Changeling is an upcoming American period thriller set for release in 2008. The film is set in 1920s Los Angeles and based upon the true story of a woman who comes to suspect that the son returned to her after a kidnapping is not her own. It was directed by Clint Eastwood and written by J. Michael Straczynski. The film was produced by Imagine Entertainment and Malpaso Productions for Universal Pictures. Ron Howard was originally slated to direct, but scheduling difficulties and Universal's desire to fast track the project led to his replacement by Eastwood.
Angelina Jolie stars in the lead role with support from John Malkovich, Geoff Pierson, Jeffrey Donovan, Jason Butler Harner, Colm Feore, Amy Ryan and Michael Kelly. Principal photography began on October 15, 2007 and was completed in November 2007. Filming took place on location in Los Angeles and its surrounding areas. Changeling is scheduled for general release in North America on October 31, 2008 after a limited release beginning on October 24, 2008. It premiered in competition at the 61st Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2008, where it received largely positive reviews. It had its North American premiere on October 4, 2008 as the centrepiece of the 46th New York Film Festival.
Premise
The film is set in 1920s Los Angeles and is based upon a real-life incident related to the Wineville Chicken Murders, an infamous kidnapping and murder case that occurred from 1928 through 1930 and received nationwide attention in the United States. When single mother Christine Collins (Jolie) returns home from her job as a telephone operator, she finds that her nine-year-old son, Walter, has vanished. An exhaustive search for the boy proves unproductive, but five months later, a child claiming to be Walter is returned to her by police. Despite knowing that the boy is not hers, overcome in the crowd of police and reporters by the conflicting emotions the reunion brings, Collins is persuaded to take the boy home. When Collins urges the authorities to continue looking for Walter, she is vilified as an unfit mother and branded delusional. With the help of Reverend Gustav Briegleb (Malkovich), Collins confronts the city authorities and corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department in order to find out the truth.
Production
The film was made by Imagine Entertainment and Malpaso Productions for Universal Studios, and was produced by Imagine's Brian Grazer and Ron Howard with Malpaso's Robert Lorenz, and Eastwood. Tim Moore and Jim Whitaker were executive producers.
Development
In June 2006, Universal Studios and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment bought J. Michael Straczynski's spec script with the intention for Howard to direct. The film was on a shortlist of projects for Howard after coming off the commercial success of The Da Vinci Code. Straczynski indicated that the film was talked about as a "prestige" project for the studio, and said a number of female stars were interested in the project before Jolie "jumped to the front of the line". In March 2007, the production was fast tracked by Universal. When Howard instead opted to direct Frost/Nixon, following that up with the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, it became clear that he could not direct Changeling until 2009. After Howard stepped down, it began to look as if the film would not be made. The script was cited as "one of those blessed and doomed... that periodically floats around Hollywood: a truly gripping read that actors and directors respond to with passion but that nonetheless has a hard time getting made." Straczynski said of the situation, "There are all kinds of circumstances that can affect whether or not something goes forward... I've gotten very Zen about the whole thing." Howard and producer Brian Grazer instead began looking for other directors to helm the project. Straczynski said that five A-list directors were interested. Clint Eastwood eventually agreed to direct, after reading the script and "loving it". The film marked a repeat visit to territory visited by Eastwood in earlier films: the Great Depression. Explaining his attraction to the project, Eastwood said his memories of growing up during that time meant that whenever a history concerning the Depression era landed in his hands, he "redoubled his attention" upon it. He agreed that the film could be considered an companion piece to his 2003 film Mystic River, which also depicted a community contaminated by an isolated, violent act against a child.
Casting
Angelina Jolie was suggested to Eastwood for the lead by producers Ron Howard and Brian Glazer. Eastwood cast her as he felt her face was one that fit "both contemporarily and in a period".
Angelina Jolie was suggested to Eastwood for the lead by producers Ron Howard and Brian Glazer. Eastwood cast her as he felt her face was one that fit "both contemporarily and in a period".
Angelina Jolie signed to appear as Christine Collins in March 2007. Howard and Grazer suggested to Eastwood that he cast Jolie, and he agreed as he felt her face fit the period setting. Jolie said she believed the role was going to be one of the most difficult she'd tackled, but that it was instead one of the easiest. Jolie also noted that as a mother herself, the subject of a child kidnapping was one that she didn't want to think about, and that performing the role was very emotional. Christine Collins reminded Eastwood of the treatment of Ingrid Bergman's character in the 1944 film Gaslight, a character who also wondered if she might be going insane. Eastwood cited photographs in which Collins is seen smiling with the child who is obviously not hers. The testimony of the psychiatrist who treated Collins was directly quoted from in the film. What begins as an ordinary story of an abduction is transformed into a portrait of a woman whose desire for independence is seen as a threat to the male society. Eastwood said that the testimony said a great deal about how a woman was prejudged as hysterical and lacking in reliable judgment, and that the behavior of the police also reflected how a woman was seen at the time. He cited the words of the officer who made the decision to send Collins to an asylum: "Something is wrong with you. You're an independent woman." Eastwood said "The period could not accept [it]".
John Malkovich joined the production in October 2007, as Presbyterian evangelist Gustav Briegleb, who helps rally the public behind Collins' cause. Eastwood stated, "I like casting things in a different kind of order. In Changeling I cast John Malkovich as the reverend because he is probably the least guy like a reverend and I just thought he would bring a different shading to it."
Amy Ryan plays Collins' best friend, Carol Dexter; a prostitute who teaches survival skills to Collins, and is wrongfully accused of a crime by the police. The character was described by Ryan as being in a "dire situation". She said that while her character doesn't come to blows with Jolie's, there were "some good fight scenes between us". Like Jolie, Ryan didn't audition for her role in person; instead she sent in a tape to Eastwood.
Jason Butler Harner plays Gordon Northcott, a mechanic accused of murder. Harner described his character as "a horrible, horrible, wonderful person". He landed the role after a single taped audition. Casting director Ellen Chenoweth explained that Eastwood chose Harner over more well-known actors who desired the part due seeing "more depth and variety" in the performer, and because he was able to project "a slight craziness" without evoking Charles Manson. Samuel Blumenfeld of Le Monde called the scene featuring Northcott's execution by hanging "unbearable" due to Eastwood's attention to detail, saying "There is no more convincing plea against the death penalty." Eastwood said that for a supporter of capital punishment, Northcott was an ideal candidate: "In a perfect world, the death penalty might be the appropriate response to such a murderer." But he said that "Whether you're for or against the death penalty, you must recognize that there is something barbaric in making the execution public." Eastwood argued that in putting the guilty party before the families of his victims, "justice" may be done, but after such a spectacle, "what tranquillity can [the family] hope to find?" The scene's realism was deliberate: the audience hears the sound of Northcott's neck breaking, his body swings, and his feet gesticulate. Eastwood said, "I know it's unbearable to watch, and that was the desired effect."
Jeffrey Donovan plays J.J. Jones, the Los Angeles Police Department captain who initially returns Collins' son to her.
Michael Kelly plays Detective Lester Ybarra, the only police officer on the case who believes Collins when she suspects that the child is not her own. According to Kelly, "It's a very corrupt LAPD at the time; I am the guy who goes against the force."
Also starring are Geoff Pierson as "flamboyant" defense attorney Sammy "S.S." Hahn, Colm Feore as the chief of police James E. Davis, Denis O'Hare, and Devon Conti.
