Stardust
Short description
Stardust is a fantasy adventure set in the English village of Wall, which takes its name from the ancient wall that separates it from the magical realm of Stormhold. Tristan Thorn, a young villager, promises the girl he hopes to marry that he will bring back a star that fell beyond the wall. Crossing into Stormhold, he finds the star is a young woman named Yvaine, and he is not the only one seeking her: a witch named Lamia wants her heart, while the dying king's sons pursue a ruby she carries.
Matthew Vaughn directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman, following his debut Layer Cake, and produced with Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Chantal Feghali. Charlie Cox plays Tristan, Claire Danes plays Yvaine, and Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Strong, Jason Flemyng and Robert De Niro appear among the large credited cast. Vaughn went on to direct Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, the Kingsman films and Argylle.
Made for about 70 million dollars, Stardust took roughly 138 million dollars worldwide, a modest result relative to its cost. Audiences have responded more warmly over time: on IMDb it holds 7.6 from around 298,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.3 from about 4,583 votes. A critics' rating of 7 from 196 reviews places it broadly in line with those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Sarah Michelle Gellar turned down the lead female role in order to spend more time with her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr.
- Alex Pettyfer auditioned for the role of Tristan Thorne.
- The rights to adapt Neil Gaiman's fantastical novella were initially acquired by Miramax Films in the fall of 1998. The project remained in development for some time, but no concrete steps were taken, and after the rights expired, they reverted to the author.
- After a preliminary discussion of the future film with Matthew Vaughn, Neil Gaiman believed that the director would excel at staging adventure and action scenes, but would need help with the romantic side of the story. To complement his style and better convey all aspects of the fairytale novella, Neil Gaiman introduced Matthew Vaughn to screenwriter Jane Goldman, and together they began working on the script.
- In the film, each of the three witches has her own name, whereas in the book they are referred to by the collective name Lilim and do not have individual names. They are called Lamia, Morfo, and Empusa, in honor of the bloodthirsty demonic creatures from Greek mythology.
- The role of Ferdy, the merchant who buys lightning bolts from Captain Shakespeare, could have gone to Vinnie Jones.
- Filming took place from April 19 to July 13, 2006, at Pinewood Studios in London, as well as in various parts of England, Scotland, and Wales. Additionally, several scenes were filmed in Iceland, near the town of Hafnarfjörður.
- All the princes can be seen wearing a pattern on their clothing that displays their seniority number in Roman numerals, composed of smaller Arabic numerals. In addition, Septimus wears a waistcoat with the number 7 on each button.
- The princes' names (Primus, Secundus, etc.) are Roman names meaning First, Second, Third… The princess Una’s name translates from Italian as “Only One”.
- The names of the main characters, Tristan and Ivaine, are taken from characters in the medieval epic about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
- At 63 minutes into the film, Michelle Pfeiffer appears young in the mirror, although she should look old, as she did a minute earlier, since she has already lost her energy.
- The film is based on Neil Gaiman's novel "Stardust" (1998).
- This is the last film of the renowned British actor Mark Burns, who played the role of a bishop. He passed away on May 8, 2007, three months before the premiere of 'Stardust'.
- Terry Gilliam and Matthew Vaughn were considered the two main contenders for the director's chair for a long time. The former declined the offer, as he had just finished filming 'The Brothers Grimm' (2005) and did not want to commit to another fairytale project. Matthew Vaughn was at the time working on the British film 'Layer Cake' (2004), and was later scheduled to begin filming the comic book movie 'X-Men: The Last Stand' (2006).
- Shortly after Matthew Vaughn unexpectedly dropped out of working on 'The Last Stand,' negotiations between him and Neil Gaiman resumed, resulting in the author providing the rights for the future adaptation completely free of charge. The writer's decision was largely based on his trust in Matthew Vaughn, not only as a friend, but as someone who always keeps his word, which, according to Gaiman, is a rare quality in Hollywood.
- In Neil Gaiman's book, the main character is named Tristran, but in the film, the 'r' in the middle was removed, resulting in the more familiar and recognizable Tristan. This was done primarily for ease of pronunciation.
- Captain Shakespeare's ship is named 'Caspartina' in honor of director Matthew Vaughn's children – Caspar and Clementine. The same name is given to a submarine in another film by Matthew Vaughn – X-Men: First Class.
- Mark Strong, who played Septimus, previously starred in the series “The Long Firm,” where his character owned a nightclub called “Stardust.”
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