World Premiere of The Tempest

November 1st, 2010 by Gilbert Seah

Weekend Box Office

BRAVO! presents a MELBAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP FILM produced in association with STRATFORD SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, AMERICAN EXPRESS and SUNLIFE FINANCIAL

Starring CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER
THE TEMPEST BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
A DES McANUFF FILM

World première screening across Canada

Saturday, November 6, 2010, 1 p.m.

at select Cineplex Entertainment Theatres nationwide*

Encore performances at select Cineplex locations across Canada:

Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 14, 2010, 4 p.m.

“Christopher Plummer is quite simply one of the greatest actors of our time, both on stage and on screen. The opportunity to see him as Prospero in The Tempest – one of the greatest roles ever written and one he has longed to play – is nothing short of historic.”

-Des McAnuff, Artistic Director, Stratford Shakespeare Festival

Tony-winning Director Des McAnuff’s film The Tempest, starring Christopher Plummer, premières across Canada on November 6, 2010, as part of Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events.

The stage production received rave reviews and played to sold-out houses at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival this summer. Now Christopher Plummer takes the classical role of a lifetime to the big screen, starring as Prospero in Shakespeare’s culminating masterpiece.

The Tempest is a Bravo! presentation of a Melbar Entertainment Group production in association with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. The film was produced by Barry Avrich and directed by Des McAnuff. Executive Producers are Barry Avrich, Michael Levine, Patrice Theroux and Christopher Plummer. Filmed live over two days by eight HD cameras, the film is a follow-up to Bravo!’s successful Gemini-nominated production of Caesar and Cleopatra.

The Tempest pits the desire for revenge against the demands of love and asks if man is capable of creating a brave new world. The story focuses on Prospero (Christopher Plummer), the banished Duke of Milan. Marooned on a distant island with his daughter, Miranda (Trish Lindström), Prospero has spent twelve years perfecting his magic arts. Now, with the help of the spirit Ariel (Julyana Soelistyo), he raises a storm at sea, bringing within his grasp the enemies who robbed him of his dukedom.

“Christopher Plummer is quite simply one of the greatest actors of our time, both on stage and on screen,” says Mr. McAnuff, who is also Artistic Director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. “I’m delighted that our sold-out production, with Mr. Plummer leading a superbly talented cast, will now be shown in Cineplex Entertainment theatres across Canada, giving audiences who were unable to attend the Festival this year the opportunity to experience this magical and momentous theatrical event.”

“This Festival is a national treasure that belongs to all Canadians,” says Antoni Cimolino, General Director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. “These screenings will provide Canadians in communities far from Stratford the opportunity to see some of the nation’s finest stage artists create their own unique magic under the best conditions possible.”

Cineplex Entertaiment will also be showing encore presentations of The Tempest across Canada on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. local time, and Sunday, November 14, 2010, at 4 p.m. local time.

“Unlike motion pictures, theatre has no afterlife,” says Executive Producer Barry Avrich. “It is imperative that extraordinary performances and productions such as The Tempest be recorded, exhibited and archived for generations to come. I am very proud to be part of a team that is making theatre history by preserving these great productions.”

The project is presented by Bravo! and sponsored by American Express and Sun Life Financial.

The STRATFORD SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL and MELBAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP

in Association with BRAVO! and ENTERTAINMENT ONE and Executive Producers

BARRY AVRICH/MICHAEL LEVINE/CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER/PATRICE THEROUX Present a DES McANUFF Film Starring CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER in THE TEMPEST

with JAMES BLENDICK BRUCE DOW PETER HUTT DION JOHNSTONE

TRISH LINDSTRÖM GARETH POTTER JULYANA SOELISTYO

TIMOTHY D. STICKNEY JOHN VICKERY GERAINT WYN DAVIES

Production Set Designer ROBERT BRILL Costume Designer PAUL TAZEWELL

Lighting Designer MICHAEL WALTON Composer MICHAEL ROTH

Sound Designer PETER McBOYLE Dramaturge ROBERT BLACKER

Choreographer NICOLA PANTIN Movement LISA SHRIVER Fight Director SIMON FON Magic Coach GREG KRAMER Line Producer SUSAN EDWARDS

Director of photography John Bailey Edited by GEORGE RAULSTON

Directed for television by SHELAGH O’BRIEN Produced by BARRY AVRICH

Written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Directed for the stage by DES McANUFF

*The film will be screened at select Cineplex theatres in the following cities:

B.C.: Coquitlam, Kamloops, Langley, Mission, Nanaimo, Prince George, Richmond, Vancouver, Victoria.

Alberta: Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer.

Saskatchewan: Moose Jaw, Regina, Saskatoon.

Manitoba: Winnipeg.

Ontario: Ajax, Ancaster, Barrie, Belleville, Brampton, Brantford, Brockville, Burlington, Cambridge, Chatham, Clarington, Collingwood, Cornwall, Guelph, Kingston, London, Markham, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara Falls, North Bay, Oakville, Orillia, Oshawa, Ottawa, Owen Sound Peterborough, Richmond Hill, Sarnia, Sault Ste. Marie, Scarborough, St. Thomas, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Waterloo, Windsor, Woodbridge.

Quebec: Cote St. Luc, Hull, Laval, Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrook.

-30-

RT: 131 min.

TRAILER:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kryOHAvIssw

PHOTOGRAPHY + TRAILER:

http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/imagegallery/imagegallery.aspx?id=11471

B ROLL:

Contact Ann Swerdfager

Publicity Director, Stratford Shakespeare Festival

519.271.4040 x2297

aswerdfager@stratfordfestival.ca