Thursday, May 15

• PETA Takes Aim at Speed Racer

  After being handed a thorough critical beatdown and feeling the painful sting of audience indifference, the Wachowski Siblings' beleaguered anime epic Speed Racer suffered yet another indignity today -- courtesy of those loveable activists at PETA. The L.A. Times reports that the animal rights group's German arm (the movie was shot in Berlin) has accused Speed Racer's animal trainer of chimpanzee abuse, alleging that a representative of the American Humane Association witnessed an incident in which the poor primate that played Chim Chim was smacked upside the head after biting one of the actors.

  The outcry over chimpanzee abuse comes as no surprise. Anyone who's seen the popular West German TV show "Sprockets" knows that Germans love their monkeys.

  Source: L.A. Times

  
  

  Posted 05/15/2008 by Thomas

  Andy Wachowski | Larry Wachowski | Speed Racer

Friday, April 18

• Colin Chou Turns Down Ninja Assassin

  During the course of our exclusive interview with Colin Chou (debuting on ReelzChannel.com later today!) we got the chance to ask Chou about his rumored involvement in James McTeigue and the Wachowski sibling's Ninja Assassin.

  "I just turned down that project," Chou told ReelzChannel.com. "Unfortunately the character they were trying to offer me is not what I'm looking for at this stage in my career. I don't know where that news [came from]..."

  "After I read [the script] I said, 'Sorry, I'm not going to take it.' I want to jump to another stage [in my career] so I don't want to play that role, but it's a great script."

  
  

  Posted 04/18/2008 by Jeff

  Andy Wachowski | James McTeigue | Larry Wachowski | Collin Chou

Wednesday, April 2

• Speed Racer to Close Tribeca Film Festival

  The Wachowski Brothers' highly anticipated Speed Racer has been announced as a special presentation screening for the closing night of this year's Tribeca Film Festival on May 3, 2008 in Manhattan.

  For more info on the festival and to buy tickets for festival screenings, check out the official Tribeca Film Festival site.

  
  

  Posted 04/02/2008 by Jeff

  Andy Wachowski | Larry Wachowski | Susan Sarandon | Emile Hirsch | Speed Racer

Tuesday, September 18

• Hirsch Talks Speed Racer

  ReelzChannel was on hand today at the junket for Into the Wild in Los Angeles. The film promises to be a break out of sorts, at least critically, for star Emile Hirsch. His commercial breakout, Speed Racer, is finishing production now with a tentpole release slated for next summer.

  The young actor spoke briefly about his role as Speed Racer today: "One of the crazy things about Speed Racer was I went from being outdoors, beautiful nature shots, to not one scene do I shoot outdoors in Speed Racer. Everything is on a green screen stage. It was like being in a sauna and then jumping into an icebath for three and a half months. They both have their advantages. The green screen is certainly a lot safer."

  "I think people should expect something very special out of the Wachowski brothers on Speed Racer. I think that they really reinvented themselves. It's nothing like The Matrix, [it] doesn't look like The Matrix. It is its own new movie, and that was something very important to them, that they bring something new to the character."

  Hirsch himself admits to being a fan of the show as a kid. He firmly believes the new movie will please fans of the show. "I used to watch Speed Racer as a kid. Go Speed Racer! [Fans] will be very, very happy. They'll be more than happy. They'll be ecstatic."

  When asked whether the film will have a camp element to it like the show, Hirsch smirks. "Well, you'll have to see about that."

  
  
  

  Reelz Clip

  Dailies made the trip to Berlin to talk with the cast.

  Posted 09/18/2007 by Jeff

  Andy Wachowski | Larry Wachowski | Emile Hirsch | Speed Racer

Friday, June 1

• Check out Speed Racer's sweet new ride

  Things have been mighty quiet on the set of Speed Racer, the new live-action adaptation of the classic animated series currently being developed by Matrix siblings Larry and Andy Wachowski.

  Aside from a few notable casting announcements (Emile Hirsch as Speed, Christina Ricci as Trixie), information has been difficult to come by. Those of us eager to see how the Wachowskis will approach translating Speed Racer's quirky Japanese animation to celluloid have been consigned mainly to hearsay and speculation -- until now.  

  USA Today recently unveiled the first image of Speed's car of choice, the badass Mach 5, and it looks pretty sweet. If this pic is any indication of what's to come, Speed fans can rest assured that the Wachowskis intend to stay true to the animated series. 

  
  
  Next Showing: Speed Racer is set for a May 9, 2008 release.

  Posted 06/01/2007 by Thomas

  Andy Wachowski | Christina Ricci | Larry Wachowski | Emile Hirsch

Saturday, March 24

• Hirsch Does Speed

  The reclusive Wachowski brothers (are they still brothers? Or is it brother/sister now?) are emerging from hiding this year to make Speed Racer, their first directorial effort since the Matrix movies. Emile Hirsch (Lords of Dogtown, Alpha Dog), who landed the coveted role of Speed, spoke recently about the highly anticipated project. 

  I always found the Speed Racer cartoon to be vaguely disturbing, though I could never quite figure out why. The Wachowski brothers are supposedly gunning for a G rating for the Speed Racer movie, which likely means no S&M outfits or out-of-place orgy sequences. Bummer.

  
  

  Posted 03/24/2007 by Thomas

  Andy Wachowski | Larry Wachowski | Emile Hirsch