· "The Genius Ripley" is based on Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel of the same name, the first in a series of Ripley novels. Anthony Minghella developed a keen interest in the novel "The Genius Ripley" after completing the award-winning classic business card "The English Patient", and he believes that the story of an ordinary young man impersonating a rich man will make a good movie.
Producers William Holberg and Tom Sternberg took up to 7 years to obtain the rights to adapt the novel. Holberg said that after reading the original novel, he always wanted to put the story of the novel on the big screen, because The whimsy that replaces the lives of others is a rare and wonderful source of material.
·Director Anthony Minghella saw the unreleased "Good Will Hunting" and was touched by its star, Matt Damon. After a face-to-face understanding, Tony Minghella believed that Matt Damon was playing Ripley. the best candidate.
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"The Genius Ripley" is based on Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel of the same name, the first in a series of Ripley novels. After completing the award-winning classic The English Patient, Anthony Minghella developed a keen interest in the novel The Genius Ripley, believing that the story of an ordinary young man impersonating a rich man would make for a good movie. “Impostorship is the core idea of the novel,” Minghella said. “The idea of giving up oneself to be someone else stems from self-dissatisfaction and self-loathing, which is human nature. We must have all felt dissatisfied with ourselves, and even developed Low self-esteem, when we're on the verge of wanting to be someone else. This is something that resonates very easily and is why I love it, as a descendant of Italian immigrants, growing up in the UK, I used to think I couldn't fit in at all local culture."
Producer William Holberg believes that the background plays an important role, saying: "The film takes place in Italy in the late 1950s, when music, clothing, cars, scooters, the Veneto district of Rome, rich American billionaires overseas. The sumptuous atmosphere of the film and the heydays of Fellini, Antonioni and Visconti give the film a unique setting.” It took Hoberg and producer Tom Sternberg seven years to obtain the novel’s title. For the filming rights, Hoberg recalled: "I read this novel as early as 15 years ago, and I always wanted to put the story of the novel on the big screen, because the whimsy of replacing other people's lives is really rare. Excellent material. But French producer Robert Hakim has already adapted the novel into a movie "The Dead Sea" in 1960, so he has always enjoyed the rights to adapt the original book. Over the years, many filmmakers have been eager to remake , but they all broke up because of conflicts with Hakim."
In 1992, Hoberg, who left Paramount, became a producer under Mirage Enterprises, and Hoberg gave the first edition of "Genius Ripley" as a gift. Sidney Pollack, hoping to fight with him for the rights to the novel, however, the enthusiastic Holberg was given a cold shoulder at the company. At the same time, Tom Sternberg, a producer who knew Hakim's family, has also been obsessed with novels for many years. He recalled: "After Hakim's death, his family approached me to propose an American version of Ripley, Because my attorney works for the same firm as Sidney Pollack's attorney, I know he's been in love with Ripleys for a long time. The Hakeems have always been very demanding, and as an American director with a reputation in the film industry With the producer, Sidney's presence will undoubtedly be the deciding factor in the deal." Before the official signing, Hakim's widow and daughter asked to meet Pollack, Hoberg and Sternberg in Deauville, where Hakim His widow is a loyal fan of Pollack, and her new film "The Sugar-Coated Trap" has just been released in Deauville, and she is even more fond of the film. After some negotiation, the Hakim family agreed to sell the filming rights for the adaptation of the novel, and Paramount also decided to invest in the filming.
The preparatory work for the film soon became formal, and finding a screenwriter was a top priority. "Sidney and I were huge fans of Anthony Minghella, and we had intentionally put him on Ripley before that," Hoberg recalls. Anthony had never done anything like that, so we I believe this film is very attractive to him." Minghella was actively preparing for "The English Patient" at the time, and Minghella had to wait patiently for Ralph Fiennes to star in the film. He said: "Ralph was busy on the Broadway play Hamlet, so we pushed the film back half a year, during which time I saw the novel Ripley the Genius, and I loved the story and the characters. , after much deliberation, I decided to take over the script." In discussing the script with several producers, Minghella stated that the key to the novel's appeal to him is the theme of entering other people's lives, which will become a major element of the film's script, The shooting intentions of both sides coincided. After completing the first draft of the script, Minghella began to film "The English Patient". In 1997, the sensational "The English Patient" won 9 Oscars in one fell swoop. When the halo faded, Minghella decided to re-improve the script and immediately opened the election. corner prologue.
"I had an appointment with the producers, and if you want me to direct the film, the actor who plays Ripley has to move me," Mingella said. When it came to Good Will Hunting, which was yet to come out, I was suddenly struck by Matt Damon. I was impressed with his performance in Life and Death, but now I need to sit down and get to know him face-to-face because he He was also a screenwriter, so we had a heart-to-heart talk about the script, and I knew he understood my intentions, and he was obviously the perfect person to play Ripley.
" Tricky problem, he said: "This is the most difficult role in the film, and although many good American actors intend to play, I don't think Dickie's class and his social status at the time were suitable for American actors because they were too street-style. Finally, I thought of British actor Jude Law, although American audiences are not familiar with him, but his handsomeness and charm are very suitable for this role, he is the perfect choice to play Dickie." Dickie in the
tidbits
The date of suicide coincides with director Anthony Minghella's birthday.
Jude Law and Matt Damon studied saxophone and piano respectively for their roles in the film.
Tom Cruise was originally chosen to play Ripley.
Matt Damon lost 30 pounds to star in the film.
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