Andrew Niccol admits he’s been considering a story about privacy and secrecy for some time. It’s a theme that lends itself to a futuristic setting – familiar territory for the creator of Gattaca and The Truman Show – and his latest, Anon, is placed fairly and squarely in the near future. Released this Friday, 11th May, the film stars Clive Owen as a cop hunting a killer in a society where crime hardly exists, because everybody’s information and memories are stored digitally. Access to them is easy – especially for the authorities.
Talking to Flickering Myth’s Freda Cooper, Owen and Niccol both admit they could never have anticipated just how topical the film has become. Its theme doesn’t so much echo as proclaim the recent Facebook controversy so that, well before the its release, everybody was talking about it without even knowing.
With Anon under their belts, they’ve also recently joined forces for another movie, although this time at more of a distance. Niccol has been involved in writing Ang Lee’s production of Gemini Man, while Owen plays a key role in a cast that also includes Will Smith and Benedict Wong. And he hints strongly that the film will take CGI to a whole new level.
Anon is released in UK and Irish cinemas and on Sky Cinema from 11th May. Read our review of the film here.
Freda Cooper. Follow me on Twitter.
