Development of Jack the Giant Slayer began in 2005, when Lemke first pitched the idea. D. J. Caruso was hired to direct the film in January 2009, but in September of that year, Caruso was replaced by Singer, who hired McQuarrie and Studney to rework the script. The main characters were cast between February and March 2011, and principal photography began in April 2011 in England with locations in Somerset, Gloucestershire and Norfolk. The release of the film was moved back in post-production to allow more time for visual effects and marketing.
Jack the Giant Slayer premiered on February 26, 2013, in Hollywood. It was released theatrically in the United States on March 1, 2013, receiving mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office failure, earning $197 million worldwide against a budget of $185–200 million.
Plot
In the Kingdom of Cloister, in a time long past, monks craft magic beans that grow into a large beanstalk. They reach the realm of Gantua, home to a race of giants. The giants kill the monks and attack the Earth below. Through the use of a magical crown created from a giant's heart that allows its wearer to control the giants, King Erik forces them to return to Gantua, and the beanstalk is cut down. When Erik dies, his crown and the remaining beans are buried with him to keep them safe.
Years later, Jack, an 18-year-old peasant, is sent by his uncle to sell his horse Anser and his cart at market. There, he runs into a disguised Princess Isabelle, whom he defends from an assault by drunkards. The royal guards, led by Captain Elmont, take Isabelle back to the castle.
Meanwhile, Lord Roderick, advisor to King Brahmwell, secretly steals the beans and crown from Erik's grave to use them for his own gain. A monk steals the beans from Roderick, runs into Jack while trying to escape, and exchanges the beans for Anser. Warning Jack not to get the beans wet, the monk flees, pursued by the guards.
Isabelle later sneaks out of the castle again, but is caught in a storm and seeks shelter at Jack's house. While they talk, the rain leaks into the house and wets one of the magic beans. It grows into a massive beanstalk that traps Isabelle in the house as it is lifted into the sky. Jack attempts to free her, but falls.
The next morning, Brahmwell sends a team of knights led by Elmont and Roderick up the beanstalk to retrieve Isabelle; Jack volunteers to join. During the climb, Roderick causes most of the knights to fall to their deaths, framing it as an accident. After reaching Gantua, Roderick corners Jack and takes the remaining beans from him, though Jack secretly keeps one.
The group splits up. Elmont and his second-in-command, Crawe, are knocked out and taken captive by a giant. Meanwhile, another giant attacks Roderick and his servant Wicke. Wicked is eaten, but Roderick reveals Erik's magic crown and forces the giants to obey him. Elmont and Crawe are taken to the two-headed leader of the giants, Fallon, and are reunited with Isabelle, with Jack secretly following. Fallon eats Crawe and then Roderick arrives wearing the crown and takes command of the giant horde. He proclaims himself king of the giants, orders that Isabelle and Elmont be killed, and has the giants prepare to descend the beanstalk to conquer the world for him.
A giant named Cooke prepares Isabelle and Elmont to be cooked and eaten, but Jack kills him before the pair are harmed. The three flee towards the beanstalk, but find their way blocked by another giant. Jack and Elmont trick him into falling off the edge and when King Brahmwell sees him hit the ground. Fearing a giant invasion, he orders the beanstalk cut down.
While climbing down the beanstalk, Jack and Isabelle kiss, realizing they are in love. Meanwhile, Elmont stays behind to confront Roderick and kills him. Fallon then takes the crown despite Elmont's best efforts to seize it, & dones it as a ring claiming the title of king of the giants. Meanwhile, the beanstalk is successfully cut down, and Jack, Isabelle, and Elmont safely ride it down as it collapses. Isabelle is reunited with Brahmwell, who rewards Jack for her rescue. Fallon finds the remaining beans and uses them to grow more beanstalks which the giants ride to the ground.
Reuniting with Anser, Jack sees the new beanstalks approaching from the sky and races to warn Isabelle. After they reach the safety of the city walls, the drawbridge is raised and oil is poured into the moat to light it on fire. Initially seeming to drown in the fiery moat, Fallon finds an underwater passageway into the catacombs under the castle, breaking into the throne room and capturing Jack and Isabelle in the process. While the other giants overwhelm the royal guards defending the castle, Fallon prepares to eat Jack, but Jack throws the last bean down his throat. The bean grows into another beanstalk, ripping Fallon apart from within. Jack takes the crown and uses it to stop the giants' attack.
The giants are sent back to Gantua and forced to cut down their beanstalks. Brahmwell allows Jack and Isabelle to marry, who eventually have twin children. Their story becomes a popular fairy tale and the crown is secretly crafted into St Edward's Crown.
In the present day Tower of London, Roderick's descendant, a boy named Roddy, gazes at the crown while on a school trip. Meanwhile, Gantua still exists above London.
Cast
Nicholas Hoult as Jack, a young farmhand who leads the quest to rescue the princess.
Michael Self as young Jack
Eleanor Tomlinson as Princess Isabelle, the princess who is abducted by giants.
Stanley Tucci as Lord Roderick, a lord and the king's advisor who plans on taking over the kingdom.
Ian McShane as King Brahmwell, the ruler of Cloister princess's father who wants his daughter to marry Lord Roderick.
Bill Nighy as the voice and motion-capture of General Fallon, the leader of the giants
Philip Philmar as the voice and motion-capture of the Cook Giant, a giant that tries to cook Isabelle and Elmont.
Peter Elliott as the voice and motion-capture of:
A giant sentry
A bugler giant
Don McCorkindale as a tongue giant
Production
It's a very traditional fairytale, probably the most traditional thing I've ever done. But it'll also be a fun twist on the notion of how these tales are told ... Fairytales are often borne of socio-political commentary and translated into stories for children. But what if they were based on something that really happened?.. What if we look back at the story that inspired the story that you read to your kids? That's kind of what this movie's about.
—Bryan Singer, director of Jack the Giant Slayer, about the film[5]
In April 2010, Singer re-teamed with screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie to rework the screenplay. Singer and McQuarrie had previously collaborated on Public Access, The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, and Valkyrie.[11] Singer stated, "Chris McQuarrie did a significant re-write for me. He brought a different structure. It was very much a page-one situation; a different storyline. It involved the same characters, but some we juggled around and switched around. He just brought a very different perspective".[12] McQuarrie's re-write included a deeper back story for the giants and explanation of their relationship with the humans, which Singer considered a "vast improvement"; it also upped the budget. To get the budget back in line, Singer brought in television writer Dan Studney to work on the project.[6]
In May 2010, ReelzChannel reported that production of the film would be delayed until February 2011. The report cited Singer's interest in being able to pre-visualize scenes with the digital giants in-camera with the live-action actors (a laJames Cameron's Avatar) and the need for more time to work out the complex process as reasons for the delay.[13]
In December 2010, Singer said, "I'm very much looking forward to using the EPIC Red for my next movie Jack the Giant Killer which will be shot in, what else, 3D. The camera's incredibly compact size and extraordinary resolution are ideal for the 3D format. But more importantly Jack the Giant Killer is my first movie set in a time before electricity. The EPIC's extraordinary exposure latitude will allow me to more effectively explore the use of natural light".[16]
In February 2011, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Stanley Tucci had been cast as the antagonist, the king's advisor who plans on taking over the kingdom, and Bill Nighy and John Kassir were cast as Fallon, the two-headed leader of the giants; Nighy would play the big head and Kassir would play the smaller head.[17] Also in February, Nicholas Hoult was offered the lead role.[18] Singer said he had liked him since Skins and was very supportive of his casting in X-Men: First Class.[12] Later that month, Ewan McGregor joined the cast as the leader of the king's elite guard, who helps fight giants.[19]
In March 2011, Eleanor Tomlinson was cast opposite Nicholas Hoult as the princess[20] and Ian McShane was cast to play her father, King Brahmwell.[21] Two days later, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures announced a release date of June 15, 2012.[22]
About the motion-capture process Singer stated, "It's fascinating ... It takes you back to play-acting as a kid in your living room because you are running around and having to imagine that you are in Gantua and imagine that there are these weapons and all these giant things. But there's nothing when you are there other than styrofoam and blocks. It forces the actors to regress to when they would play-act as kids or do minimalist theatre. But in that way it's fascinating - I can see why Robert Zemeckis and James Cameron have started to shoot pictures this way".[12]
Visual effects and post-production
The giant beanstalk, before and after it was rendered with computer graphics
In January 2012, Warner Bros. moved back the release date by nine months, from June 15, 2012, to March 22, 2013. The Hollywood Reporter stated: "Warner can likely afford the move because of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, which opened in July. And moving the film back gives the studio more time for special effects, as well as a chance to attach trailers for it to Peter Jackson's Christmas tentpole The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey".[28] In October 2012, Warner Bros. again moved the release date, this time to March 1, 2013, three weeks earlier than the previous date. Warner Bros also changed the title of the film from Jack the Giant Killer to Jack the Giant Slayer.[29]
The film's visual effects were completed by seven different visual effects houses: Digital Domain, Giant Studios, The Third Floor, Moving Picture Company (MPC), Soho VFX, Rodeo FX and Hatch Productions.[30] Creating the giants took four main steps. The first step was Pre-Capture, in which motion capture was used to capture the actor's facial and body movements and render them in a real-time virtual environment. The second step took place during principal photography, where Simulcam technology was used to help the human characters virtually interact with the giants that were rendered earlier in Pre-Capture. The third step was Post-Capture, a second motion capture shoot to adjust giants' movements to seamlessly fit the live-action performances. The final step involved putting the finishing touches on the giant's animation, skin, hair and clothing, and composition in the shots.[30] Creating the beanstalk involved two main requirements: set extension for shots of the actors interacting with the beanstalk, which were shot against a bluescreen, and complete CGI renderings for shots of the beanstalk growing and extending from Earth into the world of the giants.[30]
Singer stated that he had to tone down the visual effects to keep the film age-appropriate for children. He said, "This movie probably has a bigger on-screen body count than any movie I've done before. It's done in a way that's fun, but it was a challenge to get away with that without it becoming upsetting to people ... It was about creating a tone like Raiders of the Lost Ark or Star Wars that allows you to get away with a lot of stuff because it feels like a movie."[6]
Soundtrack
Jack The Giant Slayer: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Pre-release tracking showed that Jack the Giant Slayer was projected to gross $30 million to $35 million in its opening weekend,[33] a disappointing figure considering it cost at least $185 million to produce.[2] The film grossed $400,000 from Thursday night and midnight runs, ahead of its wide release open on Friday, March 1, 2013.[34] Through the weekend, the film grossed $28.01 million in North America at 3,525 locations, taking first place at the box office. The audience was 55% male and 56% were over the age of 25, despite the studio's efforts to target families.[35] At the same time, the film took in an additional $13.7 million in 10 Asian markets at 1,824 locations.[36]
Four weeks into its theatrical run, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the film was on track to lose between $125 million and $140 million for Legendary Pictures, suggesting that the film would likely close at $200 million worldwide, short of its combined production and marketing budget.[37]Jack the Giant Slayer closed in theaters on June 13, 2013, grossing a total of $65,187,603 in North America and $197,687,603 worldwide.[4] In explaining its box office failure, analysts pointed to the conflict between the director's darker, more adult-themed vision with the studio's desire for a family-friendly product, leading to the final compromise of a PG-13 film that did not sufficiently appeal to adults or children.[38]
Critical reception
Jack the Giant Slayer received a mixed response from film critics. On the review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 52%, based on 208 reviews, with an average rating of 5.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It's enthusiastically acted and reasonably fun, but Jack the Giant Slayer is also overwhelmed by digital effects and a bland, impersonal story."[39] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[40] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A to F.[41]
Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Simply in terms of efficient storytelling, clear logistics and consistent viewer engagement, Jack is markedly superior to the recent Hobbit."[42]Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times said, "Jack the Giant Slayer is a rousing, original and thoroughly entertaining adventure."[43]
Justin Chang of Variety said, "Jack the Giant Slayer feels, unsurprisingly, like an attempt to cash in on a trend, recycling storybook characters, situations and battle sequences to mechanical and wearyingly predictable effect."[44]Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said, "This finally is just a digitally souped-up, one-dimensional take on 'Jack and the Beanstalk'."[45]Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said, "Bryan Singer's take on the old fairy tale has all things money can buy — except a good script."[46]
In April 2013, Warner Home Video announced the release of Jack the Giant Slayer on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray Disc and DVD. The discs were released on June 18, 2013, in two editions; a three-disc 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, and a two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. Both sets include the "Become a Giant Slayer" featurette, deleted scenes, a gag reel and a digital copy of the film.[50]
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