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Why, it’s a cornucopia of visual media for Sacha Gervasi’s highly-anticipated (and not just by me) film, Hitchcock! You didn’t think I would just let it slip by, did you? Let’s take a look!

 

Fox Searchlight has released some juicy tidbits to magazines People and Entertainment Weekly, mercilessly teasing us with some buzzworthy photos of the all-star cast in character as the all-star cast and crew of the classic 1960 thriller Psycho. People published a photo collage before the individual pics were released on their own, followed by new poster art featured by EW. Let’s break it down, shall we?

 

 

First, the collage in People:

 

 

While we had seen many candid, paparazzi pics of the leading ladies Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, and Jessica Biel in costume, this is the first we're seeing of them in context. This also features a first look at James D'Arcy as Anthony Perkins. There are also insets of the real-life peeps so that you can make your own snap comparisons. Now let's break them down individually...

 

 

Anthony Hopkins and Mirren as the Hitchcocks:

 

 

It's fairly well-known how much of a hand Hitchcock's wife Alma had in his cinematic career. He often credited her with being the voice of reason and had said that if she disapproved of a script, he simply did not do it, period. And although Stephen Rebello's book, on which this film is based, gave a more general impression of the goings-on of the filming of Psycho, Gervasi's film will put emphasis on this classic Hollywood marriage. In this photo, you can see Alma advising Hitch in the editing room. Some fellow Psycho-philes are speculating that this scene depicts the moment Alma noticed Janet Leigh gulp and blink during the dramatic post-shower scene, when she's laying on the ground staring dead-eyed into the camera (a scene which required multiple agonizing takes, according to Leigh herself in her own book about shooting the movie).

 

 

ScarJo as Janet Leigh:

 

 

Hear we see Johansson behind the wheel of Marion Crane's getaway car after having stolen $40,000 from her boss to be with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis. Right off the bat, I can see the costuming is spot-on. The hairstyle is also perfect to the period -- there is always the urge with period films to slightly update hairstyles to adapt to modern-day sensibilities, but that does not seem to be the case here, which is refreshing. Everything seems correct, but we have yet to see Scarlett in action, which will, of course, be the ultimate deciding factor.

 

 

James D'Arcy as Anthony Perkins:

 

 

Okay, here's where shizz gets real, y'all. Out of all the casting decisions made on this movie, I always felt this is the most accurate, and this photo confirms my feelings. Although the hair is a bit off, I can tell just from the expression and body language that D'Arcy clearly knows what he's doing. Even something as subtle as the placement of his hand on the arm of the couch is dead-on Tony P. And I would know, believe me. Again, though, as with ScarJo, I will have to reserve full judgment until I see him in action. I only hope he doesn't make Perkins too fidgety and stuttery... Yes, that is how Tony was, but it can easily fall into chiché. The problem is, we still don't know Gervasi's intention with this film. Will it be a straight biopic? Will it be campy and pulp like the era and the Psycho novel was? That will determine what sort of performances these actors churn out.

 

 

And now for the new poster:

 

 

This is a very clever homage to the posters not only of the era but of Psycho in general (you can see the original here). It's also very telling, due to the size and placement of each character; you can plainly tell which figures are more central in Gervasi's mind. 1) Hitchcock. 2) Alma. 3) Janet Leigh and Vera Miles. 4) Everyone else. D'Arcy barely manages to squeak his profile in there at the bottom left... For such a central character in the film Psycho, he seems oddly relegated to little more than a supporting character here. Hmmm. Still, cool poster though!

 

Now, only one question remains: WHEN DO WE GET TO SEE A TRAILER???

 

 

- Katie Marzullo, YH Staff Editor

katie@younghollywood.com