FELICITY JONES, ON A QUEST TO STOP A GLOBAL CATASTROPHE IN “INFERNO”

Press release

Starring opposite Tom Hanks in Columbia Pictures' new suspense thriller “Inferno” is Academy Award® nominated actress Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything,” upcoming “Rogue One”) as Dr. Sienna Brooks.

Photos courtesy of Columbia Pictures/UIP

Academy Award® winner Ron Howard returns to direct the latest bestseller in Dan Brown's billion-dollar Robert Langdon series, “Inferno,” which finds the famous symbologist on a trail of clues tied to the great Dante himself. When Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks, a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories. Together, they race across Europe and against the clock to stop a madman from unleashing a global virus that would wipe out half of the world's population.

For Jones, there is more to her character than meets the eye. "Sienna is a young woman who is a strong environmentalist, full of conviction. She is not everything she seems but on the surface she is someone that gets involved in a mystery relating to finding a deadly virus."

That is one of the aspects that drew Jones to the role, she says: “This is really a contemporary story about paranoia, fear of governments, and who we can trust.”

Scene from The Theory of Everything.

“There’s a lot of fun in it, in that they’re going on this quest, they’re finding clues, but at the same time, there is a seriousness and there is a philosophical side to the film,” adds Jones.

“And it’s addressing very pertinent issues about what is the state of the world that we’re living in and how do we contribute to making that world as good as it can be for future generations,” continues Jones. “I feel like, increasingly with global warming, we’re forced to address how we are living, and ask are we living in a way that is sustainable? I am absolutely pro making sure we do everything to leave the planet in as green a state as possible.”

For inspiration in playing her character, Jones says she went straight to the source material. “When I knew I had the part of Sienna, I read Dan Brown’s book – it was a really fun read,” she recalls. “Throughout filming, I would keep coming back to the book for Sienna and find little clues about her backstory that I could use in playing her. The books was a really good resource throughout filming.”

Working with Hanks and Howard, both Oscar winners who make up a formidable creative team, was a delight, Jones shares. “They have a huge affection for each other. They have this shorthand and they are both on the same page creatively. It’s what I would hope to do later in my career – to work with the same people and build up a shorthand. It’s like any creative endeavour, if you work with the same people, you actually save a lot of time because you’re not trying to establish a new relationship.”

Opening across the Philippines on Oct. 12, “Inferno” is distributed by Columbia Pictures in the Philippines, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

ROBERT LANGDON TO RETURN IN “INFERNO”

Press release

STARRING TOM HANKS

Ron Howard Directs and Produces with Brian Grazer; Film Begins Production in April

CULVER CITY, Calif., February 17, 2015 – Director/producer Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer have cast an energetic company of some of the world’s most talented and interesting rising international stars to join Tom Hanks in Inferno, the new film in Columbia Pictures’ Robert Langdon series, which has taken in more than $1.2 billion worldwide to date.

Second casting reveal

The Imagine Entertainment production, which has a screenplay by David Koepp based on the book by Dan Brown, is slated for release onOctober 14, 2016 and will begin principal photography at the end of April.  The project’s executive producers are Dan Brown, Anna Culp, Bill Connor, and David Householter.

Inferno continues the Harvard symbologist’s adventures on screen: when Robert Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks, a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories and prevent a madman from releasing a global plague connected to Dante’s “Inferno.”

Felicity Jones, an Oscar® nominee this year for her performance in The Theory of Everything, will star opposite Hanks as Dr. Sienna Brooks.  Irrfan Khan, one of India’s biggest stars, best known for his roles in Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi, and The Lunchbox, takes the role of Harry Sims, also known as The Provost.  French actor Omar Sy, best known for his work in the French mega-hit The Intouchables, as well as X-Men: Days of Future Past, the upcoming Jurassic World, and John Wells’ upcoming untitled project, will play Christoph Bruder.  Sidse Babett Knudsen, star of the Danish television series “Borgen,” will portray Dr. Elizabeth Sinskey, the head of the World Health Organization.  The filmmakers are also in talks with several other internationally recognized actors for major roles.

Commenting on the announcement, Howard said, “For this film, I wanted Tom Hanks to be surrounded by an international cast of actors whose energy will underscore Robert Langdon’s life-or-death peril, the high-stakes action he takes, and the global threat that he’s trying to prevent.  Felicity, Irrfan, Omar, and Sidse have all broken through with recognition here in America as well as their home countries – they are phenomenal talents and we can’t wait to get started.”

“We’re thrilled to be making a third Robert Langdon film with Ron, Tom and Brian,” said Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.  “Inferno will deliver all of the excitement, intrigue and international adventure that audiences expect from a film based on Dan Brown’s huge selling Langdon book series. We can't wait to see this character back on the big screen.”

Michael De Luca and Andrea Giannetti will oversee the project for Columbia Pictures.