If you haven’t already seen the trailer for The Revenant (2015,  Alejandro González Iñárritu) then click HERE before continuing! After 24 hours of the trailers release there was already 7 million views on youtube, now totalling to just under 15 mil!

Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hardy are reunited for the first time since Inception. Set in the 1820’s, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leo) is savagely attacked by a bear. After being left for dead by a team of his own hunters, the tale quickly turns into a quest to survive. As well as seeing Leo fight for his life, we will also see him deal with the emotional trauma of being betrayed  by  John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy.) Did someone say Oscar? No? NO? Come on, could Leo finally secure the award that has been haunting him for his past SIX nominations. It’s his first film since blockbuster hit Wolf Of Wall Street, and people are expecting some pretty huge things from this gritty story. I don’t wanna sound eager but I think there is going to be something very special about this film. Of course I’m purely going off the trailer and credentials, but there seems to be something different about the way Leo presents himself in the glimpses that we have seen. However if Ari Gold taught me anything it’s to never base an opinion on a film from a trailer.

The film has been directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Alejandro is most recently known for winning EVERYTHING at last years Academy Awards. Ok, not everything but Best Achievement in Directing, Best Writing Original Screenplay and the highly sought after Best Picture. So…everything. Could The Revenant go the same way as Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) or will it be another heartache for Leo & company? Heartache seems completely out of the picture with a director who has directed 8 Academy nominated performances! 

Unusually for a feature film, The Revenant was shot chronologically over a tight 80 day schedule. Total principal photography added up to 9 months due to cold weather and remote locations. Location and lighting were paramount to Alejandro, so much so that the entire production had to be uprooted and moved to South Argentina when all the snow melted in their original locations in Canada. Alejandro only shot in natural light to maximise realism and therefore it was difficult to keep on track of schedule when only 40% of a day could be used. 

“It was planned this way, to be little-by-little jewel moments; that’s the way I designed the production. That was both to create intensity in this moments, as well as the climate conditions. We are shooting in such remote far-away locations that, by the time we arrive and have to return, we have already spent 40% of the day. But those locations are so gorgeous and so powerful, they look like they have never been touched by a human being, and that’s what I needed. The light is very reduced here in winter, and we are not shooting with any electrical lighting, just natural light. And every single scene is so difficult – emotionally, technically.”

Joining Leonardo DiCaprio on the highest paid performances in the film is of course Tom Hardy. Apparently Tom Hardy doesn’t read scripts and was already attached to another project when Leo rang him and begged him to take a look at the script. Half way through reading it Tom signed a deal. I’m really excited that Will Poulter secured a role playing Jim Bridger. This role is going to absolutely make or break his career. It’s always refreshing to see young British actors rock Hollywood. Especially when they are total huns like Will! Fun Fact – The character that Will Poulter will be playing was referenced in Inglorious Bastards by Brad Pitts character who claims he was a “direct descendant of the mountain man Jim Bridger.” Also cast are Lukas Haas, Domhnall Gleeson, and Paul Anderson to name a few.

This true story will be released in cinemas on 15.01.2016 – just in time for Awards Season! With a £135,000,000 budget, I’ve got all of MY money on backing this as an incredible and original take on a classic story.