The film stars Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer and—just
announced—Stanley Tucci and Chris Rock
BURBANK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/roalddahl?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#roalddahllt;/agt;–Principal photography has begun on “The Witches,” a fantastical
adventure from Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump”),
starring Oscar winners Anne Hathaway (“Les Misérables,” “Ocean’s 8”) and
Octavia Spencer (“The Help,” “The Shape of Water”), Oscar nominee
Stanley Tucci (“The Hunger Games” films, “The Lovely Bones”), and
award-winning comedy legend Chris Rock. Newcomer Jahzir Kadeem Bruno
(TV’s “Atlanta”) also stars, alongside Codie-Lei Eastick.
Reimagining Dahl’s beloved story for a modern audience, Zemeckis’s
visually innovative “The Witches” tells the darkly humorous and
heartwarming tale of a young orphaned boy (Bruno) who, in late 1967,
goes to live with his loving Grandma (Spencer) in the rural Alabama town
of Demopolis. The boy and his grandmother come across some deceptively
glamorous but thoroughly diabolical witches, so Grandma wisely whisks
our young hero away to an opulent seaside resort. Regrettably, they
arrive at precisely the same time that the world’s Grand High Witch
(Hathaway) has gathered her fellow cronies from around the
globe—undercover—to carry out her nefarious plans.
The screenplay is by Guillermo del Toro and Robert Zemeckis & Kenya
Barris (upcoming “Shaft”), based on the book by Roald Dahl. Zemeckis
also produces, alongside Jack Rapke, Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron
and Luke Kelly. Serving as executive producers on the film are Michael
Siegel, Gideon Simeloff, Marianne Jenkins and Jackie Levine.
Zemeckis’s behind-the-scenes team includes a roster of his frequent
collaborators, including Oscar-nominated director of photography Don
Burgess (“Forrest Gump”), production designer Gary Freeman, Editor
Jeremiah O’Driscoll, and Oscar-nominated costume designer Joanna
Johnston (“Allied,” “Lincoln”).
An Image Movers Production, a Necropia/Experanto Filmoj Production, “The
Witches” is filming at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in the UK. It is
currently scheduled for theatrical release October 16, 2020 and will be
distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Contacts
Courtney Young
(818) 954-2661
[email protected]
