“ARRIVAL” – THE NEW FILM FROM ACCLAIMED DIRECTOR OF "SICARIO" DENIS VILLENEUVE

Press release

One of the most highly regarded directors working today in Hollywood, Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario, upcoming Blade Runner 2049) promises to mesmerize audiences once again with Columbia Pictures' provocative science-fiction thriller Arrival.

In the film, a mysterious spacecraft touches down across the globe, and an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) - are brought together to investigate. As humankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers – and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.

Also starring Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker, Arrival is based upon the acclaimed short story by Ted Chiang titled “Story of Your Life.”

“What I love about the short story is that it has a lot of layers,” explains Villeneuve. “One of them that deeply touched me is this idea that someone is in contact with death. What would happen if you know how you will die, when you will die? What will your relationship with life, love, your family and friends, and with your society be? That’s what this beautiful short story was for me—a way to get back into a relationship with death and nature, and the mystery of life.”

Producer Dan Levine says, “What always stood out to me about Denis was he has these visions, or he wakes up with these thoughts, as if things are almost ordained. There’s a certainty to him in the gentlest way that makes you feel so confident with him directing. He’s a master at suspense and tension, but the key component to him is he gets the human component of a script, the deep emotion, the dramatic depth of each character. There’s a deep soul to him. He’s an artist. Every single time I see a film of his, it’s the greatest experience.”

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

“It's a very suspenseful film, there's something about it that's Hitchcockian to me,” says cast member Mark O’Brien, “because we don’t know what's going to happen completely. It's stretched out in that Hitchcock way. Because it's so mysterious and other worldly, audiences are going to be totally gripped to the screen the entire time.”

“I can’t wait to see this movie with an audience,” enthuses Levine, “because the floor will drop out of the theater. People will gasp, because you are so caught up in this story. You think you’re figuring it out and then you realize it’s something else completely, but it works perfectly. It’s a deeply emotional, powerful ending that I can’t wait to experience through other people’s eyes.”

Opening across the Philippines on Dec. 07, Arrival is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.