George Miller's '3000 Years of Longing" master thread

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I decided to start a master thread of news and updates for Miller's latest movie.

IMDb page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9198364/re ... de=desktop&

Synopsis: A lonely and bitter British woman discovers an ancient bottle while on a trip to Istanbul and unleashes a Djinn who offers her three wishes. Filled with apathy, she is unable to come up with one until his stories spark in her a desire to be loved.

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Tilda Swinton interview.

The real reason for Swinton’s visit, however, is to shoot the film Three Thousand Years of Longing with director George Miller. Production on the film starts next month, though even the broadest details, such as its genre, are still under wraps. Asking why she chose to work with a director with whom she’s never worked before causes her body to tense and her eyes to widen, and puts her at a rare loss for words.

“It’s George Miller! George Miller could ask me to make a film about” – she pauses, and her eyes fall to the flagstone floor – “a paving stone, and I’d be there. I have been an enormous admirer of his cinema from the very beginning. He’s a wonderful soul and someone who I can now say is a friend. When someone you really like, especially a great master, asks you to come and play with them, then that’s a blessed day.”

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/cul ... 0804009346

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Mark Sexton was once again working with Miller last year to storyboard this movie. From a tweet Mark made 9 months ago...

Well, we’re storyboarding it at least... filled with those lovely Miller flourishes and moments of WTF insanity. Loving it!

https://mobile.twitter.com/Mark_H_Sexto ... 7921408001

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Miller and Doug Mitchell are in Istanbul. Looks like George is sticking with his leather jacket.

EQvz1agX0AAgU3h.jpeg (215.84 KiB) Viewed 52476 times

https://mobile.twitter.com/MehmetNuriEr ... 0650253314

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Given that Idris Elba now reports he has contracted Covid-19, the production on this movie has probably been paused.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/entertai ... index.html

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MGM Lands North American Rights On George Miller-Directed ‘Three Thousand Years Of Longing’ With Idris Elba & Tilda Swinton

By Mike Fleming Jr
May 14, 2020 1:03pm

EXCLUSIVE: MGM has landed another major project, acquiring North American rights to the George Miller-directed Three Thousand Years of Longing, starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton. Miller wrote the script and is producing with Doug Mitchell.

Said Miller: “This film has been simmering in the back of my mind for some time. If we can pull it off, I believe we have the makings of something unusually tasty.”

Said Michael De Luca, MGM Film Group Chairman and Pamela Abdy, MGM Film Group President: “We are thrilled to be working with George and Doug on their next film, and are especially excited to be a part of the sweeping and timeless world that George has created. This uniquely original film, by one of the world’s greatest storytellers, will be something truly special for moviegoing audiences.”

https://deadline.com/2020/05/george-mil ... 202935015/

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It appears this movie will begin filming soon, with Lebanese actor Nicolas Mouawad saying he's traveling to Australia by end of month for the start of shooting.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1754821/lifestyle

It's also being reported that "bullied boy" Quaden Bayles will have a bit part.

https://mobile.twitter.com/AustralianSt ... 5305317377

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George Miller’s long-awaited fantasy romance Three Thousand Years of Longing, starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, is about to begin production on Sydney’s northern beaches after a delay because of the virus.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/f ... 596268559e

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tl;dr Movie is budgeted at only $60 million and is set for a Sept 2021 theatrical release. 60 day shoot, of which 20 days has already been completed. Miller has assembled much of the core of his Fury Road production team. Thanks to Covid, it will now shoot entirely in Australia. Doug Mitchell also confirms Furious will be Miller's next.

George Miller’s ‘Three Thousand Years Of Longing’ Underway In Australia; Oscar-Winning DoP John Seale Among ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Team Re-Uniting On Movie

By Andreas Wiseman
December 9, 2020 10:08am

More than two years after it was announced and after a couple of delays, George Miller’s anticipated fantasy-romance-drama Three Thousand Years Of Longing is now underway in Australia, we can reveal.

The Sydney-based production, which is observing numerous on-set Covid safety protocols, is in fact 20 days into its 62-day shoot. The team will break up over Christmas and reconvene early next year before wrapping in the early spring for a planned September 2021 delivery.

Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba are starring in Miller’s latest, whose plot details are being kept under wraps. The visionary filmmaker previously described the project to us as an “anti-Mad Max” with plenty of interiors and dialogue but also punctuated with action scenes.

The estimated $60M budget is an indication that this is far from your average two-hander, however. Producer Doug Mitchell, Miller’s long-time producing partner, described the Sydney sets to us today “as some of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen” and noted that as the title suggests, audiences will glimpse different aspects of a three thousand year history.

Visionary filmmaker Miller has attracted a crew to die for, including most of his Mad Max: Fury Road collaborators. The great Oscar-winning DoP John Seale, known for his work on The English Patient, The Talented Mr Ripley and Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone, has come out of retirement to lens the film, which will be only his second of the last decade, the other being six-time Oscar winner Fury Road.

Oscar-winning Fury Road editor and longtime Miller partner Margaret Sixel is aboard, as are that film’s Oscar-winning hair and makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt, Oscar-winning set decorator Lisa Thompson, composer Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL, casting director Nikki Barrett, first AD P.J. Voeten, stunt co-ordinator Guy Norris, and prosthetics whizz Sheldon Wade.

Also in the team are Miller’s Oscar-nominated Babe production designer Roger Ford, The Matrix costume designer Kym Barrett and Captain Marvel and Avengers VFX supervisor Paul Butterworth. Supporting cast is being kept under wraps for now.

“George thinks this is the best crew he has ever worked with,” Mitchell told us. It’s easy to see why.

Since we announced the movie two years ago, the pandemic proved the biggest hurdle to production but insurance was ultimately confirmed via French bank Coficine. The initial plan had been to also film in Istanbul and London but the entire shoot will now take place in Australia.

MGM boarded domestic rights to the film earlier this year and will distribute via its United Artists Releasing label. Amid this week’s streaming day-and-date furore, Mitchell said the expectation is very much for the film to get a theatrical release.

Key finance partners on the journey to production have also included CAA Media Finance, FilmNation and Chinese buyer Sunac Culture.

Next up for Miller, Mitchell confirmed, will be Warner Bros’ Furiosa spinoff with Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. That movie will also shoot in Australia.

https://deadline.com/2020/12/george-mil ... 234652944/

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So it appears this movie is based on the novella "The Djinn In The Nightingale's Eye" by A.S. Byatt. Published in 1998, rumor has it Miller optioned it in 2000 and has been working on the script since.

https://www.amazon.com/Djinn-Nightingal ... 0679762221