As early as 2005, employees of one of the leading independent film companies, Screen Gems, acquired the script of the film playwright-debutant Corey Goodman, which Andrew Douglas was planning to implement, and it was supposed to star Gerard Butler in the main role. But due to some circumstances, the production of the film “Shepherd” was started only in 2009. The director's chair was taken by Scott Charles Stewart. And although filming began even before the release of “The Legion”, the new project of Stuart “Shepherd” (film, 2011, leading actors: P. Bettany, K. Urban, K. Gigandet, M. Kew, L. Collins) It turned out to a certain extent secondary to the previous production.
Exploiting fashionable themes
The efforts of the creators were highly appreciated only by fans of manhwi - Korean comics, since the picture was shot based on the eponymous series of Hyun Min-woo. The director, counting on the favor of lovers of graphic novels, gives them a surprise at the very beginning of the film. The cartoon prologue can claim the title of an independent original work that evokes a wide range of associations - from the Tarantinean “Kill Bill” to the anime tape “Vampire Hunter Dee”. But the Shepherd himself, whose actors and roles were selected with an eye on the type and with the personal participation of the director, in the general cinematic context is perceived as not too inventive, exploiting vampire themes that do not give up their positions.
Plot
Post-apocalyptic future. The remnants of human civilization after a long war with vampires are concentrated in cities surrounded on all sides by the wasteland. Among the desert, there are separate human settlements and countless vampire reservations. The church rules the world. The once-demanded order of “shepherds” - vampire hunters - fell into decay, but ex-warriors all continue to obey the orders of the clergy and Monsignor Orelas (Christopher Plummer).
Once vampires abduct a niece of one of the shepherds (actor Paul Bettany), he goes against the will of the church and, despite the ban, goes in search of an unhappy girl (Lily Collins). The lovers of the abducted (Cam Gigandet) and the shepherd woman (Maggie Cue) begs to help him. This is a brief description of the plot line of the fantastic thriller "Shepherd". The actors involved in the project demonstrated their professionalism, embodying the creators' idea.
Warrior god
The main distinguishing feature of the Stuart project are the actors of the film "Shepherd", among which Paul Bettany clearly stands out. The director has found a common language with this actor since the time of the filming of The Legion, a more convincing Shepherd - a warrior of God with a cross on his forehead and outstanding military skills - one can hardly imagine. Unfortunately, an English actor with amazing reincarnation abilities is noticeably repeated. Paul Bettany just might stop so as not to stigmatize herself as a Christian warrior. The albino monk in the Da Vinci Code, the archangel Michael in the Legion, and here is the Shepherd. Actors often become hostages of one image, fortunately, this fate of Bettany has passed. After participating in this project, he starred in multi-genre films, trying himself in various roles: “Origin”, “Risk Limit”, “Avengers”, “Blood”, “Excellence”.
Antagonists
The main opponent of the Shepherd - a super vampire named Black Hat - was played by the charismatic Karl Urban. This brutal New Zealand film and television actor is known to a wide audience as the performer of the role of Judge Dredd in the new British film project “Judge Dredd 3D”, Eomer in the epic “The Lord of the Rings”, Dr. McCoy in “Star Trek” and Caesar in the series “Xena - Warrior Queen ".
Among the negative characters, in addition to countless frightening computer ghouls, it is worth including the head of the Orelas church. Since the hero, in an attempt to maintain power, does not care much about the welfare of mankind, hiding from the public new attacks and atrocities of vampires. The Canadian actor Christopher Plummer reincarnated in Orelas, who gained worldwide fame after participating in the following films: “The Return of the Pink Panther”, “Sounds of Music”, “Mind Games”, “12 Monkeys”, “Treasure of the Nation”, “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” , The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus and, of course, The Shepherd. Acting colleagues on the workshop were happy to work on the same site with the master of the world film industry.
Acting Ensemble
In addition to the above, the film “Shepherd” adorned with their presence the actors:
- Cam Gigandet, debuting on the television series CSI Crime Scene. After participating in many television films ("Young and the Bold", "Lonely Hearts", "Jack and Bobby"), the actor took a creative break, returning to the big movie in 2007. His filmography is quite diverse and contains multi-genre paintings: “Never Give Up”, “Twilight”, “Burlesque”.
- Anglo-American model and actress Lily Collins began her creative career at the age of two on the BBC television program. Appeared in two episodes of "90210: The New Generation", played in several action-packed films: "The Invisible Side", "Chase". Collins gained fame after starring in the films Snow White: Revenge of the Dwarves and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.
- Model and actress of Vietnamese descent Maggie Kew began her career in Hong Kong, where she was noticed and taken under her protection by Jackie Chan. The actress repeatedly starred with her mentor (Rush Hour 2, Midnight in Manhattan). Kew gained popularity after participating in the Mission Impossible 3 project with Tom Cruise.