BFG: Film

***The BFG*** is an upcoming 2016 American family fantasy adventure film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg and written byMelissa Mathison, based on the novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film stars Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton,Rebecca Hall, Bill Hader and Jemaine Clement. Principal photography on the film began on March 23, 2015. The film will be co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, and Walden Media, and is scheduled to be released in the Disney Digital 3-D and RealD 3D formats on July 1, 2016.

## Contents

 [hide]

* 1Premise
* 2Cast
* 3Production
	+ 3.1Casting
	+ 3.2Filming
* 4Release
* 5Notes
* 6References
* 7External links

## Premise[edit]

Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) befriends a giant named the BFG (Mark Rylance) as they set out on an adventure to capture the evil, man-eating giants who have been invading the human world.

## Cast[edit]

* Mark Rylance as The BFG[1]
* Ruby Barnhill as Sophie[2]
* Penelope Wilton as The Queen of the United Kingdom[3]
* Rebecca Hall as Mary[3]
* Bill Hader as The Bloodbottler[4]
* Jemaine Clement as The Fleshlumpeater[3]
* Michael David Adamthwaite[3]
* Daniel Bacon[3]
* Chris Gibbs[3]
* Adam Godley[3]
* Jonathan Holmes[3]
* Paul Moinz de Sa[3]
* Ólafur Ólafsson[3]

## Production[edit]

Producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy began development for a big budget adaptation of *The BFG* in 1991, and set the project up with Paramount Pictures.[5] Husband and wife screenwriters Robin Swicord and Nicholas Kazan wrote a screenplay adaptation in 1998, with Robin Williams in mind for the title role.[6] By 2001, the script had been rewritten by Gwyn Lurie, which was greeted with positive feedback from the Dahl estate.[7]

In September 2011, DreamWorks announced that they had picked up the film rights to the book; Kennedy and Marshall are slated to produce, and screenwriter Melissa Mathison will adapt the story.[8] In April 2014, it was announced that Steven Spielberg would direct the film, shooting in 2015 with DreamWorks eyeing a 2016 release.[9] John Madden had previously been slated to direct, but is now credited as an executive producer along with Michael Siegel.[10] Spielberg stated, "*The BFG* has enchanted families and their children for more than three decades. We are honoured that the Roald Dahl estate has entrusted us with this classic story."[11] In March 2015, Walden Media agreed to co-finance and co-produce the film.[12] Sam Mercer would also be producing the film.[4] In April 2015, Walt Disney Studios—which was already under agreement to distribute the film through its Touchstone Pictures banner—joined the production as a co-producer and co-financier, and switched the film from a Touchstone release to a Walt Disney Pictures release instead.[13] Consequently,*The BFG* is the first Disney-branded film directed by Spielberg; though he has previously produced several films for the studio.[14] Additionally, DreamWorks will not receive a marquee credit in the film nor marketing, and instead will be represented by Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment production company.[15]

### Casting[edit]

On October 27, 2014, Mark Rylance was cast in the title role of the film.[1] Spielberg was quoted as saying of him that "Mark Rylance is a transformational actor. I am excited and thrilled that Mark will be making this journey with us to Giant Country. Everything about his career so far is about making the courageous choice and I'm honoured he has chosen *The BFG* as his next big screen performance."[16][17] Rylance performed the character through motion capture, a process by which he referred to as "liberating".[18] In the mid-November 2014, it was revealed that a ten-year-old student of Lower Peover School, Ruby Barnhill had auditioned for the film where she had to learn six pages of dialogue in preparation for a possible role as orphaned Sophie.[19] After a lengthy search on the role Sophie, on December 16, director cast 10-year-old British actress Ruby Barnhill for the role, on which Barnhill said, "I feel incredibly lucky and I'm so happy." Spielberg stated that they "have discovered a wonderful Sophie in Ruby Barnhill."[2] Bill Hader was set to star in the film for an unspecified role on March 27, 2015.[4] On April 13, 2015, the rest of the cast was announced, which included Penelope Wilton, Rebecca Hall, Jemaine Clement, Michael David Adamthwaite, Daniel Bacon, Chris Gibbs, Adam Godley, Jonathan Holmes, Paul Moniz de Sa, and Ólafur Ólafsson.[3]

### Filming[edit]

Principal photography on the film began on March 23, 2015 in Vancouver[3][20] and concluded on June 12, 2015.[21] Weta Digital will work on the film's visual effects.[22]

## Release[edit]

*The BFG* will be released on July 1, 2016,[23] and distributed worldwide by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, except for territories in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where the film's distribution rights will be sold by Mister Smith Entertainment to independent distributors.[24][13] DreamWorks' financial partner, Reliance Entertainment will release the film in India.Entertainment One will release the film on July 22, 2016 in the UK.[25]