The plot on the verge of absurdity is the hallmark of the movie President Lincoln: The Vampire Hunter. Actors in the project were initially invited quite famous. However, subsequently, almost all eminent candidates refused the proposed roles. Who eventually starred in the action movie of Timur Bekmambetov? And how did the director surprise his audience this time?
A brief plot and the creators of the picture
It seemed that such a topic had already exhausted itself: we know stories about vampire musicians, about bloodsucking villains, about the love between these demons of the night and people. But the screenwriters of the action movie from the company 20th Century Fox distinguished themselves and came up with something completely new and at the same time absurd. They turned the Southern Confederate planters into bloodsuckers, and US President Abraham Lincoln into a vampire hunter.
The project was directed by Timur Bekmambetov , who has been building his career at the Dream Factory for many years. In Russia, Bekmambetov thundered, releasing the vampire-witch dilogy “Night Watch” and “Day Watch” on the screens. Across the ocean, the director successfully coped with the “Especially Dangerous” action, after which he continued to work with 20th Century Fox Corporation.
The President Lincoln project was produced by Tim Burton, a master of gloomy, noir paintings. In the early 90's. he directed the Batman tetralogy as a director. He is also the director of the well-known drama Edward Scissorhands. An unusual film about President Lincoln was released in 2012 and raised $ 116 million at the box office with a budget of 69 million.
The film "President Lincoln: The Vampire Hunter": actors and roles. Benjamin Walker as Lincoln
Benjamin Walker is an American actor who is better known in the States for Broadway and theater productions. He has little experience in cinema: a cameo in the film “Kinsey” and a supporting role in the drama “In the Heart of the Sea”. Burton and Bekmambetov originally planned to take one of the celebrities to the lead role in the movie President Lincoln: The Vampire Hunter. Actors Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant and Adrian Brody received invitations to the project. But they refused to participate in it. Therefore, the role went to Benjamin Walker.
According to the plot of the picture, the Lincoln family lives in the possession of a certain Jack Barts. A conflict occurs between young Abraham and cruel Barts, after which the planter literally bites the mother of the future president. It turns out that Lincoln actually quarreled with the vampire. After this incident, Abraham lights up the idea to eradicate evil, stocks up with anti-vamp weapons and opens the hunt for the head of the clan - a certain Adam.
“President Lincoln: The Vampire Hunter”: actors, photo. Rufus Sewell as Vampire Head
Rufus Sewell began his career in 1991 with filming in English series. The first fame came to him after the release on the big screens of the melodrama Honest Courtesan. The plot of the picture was based on real events taking place in Venice in the 16th century. Rufus played a noble man who fell in love with a Venetian courtesan, in connection with which the film was filled with remarkable passions. Sewell also paired with Heath Ledger in the melodrama History of the Knight, and together with Antonio Banderas in The Legend of Zorro. Recently, the performer is increasingly portraying villains. So in the project "President Lincoln" he got the role of leader of the vampires - Adam.
In the film “President Lincoln: The Vampire Hunter,” actors Walker and Sewell played sworn enemies. First, Lincoln waged a secret battle with the minions of Adam. But then the scriptwriters turned the story as if the American Civil War was actually a war with vampires from the southern states. Taking advantage of the bloodsuckers' vulnerability to silver, the northerners under the leadership of Lincoln destroyed all the detachments of Adam and himself.
Marton Chokash as Jack Barts
Marton Chokash is a New Zealand actor. It was he who was offered the role of the bloodthirsty Jack Barts in the action movie "President Lincoln: The Vampire Hunter." Actors Chokash and Walker, according to the plot, quarreled over a Negro boy. The wealthy planter demanded from the Lincoln family that they immediately pay off all debts and leave his possessions, but Abraham's father refused to do so. Then Barts killed Lincoln's mother, thereby instilling in the heart of the future president hatred of all the bloodsuckers. Marton Chokash can also be seen in the films Noah, The Bourne Supremacy, and Alice in Wonderland.
Other role performers
The cast of President Lincoln: The Vampire Hunter is Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Dominic Cooper, and Anthony Mackie. Winstead, the star of the action movie Die Hard-4 and Die Hard-5, got the role of President Lincoln’s wife. Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger, Agent Carter) appeared in the frame as a vampire who is fighting against his fellow brothers.
Public reaction
How did the public perceive President Lincoln: The Vampire Hunter? Actors and the film crew received their fees and royalties, as the picture paid off at the box office. The opinions of the audience were divided into two camps: some appreciated the original plot move, others considered what they saw was complete nonsense. But they both agreed that the actor Benjamin Walker did not do his job very well, and the main star of the film was the vampire Adam performed by Rufus Sewell. Critics reacted to the new creation of Timur Bekmambetov much tougher. Of all the world reviews, only 35% of the reviews were positive. On the IMDb website, the rating of the film is only 5 points.