Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther) and Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water) star in FAHRENHEIT 451, the new HBO film based on Ray Bradbury's classic novel of the same name, depicting a future where the media is seen as a drug, history is rewritten and "firemen" burn books. The HBO Films’ original production premieres on Saturday, May 19th simultaneously with the United States, only on HBO and HBO GO.
Jordan portrays Montag, a young fireman who forsakes his world and struggles to regain his humanity as he battles his mentor, fire captain Beatty, played by Shannon. Sofia Boutella (The Mummy) stars as Clarisse, an informant caught between the competing interests of Montag and Beatty.
The cast also includes Lilly Singh (YouTube’s Superwoman) as Raven, a tabloid reporter who works with the fire department to spread the ministry's propaganda by broadcasting its book-burning raids to fans.
Shot on location in Toronto, Canada, FAHRENHEIT 451 was directed, and executive produced by Ramin Bahrani, who co-wrote the script with Amir Naderi. Other executive producers include Sarah Green, Michael B. Jordan, Alan Gasmer, Peter Jaysen. The film was produced by David Coatsworth.
About “Fahrenheit 451”, the novel
Set in an unspecified city at an unspecified time in the future after the year 1960, “Fahrenheit 451” is a dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury, published in 1953. The novel presents a future American society where books are outlawed, and "firemen" burn any that are found.
In a 1956 radio interview, Bradbury stated that he wrote “Fahrenheit 451” because of his concerns at the time (during the McCarthy era) about the threat of book burning in the United States. In later years, he described the book as a commentary on how mass media reduces interest in reading literature. A visionary for his time, Bradbury explored how the media would guide people’s thoughts and actions in times like this that has resonated through the years.
