In the summer of 2010, the premiere of a new film by John Turteltaub "Apprentice Sorcerer". Actors Nicholas Cage, Alfred Molina and Teresa Palmer performed the main roles in the film.
Production
The film "Sorcerer's Apprentice" was based on the eponymous fragment of the cartoon "Fantasy" directed by James Algar.
Disney Studio announced the start of work on the project in early 2007, but the scripting process was delayed, and the shooting started only in May 2009.
John Turteltaub, known for his adventure films The Treasure of the Nation and The Treasure of the Nation: The Book of Secrets, eagerly set to shooting the science fiction film The Apprentice of the Sorcerer. The actors were approved in April 2009. Nicolas Cage was the first to pass the test and immediately got the role of the wizard Balthazar Blake. On the set of Sorcerer's Apprentice, Nicolas Cage collaborated with John Terteltaub for the third time after Treasure of the Nation 1, 2. In his interview, the actor recalled that he always wanted to immerse himself in a fantasy world by playing a movie of a magician or wizard, and thanks to this film his dream came true.
The young Canadian actor Jay Barushel was chosen to play the role of Dave Statler, a smart, shy guy who inevitably became a student of the magician Balthazar . Prior to this, Jay appeared in several popular films, including “A little pregnant”, “Be my boyfriend for five minutes”, “Night at the Museum - 2”.
The role of Becky Barnes, a girl of Statler, was performed by Australian actress Teresa Palmer.
The main antagonist of the picture, the evil sorcerer Horvath, was played by Alfred Molina.
The small role of Veronica, Balthazar's lover, was played by the Hollywood star Monica Bellucci.
In the film "Sorcerer 's Apprentice," actors Jake Cherry and Peyton Roy List played Jay and Becky in childhood.
Trevor Rebin, a longtime friend of director John Turteltaub, acted as composer. Earlier, Rabin wrote the soundtrack to the films “Treasure of the Nation,” “Witch’s Mountain,” “Rescuer,” “Coach Carter.”
The bulk of the filming took place in New York. The world premiere took place on July 6, 2010.
Plot
Balthazar Blake is a sorcerer who has been protecting the world of people from the forces of evil for many centuries. To defeat his long-time opponent, the evil and powerful magician Horvath, Balthazar will have to enlist the help of Dave, the most ordinary guy who does not believe in magic and does not aspire to be a hero. But only Dave, Merlin's successor, can help Balthazar protect the city from evil sorcerers and their faithful servants, capable of plunging the world of people into darkness and chaos.
Critic reviews
Despite the good cast, the film received mixed reviews from film critics. It was not received as warmly as the previous projects of Terteltabaub. Well-known film critic Roger Ebert gave the film two and a half stars out of four, describing the film “Sorcerer's Apprentice” as follows: “ This film is much more successful than The Elemental Master, but it’s obvious that every weekend brings another well-selling comedy,” which soon evaporates from memory. "
The Hollywood Reporter magazine also spoke not enthusiastically about the film: “The Sorcerer's Apprentice” is an example of a summer movie cliche, ruined by a huge number of screenwriters. ”
Box office
The film "Sorcerer's Apprentice" (the actors or the director were not awarded any movie awards, however, many moviegoers enjoyed watching the new film with the participation of Nicolas Cage) with a budget of 150 million dollars, collected more than 215 million at the box office, of which 18 million for the first weekend, yielding slightly to Christopher Nolan's The Beginning and Pierre Coffin's Despicable Me tapes. In the USA and Canada, "Sorcerer's Apprentice" collected relatively little at the box office - $ 63 million, the bulk of the revenue came from Europe and China.
Although the film did not fail at the box office, box office receipts were much lower than the producers had expected. A low box office put an end to the possible continuation of the picture.