Eragon is a 2006 live-action/CGI fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Joss Stone, and the voice of Rachel Weisz as Saphira the dragon.

The film was directed by Stefen Fangmeier, a first-time director, who had previously worked as a visual effects director on Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. The screenplay was written by Peter Buchman, who is best known for Jurassic Park III. Principal photography took place at the Mafilm Fót Studios in Hungary, starting on August 1, 2005. Special visual effects and animation were by Weta Digital and Industrial Light & Magic.

Eragon was released worldwide between December 13 and December 15, 2006 by 20th Century Fox. It was the 10th worst reviewed film of 2006 on Rotten Tomatoes, and the 31st highest grossing film of 2006 in the US. A DVD and Blu-ray of the film was released March 20, 2007.

Synopsis

Eragon is a teenage farm boy who lives in a small village named Carvahall in the fictional and magical world of Alagaësia that contains dragons and other such creatures. While hunting, he finds a dragon egg that is the size of a small cat. From the egg hatches a blue dragon named Saphira. Eragon decides to keep Saphira a secret, but a pair of magical creatures are sent by the King of Alagaesia, Galbatorix, to find Eragon and the dragon. He flees home to find his uncle dead and so sets out on a journey to avenge his Uncle. Accompanied by a wise storyteller named Brom, Eragon and Saphira take up the legacy of legendary Dragon Riders. He learns magic, swordfighting, and dragon-riding to fulfill the legend of the dragon riders and his destiny.

Cast

• Edward Speleers as Eragon
• Jeremy Irons as Brom
• Sienna Guillory as Arya
• Robert Carlyle as Durza
• John Malkovich as Galbatorix
• Garrett Hedlund as Murtagh
• Rachel Weisz as the voice of Saphira
• Alun Armstrong as Garrow
• Chris Egan as Roran
• Djimon Hounsou as Ajihad
• Caroline Chikezie as Nasuada
• Joss Stone as Angela
• Steven Spiers as Sloan
• Gary Lewis as Hrothgar

Production

Pre-production

Plans to create a movie based on Christopher Paolini's best-selling novel were first announced in February, 2004. 20th Century Fox purchased the rights to Eragon. Screenwriter Peter Buchman, whose credits included Jurassic Park III, wrote the screenplay. Buchman, a fan of fantasy and science fiction literature and films, says he was "blown away" by the author’s precociousness, his mastery of plot lines and characters, and his ability to create several completely imaginary worlds.

It was Buchman's script that drew the attention of Stefen Fangmeier. "I found it to be an exciting read," said the director. "With the book’s fantastical aspects, people would look at me in terms of the visual effects requirements. However, my first reaction to the material was that it was a great story that had an emotional arc."

Casting

Edward Speleers was selected for the title role after a worldwide casting search. "Ed came in [to the casting session], and we just looked at each other and said, "That’s Eragon, that’s the guy from the book," said director Stefen Fangmeier: “I got a strong sense of Ed’s sparkle, of his life. It’s the kind of thing where you just know he’s destined to become a movie star. Speleers won the role as he was trying to learn his lines for a school production of Hamlet. Others considered for the role included Alex Pettyfer but since production took place in the Czech Republic and Pettyfer is afraid of flying, he declined the role.

On July 15, 2005, in an official press release from 20th Century Fox, it was confirmed that Speleers had signed on to the project. Over the following months, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Chris Egan and Djimon Hounsou were all confirmed as joining the Eragon cast. Paolini, author of the original novel, had expressed his wishes to be featured in a cameo role in the film - specifically, as a warrior who is beheaded in the battle of Farthen Dûr. However, he was unable because of his European book tour.

Jeremy Irons, who welcomed the opportunity to reintroduce himself to younger audiences, took on the role despite the fact that Dungeons and Dragons (a previous fantasy film he had acted in) had flopped, and he said that he thought that Eragon "had been better managed" than that film.

Filming

In August, 2005, Fox began filming Eragon at various locations throughout Hungary and Slovakia, including:

• Budapest, Hungary
• Ság-hegy, Hungary
• Celldömölk, Hungary
• High Tatras, Slovakia

Filming ended a month later in September, beginning the film's post-production state, with Industrial Light and Magic creating the film's CGI.

In other media

Soundtrack

The score for the movie was composed by Patrick Doyle who also did the score of 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Avril Lavigne also recorded the theme song for the film, entitled "Keep Holding On," which was featured in the credits and on the soundtrack. The track was released as a single (and later as track 12 on The Best Damn Thing) and reached 17 on Billboard Hot 100 singles charts in America.

Track listing

1. "Eragon"
2. "Roran Leaves"
3. "Saphira's First Flight"
4. "Ra'zac"
5. "Burning Farm"
6. "Fortune Teller"
7. "If You Were Flying"
8. "Brom's Story"
9. "Durza"
10. "Passing The Flame"
11. "Battle For Varden"
12. "Together"
13. "Saphira Returns"
14. "Legend Of Eragon"
15. "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne
16. "Once In Every Lifetime" by Jem

Video game

The video game based on the motion picture was developed by Stormfront Studios and Amaze Entertainment and was released in November 2006.

Reception

The film received predominantly negative reviews, garnering a 16% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes: the 10th worst of 2006. The Seattle Times described the film as "technically accomplished but fairly lifeless and at times a bit silly". The Hollywood Reporter said the world of Eragon was "without much texture or depth. The story was labelled "derivative" by The Washington Post, and "generic" by the Las Vegas Weekly. Newsday stressed this point further, asserting that only "nine-year-olds with no knowledge whatsoever of any of the six Star Wars movies" would find the film original. The acting was called "lame" by the Washington Post, plus "stilted" and "lifeless" by the Orlando Weekly. The dialogue was also criticized: MSNBC labelled it "silly"; the Las Vegas Weekly called it "wooden."

Positive reviews described the film as "fun and "the stuff boys' fantasies are made of. The CGI work was called "imaginative" and Saphira was called a "magnificent creation. Christopher Paolini stated he enjoyed the film, particularly praising the performances of Jeremy Irons and Edward Speleers.

Box office

Eragon grossed approximately $75 million in the US and $173.9 million elsewhere, totalling $249 million worldwide. Films need to gross roughly twice their production and distribution costs to break even: Eragon, which had a production budget of $100 million and distribution costs of an estimated $30 million, did not reach this threshold. Director Stefan Fangmeier believes that Fox were "modestly happy with the worldwide box office. Eragon is the 13th highest grossing fantasy-live action film within the United States; 21st when adjusted for inflation. It is the highest grossing film with a dragon at its focal point, and the second highest grossing film of the sword and sorcery subgenre. Adjusted for inflation it falls to eighth place behind such films as Willow, Dragonheart, The Dark Crystal and Conan the Barbarian.

Eragon was in release for 17 weeks in the US, opening on December 15, 2006 and closing on April 8, 2007. It opened in 3020 theaters, earning $8.7 million on opening day and $23.2 million across opening weekend, ranked 2nd behind The Pursuit of Happyness. Eragon's second weekend US box office dropped by almost 70%, possibly due to the opening of Night at the Museum, another family film from 20th Century Fox, the 41st biggest second weekend drop since this statistic was kept. Eragon’s $75 million total US gross was the 31st highest for 2006.

The film earned $150 million in its opening weekend across 76 overseas markets, making it the #1 film worldwide. This was attributed to the sheer scope of Eragon's global launch as the film ranked number 1 in less than half of the overseas territories it was released in. The foreign box office competition for the film’s opening week was “soft;” had Eragon been released one year earlier, it would have been placed fourth. Eragon’s UK opening was “a disappointment,” in Australia it was “solid if unimpressive,” but its most impressive market was France, where the film earned more than $21 million. The film’s $249 million total worldwide gross was the 16th highest for 2006. Eragon grossed $86,995,160 on DVD from 3/20/2007-5/13/2007 .

Nominations

• Saturn Awards (2007)

*Nominated: Best Fantasy Film

*Nominated: Best Performance by a Younger Actor - Edward Speleers

• CDG Award (Costume Designers Guild) (2007)

*Nominated: Excellence in Costume Design for Film (Fantasy) - Kym Barrett

DVD

Eragon was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the USA on March 20, 2007. It debuted at number 1 on the national DVD sales charts and at number 3 on the DVD rental charts. It grossed more than US$35.2 million in rentals. It was released on DVD in Europe on April 16, 2007 and in Australia on April 18, 2007. The film’s $249 million total worldwide gross was the 16th highest for 2006.[40] Eragon grossed $86,995,160 on DVD from 3/20/2007-5/13/2007 .[41]

On April 30, 2007, Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy, of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame, released a humorous and mocking commentary for Eragon as part of their RiffTrax service.

References

External links

• Official website