With less than 90 days until Passengers arrives in theatres, Sony has managed to keep their sci-fi thriller mostly under wraps and a mystery to the general public. The cast and and trailer have piqued our interest though and with the release date quickly approaching, they now have our full attention.
In a time where rival studios traditionally do every thing in their power to avoid Star Wars or Marvel films on the calendar, it’s a good sign that Sony has enough confidence to slide their upcoming sci-fi flick into theaters just five days after Rogue One debuts and has us feeling hopeful that it’ll be one of the better movies of 2016.
And so, as anticipation for Passengers starts to build, we wanted to share with you 5 things that you probably didn’t know about the flick. You can check them out in the video above, or by reading below, and as always, be sure to share your thoughts with us on the film in the comments section.
5) The Black List
It’s been said that Hollywood is running out of ideas, but according to the Black List, they have more than enough. The Black List is an annual list of of the most liked motion picture screenplays that haven’t been produced yet. Back in 2007, Passengers, the 125 page space thriller, made its way to the top of the list, which meant it was only a matter of time before the script was greenlit, right?
Well, not exactly. The screenplay bounced around from studio to studio for a while until it found an eventual home seven years later at Sony. Once Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence signed on, the studio wasted no time in starting production – and can you really blame them?
4) Company Films
Company Films, a production company co-founded by the Chosen One himself, Keanu Reeves, is also behind Passengers. Reeves had faith in the story and felt like he had a hit on his hands when he first got the script, so much so that he later cast himself in the lead role.
While he was attached to it for quite some time, he eventually dropped out and Pratt replaced him. It would have been nice to see the actor dabble in a big budget sci-fi film again, but we have absolutely no problem with Pratt filling in for him.
[zergpaid]3) The Budget
Space operas are typically on the expensive side, but originally, Passengers was given a $35 million budget. That may seem pretty small, but can we blame the studio? At the time, space themed pictures didn’t dominate in theatres and only big name franchises seemed to crack the box office code, which caused Sony to be a bit frugal when it came to coughing up the cash for production.
The budget eventually ballooned though from $35 to $120 million following the success of Pratt’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World. With both Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence now household names, Sony clearly believes they can get a return on their investment, and we do too.
2) Jennifer Lawrence’s Drinking
Making her footprint in the young adult film genre, Jennifer Lawrence managed to avoid sex scenes in all of her previous roles. When she signed on for Passengers though, tension was an all-time high as not only was this her first sex scene, but it was also the first time she shared a kissing scene with a married actor. To help her get through it, Lawrence would apparently get tipsy on set before filming, as the alcohol put her at ease when things started to get hot and heavy.
1) Gender Equality
Last year, Jennifer Lawrence sent a shockwave throughout Hollywood when she wrote an essay for Lenny Letter and spoke out about the gender pay inequality in Hollywood. She asked the question: “Why do I make less than my male co-stars?”, and Sony answered with a check to the tune of $20 million dollars. Pratt, meanwhile, is scheduled to pocket $12 million for the film, proving that Jennifer’s words did not fall on deaf ears.