dapting the story of Pocahontas and John Smith to film
isn't anything new. The first version was a silent film, released in 1910. Others were 1924's Pocahontas and John Smith and Captain John Smith and Pocahontas in 1953. And of course there was the recent animated Disney version.

  Though the previous adaptations were entertaining, they didn't follow the real-life story very closely. Director/writer Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line, Days of Heaven) decided to make the film as authentic to the period as possible in order to tell the tale of the noble young native woman and the ambitious soldier of fortune who find themselves torn between civic duty and their growing attraction.
 
  The first decision was to film where the real events occurred, right in and around Jamestown. Casting, however, would present a more difficult dilemma. Pocahontas (which means "playful one") was between 12 and 14 years old when she met Captain Smith. The filmmakers realized they might not find a youngster with the ability to portray the range of emotions needed. She would have to carry a large portion of the film on her shoulders.
actors
Colin Farrell
Q'orianka Kilcher
Christopher Plummer
Christian Bale
August Schellenberg

director
Terrence Malick

locations
Virginia

outtake
Irene Bedard, who provided the speaking voice for Pocahontas in the 1995 animated movie, plays Pocahontas's mother in The New World.

  They sent out an audition notice and considered more than 3,000 actresses ranging in age up to 30, holding auditions in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

  With only one small screen credit (as a singing Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the age of 10) on her resum�, Q'orianka Kilcher read for the producers. The 15-year-old girl caught their attention. She certainly looked the part-her exotic looks come from her European mother and her Native Peruvian father, whose background includes the Quechua and Huachipaeri tribes.

  But her youth and lack of experience made the producers hesitate. She would have to hold her own opposite experienced screen actors such as Colin Farrell in the role of John Smith, Christian Bale as John Rolfe and August Schellenberg as Powhatan, her father.

  Eventually, the producers realized they couldn't let her slip through their fingers. "Her Indian roots really come through both in her spirit and in her physicality," says producer Sarah Green. "Q'orianka has a youthful spirit, but also has a nobility -- she's very serious about her work, her life and her values. She has a calm and a depth far beyond her years. It's a scary thing to cast an inexperienced unknown in a role like this, but when we screen tested her, with no makeup, Q'orianka just jumped off the screen at us. It was powerful, beautiful, compelling� it was Pocahontas."

  Having completed the role, Kilcher says, "Pocahontas was a symbol of peace in bringing two worlds together, and it was amazing to be able to portray this wonderful human being. I hope she will always be a part of me."

- Alexandra Heilbron