Beautiful Creatures (2013 Film)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Beautiful Creatures'' is a 2013 American romantic gothic
fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...
written for the screen and directed by
Richard LaGravenese Richard LaGravenese (; born October 30, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director, known for ''The Fisher King'', ''The Bridges of Madison County (film), The Bridges of Madison County'', and ''Behind the Candelabra''. Personal life LaG ...
. Based on the 2009 novel of the same name by
Kami Garcia Kami Garcia (born March 25, 1972) is an American writer. She is known for writing Young adult literature, young adult fiction and graphic novels for DC Comics. Life She grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, but currently resides in Los Angeles, C ...
and
Margaret Stohl Margaret Stohl (; born 1967) is an American novelist. She is the author of 14 novels, as well as 5 volumes of comics and several video games. She lives in Santa Monica, California. Early life and education Margaret Stohl was born in Pasadena, C ...
, the film stars
Alden Ehrenreich Alden Caleb Ehrenreich (; born November 22, 1989) is an American actor. He began his career by appearing in the television series ''Supernatural'' (2005), and in Francis Ford Coppola's films '' Tetro'' (2009) and '' Twixt'' (2011). Following supp ...
, Alice Englert,
Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, ...
,
Viola Davis Viola Davis ( ; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. List of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis, Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. ''Time (magazine), Time'' named her one of ...
,
Emmy Rossum Emmanuelle Grey Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. The accolades she has received include a Saturn Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award, an Independ ...
,
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
, and
Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...
. It was released in the United States on February 14, 2013 by
Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...
. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed only $60.1 million worldwide against its $60 million budget.


Plot

In Gatlin,
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
, teen Ethan Wate awakens from a recurring dream of a girl he has not met. He despairs of his small-town existence and dreams of leaving for college. On Ethan's first day of junior year, newcomer Lena Duchannes arrives, who resembles the girl in his dreams. Other students gossip about Lena's reclusive uncle Macon Ravenwood, and suggest that the members of her family are devil worshippers. On the way home, Ethan nearly runs her over. Giving her a ride, they bond over interests. In class, a few students insist that they cannot be in class with Lena so pray to be protected from her and her family. Visibly shaken, her class windows shatter, which increases fears and suspicions that she is a witch. Ethan and Lena become friends, and he gives her a locket that he found at Greenbriar. Both touch the locket, which triggers a shared flashback to the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. Macon disapproves of their relationship and conspires with Ethan's family friend Amma to separate them. Lena tells Ethan that she and her family are "casters" (called witches by mortals) and can perform spells. On her 16th birthday, her true nature will reveal itself toward either the light or dark. Complications arise when two powerful dark casters aim to push Lena to the dark: Lena's cousin Ridley and Lena's mother Sarafine, who did not raise her and has possessed the mother of Ethan's friend Link, Mrs. Lincoln. Foreseeing that Lena will become a powerful caster, Sarafine wants Lena to use her power to purge the Earth of mortals and leave just casters. The couple have another flashback of their past with the locket that reveals that their ancestors, the caster Genevieve Duchannes and the mortal Confederate soldier Ethan Carter Wate, were in love. Ethan died in battle, and Genevieve revived him. Doing so laid a curse on all Duchannes women, who will go dark on their 16th birthday. A mortified Lena asks Amma to help since she is a
seer A seer is a person who practices divination. Seer(s) or SEER may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Seer (band), an Austrian music band * Seer (game series), a Chinese video game and cartoon series ** ''Seer'' (film), 2011, based on the ...
and keeper of the caster library, which is beneath the town library and extends across the United States. The most ancient of the books reveals the secret to undoing the curse: a person Lena loves has to die. Unwilling to take Ethan's life, Lena erases his memories of their love. Seducing Link, Ridley gives him a bullet to use in the upcoming Civil War reenactment of the Battle of Honey Hill, which is also on Lena's 16th birthday. Lena feels the shock of the curse being broken, runs to Ethan, and clutches his dying body while Ridley and Sarafine encourage her to accept the dark. She lashes out in anger and sends a huge tornado through the crowd until Ethan's body transforms into Macon, who disguised himself to be the sacrifice to lift the curse. As Macon is dying, he reveals that he promised Ethan's mother to keep her son alive. Those dying words encourage Lena to "claim herself". She causes the moon to disappear so it cannot claim her for the dark. Allowing Ridley to flee, she pulls Sarafine from Mrs. Lincoln's body and powerfully seals away Sarafine's spirit. Six months later, a still- amnesiac Ethan visits Amma in the library before a college tour with Link. Lena gives him a book that they had once shared as a present. She is a half-light/dark caster. As Link and Ethan reach the town line, the town's burned exit sign seems to restore his memories. He gets out of the car and shouts for Lena, who hears his call.


Cast

*
Alden Ehrenreich Alden Caleb Ehrenreich (; born November 22, 1989) is an American actor. He began his career by appearing in the television series ''Supernatural'' (2005), and in Francis Ford Coppola's films '' Tetro'' (2009) and '' Twixt'' (2011). Following supp ...
as Ethan Wate * Alice Englert as Lena Duchannes *
Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, ...
as Macon Melchizedek Ravenwood *
Viola Davis Viola Davis ( ; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. List of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis, Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. ''Time (magazine), Time'' named her one of ...
as Amarie Treadeau, "Amma" *
Emmy Rossum Emmanuelle Grey Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. The accolades she has received include a Saturn Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award, an Independ ...
as Ridley Duchannes *
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
as Wesley Jefferson Lincoln, "Link" *
Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...
as Mavis Lincoln/Sarafine Duchannes *
Margo Martindale Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' ...
as Delphine Duchannes, "Aunt Del" *
Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins (born 15 June 1934) is an English actress. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting ...
as Emmaline Duchannes, "Gramma" *
Zoey Deutch Zoey Francis Chaya Thompson Deutch ( ; born November 10, 1994) is an American actress and producer. The younger daughter of director Howard Deutch and actress-director Lea Thompson, Deutch made her acting debut in television during the early 20 ...
as Emily Asher *
Tiffany Boone Tiffany Boone is an American actress, best known for her roles as Roxy Jones in '' Hunters'', Mandy Lang in the second season of the FOX TV series ''The Following'' and for her supporting roles as Savannah Snow and Mimi in the fantasy film '' B ...
as Savannah Snow * Kyle Gallner as Larkin Kent *
Rachel Brosnahan Rachel Brosnahan (born July 12, 1990) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Midge Maisel, an aspiring stand-up comedian in the Amazon Prime Video period comedy series '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' (2017–2023), for which sh ...
as Genevieve Katherine Duchannes *
Pruitt Taylor Vince Pruitt Taylor Vince (born July 5, 1960) is an American actor. Often classified as a character actor, he made his film debut with a supporting role in '' Angel Heart'' (1987). After supporting roles in the films ''Mississippi Burning'' (1988), ' ...
as Mr. Lee *Robin Skye as Mrs. Hester *Randy Redd as Reverend Stephens * Lance E. Nichols as Mayor Snow *Leslie Castay as Principal Herbert *Sam Gilroy as Ethan Carter Wate *Gwendolyn Mulamba as Mrs. Snow *Cindy Hogan as Mrs. Asher


Production

Alcon Entertainment Alcon Entertainment, LLC is an American indie film and television production company, founded in 1997 by film producers Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. Since its establishment, Alcon Entertainment has developed and financed films that ar ...
purchased the rights to ''Beautiful Creatures'' in 2009, with the director
Richard LaGravenese Richard LaGravenese (; born October 30, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director, known for ''The Fisher King'', ''The Bridges of Madison County (film), The Bridges of Madison County'', and ''Behind the Candelabra''. Personal life LaG ...
signing on soon after to write and direct the movie. Casting began in late 2011, and in February 2012,
Viola Davis Viola Davis ( ; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. List of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis, Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. ''Time (magazine), Time'' named her one of ...
was cast as Amma. Soon after, Jack O'Connell and Alice Englert were announced to play the lead characters of Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes. O'Connell later dropped out because of a scheduling conflict, with
Alden Ehrenreich Alden Caleb Ehrenreich (; born November 22, 1989) is an American actor. He began his career by appearing in the television series ''Supernatural'' (2005), and in Francis Ford Coppola's films '' Tetro'' (2009) and '' Twixt'' (2011). Following supp ...
assuming the role of Ethan. Further casting included
Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...
as Sarafine and Mrs. Lincoln and
Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, ...
as Lena's uncle, Macon Ravenwood. Of the character of Lena, Englert stated that "Lena is like most girls when you feel massively insecure."
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
was originally scheduled to begin 23 April 2012 in New Orleans and it took place, according to LaGravenese, from "I think, April 16th, and then we shot until June 26th, and then post
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...
was for me from July 5th to December 17th."LaGravenese in LaGravenese chose to incorporate practical special effects along with computer-based ones for certain scenes, as
Emmy Rossum Emmanuelle Grey Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. The accolades she has received include a Saturn Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award, an Independ ...
described: " en we walked on to the stage and realized the chandelier does actually move, the chairs did actually spin, the table did actually spin.... it was all very exciting." On 19 September 2012, the first trailer for ''Beautiful Creatures'' was released. Camille Balsamo played Genevieve Katherine Duchannes in a sequence cut from the film; LaGravenese said: The original soundtrack was composed by
thenewno2 Thenewno2 (styled as thenewno2) is an English alternative rock band (music), band from London. Originally composed of Dhani Harrison and Oliver Hecks, with Harrison playing lead guitar and singing singing, lead vocals, and Hecks playing drum ki ...
and released by
WaterTower Music WaterTower Music Inc. (formerly New Line Records from 2000 to 2010) is an American record label serving as the in-house music label run by entertainment company Warner Bros., ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The name and logo are based ...
. Its musical style was referred to as "swamptronic", a term coined by LaGravenese, and it was recorded at Abbey Road. Dhanni Harrison, son of
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
, used some of his father's guitars and equipment in recording the soundtrack.


Distribution


Release

The film's release date was originally scheduled to be on 13 February 2013, but the distributor
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
later pushed the date to 24 February 2013. The film was still released in Sweden on the 13th, a day before the film's North American release date. The film held its official US
premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...
on 11 February 2013, in New York City.


Home media

''Beautiful Creatures'' was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
on 21 May 2013. In its first month in release, the film sold around 428,792 copies in both DVD and Blu-ray formats combined, bringing in a consumer revenue of $7,377,859. As of 16 June 2013, the film has grossed an estimated $10,337,826 in DVD and Blu-ray sales.


Reception


Box office

The film grossed $10,124,912 during its opening weekend, including its Thursday release date, under-performing based on media expectations. While the film was considered to be a flop domestically by grossing only $19,452,138 by the end of its North American domestic theatrical run against a $60 million production budget, it did better internationally, where it has grossed $40,600,000. As of 21 April 2013, the film grossed a worldwide total of $60,052,138, making it a financial loss. It failed to recoup its production budget and other costs, as generally speaking, half of ticket sales proceeds go to theaters. ''Variety'' magazine listed ''Beautiful Creatures'' as one of "Hollywood's biggest box office bombs of 2013".


Critical response

The film has received mixed reviews from critics. It has a 48% rating on review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, based on 183 reviews, with the site's consensus stating: "Charming romantic leads and esteemed supporting cast aside, ''Beautiful Creatures'' is a plodding YA novel adaptation that feels watered down for the ''Twilight'' set". On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film received a score of 52% based on 40 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews.
Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
, in ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'', gave the film a "B−", writing, "''Beautiful Creatures'' is arriving in a market-place full of ''
Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...
'' junkies still eager for their supernatural teen-romantic fix, and the film's concept couldn't be clearer: It's ''Twilight'' with the sexes reversed. This time it's the boy who's the mortal: moody, bookish Ethan, the outsider in his sleepy small town." Gleiberman added that though the film "is lushly pictorial and not-too-badly acted... the audience, like Ethan, spends way too much time waiting around for Lena to learn whether she's a good girl or a bad girl." The film review website ''ScreenRant'' called the film "a choppy and melodramatic experience with very little payoff beyond the central love story. Worse yet, overlooking the usual on-the-nose dialogue about eternal love and sacrifice, this tale of star-crossed sweethearts is especially cheesy and unconvincing – even when compared to similarly heavy-handed young adult novel-turned-movies. Fans of the supernatural romance subgenre will get about what they expect...."
David Denby David Denby (born 1943) is an American journalist. He served as a film critic for ''The New Yorker'' until December 2014. Early life and education Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B.A. from Columbia University in 1965 and a master ...
of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' wrote that the movie "is a classic example of the confusions and the outright blunders that can overtake talented people who commit themselves to a concept driven purely by the movie marketplace.... Alas, the satirical energy and Ethan's bright talk dissipate after a while." He praises a scene from the Civil War flashback which "appears as Ethan and Lena are watching a movie in a local theatre, but only they can see it" as "an interesting idea that I wish LaGravenese had pursued as a parallel narrative. This kind of movie, however, demands not interesting ideas but whooshing spectacle and madly redundant climaxes and a soundtrack filled with thuds and a shouting female chorus." Scott Mendelson of ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' magazine called the film "shockingly good" and encouraged viewers who missed it to check it out on video. CinemaScore audience polls gave the film a B grade. ''Beautiful Creatures'' was featured on episode 187 of the comedy podcast ''
How Did This Get Made? ''How Did This Get Made?'' (''HDTGM'') is a podcast on the Earwolf network. It is hosted by Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas with occasional substitutes and/or guest hosts. Each episode features the deconstruction and mocker ...
''.


Accolades


Canceled sequels

Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment initially purchased the film rights to all four novels in the Caster Chronicles series, with this film being based on the first book. Tentative plans for the next three books to be adapted into films were abandoned following this film's failure at the box office, along with criticism that this film deviated too much from the novel, which would make it difficult to adapt the sequel novels into films. https://www.thewrap.com/beautiful-creatures-release-marketing-fan-following-richard-lagravenese-interview/


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beautiful Creatures 2013 films 2010s romantic fantasy films 2010s teen romance films 3 Arts Entertainment films Alcon Entertainment films American romantic fantasy films American teen romance films Films based on American novels Films directed by Richard LaGravenese Films with screenplays by Richard LaGravenese Films set in South Carolina Films shot in New Orleans Southern Gothic films Summit Entertainment films 2010s teen fantasy films Warner Bros. films Films about witchcraft Films produced by David Valdes Films produced by Erwin Stoff 2010s English-language films 2010s American films Films based on young adult literature English-language romantic fantasy films