Screamers
Short description
In 2078, on the mining planet Sirius 6B, a decade of war has left the surface scarred and the outposts isolated. Colonel Hendricksson commands a small Alliance garrison locked in a standoff with the New Economic Bloc, and both sides have relied on the Screamers, self-replicating machines built to seek out and kill anything alive. When Hendricksson sets out to reach the enemy and explore a possible settlement, he and his soldiers cross a landscape where the weapons may no longer be under anyone's control, and where the line between human and machine becomes difficult to judge.
Christian Duguay directed the film, his fourth feature in a career that by then included Scanners III: The Takeover and continued with The Assignment two years later. Dan O'Bannon and Miguel Tejada-Flores wrote the screenplay, and Peter Weller leads the cast as Hendricksson, alongside Jennifer Rubin, Roy Dupuis, Andrew Lauer, Liliana Głąbczyńska and Michael Caloz. Produced across Canada, the United States and Japan on a budget of about 20 million dollars, it returned roughly 6 million worldwide, a weak result for its scale. Audiences rate it modestly, at 6.3 on IMDb from around 32,000 votes and 6.2 on TMDB from roughly 627, while the critics' score of 4.7 from 34 reviews is noticeably lower.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on the short story "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick.
- The film was shot entirely in Canada, in the steppes of Quebec and at the Montreal Olympic Stadium.
- The working title of the film was "Pliers".
- The film featured the work of renowned Futurist artist DUSSO. Specifically, he created the set design for the destroyed city.
- The aria "Madamina, il catalogo e' questo" from Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni, or The Rake Punished" plays in Hendrickson's office.
- In the scene where Hendrikson approaches his bunker, during a video call with Chuck, he asks to call “Don Giovanni.” This is the original name of Don Juan – Don Giovanni. At the same time, Hendrikson introduces himself to Chuck as Wolfgang. That’s the name of the opera’s author, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
- The first version of Dan O’Bannon’s script was written by him in early 1981.
- The NEB rifle is a slightly modified 35mm non-lethal weapon, the MR 35 Punch, manufactured by Manurhin.
- Becker’s monologue is a very free adaptation of Act V, Scene 6 of the third part of William Shakespeare’s “Henry VI.” In the play, this monologue is delivered by the Duke of Gloucester (the future Richard III) as he kills King Henry. Becker’s version is shortened, modernized, and contains profanity. The idea to include a Shakespearean quote in the screamer’s speech belonged to the actor who played him – Roy Dupuis.”
- When Commander Hendrickson and Ace Jefferson approach the Block base, Baker taps a knife against a pipe: three short knocks, three knocks with long pauses. In Morse code, this code means "SO."
- The board game resembling chess played at the beginning of the film is the Sumerian so-called "Royal Game of Ur," reminiscent of the ancient Egyptian senet.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
