North Pole (film)

North Pole is a 2023 American Christmas epic dark fantasy war film directed by Bill Condon and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, inspired by the First World War. It is the first installment in the North Pole film series and was produced by David Heyman. Set in 1915, the film is narrated under the voice of different elves, who recount the sequence of events in the first months of a great war between the forces of North Pole and the evil demonion of Krampus. The film's screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy, who conceived the idea of ​​the project and its respective follow-ups. The film stars François Arnaud, Patrick J. Adams and James Allodi with Elisha Cuthbert appearing in supporting roles

Initial development began in 2011, inspired first by the Syrian Civil War events, Beauoy pitched the idea to Legendary Entertainment but was turned down. In October 2020, a epic war untitled film was announced by Warner Bros., Beaufoy hired to written as creative head. Arnaud was signed as the main protagonist in June 2021 and the rest of the cast was announced from August to November 2021 and May 2022. Bill Condon signed on to direct in January 2022. Production contracts were only secured for the first film, relying on its success before a sequel would be greenlit. Principal photography began on October 29, 2022 with filming taking place in primarily at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in England, Canadá, and France before finishing on February 7, 2023. Alan Menken will compose the score, marking his second collaboration with Condon after Beauty and the Beast (2017).

North Pole premiered at the on November 19, 2023 at the Grand Rex in Paris, France, premiered in Los Angeles on December 9, and was released in the United States on December 15, in 2D, 3D, 4D, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX formats, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was a box-office success grossed over $823.6 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Christmas film of all time and the third-highest-grossing film of 2023. Its opening domestic weekend is the fifth largest for a non-sequel. It was positively received by critics for its screenplay, direction, production values, emotional weight, musical score, special effects and atmosphere as well as his social criticism regarding the excessive use of firearms and received four nominations at the 96th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won forBest Visual Effects.

Plot
In August 1915, during a massive shutdown of North Pole production plants due to a Great "Human" War, a series of attacks by Pruning Souls (creatures of dark energy and plasma) ravage the inhospitable forests of Canada. Mr. S. Claus, and the chancellor of production, declare war against the attackers and give the call to gather "troops" for the protection. A team of tactical allies begins to discuss how to deal with the situation, although S. Claus is confident that they can firmly combat their Opponents once they reach the Canadian Arctic. In the defense line of the Arctic Islands, Mart, a Elf, is recruited, who prepares with his friend, Arl and the 2nd army for an offensive on Igloolik Island. Although the actions are carried out, the Opponents besiege the Canadian boreal forest system and multiple production plants and forts are destroyed or invaded.

Meanwhile, and after days of small confrontations, Mart and his squad began their line of defense on Igloolik Island, which, despite their efforts, ends in defeat for the Allied North front and causes a great retreat. On Somerset Island, Kitikmeot-Fort Ross, where S. Claus and his faithful circle of elves Spirit also fought, the news is heard and although in smaller numbers, the 1st and 4th armies, faced Opponents. Although the battle becomes tiresome, some allies perish in battle and spirits are lowered, the Allies achieved a great win. Thus, the line of defense gives way to Trench Warfare; supporting the great withdrawal, where Mart and Arl were. Despite this and the fact that they took strength on part of the arctic front, in Quebec, Canada, the Opposers formed a perimeter over the Arctic and Greenland, this after months of conflict against Force One allies in Canada. The leader of the opposition, Krampus, was finally revealed as the mind of the conflict, albeit unaware that there are deep flaws in the central battle strategy of its military leadership.

Days later, the Allies and the 2nd Army moved to Baffin Island already dominated by a group of Souls; S. Claus calls on his forces and says that, as warriors for peace, they themselves are the light of hope that they seek so much. This manages to revitalize the low forces of the armies and after this, the allies and Mart start a strong battalion, until the latter and a few other companions manage to break through to No Man's Land, where they finally give victory over the Opposition Nucleus of Baffin and causing a persecution massive towards Qikiqtaaluk Region. Shortly thereafter, on December 25, a triumphal ceremony is held at the newly established Allied Arctic base at Baffin, commemorating the fallen and the loyal victory achieved. Although there is Christmas spirit and hope, Mart, inside, can't help but feel uneasy about the war.

Development
In 2011, Simon Beaufoy conceived the initial idea for the project, a Christmas-themed dark fantasy war film. Initially, he submitted the project to Legendary Entertainment, however it was ultimately rejected and the project stalled. In late 2019, he became interested again and brought the project as a writer-attachment to Warner Bros. and the studio acquired the film rights to "an untitled christmast-war film" in October 2020. In March 2021, Warner Bros. announced that the release of the film was scheduled for a 2023 release. Variety reported in November of the same year that Bill Condon, David Slade, Andrew Adamson, Gary Ross, and other directors were in talks with the studio to direct the film. Bill Condon had previously expressed interest in the project in November, saying that "an old dream of mine is to direct a kind of special war movie and I finally think it's here." Condon's enthusiasm for directing the film earned the respect of Beaufoy, who called Condon and quickly hired him after he outlined part of his vision for the film. He chose to make a detailed presentation and also felt that "this film can be my world" due to his experience directing fantasy films. In January 2022, Condon was officially confirmed to direct the film.

Beaufoy still expected it to be released sometime in the winter 2023 season before being given in June 2022 a release date of December 15, 2023, before filming began in October. The film's title, North Pole, was confirmed in a press release in July 2022. Its plot centered on a 1915 parallel to World War I, where an army led by Santa Claus would face dark forces commanded by the villain Krampus. Online reception was mostly positive, with commenters praising the quirky concept. North Pole included several contributors to Condon's filmography, such as cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler. film editor Virginia Katz and production designer Patrice Vermette. The film was produced by Beaufoy's associate producer, David Heyman, who would produce under his Heyday Films studio, Brian Herbert and David Hoberman.

Writing and desing
Beaufoy opted to change the conceptual aspects of the project before and during the writing process between 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, as he wanted to spend time developing the universe of the film and co-writing it himself along with the selected director. For the treatment of the film, Beaufoy wrote a diary within the abstract universe to define the plot points, that it would be a film, at that time, with overtones of the 60s, although Beaufoy quickly discarded the idea of ​​sticking to one aesthetics more attached to that of the first years of the 21st century, especially the course of the years of the First World War, from which the story would be based. In November 2020, Beaufoy finished a first draft of the script. David Heyman also reiterated that the latest draft covered the World War I-based setting in March 2021 and concluded later in April that they plan to make a sequel, adding that "there's a logical place to stop the [first] movie during the next few years." periods of war" to give coherence to the follow-ups".

Beaufoy chose to develop elements of parallels between the Great War and the film's story, saying, "I'll go back in time and to the images that occurred as epic pieces." He explained this, adding that he "felt he had to make the film with a 'different sensitivity' but recognizable." He later explained that his love for the historical reenactment in North Pole allowed him to focus on his own vision of events. He compared his experience of making the film to historical documentation, describing the process as "going back in time and finding those emotionally mixed images, bringing them back to life and trying to honor them as much as possible." In adapting the events for a contemporary audience, Beaufoy also wanted to reflect on realities that have happened since then related to over-exploitation and the handling of force weapons in society, and considered his script "a call to action for all" about sites on war today (like the Syrian Civil War, which was one of the original inspirations for the film during its conception in 2011) and how it affects everyone around. He tried not to use simplification in many descriptive parts of what war means to the world and also wanted to maintain "a 1910s atmosphere and craftsmanship", therefore, he decided to use characteristics of the Dieselpunk subculture to combine the use of diesel-based locomotion as the main technological focus of Western culture during the interwar period.

For character development, he decided to use aspects of current folklore and culture related to Christmas, appreciating the mythological details surrounding the character of Santa Claus as well as the origins of the Alpine culture of Krampus, using his nature assimilated with Christian demons like a figure of evil darkness; However, it was decided to give less prominence, especially to the character of Santa Claus who took over as a secondary character, for a story focused on the infantry troops within the army lines, since this would give the audience more respect. and prominence of the feeling of what it is to fight on a battlefield. Beaufoy gave them character and used archival material, diaries, and pre-recorded eyewitness commentary about his World War I experience for inspiration. The film also uses many of the related aspects to focus on the development of the protagonist, Arl, a Christmas elf member of an infantry squad. According to Condon, "David was very respectful of his inspiration from the experiences of real people, with real experiences, during the writing of his script. He made some changes, without leaving behind the Post War sentimentality that was framed and beautifully portrayed within the universe of the film".

Filming
Principal photography began on October 29, 2022 at Leavesden Studios, London, with Tobias A. Schliessler serving as cinematographer. The film was shot exclusively in IMAX format with an IMAX-certified Arri Alexa LF camera and an IMAX-certified Alexa Mini LF prototype, equipped with Panavision as well as Arri Alexa 65 cameras, being shot digitally, as Condon wanted to present the film as " biggest" and "most epic". The large-format lenses in the Ultra Vista and H-series lineup, with select scenes seeing the aspect ratio opened up to 1.90:1 on all IMAX screens, and to 1.43:1 on select IMAX screens outfitted with IMAX's dual-laser projection system. The finished footage was transferred to 35mm film stock, then scanned back to 4K, in order to achieve a more film-like look. During filming, and between takes, Condon used an iPod to play different types of music on set to inspire the actors.

Parts of the Igloolik Island offensive, such as the shots of Gurney, the extras and the practical explosions, which were approximately three miles high, were filmed on back sets in France. It was also shot at Pinewood Studios and in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales for various aerial or ground background shots of the scenes in which the characters run, which were filmed with the use of the Edge Arm, a stabilized camera that was attached to a crane, which was mounted on a truck that he drove alongside the actors. Filming also took place in different national parks in Canada and on a construction set in Germany starting in December 2021, to simulate the trenches on the front lines. It was filmed over three nights and involved rain machines, lightning simulators, real explosions, and smoke purses to represent the environment. Condon described the opening scene as a "massive action piece". Scenes were also filmed on complete sets where the exterior of the production factories seen in the prologue were built, as well as dirt roads on Hampshire's Hawley Common. Filming wrapped on February 7, 2023. Additional filming took place in Budapest in August 2023. It was not expected to alter the film's December release date.

Visual effects
DNEG contributed to more than 35 visual effects scenes for the film, creating 1,200 visual effects shots out of 1,700, with providers including Wylie Co. and Rodeo FX. Special effects artist Neal Scanlan served as the film's creature effects supervisor. Most of which featured hybrid impersonation shots with the lead actors, and depictions of Krampus and other elements, such as evil army creatures or oversized robots in the landscape. Scanlan spent more than eight months at Pinewood Studios working on the green screen and poracic creatures and props before and during filming, with a crew of approximately 35 people. Scanlan's team also produced puppeteer aids, rod puppets, and various prop entities, all created in coordination with Vickery to ensure a consistent result between practical and CGI effects. Motion capture was used in the film to represent Krampus as well as for the keyframed animation done for the previous films. However, some motion capture was done as a form of preview to help Condon.

For the war machines, dubbed "Mecha Xmast War" during production, the VFX team used the helicopter footage and then replaced it with actual mecha models. For this, blue screens were also used. Condon went on to explain that different colored screens were used depending on the foreground and background images, making composition easier. The resulting shots also looked more natural than with other chroma keys. Approximately 18 tons of dust and dirt were used on the set, and the team created the effect of blowing dirt by attaching a V8 engine to a fan on the back of a tractor.

Soulcutters, speed-moving energy creatures were also created through CGI. The visual effects team had a hard time deciding how they would move in the image. The team spent more than a year figuring out air movements and patterns and investigated the body movements of various animals, such as worms and snakes, to help them decide on movement. DNEG's Montreal and Vancouver facilities were used for the Qikiqtaaluk Region invasion sequence which was set in Auyuittuq National Park and shot in Wales. The scene involved the combination of practical and digital effects. The Welsh team's visual effects supervisor, Brian Connor, created a digital spaceport of Arrakeen, while the Vancouver team simulated the explosions. The practical explosions filmed on the Budapest backlots were later enhanced by the VFX team, as the special effects team had a rig of practical lights that shone through the fog of the practical explosions, allowing the VFX team to combine more practical and digital shots easily.

Marketing
North Pole was promoted with an extensive marketing campaign. Vanity Fair published a two-part extensive first-look report on the film by November 23, 2021. A first concept image for the film was revealed during a Warner Bros. presentation at CinemaCon in April 2022, announcing the title and its premise. Released to the public on April 27, 2022, the image showed the figure of Santa Claus in a military uniform sitting in an armored car referencing World War I propaganda with similar depictions of the character. Collider complimented the image, saying, "This photo is just more proof that the North Pole is an amazing and unique concept." The following year at the convention, Warner Bros. screened a teaser trailer for North Pole, which also saw Arnud, Adams and Ellodi performing their roles for the first time and featured a remix of the John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band song "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (1971) combined with Menken's score. Deadline described the trailer: "Think Fantastic Beasts in its era (early 20th century), but much more serialized, epic and melancholy in parts, with just as much fantasy." with Ben Travis of Empire said: "There's much to discuss here—not least, that it looks visually impeccable" and speculated Academy Awards attention for its production and costume design. The trailer was officially released to the public on July 11, 2023 along with a poster teaser and debuted in front of Barbie (2023) preview screenings. The trailer was positively received and went viral on social media, with several netizens making edits to the trailer's images and its featured song on TikTok and Instagram. On Twitter the hastag #NorthPoleXmast also became a trend on July 12, 2023.

Empire 's August 2023 issue's cover story included an in-depth look at the film and interviews with cast and crew, providing additional first looks ahead of the film's trailer release.

Release
North Pole is scheduled to be theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 15, 2023 in both conventional theaters and in IMAX.