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Babylon A.D.
Teaser poster
Directed by	Mathieu Kassovitz
Produced by	Alain Goldman Mathieu Kassovitz
Written by	Éric Besnard
Starring	Vin Diesel Michelle Yeoh Mélanie Thierry
Music by	Hans Zimmer Atli Orvarsson
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	August 29, 2008
Country	France USA
Budget	$60 million[1]
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Babylon A.D. is a 2008 science fiction film based on the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec. The film is being directed by Mathieu Kassovitz and stars Vin Diesel. Babylon A.D. will be released on August 29, 2008 in the United States.

[edit] Premise

In the near future, Toorop (Vin Diesel) is a mercenary who takes the job of escorting a woman from Russia to Germany. While he thinks this is just an ordinary mission, he gradually finds out that his guest is carrying an organism that has the potential to become the next Messiah — and everybody wants to get their hands on it.

[edit] Cast

• Vin Diesel as Toorop, a mercenary
• Michelle Yeoh as Sister Rebecca, a nun
• Mélanie Thierry as Aurora, a young woman who has been genetically altered
• Lambert Wilson as Dr. Arthur Darquandier

[edit] Production

In June 2005, director Mathieu Kassovitz was contracted to develop an English-language film adaptation of Maurice Georges Dantec's French novel Babylon Babies. The adapted screenplay was written by Kassovitz and screenwriter Éric Besnard. Production was initially slated to begin in February 2006 in Canada and Eastern Europe.^[2] French actor Vincent Cassel was initially sought to be cast in the lead role.^[3] In February 2006, actor Vin Diesel entered negotiations to star in the film, titled Babylon A.D.,^[4] dropping out of the lead role of Hitman in the process.^[5] Production of the futuristic thriller about genetic manipulation was slated to begin in June 2006.^[6] By February 2007, filming was slated to wrap in April to release Babylon A.D. in time for the coming Thanksgiving.^[7] In February, filming took place at Barrandov Studios.^[8] In March 2007, the filming crew, having shot in the Czech Republic, took a two-week hiatus to deal with uncooperative weather, such as the lack of snow, and problems with set construction. Crew members scouted Iceland for locations with snow to shoot six to eight days of footage, which was supposed to be done in February. Filming was also done with the leads Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, and Mélanie Thierry in Ostrava in March.^[1] To develop the film's effects, the French visual effects company BUF Compagnie has been contracted.^[9]

In April 2007, Babylon A.D. was reported to be over-budget and three weeks behind schedule. A skiing sequence meant to be shot in Eastern Europe, but a lack of snow moved the shooting location in Sweden.^[10] Later in the month, actor Lambert Wilson was cast into the film.^[11] Filming was completed in May 2007.^[12]

The music of Babylon A.D. is scored by composers Hans Zimmer and Atli Orvarsson. The musical alliance Achozen, represented by Shavo Odadjian and RZA performed the score for the film. Zimmer described the intended style: "Musically, our objective was to merge the sounds and energies of hip hop with classical music, seamlessly melting them into an unusual soundscape."^[13]

[edit] Release

Babylon A.D. was originally slated to be released in the United States on February 29, 2008, but its release has been postponed to August 29, 2008.^[14]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site at MySpace
• Promo teaser
• Babylon A.D. at the Internet Movie Database
• Michelle Yeoh Web Theatre: Babylon A.D. Detailed information site