Arrival will make you think, and want to see it again

LOS ANGELES Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi film Arrival lands in movie theatres after receiving raves at its Venice Film Festival première and from pundits at preview screenings.

Here are five more Arrival revelations from a recent press day:

LOCATION, LOCATION ...

It made sense that Villeneuve would want to film the movie in his hometown of Montreal. But Producer David Linde says that they did check out other locations. Atlanta was considered and so was New Mexico. Another Canadian production hot spot, Vancouver, got a look but most of the sound stages were booked for the summer of 2015. In the end, Montreal made the most sense. Linde says it had the bonus of allowing Villeneuve to feel comfortable with his process by having his team close by.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

The Quebec director kept his shoot family friendly. Occasionally, that allowed headliner Amy Adams and co-star Jeremy Renner the opportunity to bring their kids on set to join Villeneuve’s brood. The experience was so rewarding for Renner on camera and off that he plans a Montreal return trip as a tourist. “It’s my most favourite place I have ever shot a movie,” he says.

THE PERSUASION FACTOR

Arrival screenwriter Eric Heisserer is best known for his horror genre scripts. When Heisserer read Ted Chiang’s short story called Story of Your Life, he immediately saw the cinematic potential. To convince Chiang of an Arrival movie possibility, he wrote a spec script with Villeneuve attached. To seal the deal, Heisserer sent Chiang a copy of Villeneuve’s film Incendies. Chiang realized Villeneuve was the only filmmaker who could handle the complicated narrative.

WIDE OPEN SPACES

Portraying the Montana wilderness in Arrival? It’s an area just outside of Rimouski, Que, a five-hour drive from Montreal along the St. Lawrence River. The production company even hired more than 200 locals to be extras in and around Saint-Fabien, Que., where they filmed.

IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS

The artist in Villeneuve pays attention to detail on every Arrival level. His friend and production designer Patrice Vermette provides sparse settings which mix powerfully with Bradford Young’s engrossing cinematography and Johann Johannsson’s involving score.

“Denis is an architect and an auteur,” says Heisserer.