Bonnie Wright did a new photoshoot and interview for Interview magazine and she went into detail about The Philosophers.

SYMONDS: And the movie that you’re going off to shoot next week, is that The Philosophers?

WRIGHT: Yeah, that’s The Philosophers. I’m off to Jakarta in one and a half weeks.

SYMONDS: Have you ever been there?

WRIGHT: No, I haven’t. I’ve been to a lot of areas of Thailand and Australia, but I’ve never been to Indonesia, and I’m very interested in the area and the locations that we’re shooting in. It’s going to be amazing. We’re shooting in the grounds of Buddhist temples and the grounds of massive volcanoes. All the photos I got sent yesterday by the director, and I’m just so excited to go and see these incredible landscapes.

SYMONDS: Can you explain your role a little?

WRIGHT: It’s set in an international school in Jakarta. It’s called The Philosophersbecause it’s based around this philosophy classroom, before they graduate from their last year of high school from this international school. Their philosophy teacher is very sort of strange and corrupt. There’s a thing in philosophy called “thought experiments,” where you basically imagine a situation that you go in as a group and put philosophical ideas into practice. We use our imagination, that we all create and think of, as this bunker that’s going to sleep ten people to hide out from a nuclear war, a [post]nuclear sort of world. And it’s all this battle between the 21 of us, the students and the teacher, of who should be saved, who should go in this bunker. It’s quite a psychological thriller; we flick back from this imaginary world and into the classroom. It’s very sort of analytical, about ideas and friends against friends, so it should be interesting.

The IMDB page for The Philosophers have been updated:

Storyline
A brilliant philosophy teacher at an international school in Jakarta manipulates his class of graduating seniors toward academic excellence through the use of mind games, emotional blackmail, and psychological assaults, stretching their brains right up to the breaking point. Written by Anonymous

Stephen Schaber | June 14, 2011

Hollywood films might not be coming to Indonesia anytime soon, but Hollywood’s movie stars are.

Bonnie Wright of Harry Potter fame confirmed during a recent interview on British television that she will be shooting a movie in Jakarta next month.

She added the movie is an American film titled “The Philosophers.”

A high-level official from Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism confirmed the news.

“The Philosophers will be filmed here [in July],” Syamsul Lussa, the ministry’s director of film affairs, told The Jakarta Globe. “I issued the permit letter for the production company [two weeks ago].”

Wright, who came to prominence playing Ginny Weasley in the international mega-hit Harry Potter films, revealed the information on the British television talk show, “Loose Women”, late last month.

“I’m starting a new film. I’m off [to] Indonesia,” Wright said. “It’s set in an international school in Jakarta.”

The production team is avoiding publicity about the filming until after it is finished in August for security reasons, according to industry sources contacted by The Jakarta Globe.

Lussa said the filming of movies, such as The Philosophers, in Indonesia was significant to the nation’s economic development and international profile.

“It has the direct impact of increasing tourism and adding jobs to the economy,” he said. “It also gives us more opportunity to showcase the country — its values and culture — which increases the world’s understanding of Indonesia.”

The film will also star Rhys Wakefield, an Australian actor, best known for his portrayal of Lucas Holden in Australian TV series “Home and Away” and British actor James D’Arcy.

The film will be directed by John Huddles, who has previously directed three films, the last in 1999.

Wright admitted The Philosophers was very different from Harry Potter. She described it as a psychological thriller that, “takes an amazing turn.”

According to Baseline, a film and television information provider, the movie revolves around a philosophy class in an international school in Jakarta.

“The class is having its last session. The professor challenges twenty-one graduating seniors to select ten who would take shelter underground and reboot the human race in the event of a nuclear attack,” the company wrote.

The actress first appeared in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” at the age of ten and has starred in every Harry Potter movie since then.

But Wright will play a role markedly different from the one to which her fans are accustomed.

“The character I’m playing is outgoing and very outspoken,” she said. “I’m very excited about that because [my character in Harry Potter] was always quiet.”

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13 June 2011

After making a name for himself in Aussie soap Home and Away Rhys Wakefield has been establishing himself as a movie actor.

Sanctum was the last time that we saw him on the big screen, which is released on DVD today, a James Cameron produced project.

I caught up with the actor to talk about the movie, the training and preparation he underwent before the camera started rolling and what lies ahead.

- Sanctum is due for release here in the UK so for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie yet can you tell me a bit about it?

I would describe Sanctum as a ride of a film as it is an action adventure film. It’s a film about a group of cave divers and things go a little wrong.

- You take on the role of Josh in the film so what was it about the character and the script that drew you to the project?

I think it was the action involved and the skill training that were involved as we prepared for the movie – it was just such a pleasure. Not to mention that James Cameron was on board with the whole project.

But being trained was such an amazing part of this movie as I got all these crash courses in scuba-diving, rock climbing, rope training and fight training – I just felt like a little kid.

- The movie is obviously a very physically demanding one and requires you to be somewhat of an expert in that field so what sort of preparation did you do before the beginning of the shoot? Had you ever done scuba diving before?

No I hadn’t done any scuba diving before so the preparation was pretty intensive. I was put on this crazy gym regime of just trying to get fit and look like I was a rock climber.

Then we earnt to scuba dive, I was put on this quick course in this technology called rebreathers; which is really advanced breathing aparatus that you only really learn after about a thousand hours of scuba diving.

So we got this crash course in that and I was doing two hours of swim training a day for a bout a month and it was incredibly tough – but I did end up very fit.

- You filmed a lot under water so did you have any panic moments? And how much of the diving shots are you?

I did shoot a lot under water, we did have dive doubles for some of the long shots, and there is a whole portion of the movie where I am down under water with no breathing aparatus and no eye mask so that made it pretty treacherous and scary.

But I started to find it quite meditative and you just have to keep very calm and try not to panic because then it’s not fun for anyone.

- The movie was also shot in real caves off the South of Australia so how did you find that? And just how tough did you find the shoot.

There was an additional shoot, I think for about a week, in Mount Gambier (South Australia) and it was all doubles because the water was sub-zero temperatures.

One of our producers was down there as a double, I think he might have been doubling me actually, and it was freezing cold, I think he collapsed afterwards because he was swimming back and forth and the wetsuits didn’t cover that freezing temperature.

There were many long hours, we were in these sound stages but we were freezing cold because these 3D cameras are temperamental that often break down; especially when we were shooting on location in the heat of Queensland, so they would cool the sound stages to freezing temperatures.

So we were in water in these flimsy little wet suits and being physical while carrying these 40kg rebreathers on your back so it was pretty tiring.

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June 13, 2011

THE movie Broken Hill may not have been released but a group is putting on a screening this week.

Filmed predominantly in and around Adelaide in 2008 Broken Hill has been released on DVD in the US and event organiser Anne O’Dea has (legally) got her hands on a copy and has permission to show it on the big screen.

It will have its Adelaide premiere at 7pm on Thursday at AC Arts Main Theatre on Light Square.

The Fishbowl Boys, who had a small part in the film, are using the event to raise funds for their trip to the US this month for the International Barbershop Championships.

Doors open at 6.30pm.

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Jun 8, 2011

Best known as Lucas Holden from Home & Away, Rhys Wakefield stars in 3D adventure movie Sanctum, out on DVD on Monday. We caught up with him to find out more…

Tell us about your role in Sanctum…
“I play Josh, who’s the son of the leader of an underwater diving team, played by Richard Roxburgh. Josh is a reluctant guy who’s just not happy being dragged along on these expeditions. At the film begins, he’s obviously very fed up and he and his father spend most of their time at loggerheads.”

Sanctum is certainly action-packed. Did you enjoy filming the action sequences?
“As exhausting as they were, I loved it! I loved all the underwater aspect of the film. While it was terrifying, it was also kind of meditating; you’re forced to remain calm and there’s this sense of control. I felt like a big kid really; putting on a harness and flying around the set. And throwing myself off cliffs was all in a day’s work!”

What training did you do to prepare for the role?
“We were given crash courses in learning how to scuba dive in a short amount of time as well as swim training, a gym regime and fight training. I loved it all!”

Growing up in Australia, are you a naturally outdoorsy person?
“I guess so, yeah. I do love the outdoors and I’ve always loved the water.”

Did you ever think that your role as Lucas in Home & Away would pave the way for films like this?
“No, I didn’t! I was only 16 when I started on Home & Away and it’s been a funny ride ever since. It feels like a lifetime ago that I was on the show actually.”

You’re based in LA now. What do you like most about living there?
“It’s good to be here work-wise. It’s just a necessary place to be to progress, because this is where everything happens. It’s a sparse city with some funny characters in it, but it’s growing on me.”

What do you miss about Australia when you’re away?
“I miss Australia a LOT! I miss my friends and family, I miss Sydney; the beaches and the culture there. I don’t surf a great deal but I love the beach.”

There had been rumours you were returning to Summer Bay…
“I heard those rumours! Someone came up to me in the street and told me and I was like: ‘Oh, that’s news to me’. Right after I’d left, the producers did ask me to come back for a bit but scheduling didn’t work out, so I didn’t. I doubt I’ll be back in the future – but who knows? Never say never!”

What did you most enjoy about being in Home & Away?
“It was an amazing learning experience. I was so young, when I was thrown into this professional environment, where you have to sink or swim. I feel so fortunate for the time I had on Home & Away.”

Are you in touch with any of your former co-stars who are currently in Hollywood, like Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Isabel Lucas (Transformers)?
“I saw Chris a couple of months ago and we were actually laughing about how far we were from our Home & Away days. His life has changed so much, which is amazing for him. I have spoken to Isabel briefly, too. It’s great to see these guys doing well!”

*Sanctum is released on DVD on Monday, June 13.

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