Lionsgate will bring a touching story to the screen this summer with its Be surprised spin off White Bird: A Wonderful Story. Starring Helen Mirren, Bryce GeyzarAnd Gillian AndersonIn the center of the plot of the film is Julian (Geyzar), who was expelled from his former school. Soon after, Julian learns of his grandmother’s (Mirren’s) own experiences of hatred in Nazi-occupied France. Ahead of the premiere in August, Lionsgate released a new trailer.
Like the previous trailer, the new one gives us another look at the prominent 1940s setting in which Mirren’s character was a young girl. As she tells her story to Julian, related moments in her life play out, including her first encounter with a new boy. Although the two did not yet know each other, they both experienced some version of cruelty - she with anti-Semitism, and the boy with ableism. Also, while the story’s setting focuses on a particularly war-torn period, the trailer focuses more on how a little kindness can go a long way. This is what brings the couple closer and helps Mirren’s character help Julian better understand the consequences of his actions.
How White bird Connects to Be surprised
White bird brings a different story to Be surprised universe, but maintains a couple of key connections to the first story. The nature, White bird continues the story of Julian, a character first introduced in Be surprised. In the latter, Julian was the main instigator of the bullying of Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay), who had a facial deformity. Due to Julian’s actions towards Auggie, he was expelled and enrolled in a new school in White bird. Ironically, Julian is bullied. This leads to a second main connection: the themes of both stories are about kindness. As Julian struggles at his new school, he confronts his past actions and why others supported Auggie.
White bird adapted from R. J. Palacio graphic novel of the same name. Palacio also wrote a book from which Be surprised has been adapted. The script has been written Mark Bomback and under the guidance Mark Forsterwho has previously worked on films such as Looking for Neverland And A man named Otto. Palacio, Todd LiebermanAnd David Hoberman produced.
White bird will be released in select theaters on August 18, with a wider release next week on August 25. Check out the new trailer and synopsis below:
“In The White Bird, we follow Julian (Bryce Gheisar) who has been struggling to belong to himself ever since he was expelled from his former school for his treatment of Auggie Pullman. To change his life, Julian’s grandmother (Helen Mirren) finally opens up to Julian - her own story of courage - in her youth in Nazi-occupied France, a boy shelters her from mortal danger, they find their first love in a stunning, magical world of their own creation, and their mother boy (Gillian Anderson) risks everything to take care of her.”
Source: Collider
My name is Wendy Thorne and I was born on October 1st, 1990. I grew up in Los Angeles, CA and currently reside in Brooklyn, NY. I work as a staff writer for a news website and have been authoring articles for Daily News Hack since 2020. The topics I mostly cover are entertainment news and celebrity gossip.
