Latest news with #ofYouth
Time Out
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
‘Fountain of Youth' locations: behind the scenes on Guy Ritchie's globe-trotting heist adventure
Guy Ritchie's new adventure movie, Fountain of Youth, is a globe-trotting caper in the spirit of National Treasure and that all-time classic, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. There's clues, a treasure map, stolen portraits, subsea wrecks and a powerful McGuffin that people will die to keep safe – and that John Krasinski's artefact hunter will risk it all to pinch. A Quiet Place 's Krasinski plays Luke Purdue, an adventurer who teams up with his reluctant sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman) on a quest to find the mythical Fountain of Youth. Domhnall Gleeson's terminally ill tycoon provides financial backing, hopeful that water from the mythical spring will cure him. Queuing up to stop them are ruthless agent Esme (Mexican star Eiza González), a detective played by Succession 's Arian Moayed, and more than is a few twists and turns. Fountain of Youth Filmed filming locations The Apple TV+ movie has Apple money behind it, which means big action set pieces and iconic international backdrops for them to play out against. We asked Guy Ritchie's long-time production designer Martyn John (The Gentleman) to talk us through the film's globe-spanning filming spots. The scooter chase – Bangkok, Thailand Fountain of Youth opens with Purdue in possession of an item that his adversaries want very badly. Cue a madcap chase through Thailand's bustling capital city as the treasure hunter tries to outrun his foes on a flaming scooter. 'Bangkok was amazing,' says John of the location. 'We shot in Chinatown and used this derelict building in another part of the city for the chase sequence with the bike. We dressed it as if people lived there – with a laundrette and a food market.' The train journey – Hua Lamphong Train Station, Bangkok The sequence ends on a train at Bangkok's main train station, where Purdue encounters the mysterious Esme for the first time. Via the magic of editing, the scene transitions from a real train to an on-set recreation. 'Because John [Krasinski] is very tall, we had to expand a train carriage on set to make it easier for us to film,' explains the production designer. 'Sections of it came off for the fight sequence.' The National Gallery painting theft – Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool For a film full of sleight of hand, it's fitting that Guy Ritchie manages to pull off one of his own: the scenes set in London aren't London at all but Liverpool. When Luke Purdue reunites with his sister and steals a painting from The National Gallery, it's actually Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery. 'Filming around Trafalgar Square is a nightmare because it's so busy,' explains John. 'We looked at other galleries around London, but the Walker Art Gallery was [perfect]: it's Georgian, it's stone, it's very similar architecturally to The National Gallery.' The London getaway chase – Dale Street, Liverpool The heist spills into another breakneck chase across London. This was filmed on Liverpool's Dale Street. 'Doing a car chase in London is nigh-on impossible,' says John. '[But] Dale Street could be anywhere in London.' The piano recital – Harrow School, London In a scene filmed at Harrow School, Purdue stops in at his nephew's piano recital. 'We wanted to go to the Royal Albert Hall, but the dates didn't work.' says John. 'The boys' school in Harrow has this amazing, semi-circular auditorium.' The Lusitania sequence – Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire Purdue and his sister's treasure hunt leads them below the waves – or very close to them – when they board the sunken passenger liner RMS Lusitania. Rather than the southern coast of Ireland, the vessel's resting place, a section of the ship was reconstructed at Leavesden and in Pinewood's underwater tanks using hydraulics systems. 'The design is an amalgamation of the Titanic and the Lusitania,' says John, 'because we [needed a specific layout] for the stunts.' The Old Queen's Head, Islington A later encounter between Purdue and his nemesis Esme takes place in a chic London bar. Eagle-eyed Bridget Jones fans might recognise it: Islington's The Old Queen's Head also featured in Mad About the Boy earlier this year. 'You need so much space [to film] and The Old Queen's has lots of it,' says John. 'Guy [Ritchie] likes big sets with lots of depth and visual interest, so we always find those spaces for him.' The Viennese library – Austrian National Library, Vienna The trail of clues leads Purdue and co to Vienna's grand library in pursuit of an artefact called the Wicked Bible – a (real) antiquarian version of the bible with one or two scurrilous misprints. The production team looked at libraries in Paris, as well as Dublin's Trinity College library, before settling on the Austrian capital. 'We convinced them to let us film in there,' says John, 'but then I had to match it in a studio so we could do a fight sequence with our books in case they damaged them.' The Viennese hotel – Hotel Imperial, Vienna Look out for exterior shots of this five-star Viennese hotel, although the scene in its suite was filmed in the UK. 'We found an old Elizabethan house near the studio in Leavesden,' remembers John, 'and I went to town decorating it to make the suite.' The team's safe house – Hoxton Docks, east London The London safe house where Purdue and his team hole up was filmed at Hoxton Dock. 'It's a big warehouse in the East End,' says John, 'and that was a brilliant dress. We had all this technology and antiquity melded together in this one [space]'. The pyramids – Giza, Egypt Without giving anything away, the movie's climax takes its characters to the ancient pyramids at Giza. 'To be able to film with the pyramids as a backdrop was incredible, and they let us get as close as we possibly could,' remembers John. Of course, filming inside a pyramid isn't an option so he had creative license to tzujz up the ancient Egyptians' design work. Look out for a pop star Easter egg. 'I was once in a birthday cake with Grace Jones at Naomi Campbell's 40th birthday party – she was popping out of it to sing and I was working the mechanism – and I made one of the statues in the pyramid look like a Nefertiti version of Grace Jones. The actors loved that.'And the chess? 'Guy loves to play chess – they spent ages playing on set.' When can I watch Fountain of Youth? The Guy Ritchie adventure movie will be landing on Apple TV+ on May 23. Is there a trailer? There is – you can watch it below. The 101 best action movies of all time to get your blood pumping. .
Indian Express
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Fountain of Youth movie review: We never got a third National Treasure movie, and thanks to Guy Ritchie, we still haven't
After he directed Aladdin — the anonymous 2019 remake that you'd forgotten made over $1 billion at the box office — Guy Ritchie became extremely prolific almost overnight. He made another movie that same year. But more importantly, Aladdin marked a major stylistic evolution for the famously flashy filmmaker: he got really into clothes. Nowadays, you find yourself admiring the tailoring in his films more than the films themselves. There is little, for instance, to like about Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. But, boy, was Cary Elwes dressed smartly. Unfortunately, the costumes in Ritchie's recent films are inversely proportional to their quality. The worse the movie, the better the clothes. The clothes in his latest, Fountain of Youth, are excellent. Starring John Krasinski and Natalie Portman as estranged siblings who go on an epic adventure to locate the fabled Fountain of Youth, the movie comes across as a third copy of Indiana Jones. Even Nicolas Cage's two National Treasure films had more spark than Ritchie's overwritten, bloated, and unevenly paced new adventure film. Fountain of Youth has a tremendously fun pre-titles sequence, where Krasinski's character, an adventurer named Luke, steals a valuable painting in Bangkok and evades capture from a gang of goons and a mysterious woman played by Eiza Gonzalez. Also read – The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare movie review: Guy Ritchie's wobbly World War II action-comedy is his weakest film in years The sequence is tactile, slick, and, most importantly, filmed not on a soundstage, but on location in the streets of Bangkok. Unlike most streaming tent poles these days, which have a certain flatness that invariably hurts their final score, Fountain of Youth has the look and feel of a big screen spectacle. The Bangkok sequence opens on the streets, and ends on a train. In the middle, Luke gives his adversaries the slip by running into a market and commandeering a street food cart. It's fun stuff, but the thrills end the moment the titles roll. Fountain of Youth turns into a plodding affair; you realise that James Vanderbilt's screenplay could easily have been fashioned from a discarded script for an Uncharted adaptation. Not that Ruben Fleischer's actual Uncharted movie was any better, but at least it featured two actors — Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg — who seemed to have real chemistry. Krasinski, for no fault of his own, is grossly miscast as the swashbuckling (yet earnest) Luke. His relaxed line delivery and generally laid-back demeanour is a poor fit for Luke, who, it is suggested, has the brash charm of Harrison Ford and the sincerity of Nic Cage. Fountain of Youth is the kind of movie that would've benefited greatly from another draft of the screenplay, and a thorough look at who's playing who. It has the whiff of something that was made on the fly, which is odd, considering the resources that must've gone into it. They obviously filmed across the world, on real locations — the climax is shot in and around the Great Pyramids, which is where the treasure our heroes are trying to locate has been resting for thousands of years. Luke and Charlotte — that's Portman's more proper character — are hired by a wealthy billionaire who says that he is dying of cancer. He needs them to join hands and locate the mythical fountain, whose water, it is believed, can give the drinker immortality. After stopovers in London and Vienna, the group finds itself being chased by Interpol — a tragic reminder of Red Notice — and Gonzalez's mysterious organisation. This covert organisation is lead by Stanley Tucci, who is making a habit of doing cameos in movies like this, probably to pay for his next three vacations to Italy. His presence also reveals Ritchie's franchise ambitions. Even though he's basically a gun-for-hire here — he usually writes his own movies — Fountain of Youth isn't as aesthetically plain as some of his recent output been. That being said, the filmmaker has an exceptionally poor track record with franchises — the third Sherlock Holmes has been stuck in development hell for over a decade; The Man from UNCLE, RocknRolla, Operation Fortune, and Aladdin didn't get the sequels that they were supposed to. Remember when he declared that he has a seven-movie series planned for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword? Read more – Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning: Tom Cruise deserved better than a goofy Abbas-Mustan movie that chooses spoon-feeding over spectacle But streaming industry can't be compared to the theatrical marketplace. And streaming on Apple TV+ is an even stranger proposition. For the tech giant to spend however many millions on Fountain of Youth — to be clear, the movie looks expensive — is like you or I not thinking twice before buying a bag of potato chips. The small one. Ritchie is always at his best when he's making standalone capers that bear his unmistakable stamp, not when he's trying to appease masters by churning out potential franchise-starters. Fountain of Youth falls in the second category. Despite the handsome production values and infrequent bursts of fun, it's a by-the-numbers experience that is way more serious than it should've. Here's a movie in which the protagonists are hunting down a magical underground spring that has the power to change the world as we know it; medicine, governance, economies could all be on the line here. And yet, Fountain of Youth has the tone of an overdue library assignment. Ah, well, at least the cardigans and shawls are pretty. Fountain of Youth Director – Guy Ritchie Cast – John Krasinski, Natalie Portman, Eiza Gonzalez, Domhnall Gleeson Rating – 2/5 Rohan Naahar is an assistant editor at Indian Express online. He covers pop-culture across formats and mediums. He is a 'Rotten Tomatoes-approved' critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild of India. He previously worked with the Hindustan Times, where he wrote hundreds of film and television reviews, produced videos, and interviewed the biggest names in Indian and international cinema. At the Express, he writes a column titled Post Credits Scene, and has hosted a podcast called Movie Police. You can find him on X at @RohanNaahar, and write to him at He is also on LinkedIn and Instagram. ... Read More
News18
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Natalie Portman Says Playing Siblings With John Krasinski Was ‘Really Fun'
Natalie Portman explained that she and John Krasinski drew from their own experiences to bring their sibling relationship to life on screen. Natalie Portman got to tick off a big dream from her bucket list while teaming up with John Krasinski for her latest film. The two starred in Fountain of Youth, a mystery movie that took them on a globe-trotting adventure to some incredible places. The film's red carpet premiere was held at the American Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles on Monday, May 19. At the event, the 43-year-old actress opened up about why playing John's sister made the experience especially meaningful for her. 'It was so incredible to get to work with John. He's so funny. He's so kind, such a good actor and to play brother and sister was really fun because both of us, I think, had an imagination of what it might be like," Portman said in an interview to People. She explained that being an only child herself, she and John, who grew up with brothers, used their own experiences and imaginations to bring their sibling relationship to life on screen. Krasinski has two older brothers, Paul and Dr. Kevin Krasinski. Natalie added that the cast felt like a family during filming. She recalled the joy of traveling to amazing places, saying, 'We really had a crew the whole time and we all really had fun together. And then we got to shoot at the pyramids and be in Vienna and it was just magical." The story in Fountain of Youth centers around Luke Purdue, played by Krasinski, a treasure-hunting expert who is estranged from his sister Charlotte, the role played by Portman. The two siblings have to work together for a risky global heist to find the mythical Fountain of Youth. Their mission is funded by a mysterious billionaire named Owen Carver, played by Domhnall Gleeson. But Owen has an ulterior motive for helping them and is not as straightforward as they seem. Krasinski spoke about the dynamic between the characters as he described Luke and Charlotte as opposites. He said, 'I love the initial juxtaposition between Luke and Charlotte — this idea of the adventurous spirit and the person who is always playing it safe." The film's director, Guy Ritchie, also commented on the sibling relationship and explained how their arguments add to the story's drama. He noted that squabbling is a natural part of brother-sister relationships. 'Brothers and sisters can say things to each other that no one else can. You can warm your hands off that kind of banter," the director added. The film also stars Eiza Gonzalez, Stanley Tucci, Laz Alonso, Arian Moayed and more. Fountain of Youth will be released on Apple TV+ on Friday, May 23. First Published:
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Krasinski and Natalie Portman Search for Immortality in Guy Ritchie's ‘Fountain of Youth' Trailer
John Krasinski and Natalie Portman are on the hunt for the real-life Fountain of Youth in the film's new trailer. Directed by Guy Ritchie, and a script penned by James Vanderbilt, the story is about two siblings who reconnect to embark on an adventure of a lifetime to acquire immortality. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'MobLand' Review: Tom Hardy and Pierce Brosnan Offer Mumbly Menace in Derivative Paramount+ Crime Thriller Pierce Brosnan Has Nothing but Love for His 'MobLand' Wife Helen Mirren at Global Premiere: "She's a Powerhouse" John Krasinski to Star in Off-Broadway Play 'Angry Alan' In the trailer, Krasinski's character Luke hesitantly calls up his sister Charlotte to enlist her help to find the long sought-after, once thought to be mythological Fountain of Youth. 'Are you in trouble?' During a phone call with Luke, Portman's character asks before asserting, 'You only call when you're in trouble.' The film also stars Eiza González and Domhnall Gleeson as they seek adventure that spans 'five continents, dozens of cultures, over thousands of years,' Krasinski's character states in the trailer. Additional cast includes Arian Moayed, Laz Alonso, Carmen Ejogo and Stanley Tucci. Skydance Media produced the film for Apple in a first-look deal alongside Vinson Films and Project X Entertainment. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Tripp Vinson, William Sherak, Paul Neinstein, Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson and Jake Myers produce, while Radio Silence's Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett and Chad Villella serve as executive producers. Notably, Fountain of Youth will arrive on the heels of Apple and Sykdance joining forces for the action-horror hybrid The Gorge, which starred Miles Teller and Anya-Taylor Joy; the horror film Mayday, with Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh; and The Family Plan, led by Mark Wahlberg. Fountain of Youth will debut via Apple TV+ on May 23. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked 20 Times the Oscars Got It Wrong The Best Anti-Fascist Films of All Time
