The Grey (2011)

Director:

Joe Carnahan

Writers:

Joe Carnahan (screenplay) &
Ian Mackenzie Jeffers (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

27 January 2012 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Live or Die on This Day

Plot:

After their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.

Plot Keywords:

Alaska | Fear | Punched In The Face | Isolation | Foot Chase

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Liam Neeson	...	Ottway
Frank Grillo	...	Diaz
Dermot Mulroney	...	Talget
Dallas Roberts	...	Hendrick
Joe Anderson	...	Flannery
Nonso Anozie	...	Burke
James Badge Dale	...	Lewenden
Ben Bray	...	Hernandez (as Ben Hernandez)
Anne Openshaw	...	Ottway's Wife
Peter Girges	...	Company Clerk
Jonathan Bitonti	...	Ottway (5 years old) (as Jonathan James Bitoni)
James Bitonti	...	Ottway's Father
Ella Kosor	...	Talget's Little Girl
Jacob Blair	...	Cimoski
Lani Gelera	...	Flight Attendant
Larissa Stadnichuk	...	Flight Attendant

Directed by
Joe Carnahan

Writing credits
Joe Carnahan		(screenplay) &
Ian Mackenzie Jeffers		(screenplay)
Ian Mackenzie Jeffers		(short story "Ghost Walker")

Produced by
Joe Carnahan	....	producer
Leah Carnahan	....	associate producer
Jules Daly	....	producer
Ross Fanger	....	executive producer (as Ross T. Fanger)
Lynn Givens	....	associate producer
Bill Johnson	....	executive producer
Mickey Liddell	....	producer
Jennifer Monroe	....	executive producer (as Jennifer Hilton Monroe)
Douglas Saylor Jr.	....	co-producer
Ridley Scott	....	producer
Tony Scott	....	executive producer
Jim Seibel	....	executive producer
Adi Shankar	....	executive producer
Spencer Silna	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Marc Streitenfeld

Cinematography by
Masanobu Takayanagi		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Roger Barton
Jason Hellmann

Casting by
John Papsidera

Production Design by
John Willett

Art Direction by
Ross Dempster

Set Decoration by
Peter Lando

Costume Design by
Courtney Daniel

Makeup Department
Gitte Axen	....	makeup department head
Howard Berger	....	special makeup effects artist
Anneliese Boise	....	hair department: KNB EFX GROUP, INC. (as Anneliese Boies)
Mark Boley	....	hair department: KNB EFX GROUP, INC.
Jack Bricker	....	hair department: KNB EFX GROUP, INC.
Dorothee Deichmann	....	first assistant makeup artist
Robin Dufay	....	hair department: KNB EFX GROUP, INC.
Gerald Gibbons	....	assistant hair stylist
Steve Katz	....	prosthetic department: KNB EFX GROUP, INC.
Derek Krout	....	prosthetic department: KNB EFX GROUP, INC.
Mike Lachimia	....	prosthetic department: KNB EFX GROUP, INC.
Sharon Markell	....	first assistant hair stylist
Hayley Miller	....	first assistant makeup artist
Gregory Nicotero	....	special makeup effects artist (as Greg Nicotero)
Kelly O'Neill	....	hair department: KNB EFX GROUP, INC.
Reggie Rizzo	....	hair department: KNB EFX GROUP, INC.
Roy Sidick	....	hair department head (as Roy A. Sidick)
Noriko Watanabe	....	hair department head
Noriko Watanabe	....	makeup department head

Production Management
Ross Fanger	....	unit production manager (as Ross T. Fanger)
Marcelo Gandola	....	post-production manager
Brian Leslie Parker	....	unit production manager
Frank Salvino	....	post production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Bitonti	....	first assistant director
Ben Bray	....	second unit director
Dan Mansfield	....	second assistant director (as Daniel Mansfield)
Michael Pohorly	....	second assistant director
Jody Ryan	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Don Anderson	....	assistant property master
Vaughan V. Baker	....	paint coordinator
Nancy Anna Brown	....	set designer
Matthew Campbell	....	greensman
John Carr	....	greens lead
Niki Charalambopoulos	....	paint foreman
Peter Charron	....	special prop fabricator (as Charron Custom Propbuilding &FX Co Ltd.)
Janice Lynn Coats	....	carpenter
Graham Coutts	....	property master
Sharon Dever	....	construction buyer
John Gallagher	....	illustrator
Lauren Geaghan	....	art department assistant
Brent Gloeckler	....	head sculptor
Max Gloeckler	....	sculptor
Phil Gough	....	property buyer
Leesa Hanna	....	set decoration buyer
Salmon Harris	....	storyboard artist
Ray Harvie	....	storyboard artist
Derek Krout	....	foam department supervisor KNB EFX Group
Charles Leitrants	....	construction coordinator
Vladimir Lushnikov	....	lead sculptor
Trevor Purvis	....	set dresser
Al Rourke	....	construction foreman
Dennis Simard	....	leadman
Wyatt Soutzo	....	metal fabricator
Carie Wallis	....	art department coordinator

Sound Department
Kristian Bailey	....	cable person
Steve Baine	....	foley artist
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer: New York
Keith Elliott	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Evans	....	supervising sound editor
Alison Fisher	....	adr supervisor
Mark Gingras	....	supervising sound editor
Alastair Gray	....	dialogue editor
Gina Gyles	....	foley assistant
Katie Halliday	....	assistant sound editor
Lana Marie Hattar	....	assistant re-recording mixer
Warren Hendriks	....	additional sound designer
Craig Henighan	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bob Kellough	....	sound effects editor (sound designer)
Andy Koyama	....	sound re-recording mixer
Martin Lacroix	....	boom operator
Skip Longfellow	....	assistant sound editor
Steve Munro	....	sound effects editor
Peter Persaud	....	foley recordist
Ric Schnupp	....	adr recordist
Mark Shnuriwsky	....	sound effects editor
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
William Unrau	....	cable person
Michael T. Williamson	....	sound mixer
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist
Mark Zsifkovits	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jared Marshack	....	sound mix technician (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Cara E. Anderson	....	special effects buyer
Carl DeBoer	....	special effects technician
Barrie Gower	....	prosthetics supplier
Grady Holder	....	dental/occular technician: K.N.B. EFX Group
Kurt Jackson	....	special effects technician
Kyle T. Moore	....	special effects foreman
Gregory Nicotero	....	animatronics supervisor
Gregory Nicotero	....	special makeup and creature effects supervisor
Amanda Paller	....	special effects assistant
James Paradis	....	special effects coordinator
Reggie Rizzo	....	hair specialist
Courtland Sandover-Sly	....	special effects crew: Smithers, B.C.
Harry Tomsic	....	special effects assistant

Visual Effects by
Mathieu Aerni	....	modeler: Digital Dimension
Michael Archambault	....	lead tracker: Digital Dimension
Eric Aubry	....	lead artist: lighting: Digital Dimension
Jeffrey Edward Baksinski	....	digital effects supervisor
Michel Bergeron	....	compositor: Digital Dimension
Carl Berube	....	rigger: Digital Dimension
Joey Bonander	....	visual effects coordinator: Zoic Studios
Niall Booker	....	modeler: Zoic Studios
Francois Bordez	....	sequence lead: Digital Dimension
Jean-Christophe Boue	....	digital compositor: Digital Dimension
Kristen Branan	....	visual effects producer: Zoic Studios
Julie Cardinal	....	visual effects producer: Digital Dimension
Erico Caselle	....	fx artist: Digital Dimension
Pierre Cataford	....	fx artist: Digital Dimension
Stephen Chan	....	visual effects data wrangler
Robert Chapin	....	visual effects artist
Sébastien Chartier	....	lead fx: Digital Dimension
Pascal Clement	....	modeler: Digital Dimension
Richard Clement-Tam	....	fx artist: Digital Dimension
Raonull Conover	....	fx artist: Digital Dimension
Daniel Coupal	....	digital compositor
Anthony D'Agostino	....	tracking: Zoic Studios
Robert De La Cruz	....	modeler: Digital Dimension
Debora Dunphy	....	digital compositor
Nicolas Fortin	....	texture artist: Digital Dimension
Dave Gagnon	....	lead textures: Digital Dimension
Sébastien Gagné	....	compositor: Digital Dimension
Gian Ganziano	....	visual effects editor
Christian Garcia	....	CG supervisor: Digital Dimension
Andrei Gheorghiu	....	digital compositor
Simon Habib	....	rigger: Digital Dimension
Gunnar Hansen	....	visual effects supervisor
Guy Harvey	....	production manager: Digital Dimension
Jocelyn Hudon	....	animation lead: Digital Dimension
Gael Jacques	....	lead modeler: Digital Dimension
Erin Kanoa	....	matte painter: Zoic Studios
Dorota Kowalska	....	VFX coordinator: Digital Dimension
Daniel Kvasznicza	....	matte painter: Digital Dimension
Pierre Lalancette	....	tracking: Digital Dimension
Nicolas Lamy	....	animator: Digital Dimension
Kevin Landry	....	tracking: Digital Dimension
Nancy Larouche	....	lighting artist: Digital Dimension
Martin Larrivée	....	sequence lead: Digital Dimension
Nadine Lavoie	....	animator: Digital Dimension
Sophie Leclerc	....	visual effects producer
Patrick Lemay	....	tracking: Digital Dimension
Sylvain Lorgeou	....	lead matte painter: Digital Dimension
Ralph Maiers	....	visual effects supervisor: Zoic BC
Eric Maltais	....	rigger: Digital Dimension
Elaine Martin	....	lighting artist: Digital Dimension
Louis-Simon Menard	....	executive producer: Digital Dimension
Stéphane Morali	....	digital compositor
Patrick Ménard	....	modeler: Digital Dimension
Olivier Nadeau	....	compositor: Digital Dimension
Dave Normand	....	animator: Digital Dimension
Vissal Ong	....	lead compositor: Digital Dimension
Nathan Overstrom	....	compositing supervisor
Jan-Fryderyk Pleszczynski	....	executive producer: Digital Dimension
Sébastien Proulx	....	CG supervisor: Digital Dimension
Vincent Reumont	....	animator: Digital Dimension
Benoit Robert	....	fx artist: Digital Dimension
Pascal Ruest	....	animator: Digital Dimension
Eric Senecal	....	fx artist: Digital Dimension
Marcos Shih	....	matte painter: Zoic Studios
Daveed Shwartz	....	digital matte painter
Frederic Simard	....	cg lighting artist
Mark Stetson	....	senior visual effects supervisor: Zoic Studios
Stephane Stoll	....	animation director: Digital Dimension
Patrick Tasse	....	digital compositor
Eric Tetreault	....	compositor: Digital Dimension
Jean-Philippe Therrien	....	VFX coordinator: Digital Dimension
Scot D. Thomson	....	tracking: Digital Dimension
Valentin Trasnea	....	digital compositor
Alexandre Tremblay	....	compositor: Digital Dimension
Yves Tremblay	....	compositor: Digital Dimension
Katrina Tung	....	texture artist: Digital Dimension
Carlos Valcarcel	....	lead rigger: Digital Dimension
Lauren Weidel	....	visual effects coordinator
Henry Wojcik	....	animator: Digital Dimension
Sonia Wu	....	compositor: Digital Dimension

Stunts
Ben Bray	....	stunt coordinator
Byron Briscoe	....	stunts
Corbin Fox	....	stunt rigger
Lani Gelera	....	stunt actor
Kory Grim	....	stunt performer
Leif Havdale	....	stunt double: Joe Anderson
Adrian Hein	....	stunt double: Dallas Roberts
Charles Jarman	....	stunt performer
Jon Kralt	....	stunt double: Dermot Mulroney
Larry Lam	....	stunts
Kit Mallet	....	stunt performer
Dan Rizzuto	....	stunt performer
Todd Scott	....	stunts
Larissa Stadnichuk	....	stunts
Hugo Steele	....	stunt performer
Ty Trand	....	utility stunts
Mark Vanselow	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Mark Vanselow	....	stunt double: Liam Neeson

Camera and Electrical Department
Justin Bergler	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Rob Brady	....	best boy electric
Marty Coady	....	electrician
Drew Davidson	....	gaffer
Spencer Ennis	....	camera loader
Ryan Fehr	....	camera crane technician
Dave Ferreira	....	grip
Kimberly French	....	still photographer
David Goyer	....	generator operator
Darren Gregory	....	best boy rigging grip
Christopher Harvey	....	rigger
Jeff Harvey	....	best boy rigging lighting
Randy A. Jablonka	....	lighting technician
Jeff Kuzyk	....	lighting technician
Paul Stoker Mayne	....	lighting technician
David McKnight	....	digital video assist
Will Parrot	....	key grip
Rob Sperling	....	grip
Patrick Stepien	....	"a" camera first assistant
Masanobu Takayanagi	....	camera operator: "a" camera (as Masa Takayanagi)
Shai Vera	....	key rigging grip
Pat Waller	....	rigging grip

Casting Department
Andrea Brown	....	extras casting director
Jennifer Cram	....	casting associate
Dylan Jury	....	casting assistant
J.J. Ogilvy	....	casting associate
June E. Watson	....	extras casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Phuong Chau	....	key breakdown artist
Karen Durrant	....	costumer
Koreen Heaver	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Jennifer Anderson	....	dailies project manager
Richard Cordes	....	colorist: dailies
Joe Fineman	....	Post Production Supervisor
Andrew Geary	....	color assist
Kevin Hale	....	associate editor
Dave Muscat	....	digital intermediate editor
Tom Poole	....	digital intermediate colorist
Mathieu Reid	....	color timer
Joseph Jett Sally	....	additional editor
Brett Schlaman	....	first assistant editor
Nicole Mak	....	dailies film assistant: Deluxe Vancouver (uncredited)

Music Department
John Barrett	....	assistant score mixing engineer
John Barrett	....	scoring pro tools engineer
Charles M. Barsamian	....	music business & legal executive
Joseph Bonn	....	music editor
Peter Cobbin	....	music mixer
Peter Cobbin	....	music score engineer
Peter Cobbin	....	scoring mixer
Ben Foster	....	conductor
Ben Foster	....	orchestrator
Dave Foster	....	music preparation
Isobel Griffiths	....	orchestra contractor
Laura Katz	....	music supervisor
Phil Knights	....	music preparation
Alex Lu	....	assistant to composer
Dorina Markoff-McNulty	....	musician
Andy Ross	....	music supervisor
Sunna Wehrmeijer	....	music programmer
Kirsty Whalley	....	music editor
Lucy Whalley	....	assistant orchestra contractor

Transportation Department
Ben Derrick	....	transportation captain
Ian-Peter Jacobi	....	transportation
Ryan Moroz	....	driver

Other crew
Andy Aitken	....	sculptor
Nicole Barton	....	assistant: Jim Seibel
Bruce L. Brownstein	....	location manager
Benjamin Cairns	....	production assistant
Ariel Carefoot	....	production assistant
Simon Carrigan	....	first assistant coordinator
Jorge Ignacio Castillo	....	production assistant
Alana Comeau	....	production secretary
Chuck Duffy	....	stand-in
Jeff Edwards	....	key mechanical designer
Kim Goddard-Rains	....	second assistant production coordinator
Synnöve Godeseth	....	assistant: Ross Fanger
Bill Grantham	....	legal counsel: 1984 Private Defense Contractors
Susan Lambie	....	script supervisor
Derrick Landry	....	first assistant accountant
Kevin Landry	....	production controller
Tara Larsen	....	producers asssistant
Laura Livingstone	....	production coordinator
Flemming Lund	....	assistant location manager
Tom Moran	....	assistant: Tony Scott
Roderick Dryden Morrison	....	production assistant
John Rhodes	....	acquisitions assistant
Steven Robbins	....	assistant: Tony Scott
Temple Rohl-Burdekin	....	key production assistant
Daniel A. Rosenthal	....	post-production accountant
Steve Sangster	....	production assistant: studio
Mark S. Schneider	....	production legal services (as Mark Schneider, Esq.)
Philip J. Strina	....	business affairs: Inferno
Scooby Vincent	....	production assistant: studio
Connor Welsh	....	production assistant
Michelle Zazulak	....	production assistant

Thanks
James Gibb	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Open Road Films (II) (presents)
• Inferno Distribution (in association with) (as Inferno)
• LD Entertainment (in association with)
• Scott Free Productions (as Scott Free)
• Chambara Pictures
• 1984 Private Defense Contractors (in association with)

Distributors

• Audio Visual Entertainment (2012) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Energía Entusiasta (2012) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Entertainment Film Distributors (2012) (UK) (theatrical)
• Entertainment One (2012) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2012) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Icon Film Distribution (2012) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Innoform Media (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Koch Media (2012) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2012) (France) (theatrical)
• Open Road Films (II) (2012) (USA) (theatrical)
• Showgate (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2012) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Viva International Pictures (2012) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2012) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Cinemax (2012) (Russia) (all media) (CIS + Baltics)
• DeA Planeta Home Entertainment (2012) (Spain) (all media)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Fundamental Films (2011) (China) (all media)
• Golden Scene (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Golden Scene (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Home Box Office (HBO) (2013) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Joyncontents Group (2012) (South Korea) (all media)
• Midget Entertainment (2012) (Denmark) (all media)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2012) (Portugal) (all media)

Special Effects

• Company 3 NY (digital intermediate)
• Digital Dimension
• Zoic Studios

Other Companies

• Abbey Road Studios  music recorded and mixed at
• Comerica Entertainment Group  production financing
• Company 3  digital intermediate
• Cutting Edge Group  music services
• De Lane Lea  ADR recording
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Ignition Print  poster design (uncredited)
• Lakeshore Records  soundtrack
• Pivotal Post  Avid HD editing equipment provided by
• Post Modern Sound  ADR recording facility
• William F. White International  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/disturbing content including bloody images, and for pervasive language

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Datasat | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #46102) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:18 (edited version) | Australia:MA15+ | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | France:12 | Germany:16 | Argentina:16 | Japan:PG12 | Hong Kong:IIB | India:A

Filming Locations:

Smithers, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Open Road Films (II)

Trivia:

According to actor Liam Neeson's account, the temperatures were as low as -40°C in Smithers (British Columbia) where the film was shot. The snow storms/scenes were actual prevailing weather conditions and not a cinematic illusion produced with CGI trickery (interview: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.70" (2012)). The cast wore thermals under their costumes for additional protection.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Before setting off for the woods, Ottway searches through the plane wreckage and finds his rifle in its case, with the stock broken in two. He then discards the rifle. This is strange as, even with the stock broken and scope ruined, it would be possible to fire the rifle with reasonable accuracy at close range, certainly accurately enough to dispatch a number of wolves.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ottway:A job at the end of the world. A salaried killer for a big petroleum company. I don't know why I did half the things I've done, but I know this is where I belong, surrounded by my own. Ex-cons, fugitives, drifters, assholes. Men unfit for mankind.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Tosh.0: Bubb Rubb (#4.16)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

The City Surf

Entertaining... Bit of a let down though.

"The Grey," is one of those movies that breaks my heart a little. I really is the definition of a movie that had the potential to be so much more.

All of the actors do really well. Liam Neeson is excellent as usual. The opening scene is good. It sets up the location and Ottway's lifestyle. It gives a good character to follow. A individual that we can get to know. The plane crash is intense and real feeling. As the men band together and form an alliance, the wolves show up and force them to make the tough decision to wait for help or look for help. Their struggle and torment feels believable the whole way through. The whole ordeal has a "Ten Little Indian's," type of idea to it, which keeps the tension high the entire time.

Strangely, my main issue with this movie was the wolves. For a story that was presenting itself as a realistic "fight for survival," the wolves were the only element that contradicted this. First off, they didn't act like wolves. It felt as if the crew was trying too hard to mimic "The Ghosts and the Darkness," idea with the animals; By trying to make them out to be just pure evil. Although it may have worked for Lions in that movie, in this one it just came off kind of silly. Along with that they worked against the intriguing parts of movie. I would become invested with the growing relationships between the characters, and then the wolves would jump in again to mess everything up. It got redundant after a while, and they made a lot of the moments of expressed humanity irrelevant. The cold, the harsh terrain, and internal conflicts were more than enough opposition for the guys. I think it would have been great if the wolves had simply been the push to make the men leave the airplane. The men could have lost one guy in the fight, and then just escaped and moved on. Beginning with the forest, the wolves only irritated me.

I wont give away the ending, but I will say that it left me frustrated. Overall I do not recommend this movie. If I had to though, I would recommend it to anyone who was just bored and couldn't find anything else to watch. Don't spend money on it if you can help it. If you do, then don't spend too much. Again, just don't expect too much from this one. It's too bad it turned out to be a dud.