fiennesite@yahoo.com
Ralph Fiennes Red Dragon News
8/31/02 From the Daily Record: MONSTER OF A PART Aug 30 2002
Thanks to Bella for posting this to the forum:
Fiennes takes on serial killer role in new Harris movie
Thomas Quinn
HE has played a monster once before. Ralph Fiennes - most English of actors, slightly built with a perfect, clean- cut profile - was nothing short of chilling as the psychopathic Nazi in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List.Now Fiennes is again venturing down the same dark alleyways of the mind by taking the role of serial killer Francis Dolarhyde in the upcoming Red Dragon.
Created by Silence Of The Lambs author Thomas Harris, Dolarhyde, whose nickname is The Tooth Fairy, is a horrific character - a madman who determines to kill two families each full moon.
In the film, desperately trying to catch him before he kills again, is Ed Norton's FBI agent Will Graham, aided by none other than Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins. No wonder Fiennes thought twice about taking on a character with such extreme homicidal tendencies
Compared to even getting under the skin of a schizophrenic like Spider, in David Cronenberg's film of the same name which was premiered in Edinburgh last week and is released nationwide in January, the Silence Of The Lambs prequel was a tall order.
Ralph said: "Dolarhyde in Red Dragon is very perverse indeed. It wasn't so much that I took the character home with me, but I found it exhausting to try and conjure up that way of looking at the world and people.
"Certainly, when I did Schindler's List, I took a lot of time to read up about the character. Doing Spider, I didn't see him in that same psychopathic extreme. But with Red Dragon I was wary of going down that path again.
"When you play people like Amon Goethe or Dolarhyde you have to enter into the way they see the world and the way they are emotionally disjointed and disconnected, and that is always weird and disturbing." For the actor, who turns 40 in December, Red Dragon is a big step back into working on a mainstream Hollywood film.
It has been some time since he has ventured into the mainstream arena, yet all of a sudden he has made two big- budget productions - the Lecter film followed by, another surprise, a romantic comedy next year, The Chambermaid, with Jennifer Lopez.
After the disaster that was The Avengers, Fiennes reverted most often to his first love of theatre, and went for films such as Onegin and End Of The Affair that were never destined for big box office.
With his private life causing ripples - particularly the break-up of his marriage to hospital drama er actress Alex Kingston and his subsequent relationship with Francesca Annis, some 18 years his senior - it was as if he was avoiding the limelight.
Now he seems confident enough again to tackle a movie he considers interesting, regardless of the scale of the budget. Even so, it was a surprise he was offered the serial-killer role next to Hopkins
He added: "The Red Dragon offer really came out of the blue. I'd heard they were remaking it, because of course it's a remake of Michael Mann's Manhunter (with Scottish actor Brian Cox as Lecter), but when the script arrived I was sceptical.
"But then I read it. Ted Tally has done the script, and he wrote Silence Of The Lambs.
"It was a really good read. I couldn't stop turning the pages. I had never read Red Dragon and didn't know anything.
"People who are officianados of Thomas Harris think of Francis Dolarhyde as this huge figure, but I didn't know who he was. And then I flew out to meet Brett Ratner, this young director who had made these Charlie Chan films, who has a great energy, and I just looked at the cast.
"Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Emily Watson. Well, I thought to be alongside that quality of cast would be good - so I went for it.
"It's a well-structured genre film, I think it has more of the psychological terror of Silence Of The Lambs and less of the rather baroque quality of Hannibal."
Fiennes is quick to point out though that Red Dragon does not mean he will be turning his back on everything other than big budget movies from now on: "I'm doing a play at the National Theatre, another at the RSC and I'm talking to a lot of different people about developing scripts that aren't big budget films."
Even so, clearly the actor, who was Oscar nominated for both The English Patient and Schindler's List, is determined to stretch himself in all sorts of directions.
08/23/02 Ralph Fiennes says Red Dragon will return to terror of Lambs
Interview on www.annanova.co.uk
Ralph Fiennes says the new Hannibal Lecter movie will be more like
Silence Of The Lambs than Hannibal.
Fiennes plays Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon, which is the latest
movie tofeature Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.
Speaking at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, he said the
new movie has more "psychological terror" than the last.
Fiennes said: "I was quite sceptical when I first heard about the
film but then I read the script and it was really good.
"I looked at the cast that was already in place, Edward Norton, Anthony
Hopkins and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and I thought I wanted to be
alongside that quality.
"I think the character in Red Dragon is similar to the one I played in
Schindler's List, they both have similar paths. You have to enter
into the way they see the world, which is weird and disturbing."
Fiennes' Edinburgh visit was to promote his new film Spider, directed
by David Cronenberg.
Story filed: 10:33 Friday 23rd August 2002
06/25/02 Trailer and Official Site
Official Red Dragon web site up and Quicktime Trailer online at:
Movie release date still October 4, 2002.
05/23/02 Red Dragon Poster
Thanks to Bella for finding a link to this poster on Coming Attractions:
04/08/02 Thanks to Bella for finding this from the Baltimore Sun:
Baltimore is stunt double for Chicago in new movie
Hot property: A stunt man brings a note of reality to a scene from "Red Dragon," parts of which are being shot in and around Baltimore; Outtakes: Director Brett Ratner (left) and executive producer Andrew Z. Davis joke on the set of "Red Dragon." (Sun photos by Andre F. Chung)
By Jeff Barker, Sun Staff
Balitmore Sun April 7, 2002
Scenes being filmed in, around city for 'Hannibal' precursor
The tabloid reporter eases his bronze Lincoln Versailles up Calvert Street, turns left on Franklin. His arm dangling out the window, cigarette in hand, press pass perched on the dashboard, he motions to the parking lot attendant and swings a little recklessly into the garage of the National Tattler.So unfolds a scene from Red Dragon, a movie being filmed in and around Baltimore yesterday and for the next few weeks. The "prequel" to Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, it features one of the most celebrated casts to appear in a film shot in the area, which has a movie-rich past.
Leading players include Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins, Oscar nominees Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel and Emily Watson, and Tony nominee Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays the ethically challenged reporter.
Those who despise slimy journalists might not mind seeing this one get his comeuppance. In a scene shot yesterday at sundown, Hoffman's character - actually a stunt double in latex - is tied to a wheelchair, set on fire and pushed down a hill. The parking lot attendant's screams during rehearsal could be heard a block away.
Hoffman plays "a sleazy reporter and the Tattler is a real rag," said Martha De Laurentiis, who is producing the movie with her husband, Dino De Laurentiis.
The movie keys on former FBI agent Will Graham (Norton), who has left the bureau after capturing Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter (Hopkins). He comes out of retirement to catch a killer - but he needs Lecter's help. Freddy Lounds, played by Hoffman, is tailing Graham to try to beat the competition to the story.
Making a film look authentic is all in the details, said members of the film's crew, which numbers about 160. Part of yesterday morning was spent rubbing grime on a red "PARKING" sign to make it look more realistic. The car Hoffman drives was picked because its production run - the late 1970s into 1980 - coincides with the period depicted in the film.
The parking area that Hoffman pulls into before his grisly demise is, in reality, the basement garage of a state office building. And what's passed off in the film as the Tattler offices is actually The Sun building.
In the 1981 Thomas Harris novel from which the movie is adapted, the Tattler is based in Chicago. That's why an Illinois flag flew yesterday in front of The Sun building, and why a sign instructed long-term visitors to "See Entrance on Wacker Drive," a street in downtown Chicago.
An earlier adaptation of Red Dragon was released in 1986 under the title Manhunter. The Maryland Film Commission is thrilled to have attracted portions of the new movie (other scenes are being shot in Los Angeles and in the Florida Keys), even if the subject matter is a bit disturbing: Lecter, one of the most popular film villains of all time, is a brilliant psychotherapist with a predilection for eating flesh and blood.
"From a public-relations perspective, it's always a good thing," said Karen Glenn of the Maryland Film Commission, which helps scout locations and coordinate with local governments. "I know some people had some issues with Baltimore serving as the backdrop for [the crime dramas] Homicide and The Wire. But it shows the city and it shows the state, and that's really the purpose."
The Red Dragon crew selected Baltimore in part to be faithful to the trilogy of Harris novels. The author set Lecter in a townhouse in the city before being imprisoned, as he was in Silence of the Lambs.
"In Red Dragon, you get to see a bit of his life before he was incarcerated," Martha De Laurentiis said.
The filmmakers selected a white brick home in Mount Vernon Square for the exterior scenes. "The house has real character," said James Lin, Red Dragon's location manager. "Lecter could be a man of refined tastes, and this building really conveys that."
Lin said Baltimore "is also able to double as many other cities - Philadelphia, or D.C., or old Atlanta. It just has a lot of different looks and a lot of the homes here are really historic."
Red Dragon's Maryland scenes feature more than Baltimore. One scene, shot in Carroll County, features Norton's character meeting his family at an airport.
Hopkins hasn't appeared in the state for filming. The interiors of the Lecter house appearing in the movie, scheduled for release in the fall, were shot in Los Angeles.
The film crew has kept a lid on details of some of the area shoots, partly to avoid crowds and other distractions. Yesterday, motorists heading north on Calvert Street were detoured without a clue that a Baltimore block had been turned into a movie set.
03/21/02 Thanks Linda for finding this on the Ed Norton site:
http://edward-norton.org/reddragon.html
Lights Out Entertainment (3/21) provided more set info :
Red Dragon: In case you've been wondering how things have been going over at Universal, things are going... slow. For one thing, several weeks ago, there was an issue with the application of full body tattoo's to actor Ralph Fiennes. Seems that the make-up department was a bit generous with their original estimates. The application ended up taking as many as three hours each day! Needless to say, this is a huge delay.
Also adding to the lethargic shoot, is director Brett Ratner's decision to evacuate the stage for rehearsals. Seems that the crew is seen milling around (outside) the stages of Universal for thirty minutes or more each time!
Finally, we've heard that Ratner's frequent set visitors can be quite unruly. Among the stories we received: There's the one about two young ladies hanging around Brett and the monitors who seemed to be... just a bit drunk. Apparently, the girls eventually made their way into the trailers to play dress-up. How about the one about the guy who might be a childhood friend of Brett's who was asked to leave the set when his behavior became, um, strange.3/13/02 Dark Horizons reports release date pushed up to October 4.
03/07/02 Entertainment Weekly
Enter the Dragon
How Anthony Hopkins will play a young Hannibal. EW.com goes behind the scenes of the fall prequel ''Red Dragon'' by Brian Hiatt
'DRAGON' SLAYER Hopkins will be portraying a younger Lecter
The fearsome Dr. Hannibal Lecter isn't the type to spring for a ''day of beauty.'' But Anthony Hopkins was happy to primp while preparing to play the flesh-chomping psychiatrist for the third time in the upcoming prequel ''Red Dragon.'' ''He's been on a very strict regimen of physical training and diet to trim and to rejuvenate,'' says ''Dragon'' co-producer Martha De Laurentiis. ''He's been doing facials.''It's not that the 64-year-old Hopkins has developed a sudden urge to become a teen heartthrob. He's just trying to portray a Hannibal Lecter who's 10 years younger than he appeared in ''The Silence of the Lambs,'' which Hopkins filmed back in 1991. ''Red Dragon,'' helmed by Brett Ratner (''Rush Hour,'' ''The Family Man'') is based on the 1981 Thomas Harris novel of the same name, which introduced the Lecter character and Will Graham, the FBI investigator who caught Lecter. (Edward Norton will play Graham in the movie.) As in Harris' 1987 follow-up, ''The Silence of the Lambs,'' the FBI tries to get an imprisoned Lecter's help in finding another serial killer. In ''Silence'' it was Buffalo Bill; here, it's a freaky dude named Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes) who calls himself the Red Dragon, after a piece of art by William Blake. (Harris' killers tend to be surprisingly cultured.)
It gets more complicated. ''Red Dragon,'' which began production in January and is due in theaters in October or November, is not the first movie to be based on the novel. That honor goes to 1986's ''Manhunter,'' which was directed by Michael Mann (''The Insider'') and featured Brian Cox as the inexplicably misspelled ''Dr. Hannibal Lecktor'' and William L. Peterson as Will Graham. ''I wasn't disappointed [with 'Manhunter'], because the picture was very good'' says Dino De Laurentiis, producer of ''Manhunter,'' last year's ''Hannibal,'' and ''Red Dragon.'' He adds, with his famous Italian delivery, ''But box office -- no work. No work because, number one, Hannibal Lecter no come out the way he's supposed to be. And number two, the casting for the FBI agent was not the best choice.'' (A publicist for Michael Mann didn't respond to a request for comment.)
The stylish ''Manhunter'' -- which changed the book's ending, reduced Lecter's role, and left out the origins of Francis Dolarhyde's madness -- has its fans (EW gave its DVD release a B+). But the makers of ''Red Dragon'' aren't treating their movie as a remake. Instead, they say, they're going back to the source. ''We're staying true to the book, not only in the storytelling but in the tone,'' says Ratner. ''Every choice, from the casting to the locations to the set pieces, is more along the lines of the book. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with 'Manhunter' -- it was just an artistic choice for Michael Mann, and it happens that our interpretation is exactly what the book is.''
For all the talk of fidelity to the text, ''Red Dragon'' will open with some brand-new scenes. For the first time, we'll see the capture of Hannibal Lecter -- a sequence that's shown only in flashback in the book. According to co-producer Martha De Laurentiis, Harris himself came up with the idea to start the new movie by showing Lecter as a free man before anyone knew he was a serial killer. In a scene hinted at in ''Silence of the Lambs,'' Lecter will serve a (gulp) gourmet dinner to a group of guests unfamiliar with his culinary predilections.The filmmakers are confident that Hopkins (who won an Oscar for his first portrayal of Lecter) will be convincing as a younger Hannibal. Despite rumors to the contrary, they say there are no plans to use computer-generated imagery to alter his appearance. ''I think audiences are pretty forgiving,'' Ratner says. ''Maybe at first glance you're like, 'oh no, he doesn't look younger.' But then hopefully you're immersed in the drama of the film.''
Plus, in the absence of Lecter's perversely affectionate relationship with Clarice Starling (the character is, of course, absent from ''Red Dragon'') Hopkins will get to portray a different side of the cannibal. Says Ratner: ''Hannibal Lecter in this movie is much more still, much more tense, much more angry.... He is Manson. He's a crazy f---.''
Some familiar elements from the Jonathan Demme-directed ''Silence'' and its Ridley Scott-helmed sequel ''Hannibal'' will help maintain continuity. Anthony Heald -- who in ''Silence'' played the slimy Dr. Frederick Chilton, the head of the asylum Lecter calls home -- will return in the same role for ''Red Dragon.'' And the asylum itself, including Lecter's glass-plated cell, will be an exact recreation of the set used for ''Silence,'' as created by returning production designer Kristi Zea.
Meanwhile, Ralph Fiennes will get a chance to create a new monster as Francis Dolarhyde -- a man whose beyond-Dickensian childhood leads him to become a serial killer preying on whole families. Like Hopkins, Fiennes is really getting into his part. ''He is totally immersed,'' says Ratner. ''He comes to the set, and he's in character. And he wears his false teeth and [fake] cleft palate when he's off-camera.'' Sounds like he's waiting for Dr. Lecter to invite him to dinner.
(Posted:03/07/02)
03/07/02 AINTITCOOLNEWS.com from ShoWest
"RED DRAGON" TRAILER
I got a big surprise when I went to the Universal Pictures booth. They've already cut a trailer for Red Dragon. Red Dragon, of course, is based on the book of the same name, and serves as a prequel to Silence of the Lambs. What's strange, is that Michael Mann already adapted this novel in the 80's, under the title Manhunter. A lot of people didn't care for the flick, but I thought it was fantastic. In that version, Brian Cox (who is superb by the way) played the evil Hannibal Lecter. Why they've decided to remake the movie is beyond me. I haven't read any of the novels and I'm told that this new Ted Tally (who wrote the screenplay for "Silence") adaptation will be closer to the book. This movie has a stellar cast to say the least, and the trailer showcases them all, but only offers enough to whet our appetites. Edward Norton steps into the shoes of the Will Graham character (played by the underrated William Peterson in Manhunter). When I had heard about the casting, I thought it a bit odd. Don't get me wrong, Norton is an incredible actor, but the idea of him in the role seemed a little strange to me. He looks more than capable in the trailer, although as I stated before, this is merely a glimpse. The film doesn't open until November and if I'm not mistaken, they still have quite a bit of shooting to do. At any rate, the trailer will be a crowd pleaser, particularly the tail end of it when good old Hannibal hits the screen. Strangely, Red Dragon takes place before the events that occurred in "Silence" and "Hannibal", yet Hopkins looks older (although I've heard rumors of a potential digital face lift). Stranger still, is the idea that this flick was directed by Brett Ratner (the Rush Hour movies and Family Man). How he bagged this gig, I'll never know. This trailer makes Red Dragon look dark in tone, much in keeping with "Silence" and "Hannibal". While Manhunter had dark moments, it had a much different feel. It almost played as an action film. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Red Dragon is going to be a big hit when it opens at the end of the year.
03/07/02 Movies.com/Coming Attractions
A scooper for Coming Attractions filed this report of a "test trailer" for the film: "It starts out with Ed Norton talking to the police force about the serial killer they are trying to apprehend. … one of the police officers asks Norton why the killer continues killing and Norton replies, 'Because he feels like God. Would you want to give that up?' It then moves on to Keitel and Norton talking in a cafe about a previous case. Norton states that he didn't solve the case on his own; he had some help. The preview then mentions Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson as an image is shown of the two of them together in a dining room. Then it shows Norton walking down a hallway to a glass wall where Hopkins steps out of the shadows. He says, "Hello Will" and gives a very eerie smile. It cuts to black and the title is shown. Overall, a very effective preview." (Coming Attractions)
March 4, 2002..from http://www.corona.bc.ca/films/details/reddragon.html
We know that movie studios do recruit people to comment on early footage from movies. The best known example of this are test screenings, but a lesser known example is when a studio shows different kinds of movie trailers to gauge which is the best received by the audience.
That's precisely what seems to have happened to our latest scooper, who filed this report of a "test trailer" for Red Dragon:
"I was at the local mall today and was shown a preview for Red Dragon for market research purposes. It starts out with Norton talking to the police force about the serial killer they are trying to apprehend. This is an approximate, but one of the police officers asks Norton why the killer continues killing and Norton replies, 'Because he feels like God. Would you want to give that up?' It then moves on to Keitel and Norton talking in a cafe about a previous case. Norton states that he didn't solve the case on his own; he had some help. The preview then mentions Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson as an image is shown of the two of them together in a dinning room. Then it shows Norton walking down a hallway to a glass wall where Hopkins steps out of the shadows. He says, 'Hello Will' and gives a very eerie smile. It cuts to black and the title is shown. Overall, a very effective preview. It's nice to see a slow build up to with no quick cuts and without giving any of the story away."
January 08, 2002-Counting Down.com
Director Brett Ratner Talks Red Dragon
Brett Ratner says that Manhunter will not influence the Red Dragon:
I mean, my movie starts with the capture of Hannibal Lecter and it has scenes in it like where Dolarhyde goes to the Brooklyn Museum of Art and eats the drawing of the red dragon. And it ends more like the book. The end of Manhunter had nothing to do with the book at all.Where does the capture scene come from? Is it an original scene for the movie?
It's told in flashbacks in the [Red Dragon] book. In my movie, it's told chronologically. I mean, you knew they capture Hannibal but you didn't really see it, so we chose to go by the book and show the events that happened preceding Jack Crawford going to ask him to come and catch the Tooth Fairy.
How complicated will it be to make Anthony Hopkins look younger?
Not very. I mean, he's on a workout regimen. He's lost 20 pounds. He's back to the weight that he was when he did Silence of the Lambs.
Is there any truth to the rumor that your effects crew will use computers to digitally de-age him?
That's a possibility but it's mostly done with lighting.
TNMC.com April 2001
My Review of the Red Dragon script
After a decade long wait for the return of Dr. Lecter, his next cinematic appearance could surprisingly be next year. Ted Tally, the Oscar winning scribe of The Silence of The Lambs, has already penned an adaptation of Thomas Harris' Red Dragon. The first novel of the infamous Hannibal trilogy, it was made into a movie by Michael Mann (Ali) in 1986 called Manhunter. This project is a prequel to the first two movies as we see the capture of Hannibal Lecter. It is rumored that Sir Anthony Hopkins will come back along with perhaps Edward Norton or Nicolas Cage as Will Graham and Brett Ratner (The Family Man) at the helm. The script that I will be reviewing is dated April 23rd 2001.The story begins with the capture of Dr. Hannibal Lecter by FBI Special Agent Will Graham. The good doctor had been helping Graham to capture the Chesapeake Ripper who finally turned out to be Lecter himself. After nearly being killed by Lecter, Graham retires from active duty and moves to Florida to live a quiet life with his wife and son. Cut to three years later, a strange killer dubbed 'The Tooth Fairy' has massacred two families. This murderer is synchronised with the moon. Time is running out before the next full moon, so the FBI asks Graham to help them. Investigating the murder scenes brings back haunting memories for Graham who almost goes insane. With the clock ticking and no real leads, he decides to visit his old friend Dr. Lecter, who could maybe point him in the right direction.
I would not call this script a third installment of the Dr. Lecter franchise. It's more of a spinoff of the profitable franchise. I could simply imagine MGM wanting to make Special Agent Will Graham solo movies after this one. Ted Tally has again written a beautiful script adaptation of previous material. His last screenplay, All The Pretty Horses, was a magnum opus. Disregard the movie; the 180 pages script he wrote was remarkable. Once more, he does a great job. Despite the fact that I very much liked Steven Zaillian's Hannibal work, this script is superior. With a good director, it will definitely be a great film. I don't know if Brett Ratner is the man for that job.
LECTER: You fear me, but still came here. Fear this shy boy, yet still you seek him out... Don't you understand, Will? Without imagination, we'd be just like all those other dullards. Fear is the price of your instrument. I can help you bear it.
The opening to this movie is fantastic. We begin with dinner at the Lecter Mansion where the guests are eating succulent amuse-bouche. Unknown to them is that they're made from human flesh but still exceptionally delicious. After the guests leave, Graham comes to see Lecter seeking help with his case. Something in his head clicks and the face-off between the two is magnificent. From that point on, Lecter is the sidekick, the messed-up Yoda-like figure to Graham's hero. Incarcerated for most of the film, he can't do much but he's still crucial to the plot. A very good role for Sir Hopkins, but it would make no sense for MGM to pay for 20 millions for two weeks of work.
GRAHAM: (Whispers) Eat This
Just wanted to put that in, because that's one hell of a cool one-liner. I'll leave you guys to imagine to who he says that before shooting him. Will Graham is an intricate character and whoever plays him needs dramatic depth. Don't give me Nic Cage or a George Clooney. I want Ed Norton or someone like him. Problem is, he can't be that young either. Graham has a wife and kid. He cannot be younger then thirty logically. He has shades of Clarice but much more dark than she was in Silence.
RED DRAGON: I am the Dragon and you call me insane? My movements are followed and recorded as avidly as those of a mighty nebula. Before me, you are a slug in the sun. You are privy to a great becoming and you recognize nothing. You are an ant in the afterbirth. It is in your nature to do one thing correctly: before me you rightly tremble.
The tooth fairy, or the Red Dragon as he calls himself, is downright insane. That role could turn a little know performer into a star. He has a physical presence and a really terrifying personality. Imagine Norman Bates in the body of Vin Diesel and you'll get the image of The Red Dragon. As for his blind love interest, they should pick someone beautiful yet innocent. I have no idea who could successfully pull that off.
Does anyone wanna bet again this project? It's a given blockbuster that could shockingly be good. PLEASE, MGM don't mess this up...
SCRIPT: RED DRAGON www.creature-corner.com
By Ryan Rotten
Written by Ted Tally
Dated April 23, 2001While reading the script for RED DRAGON, the prequel to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, I couldn't help but picture Dino De Laurentiis, with money signs in his eyes, looming over screenwriter Ted Tally while he struggled at his computer trying to create a another adaptation to Thomas Harris' serial killer extravaganza.
After reading the script, I've come to the conclusion that there are basically four reasons this is getting made: 1.) Money. 2.) The beginning of the script (with more Hannibal-action). 3.) The end of the script (with more Hannibal-action). 4.) To give the audience that money shot of Hannibal in restraints. I think it must be mentioned in a memo to ANYONE who wants to continue on with a line of Hannibal films that it's mandatory that you present at least one scene with Hannibal in his famous, Halloween costume-selling, restraints!
As you all know by now, RED DRAGON is material already visited by Michael Mann's 1986 super-cool film MANHUNTER. That film starred William Peterson as Will Graham, Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecter, Joan Allen, and Tom Noonan. DRAGON (the book and all its incarnations) is the story of FBI Agent Will Graham (the man who put Hannibal away) and his hunt for a family killer who calls himself the Red Dragon. Like Clarice, Graham must use the help of the institutionalized Hannibal Lecter to catch the killer.
If you've seen MANHUNTER you'll pretty much know how the upcoming RED DRAGON film will play out. That's what made reading Tally's script such a drag.
The story begins on an exciting note delivering fans what they've always wanted to see: Will Graham's capture of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Ridley Scott's HANNIBAL gave us a taste (pun intended) of Lecter's true nature, a sophisticated man with sophisticated tastes, but at the heart he was an animal. RED DRAGON's opening sequence gives us the animal who knows he's being put in a cage. Ruthless. Deadly. Unpredictable. Let me just say Will doesn't come away unscathed. It's an exciting scene and it's too bad I had to cut through 90 pages of rehash to get to something fresh.
Tally delivers a notably different is Francis Dollarhyde, the Red Dragon himself. Tally presents the killer as he was in the book: a torn, hulking, insecure man with a screwed up grandmother ("Do you want me to chop it off?!"). Michael Mann gave us a different Dollarhyde. Both representations are okay in my book.
Aside from a few new and amusing Hannibal "moments" RED DRAGON is pretty much the same stuff...if you've already seen MANHUNTER. To the moviegoer who's never seen Michael Mann's film, RED DRAGON is going to be a delight. It's a lot more human than the wonderfully cold and sick HANNIBAL. Will Graham is an intense, likable guy. Jack Crawford is back for the ride and so is the slimy Dr. Chilton. Barney the orderly, sadly, doesn't make an appearance.
Yes, I know Tally's RED DRAGON is out to make (money) a faithful adaptation of Harris' novel. And I know De Laurentiis wants to make (money) a film that'll tie up the "Anthony Hopkins"Hannibal series, but to me it just seems like a big waste of time and money.
