Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Theaterical release poster
Directed by Ang Lee
Produced by
Screenplay by Jean-Christophe Castelli
Based on Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
by Ben Fountain
Starring
Music by
Cinematography John Toll
Edited by Tim Squyres
Production
companies
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Release dates
  • October 14, 2016 (2016-10-14) (NYFF)
  • November 11, 2016 (2016-11-11) (United States & China)
  • February 10, 2017 (2017-02-10) (United Kingdom)
Running time
 112 minutes[1]
Country
Language English
Budget $40 million[3][4]
Box office $24.3 million[5]

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is a 2016 war drama film directed by Ang Lee and written by Jean-Christophe Castelli, based on the novel of the same name by Ben Fountain. The film stars Joe Alwyn, Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, Vin Diesel, Steve Martin and Chris Tucker. Principal photography began in early April 2015 in Georgia. The film is a co-production between United States, United Kingdom and China.[2]

The film had its world premiere at the 54th New York Film Festival on October 14, 2016 and was released in the United States on November 11, 2016, in 3D by TriStar Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $24 million.

Synopsis

Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn) is a 19-year-old Army specialist fighting in Iraq. After he and his comrades barely survive a tense battle that receives broad news coverage, they are celebrated as heroes and brought back home by the Department of Defense. In the United States, they go on a promotional tour across the country that ends at the halftime show in Dallas for a Thanksgiving home game. There, Lynn recounts the tragic memories of the war in the form of flashbacks.

Cast

Production

Pre-production

Slumdog Millionaire's Oscar-winning screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy, was in 2014 adapting the novel for the screen, produced by Film4 in collaboration with a U.S. production company, The Ink Factory, and Sony Pictures' TriStar film studio division. Also involved in the production are China's Bona Film Group and Studio 8, which is backed by the Chinese conglomerate Fosun International.[6][7][8] Ang Lee would direct the film.[9][10]

The cast—Joe Alwyn, Garrett Hedlund, Steve Martin, Beau Knapp, Kristen Stewart, Ben Platt, Vin Diesel, and Chris Tucker—were announced between February 2015 to May 2015.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

Alwyn was cast just two days after he left his drama school, London's Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. After putting himself on tap, he received a call a few days later from the producers to meet Lee in New York City. There—even after the screen test—Lee had some trouble casting him or any other people. He then told Alwyn to head to Georgia for additional screen tests. While the studio was initially skeptic about casting an unknown person, Alwyn was able to convince them after days of such test. In Atlanta, he did four to five days of testings on set and about a week and a half later, at around 1 a.m. he received a call of acceptance.[19][20] Alwyn won the titular role because of his "ability to communicate the book's paradox of war with just his facial expressions".[21]

The soldiers onscreen endured weeks of Navy SEAL boot camp training since they had to look like real soldiers. They were given guns with special springs that would add a recoil when they shot blanks—a feeling that often left them shaking. "They cannot shoot like Rambo with two guns! A real bullet cannot shoot that bravely," Lee stated.[21]

High frame rate

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk used an unprecedented shooting and projection frame rate of 120 frames per second in 3D at 4K HD resolution which Lee terms the "Whole Shebang". It is the first feature film ever to be shot in such a high frame rate, over twice the previous record (Peter Jackson's 2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, shot at 48 fps) and five times the standard speed of 24 fps. [22][3] Lee undertook such a bold step after reading the book since he wanted the film to be an "immersive" and "realistic" experience of the reality and emotional journey of soldiers.[3]

After working on Life of Pi (2012), Lee wanted to up his use of technology in filmmaking, especially in terms of frame rate, since he thought pursuing a higher frame would help him find answers. Initially, while discussing with producer Rothman, Lee wanted to try and shoot the film with at least 60 fps at 2K resolution in 3D as he had experimented with 60 fps before (his first plan was to shoot the Muhammad Ali biopic in 60 fps which he said he will after Billy Lynn). He undertook research and found what Jackson was doing with 48 fps (the highest ever at that time), but did not wish to use such a frame rate after Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was poorly received. He visited filmmaker Douglas Trumbull who was doing his own 60 fps tests, and so was James Cameron. He made the first test with 120 fps in October 2014, but the decision to shoot with 120 fps was not finalized until just a few weeks before shooting commenced.[3]

Filming

Principal photography began in the second week of April 2015, in Locust Grove. Georgia,[23][24] Filming also took place in Atlanta and in Morocco[17] and in Downtown Atlanta on April 17, 2015.[25] Shooting took place for 49 days.[3]

Due to the complexity involved in shooting at a very high frame rate, Lee could not afford to do many takes even for a single scene. Every shot was difficult and at the same time precious. He would rehearse every scene beforehand and would conduct regular morning meetings with the key crew members to highlight things they needed to be alert on.[3]

Shooting close-up shots in 3D with such high resolution meant the cast could not wear make-up and could not deliver less-than-authentic performances.[21] Since no make-up was allowed, make-up artist Luisa Abel spent months of preparation on their skin tones. According to Lee, "[Abel] found this silicone-based makeup because we found that it can see through skin."[3] Throughout filming, the production team had to rethink everything, including different approaches to lighting as the camera needed extra lights due to the higher frame rates. To film the war sequences, Lee strayed from the usual practice of moving cameras to create confusion. Instead he did the opposite[21] by shooting mostly from the protagonist's point-of-view to capture the realism and to look more authentic.[22]

Post-production

Lee's longtime collaborator Tim Squyres who worked with the director on numerous films including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Life of Pi (2012) edited the film[21] and took over a year to complete.[26] It was completed just a day before its world premiere in New York City on October 14.[27]

To accommodate the film's wide release, various additional versions of the film were created.[3] They include 120 fps in 2D and 60 fps in 3D as well as today's current standard of 24 fps. The film is also getting a Dolby Cinema release, with two high dynamic range versions that can accommodate 2D and 3D, with up to 120 fps in 2K resolution.[21]

In order to present the film at the 54th New York Film Festival, a special installation was required, including two Christie Mirage 4K laser projectors (a first for any cinemas) with 7thSense's Media Server for playback, using festival sponsor RealD's 3D system and 42-foot-by-19-foot Ultimate Screen, the company's latest screen technology. The installation is expected to display 28 foot-lambert (a measurement of light), per eye, according to RealD chief innovation officer Pete Lude.[21]

Release

Due to the complexity of the film's unprecedented high frame rate and the cost of installing equipments capable of projecting the film in its intended format, only six theaters globally are equipped to show it at its highest resolution and maximum frame rate: two in the United States (one at a theater in New York City's AMC Lincoln Square where the film had its world premiere and the other in Los Angeles' The ArcLight Hollywood) and at least one theater in Taipei, Beijing and Shanghai.[21]

The film had its world premiere at the 54th New York Film Festival on October 14, 2016.[28] Unlike most of the other highly anticipated titles at the festival, Billy Lynn wasn't screened at the Alice Tully Hall because the theater is too large to get the correct distance between the dual laser projectors and the screen. Instead, a roughly 300-seat theater at the AMC Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side was chosen. But even at this theater, a few adjustments had to be made: the first three rows were off limits because they would not provide an acceptable 3-D viewing experience, and a new screen, the RealD Ultimate Screen, was installed in the theater (expressly for this premiere and the forthcoming run of the film).[27] Variety reported that the reaction from that first screening was decidedly mixed, with comments ranging from "it was flat" to "nothing happened."[29]

It was released in the United States in a limited release on November 11, 2016, before opening wide on November 18, 2016.[30][31]

Reception

Box office

As of November 27, 2016, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk has grossed $1.6 million in the US & Canada and $22.6 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $24.2 million against a budget of $40 million.[5]

North America

In the United States and Canada, the film opened to a sold out limited release on November 11, 2016, playing at two theaters, AMC Lincoln Square in New York City and ArcLight Hollywood's Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, and earned $114,129 in its opening weekend (an average of $57,065 per theater).[32][33] The aforesaid two theaters are the only two locations in the United States that are equipped to present the film in its special format, with ticket prices at both locations running $20 or higher.[34] Its per-theater average is the third best of the year, just behind Moonlight ($100,519) and Don't Think Twice ($92,835).[35]

The following weekend, the film expanded wide to 1,176 theaters, where it was expected to gross $3–5 million.[36] It made $352,475 on its opening day and just $901,026 over the weekend, finishing outside the top ten at the box office, at number fourteen. This is the twenty-fifth worst debut ever for a film opening on more than 1,000 screens. The film was considered another box office misfire for TriStar Pictures following last year's The Walk and according to Deadline.com, it wasn't the lack of 3D 4K projectors available that factored into the film's poor box office performance, but rather the story itself didn't resonate to critics or audiences alike.[37][38][39] In its second weekend of wide release the film grossed just $210,000, still from 1,176 theaters, a drop of 76.6%, the 21st biggest second-weekend drop of all-time.[40]

Scott Mendelson of Forbes argued that a bag of mixed to negative reviews hindered the box office potentialy of the film. Unlike tentpole films which doesn't really get affected by critic reviews and fans' reception, adult skewing drama films like that of Billy Lynn heavily depend on reviews which could either help or hinder the box office fate of a film; in this case the bad reviews took a toll on the film. He also pointed out that the complex release format – which is the main focus of the whole film – failed to deliver its intended desire which manifested in its poor box office performance.[41] The Guardian cited out a different cause saying that the Iraqi war settings – which don't usually resonate to American audiences – and the war genre itself as being a tough selling subject. War films in the United States are generally sold off as action films, but Billy Lynn on the other hand is a drama piece. The film falls in line with previous poor showings of Iraqi war films, after Green Zone (2010), Body of Lies (2008), Rendition (2007) and Stop-Loss (2008). The only exception is American Sniper (2014).[42]

Outside North America

Internationally, the film earned $13.2 million on its opening weekend (November 11–13) from nine markets, a bulk of which came from China.[43] In China, it delivered a $11.7 million debut, placing at number two behind holdover Doctor Strange.[43][44] The film, which has Chinese finance (via Bona Film Group and Fosun International) but is considered as a revenue sharing import, had over 60,000 screenings on Friday, and by Sunday, was down to 45,000. It earned $11.5 million and with paid previews finished the weekend with $11.7 million, according to data from Ent Group.[45] While it registered the highest percentage of showtimes on Friday owing to Lee's popularity in China, the attendance dwindled and deteriorated from its second day onwards due to mixed word of mouth as general audiences were unable to relate to its central character.[46] It has made around $20 million there.[47] The film also opened in Taiwan, Lee's domicile.[48] The film will continue majority of its international release mainly in January 2017 in Brazil, Mexico and Spain; France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Japan in February, followed by Korea and Russia in March.[43]

Critical response

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk received mixed reviews from critics.[22] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 45%, based on 100 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk has noble goals, but lacks a strong enough screenplay to achieve them—and its visual innovations are often merely distracting."[49] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score 53 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[50]

Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised the film, calling it "a highly original, heartfelt, and engrossing story. And part of the power of it lies in the way that those two things are connected." David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "an absorbing character study" but criticized some of the technological aspects saying that it didn't justify "its much-vaunted technological advances."[51]

The high frame rate used in the film drew some criticism, especially the decision to use it in a drama film.[52] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter said "the technical innovations took me out of the drama just as often as they pulled me in."[51] Dan Callahan for TheWrap felt that some of the characters were "so super-clear that they look like a cut-out with scissors from a glossy magazine" and said "the extra-clarity 3D in this Lee movie often looks weirdly like something shot on videotape in the 1980s."[53]

Accolades

List of awards and nominations
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Hollywood Film Awards November 6, 2016 Hollywood Producer Award Marc Platt (also for La La Land and The Girl on the Train) Won [54]
Hollywood Film Composer Award Mychael Danna (also for Storks) Won
Satellite Awards February 19, 2016 Best Cinematography John Toll Pending [55]
Best Film Editing Tim Squyres Pending
Best Sound Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Pending
Best Visual Effects Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Pending

References

  1. ↑ "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (15)". British Board of Film Classification. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "British Council Film: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk". British Council. US, UK, China coproduction
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mike Fleming Jr (October 14, 2016). "Ang Lee On His Game-Changing 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Director Ang Lee is pushing the tech boundary". Bangkok Post.
  5. 1 2 "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  6. ↑ Kroll, Justin. "Studio 8, Bona Film Group Team With TriStar on Ang Lee's 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'". Variety.
  7. ↑ Ge, Linda (January 27, 2015). "Jeff Robinov's Studio 8 Boards Ang Lee's 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'". thewrap.com. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  8. ↑ Kevin Ma (May 11, 2015). "Bona reports record results for 2015Q1". Film Business Asia. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  9. ↑ Child, Ben (November 14, 2012). "Slumdog Millionaire writer adapts Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk". The Guardian. London.
  10. ↑ "Oscar-Winner Ang Lee Will Direct Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk". September 18, 2014.
  11. ↑ Ge, Linda (February 25, 2015). "Newcomer Joe Alwyn Lands Lead in Ang Lee's 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'". thewrap.com. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  12. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (February 25, 2015). "Ang Lee Finds 'Billy Lynn'; Eyeing Garrett Hedlund For Big Part?". deadline.com. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  13. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (March 3, 2015). "Steve Martin Joins Ang Lee's Sony Movie 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'". thewrap. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  14. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (March 6, 2015). "Garrett Hedlund Seals Lead In Ang Lee's 'Billy Lynn'". deadline.com. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  15. ↑ Lowe, Kinsey (March 13, 2015). "'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' Casts Beau Knapp". deadline.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ Sneider, Jeff; Ge, Linda (April 1, 2015). "Kristen Stewart in Talks for Ang Lee's 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' (Exclusive)". thewrap. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  17. 1 2 Gerard, Jeremy (April 1, 2015). "Ben Platt Joins Cast Of Ang Lee's 'Billy Flynn's Long Halftime Walk'". deadline.com. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  18. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (April 8, 2015). "Ang Lee Taps Vin Diesel & Chris Tucker For 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'". deadline.com. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  19. ↑ Tim Stack (August 18, 2016). "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk: Inside Ang Lee's game-changing war film". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  20. ↑ Rebecca Ford (October 14, 2016). "Hollywood's Next Big Thing: Exclusive Portraits of Joe Alwyn". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Carolyn Giardina and Ashley Lee (October 14, 2016). "Ang Lee's 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk': Only Two U.S. Theaters Will Be Equipped to Show "the Whole Shebang"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  22. 1 2 3 Steven Zeitchik (October 15, 2016). "NYFF: Ang Lee's war film 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' divides audiences. But are traditional assessments beside the point?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  23. ↑ "'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' begins filming in Georgia". onlocationvacations.com. April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  24. ↑ Ashley, Asia (March 6, 2015). "Scenes for 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' to film in Locust Grove". henryherald.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  25. ↑ "'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' 3D Scene Casting Call in Atlanta". projectcasting.com. April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  26. ↑ Joey Nolfi (October 15, 2016). "Ang Lee reveals why it took him over a year to edit Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  27. 1 2 Mekado Murphy (October 15, 2016). "Ang Lee's Plea: Give 'Billy Lynn' a Chance". The New York Times. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk to World Premiere at NYFF54". New York Film Festival. August 22, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  29. ↑ Ramin Setoodeh (October 15, 2016). "'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' Won't Shake Up Oscars Race". Variety. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  30. ↑ Ge, Linda (April 17, 2015). "Ang Lee's 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' Set for Fall 2016 Release". thewrap.com. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  31. ↑ Nolfi, Joey (October 27, 2016). "Kristen Stewart, Joe Alwyn shine in exclusive Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  32. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (November 13, 2016). "Veterans Day Weekend Skyrockets At The B.O.: 'Doctor Strange' Beating 'Thor 2' By 6%; 'Arrival' Soars To $24M+ – Sunday AM Update". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  33. ↑ Meriah Doty (November 13, 2016). "'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' Has Sold-Out Limited Debut". TheWrap. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  34. ↑ Tom Brueggemann (November 13, 2016). "'Elle' and 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' In The 'Moonlight': A Great Weekend at the Arthouse Box Office". IndieWire. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  35. ↑ Brian Brooks (November 13, 2016). "Ang Lee's 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' 2016's 3rd Best Average; Paul Verhoeven's 'Elle' Bows Strong – Specialty Box Office". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  36. ↑ Brent Lang (November 15, 2016). "Box Office: 'Fantastic Beasts' Heads for $200 Million Global Debut". Variety. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  37. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (November 19, 2016). "'Fantastic Beasts' Gobbles Up Teen Girl, Vinny Paz & 'Billy Lynn'…But Is 'Potter' Spinoff Big Enough For A New Franchise?". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  38. ↑ Pamela McClintock (November 20, 2016). "Weekend Box Office: 'Fantastic Beasts' No. 1 With $75M, Makes Rivals Disappear". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  39. ↑ Brent Lang (November 20, 2016). "Box Office: 'Fantastic Beasts' Debuts to Magical $75 Million". Variety. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  40. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 24, 2016). "'Moana' Rings Up $81M+ & Ranks As 2nd Best Thanksgiving Debut After 'Frozen'". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  41. ↑ Scott Mendelson (November 22, 2016). "Why 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' Was A Box Office Fumble". Forbes. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  42. ↑ Noah Berlatsky (November 21, 2016). "Hollywood's war on terror: why audiences prefer gung-ho Iraq films". The Guardian. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  43. 1 2 3 Nancy Tartaglione (November 13, 2016). "'Doctor Strange' A Marvel As Pic Nears $500M WW, 'Billy Lynn' Walks With $13.2M; 'Arrival' Lands $10.2M – Intl Box Office". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  44. ↑ Patrick Brzeski (November 14, 2016). "China Box Office: 'Billy Lynn' Opens Strong, But 'Doctor Strange' Wins Weekend". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  45. ↑ Patrick Frater (November 13, 2016). "China Box Office: 'Billy Lynn' Has $12 Million Opening Behind 'Doctor Strange'". Variety. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  46. ↑ Jonathan Papish (November 14, 2016). "China Box Office: 'Doctor Strange' Still Strong in Second Week". China Film Insider. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  47. ↑ Nancy Tartaglione (November 20, 2016). "'Fantastic Beasts' Finds Magical $143.3M Overseas; 'Doctor Strange' Passes $100M In China; WW Cume $572M – Intl Box Office". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  48. ↑ Pamela McClintock (November 11, 2016). "Weekend Box Office: Trump Bump? 'Arrival,' Others Get Post-Election Boost". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  49. ↑ "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  50. ↑ "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  51. 1 2 David Rooney (October 14, 2016). "'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk': Film Review (NYFF 2016)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  52. ↑ Nick Romano (October 15, 2016). "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk reviews: First reactions from NYFF are mixed". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  53. ↑ Dan Callahan (October 14, 2016). "'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' NYFF Review: Ang Lee Stumbles at the 50-Yard Line". TheWrap. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Tom Ford, Marc Platt & Kenneth Lonergan to be Honored". Hollywood Film Awards. October 19, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  55. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (November 29, 2016). "Satellite Awards Nominees Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 29, 2016.

External links

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