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Screenwriter's Series: Alex Garland

Tyler Harlow

The Screenwriters Series will examine the filmography of a screenwriter with the hope of finding out what helped them break into the industry or continue to find success. "Story By" credits will not be used: only films with official WGA Screenplay credit per IMDb will be used. This includes screenplays with multiple writers that may or may not have collaborated.


THIS MONTH'S SCREENWRITER: Alex Garland

Shortly after 28 Days Later... was released in theaters, so was the film adaptation of Garland's second novel The Tessaract which was directed by Oxide Chun Pang and starred Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Saskia Reeves. After the success of their first collaboration, Garland teamed up with Danny Boyle again for his sophomore effort. He was also payed $1 Million to write a script for the film adaptation of the popular video game franchise Halo.

MOVIE: Sunshine (2007)

Starring:

Cillian Murphy as Robert Capa

Michelle Yeoh as Corazon

Chris Evans as Mace

Cliff Curtis as Searle

Rose Byrne as Cassie

Hiroyuki Sanada as Kaneda

Benedict Wong as Trey

Troy Garity as Harvey

Mark Strong as Pinbacker


Director: Danny Boyle


Budget: $40 Million


Box Office:

Opened: $242,964

Final: $3.6M

Plot:

Our sun is dying. The eight person crew of the Icarus II is completing a mission armed with a payload that will be detonated within the sun to reignite it. After they come across a distress signal from the Icarus I, the failed first mission, they alter course to save any crew who might still be alive and acquire a second payload. This decision, along with what they find on the Icarus I, threatens not only their mission but the rest of humanity.

The Script:

The script is largely translated to the big screen, however this time with some more noticeable differences than his script for 28 Days Later. While nothing that happens to the character changes, Kaneda's character's name in the script is Asher. The ethnicity was changed to reflect the diversity on actual international space missions. There was a romantic subplot, complete with a sex scene, between Capa and Cassie that Boyle chose to abandon due to him finding the notion of romance in space to be ridiculous. This was the right decision and is mostly left to glances between Murphy and Byrne. Mace, who is much more likable in the film than the script, has a different death scene in the script. In the script, he dies in an explosion but in the film he freezes to death.


If you equate a script page to a minute of screen time, the script is about 20 minutes longer than the film itself. Kaneda's death occurs about 10-15 minutes earlier in the film than the script, likely due to pacing. As economical as Garland was with description in 28 Days Later...,I'm guessing due to it being a science fiction story, he spends a large portion of his description describing the layout of the ship which cuts the pacing, something the film doesn't have to worry about. Also done away with is a somewhat disturbing autopsy done by Searle when they investigate Icarus I, more likely an effort to make him more likable.


Although this was only his second produced screenplay, it's very evident a career in directing was on the horizon for Garland. Whether intentional or not, there are many instances of direction/camera angles written in the scene description.

My Review:

For all its faults, this is still a very engaging and fun blend of science fiction and horror. The visuals, especially those involving the sun, are stunning. It was already an impressive cast for 2007 but the elevated status of Chris Evans and Rose Byrne would have probably upped the casting budget if this were made today.


Garland, especially when teamed with Boyle, loves to put his characters in claustrophobic situations where their humanity is tested and this movie is no exception. The performances across the board are also excellent and the film builds in its tension in each scene.


Pinbacker changes the feel and trajectory of the film quite considerably. I think when the film originally came out, his heavy inclusion in the third act caught a lot of people off guard when he pushed the film into more horror territory. I have never had a problem with his inclusion and he adds a direct threat to the crew finishing its mission. That being said, I don't enjoy this part of the film as much as I enjoy what led to it.


Critical reception:

76% on Rotten Tomatoes

While the film did receive some specialty awards nominations, none were for Garland's script.

Trivia:

Garland wrote the film as a love letter to psychological science fiction as well as atheism and "meeting God". Boyle did downplay these themes that featured heavily in Garland's script (although not the version I read) to help the film find an audience. Due to this, Garland and Boyle have different interpretations of the film that amazingly didn't affect the final product.


Up Next: Never Let Me Go (2010)

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