The Last Witch Hunter
Short description
Kaulder is an immortal witch hunter who has spent centuries protecting humanity from supernatural threats. Long ago he defeated the all-powerful Witch Queen, but as she died she cursed him with eternal life, cutting him off from his wife and daughter forever. In present-day New York, he works to keep the growing number of witches and warlocks in check, aided by a young witch named Chloe and by Father Dolan, who follows in the footsteps of his predecessor. The witches are gathering under a powerful leader, and Kaulder must stop them from unleashing a plague on the city.
The film was directed by Breck Eisner, his fifth feature after Recon, Thoughtcrimes, Sahara and The Crazies. Vin Diesel stars as Kaulder and also produced; Rose Leslie plays Chloe, Elijah Wood appears as Dolan the 37th, Michael Caine as Dolan the 36th, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Belial and Julie Engelbrecht as the Witch Queen. The screenplay is by Cory Goodman, Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.
Released in October 2015, the film runs 106 minutes and was a co-production between the United States, Canada and Hong Kong. Made for around 90 million dollars, it took in roughly 147 million dollars worldwide, a modest return against its cost. Audiences are divided: on IMDb it holds 5.9 out of 10 from about 116,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6 out of 10 from a much smaller base of roughly 4,000 votes. A critics' rating of 3.9 out of 10 from 138 reviews places it clearly below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film's soundtrack features a cover of The Rolling Stones' song 'Paint it Black' performed by Ciara.
- Initially, Timur Bekmambetov was planned to direct the project.
- In 2010, the film's screenplay ended up on the "Black List" – a list of screenplays that could potentially be commercially successful.
- Filming was postponed due to the death of Paul Walker. This was also the reason for the delay in filming the action thriller "Fast & Furious 7".
- Since February 23, 2009, His Eminence Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan has served as the Archbishop of New York.
- The Hollywood debut of French actress Julie Engelbrecht.
- Among the actors involved in the film, Vin Diesel starred in the Marvel Comics film "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014), Michael Caine – in the "Dark Knight" film trilogy (2005, 2008 and 2012) based on DC Comics, and in the film "Kingsman: The Secret Service" (2015), while Elijah Wood – in the adaptation of the independent comic "Sin City" (2005).
- In this film, Vin Diesel drives an Aston Martin Rapide S Sedan.
- The fashion show was filmed at the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh University.
- The witch's abode and the surrounding forest were constructed on a covered soundstage and were set on fire at the end of the film. Everything was built from real tree trunks and branches attached to steel frames.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
