One of the all-time greatest allegorical sci-fi novels will receive an HBO revival when Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 debuts as a new movie, directed by Ramin Bahrani (“99 Homes”).
Set in a dystopian future in which knowledge has become a dangerous commodity and books have been banned, the Toronto-shot film stars Michael B. Jordan (“Creed”) as Montag, a “fireman” who burns books on behalf of the totalitarian government, under the command of his mentor, fire captain Beatty (Michael Shannon, “Boardwalk Empire”) — until Montag learns the frightening truth about why he’s been torching books.
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Also starring is Sofia Boutella (“The Mummy”) as an informant caught between the competing interests of Montag and Beatty, and Lilly Singh (a.k.a. Canada’s own ||Superwoman||) as a tabloid reporter who works with the fire department to disseminate government propaganda.
Bradbury’s novel was inspired by Nazis burning books around the time of the Second World War, and director Bahrani explained during a session at the TV Critics Association press tour in Pasadena that the author was also “very concerned about mass entertainment. He was concerned about Reader’s Digest. He was concerned about quick, short sound bites. He thought all that was going to destroy the concepts of reading, of thinking, of knowledge, and of course, we see it now.”
“Fahrenheit 451” will air on HBO in spring 2018.
