Everest is a 2015 biographical survival film directed and produced by Baltasar Kormákur and written by William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy. It stars an ensemble cast of Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Martin Henderson and Emily Watson. Based on the 1996 Mount Everest disaster in which eight climbers died, it focuses on the survival attempts of two expedition groups, one led by Rob Hall (Clarke) and the other by Scott Fischer (Gyllenhaal). Kormákur, Universal Pictures, Walden Media, Cross Creek Pictures and Working Title Films dedicated the film to the late British actress Natasha Richardson.
The film opened the 72nd Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2015, and was released theatrically on 18 September 2015. It was first released in IMAX 3D on 11 September 2015, in the UK and in IMAX 3D, RealD 3D, and 2D internationally, and exclusively in IMAX 3D on 19 September 2015, as a limited release in the United States and Canada, and along 36 other countries. It began a wide release in the United States on 25 September 2015. The film was a commercial success, grossing $203 million worldwide against a $55 million budget and received positive reviews from critics.
Plot
In May 1996, several commercial expeditions at the base camp of Mount Everest prepare to climb to the summit. Rob Hall, who popularized commercial Everest missions, leads Adventure Consultants; Scott Fischer is the chief guide for its rival, Mountain Madness. Rob's clients include Beck Weathers, an experienced climber; Doug Hansen, a former mailman pursuing his dream; climbing veteran Yasuko Namba, who hopes to complete her final Seven Summits ascent; and Outside magazine journalist Jon Krakauer. Helen Wilton manages Rob's base camp.
A month earlier in New Zealand, Rob says goodbye to his pregnant wife Jan, promising he will be home for the birth. At the base camp, Rob receives a fax from her, informing him that their unborn baby is a girl. He wants to name her Sarah, but she disagrees.
Worried about climbers overcrowding, Rob persuades Scott to cooperate to reduce delays. On the summit attempt, Rob's group departs from Camp IV before dawn, planning to complete the ascent and begin descending by 2:00 PM., the latest safe time to ensure return before nightfall.
The group is delayed by over an hour after discovering that guide ropes are not installed on the upper reaches of the climb. Beck has eyesight problems and stops. Rob tells him to return to base camp if his condition does not improve in a half-hour. Scott hurries down to camp to help another climber but plans to re-ascend, and Rob warns him about overexertion.
Rob reaches the summit on time and is joined by other climbers including Yasuko, who jubilantly plants her Japanese flag. Descending, Rob encounters Doug struggling to ascend just above the Hillary Step and orders him to descend.
Doug insists on continuing, saying that he will not get the chance again. Rob reluctantly agrees and they reach the summit two hours later, well past the safe return time. Doug is exhausted and suffering from altitude sickness. With them is Scott, exhausted and ill from high-altitude pulmonary edema.
As Rob helps Doug descend, a blizzard strikes while Doug's oxygen tank is empty, causing him to suffer hypoxia. No extra bottles are stored on the route as Rob asked and he radios Helen to send more oxygen. Doug, left briefly by Rob, semi-consciously detaches himself from the guide rope and walks unsteadily along the narrow path, then silently topples to his death.
Scott's condition worsens. He tells his fellow climbers to continue descending without him. He lies down and later dies. Descending climbers reach Beck, whose vision remains impaired, but they all become lost as the blizzard obliterates the trail. Three climbers go for help, leaving Beck and Yasuko. Guide Andy 'Harold' Harris reaches Rob with spare oxygen, but the cylinder aperture is frozen shut. They huddle together in the storm.
While Rob sleeps, Andy begins to have hallucinations. He then strips off his outer clothing and slides to his death. In the morning, Rob radios Helen that Doug and Andy are gone and that his extremities are frozen. Helen calls Jan, hoping that Rob will respond to her voice. Jan tells him that he must start moving. Rob tells her that he is cold but otherwise comfortable, and asks her to name their baby Sarah, dying soon afterward.
Returning climbers tell the camp that Beck and Yasuko are stranded. The weather, however, makes a rescue impossible. Helen calls Beck's wife Peach, informing her of the situation.
In the morning, Beck miraculously awakens, sees that Yasuko is dead, and stumbles down to camp alone, severely frostbitten and in need of medical help. Peach calls the American Embassy and organizes a helicopter rescue. Nepal Army pilot Lt. Col. Madan Khatri Chhetri flies a high-altitude mission to take Beck to the hospital.
Meanwhile, one of Scott's guides, Anatoli Boukreev, finds his body and moves it off the trail. Returning home, Helen has an emotional reunion with Jan, who later gives birth and names her daughter Sarah. Beck returns to his family, heavily bandaged. Closing titles reveal that he eventually lost both hands and nose to frostbite and that Rob's body (as well as those of the other climbers who died) remains on Everest.
Cast
Jason Clarke as Rob Hall, a New Zealand expedition group leader. Josh Brolin as Beck Weathers, an American doctor and amateur mountain climber. John Hawkes as Doug Hansen, a mailman and amateur mountain climber. Robin Wright as Peach Weathers, Beck's wife. Emily Watson as Helen Wilton, the base camp manager. Michael Kelly as Jon Krakauer, a journalist and amateur mountain climber. Sam Worthington as Guy Cotter, a professional guide. Keira Knightley as Jan Arnold, Hall's pregnant wife. Martin Henderson as Andy "Harold" Harris, a professional guide. Elizabeth Debicki as Dr. Caroline Mackenzie, the base camp physician. Ingvar Sigurdsson as Anatoli Boukreev, a professional with Scott's team. Jake Gyllenhaal as Scott Fischer, an American expedition group leader. Thomas M. Wright as Michael Groom, an Australian mountain climber. Mark Derwin as Lou Kasischke, a mountain climber on Hall's team. Justin Salinger as Ian Woodall, a British mountain climber who has climbed Mount Everest several times. Naoko Mori as Yasuko Namba, an experienced amateur mountain climber. Clive Standen as Ed Viesturs Amy Shindler as Charlotte Fox Vanessa Kirby as Sandy Hill Tom Goodman-Hill as Neal Beidleman, a professional guide on Fischer's team. Charlotte Bøving as Lene Gammelgaard, a successful Danish climber in Fischer's group. Micah Hauptman as David Breashears, a documentary filmmaker and mountaineer. Chris Reilly as Klev Schoening, a mountain climber on Fischer's team. Chike Chan as Makalu Gau, the leader of the Taiwanese expedition. Vijaya Lama as Lt. Col. Madan Khatri Chhetri, a Nepalese Army helicopter pilot. Mia Goth as Meg Weathers, Beck's daughter. Pemba Sherpa as Lopsang, Sherpa guide for Fischer's team. Ang Phula Sherpa as Ang Dorje, Sherpa guide for Hall's team.
Production
Development Baltasar Kormákur directed the film which was scripted by Simon Beaufoy and Mark Medoff, with early script adaptations carried out by Justin Isbell and William Nicholson. The film was produced by Working Title Films. Universal Pictures distributed the film in the United States. The film was produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, and was set to start shooting in November 2013. In September 2013, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films were set to co-finance the film, but in October they exited as co-financiers.
After the production start date of 6 November 2013 had passed, Cross Creek Pictures and Walden Media joined the production on 12 November 2013, and financed the film with $65 million. The film started production on 13 January 2014, in the Ötztal Alps in Italy, after which production moved to Nepal and Iceland. On 11 December 2013, The Hollywood Reporter posted that South Tyrol's regional film board added $1 million to the film's funding.
In February 2013, Christian Bale was in talks to join the cast of the disaster film to play Rob Hall, the leader of a New Zealand group who ran Adventure Consultants. On 17 July 2013, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke and John Hawkes were cast as leads in the film. Bale dropped out around this time. Gyllenhaal played Scott Fischer, the leader of the Mountain Madness expedition; Brolin played Beck Weathers, a doctor; Clarke took the role of Rob Hall, also an expedition leader; and Hawkes played Doug Hansen, one of Rob Hall's clients, who encounters difficulties on the descent from the summit of Everest.
On 4 February 2014, Clive Standen also joined the cast, while shooting was underway. On 7 February 2014, more cast members were added to the film, including Martin Henderson, Emily Watson, Thomas M. Wright, and Michael Kelly. Watson played a motherly base camp figure who works closely with Rob Hall, and Kelly played Into Thin Air author Jon Krakauer. On 17 February 2014, actor Micah Hauptman was added to the cast in the role of filmmaker and mountaineer David Breashears, who directed the 1998 IMAX documentary film Everest. On 24 March 2014, Sam Worthington and Robin Wright joined the cast. Worthington played Guy Cotter and Wright played Beck Weathers' wife, Peach.
Filming
In November 2013, the film was set for a 13 January 2014 production start date in Italy. Co-financier Brian Oliver told Variety they would shoot in Ötztal Alps in Italy for six weeks, a month in Iceland, and then move to Nepal for another month's shoot. In early January 2014, actors Gyllenhaal and Brolin were practicing for climbing mountains in the Santa Monica Mountains, to train for their roles.
The 44-member crew arrived on 12 January 2014 in Nepal and stayed in Kathmandu. They had permission to film from 9 to 23 January 2014. Later filming on Everest commenced on 13 January 2014. On 14 January 2014, Brolin and Hawkes filmed shots at local terminal of Tribhuvan International Airport, and then they were to be filming at Lukla Airport on 15 January 2014, then to Namche Bazaar, and later at the Everest Base Camp, news confirmed. After shooting completed in Nepal, the crews were to move to Italy (Schnalstal and Rome), and then in early March to the United Kingdom, to film at Pinewood Studios.
English actor Clive Standen has said that filming on location in freezing temperatures had been "tough but fun". On 24 March 2014 the shooting was said to be taking place at the Everest Base Camp in Nepal. Base camp exteriors were filmed on the backlot at Cinecitta Studios in Rome, where bright sunlight could be achieved to resemble the lighting at the base camp.