Changeling, News

Universal Pictures (UK) presents…

CHANGELING IS AVAILABLE TO OWN AND RENT ON DVD AND BLU-RAY FROM 30th MARCH 2009

“Incredible and heart breaking” 5 stars, The Sun
“Harrowing and impressive drama” 4 stars, The Mirror
“Compelling, adult period thriller, with an Oscar-assured performance from Angelina Jolie” 5 stars, Empire

CHANGELING
To find her son, she did what no one else dared.

Clint Eastwood creates another award nominated* cinematic masterpiece with Changeling, available to own and rent on DVD and Blu-ray from 30th March 2008. Cast in the role of Christine Collins, Angelina Jolie (Wanted, A Mighty Heart) delivers a stunningly moving performance as a single mother in 1920’s Los Angeles whose worst nightmare becomes a reality.

Nominated for both Best Actress and Best Original Score in January’s Golden Globes®, Changeling tells the true story of one mother’s harrowing yet heroic journey as the love for her son drives her to take on the LAPD in her search for justice.

Christine Collins is a busy single mother living in a working class suburb of 1920’s Los Angeles with her son Walter. In the absence of Walter’s father, Christine is forced to bring up Walter alone, working long hours in a telephone exchange to ensure she can provide for her son. One Saturday afternoon, Christine is called unexpectedly to work, forcing her to leave her son home alone. But when she returns in the evening, Walter is gone.

Alone and terrified she is forced to wait over 24 hours until Walter can be reported missing to the police. The torturous search for her son begins and over weeks and months it seems probable that Walter may never return home. Until one day she receives a phone call from the LAPD informing them Walter has been found. Overcome with emotion and unbridled joy, Christine prepares to meet her son at the train station, surrounded by LAPD dignitaries and the press.

But when Walter arrives Christine is lost for words, the boy returned to her is not her son. In a whirlwind of flashing cameras and intense pressure from the over bearing Police Captain J. J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan – Hitch, Law & Order) they persuade her to take the boy home ‘on a trial basis’. Still unconvinced Christine is forced to accept.

When she returns home with the boy and without anyone around her she concludes with total certainty that the boy is not hers owing to the significant physical and emotional differences between this boy and the son she loves. Christine cannot accept the injustice being pushed upon her and continues to challenge the Prohibition-era Los Angeles police force at every turn aggravating Captain J.J. Jones and putting herself at significant risk.

As Christine becomes more forceful with her objections and raises media attention to her plight, the LAPD do everything in their power to discredit her character and sanity. She begins to realise that women who challenge the system don’t live to tell the tale. But as the media spotlight falls upon her, she receives help from benevolent local activist Reverend Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich – Burn After Reading, Eragon), a fierce critic of the corruption that has infested the Police Force.

Based on the actual incident that rocked California’s legal system, Changeling tells the shocking tale of one mother’s quest to find her son, and those who won’t stop until they silence her.

* Changeling nominations included:
 2 Golden Globes® – Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and Best Original Score – Motion Picture
3 Oscars® –Actress in a leading role, Art Direction and Cinematography
8 BAFTAs – Director, Original Screenplay, Leading Actress, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design and Sound 
‘Oscars®’ is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
‘Golden Globe®’ is a registered trademark of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Universal Pictures International Entertainment is independent from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Cast and Crew
Christine Collins….   Angelina Jolie
Walter Collins…   Gattlin Griffiths
Capt. J.J. Jones …  Jeffrey Donovan
Reverend Gustav Briegleb…  John Malkovich

Clint Eastwood…   Director & Producer
Brian Grazer & Ron Howard…  Producers
Tom Stern…   Cinematography
J. Michael Straczynski…  Writer
Geyer Kosinski…   Executive Producer
Tim Moore…   Executive Producer

DVD Extras include:
Partners In Crime: Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie (13 mins 35 secs)
The Common Thread: Angelina Jolie Becomes Christine Collins (5 mins)

Technical details
UK Certificate:   15
Ireland Certificate:   15
DVD RRP:   £19.99
Blu-Ray RRP:   £24.99
Aspect Ratio:   2.35:1
Feature Run Time:   2hrs 22 mins
Subtitles:    English
Sound mix:   Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS
Colour:    Colour

Universal Pictures (UK) is a division of Universal Pictures International Entertainment which is part of NBC Universal – one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi Universal.