Long considered unfilmable, Mark Helprin‘s novel “Winter’s Tale” has been kicking around Hollywood waiting for someone to take it on. And that someone is Akiva Goldsman, the blockbuster producer (“Mr. And Mrs. Smith,” “I Am Legend“) has written the adaptation and is making his feature debut with the flick. And full credit to him, with the first trailer arriving this evening, it looks like he’s poured all he’s got into it.
Starring Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and Jessica Findlay-Brown, the story follows a thief who breaks into a wealthy man’s home, sparking a relationship with the man’s terminally ill daughter, with the apocalypse, rainbow bridges, resurrection, reincarnation and a flying, time-travelling white horse all part of the narrative. On the one hand, the movie looks pretty great visually, and Crowe in particular looks like he’s having fun skulking around as the baddie. On the other hand, for all the sweeping emotion and music, we still have no idea what the hell this is about.
Guess we’ll find out on Valentine’s Day. Watch below.
I've heard the book is incredible, but this really couldn't look worse to me. Uplifting, magical stories are told powerfully all the time; I love when films are unafraid to wear their heart on their sleeve. But this looks as calculated and posed as a department store Christmas window — gilding the lily with this kind of false-magical imagery tells me the filmmakers think you need to gussy up wondrous things because they are not wondrous enough on their own; they don't trust you to 'get it.' Real wonder is earned, not instructed. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong, but this looks as dishonest and plastic as Ron Howard's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. But I'll still give the book a shot.
From the Academy Award winning writer of BATMAN & ROBIN. #neverforget
One of my all-time favorite books as well. I'm feeling much less apprehensive after seeing the trailer.
That main image remind anyone else of Simple Jack?
I'm sorry, I don't know the book, never even heard of it and people here seems to really like it, but this so typical hollywood big heart and kleenex full. On valentine's day. Made me think of the Time Traveler's Wife which was an awful adaptation (The book was good).
This is my all time favorite book too. No movie can ever be like the book it's based on. But doesn't mean it has to be any less. I'm quite optimistic from the trailer. It did manage to give me the epic feel and the mood of the book. Hopefully if the movie is a success there will be a tv show that will do justice to all the other amazing characters and their stories. I'm just happy that more people are going to know about the amazing work of art that this book is. More power to Akiva Goldman for taking on this project.
It looks sweet!
Looks like it's going to be nice
Farrell looks like he's Jessica Brown Findlay's dad.
It is absolutely terrifying when the trailer of one of your favorite books of all time arrives. I agree with your assessment — looks great, a little weirded out to see Colin Farrell play a character who starts off as a teenager (!!), but they are selling this as some big romantic sweeping epic a little too hard (and on Valentine's Day yet!), which is a big turn off. This is a very long complex book the movie is based on, so who the heck knows what this is going to end up as.