NIGHTWISH 'Imaginaerum' Movie Director Issues Another Update

Finnish/Swedish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH recently spent time not only putting finishing touches to their new album, "Imaginaerum", but also planning a movie of the same name.

"Imaginaerum" is one of the projects which recently received grants from the Finnish government institution called the Finnish Film Foundation. The movie, directed by Stobe Harju, about an old man on his deathbed who glimpses a childhood dream in which he refuses to grow old, and fights aging with his imagination, will get $575,000 toward its $3.7 million budget.

During a September 8 interview with Petri Silas of Finland's Soundi magazine, NIGHTWISH mainman/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen revealed that all the filming for the "Imaginaerum" movie will be done in Canada with mostly Canadian actors/actresses. Post-production will take place in Canada and Finland. He aso revealed the names of the actors who have two of the main roles in the film: Marianne Farley and Quinn Lord.

Stobe Harju has issued the following update on the "Imaginaerum" film:

"Four years have passed now since the first idea of the film got out and when I thought NIGHTWISH, Tuomas and I were merely crazy dreamers.

"As many of you know, we've already shot the film's principal photography, and only in 18 days. I promise you, though, the material says different. The shots we got in that short period of time were priceless and there's no way you could tell we were in a hurry.

"I have learned a lot since we first began shooting.

"Everyone has to understand that most feature films, even with great concepts, never get shot. The team, the production staff, me and, most of all, the band have battled and bled to get the shootings on the way and the job done. That said, you have to be aware that many battles are still to be fought in the editing room, the visual effects, sound mixing, original score and the distribution of this film. Nothing is clear when it comes to filmmaking. However, with this team: our producers and the post-production specialists, it's nearly impossible to fail.

"Now, as the editing phase has begun and there's not much more to tell than it is going very well, the scenes look great and that I'm homesick, we're trying to get you as much candy as possible.

"Here are SOME of the names of our great cast, who all believed into the screenplay and carried out performances I've been never able to witness before.

* Francis X. McCarthy
* Quinn Lord
* Marianne Farley
* Joanna Noyes
* Ilkka Villi
* Keyanna Fielding
* Ron Lea
* Victoria Jung
* Hlne Robitaille
* Stefan Demers
* Anette Olzon
* Marco Hietala
* Tuomas Holopainen
* Emppu Vuorinen
* Jukka Nevalainen

"One battle has gone past with a triumph by the greatest team and crew imaginable. You could think we've been lucky but luck never comes to us without hard work, heart and faith. I myself couldn't thank the fantastic Montreal crew enough and you, the fans of NIGHTWISH, for believing into this project. Keep it up. There are still miles to go. The journey to 'Imaginaerum' continues, and for now, I'd like to say thank you for your support."

Several photos from the "Imaginaerum" movie shoot can be found at this location. A couple of the pictures are also available below.

The "Imaginaerum" album will be released in the U.S. on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 via Roadrunner Records; in Finland on Wednesday, November 30 and the rest of Europe on Friday, December 2 via Nuclear Blast Records.

NIGHTWISH's new single, "Storytime", will be released on Friday, November 11 via Nuclear Blast Records.

NIGHTWISH will kick off the "Imaginaerum" world tour in Los Angeles. The very first show of the trek will take place at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California on Saturday, January 21. This will be the biggest NIGHTWISH show production ever on North American soil and strictly a one-off there will be no U.S. tour until later in 2012.