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Tuesday, November 17
Actress Olivia Wilde has been padding her resume with a wide variety of projects lately, from the popular TV drama House to the horror film Turistas to the slapstick period comedy Year One. Not only are her projects disparate in genre and tone, but in production size. Wilde's latest film, Fix, in which she co-stars with her real-life husband, actor-director Tao Ruspoli, was shot in only 18 days using a single camera. In contrast, Wilde recently acted alongside Jeff Bridges in Disney's upcoming Tron: Legacy, a movie that required several camera units, not to mention untold hours of computer graphics work.
In a recent interview with Moviefone, Wilde discussed working on a movie as close to home as Fix, which was inspired by an actual day in the lives of her husband and his brother, a heroin addict.
It was the closest I've ever been to material because I knew the day it was based on and knew the person so well, but I feel that we responsibly represented that real day and that real person. It has been really interesting to go around the world and have these audiences respond so much to the idea of addiction within the family and trying to force someone you love to do something that they may not want to do. It's a universal theme, even though it was a very personal story.
Unfortunately, while Wilde did discuss performing stunts and wearing "rubber suits" in Tron: Legacy in a prior interview, she did not offer much additional insight into the highly-anticipated sequel.
[Tron: Legacy was] amazing. Very different from Fix! There's such a cone of silence around Tron, but it'll be fun to watch. That was also an amazing honor, to be able to carry on a legacy like Tron. I don't think diehard fans will be disappointed. I think they will be very happy with what we did. There's a real story. It's going to look cool, but that's not all [there is to it].
Next Showing: Tron: Legacy opens December 17, 2010
Posted 11/17/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Jeff Bridges | Tron | Turistas | Olivia Wilde | Year One | Tron: Legacy | Tao Ruspoli
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Tuesday, November 3
It's been over a year since we heard anything about Michael Bay's Ouija Board adaptation, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, his company Platinum Dunes has hired writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (Tron Legacy) to work on the screenplay.
How Bay and Platinum Dunes plan to make a movie based on a board typically used to "communicate" with the spirit world is anyone's guess, but we're betting it will end up as some sort of supernatural action-adventure movie.
Kitsis and Horowitz's work on the Tron game grid, coupled with their writing for the TV show Lost, should be good training for the unusual assignment. If anyone can write a movie about a ouija board, it's probably two people who work regularly with characters being sucked into computer games or time-traveling islands with creatures made out of black smoke.
Posted 11/3/2009 by Ryan
Related: Edward Kitsis | Michael Bay | Adam Horowitz | Tron: Legacy
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Saturday, October 31
When a sequel to an effects-heavy movie is made 27 years after the original, it's assumed that the technological advances in effects would give the sequel a much different look — especially when it's arriving in 3-D and features "groundbreaking technology".
In a recent interview with GameRevolution, however, producer Sean Bailey explained that Tron Legacy won't stray far from the original design — until the action begins.
The great thing is that the design is relatively timeless, but the ability we had effects-wise, action-wise, the speed we can move the Light Cycles at — we thought we could deliver just an incredible ride, an action movie, a science-fiction movie. We have the benefit of all this great design. I'm pretty confident that for all ages, this is going to be a rock 'n' roll ride, here. It's going to be a lot of fun.
In the first Tron, the relationship between character and computer technology wasn't something that writer/director Steven Lisberger was worried about explaining in a "real world" context. Bailey admits that Legacy will follow that example, with story trumping any technological inconsistencies.
I think Steven and team in '82, they had the burden — people weren't day-to-day familiar with what these things were, or able to say "this is an accounting program" or "this is memory". We thought to, in this movie, call out "this is Quicken," or "this is your Microsoft program" — we thought that would just burden things. We just said that we're going to tell this story — there is symbolism, there is allegory, but none of it is on the nose. We're going to tell this story about these characters in this world that has evolved from that world — but inside the System, we assume that they're going to take it all for granted, so therefore, so are we. We're not going to feel the need to be expositional about this is that program's role in your day to day life, at your desktop.
But what about the technological elements that fans really care about, such as light cycles and disc battles? Bailey says that Legacy has some surprises in store.
Well ... yes, there will be some new vehicles. There will be some surprises in terms of characters — there are some exciting ideas, and some new stuff to play with. Some new toys. All I can say for now.
Next Showing: Tron Legacy opens December 17, 2010
Posted 10/31/2009 by Ryan
Related: Steven Lisberger | Tron | Sean Bailey | Tron: Legacy
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Wednesday, October 7
According to actress Olivia Wilde, the dance duo known as Daft Punk will be doing double-duty on Tron: Legacy, appearing on camera, as well as scoring the soundtrack. In a recent interview with MTV Wilde said, "They were in the movie" and also mentioned that they might be helping to promote the remake of the 1982 classic Tron.
There's some ideas in the works about how to incorporate them into a [San Diego] Comic-Con event.
Wilde recently admitted that filming Tron: Legacy was "the most difficult thing" she's ever done, comparing it to giving "birth to a 19-pound baby." Wilde would not — or could not — divulge much more about her character or the plot, but admitted that she did get to handle one of the iconic pieces of Tron hardware in the film, the Deadly Disc.
I do use the disc, but I don't play with it in the same way as the other characters. I have my own way to use it.
Tron: Legacy is directed by Joseph Kosinski and also stars Bruce Boxleitner, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Sheen, and John Hurt.
Next Showing: Tron: Legacy opens December 17, 2010
Posted 10/7/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Tron: Legacy
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Sunday, October 4
With the shooting of Tron: Legacy behind her, Olivia Wilde told ComingSoon that making the sequel to 1982's Tron was about as difficult as giving "birth to a 19-pound baby."
It was, like, the most difficult thing I've ever done. We shot some 20-hour days, we were wearing the suits, which are not easy to wear. I was doing a lot of my own stunts and training a lot of the time. Really pushing myself physically as well as mentally. It was an epic undertaking. It was a HUGE film to shoot in those few days. I was so proud to be a part of it. The morning that we wrapped it was an unbelievable feeling. We all just lost it. It was sunrise and we couldn't believe we were actually done.
You know, no matter how many people tell you it's going to be the hardest thing you've ever done you still aren't aware, or capable of being of aware, of what goes into one of those movies. Now I have so much more empathy and respect for the people who've done it before me ... and after. I don't write-off large sci-fi films so flippantly as I did. I look at anyone who's had to put on a rubber suit and I'm, like, "Oh wow, you're awesome! You survived!" (laughs) None of the suits are like our suits, though. Our suits have really risen to a new level of discomfort, but it's brilliant and well worth it. It's totally worth it.
So worth it that Wilde says she would welcome a return for Tron 3, should it happen.
Oh, of course! If we were so lucky that would be incredible. There are so many more stories to tell within that world.
Tron: Legacy stars Wilde, along with Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Bruce Boxleitner, John Hurt, and Michael Sheen. Joseph Kosinski directs. Legacy opens December 17, 2010 in both IMAX 3-D and conventional theaters.
Posted 10/4/2009 by Ryan
Related: Olivia Wilde | Tron: Legacy
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Friday, October 2
The original Tron movie was a triumph of the senses when it debuted in 1982, if not exactly a box office smash. It was one of the first features to incorporate the extensive use of CGI technology and was nominated for Academy Awards in Best Costume Design and Best Sound. With Tron: Legacy, Disney is relying on the latest graphics technology to help draw fans back into theaters to watch a sequel 27 years in the making. According to actor Jeff Bridges, the incredible CGI behind Tron: Legacy made his decision to reprise the role of Kevin Flynn an easy one.
That's the reason why I came on board for the sequel – for the same reasons I did the first one. Just to be a part of the groundbreaking technology.
It's really mind-blowing what they do. I went to Comic-Con this year and Disney had three movies there: Tron [Legacy], A Christmas Carol, and Alice In Wonderland. And it was interesting to see that while the techniques we used in Tron [Legacy] are available to other guys ... it's amazing to see how different the products are, depending on the artist who is at the helm.
Tron: Legacy is directed by Joseph Kosinski and also stars Bruce Boxleitner, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Sheen, Olivia Wilde, and John Hurt.
Posted 10/2/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Jeff Bridges | Tron | Tron: Legacy
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Thursday, September 24
Tron: Legacy opens in the crowded weekend of December 17, 2010, next to The Green Hornet and Yogi Bear, but the movie has one thing that will set it apart: Tron: Legacy will be released simultaneously in 2-D, 3-D, and IMAX 3-D. Yogi Bear is the only other 3-D movie opening that weekend, but no other movie is opening in IMAX 3D.
Legacy is Disney's third movie in a five-movie deal with IMAX, and IMAX chairman and president, Greg Foster, is excited about it.
We share a common goal with our partners at Disney, which is to transport people to places they normally can't go, and the world of Tron is certainly one of those cool places. Since I saw the first glimpse of Tron: Legacy in 3-D over a year ago, I've felt it was the perfect match for the The IMAX Experience.
Take that, Hornet and Yogi!
Posted 9/24/2009 by Ryan
Related: Tron: Legacy
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Tuesday, September 15
Earlier this year, Michael Sheen could only hint at his casting in Tron: Legacy until Disney officially announced it. While it was believed that Sheen was playing the villain, Sheen explained to ComingSoon that he's actually playing a nightclub host in the Tron world instead:
That was amazing, because there's a lot of green screen in that. But my stuff was mainly in this amazing set that they built because I'm a nightclub host, so they built the nightclub and there were hundreds of extras and it was one of those great scenes where there's just loads going on.
So, if Sheen isn't the villain, who is? Tron: Legacy producer Sean Bailey told Cinematical that the villain is part of Tron's evolving world:
In the story, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) took what he learned from the experience in 1982 and built upon it and started to expand his research in his thinking and ideas based upon the experiences of '82. And so the system kind of evolved under his stewardship for a while, and then something happened and it started to evolve on its own. And so that is where we end up finding ourselves in Tron: Legacy.
So far, little has been seen of Tron: Legacy besides a few light cycles photos from Disney's D23 Expo and some concept footage from this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Sheen revealed that the footage was presented on purpose to convince Disney to move ahead with the movie:
[Director Joseph Kosinski] did that to get Disney to give the okay to make the film. Joe now says that he doesn't like people seeing that because it's moved on so much from that, and that looks awesome.
Next Showing: Tron Legacy opens December 17, 2010
Posted 9/15/2009 by Ryan
Related: Sean Bailey | Michael Sheen | Tron: Legacy
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Monday, September 14
When last we left the world of Tron, way back in 1982, Kevin Flynn (played by Jeff Bridges) had returned to the real world following the destruction of the MCP (Master Control Program) at the hands of Tron (Bruce Boxleitner), effectively freeing the denizens of the Tron world. End of story, right? Wrong.
According to producer Sean Bailey, the Tron world has seen a lot of changes, even though the outside world and the inner, computer world are unaware of each other.
...what we did is took what happened in the '82 movie and we built a kind of mythology in our world and in their world. And, the servers in the Tron universe ... for reasons which will be explained in the movie, existed on their own; they are unaware of the outside world and the outside world is unaware of them. But, they weren't static. They kept evolving on their own ... so when we enter the world in 2010, that's where we find the world. It's evolved on its own, without direct user influence for a long, long time."
So, what has Flynn been doing all of this time?
Flynn, Kevin Flynn takes his experiences from the '82 movie and starts to try to build upon them, understand things now that he knows he can go in and out of the system. So, his early research was trying to figure out, "What more can I do?" and, "What more can I build now that I know I can actually go in and out of these worlds?"
Bailey was tight-lipped about the titular character, however.
You definitely learn what became of Tron and, so Tron is definitely involved in the narrative. But, uh, I don't want to [talk much more] about Tron or what's happened to him.
Next Showing: Tron Legacy is scheduled to open December 10, 2010
Posted 9/14/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Bruce Boxleitner | Jeff Bridges | Tron | Sean Bailey | Tron: Legacy
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Saturday, September 5
Sorry, no light cycles for Christmas this year.
Disney has finally set the release date for Tron: Legacy, which will open on December 17, 2010, just in time for next year's holiday season and slightly before its projected release of "sometime in 2011." Legacy will have some competition on that weekend, opening alongside The Green Hornet and The Smurfs. Green Hornet was recently pushed back into the December 17 slot, and considering Sony owns both Hornet and The Smurfs, it's likely that one might be moved to another weekend.
Tron: Legacy is the sequel to the 1982's Tron, which starred Jeff Bridges as a computer programmer sucked into a video game to fight the master control program. Legacy will follow Bridges's son (Garrett Hedlund) as he is sucked into the video game to fight the program alongside his father. The stories may sound similar, but what isn't similar is Legacy being shot in 3-D. Light cycles in 3-D? Sound like a Merry Christmas, indeed.
Posted 9/5/2009 by Ryan
Related: The Green Hornet | Tron: Legacy