Finally, we get the Man of Steel teaser trailer, and it’s surprisingly poetic for a big action film. The teaser trailers have been given with two versions – one with the narrator being Russell Crowe, who plays Superman’s Kryptonian father ‘Jor-El’. The other one featuring Kevin Costner, who plays ‘Jonathan Kent’. Both trailers will play at the The Dark Knight Rises showings at the cinema, not at the same time though. When I went to see The Dark Knight Rises it showed the Russell Crowe teaser, which I was happy about because its my favorite.
Russell Crowe Version
Kevin Costner Version
What did you think of the teaser? My thoughts are that it was very sweet and down to earth, it looked and felt like it was done similar to Gladiator in the style and realism to the scenes (might have just been Russell Crowe’s Voice over), but never the less very beautiful and touching for superman film trailer. Now they don’t really give you much to off in this trailer so you can’t really get much of a feel for what it’s going to be like. My view is that with Zack Snyder directing and Christopher Nolan producing, we will get a film that is going to be completely different in the way it feels and looks compared to any other ‘Superman’ film before it. Hopefully they can make a ‘Superman’ film that is more relatable to this era than the last.
Those Lord of the Rings fans who went there and back again to Comic-Con International were rewarded for their line-waiting devotion.
This past weekend Peter Jackson took to the Hall H stage with screenwriter Philippa Boyens and actors Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen (it should be noted he received a standing ovation), Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis, and Elijah Wood, who was a surprise guest. The panel started with a showing of the latest behind-the-scenes video blog that Jackson has been faithfully providing fans via the official Facebook fan page. Then Jackson revealed a full 12 and a half minutes scenes from both parts of The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey (out this December) and There and Back Again (December 2013). A detailed description of each scene revealed can be found at Cinemablend.com or on Entertainment Weekly’s Inside Movies site.
Several seemingly minor yet key announcements and decisions rolled out during the panel.
First, Jackson chose to avoid screening his clips using 3D and 48 frames per second, a decision most likely based on the mixed reaction he received when he did this at Cinema-Con; this may have been in his best interest as the scenes were welcomed far more openly than they were at the previous convention.
Also, Jackson noted that he had shot enough footage to create extended editions of the films or possibly produce a third film. The Internet has been filled with these speculations for the last few days, but Variety says otherwise. A studio representative said there was no “planned surprise,” and that “The plan was always for two” (Variety.com). Time will reveal how this pans out, but Jackson may have to just settle with some whopping extended editions.
A third announcement that should excite the women (or invoke the wrath of LotR die-hards) comes in the form of another female elf named Tauriel played by Evangeline Lilly. Philippa Boyens wanted more “feminine energy” in the films: “We believe it’s completely within the spirit of Tolkien” (Wall Street Journal). Come December, we’ll see whether or not this is true.
Finally, a fan questioned Jackson on his intentions for a Silmarillion movie. Entertainment Weekly reported that Jackson said he wouldn’t live long enough to pull it off, and he hinted that the Tolkien estate, owning the rights to the Silmarillion, does not like his movies (Entertainment Weekly). Despite being some of the biggest films of all time, The Lord of the Rings films do not always stay true to Tolkien’s books, and this has apparently been scorned by not only the books’ fans but also by the author’s estate itself. Here, too, is a situation that will undoubtedly unfold more clearly the closer we get to December.
Despite my chagrin at the inclusion of a previously unwritten female character (yes, I did just say that, and I support strong women in movies and everything), and my distaste for Jackson’s occasional twisting of Tolkien’s stories, I feel that audiences will have a lot to look forward to in terms of cinematography, acting, and yes, even script adaptation for the two Hobbit installments. The films previous to these have always provided pure entertainment, stunning visuals, powerful themes and messages, incredible scores, and unforgettable interpretations of long-loved characters (remember Ian McKellen’s standing ovation?). I don’t doubt that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and There and Back Again will meet these expectations, and frankly, I just want to see Smaug interpreted on the big screen.
If this article wasn’t enough for you, you can view the majority of the panel on YouTube. Though several users have already uploaded their videos, this one seems to be the best quality overall. Don’t expect to see the clips from the upcoming films; Comic-Con is very strict about not allowing attendees to videotape or post film clips. If you want to be that impatient, go google it yourself.
I hope you’ve enjoyed our Comic Con coverage. Big shoutouts to all of you who read the articles. I know it sounds corny but you are the reason why we’re doing this. We don’t get paid. Please keep following us on Facebook or Twitter (or start now if you haven’t already done so) for more pop culture opinions.
Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane? I don’t bloody know because I haven’t seen the damn teaser trailer. We will have to wait until Friday for that pleasure.
The first footage ever from Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel premiered Saturday evening during the Warner Bros./Legendary panel in Hall H at Comic-Con International. It did not disappoint from what we hear. We have a full description below of the first teaser trailer (sadly we cannot get that until Friday) and panel video below. Oh, and we also have this new dark poster for Man Of Steel.
And here’s the full teaser trailer description, from Cinema Blend:
The footage begins with a shot from in front of the Kent home from grass-level and that shot is followed by Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) walking along the side of an icy road. We hear voice over from Jor-El (Russell Crowe) that asks a series of questions like, What if a child decides to become something more? What if a child aspires to something greater? We then see a school bus crash into a body of water and hear a woman’s voice saying, “My son was in the bus, he saw what Clark did” in almost an accusatory tone. As water rushes in we see Clark in the water trying to help. Another voice over begins, this one coming from Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) who seems to be telling his son about who he really is. “People are afraid of what they don’t understand,” he says as we see a shot of a young Clark looking at what appears to be a space ship in a barn. “It’s not from this world, Clark, and neither are you.”
We then cut to what looks like the Fortress of Solitude where an older Clark looks to be handling one of the information crystals provided to him by Jor-El (his Kryptonian father) also seems to appear in front of him. “Answer my questions,” Clark said. “Where do I come from?” We hear Jor-El responds, “You have to decide what kind of man you want to be, Clark. Good or bad, it’s going to change the world.”
The rest of the footage is shown in flashes, with shots of Superman flying in the air, going supersonic as well as huge explosions in what looks like Metropolis (we also see a quick glimpse of The Daily Planet). There is only one quick shot of Zod (Michael Shannon), who appears to be wearing some kind of outer-space collar – and Lois Lane (Amy Adams – who runs towards the camera in a panic – but other shots include Superman shirtless and on fire, escaping from beneath a pile of skulls, being blasted through a bank and into a safe door (the origin of this still), and being arrested and taken down a hallway. The preview ends with Superman walking towards a group of armed-soldiers with his hands in the air, with voice-over saying, “My father believed that if the world found out who I really was they would reject and they would fear me. He was convinced the world wasn’t ready.
Isn’t it all just sounding beautiful? I still want to actually watch this trailer but Friday will come around quicker than you think. Here’s the full panel video from Hall H.
So finally I thought this was rather funny as someone put together a list of all the things we had learned from the teaser trailer and questions from the panel, so please enjoy and read below, courtesy of ComicBook.
Superman Will Be Tougher – According to director Zack Snyder, Superman will be tougher in the Man of Steel. Of course, this comes as no surprise with the casting of Henry Cavill as Superman. In the past, Superman has always been portrayed as heroic, but he’s had more of a nice guy image rather than a tough guy image. Cavill brings the tough guy image to the role.
Man Of Steel Filming Complete – This news doesn’t really come as any surprise, but it’s good to hear it officially from the director that Man of Steel filming is done, and the movie is now in post-production. With a number of recent movies having their release dates pushed back, it’s good to know that Man of Steel is own track to hit its June 14, 2013 release date.
First Man Of Steel Trailer Before Dark Knight Rises – The Dark Knight Rises is also a Warner Bros. movie, so it makes sense that they would premiere the first full Man of Steel trailer in front of it. The Dark Knight Rises is likely to be one of the biggest blockbusters of this summer, so this is a great way for Warner Bros. to let a lot of people know that the Man of Steel is coming next summer.
Superman In Trouble With The Law – In perhaps the most shocking scene from the preview footage, Superman appears wearing handcuffs, being led by a security force. As a super-powerful alien, could it be that local earth law enforcement has a problem with the Man of Steel? There is definitely a sense in the trailer that the world has turned against Superman. Of course, Superman could easily break out of handcuffs, but maybe he’s trying to be a good citizen and go peacefully.
Man Of Steel Will Have A Much Darker Look Than Previous Films – Zack Snyder said the film is based on many different storylines from the comic books. Also, the look and feel of the Man of Steel will be much darker than previous Superman movies. It will have the look and feel of the type of films that Snyder usually does, but not with the exact feel as 300.
Zod Is A Villain But Might Not Be The Main Villain – In the preview footage, there is a very quick flash of Zod, but Zack Snyder refused to admit that Zod will be the villain. About the villain, Synder teased, “Whoever he is he’ll be super-relatable.”
Someone Else Knows Superman’s Identity – During the teaser trailer, it was revealed that there is at least one person outside the Kent family that knows that Clark has some sort of powers. Apparently, someone saw Clark when he saved a bus of kids as a child.
Superman Has A Beard – Superman is typically portrayed as clean shaven in the comic books, but he was sporting a beard in a scene in the Man of Steel trailer. Maybe, he’s just copying Bruce Wayne’s bearded look from a scene in The Dark Knight Rises. What is it with DC Comics heroes growing beards in their movies?
Can’t wait for this trailer. Friday can’t come soon enough.
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This literally came out of nowhere; Legendary Pictures has revealed test footage to give Comic-Con an adrenalin rush which from reports suggests it worked.
And here’s what happened after the Pacific Rim Panel.
The panel for Pacific Rim ended and del Toro and the actors left the stage, but Hardwick asked Tull if he had anything left, to which he replied, “Well maybe.” The lights went down and footage rolled. No one knew what we were being shown. The clip opened with a devastated city that looked like it had been ravaged by a massive force. Buildings had chunks missing, things were on fire, and as the camera panned around the city we saw what looked like a sort of creature lying on the ground.
The screen went dark, we heard a familiar roar, and then we saw an epic Godzilla walk out of the smoke. Though we didn’t get to see much of the creature since this is merely a test reel and not footage from the film, what we did see looked really, really promising. The crowd went absolutely nuts over this footage, and rightly so. The lights came up and Tull talked a bit about what’s in store for Godzilla.
Though the realistic approach is evident, it’s obvious that Godzilla will still be a monster movie. It doesn’t look like this’ll be a “solemn to a fault” approach. The film will (hopefully) be really character-centric while still being a feast for the eyes. I’m sure we’ll hear more soon, but the project looks to be in great hands with Edwards.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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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.
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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Grizzly Bomb 