Given the current socio-political climate, the timing seems appropriate for HBO to offer up the first full trailer for Fahrenheit 451, an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s classic novel set in a dystopian world where intellectualism is outlawed and “firemen” stop the spread of information by burning books.
Black Panther standout and Creed star Michael B. Jordan stars in the HBO Films production opposite two-time Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water, Nocturnal Animals), with Ramin Bahrani (99 Homes) directing from a script penned by Bahrani and Amir Naderi (Vegas: Based on a True Story).
Fahrenheit 451 follows Montag, a fireman played by Jordan, who struggles to reconcile the role he plays in the world with his own humanity. His problems are amplified when he encounters a resistance group that attempts to preserve history’s most important works of culture and literature, and he quickly finds himself at odds with his mentor, Beatty (Shannon).
The film’s impressive cast also includes Sofia Boutella (The Mummy, Kingsman: The Secret Service) in the role of Clarisse, a character whose role appears to have been changed a bit in the translation from page to screen, as she is described as “an informant caught between the competing interests of Montag and Beatty.” (The character of Clarisse played a relatively small, but important early role in Bradbury’s novel.)
Bad Moms actress Lilly Singh plays Raven, a “tabloid reporter who works with the fire department to spread the ministry’s propaganda by broadcasting its book-burning raids to fans.”
Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 was first published in 1953, and the title refers to the temperature at which books burn. According to the author, the book was written out of concern for the erosion of faith in literature and the arts during the McCarthy era in the U.S., when artists who didn’t fall in line with the U.S. government were being labeled “un-American.”
Fahrenheit 451 won numerous awards over the years and was adapted multiple times for the stage and screen.
HBO Films’ movie based on Fahrenheit 451 is expected to premiere on an unspecified date in the spring. The first teaser for the film was released by HBO in January.
