The real story behind the movie sanctum aquaviews leisurepro. Its a scenario that was experienced for real by cowriter andrew wight an associate of the films executive producer james. Our exclusive interviews with director alister grierson, writer andrew wight, and executive producer james cameron, as well as actors richard roxburgh, ioan gruffudd, alice parkinson, and rhys. It is based on the story of an australian cave diver, andrew wight, who is also a close friend to director james. It stars richard roxburgh, rhys wakefield, alice parkinson, dan wyllie, and ioan gruffudd. Shakefire sat down with andrew wight, writer and producer on the cave diving thriller sanctum. The film is inspired by andrew wights writer reallife story. Wight also produced the film, with james cameron writerdirector of avatar and titanic as executive producer. Sanctum producer james cameron talks schwarzenegger. Or the end result however achieved reflects reality. Some complained that the movie which was loosely based a real life incident in which writerproducer andrew wight was involved in, was exaggerated and over the top. Best known for producing and cowriting last years 3d feature film sanctum, wight and american cinematographer mike degruy, who also died in the crash, were flying around nsws south coast when the chopper crashed. Sanctum interview with james cameron, alister grierson, and. Pushing ourselves beyond the boundaries that surround us, with cognition and sensibility, can lead to outstanding results.
We didnt want to make a documentary, because if done properly cavediving is a very safe sport. Audio commentary with director alister grierson, actor rhys wakefield and cowriterproducer andrew wight deleted scenes 9. Deepsea challenge 3d attests how human will is the key to discovery. Sanctum is a fictional drama inspired by wights neardeath experience when he led an expedition of 15 divers into a remote underwater cave system below australias nullarbor plain, and. With the pageturning suspense and horror that made asylum such a standout, and featuring. Andrew and i had previously been on some great adventures together. James cameron, frank lotito, lachlan woods, paul henri. If you dont remember sanctum, its the 3d movie set underwater that is being executive produced by james cameron, and directed by alister grierson kokoda. James cameron has acted as exec producer on a film called sanctum, in which a group of explorers and daredevils ventures into the deepest cave on earth.
Filmmakers andrew wight and mike degruy killed in helicopter. When the novel begins, high school seniors dan, abby, and jordan are still reeling from their terrifying summer spent at new hampshire college preparatory school where their dorm was formerly the brookline insane asylum. Mentored by executive producer james cameron, this weeks underwater cave adventure, sanctum, began as an idea from camerons diving collaborator andrew wight ghosts of the abyss, with whom the director worked in developing the 3d camera technology that he used for avatar. Wight also produced the film, with james cameron writerdirector of avatar. Andrew wight sanctum shakefire sat down with andrew wight, writer and producer on the cave diving thriller sanctum. His credits include ghosts of the abyss, aliens of the deep and expedition. A cyclone hits while the team is miles below the surface, and the flooding forces them to improvise new escape routes. A week ago, seventeenyearold lela santoss best friend, nadia, killed herself.
Inspired by a true story and executive produced by underwaterfilm fanatic james cameron, this cavediving thriller has a lot going for it, thanks to a strong cast and high production values. Sanctum is also a film that lacks the script and performances needed for glue to hold the action sequences together. The movie is based on events that happened to one of the films cowriters, andrew wight, who went deepsea diving and ended up trapped with a group of other divers in an underwater cave system. Sanctum is a 2011 3d actionthriller film directed by alister grierson and written by john garvin and andrew wight. In the chilling second book in the new york times bestselling asylum series, three teens must return to the asylum that still haunts their dreams to end the nightmare once and for all.
Although the movie was inspired by an incident some years ago when writerproducer andrew wight was trapped underground, i cant imagine very much else is based on that true story. Its clear the filmmakers concentrated on these and not much else. The idea being based on a true story the events leading to the movie are accurate. Anthony tollins pulp novel reprints of the shadow, doc savage, the avenger, the whisperer, the spider, the phantom detective and the whisperer. In serbia the film was titled holy city, while in bulgaria it was called last resort. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The difference in experiencing sanctum in 2d and 3d would actually be great because the 3d would constantly be informing you. The two men were scouting locations for a new movie they were. The real story play all how it began making the movie in the aftermath feature commentary with director alister grierson, actor rhys wakefield, and cowriterproducer andrew wight on off setup spoken languages english 5. Sanctum by madeleine roux is absolutely fantastic, and i wont hesitate in saying that i like it a lot better than the first book, asylum. Andrew wight 14 november 1959 4 february 2012 was an australian screenwriter and producer best known for his 2011 film sanctum. James cameron, alister grierson and andrew wight talk sanctum.
The film is allegedly based on a true event by coscreenwriter andrew wight, but. Sanctum has a descent dramatic core, but once the main action scenes are over and were left with the films weak lead characters, cliches set in, making the film attractive to those fond of underwater danger tales. James cameron and andrew wight for sanctum starring richard roxburgh. Books by andrew wright author of jane austens novels. The film is allegedly based on a true event by coscreenwriter andrew wight, but it might be safe to conclude that the original incident was a jumpingoff point for the high melodrama on display here. The film was released in the united states on 4 february 2011 by universal.
The recently released scuba diving movie, sanctum, produced by the. Or at least, i enjoyed it a lot more, with its quirky carnival scenes, haunted frat houses, and the suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat. Andrew wright has 72 books on goodreads with 642071 ratings. When australian producer and renowned caver andrew wight ghosts of the abyss, aliens of the deep led a cave diving expedition beneath.
Sanctum is a young adult horror novel by madeleine roux, and comprises the second installment in her asylum series. The real story documents the tale of how veteran cave diver andrew wights reallife adventures inspired the movie. Sanctum interviews with james cameron and alister grierson. The story of sanctum was inspired by a reallife near death experience in a cave that writer andrew wight lived through. Andrew wight was an australian underwater explorer and film maker. The 3d actionthriller sanctum, from executive producer james cameron, follows a team of underwater cave divers on a treacherous expedition to the largest, most beautiful and least accessible. Luko is a new guinea native, darkskinned but not african. That story was the 1988 nullarbor cave expedition that had people trapped underground.
Today we have the sanctum trailer and new images from the film to share the movie is based on events that happened to one of the films cowriters, andrew wight, who went deepsea diving and ended up trapped with a group of other. In 1988, wight was part of a group of divers that became trapped in an underground cave. The story is derived from the 1988 experience of famous spelunker andrew wight, who led an expedition to dive and explore a remote system of caves under australias nullarbor plain, when his team of 15 was trapped underground by a sudden storm. Actionadventure, spelunking a crisis threatens the safety of a cavediving team as they attempt to explore earths least accessible cave system. As you may have heard, sanctum filmmakers mike degruy and andrew wight tragically died in a sudden helicopter crash on saturday night.
Alister grierson, james cameron and andrew wight its interesting to note that james cameron and andrew wight are avid scuba divers. Sanctum is a highoctane james cameron rollercoaster of a ride, so we had to approach it from an entertainment point of view. We had the opportunity to attend the sanctum mobile 3d experience at which, the 3d trailer and several scenes from the film were screened. Andrew wrights most popular book is jane austens novels. Without camerons guidance the film couldve been worse, but it also bears a lot of similarities to his own underwater. This instant collectors item showcases the original cover art by george rozen and modest stein and interior illustrations by paul orban and edd cartier, with historical commentary by will murray and anthony tollin.
The film was cowritten by producer andrew wight, who was inspired by a reallife event that occurred to him in 1988 when a freak storm collapsed the entrance where he was caving in nullarbor plain. Hollywood director james cameron opens an australian office of his company cameron pace group in midjanuary to be run by managing director andrew wight, producer of sanctum. Richard roxburgh, ioan gruffudd, rhys wakefield, alice parkinson, dan wyllie, alistar grierson, andrew wight, james. Richard roxburgh, ioan gruffudd, rhys wakefield, alice parkinson, dan wyllie, alister grierson, andrew wight. Andrew wight should be ashamed and sued by the other survivors hes obviously kind of a douche bag.
In the past, he has worked closely with james cameron on various underwater documentaries such as titanic adventure and aliens of the deep. Will wight can only be found by whispering his name three times into a mirror at midnight. Filmmakers mike degruy and andrew wight killed in helicopter. Sanctum guards of the shadowlands book 1 kindle edition by fine, sarah. Sanctum is the new 3d thriller from james cameron, except that the avatar creator is only an executive producer on this film, not the director. James camerons involvement began years ago when andrew wight camerons friend and fellow diving enthusiast was trapped in a cave on the nullabor plains for two days before being rescued. Based on the experiences of one of its writers, sanctum employs producer james camerons expertise to capture scenes of narrow escape inside the belly of the cave but sees its impact lessened by a blundering script and weak acting. Yet i cant deny i was entertained, and never bored. Andrew and i than went on to collaborate on the script of sanctum. Sanctum by alister grierson alister grierson, richard.
Sanctum is a deeply flawed movie, and most of the blame can be labelled on writers john garvin and andrew wight and director alistair grierson. Jan 05, 2011 james cameron, alister grierson and andrew wight talk sanctum. Sanctum was inspired by producer andrew wights real life experience in 1988 when he was trapped with 14 other cave diving explorers after the entrance collapsed all made it out alive thanks to a. Richard roxburgh, ioan gruffudd, rhys wakefield, alice parkinson, dan wyllie, alistar grierson, andrew wight, james cameron, john. Cameron thought the incident would make a good film and wight came on as cowriter and the result was sanctum. Jun 04, 2011 james camerons involvement began years ago when andrew wight camerons friend and fellow diving enthusiast was trapped in a cave on the nullabor plains for two days before being rescued. Australian adventurer of the year medal winner australian geographic, andrew initiated and led the. Sanctum actionadventure cave diving movie is released today. As soon as sanctum goes into the underground caves, and beneath the surface of the water, it draws on the most fundamental aspects of moviemaking to provide a good yarn with plenty of twists and turns, and a great deal of action. He was a respected scuba and cave diving instructor, commercial helicopter pilot and farmer. Andrew began his career in agricultural science and. With the pageturning suspense and horror that made asylum such a standout, and featuring found photographs from real vintage carnivals, sanctum is a mindbending reading experience thats perfect for fans of.
Theres a certain level of expertise involved with the making of sanctum, and that may be due in part to the participation of underwater explorer, filmmaker, and screenwriter andrew wight, who. Five years ago, andrew wight, my longtime collaborator, brought me the idea for sanctum, and i loved it. The scribes are content to meander from scene to scene, tacking in a bit of tried and true familial tension and important character deaths to keep us on our toes. In 1988, wight a longtime cameron collaborator and diving partner, who is also a producer and cowriter of the feature film faced a neardeath experience while leading a diving expedition deep into a system of underwater caves in western australia. Andrew began his career in agricultural science and worked in scientific research. He produced over 45 films including television documentaries, live television specials and 3d imax films. Sanctums story was inspired by co screenwriters andrew wights experience of leading a diving expedition of 14 and then having to find a way out once a. It was a tough one to cast because we wanted someone who had that youthful appearance, which could transform into becoming a man in. In attendance were the films director alister grierson, writer andrew wight, and executive producer james cameron. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading sanctum guards of the shadowlands book 1. Australian filmmaker andrew wight was killed over the weekend in a tragic helicopter crash. Unlike the hightech equipment used by the characters in the film, the nullarbor cavedivers trapped 80 metres underground had to make do with radio communications. Although the movie was inspired by an incident some years ago when writerproducer andrew wight was trapped. James cameron, alister grierson and andrew wight talk.