2 Guns and Contraband director Baltasar Kormákur took us behind-the-scenes of his upcoming biographical thriller a couple of weeks ago, detailing the trials and tribulations faced by the cast and crew as they shot on location in Nepal and the Alps. Combining real-world shoots with work in the UK’s famed Pinewood Studios, Everest is gunning for a strikingly realistic depiction of the 1996 mountaineering disaster, which proved to be one of the deadliest years in the mountain’s history.
Over the past two decades or so, the calamitous event has inspired many works of fiction and non-fiction, though Kormákur will primarily be concerned with Jon Krakauer’s best-selling, non-fiction novel Into Thin Air, which Everest draws inspiration from. With such an unflinching commitment to capturing the fear, isolation and near-unbearable environment of the world’s highest peak, the director’s latest almost demands to be seen on the biggest IMAX screen possible, and today’s breathless trailer only drives that point home.
Starring a weathered crew that is soon pushed to the brink, Everest will bring together a star-studded cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke, Robin Wright, Martin Henderson, Emily Watson, Michael Kelly and Thomas M. Wright.
Baltasar Kormákur will chart the incredible events that occurred during the ’96 mountaineering disaster when Everest makes its way to theaters on September 18 in in 2D, 3D and 3D IMAX. Will the director’s latest be one to keep an eye on come Oscar season? Time will tell.
Inspired by the incredible events surrounding an attempt to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, Everest documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival.