to duel Athos when 40 of the Cardinal's Guard showed up to arrest them. Unfortunately for the Cardinal's Guard they didn't bring quite enough men.

With the introductions out of the way The Musketeers take D'Artagnan under their wings. From there it isn't long before they find themselves embroiled in the intrigues of the court. The Cardinal, using Milady de Winter as his agent, hatches a plot to implicate improprieties between the Queen of France and England's Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom). This would plunge both countries into war, and allow the Cardinal to seize the throne. It's up to The Musketeers to expose the plot, clear the good name of the Queen, and save France.

I absolutely loved The Three Musketeers. The wild gadgets, the costumes, the backdrops, the intricately-filmed sword fights, and the dazzling special effects were all gorgeous. It's a stunningly beautiful film, but it isn't all just eye candy. The story is tightly written full of wit and humour as well as action and adventure.

The cast is exceptional. Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, and Matthew Macfadyen are perfect as the Three Musketeers. They give the kind of performances that makes it hard to imagine anyone else playing their roles. I was thoroughly impressed with Logan Lerman who, as D'Artagnan, has just the right blend of arrogance, heroism, and wit. As manipulative, power hungry villains go Cardinal Richelieu ranks near the top, and I can't think of a better actor than Christopher Waltz to step into the role.

Milady de Winter is perhaps the most dangerous double agent and assassin in Europe. She's a force to be reckoned with as much as she's an object of men's desires, and Jovovich plays the part like she was born to.

When I hear the name Orlando Bloom I don't think villain. However, Bloom is outstanding throwing himself into the role of Buckingham with an undisguised zeal.

While it is a little odd that no one in the film seemed to have a French accent The Three Musketeers is still very much a must-see film.

Mark Haskins' column is a regular feature of the EMC.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS

'Three Musketeers' Producer Constantin Film Disappointed by U.S. Bow but Not by Summit

2:44 AM PDT 10/24/2011 by Scott Roxboroug THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Summit Entertainment“Summit was and is an excellent partner in the release of this film in the U.S.,” says Constantin Film’s Martin Moszkowicz.

COLOGNE, Germany – Constantin Film, the German production company behind Paul W.S. Anderson’s The Three Musketeers, says its disappointed by the film’s lackluster bow in the U.S. but insists distributor Summit Entertainment is not to blame.

Milla Jovovich Attacks Summit for Lack of Promotion on 'The Three Musketeers' Box Office Report: 'Paranormal Activity 3' Scares Up Record-Breaking $54 MilMusketeers, budgeted at close to $90 million, took in just $8.8 million in its opening weekend. Paramount’s Paranormal Activity 3 blew away all competitors in the U.S. market with a $54 million bow.

Musketeers star Milla Jovovich, who is also married to director Anderson, blasted Summit via Twitter this weekend, blaming the indie studio for not properly marketing the action-adventure tale.

But Constantin, which bankrolled the project, is having none of it.

“Summit was and is an excellent partner in the release of this film in the U.S.,” Martin Moszkowicz, head of film and television at Constantin, told The Hollywood Reporter. “We have no complaints at all with their marketing and promotion strategy.”

Moszkowicz said Constantin was “naturally disappointed” by Musketeers' opening weekend performance but was not going to start speculating over the reasons.

“The reason for the bad opening result was that not enough people went to the film,” Moszkowicz said simply.

Worldwide, The Three Muskteteers - which also stars Logan Lerman, Orlando Bloom and Christoph Waltz - has grossed more than $50 million and has still to open in Japan, a territory where Anderson’s Resident Evil films have done particularly well.

In Germany and Austria, where Constantin released the film themselves, Moszkowicz said the company was satisfied with the results.

“We are projecting a gross of $21 million (for Germany and Austria), which puts the film in the same league as comparable titles like Robin Hood or Sherlock Holmes in those territories,” Moszkowicz told THR.

Constantin’s German release of Musketeers was accompanied by a marketing campaign “in line with similar big starts,” he added. Musketeers opened on Constantin opened on around 650 screens in Germany, a wide release for the territory. Its four-day box office return was just $3.4 million but the film has since earned around $16 million in Germany, its best performance in any territory so far.

The Three Musketeers - My Review

THE THREE MUSKETEERS: MY REVIEW

By Patricia.

I first picked up the Alexandre Dumas classic when I started college, after putting up with my father’s pestering for years, telling me I should read it, it’s such a great book. But the sheer volume of it intimidated me to no end and after a few attempts to get into the story failed I put it aside for the nth time.

Finally one day, probably out of boredom, I decided to concentrate and read it. The initial part, I must say didn’t ‘grab’ me, it took a lot of effort to get into it, but once D’Artagnan arrives in Paris everything changed and I could not put it down!

Fast forward to 2010, when I heard that a 3D version of the Musketeers was being planned and no other than my favorite British actor, Matthew Macfadyen was playing my very favorite of the musketeers, Athos. Although, initial reports had him playing Aramis, that wouldn’t have worked, he is the perfect Athos.

I will start with the not so good. I am disappointed that Paul W.S. Anderson decided to leave out a very main character, Monsieur de Treville, the very wise and fatherly captain of the musketeers. The story is just not the same without him, the classic tale of the first meeting between D’Artagnan (Logan Lerman) and the three musketeers Athos, Porthos (Ray Stevenson) and Aramis (Luke Evans) is what sets the rest of the story.

I also disliked the fact that they put too much emphasis on Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich), in the novel she is an important character, but not so important. Obviously, the fact that Milla is director Anderson’s wife weighs heavily. But in all I thought she got too much screen time.

When I first heard the words air ships, I thought, oh no! This is going to be a disaster. I must say, as far fetched as it sounded it works in this setting. I think Anderson said in an interview during the London press tour that it needed to be a 21st century version. Well, he shocked me, that’s for sure.

As far as the musketeers, Matthew Macfadyen doesn’t disappoint as Athos, he has that mysterious, haunted personality going for him and he is very refined at the same time, looks regal, which the character was supposed to be. The Count de la Fere was of noble lineage. He also displays a natural talent for sword fighting, very agile and elegant as well as being the undisputed leader of the group.

Luke Evans as Aramis is perfect in my opinion, he has that stylish air about him and mysterious as well. A cat-like swashbuckler, Luke could have much more screen time in my opinion, he is so talented and has a lovely voice. I also missed the part on him being confused with the Duque of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom), the actors do look alike. My favorite Luke scene, the parking ticket to D’Artagnan for not picking up the horse’s poop!

Now, Ray Stevenson as Porthos is the lovable, vain musketeer, who I love for different reasons. He is the funny one, the one that makes everyone laugh when the going gets tough. Ray Stevenson is great as Porthos. Very brute like in his fighting, he minces no words and is very flashy.

The funniest scenes were the ones that included Freddie Fox as the King acting like a complete spoiled brat, which is how I imagined him to be, but with his heart in the right place and of course all the scenes with James Corden. The sleeping in the terrace is very funny and elicited chuckles from the viewers as well as the constant shutting him down by the musketeers.

Logan Lerman as D’Artagnan did a good job as the fearless youth come to become a musketeer. I liked how he is the actual age of the character in the novel, and the others do seem much older, fatherly or brotherly if you like.

I wish Paul Anderson would have spent more time exploring the relationship and personalities of the musketeers, that is the richness in the novel, all their background stories, Athos’ heartbreak, Aramis’ dilemma and Porthos’ extravagance but good heart. Some of it comes through thanks to the brilliant actors portraying the trio, but quite a lot is also lost.

Of course Christoph Waltz as Richelieu and Mads Mikelsen as Rochefort are brilliant in their roles as baddies. Orlando Bloom is good as Buckingham, who was also a disappointment in regards to the original character, who is not really a ‘bad guy’, more misguided and arrogant than anything, in love with a married woman, who happens to be the Queen of England.

In general, I thought these musketeers are perfectly cast and now I can not think of any others playing their respective roles, I believe the boys talked about that in their press tour. They’re absolutely right.

The visual scenery is magnificent! It was very nice to see all those locations come to life, after following this movie all throughout the production process and looking at numerous stills during the last year.

I would definitely recommend this as a fun family movie, maybe with the exception of the last fight between D’Artagnan and Rochefort, where there is a little blood, but I appreciate the fact that they keep it clean in that regard, the fights are violent enough. Also, I though the scantily dressed Milady wasn’t necessary.

Clearly there is a hint of a sequel at the end of the movie and I, as a fan of all these wonderful actors, very much hope to see.

All for One and One for All!

The Three Musketeers (2011) [Review]

Widescreen Warrior

Posted by Nicole O'Connell on Oct 23, 2011  

The newest version of The Three Musketeers storms into theaters this weekend. Being a fan of the novel, I knew I needed to see this updated reimaging of the classic story, directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. Anderson previously directed two of the Resident Evil films and Alien Vs. Predator and he now brings some of his futuristic flavor to 17^th century France.

The film opens in Venice where a caper is afoot to steal da Vinci’s plans for a flying machine. The thieves turn out to be our beloved musketeers, Athos (Matthew MacFayden), Porthos (Ray Stevenson), Aramis (Luke Evans), and Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich). But unfortunately, Milady betrays them and turns the plans over to the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom). Buckingham delights in beating out the musketeers. Jumping forward a year, we find D’Artagnan leaving home to join his heroic Musketeers.

When he arrives in Paris, he finds out that the musketeers were disbanded (budget cuts!). But he joins up with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis after he impresses them with his skills in a battle with Cardinal Richelieu’s guards. When the four come out on top of a four-on-forty battle, the king of France summons them to “punish” them for Richelieu, but he is too happy and impressed and the king grants them new outfits and a bag of gold. Richelieu hates being thwarted and has been working on a plan to overthrow the royals and install himself as King of France. The musketeers stumble unto his plot and set about spoiling it.

While the story takes its cues from the original novel, it is updated with things like the flying machine and other fight sequences that seem to be purely to add flash not substance. This brings about the film’s biggest problem: except for the moments that are straight from the novel, the story is jumbled and hard to follow. It’s the kind of movie where they added specific scenes in order to make it better in 3D, but these add nothing to the 2D story. The costumes are gorgeous and the sets were amazing, all creating a pretty dressing for the story and the cast.

Speaking of the casting, it is spot on. Each character is given life by an actor that breathes life and soul into their depiction. Christoph Waltz takes the evil, plotting Cardinal Richelieu to a new smarmy level. He is ambivalent and conniving all at once. Orlando Bloom plays the Duke of Buckingham as arrogant, ambitious, and in control. The Musketeers and D’Artagnan are all played with all the heroics and romantic power that we expect. However, Milla Jovovich is weaker than the cast around her. She comes across as very flat and falls back on the spectacles around her to bring life and movement to her performance, rather than supplying it herself.

The film breaks my heart, since I wanted to see a solid movie built on the grounds laid by the novel, but what we get is a pretty version with very little emotion to it. I would see it again for the cast, but not for the storyline, which is a sad place to be. I would recommend seeing this film if you are interested in the period, or the costumes, or the flashy sword fights, but not as an adaption of the book.

-Nicole O’Connell

 

Tags: christoph waltz, luke evans, matthew macfayden, milla jovovich, orlando bloom, paul w s anderson, ray stevenson, the three musketeers

THE THREE MUSKETEERS - REVIEW THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

Movie Review: A swashbuckling good time

Latest stab at The Three Musketeers benefits from good looks and a solid cast
By Katherine Monk, Postmedia News October 20, 2011


Matthew Macfadyen, Logan Lerman, Ray Stevenson and Luke Evans star in a fun film that deftly delivers swordplay, friendship, romance and sexy guys in tights.

Starring: Logan Lerman, Milla Jovovich and Matthew Macfadyen

Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson

Rating: PG (violence)

Playing at: AMC, Barrhaven, Coliseum, Galeries Aylmer, Gatineau 9, Empire Orléans, SilverCity, South Keys, StarCité


There are a lot of reasons why Alexandre Dumas’ story of three famed swashbucklers will always stand the test of time.

One has to do with the notion of underdogs with great skills who triumph over the forces of darkness, which is always sexy. Another revolves around the theme of friendship, and how mutual respect and a deep sense of brotherhood can bring out the very best in man.

Last, but not least, is the appeal of men with big swords in leather pants. It’s sexy, and appealing across cultures.

And why not? The whole thing comes with a ready-made slogan of “all for one, and one for all” — which seems to be increasingly true, especially in the world of international banking. And believe it or not, international banking is what forms the backdrop for this new stab at the musketeers.

A weak king sits on the throne of France. Louis XIII (Freddie Fox) doesn’t have control over the endlessly manoeuvering Cardinal Richelieu, which makes the nation vulnerable in the face of its most threatening enemy: England.

The two nations are in the midst of a peace negotiation, because their war coffers are hurting in their endless quest to gain the upper hand. Both would like a chance to recover, but they can’t risk a tactical misstep.

It’s a situation reminiscent of the Cold War, where leaders are forced to rely on bravado and military might to establish the world order.

Richelieu (Christoph Waltz) understands the way it is, but the king is a peacenik who is more interested in wooing his wife (Juno Temple) than conniving against the British emissary, Buckingham (Orlando Bloom).

He needs some manly backup, but his personal guard — the musketeers — have been disbanded by Richelieu. They live among the rabble, drinking and carousing.

At the top of the reel, they meet the man who will become their fourth musketeer, D’Artagnan (Logan Lerman). But he’s got a lot to prove before he becomes a bona fide swordsman for god and country.

This movie directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (Death Race, Resident Evil) gives the young blade ample screen time to make his mark as both a warrior and a man. And relative newcomer Lerman (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) does a standup job delivering both halves of the equation.

At a basic level, this film will appeal to tweens the world over, because it shows a young person doing incredible things in a credible way. But what makes this piece of matinee fluff more fun than your average poofy-pants movie is the veteran cast, which includes British character actors Luke Evans, Matthew Macfadyen and Ray Stevenson — Aramis, Athos and Porthos, respectively.

These three men can generate so much depth of emotion in such short strokes, we have to stand back and give them room to move. Every turn of phrase seems to come with a matching twist of the knife, ensuring all the swordplay is matched by verbal shadow moves.

There are endless winks to genre, but Macfadyen deserves extra praise for selling the subplot of the double-dealing romantic interest, played by Milla Jovovich, in yet another scenery-swallowing encounter. Macfadyen almost tears up when the woman he loves sells him out for diplomatic immunity and a diamond necklace.

It’s a nice bit in a movie that looks to action sequences and computer-generated effects for most of its thrills.

The Three Musketeers is effective formula, and this good-looking, big-budget feature with a veteran cast gets the core ideas right. Not only are we immersed in a story of good versus evil, the director is smart enough to hint that, despite the difference in fashion and weaponry, the world still looks very much the same.


© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Milla Jovovich slams summit on twitter over 3 Musketeers promotion

Variety

By: Stuart Oldham
Published Fri, October 21, 2011, 2:59 PM
|

"All for one and one for all."

Actress Milla Jovovich went all "Resident Evil" on Summit Entertainment today, tweeting that "The Three Musketeers" distributor is hardly promoting the family adventure pic, which opens today in the U.S.

"Are they resting on their laurels from 'Twilight' n making no effort?" she tweeted. "SHAME ON U 'SUMMIT'! SHAME ON U!"

Summit had no comment.

Jovovich, who co-stars with Luke Evans and Matthew Macfayden in the pic, was on her way to the Japanese Film Festival to promote the "Musketeers" when she made the allegations.
"The Three Musketeers," directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, bows on 2,200 3D screens today.

Read the tweets below:

Posted: Fri, October 21, 2011, 2:59 PM

Read more: http://www.boffo.com/2011/10/milla-jovovich-slams-summit-on-twitter-over-three-musketeers-promotion.html#ixzz1bYEBzzSQ
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3 MUSKETEERS IN 3D - MOVIE REVIEW

The Three Musketeers: 3D (M) 3 stars
Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz, Luke Evans, Matthew Macfadyen, Ray Stevenson
Director Paul W.S. Anderson

You'll like this if you liked Pirates of the Caribbean, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Mask of Zorro, Wild Wild West

The Three Stooges. Three Amigos. Three Men and a Baby or its sequel, Three Men and a Bride. These are three-manned movies I'd rather see than another Three Musketeers movie.

There hasn't been one since Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland donned the feathered hats in the 1993 film, and there hasn't been one better than the 1973 version starring Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain and Raquel Welch. That might suggest the time is right for a clever re-invention of the old-fashioned swashbuckler. But in the age of superhero blockbusters, 3D and digital animation, another musketeer movie filled with daring swordplay and pompous wordplay seems like a quaint time warp.

But swash my buckles! This surprisingly enjoyable update is as handsome as it is empty-headed, and it knows it, never taking itself too seriously and almost winking at the camera at how absurd it all is.
Even the Three Musketeers themselves would blush at how action movie director Paul W.S.

Anderson swindled a whopping $75 million to bring the three plumed swashbucklers back from the dead. But back they are - looking resplendent in 3D - in this bright, colourful, higher-tech and action-packed act of British lunacy.

After being double-crossed by the beautiful Milady (Milla Jovovich), our three washed-up heroes (Luke Evans, Matthew Macfadyen, Ray Stevenson) team up with the cocky young D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman) to stop her and her employers from seizing the French throne.

Anderson has directed some of the trashier action films of the decade but he knows how to shoot a solid action scene and brings some polished, inventive sequences to proceedings here. A giant sailing warship becomes a flying hot-air balloon galleon.

Anderson spends much of his $75 million on these crazy sequences. There's some creative use of weaponry too. Yet he also spends plenty of money on the costumes, sets and CG effects, with big palaces, decadent rooms and backgrounds all created in the computer.

It all makes this Musketeer effort look and play like a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, especially with the sailing ship and with Pirates star Orlando Bloom sporting an Elvis quiff/mullet as the dastardly Duke of Buckingham. He resembles a Renaissance peacock with a goatee and sideburns - and he still can't act.

Still, it's good to see nerdy British actor Matthew Macfadyen headbutting bad guys as Athos and Ray Stevenson bringing a bit of Little John to Porthos. But is Christoph Waltz the new John Malkovich? He not only bears a striking resemblance but ever since he won the Oscar for Inglourious Basterds, he's playing the same kind of snivelling, bad-guy freaks, and hams it up as a slippery Cardinal here.

Yet The Three Musketeers is inventive, whimsical, camera-winking fun. It's the type of big dumb action movie where hundreds of armed henchmen surround the good guys and the villain says "finish them off" and leaves, assuming the job is done. You can guess what happens next, and you may roll your eyes at all the cliches, but I think you'll leave with a smile.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS CAST INTERVIEW - COMING SOON

CS Video: The Cast of The Three Musketeers

Source: Silas Lesnick October 18, 2011

COMING SOON

A stylish updating of Alexandre Dumas' classic tale, Paul W.S. Anderson mixes 3D steampunk with good old-fashioned swashbuckling, pulling together an ensemble cast that includes (as the Musketeers themselves) Matthew Macfadyen as Athos, Luke Evans as Aramis and Ray Stevenson as Porthos, plus Logan Lerman as D'Artagnan, Milla Jovovich as Milady de Winter, Gabriella Wilde as Constance and Orlando Bloom as the villainous Duke of Buckingham.

ComingSoon.net traveled to the London junket for the film to speak with Anderson and the cast about the updating of the original text, sword fighting in 3D and bringing Resident Evil-style action to the 17th century.

You can catch The Three Musketeers in theaters in 3D and 2D this Friday, October 21st and be sure to check out our previous interview with the film's producer, Jeremy Bolt, by clicking here.

VIA FLICK NEWS

THE THREE MUSKETEERS INTERVIEW - COLLIDER

LUKE EVANS, MATTHEW MACFADYEN AND RAY STEVENSON TALK THREE MUSKETEERS, THE HOBBIT, G.I. JOE 2 AND ANNA KARENINA.

WATCH THE VIDEO INTERVIEW AT COLLIDER

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub Posted:October 15th, 2011 at 8:35 am


With director Paul W.S. Anderson’s The Three Musketeers opening October 21, Summit Entertainment held a big press junket in London and I got the chance to head across the pond to interview the cast. Based on Alexandre Dumas’ classic story, The Three Musketeers stars Logan Lerman, Luke Evans, Ray Stevenson, Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz, Matthew Macfayden and Mads Mikkelsen. In the reboot, “the hot-headed young D’Artagnan (Lerman) joins forces with three rogue Musketeers (MacFadyen, Evans and Stevenson). They must stop the evil Richlieu (Waltz) and face off with Buckingham (Bloom) and the treacherous Milady (Jovovich).” And unlike many films that have been post converted for a 3D release, the Musketeers was shot in 3D and it looks great. For more on the film, here’s eight clips.

During my interview with the Musketeers, we talked about the amazing real world locations they used in Musketeers, how did they get involved in the project, karaoke, and I asked them about future projects like The Hobbit, G.I. Joe 2 and Anna Karenina. Hit the jump to watch.


THANK YOU TO LUKE EVANS

Stars Of The Three Musketeers Chat To FILMCLUB the nationwide education charity and experts in films for young people.

MTV

Orlando and co talk to the film education charity...

13:20, Friday, 14 October 2011

The cast and director of new swashbuckling adventure The Three Musketeers, which is playing in cinemas now, have been chatting to FILMCLUB – the nationwide education charity and experts in films for young people.

Orlando Bloom, Milla Jovovich, Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans, Logan Lerman, Ray Stevenson and director Paul WS Anderson spoke to the charity about the latest screen adaptation of the classic tale of loyalty and honour, based on the legendary novel by Alexander Dumas.

Director Paul WS Anderson (Resident Evil, Event Horizon) told the charity about remaking such a famous story set in the opulent and turbulent 1700s France; “I wanted to retain essentially the story because I think it’s an amazing story. The themes of the book and the previous films - like love, heroism, loyalty, friendship, the rallying cry of “All for One…”

Orlando Bloom, who plays the baddie Duke of Buckingham, told FILMCLUB about working with Oscar-winning actor Christoph Waltz, who plays fellow villain Richelieu; “I had a lot of fun working with Christoph Waltz, who is a really great actor. He’s really funny and he’s really intelligent, he was a great wealth of information and I had a lot of fun with him.”

The actor also cited the perils of working on set in 17th Century costumes; “Well, there was a lot of tottering around on heels and a couple of trips and falls which was quite funny!”

The charity - which encourages young people to learn through watching a wide variety of films in school film clubs – also asked the cast why they believe its importance to watch different types of films. Actor Ray Stevenson, who plays Musketeer Porthos, said; “Watching a variety of films - both old and new films - give you such an insight into just experiencing the world in different ways through other people’s eyes. So to see all these different movies you’re not taking one way as the one way path to doing things, or seeing things or understanding things. It just opens your eyes to all these wonderful stories, peoples stories, and its all valid, and all about entertaining as well!”

To watch the full interviews with Orlando Bloom, Milla Jovovich, Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans, Ray Stevenson, Logan Lerman, Freddie Fox, Gabriella Wilde and director Paul WS Anderson, or to just browse great film recommendations, visit www.filmclub.org.
The Three Musketeers is in UK cinemas now.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS-REVIEW, ANALYSIS AND INTERVIEWS

A complete analysis of The Three Musketeers, interviews with the director Paul W.S. Anderson, producers and the cast, and overview of the movie, was published in LAHIGUERA.NET Here is the translation from the original article in Spanish.

Translation: Microsoft Word.

The Three Musketeers filming began on August 26, 2010 outside of Bavaria, Germany. The film, produced by Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer, Constantin Film and Impact Pictures is directed and produced by Paul W.S. Anderson. Martin Moszkowicz, Constantin film, exercises of executive producer.

The film, based on the historical novel by Alexandre Dumas, Père, has been adapted for the big screen by Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones's diary) and Alex Litvak (Predators). Other key members of the creative team included production designer Paul Austerberry (the twilight Saga: Eclipse), Pierre Yves Gayraud costume designer (perfume: story of a murderer) and the director of photography Glen MacPherson (Resident Evil: afterlife).

The stellar cast is headed by Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief), who plays the young and idealistic d'Artagnan, Matthew Macfadyen (pride and prejudice, Robin Hood), Ray Stevenson ("Rome", the book of Eli, Thor) and Luke Evans (Immortals, clash of the Titans) interpret the three veterans Musketeers, already tired of the war, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, respectively. The winner of the Oscar ® Christoph Waltz (damned bastards, The Green Hornet (the Green Hornet)) plays the intriguing Cardinal Richelieu, Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil, the fifth element) is the beautiful but deadly triple agent Milady de Winter, and Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, the Lord of the rings) interprets the English Duke of Buckingham.

The cast is rounded out with stars rising Juno Temple (the other Boleyn Girl, diary of a scandal) and Freddie Fox (St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold) as Queen Anne and King Louis, respectively. Gabriella Wilde (St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold) plays the beautiful and ingenious Constance. James corder (the travels of Gulliver), British comedian and star of the television in his country, is Planchet, the servant of the young musketeer. Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, clash of the Titans) played the nemesis of d'Artagnan, Rochefort, the ruthless captain of the guard of the cardinal.


A new cast for a classic story
Robert Kulzer and Jeremy Bolt meets with the director and his partner Paul W.S. Anderson production to create the three Musketeers. As the characters that give name to the film, these three filmmakers go back to work together, this time to deal with a historical fiction, something quite different to what we are accustomed in his latest collaborations.

Says Kulzer: "Paul and I have done many films together, generally full of zombies, monsters and forces of evil." However, I think that we are finally beginning to mature, Paul has been married and has even had a daughter, Ever. Paul is a father very dedicated, and in my opinion, Ever has no doubt influenced by his attempt to diversify and try something new. "But I think that all were that this was a fantastic opportunity for Paul to show an aspect of his work and his skills that it goes beyond being a mere action film director, and shows that it is really someone who can rely on a love affair with humour and much spirit".

The selection of the cast of any film is always a crucial element in ensuring the success of the same, but the process takes on special importance when it comes to embody such popular characters, doing a history classic and well known by all.

"This film was a major challenge with regard to the cast, because all the actors have to be funny, should be charming and also need to be able to tackle respective problems loving of each of its characters." The story also requires many of them flying through the air, fight sword, mount a horse, aircraft, etc. "So that each actor had to be able to exhibit a wide range of abilities and talents", notes Kulzer.

Logan Lerman was the first actor to be elected to the role of d'Artagnan. Lerman said: "d" Artagnan is the symbolic character full of youth and moral values which serves to rekindle the passion of the Musketeers and make them come out of retirement. " At the beginning of the film, when he leaves his hometown, is a boy naive and some cock. "Get a good dose of reality when it comes to the big city and meets the most immoral people".

Bolt says: "We decided to show d'Artagnan as is represented in the book, where it is a boy of 17 or 18 years." It is very smart and, not only physically is a great athlete and a great swordsman, but is also highly intelligent and has people skills. Logan is a very smart and very committed young. We put it to work with an excellent teacher of fencing/choreographer and it has become a great athlete. It also has a very nice look and seemed very important that our d'Artagnan has that quality of 'man in the street'. It is a boy from the village of Gascony; "is basically a gift anyone who changes the world".

Lerman was delighted by the opportunity to work with director Paul W.S. Anderson. According to notes: "Work with Paul and his team has been much collaboration experience." It's nice to have voice and vote on your character and make small adjustments to feel comfortable with each scene. "Paul always showed very accessible and receptive to new ideas".

Also was equally delighted to work with the actors who were choosing to be their co-stars, the three Musketeers. But the first meeting of his alter-ego with them not out precisely as expected. When you know the three Musketeers, the time takes a great disappointment with them. He believed that they would be heroic types, but in reality they are nothing more than drunken boring and without direction in life. "D" Artagnan changed their lives, earn their respect and back them together ".

Choose the three Musketeers was actually a fairly simple process, because each of the characters describes very clearly and feature on the Dumas novel; the mysterious Aramis, the immeasurable Porthos and the melancholic Athos.

"Had to be a good balance between these actors, because the Musketeers are all equal, even they have approximately the same number of pages each in the novel." Matthew Macfadyen is sensational in the role of Athos, has a certain grace and elegance, with a worrying underlying violence. Porthos is full of passion and exuberance, you close heavily between his arms and is always with beer and wine, and Ray [Stevenson] provides that physical presence. "Luke Evans as Aramis is extremely handsome, but at the same time possesses a dark and mysterious quality", points Bolt.

Matthew Macfadyen was chosen to play the bereaved but overflowing talent Athos. Producer Robert Kulzer draws on the actor: "Magnificently plays the role of Athos, with elegance and dignity, but also with a background hardly content of violence and brutality".

MacFadyen appreciates his character and particularly appreciated his depth: "Athos has been betrayed by his beloved, Milady, who sold them both to him and his friends to the Duke of Buckingham." As a result, Athos is very bad-tempered and little communicative. "It is a rather dark character, that baby to hide his disappointment".

But, when d'Artagnan arrives at Paris, Athos recognized therein all the ideals of his own youth. "Are fond instinctively with d'Artagnan because I think he sees echoes of yourself in this young man, I think all the Musketeers to do so." D'Artagnan is full of life and exuberance, something that happens already to Athos, he has already seen and done everything, is on the decline. "The relationship that develops with d'Artagnan becomes very fatherly, is a touching story".

Despite being close friends, each of the Musketeers has a very different personality. Luke Evans, chosen to interpret Aramis, and a big fan of the story as a child, speaks of the characters the Musketeers and the respective relationships they establish each of them with the young d'Artagnan in the film. "We all have our own relationship with d'Artagnan." My character, Aramis, becomes a sort of brother for him. He sees this young kid who thought invincible and can dominate the world and sees their mistakes. At Aramis you like d'Artagnan and cares for him very brotherly way, although sometimes the youthful bluster of d'Artagnan be something underlying. Athos is the father figure, a father madly in love and disappointed, reflected in d'Artagnan. And then we have to Porthos, which is like the uncle of big heart, always despeinando and giving it a little stronger we Pats on the back. "We all have our place".

"After reaching Paris and inform the Musketeers, d'Artagnan begins to grow as a person." It progresses much throughout the film, it is her rite of transition. A young boy that has its sights set very high and receives a lesson. He falls madly in love and realizes that has to take very important decisions, so mature a lot. All mature throughout the film. D'Artagnan resurrects the spirit of camaraderie, brotherhood and pride for who we are. "Ultimately, d'Artagnan wins his place, works hard to achieve this and, just at the end, becoming the fourth musketeer".

Producer Robert Kulzer at Luke Evans considered the ideal candidate for Aramis. "It is a handsome, but also a dark and mysterious side he brings to his role."

Evans explained: "Aramis was priest and you can see him often reading the Bible or using his rosary." It is a faithful and a great friend, books not betrays never anyone. Pray for each and every one of the persons who have been killed in combat. As a musketeer, Aramis is a very quiet individual and when they fight, is lethal but graceful and agile. "It's like a Batman of the 17TH century".

Ray Stevenson plays the immeasurable musketeer Porthos. On the work of documentation during pre-production and how that helped him shape his version of the character, Stevenson says: "In this film had some creative license to devise some past of our characters history." Porthos has a different fighting style, has a particular form of dress and a different attitude towards life, but ultimately has some DNA that makes him a musketeer; that something indefinable which binds together the Musketeers. "It was fun to have the opportunity to play with these ideas".

As a musketeer, Stevenson had to take part in many of the sequences of fight of the film, which was prepared with the German champion of Europe and gold medal, Imke Duplitzer. Stevenson points out on his instructor: "Imke was wonderful and we had good luck to forward to it." To shoot scenes in 3D, camera covers everything, so everything you do during a fight has to be very measured. The discipline of the sequences of fight when 3D wheel is at a much higher level. "You can not forget that you are wielding a large piece of metal that you try to drive him to someone, so you have to be much more concentrated than if you were filming in the normal 2D".

The international stars Orlando Bloom, Milla Jovovich and Christoph Waltz also joined the cast. According to admits Bolt: "Paul and me we love subvert the expectations of the viewer and make an actor to interpret a role completely different to the type of character that is expected of him, so here you can see Orlando playing a villain: the astute and rogue Duke of Buckingham." You expect to find you the typical's, but you'll find a very mischievous and ladino type. "I think that we are the first to do something like this with Orlando".

Orlando Bloom is the shadowy Duke of Buckingham. "The history of the Musketeers is very famous and certainly exceptional." I feel like my entire career has been as a kind of journey which I have been making all the dreams of my childhood, and this film certainly contributes to this process. One of the things that attracted me most of the project was that the character of Buckingham was a very different role for me. I have the opportunity to be a Rascal rogue. Buckingham is not the enemy, but is also a true rogue. As soon as I read the script, I knew that was going to be great fun and a great show. I think that there is always place in cinemas for a film that people can go to see and enjoy it without more. It's a film for Marvel and be carried away. "In addition, was eager to work with Paul Anderson after hearing the ideas he had for the film".

Bloom describes his character as follows: "the Duke of Buckingham was the courtier more rich during the reign of his Majesty, James I and behaves like a spoiled brat." It's like a Peacock who likes to show off and showing off. When Paul and I talked about the role, told me to think in more rolled rock stars of our time: David Bowie, Jim Morrison, Mick Jagger... Buckingham is like a rock star. This is not the typical film of the Musketeers where the public expects to find, because it is not taking seriously itself. There are lot of humor, wit and self-assurance in this version. Buckingham appears, has some great moments where the weapon a nice mess with all the key characters and turns to leave. "It's been fun".

Milla Jovovich is a big fan of the Dumas stories since she was a child. Their attraction to the role of long tradition of Milady Winter explains: "for me, the three Musketeers is the classic fun book and full of action that you can not read once start." "Dumas was a fantastic writer, each chapter leaves you hanging, desiring to know what will happen next".

"I was involved from the outset, Paul [Anderson] began to work with Andrew Davies to write the screenplay for the film." Milady is one of my favorite characters in historical literature. "I was delighted with the fact that Paul was trying to prove something else as a filmmaker and that I might also have the opportunity to play a character as representative".

Jovovich talks about Milady as character and on how personifies the qualities of the current strong and independent woman: "have always seen to Milady as one of the most modern women literature." She is single, he is incredibly intelligent and able to enter and leave different societies without apparent effort. We need to be a woman very strong and very ready to move in a world of men, especially in the 17TH century, when a woman could lock her in a convent or in an insane asylum for showing responsive with her husband. "Being a woman intelligent enough to handle these men is quite an achievement".

On the darker side of Milady, Jovovich said: "I am very proud to play this role, for me, is not simply to make bad." It is true, do not always play by the rules, but it is that she is not a normal woman. It is not just a pretty face who stays seated, waiting for men to do things. There is no doubt that lies, misleading and steals, but that is what all men do also! The only difference is that she is a woman. I sympathize much with her. "They branded her as evil, but I respect how to live your life".

Bolt says: "mile transmits an incredible force, it has a great presence." I could not imagine it ever playing an ordinary person, and Milady de Winter is nothing current. It is a triple agent, working undercover under multiple pseudonyms, a very advanced women at his time. Mile felt that I could contribute something very new and distinctive to this character and it has gotten squarely in the role. "The fans of his earlier works will not feel disappointed".

Thanks to all the work done in the Resident Evil franchise, Jovovich feels completely comfortable doing action scenes. "I love making my own risky scenes", says. "It is an opportunity that I always take and something that my fans appreciate, so I always like to make myself everything that I can".

"I have a great sequence of action which I intend to do myself, in which there are many fencing, which I love, so it will be fun." I have to face me ten guards while the full costume of Milady took place. I don't think that nobody has ever made a sequence of action with this kind of dress of huge skirts, petticoats, corsets, so it will be quite a challenge. Okay, for Milady is an innovative character, always the first to do something, so I am delighted you touch her make the first sequence of a woman with corset and a great dress action; "you deserve".

Christoph Waltz plays the shadowy and all-powerful Cardinal Richelieu. Richelieu has the power, it has more power than anyone else in France." Simply organize the issue so everything goes like silk. It is not an existential question, but rather something diplomatic. "It's a power game".

Like so many other great players, its treatment of the role was documented and know to appreciate the era in which the film is set. "I read biographies and I documented a little on Richelieu;" It is important to make this work to be able to inspire, but ultimately, the interpretation that I offer has nothing to do with the real Richelieu. "It's my real Richelieu", recognizes Waltz.

"This is a dramatic fictional interpretation", continues. "Needs to be at the service of dramatic intention, and not at the service of the story." You turn to the documentation because it is a good place where to start, but often to fantasize about it, you think infinitely more valuable things that work in which they will get ever to document yourself on historical facts. We also had an adviser's label, a historian and a theologian us brains-trust in the field of historical real label. Year and a half studying to be perfect could spend, but in fact this film is not that. "It is important to have knowledge, but it is also important to know leave the historical facts in the right place".

"It is fascinating to see work to Christoph Waltz, it is a true master", says Bolt. "Should not underestimate the brilliance of the Dumas novel." It is a masterpiece and the characters are phenomenal, so we needed actors who might be at the height of the material. With Christoph, exceeded expectations. "I think that we have had good luck of having been able to count on him in the film".

About his experience of working with the director, Paul W.S. Anderson, Stevenson says: "Paul feels real enthusiasm for this project, a pure joy for filming every part of this film, which is contagious." It is a very visual director and its dominance when it comes to telling a story in a film has no equal. I am not surprised the slightest who has decided to enter the 3D scene. What find me interesting is how will this so classical story in a 3D scenario. We know what 3D can bring visually, but it does follow a narrative drama in this sense, when it is not moved by the action? Action is result of the narrative, rather than happen the other way around. I think that it will work extremely well. "Viewers will need massages when they come out of the theater, because you will feel as if they had been involved in fights with us, is very exciting".

MacFadyen says: "Paul has inexhaustible enthusiasm and energy, and I do not say in a ridiculous sense." Just a very constant energy. "This quality is extremely important for a director because, at least, as an actor, you lean on it to keep you animated".


Locations

The three Musketeers was filmed in Germany foreign in some of the towns and most impressive cities throughout Bavaria, and Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam.

Filming began in Bamberg outer a historic courtyard located in the domplatz square. This place serves as the venue chosen by d'Artagnan for duel with Athos, Porthos and Aramis. But the duel is interrupted by the arrival of Rochefort and guards of the Cardinal, which are subsequently crushed by the three Musketeers and its young and new friend. According to opinion Lerman, "for me, boot with this big fight is definitely an interesting way to start, going directly to a great scene of action." I remember that I was the first of the four who shot his part of the match. It was really nerve, to say the least. "I'm very competitive, so I wanted to show what pasta was made, as well as start to get real benefit to all the time we spent in intense preparation".

The domplatz square was transformed into the Calais of the 17TH century, where our heroes discover that the route to England is blocked. Some scenes were also filmed at Obere Brücke (upper bridge) and beneath the ornate building that was formerly the Town Hall. The team worked all night to film scenes set outside the apartment of the Musketeers, where arrives accompanied by their guards Rochefort to arrest them by force if they refuse to surrender. The town hall was built in the mid-14th century. In addition to stunning architecture and the interior of Baroque and Rococo style, the frescoes are especially impressive by its plasticity.

"Personally, I loved Bamberg", recalls Lerman, "left Me amazed." In addition, we had a very well there. Both the Division and the team were hosted at the same hotel in this village, so we spent much time together daily, end of work, as well as on weekends. "We shook many ties".

The next stop of the tour was Burghausen, to shoot the historical walls of the Castle. An area that made the times of Meung, d'Artagnan makes a stop on his trip to Paris and gets a lesson on how it works real world from the hands of Rochefort. Burghausen was also the site chosen to serve as the bustling market of Paris, in which d'Artagnan chases to Rochefort, but instead encounters with Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Burghausen has the complex of castles wider Europe, which runs along 1 km in length. The Castle, dating from the 12th century, is picturesquely situated between the Salzach River and the Wohrsee Lake in the foothills of the Alps.

"Each location had its own character,"recalled Stevenson. "The way in which the set of Burghausen Parisian market was decorated was incredible, there was a free niche, which will be enhanced thanks to the 3D." "Also shot in places like the Residenz and the Antiquariam in Munich, where never they had shot before".

Then the team moved into the northern end of Bavaria to shoot the splendor of the Louvre at the Würzburg Residenz and its gardens. Gathered crowds of people on a daily basis to try to see the distribution of the three Musketeers, including Christoph Waltz, Orlando Bloom and Milla Jovovich.

Jovovich said the importance of shooting real outdoors, in cities and historical towns of Bavaria: "the real locations are what gives the film authenticity and grandeur." We could have chosen to shoot in France, but the French countryside is so modernized that we would have not been able to film these flat overall of the castles in the same way that allowed us to Bavaria. Paul and the rest of the team were unable to find these palaces and incredible historical castles that allow us to go back with the camera and offer a stunning panorama. "It is particularly important in this film, because the depth and visual field are crucial for the 3D".

The Palace of Weissenstein in Pommersfelden was the palatial residence which was used to simulate the interior of the Frankish Venice floor decor. Here is where the celebration of the Musketeers is interrupted by the arrival of Buckingham and the betrayal of Milady. Used for the filming room was intricately decorated with shells and mirrors embedded in the walls, which give the room an almost water quality.

The Palace, built between 1720 and 1780, is the former residence of the Princes of Würzburg bishops. During the 2nd World War, it suffered serious damage, but underwent an extensive process of restoration and reopened its doors in 1987. It is currently included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Shoot outside of Bavaria was a real pleasure to Macfadyen, in his own words: "seemed to have no end, was a beautiful location behind another, each one more wonderful and amazing than the last." My favorite was the Palace of the seventeenth century of Pommersfelden. There we shot the scene of the apartment Frank in Venice, where Milady betrays the three Musketeers. The room in which we were filming was enormous and exquisite, with walls decorated with shells and small mirrors. The artistic Department placed bathtubs full of water outside that reflect water and create an effect of light on the roof. It was a truly beautiful effect. "I feel very fortunate to have had the privilege of working there".

Later, the crew settled in Chiemsee, and they were forced to take a water taxi every morning to the island where he was the Royal Palace of Herrenchiemsee. This Palace is probably the most decadent of all those who were used during filming outside of the three Musketeers. It was the work of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, his intention was to create a copy of the Palace of Versailles, but Louis died in 1886, before the end of the construction. However, it still has a large bedroom that includes a huge bed of 3 meters, and the Gallery of mirrors, which measures 100 metres in length and is decorated with more than 1,800 candles.

We used several impressive halls and the famous French gardens of Herrenchiemsee as locations for the film. The place served as the French Louvre, residence of King Louis and Queen Anne.

Back in Munich, the team prepared for its last location in the great Hall of Schleißheim. This magnificent White room served as the Office of Cardinal Richelieu, as it reflected perfectly the cold and hard heart of the character.

On day 33, after six weeks on location, the team made the bags and moved to Berlin to finish filming at Studio Babelsberg of Potsdam.


Costumes

Among the many aspects in which this film offers a new version of the classic story, is a complete implementation abreast of costumes for all the characters in the three Musketeers. Costume designer Pierre-Yves Gayraud not lacked work to find a way to new and different clothing known as characters, while it remained faithful to the costume of the time.

Says Gayraud: "when I spoke for the first time with Paul, told me that it did not want that the costumes were very traditional, wanted them to have a rocker, especially for Milady attitude and the Musketeers." However, as we went forward, Paul became interested are increasingly searching for historical references. "Like it, so that the result is a complete mixture, is not exactly of the 17TH century, but they are not exactly like rock stars".

"Costume designer did an amazing job", it praises Stevenson. "Has designed some really wonderful costumes that fit all very well to this environment so striking and extravagant." "He has managed to create a costume that has the degree just of theatricality, is going to be a movie of amazing visual richness to enjoy 3D".

Gayraud continues: "We use much color, and of course, work on 3D supposed that we had an excellent opportunity to play with textures and give a whole lot of extra volume".

Having already experience working in the fashion world, Jovovich enjoyed working with Pierre-Yves Gayraud in the costumes of the wardrobe of Milady: "I love fashion, I have always felt great interest for her." "Work on the costumes of the characters is very important, because it is the moment in which your character really comes to life".

Gayraud notes: "the truth is that the clothes of the 17TH century was not anything sexy, was quite dull and heavy, especially for women, so we knew we didn't want to be too traditional." For men it was a little easier to achieve the traditional it modern, because the silhouette remained the same; still remained basically wearing boots, jeans and jackets of pilot. The women of the time were very strict and not particularly glamorous. "So we decided to change the volume of the corset, and mix it with the silhouette of Christian Dior in the 1950s off the top of the slopes up just below the hips".

"Keep more memories of small carry costumes than anything else, although I was never Queen." "This is the first time", says laughing Juno Temple, who played Queen Anne. "These suits were extraordinary, you feel beautifully with a brace and a beautiful skirt wearing neckline, clavicles, and neck, and a very Regal port".

Gabriella Wilde, which she played Constance, Lady-in-waiting of Queen Anne, shows agreement: "when you put one of these dresses, you feel different at the time." Those clothes forces you to go upright and move in a certain way, you feel really how it should be for these women. "Although also have occasion dress me boy in this film, so it was fun", says.

Given the stylized image that had been created, Pierre-Yves Gayraud and his team had to hand produce over 400 different clothing garments. Says: "We have three different sites to create costumes." We started with a workshop in Paris, where we did our prototypes and work in the silhouettes that we wanted to for men and women. When that part was defined, we turn to Romania to start producing the costumes. Until the first week of August we fail to Munich that put to prove them actors who were going to take them in the film. It was a tremendous challenge to get to comply with the schedule. "We were working on certain garments until the moment in which needed them to shoot a particular scene".

Another challenge for Gayraud was the element of action of the film, which explains as follows: "usually use old remnants of films in which I have worked before, but in this case, it was not possible, by the amount of duplicates required to meet the action scenes." Instead, we decided to use modern tissue and then work on them. We did many embroidery and add patterns to make them different. "We sometimes needed five or six duplicates of a same dress, so it would have been virtually impossible to find old materials in similar quantities".

Bloom talks about his original costume and how he helped the character charged life: "We have an excellent trial stage and he had already been working in the dialect, voice, movement, and the physical presence of my character... and then got me my suit." Not you walk with nonsense when you wear a suit as the Duke! For a film, it is certainly a great help, but it was also something with what he had to learn to feel comfortable. This clothing is not something that you wear every day. "My clothes have nothing of comfortable, but have an incredible looking".

"This costume makes you jump your eyes and you may fly the pupils", says Freddie Fox. "Luis is interested in fashion, but it is not a slave to it." He wants to have the best possible look, because it must be the center of attention. "Cares especially to show off in front of the Duke of Buckingham, which tends to go a step ahead of him in matters of fashion".

Producer Jeremy Bolt echoed the praise of the cast: "Pierre-Yves has shown me how costumes can be as important for a film as good lighting." Clothing is a recurring theme in the three Musketeers; "the King was much interested in fashion and Buckingham is like the icon of the fashion of the 17TH century, so we had a very well with the idea of fashion throughout the film", said.


Production design

Paul Austerberry says about the appearance and atmosphere of the film: "Is a modern version of a film of time." Is assumed that it is obviously set in the 17TH century, but we have incorporated a lot of modern elements; It is stylized, with clean and simple lines and a palette of vivid colors. "It is more as a time of comic book movie than a true drama of time".

Continues talking about the style of the director and how influenced the decisions that had to be taken with regard to the element of the filming outside of the film: "Paul Anderson likes the flat overall." That is fantastic for the artistic Department, because he always wants to show all the work we do. Paul likes things to be very symmetrical, what gives it all of a highly stylized look. Everything we do use a wide-angle lens, usually an 18 mm lens, and everything looks bigger than it really is. We went to all these amazing places that are already huge, and we have used a wide angle lens, close to the ground, enabling capture throughout the world. It is fantastic, because you can display all the atmosphere that surrounds these wonderful scenery, and is more realistic for the actors. "What makes Paul is somewhat subtle, but get that you have everything there, just in front of you".

As production designer, Austerberry was part of the team of localization for foreign decided in favor of Bavaria for most of the filming in real scenarios of the three Musketeers. "I wasn't sure what to expect from the locations, but they are fantastic." We were looking for Italian and French sites, and, of course, Bavaria has many architecture of Italian influence. "Many people wanted to then their Schloßes [palaces] designed in Italian style, or be part of an Italian grotto built on his land, so we can find many buildings of the style in the South of Germany".

However, filming in real scenarios presented a whole series of complications, as Austerberry explains: "For a start, we needed get permission to film in these protected places". Some of the sites in which we wanted to shoot were very protected by its historical society, so it was difficult to access them. When we did, we had to decorate each scenario. Many of our articles were authentic objects from the 17TH century of France. "For every piece of furniture which we took to buildings, we had to present a certificate to declare that it did not have a questionable past, to ensure that we do not metiéramos termites in the Schloßes".

With regard to the use of colour, Austerberry notes: "Have tried to force the limits of the color and style in all possible aspects." For example, the law firm of Richelieu is a huge room of high ceilings, completely painted in white, with very small details in black and gold. "It is incredibly cold and austere, resulting in a marked contrast with the red blood of the cassock of the Cardinal and the uniforms of his guards, who go dressed in red, with glossy black armor".

Austerberry says about the creation of aircraft of the film: "the truth is that blimps did not exist until the 18th century." However, there are many illustrations of the 17TH century aircraft, and they were often represented as normal ships hanging under a huge air balloon. I guess, so, if they amerizaban, they could stay afloat. We took this idea to the extreme and base our aircraft on a Galleon of the time, slightly modified, and suspended under a huge balloon. The vision which had Paul of these aircraft was that they came to be as a star of the death of the 17TH century, the first time we saw her to sift on the Louvre in Paris had to seem huge. "We take great liberties with the gravity and physics, enabling us to turn it into an impressive vehicle".

Austerberry explains how to work on a 3D set affects his work as production designer: "This is my first film in 3D." It is not radically different, because I always like to offer a close-up, a median plane and a background. However, in 3D, I have to think a little more. Not things can too close to the camera; We have to make room for the extra on the set equipment, because the cameras are much larger and require more people working on them. "This was especially true in the interior of the aircraft, where we had to expand the set to make room for the camera, the technical team and the actors could enter everyone in the ship's hull".

"Also I have had the opportunity to play with the layers", continues Austerberry. "Is especially impressive when the camera passes through the layers, and objects that you did not know they were there suddenly jump in 3D." "It's been fun".


Musketeers in 3D

For the equipment, the decision to shoot in 3D was very simple: "Shot in 3D because Paul does not want to shoot in any other format", says Bolt. "After having filmed Resident Evil: afterlife 3D is a complete convert." For him, he comes to be equivalent to when the sound was introduced in the film, at the beginning of the last century. Not I ask Paul projects unless you can shoot them in 3D. Paul has a highly visual style, loves the symmetry, the objects in the foreground, median plane and background. "3D wouldn't work with a director much more interested in the written word, is a medium entailed a tremendous visual challenge, and the director must be visually bright to make the most".

Although Paul W.S. Anderson is known for his work in 3D, it was a new medium for the young Lerman, in his work before the cameras. "Had not been never before in a 3D set, so around the world of 3D technology I sounded like Chinese when we started." I was excited to learn how 3D movies were done. "The truth is that, as an actor, I would say that in some respects it is easier, because you can see a digital reproduction of high quality and in 3D, it's amazing to be able to see exactly what is rolling".

Jovovich, who already has experience in 3D, explains what the environment will contribute to the three Musketeers: "I think that Paul is going to reach new heights with the 3D in this film." No one had been filmed until now a historical work in 3D and however perfectly fits the time. When you see these amazing castles, landscapes, gardens and costumes in 3D, it will be like putting a story. Viewers may go to the movies and put himself in time past, full of wealth and beauty. "So far had not been seen nothing so 3D".

Lerman shows agree: "many people asked me why we wanted to do a new version of the three Musketeers in 3D." The truth is that today we have a truly impressive technology and 3D transports you directly to that time in a way that had not achieved it any another version of the three Musketeers so far. "You look completely immersed, you get glasses and you're there, in the middle of the action".

Producer Robert Kulzer adds: "I think that all great films adventure rodarán now in 3D." We all had the clear feeling after Resident Evil: afterlife you need to find the next big show we could shoot in 3D. This film is perfect, because we have such incredibly symmetrical architecture works, these beautiful buildings, castles and parks, which lend themselves perfectly to photography in 3D. I believe that it will bring great value to the film, not only for fans to action cinema, but also for fans of beauty or historic buildings in general. "They will experience these places in a way that had not ever, through superb photography in 3D".


What viewers can expect

Jeremy Bolt tells us what viewers can find when the three Musketeers in 3D arrives in theaters: "can expect something to have not seen ever, swords will move faster than I have ever seen in a movie with swords, costumes will be more eye-catching than you can imagine, the action will seem more typical of a science fiction film""scenarios will be stunning and the story is unforgettable".

"It is not that we have intended to be a few different Musketeers", drew Macfadyen, "but rather about Musketeers for a new generation." We have a great script, wonderful artistic and technical teams, extraordinary scenery, and I think that all these ingredients allow us to create a different version of what is already in a natural way of itself an excellent story extremely amusing. "With its universal themes of love, loyalty and friendship, hope it is as relevant and as relevant as possible".

Assume the role of Porthos was fun for Stevenson: "when he went to the movies for children, there was always this kind of epic adventures in the big screen and find you making one of them in real life is like living a dream." We have had to ride horseback and fight with swords, it is an incredible way to live your life and earn a living. If we are going to all work together and we want to entertain people, should be carried away by the spirit of adventure. "Everyone needs to feel happy, sometimes you have to let yourself go on an inspirational journey of emotions and adventures, and that is the essence of the three Musketeers".

Stevenson explains what excites you the version of the three Musketeers by Paul W.S. Anderson: "I hope that it will serve to provide a great adventure to this generation." Show them that there is still room for genuine emotion and the spirit of to come and experience life and get underway in good heart. It would be great if this movie serves to ensure that at least one person say: 'Enough of videogames, will climb to the top of this mountain, will make a journey by boat, I will build a school in the rainforest'. "You can still live adventures, they are all there, waiting".


Curious facts

-Were 260,000 gallons of water needed to fill the section of the Venice canal built in the 15 Studio of the Babelsberg Studio.

-The actors were not the only ones that required make-up and hairdressing; the horse that was going to interpret to the beloved d'Artagnan nag had to put gray extensions in the mane and helmets.

-In preparation for filming, Logan Lerman and actors responsible for interpreting the three Musketeers received lessons in the art of the fencing of the German champion of Europe and gold medal, Imke Duplitzer.

-The Department of arms had to create by hand more than 800 individual weapons in time for the filming of the three Musketeers; It includes various weapons of firearms, pistols, muskets, daggers, stocks and swords.

-Scenes that required visual effects, the crew used for about 3,000 metres of green cloth scenarios, or that it took about 3 kilometres in green background to create Visual effects.

-For the set of the House of Venice, the art Department painted 1,800 slabs of marble, I think 180 masks of gargoyles to hang on the walls and it rolled 2,000 scrolls that fill the camera.