Eragon (film)

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Eragon
Theatrical release poster
Directed byStefen Fangmeier
Screenplay byPeter Buchman
Based onEragon
by Christopher Paolini
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyHugh Johnson
Edited by
Music byPatrick Doyle
Production
companies
Distributed by
20th Century Fox
Release date
  • December 15, 2006 (2006-12-15)
Running time
103 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100 million[2]
Box office$250.4 million[2]

Eragon (stylized in all lowercase) is a 2006

Saphira the dragon
. The film also marked the film debuts for Speleers and Stone.

Principal photography took place at the Mafilm Fót Studios in Hungary, starting on August 1, 2005. Visual effects and animation were by

back-to-back.[5]
However, following the poor critical reception of Eragon on its release, and its box-office performance, all the planned sequels were cancelled.

Plot

Galbatorix
. Durza manages to corner Arya, but fortunately, she uses her magic to teleport the stone away moments before she is captured.

Brom
, and Galbatorix himself.

Eragon shelters and feeds the dragon, and he teaches her to fly as she grows to full size. She speaks to him through their thoughts and calls herself

Ra'zac
, arrive at the village to look for the dragon and the rider, killing Garrow. Blaming Saphira for his uncle's death, Eragon sends her away. Brom shows up, takes Eragon away from the village, warns him of Saphira's importance, and urges him to call her back. Eragon calls Saphira with his thoughts, and she comes back, forgiving him for what he previously said.

Brom leads the group to the Varden, rebels who oppose Galbatorix. On the way, Brom fills Eragon in on the knowledge of dragon riders, Galbatorix, Durza, and the Ra'zac. He also trains Eragon in sword-fighting. In a small village, Eragon meets a fortune-telling

Morzan
, a rogue rider who allied with Galbatorix.

Durza sets a trap for Eragon, using Arya as bait. Hearing her telepathic calls, Eragon finds her but is ambushed by Durza. Eragon is outmatched, and Brom arrives to help him, though he gets mortally wounded. The trio escapes, and Brom dies while flying on Saphira. Eragon takes possession of Brom's sword, Zar'roc, which previously belonged to Morzan.

Eragon confronts a hooded figure following them, revealing himself as

Hrothgar
. Eragon and Saphira duel in the skies with Durza. They eventually kill him, but Saphira is heavily injured. Eragon uses magic to heal her before passing out.

The following morning, Eragon awakes with Murtagh and a fully healed Saphira. They catch up with Arya, who is on her way to Ellesméra to lead the elves in the coming war against Galbatorix. They part ways, promising to meet again. Meanwhile, Galbatorix slashes at his hanging map of Alagaësia, revealing his immense pitch-black dragon,

Shruikan
.

Cast

  • Eragon
    , a farmboy who found a mysterious stone and became a dragon rider
  • Brom
    , an elderly vagrant who was once a dragon rider
  • Arya
    , the elven princess of Ellesméra who stole the dragon stone from Galbatorix
  • Durza
    , a powerful shade leading Galbatorix's army
  • Ajihad
    , resistance leader of the Varden
  • Murtagh
    , a roguish archer who was the son of the traitor, Morzan
  • Angela
    , a witch who reads Eragon's fortune
  • Galbatorix
    , the tyrannical king of Alagaësia and the traitor to the dragon riders
  • Saphira
    , Eragon's mount and dragon
  • Garrow
    , Eragon's uncle
  • Roran
    , Eragon's cousin
  • Hrothgar
  • Richard Rifkin as
    Horst
  • Sloan
  • Nasuada
  • Matt Devere as Tall Soldier

Production

Development

Plans to create a film based on

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.[6]

Casting

Leather and metal battle armor crafted by Whitaker Malem for Ed Speleers, who was cast in the lead role as Eragon.

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 central Europe and Pettyfer is afraid of flying, he declined the role.[7]

On July 15, 2005, in an official press release from

Farthen Dûr. However, he was unable because of his European book tour.[8]

Jeremy Irons, who welcomed the opportunity to reintroduce himself to younger audiences, took on the role although Dungeons & 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.[9]

Filming

Farthen Dûr

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

Filming ended a month later in September, beginning the film's post-production stage, with

Industrial Light and Magic creating the film's CGI
.

The decision was made later on in production to add feathers to the standard bat-like wings of the dragon Saphira.[10] The studio had been inspired by the Angel's wings in X-Men: The Last Stand.[11] Jean Bolte, lead viewpaint artist for ILM on the film, calls them "skethers" (half-feathers, half-scales) and was inspired by the scales of the pangolin.[12] It was eventually decided that Saphira's colors scheme should be subdued rather than vibrant to be more realistic.[11]

Music

Eragon: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by
Patrick Doyle
ReleasedDecember 12, 2006 (2006-12-12)
Recorded2005–2006
Length55:24
LabelRCA
ProducerPatrick Doyle, Maggie Rodford
Patrick Doyle chronology
Wah-Wah
(2006) 		Eragon: Music from the Motion Picture
(2006) 		The Last Legion
(2007)
Singles from Eragon soundtrack
  1. "Keep Holding On"
    Released: November 17, 2006

The score for the film was composed by Patrick Doyle. Avril Lavigne recorded the film's theme song, "Keep Holding On", which was featured in the credits and on the soundtrack.[13] The track was released as a single in 2006 and peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[14] It was later included on her 2007 album The Best Damn Thing.

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" – Avril Lavigne
  16. "Once in Every Lifetime" – Jem

Distribution

Video game

Main article: Eragon (video game)

The

Amaze Entertainment
and was released in November 2006.

Home media

Eragon was released

Blu-ray in the US on March 20, 2007. It debuted at number 1 on the national DVD sales charts and at number 3 on the DVD rental charts.[15] It grossed more than US$35.2 million in rentals.[16] It was released on DVD in Europe on April 16, 2007 and in Australia on April 18, 2007. [citation needed
]

Reception

Critical response

Sienna Guillory, who played Arya.

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Eragon holds an approval rating of 16% based on 126 reviews, with an average rating of 4.08/10. The consensus reads "Eragon is a fantasy epic that lacks any magic, brought down to earth by unconvincing world-building and a litany of stars who seem bemused by the material."[17] At Metacritic, the film holds a score of 38 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B" on scale of A+ to F. The Seattle Times described the film as "technically accomplished, but fairly lifeless and at times a bit silly".[18] The Hollywood Reporter said the world of Eragon was "without much texture or depth."[19] The story was labeled "derivative" by The Washington Post,[20] and "generic" by the Las Vegas Weekly.[21] 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."[22]

The acting was called "lame" by the Washington Post,

Saphira was called a "magnificent creation."[27] Christopher Paolini stated he enjoyed the film, particularly praising the performances of Jeremy Irons and Ed Speleers.[28]

Box office

Eragon grossed approximately $75 million in the US and $173.9 million elsewhere, grossing $249 million worldwide.[2] Director Stefen Fangmeier believes that Fox was "modestly happy with the worldwide box office."[29]

Eragon was in release for 17 weeks in the US, opening on December 15, 2006 and closing on April 8, 2007.

20th Century Fox,[31] the 41st biggest second weekend drop since this statistic was kept.[32] Eragon's $75 million total US gross was the 31st highest for 2006.[33]

The film earned $150 million in its opening weekend across 76 overseas markets, making it the number one film worldwide.[34] This was attributed to the sheer scope of Eragon's global launch as the film ranked number 1 in fewer than half of the overseas territories it was released in.[35] The foreign box office competition for the film's opening week was "soft;"[36] had Eragon been released one year earlier, it would have been placed fourth.[37] Eragon's UK opening was "a disappointment,"[35] in Australia it was "solid if unimpressive,"[35] but its most impressive market was France,[38] where the film earned more than $21 million.[39] The film's $249 million total worldwide gross was the 16th highest for 2006.[40] Eragon grossed $86,995,160 on DVD from March 20, 2007 – May 13, 2007.[41]

Accolades

Reboot

Around 2021, 15 years after the film's premiere, fans of the book series tweeted #EragonRemake in an effort to get Disney, the intellectual rights holders following their acquisition of 21st Century Fox, to revamp the book series into a possible television show for Disney+. Within hours, the hashtag began to trend with fans pushing for a proper adaptation. When Paolini found out about this movement, he encouraged the fans to keep at it and even joined it himself.[45]

On July 25, 2022, Variety reported that a live action television series adaptation of Eragon was in early development for Disney+, with Paolini serving as a co-writer on the series, and with Bert Salke executive producing.[46]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Eragon (2006)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Eragon (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  3. ^ "8th Annual Golden Tomatoes Awards". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  4. ^ "2006 Yearly Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  5. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Stefan Fangmeier Creates Fantasy with Eragon". 2007-03-23. Archived from the original on 2007-03-23. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  6. ISBN 9781438146584
    .
  7. ^ Lyall, Sarah (2006-07-20). "He Was a Teenage Spy, Surrounded by Treacherous Adults". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-05-08. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
  8. ^ "More Eragon Stills!". CanMag. 2006-08-15. Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  9. ^ Carnivale, Rob. "Eragon — Jeremy Irons interview". IndieLondon. Archived from the original on 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  10. ^ Moerk, Christian (2006-12-10). "How Does a Dragon Look When It Talks? Ask a Wildebeest". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  11. ^ a b Bielik, Alain (2006-12-13). "Eragon: Conjuring A Compelling CG Dragon". VFXWorld. Animation World Network. Archived from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  12. ^ Robertson, Barbara (2006-12-19). "Beneath the Surface: Eragon's Viewpainter". CGSociety. Archived from the original on 2007-05-22. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
  13. ^ ""Keep Holding On" now playing at radio!". Avril Lavigne. 2006-11-20. Archived from the original on 2007-05-08. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  14. ^ "Artist Chart History — Avril Lavigne". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  15. ^ Arnold, Thomas K. (2007-03-29). "'Eragon' Breathes Fire on Competition". Home Media Magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  16. ^ "Eragon Box Office & Rental Numbers". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  17. ^ "Eragon (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  18. ^ Macdonald, Moira (2006-12-14). "Even preteens aren't slayed by familiar tale". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  19. ^ Honeycutt, Kirk (2006-12-14). "Eragon". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  20. ^ a b Hunter, Stephen. "Eragon". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  21. ^ a b Bell, Josh (2006-12-14). "Lord of the Wings". Las Vegas Weekly. Archived from the original on 2008-01-02. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  22. ^ Seymour, Gene (2006-12-15). "Eragon". Newsday. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  23. ^ Ferguson, Jason (2006-12-14). "Eragon". Orlando Weekly. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  24. Today.com. Archived
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  25. ^ "This Week's Movie Review: Nolan's Pop Culture Review #351". Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  26. ^ "Urban Cinefile ERAGON". Archived from the original on 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  27. ^ Arnold, William (2006-12-14). "All that's missing are the hobbits". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  28. ^ "Shur'tugal.com Movie Viewer". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.
  29. ^ Jacobs, Evans (2007-03-20). "Stefan Fangmeier Creates Fantasy with Eragon". Archived from the original on 2007-03-23. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  30. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for December 15-17, 2006 - Box Office Mojo". Archived from the original on 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  31. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for December 22-24, 2006 - Box Office Mojo". Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  32. ^ "Biggest Second Weekend Drops at the Box Office". Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  33. ^ "2006 Yearly Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo". Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  34. ^ Segers, Frank (2006-12-18). "'Eragon' soars atop o'seas b.o". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  35. ^ a b c "Around the World Roundup: 'Eragon' Claims Top Spot - Box Office Mojo". Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  36. ^ "Movie & TV News @ IMDb.com - Studio Briefing - 27 December 2006". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  37. ^ McNary, Dave (2006-12-26). "'Eragon' brings box office heat abroad". Variety. Archived from the original on 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  38. ^ "Around the World Roundup: 'Night' Reigns for Third Weekend - Box Office Mojo". Archived from the original on 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
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  40. ^ "2006 Yearly Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo". Archived from the original on 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  41. ^ "Eragon (2006) - Financial Information".[permanent dead link]
  42. ^ "Superman Returns Leads the 33rd Annual Saturn Awards with 10 Nominations". MovieWeb. February 21, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  43. ^ "Superman tops Saturns". Variety. May 10, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  44. ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 11, 2007). "Costume Designers Guild sizes up noms". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  45. ^ Hellomynameis99, Jack (21 June 2021). "Press Kit". Brisin.gr. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  46. ^ Otterson, Joe (July 25, 2022). "'Eragon' TV Series Adaptation in Development at Disney+ (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.

External links

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