Denzel Peers into The Book

By ENTAction Staff Writer

US Release Date: 1 / 15 / 10

Rating: R

Thirty years after a global catastphroe, Denzel Washington roams a barren and brutal landscape, which used to be America. He is a peaceful man, but if challenged by the savage gangs that stalk the landscape, he will tear them to pieces without batting an eyelid.

That’s the premise of The Book of Eli – the fifth film from twins Albert and Allen Hughes, the joint directors of titles such as Menace 2 Society, Dead Presidents and From Hell.

'The Book of Eli' takes us to a future that is decimated--whether by war, nuclear or natural disasters, or any combination of events, it doesn't matter. The devastation is total and that allowed us to speculate about how the world would look and how people would manage if the whole grid was wiped out and we were thrown back into a primitive way of life. “

There would be a lot of lawlessness. But, in time, there might be a few brave individuals who would regain a sense of purpose and take up the mantle of leadership."

For the past 30 years, Eli has been carrying and protecting something that provides a ray of hope for the future of mankind. Carnegie (Gary Oldman), the self appointed dicator of a town filled with murderers and thieves, is the only other person who knows what Eli is protecting and is determined to make it his own.

Meanwhile, Eli fascinates Solara, Carnegie’s adopted daughter, for her own reasons.

“A character like Eli, the enigmatic lone warrior, is almost mythical. You know there's a rich back story, but it shouldn't be entirely revealed, and Denzel was conscientious about doing little things that would shed light into his past without spelling it out,” says Allen Hughes. “One of his ideas was for Eli to bear a burn scar on his back as a mark of the catastrophe he has survived. He was very good at painting in those kinds of details that would add to Eli's mystique."

As for the aforementioned Carnegie, he’s a living relic left over from “the time before” and remembers all too well how things used to be.

"Carnegie is essentially a dictator," states Oldman. "He has built this town through violence and through control of a very valuable commodity--fresh water--because he remembers where to find it.”

Carnegie is familiar with the book Eli carries, continues Oldman, because it’s also a part of his own history and childhood.

“He's been looking for it himself for years. These two men have the same obsession over this book, though one is coming from a good place and one from a darker place."

During pre-production, recalls Allen Hughes, Washington – in his role as producer – started fleshing Carnegie’s persona.

“The good guy is only as good as the bad guy is bad. We'd talk about whether or not Carnegie was a true villain or just a man caught in desperate times who does bad things as a means to an end. With Carnegie, things are not black and white, but gray. The remnants of his humanity make him all the more unpredictable."

Source: Warner Bros' Press Notes

The Book of Eli Info:

Studio: Warner Bros

Directors: Albert & Allen Hughes

Stars: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Francis De La Tours and Michael Gambon.

Screenwriter: Gary Whitta

Producer: Joel Silver