| Seven Film Clips and Three Featurettes from The Bourne Ultimatum! | ||||
|
|
The IESB has got seven film clips and three featurettes from the thrid installment of the Bourne franchise, The Bourne Ultimatum, due out August 3rd! {sidebar id=1}"The first two films were very good at being powered by questions. Who am I? Who killed my girl? And the answers that he gets in the first two movies are satisfying, but not complete. This third film has got to be about answers. By the end of this film, youve got to understand how Jason Bourne became Jason Bourne. Director Paul Greengrass The chain of command has shifted, but the activities of Treadstone initiatives upgraded (into Blackbriar) for a post-9/11 environment have become more covert and sophisticated in The Bourne Ultimatum. Of the players, Greengrass notes: There isnt one bad guytheres one bad system. You have this split between the hero who is moving to the light and a system that is corrupted. The production sees the return of two acclaimed actresses who proved crucial to the series. Joan Allen plays spy hunter Pamela Landy, a CIA operative and internal investigator who developed sympathy for Bourne as she faced off against the vicious Abbott in the second film. Also returning to the production is series favorite Julia Stiles as Nicolette Nicky Parsons, now stationed in Madrid when Bourne enters the city. When it came to Allen, fans were not the only ones eager for her return. Joan brings a cool, cerebral intelligence to Pamela Landy, commends Greengrass. You feel her watchfulness; she anchors the CIA side of the story. In Ultimatum, Landy is brought into the fold to help Noah Vosen (played by Oscar-nominated actor David Strathairn)the complicated new head of the covert wing of the CIAtrack down the re-emerging Bourne. Her sense of what Vosens group is up to with Blackbriar does not sit well with the by-the-book career CIA operative. Allen explains: She is brought back to help search for Bourne, because she is, in some ways, an expert on him. Hes a mystery to her, and she has compassion for him, but wants to solve the mystery of what happened to him. It is a world of spying, lying and secrets, but Pamela has a strong sense of ethical responsibility within that framework. Landys unrelenting pursuit for the truth about Treadstoneand scorching tte- ttes with Vosenadds a crucial dimension to the Bourne story. ?She finds herself, if not defending Bourne, at least willing to offer him an opportunity to explain himself, says producer Crowley. She is willing to give him his day in court, whereas Vosen wants to terminate him at all costs. When Landy and Vosen bristle against each other, its great to watch. The arc of Nicky, first introduced in Identity, has been a complex through line in the series. Nicky didnt really know what she was doing in Identity, comments Stiles. And now shes at another crossroads. She knows that, with Blackbriar, the situation has gotten worse, and she doesnt want to be involved anymore. Shes between a rock and a hard place because she wants to stay alive, but cant get out because she has too much information. There is a great resolution to her character, adds Damon, when you realize her history with Bourne. Its two young people again, and theyre on the run. They end up in many of the same situations Bourne and Marie were in, but its clear that there can never be anything more between them because of decisions they made in their lives. David Strathairn was approached to play Vosen, who operates the umbrella blackops program of Blackbriar. Crowley, who first worked with Strathairn on L.A. Confidential, notes that the filmmakers were interested in Strathairn because his strength comes from his softness. Theres a depth of intelligence that he brings to whatever hes doing. Strathairn was eager to become part of the Bourne players. Of his agency, he explains, Blackbriar is an operation whose primary responsibility is to gather information and take action against a previous threat. Vosen is part ofand maybe even responsible forthis operation formed to perpetuate what Treadstone put in motion. Acclaimed acting veteran Scott Glenn was selected to play CIA director Ezra Kramer. Scott Glenns character is the new person at the CIA and now everything happens on his watch, notes producer Paul Sandberg. You need an actor of extremely high caliber to pull off the commanding presence and underlying ambiguity that defines a character like that. Scott was ideal for the role. In the tradition of Bourne villains that have included Clive Owen as The Professor in Identity and Karl Urban as Kirill in Supremacy, Venezuelan-born actor Edgar Ramirez joins the cast as Paz, one of the next generation of Blackbriar killers. We were looking for someone who you felt could blend into whatever Third World environment he was required to work in, recalls Crowley. Known as one of the assets in the agency, Paz possesses skills on par with Bourne and quickly finds himself in two pivotal cat-and-mouse games with the rogue agent. There is a great scene in the first movie in which Bourne comes face-to-face with The Professor, notes Greengrass. Bourne has shot him and the Professor looks up and says, See what they make you give. That defines the relationship with these guys. By the time you get to the third movie, Bourne is the old gunslinger. Paz is the new blood, and that dynamic courses through the movie. The international ensemble includes Paddy Considine as British reporter Simon Ross, the man who sets the films story in motion when he receives leaks from a CIA bureau chief about Bourne, the CIAs clandestine activities and, most valuably, the name Blackbriar. Hes fascinated by Bourne and the idea of this rogue agent, says Considine. Ross is scratching the surface of something giant, and he discovers more than he should. Its a fight to stay alive with the information he has. Once Bourne reads his name in the pages of Ross paper, he attempts to get to Ross before Blackbriar assets, including assassin Paz, can intercept him. Its in their best interest to make sure that the story doesnt get out, says Damon. Playing the part of Ross source, Neal Danielsa CIA bureau chief whose conscience has gotten the best of himis actor Colin Stinton. Daniels ultimately leads Bourne to his associate, Dr. Albert Hirsch (played by acclaimed acting veteran Albert Finney), and images of the two men begin to echo a past lost in the blank spaces of Bournes mindand start to awaken memories of a life before Treadstone. Bournes motivation is to get to Tangier and find Daniels, so he can interrogate him and find out what he knows about the program, says Sandberg. Its Bournes key to his own past. His journey to learn the truth will take him from London to Madrid to Tangier, where he matches wit and muscle with another Blackbriar assassin, Desh (played by Joey Ansah), in a thrilling rooftop chase across the Medina shopping square. Each step he takes brings him closer to his true identity. People like to see Bourne deal with the different challenges he faces in the different places that he goes, notes Marshall. He has to then solve those challenges by being clever. The audience is never ahead of him, so it creates a lot of suspense and questions. His quest ultimately leads him to New York City, the U.S. base for Blackbriar, and home of Daniels mysterious associate, Dr. Hirsch. Finney, for his part, relished the opportunity to play a critical role in the Bourne series. I thought they were great action films, very quick, and kept me on my toes as an audience member, he says. Whats extraordinary to me now is that Matt still seems so full of enthusiasm at having new ideas for the scenes. In finally finding Dr. Hirsch, the super agent returns home, to the place where David Webb became Jason Bourne. Dr. Hirsch holds the secrets of Bourne, of his training, of everything that he went through, explains Damon. So, he is what Bourne is heading toward for the whole movie, and really, for the whole three films. Hes going back to where he began. Going home is a fundamental theme of this movie, agrees Greengrass. Jason Bourne must go back to America. Check out IESB's seven film clips and three featurettes from The Bourne Ultimatum by clicking on the links below! Landy takes control of war room Bourne & Nicky speak at the cafe Featurette: Shooting in New York City Featurette: Shooting in Tangiers The Bourne Ultimatum comes home August 3rd! {zoomcat catid=302}
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email This
Comments (0)
 Write comment
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form