Oscar-nominated director Morten Tyldum says the sci-fi love story "Passengers" is an emotional rollercoaster starring on screen "balanced pair" Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt.
Tyldum, who helmed "The Imitation Game" in 2014, says the intimate film, featuring the 26-year-old Lawrence and 37-year-old Pratt, relied on the two A-Listers' chemistry.With reports from Deadline, the Norwegian director adds the film's epic quality was a balancing act, with the characters having to go through extreme choices.
Although Reese Witherspoon, Rachel McAdams, and Keanu Reeves were part of Passengers' development, Sony and Village Roadshow ended up with Pratt and Lawrence. The two didn't know each other before filming.
"I met them individually, and you have this gut feeling that they will allow themselves to connect and fall in love with each other at some level. The whole diva factor wasn't there at all," shares Tyldum.
"Passengers" is set on a spaceship transporting people in suspended animation to a distant colony. But Pratt's and Lawrence's characters are woken up 90 years too early and things take a deadly turn.
The ship collapses and Pratt and Lawrence learn why they were awakened, all the while falling in love with each other. The $100 million movie was handed to Tyldum after Sony won the bidding war for the Jon Spaihts script.
Pratt shot to stardom after playing Peter Quill / Starlord in Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" and starring in the fourth installment of the "Jurassic Park franchise", Jurassic World. He was previously known for television roles in "Everwood" and in the NBC sitcom "Parks and Recreation".
Meanwhile, Lawrence previously starred in the "Hunger Games" and the "X-Men" franchise, making her the highest-paid actress in the world. Her films have grossed over $5 billion worldwide.
Lawrence is also the second youngest Best Actress Oscar winner for playing a depressed widow in the romantic drama "Silver Linings Playbook". She is the youngest actress to be nominated for four Oscars.
"Passengers" is expected to show on December 21.
