In our opinion, Children of Men by Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity) is the best science fiction film of the last 20 years. It has cult status and is considered unabashed masterpiece about an all-too-realistic dystopia. Children of Men was released in 2006 and the story behind it is almost as exciting as the film itself.
In a detailed recollection of Children of Men at Vulture, those involved explain why Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban saved the work of art.
The sci-fi masterpiece Children of Men was too “violent” and “artful” to be made
Children of Men is only loosely based on the novel of the same name by PD James*: In the near future there is chaos because no child has been born in 18 years and England is one of the last countries with a functioning government. The former activist Theo (in the book: Oxford professor) is given a mission on which the future of humanity depends.
Universal
Clive Owen in Children of Men
When the script was presented to the talented director Alfonso Cuarón, he refused to read the book. He found the approach exciting, but wanted to write his own version of it. The producer duo Eric Newman and Marc Abraham (In Time) gave him the green light for it.
However, the funding studio Universal saw Cuarón’s version too much riskAbraham remembers:
We’re talking about one here very violent, obviously very artistic film that wouldn’t be cheap and has a political stance.
Although there was no clear rejection, Cuarón’s Children of Men version was put on hold indefinitely. That’s exactly when Warner Bros. came knocking on his door for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. They were enthusiastic about his previous film Y Tu Mama Tambien – Lust for Life.
“It’s over. Nobody ever returns from a franchise”thought producer Newman at the time and was sure that Cuarón’s Children of Men was history.
Of all things, Harry Potter 3 changed the studio people’s minds – even though they didn’t understand Children of Men
Alfonso Cuarón wouldn’t be Alfonso Cuarón if he let up easily. Actually He kept thinking about Children of Men while filming Harry Potter. Especially when he goes through the “not so nice parts of London” touched upon where both Harry Potter 3 and later Children of Men were filmed.
Having more time to himself than he originally thought while filming Harry Potter, Cuarón began researching his sci-fi idea:
I read as much as I could, talked to people, took photos.
When his work on Harry Potter was done and the film went into post-production, Cuarón’s first call was to the phone: “I want to do Children of Men”, were the magic words to producer Newman. He was still passionate about the project and the studio was suddenly willing to give Cuarón a chance.
With Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the celebrated director proved that he too can make really strong genre films that are aimed at a broad audience. The financier studio Universal finally trusted his talent. Cuarón himself remembers what the person in charge said to him:
I don’t understand this film. I have no idea what you want to do, but you can do it.
Cuarón then brought his friend and long-time film partner Emmanuel Lubezki on board for the iconic tracking shots in Children of Men and the rest is history. Thank you Harry Potter 3!
Unfortunately, you can’t stream Children of Men anywhere at the flat rate at the moment, but you can rent it in HD from Amazon * for 3.99 euros, for example.
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If you’ve already seen Children of Men, we have even more science fiction gems for you. In the podcast we take a closer look at 15 new products launching in 2023.
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