Silence (2016 film)

Silence
Directed by	Martin Scorsese
Produced by	Martin Scorsese Gaston Pavlovich Vittorio Cecchi Gori Barbara De Fina Randall Emmett Emma Tillinger Koskoff Irwin Winkler
Screenplay by	Jay Cocks
Based on	Silence by Shūsaku Endō
Starring	Andrew Garfield Adam Driver Liam Neeson
Cinematography	Rodrigo Prieto
Edited by	Thelma Schoonmaker
Production company	Cappa Defina Productions Cecchi Gori Pictures Corsan Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films Sikelia Productions AI-Film Fábrica de Cine SharpSword Films Appian Way Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	November 2016 (2016-11)
Country	United States
Language	English Japanese
Budget	$51 million

Silence is an upcoming 2016 American historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, based upon the novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, and Ciarán Hinds. It is anticipated to be released in 2016.

Premise

Two Jesuit Portuguese Catholic priests face violent persecution when they travel to Japan to seek out their mentor and spread the teachings of Christianity.

Cast

• Andrew Garfield as Father Sebastião Rodrigues
• Adam Driver as Father Francisco Garrpe
• Liam Neeson as Father Cristóvão Ferreira
• Tadanobu Asano as an interpreter for the priests
• Ciarán Hinds as Father Valignano
• Shinya Tsukamoto as Mokichi
• Yōsuke Kubozuka as Kichijiro
• Issey Ogata as Inoue
• Diego Calderón as Tortured Priest

Production

The film is considered a "passion project" of Scorsese's, and has been in development since 1991. In 2009, it began coming together, with Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio del Toro and Gael García Bernal in negotiations to star. Silence then entered a state of hiatus, with Scorsese deciding to work on Shutter Island and Hugo instead. In 2010, del Toro somewhat distanced himself from the project during promotion for The Wolfman, stating, "It would be a dream to work with Scorsese. Silence, the film we were going to do, has been pushed back but that's definitely something that I'm really looking forward to".

In December 2011, Scorsese stated that Silence would be his next film. He also cast uncertainty on the involvements of Day-Lewis, del Toro and Bernal.

In January 2012, Scorsese discussed the possibility of utilizing 3D for both Silence and a potential Frank Sinatra biopic he was attached to.

In March, though he had originally put it on the back burner and dropped out, Scorsese opted to direct The Wolf of Wall Street ahead of Silence. However, at the time, Scorsese's publicist stated that Silence would come first.

In May, the film picked up another producer in Cecchi Gori Pictures, which placed the project first on its slate of upcoming films.

In August 2012, Cecchi Gori Pictures sued Scorsese over an alleged breach of contract agreements related to Silence. According to the company, Scorsese agreed in 1990 to direct Silence after finishing Kundun. However, in 2004 and 2011, Scorsese had supposedly signed deals to postpone the film in order to direct The Departed, Shutter Island and Hugo. Cecchi Gori Pictures stated that Scorsese agreed to pay, "substantial compensation and other valuable benefits," in order to direct those three films. The company said that the fees were, "$1 million to $1.5 million per film plus up to 20 percent of Scorsese's backend compensation." The complaint was centered around the company's allegation that Scorsese had failed to pay the fees agreed upon for Hugo, and that he breached the terms of the contract by filming The Wolf of Wall Street ahead of Silence. Scorsese, via his representatives, stated that, "The claims asserted are completely contradicted by, inconsistent with, and contrary to the express terms of an agreement entered into by the parties last year." He also denounced the lawsuit as a "media stunt" and a "meritless action".

In April 2013, Scorsese stated he would begin production on Silence in 2014, after a reputed 23-year wait. Randall Emmett and George Furla were announced to produce through Emmett/Furla Films the same day. It was announced that the film would be shot in Taiwan.

In May 2013, Andrew Garfield and Ken Watanabe joined the cast. Garfield was cast as Father Rodrigues, one of the Jesuit priests, and Watanabe as the priests' translator. Garfield lost 40 pounds for the role. Scorsese brokered several distribution deals when he attended the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. During this period, Brandt Andersen also became a producer on the project. In January 2014, Adam Driver and Liam Neeson joined the film, with Driver as Father Francisco Garrpe, the second Jesuit priest, and Neeson as the priests' mentor, Father Cristóvão Ferreira. By February 2014, Scorsese had begun scouting locations in Taiwan, with filming set for the summer. Producer Irwin Winkler stated the choice to film in Taipei was due to costs. "It was very, very expensive, and it was budgeted, because it takes place in 1670 in Japan. We got lucky and found out about Taipei, and in and around Taipei and Taiwan, we found great, great locations. The prices were very cheap, and we were able to make it for a price". He also stated that due to this, many of the crew including himself, Driver, Neeson and Scorsese worked "for scale"; "And all the actors, Liam Neeson, Adam Driver, everybody worked for scale. Marty worked for scale, I worked for under scale. [Laughs] We gave back money".

In July 2014, Paramount Pictures acquired distribution rights and eyed a late 2015 release. In November 2014, Howard Shore was confirmed as the film's composer, and a release date of November 2015 was tentatively announced.

In January 2015, Watanabe was forced to leave the project due to scheduling issues and was replaced by Tadanobu Asano. Principal photography officially began on January 30, 2015.

On January 28, 2015, the production experienced an accident at Taiwan's CMPC Studios. According to a spokesperson for the film, "An existing structure on the CMPC backlot had been deemed unsafe by the production, and accordingly a 3rd-party contractor was hired to reinforce and make it safe prior to any production-related work commencing in this building. Sadly, during this process, the ceiling collapsed, resulting in the death of one of the contractor’s employees and injuries to two others."

In May 2015, principal photography was completed. Discussing the film in March 2016, Winkler revealed the film was in the editing process and that the film would release "at the end of the year", confirming a 2016 release date.

External links

• Silence at IMDb