Byzantium

In anticipation of Byzantium's June 28th release, an international trailer for Neil Jordan's latest film has made its debut.  The film stars Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller, Caleb Landry Jones and Danny Mays.

In Byzantium, two mysterious women seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara (Gemma Arterton) meets lonely Noel, who provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium. Schoolgirl Eleanor befriends Frank and tells him their lethal secret. They were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood. As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence. 

Read our set report here, which includes interviews with the cast and crew.

Director Neil Jordan triumphantly returns to the vampire genre with a scintillatingly unique take on undead mythology with Byzantium. Starring a radiant Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan as damaged mother and daughter bloodsuckers running a bordello in a seedy seaside guesthouse to escape a secret society hunting them through the centuries, the finely tuned balance of art-house Gothic and Hammer Horror makes for an evocative flashback fairytale using vampirism as a twisted prism to comment on humanity. Remarkably giving a whole new flavor and magical perspective to traditional vampire imagery - no fangs, just sharp thumbnails extending for feeding time, a river of blood denoting the rite of undead passage – it’s a haunting, touching and visually sublime reinvention from the Oscar-winning Irish director of The Company of Wolves and Interview With the Vampire.

Neil Jordan (Interview With the Vampire) returns to bloodsucking territory with Byzantium, starring Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan.

They play two mysterious women who seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara meets lonely Noel, who provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium. Schoolgirl Eleanor befriends Frank and tells him their lethal secret. They were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood. As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence.

There are some interesting things here and some striking imagery, such as a rocky cliff with blood flowing down its side.  Get your first look at the film inside via an international trailer.  IFC picked it up for U.S. distribution, so stay tuned for release news.

Two bits of distribution news to share with you today.  

The Norwegian creature feature Thale (pictured) has been picked up by XLrator for a U.S. release.

The company is aiming for a 2013 debut.

In the film, two crimes scene cleaners discover a mythical tailed, female creature in a concealed cellar.  She never utters a word, unable to tell her tale herself, but the pieces of the puzzle soon come together; she’s been held captive for decades for reasons soon to surface. Someone is approaching from outside. They want her back.

Neil Jordan's return the vampire genre, Byzantium, is going to make its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival running September 6 - 16th.  In anticipation of this debut, we have a handful of new images from the film starring Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan.

They play two mysterious women who seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara meets lonely Noel, who provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium. Schoolgirl Eleanor befriends Frank and tells him their lethal secret. They were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood. As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence.

Making the press rounds for Tim Burton's Dark Shadows, Jonny Lee Miller (Dexter) talked with The Hollywood Reporter about another vampire film he's going to appear in (let's not forget he also co-starred in Dracula 2000): Byzantium.

Directed by Neil Jordan the film stars Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton Eleanor and Clara, two mysterious and penniless young women, flee the scene of a violent crime and arrive in a run-down coastal resort. They try to find money and refuge along the tawdry seafront and in the dilapidated hotels.  Clara, ever-practical, sells her body. She soon meets shy and lonely Noel, who provides a roof over their heads in his seedy guesthouse, Byzantium. Clara, always looking towards the future, turns it into a ‘pop-up’ brothel.

After the jump, watch Miller talk about working with Burton and Jordan and Byzantium.

Production company WestEnd Films has revealed the sales poster for Interview with the Vampire director Neil Jordan's new horror-thriller Byzantium, starring Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller, Caleb Landry Jones and Danny Mays. Check out a larger version of the poster after the jump!

The film is described as follows:

Eleanor and Clara, two mysterious and penniless young women, flee the scene of a violent crime and arrive in a run-down coastal resort. They try to find money and refuge along the tawdry seafront and in the dilapidated hotels.

Clara, ever-practical, sells her body. She soon meets shy and lonely Noel, who provides a roof over their heads in his seedy guesthouse, Byzantium. Clara, always looking towards the future, turns it into a ‘pop-up’ brothel.

Courtesy of WestEnd Films comes another look at Byzantium, the vampire film by Neil Jordan (Interview With the Vampire).  Many behind-the-scenes stills have been seen from this production, featuring stars Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan - this is the first time we're seeing the two together in character.

Akin to Daughters of Darkness, the story concerns two young women who flee the scene of a murder and wind up in a coastal resort.  Inside, you'll find a larger version of the pic you see on the left along with a detailed plot synopsis.

Although we have shown you plenty of photos from the set of Byzantium, an "official" still has been released, featuring star Saoirse Ronan.  She shares the screen with Gemma Arterton and, together, the two play vampires for director Neil Jordan (Interview With a Vampire).  In a plot that sounds similar to Daughters of Darkness, the story concerns two young women who flee the scene of a murder and wind up in a coastal resort.

Caleb Landry Jones and Jonny Lee Miller also star.

Head inside for a larger version of the photo and stay tuned for an exclusive set report!

Photos have surfaced of actress Gemma Arterton taking a break from film Byzantium, and she's a bloody mess.  The film sees director Neil Jordan returning to vampire territory after helming Interview with a Vampire in the '90s.

Following the first photos off Gemma Arterton on the set of Neil Jordan's horror-thriller Byzantium, we now have a look at Saoirse Ronan and Caleb Landry Jones filming scenes in Dublin, Ireland.

In the film, Arterton and Ronan play a mother-daughter vampire team who sometimes pose as sisters. Moira Buffini penned the script, adapting her own stage play.