CCI 2012: Looper, Total Recall & Elysium Panels!

Sony pictures decided to buy out Comic-Con on Friday with a two hour time slot in the hall H which is the biggest at the convention to promote their three biggest Sci-Fi films Looper, Total Recall & Elysium which all look really good.

Looper

First off let’s talk Looper.  Johnson’s an undeniably terrific writer/director and Looper looks to be a refreshingly original breath of fresh air in a box office climate flooded with reboots, sequels, and remakes.  You absolutely do not want to miss this movie because with these new and original films we just get the same things over and over again. Let’s see the panel video. We have 1 of 3 panel video below; part 2 & 3 is straight after the first.

Just some highlights from the panel:

• Gordon-Levitt was asked how he went about embodying Bruce Willis, but he admitted that he’s not a good mimic.  He didn’t feel like an impersonation would be proper, so he internalized it.  He watched all of his movies on repeat and even put the audio of his movies on his iPod so he could listen to his voice a lot.
• A guy came up and asked what it was like to work with Bruce Willis, and Gordon-Levitt said that he’s really sweet and actually soft-spoken.  He said some big guys come into a room with a booming voice, but Willis doesn’t have to make himself heard and he doesn’t have to raise his voice.
• Johnson said that he’s “the luckiest son of a bitch in the world” to be able to work with people like Blunt and Gordon-Levitt.  He said that writing drafts of the script after he had his cast was just as difficult as writing the script for the first time.

Courtesy of Collider, full read out here

Total Recall

Second, let’s talk Total Recall panel. It’s rare for a film to come to consecutive Comic-Cons, but Total Recall showed up last year at the beginning of production, and now its returned with the theatrical release only weeks away. So for that it’s a unique set up and I suppose it’s great for promotion. I don’t currently have the panel video for this, I may be able to update this article later but for now I have a great interview with Bryan Cranston on Total Recall.

Just some highlights from the panel:

• Farrell says he had a good time making the film, but he didn’t feel like he had to fill Schwarzenegger’s size 16 shoes.
• The actors are asked about how they physically prepared for the role, but Cranston cuts in because he wants to see how the sign language interpreter signs “Cohagen has been described as a douchebag.”  He then notes how his co-stars had to go through so much physical training, but they probably got a good sleep every night.  The other actors describe how they prepared to the physical stuff.  It boils down to eating right, working out, and Biel adds “Boxing, boxing, boxing, boxing…and chicken.”
• When asked what attracted to the film, Wiseman said it was the mystery that intrigued him even though he geeked out on the action and world-building.  So it was the mix of “the art stuff and the fun stuff.”
• Cranston said he was also hesitant to jumping in to something that had been done before and done well.  But Cranston looked at the character of Cohagen as someone who wants Quaid (Farrell) not to die but “to behave.”  He saw Cohagen as benevolent and if people just listen to him, he can lead them to utopia.  That approach is what drew him to the role.

Courtesy of Collider, full read out here

Elysium

Third let’s talk about the Elysium panel. Neill Blomkamp‘s District 9 was an amazing feature film debut, and whatever he chose to do next would demand the attention of all the fans he amassed in 2009, which of course includes me.  Elysium had been a complete mystery until a synopsis recently appeared online.  After reading the synopsis, Elysium was easily one of my most-anticipated movies of Comic-Con 2012.  Hope you enjoy the panel video below.

Just some highlights from the panel:

• People on Elysium never get sick because they have machines that can cure diseases.  One shot shows a woman getting into a machine that instantly cures her cancer just by scanning her over.
• The corner Max is backed into is when he gets trapped in a radiation vault at his job.  He’s hit with radiation poisoning and given pills to manage the symptoms, but he’ll still die in five days.  The only way to save his life is to get to Elysium.
• His ticket to Elysium is to join a heist where he and two co-horts plan to download important information directly out of a guy’s brain (the guy is played by the great William Fichtner).  Even though Fichtner’s character is on Earth, he’s a citizen of Elysium.  Max is basically turned into cyborg in order to be able to extract the information from Fichtner’s character.  However, that was incredibly important data so Rhodes sends down an assassin-type character played by Sharlto Copley.
• Bloody destruction; if you loved how the weapons in District 9 obliterated people, Elysium is going to follow suit.  One goodie we saw was when some guy gets hit with a ninja shuriken in the chest, and some other guy says “That’s not so bad,” and then the guy who was hit with the shuriken explodes.
• Damon was drawn to the project because of Blomkamp.  “It was a very easy decision for me,” says Damon because he was so impressed by District 9.  But beyond that, Blomkamp showed Damon a graphic novel he had done that was on Blomkamp’s computer.  And then there was a book about the weaponry and another about the vehicles.  “Normally, we don’t get to see the movie before we’re in it,” but Damon says there was so much information here, and there was no way he was going to let this project get away.
• Blomkamp’s approach to Elysium was similar to District 9.  “It’s an equally scaled up version.  You’re trying to push the budget far beyond what the budget can sustain.”  The pressure on the crew remained at a high level.  Blomkamp went on to say they wanted to get more reality so they went to Mexico City rather than try to dress up Vancouver.  He said how some crew members thought Vancouver was tough, and Blomkamp knew that they were going to go to Mexico City, and thought “You guys have no idea what you have in store.”

Courtesy of Collider, full read out here.

So while it seems like Warner Bros. has been taking the Con by storm, Sony wasn’t going to be outdone and blew us away with a serious of great panels for what look to be some great movies. To see our previous articles on these check out our links below.

Looper: New Trailer Looks Amazing

‘Elysium’ from the director of ‘District 9’: Plot & Images

CCI 2012: Neill Blomkamp Talks Elysium, District 10 & Something Called Chappie

TOTAL RECALL Trailer: Starring Colin Farrell and Kate Beckinsale’s Ass.

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CCI 2012: Neill Blomkamp Talks Elysium, District 10 & Something Called Chappie

First off let’s talk about Elysium a little bit since it’s the next of his films to come out and we will be hearing more about it soon. Also 6,000 fans were treated to a seven minute clip of Elysium at CCI (More on that later). The film stars Matt Damon as an Earth resident determined to infiltrate the secure space paradise, and Jodie Foster plays an Elysium leader determined to stop him. District 9 star Sharlto Copley returns, this time as a villain, which is very interesting.

The seven-minute clip shows Damon working to escape the filthy planet, enduring a mysterious mechanical brain-implant procedure that leaves him with machinery protruding from the back of his head and encasing his arms.

Previous articles on Elysium;

‘Elysium’ from the director of ‘District 9’: Plot & Images

So what about Neill Blomkamp sequels? Well he did talk a little about future District 9 sequels. Not a great deal given away but still we have hope he comes up with a great idea for a sequel.

“The obvious place to work with him [Peter Jackson] again,” Blomkamp said, “is on ‘District 10,’ or ‘District 8,‘ whatever you wanna call it, however, I’m not sure I’m making that film. It would be cool, but these films take two or three years to make, and the investments are so extreme, you can’t accurately predict where you’ll be a few years from now, I believe. If you’re not creatively invested in it, you’re making a mistake, and that creative investment happens day to day. So I don’t know when that feeling for a ‘District Whatever’ film happens.”

Finally something about a Sci-Fi comedy film Neill Blomkamp is making with Terri Tatchell which I have not heard about before but apparently is going to be his next project. It’s called ‘Chappie’ and Blomkamp spoke a little about it below:

“I wrote ‘Elysium’ on my own, but I wrote ‘Chappie’ with Terri [Tatchell], that was written at the same time. It’s like a fundamentally more simple story, a comedy, a heartfelt story, in a science fiction setting. And it’s f***ing hilarious, it’s a really cool film. I can say that with confidence … It’s a smaller film, a more esoteric one.  It may very well be my next project.  It probably will be. But A) I wanna take some time off, and B) you need to know for sure that that’s what you’re going to do for X number of years. I have another idea for a horror, and for a comedy, but they’re way less fleshed out than ‘Chappie.’ ‘Chappie”s ready to go, and I think ‘Chappie”s what I’m making. But I’m gonna take some time to make sure.”

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Trailer is Here for ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’

After hearing all of the worrying issues that caused Guillermo del Toro to leave the director’s chair in pursuit of other projects, and the long period of relative silence from production, it’s a relief to find some footage of Peter Jackson’s upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit today, in the form of a gorgeous trailer courtesy Collider.

Kind of nostalgic, isn’t it? It’s really nice to see that budget problems and creative changes don’t appear to have affected Peter Jackson’s interpretation of Middle Earth at all, and it’s a little embarrassing to admit how happy I am to be back in Bag End, and to see some old faces once again.

In addition to the trailer above, Collider also included a beautiful poster, along with the movie’s official synopsis:

“The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

The trailer is vague, but if you’ve read the book you’ll know that things look as dedicated and faithful to the source material as all of the Lord of the Rings films before it. Of course, they’ve kept Smaug and the other creatures out of sight for the time being, which is a maddening tease, particularly after reading the massive feature on del Toro that was written in the New Yorker back in February. The interview, in addition to delving into the filmmaker’s fascinating story and older work, eventually went on to describe in detail some of the amazing designs del Toro has come up with for his fantastical creatures, including The Hobbit‘s iconic dragon:

“Smaug’s body, as del Toro had imagined it, was unusually long and thin. The bones of its wings were articulated on the dorsal side, giving the creature a slithery softness across its belly. “It’s a little bit more like a snake,” he said.

Smaug’s front legs looked disproportionately small, like those of a T. Rex. This would allow the dragon to assume a different aspect in closeup; the camera could capture ‘hand’ gestures and facial expressions in one tight frame, avoiding the quivery distractions of wins and tail […] Smaug’s eyes, del Toro added, were “going to be sculpturally very hidden.” This would create a sense of drama when the thieving Bilbo stirs the beast from slumber.”

There’s a lot more about Smaug’s description and concept in the full article, and all of it sounds awesome (The article is a must-read). Obviously the dragon might not feature at all in the upcoming movie, as An Unexpected Journey is only the first half of the story, but it’s a safe bet that del Toro would pour that same dedication and creativity into all of Middle Earth’s inhabitants, and I desperately hope that Peter Jackson is incorporating as much of his designs as possible into the final film.

I’m really excited for The Hobbit films, if you can’t tell. The trilogy is arguably the largest cinematic event of our generation, but even on top of that, I always felt the Hobbit was the best of the novels. The potential for these final Tolkien adaptations is paralleled only by our expectations of them – it’s a lot to overcome, but Jackson has proved before he doesn’t shy away from huge undertakings. 2012 can’t come fast enough.

Hero Express – Captain America Trailer, Cowboys & Aliens Featurette, and Cheadle talks War Machine

Welcome to Hero Express, your one-stop shop through the news filled world of superhero’s in Film, TV, Video Games and whatever else floats your boat.

This is the Hero Express for June 24, 2011:

Hero Express – ‘Powers’ and ‘100 Bullets’ on TV, Wonder Woman on Film, and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Teaser?

Welcome to Hero Express, your one-stop shop through the news filled world of superhero’s in Film, TV, Video Games and whatever else floats your boat.

This is the Hero Express for June 22, 2011:

The Hero Express – Cap’s USO costume, Jor-El cast in ‘Man of Steel’, and a surprise on the set of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’

Welcome to the Hero Express, a new speedy look through the news filled world of superhero movies here on Grizzly Bomb. So let’s get to it. Oh, and consider this your SPOILER ALERT, as The Dark Knight Rises news is pretty revealing.

This is The Hero Express for June 16, 2011: