Origin The film's rights were acquired by the production companies "schlicht und ergreifend GmbH" and "mem-Film" (mind's eye media GmbH). Katharina Schöde wrote the script and Felix Fuchssteiner directed. The film was created in collaboration with Concorde Filmverleih GmbH (a film distribution company) and Tele München Fernseh Produktionsgesellschaft (a manufacturing company).
Cast After auditions, the main roles were given to the young actors
Maria Ehrich,
Jannis Niewöhner, and
Laura Berlin. Some other well-known actors like
Veronica Ferres,
Axel Milberg,
Katharina Thalbach,
Kostja Ullmann and
Josefine Preuß are in the movie too. All scenes were filmed at real locations and no backdrop was used. The filming locations must look like London architecture, but also look like their respective time periods. The headquarters of the guards should resemble a middle age fortress. The filming for the scenes in the "Dragon Hall" is in a ballroom at
Wartburg Castle near Eisenach. A few staircases and
arcades (usually an arch covered walkways) were used as backdrops, but most scenes in the "underground secret passage of the Order" were filmed in the
casemates of the Juelich Citadel. The historic walls of the Mulhouse Town Hall, including the large council hall, the City Council Archives, and the
gatehouse were used to make up the Order's property. The filming of "Madame Rossini's Tailor Workshop" was at
Callenberg Castle in Coburg, specifically in the castle chapel. The background for the "Observatory of the Secret Order" was at Aachen Observatory, with its historic telescope, and the theft of the Chronograph was filmed at the Paradise Fountain in the square of
Aachen Cathedral. The cathedral courtyard was transformed into the "outdoor area of the headquarters" by using different historical streetlamps, cars with British license plates, and antique horse-drawn carriages for the three different time periods. The film sequence of Christmas 1942, where Gwendolyn and Gideon sneak into the Observatory of the secret Order, was described by producer Felix Fuchssteiner as: "Ultimately Gwen and Gideon climb up the stairs at Wartburg Castle, then are in the Observatory in Aachen, Gwen falls out the Observatory into the courtyard in Coburg and goes through the door and arrives in Juelich." The Ketschendorf Castle in Corburg, which has a Neo-Gothic style, is the main inspiration for the "Montrose House", Gwendolyn's family home. The now youth hostel was vacant, so the set designers had free rein to decorate the room for the years 1994 and 2010. Most of the interior shots for the school scenes at "St. Lennox High" are at the Markgräfin-Wilhelmine Gymnasium in Bayreuth during their 2012 spring break. Only the "Cherry Blossom Ball" was filmed in the Marble Hall of the
Rosenau Castle in Coburg. For the outside of the college,
Ehrenburg Castle was chosen for its Neo-Gothic facade and their spacious castle square became a "school parking lot" by adding British
red telephone boxes and mailboxes. For Gwendolyn's first time jump, Ludwigsstraße in Bayreuth was transformed into
Victorian-era London in the middle of April in 2012. To achieve this, traffic signs were removed, additional window bars were put on windows facing the street, historical lanterns and lamps were put up, period accurate English street signs and ads were added, and the street had costumed extras, horse-drawn carriages, and vintage cars. The setting for the visit to Lady Tilney in 1912 was in a luxurious mansion on Reuterweg in Eisenach. The attack on the carriage in 1787 was filmed at the Decksteiner Wieher (also known as "Hyde Park") in Cologne. Kerstin Gier got a cameo as a bypasser, who is frightened by the time traveler's sudden appearance. In action scenes, Jannis Niewoehner did most of his
stunts himself. To prepare, he did intensive fencing and close combat training in Hungary beforehand. During the four-day shoot near the end of April 2012 in
London, only Maria Ehrich, Jannis Niewoehner, and Laura Berlin were there. They shot scenes from the book at the actual locations, for example scenes like Gwendolyn's telephone call on the
Millennium Bridge, Gwen walking home from school along
Camden High Street, Gwen's night-time bike trip, and the meeting between Gwen and Gideon at the
Tower Bridge was filmed without barriers and during normal business hours. The aeriel shots were taken on location out of a helicopter.
Music On March 8th, 2013, Sony Classical released the soundtrack for the film. It had the title track
Faster by
Sofi de la Torre, as well as the songs
The Perfect Fall,
Recognize Me, and
Wings by the same artist. The classical score was rehearsed at
Staatskapelle Weimar, was recorded at
Volkshaus Jena, and was created by the film composer Philipp F. Kölmel.
Release The film had its world premiere on March 5th, 2013 in Munich. The regular theater release in Germany was on March 14th, 2013. The DVD and Blu-ray released on September 30th, 2013. == Differences between Book and Movie ==