Nightwish received EMMA award for the most selling album In Finland 2011.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Imaginaerum - USA, Canada and Japan Charts
Imaginaerum reached the USA Billboard chart at #27, Canadian Album chart at #13 and Japan International chart at #7.
Imaginaerum - Update XI
Dear friends of Nightwish and the Imaginaerum movie.
This must be the hardest update I had to write because of my principal "hands on" work is getting less frequent. For that, I feel emptier than ever.
As most of you may know, we finished the director's cut for the film. Everyone involved in the screening sessions were very happy and gave precious feedback that made the director's cut. I can say this now, we are very, very, very happy with the cut. There are many people who deserve our appreciation, they are fellow directors, co-writers, actors and producers. There is still editing required for the visual effects to make us stay in the budget. This phase eventually makes the film and is crucial to the success of the final movie. Again, we are living exciting times .
Now, filmmaking is mostly about letting go. Besides the editing, I had to say farewell to my very good friend and the editor of the film, Mathieu Bélanger, and his fantastic family who joined me in Finland for couple months. The heart and soul Mathieu put into this film cannot be described by words and I'm sure, our paths will cross in the future and in another project.
Now, the film is in the good hands of another friend of mine Joshua Sherrett, his Workshop and the great team of Vision Global in Montreal. Their visual effects and their early concept sketches have blown us away several times already, and finally, they get to show us the meaning of the word "magic". Believe me when I say we've seen some pretty exciting stuff so far.
As my work continues with them it also continues with Petri Alanko and the soundtrack he's producing with Tuomas. It's miraculous how these guys can pull off something completely different but at the same time similar with the Imaginaerum album songs. Well, it must be the 350 tracks per song on the album that give that possibility for the variations. Those crazy bastards.
It's just a matter of time when we have got something new and special to show you. We hope it's quick because we can't wait either.
Meanwhile, the great people working on Imaginaerum would like to thank you all and wish you a magical Christmas and imaginative New Year! May your dreams come true.
Stobe Harju - The Director, Imaginaerum (Helsinki, Finland 18th Dec, 2011)
Imaginaerum - Chart Positions
Imaginaerum reached many chart positions all over Europe:
Finland: #1
Sweden: #3
Switzerland: #3
Germany: #6
Austria: #9
Slovenia: #13
Ireland Indie: #15
Czech: #16
Norway: #17
Poland: #18
Hungary: #21
Holland: #24 (Holland Indie: #12)
Italy: #32
France: #33
Portugal: #33
Belgium Flanders: #44
Spain: #49
Belgium: #51
Denmark: #55
Belgium Wallonia: #64
UK: #69 (UK Rock: #3; UK Indie: #7)
Imaginaerum - Release
Imaginaerum is the 7th studio album by symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 30th november 2011. through Scene Nation / Sony Music in Finland, 2nd december 2011. through Nuclear Blast in Europe and 10th January 2012. through RoadRunner Records in USA.
Tracklist:
1. Taikatalvi
2. Storytime
3. Ghost River
4. Slow, Love, Slow
5. I Want My Tears Back
6. Scaretale
7. Arabesque
8. Turn Loose The Mermaids
9. Rest Calm
10. The Crow, The Owl And The Dove
11. Last Ride Of The Day
12. Song Of Myself
13. Imaginaerum
Imaginaerum - Update X
A fantastic day everyone!
It's Wednesday the 9th of November and the first single of Imaginaerum called "Storytime" is finally out today. It's part 1 of a very long homecoming, 4 years in the making. Makes me feel a bit sad, fairly relieved and ultimately proud. Sad that a certain journey is finally coming to an end, relieved that everything worked out beautifully, and proud of the band members' and the fellow imagineers' effort in getting this colossal project together. Thank you.
I saw the first edits of Imaginaerum The Movie a week ago. Stobe and Mathieu have been working with the edits a few weeks now and the parts I saw were very convincing. The demo scores (by the tech wizard Petri Alanko) are working out wonderfully, even though we still need to toy around with them quite a bit. The special effects guys have also begun their work, so once we get all these layers together some truly mind blowing movie magic will be born. Basically now we just have to wait patiently and try not to breathe too much into their backs, and let them do their magic.
In the meanwhile, loads of promo and rehearsals still to be done.
Such exciting times,
-Tuomas
Storytime - Single Release and Music Video
Storytime is the first single of the Nightwish's 7th studio album Imaginaerum, It was released on 9th november 2011. through the Scene Nation / Sony Music in Finland, and 11th november 2011. through Niclear Blast in Europe.
Tracklist:
1. Storytime (Radio Edit)
2. Storytime (Album Version)
3. Storytime (Instrumental Version)
Music Video:
Imaginaerum - Update IX
Dear friends of Nightwish and Imaginaerum,
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, Hélène Robitaille, Stefan Demers, Anette Olzon, Marco Hietala, Tuomas Holopainen, Emppu Vuorinen and 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 my self 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.
Stobe Harju - The Director, Imaginaerum (Montreal, Canada 9th Oct, 2011)
PS: Max, I feel empty as you're not driving me to the studio anymore. Where are the morning conversations and the strong cheap cigarettes?
Imaginaerum - Update VIII
Dear friends of Nightwish and Imaginaerum.
Two weeks have passed since the first day of shooting. It has been a triumph so far. Even as the band sat down to look at some raw pre edited scenes, their faces couldn't lie. They were very happy with what they saw.
Many of you must be dying for information and images from the set. We can't pour all that out since we really believe that some of the reveals would spoil the show. However, if you've read the previous update you know some of the character names already, which of at least Tom and Ann sound familiar to a many. And they should sound familiar.
As I started to write Imaginaerum screenplay, I planted one single parameter above everything else: This is a Nightwish film, no matter how fictional story about the band it would be. I didn't just wanted to use the band's name but also, to come up with character names resembling Nightwish members' names. The band in Imaginaerum became Ann, Tom, Marcus, Emil and Jack. I know, not very clever when it comes to molding names. Yet, I wanted the audience to feel the presence of Nightwish and to me the convergence had to be clear. I had endless battles trying to convince people that using names similar to Anette, Tuomas, Marco, Emppu and Jukka was a perfect bridge between Nightwish in reality and Nightwish in a fantasy world. The band didn't agree with me originally. It became my decision and my responsibility I am proud of. That said, if someone ever thinks this might be an ego thing for the band, think again. It's my decision completely, and that's how I intend to keep it.
These first two weeks have been a blast. So many great people have bled together with us pouring their fantastic creativity into the project. We have a fantastic art director and her team. Our director of photography couldn't be more dedicated to his line of work or his visuality. Our make-up and wardrobe departments have made magic in a short period of time. And the cast... wow! The whole crew is filled with professionals I could've only dreamt of when starting the project. And, our producers are the kind who really understand the drama, art and the story while keeping our budget safe and sound. I must be the luckiest director in the world. What more can I say.
What strikes me the most, is the fact that this project is not only titled as "the trip to one's imagination", but it is exactly that on every aspect of the game with all the beloved people involved.
Yours truly.
Stobe Harju, The Director - Imaginaerum
PS: "Wandering after far off music through a desert of ashes. If the tune had a color, it would be a mixture of pink and red. Constantly afraid of it fading away, terrified of the silence that may come."
Imaginaerum - Update VII
Very good evening from Montreal Canada!
As a band we've had some extremely long and sweaty days here. Early wakeups and late evenings have defined our lives so far. I'm happy to say that all the band shots are in the wrap.
This has also been fun, enlightening and one of the most interesting experiences ever. At least to me personally, but I have a hunch the rest of us feel pretty much the same.
We're going to continue for a couple of days here shooting stills for the album and the media. After that the long flights to home await us.
We have to give really big thanks to the absolutely great, friendly and professional crew, actors, extras and everybody here! They've helped us through these new and weird days with a lots of laughs and advice. See you at the premiere, front row or where ever anytime we have a chance.
Thank you!
Marco
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