Mention the name Daniel Radcliffe and Harry Potter fans around the globe know he is the iconic face behind the circled glasses and wizardry. For 10 years, Radcliffe has been the face of Harry Potter, one of the biggest grossing movie franchises ever. Now that Potter has ended the 22 year old actor has moved on, and hopes his audience will follow along.
From wizardry to The Woman in Black
In his first major non-wizard role Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a widowed lawyer who travels to a remote English village to settle the affairs of Alice Drablow. Drablow may have shuffled off this mortal coil but the locals are convinced she still haunts her old house. Worse, because she still mourns her son Nathaniel, a toddler who drowned on her estate, whenever she is seen, a village child dies. His presence at her home, the dilapidated Eel Marsh House, stirs up her spirit, and soon the local children start dropping like flies.
Future Shop caught up with Radcliffe recently, and conducted a short Q&A with him about his latest appearance in The Woman in Black.
TB: Congratulations on the success you’ve had with the Harry Potter series, and now, The Woman in Black. Why did you choose to star in this film?
DR: I wanted to be a part of telling this story. One of the things that made it really stand out was that it was a genre movie but also that it was unusual for its genre. Nowadays we’re saturated with gory, gratuitous, visually upsetting films. But this is all about suspense and what you don’t see and James (Watkins), our director, really lets the tension build. That’s very important. The main thing about it was the story. It is very classic and very chilling.
TB: Indeed – very much a story with a timeless feel. You once stated your favourite movie is a David Niven wartime fantasy called A Matter of Life and Death, made 43 years before you were even born. What drew you to it?
DR: I love A Matter of Life and Death because it achieves so much visually and is one of the most impressive visually and imaginative films ever, and they didn’t have visual effects. What I love is when the frame freezes and you can still see the actors moving slightly. But it doesn’t matter because you suspend your disbelief and you don’t care.
TB: Effects in a movie are extremely important along with a captivating story. How do hope audiences who watch you in The Woman in Black will respond to it?
DR: I like classic films and great storytelling. Ultimately if it is not on the page it will not be in the film. The first port of call in any script is a strong story. However good the characters or the parts might be, no one is going to care unless they are invested in a very good story and that is what I thought this was.
TB: Thank you for your time Daniel. We look forward to seeing on the silver screen in your next feature!
The Woman in Black releases in Canada on blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, May 22, 2012.
Exclusive Canadian, collectible lenticular packaging only at Future Shop
(This is the coolest image I've ever posted on the Tech Blog!)
To celebrate the release of The Woman in Black in Canada, Future Shop is offering limited-edition, exclusive lenticular packaging of the Blu-ray/ DVD combo. The cover displays our images, depending which angle you hold it.
Pre-order it here:
A widowed lawyer travels to a secluded village on an important assignment, and encounters a vengeful ghost with mysterious motives. After losing his beloved wife in childbirth, young barrister Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) was nearly consumed by grief. A haunted widower father, he raises his young son with the help of his devoted nanny. Arthur is on the verge of losing his job when an important client of the firm dies, and his boss offers him one last opportunity to prove his worth by settling the woman's affairs. Determined to succeed, Arthur travels to the remote village and receives a chilly welcome. Something horrible once happened here, and it seems that the locals are determined to ensure Arthur never finds out what it was. Now, the more time Arthur spends in his client's crumbling estate, the more aware he becomes of a presence that isn't quite human. In this house dwells a woman's ghost. In life she lost something precious, and now in death she'll do whatever it takes to get it back. Until she does, her spectral presence will serve as a harbinger of doom, always to be followed by the death of an innocent.
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