Posts filed under 'sequels'
July 23rd, 2009
A bit of geek news from the first official day of the San Diego Comic Con: The eagerly awaited sequel to TRON (which, if you’re old enough to remember, hit theaters waaaaay back in 1982) has a name, and it’s not (the admittedly catchy and appropriate TRON 2.0). Here (via Cinematical) is the official logo…
 
And here, (also via Cinematical) is the official plot synopsis:
“TRON is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.”
I was a 14-year-old video game nut in 1982 when TRON hit theaters, so needless to say, I was primed for that film (and the excellent video game that hit arcades at the same time). It’s a whole other world now, but with Jeff Bridges still attached as Flynn, I’m tentatively optimistic. Don’t let me down, Disney.
June 29th, 2009
Via Cinematical, here’s a quote from Pixar animator Angus MacLane (via SciFi Wire) about the much anticipated third film in the TOY STORY series. MacLane created the funny BURN-E short that was included on the WALL-E DVD and worked on TOY STORY 2, where he created the Buzz Lightyear they met in Al’s Toy Barn. So, with all that Pixar experience at his disposal and a deep involvment with TS3 (in which Andy leaves for college), here’s what MacLane said…
“I feel like we’ve grown up making these movies, and each of the films represents where the filmmakers were at the time of making the films. Certainly we’re approaching this film 10 years later, so I think we’re sort of coming at it from the standpoint of [Andy] has grown up, and we’ve grown up with these toys, and we have a reverence for them, but we also have different things as a priority.”
If you don’t think this movie is going to break your heart, remember TOY STORY 2 (which Disney, in its endless wisdom, originally wanted to do as a straight-to-video quickie) contains The Saddest Song In Movie History…
June 18th, 2009
According to Cinematical.com, Frank Darabont has spilled the beans that he, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and the rest of the gang are indeed planning a fifth Indiana Jones movie…
“It’s really about the script,” said Marshall. “Once we see that, we’ll see. We’re not going to wait another 20 years. We’d all love to make another one. I’m anxious to hear the idea!” But he quickly added that he really didn’t know what Spielberg was cooking. “Until there’s a script, nothing’s definite. I haven’t heard the idea.” (He should ask LaBeouf. I bet he knows.) Marshall also confirmed that Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford were equally eager to return for a fifth outing. “Yeah. We had a great time making the last one and, as Harrison said, we need to make this one soon. We’re not getting any younger.”
Well, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL was a disappointment to virtually ever critic and moviegoer who saw it (this guy included), but it’s hard to argue with a 700-million-plus global box office.
Speaking of Darabont, you know what’s a good movie? THE MIST, which he directed. Much better than CRYSTAL SKULL, in fact.
February 5th, 2009
I don’t how how long this bit of video has been floating around the interwebs, but I just saw it today and thought you might be interested, too. It’s a bit of bootleg footage from TRON 2.0 that was shown at last year’s San Diego Comicon. It’s blurry, shaky and partially obscured by whoever was sitting in front of our intrepid cameraman, but if you’re a fan of the original TRON, it’ll probably get your geek juices a-flowin’. They just couldn’t do this with the lightcycles back in 1982 — though it’s nice to see they’ve pretty much stayed with the simple, classic designs.
The footage was linked to a story posted today at Cinematical speculating that some high-tech special effects might give us a young version of Flynn, Jeff Bridges’ character, in TRON 2.0. I’m really glad Bridges is part of this sequel. He’s a great actor, and his participation makes me think this could me more than just a 27-year-late cash grab. Watch for when he shows up in this clip and listen for the audience to cheer.
December 9th, 2008
Here, courtesy of Cinematical, is a link to a trailer for next summer’s TERMINATOR SALVATION. Two things — one, it has Japanese subtitles (though the audio is in English) and two, it being on You Tube, it could get yanked by the studio at any second. Supposedly it’s going to be ahead of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL when it hits theaters, so if you can’t see it here, you’ll get a chance to catch it on the big screen soon.
Christian Bale plays John Connor, and he’s using a version of his Batman growl in the role. Looks pretty good to me, though — lots of action, an ominous plot and no doubt some great special effects. I just wish — and I know it’s not going to happen — that the governor of California could make an appearance. Just a tiny cameo, that’s all I’m asking. It’s hardly going to feel like a TERMINATOR movie without him.
 By the way, I actually liked TERMINATOR 3 quite a bit. I was especially impressed by the ending, which I didn’t think a big-budget mainstream movie would have the guts to go for. Any other fans out there?
September 8th, 2008
According to an e-mail the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Caro received from Harold Ramis himself, a new GHOSTBUSTERS is in the works:
“yes, columbia is developing a script for GB3 with my year one writing partners, gene stupnitsky and lee eisenberg. judd apatow is co-producing year one and has made several other films for sony, so of course the studio is hoping to tap into some of the same acting talent. aykroyd, ivan reitman and i are consulting at this point, and according to dan, bill murray is willing to be involved on some level. he did record his dialogue for the new ghostbusters video game, as did danny and i, and ernie hudson. the concept is that the old ghostbusters would appear in the film in some mentor capacity. not much else to say at this point.”Â
Now here’s the bad news: Aside from Ramis’ annoying refusal, e.e. cummings like, to use capital letters in his e-mail, he neglects to mention one thing…
GHOSTBUSTERS II sucked.
It had the talents of all the people involved in the original, and it was awful. I remember seeing it during its original run way back in 1989, and it was so bad it remains one of the very few movies I’ve ever been tempted to walk out on. (And I sat through MANNEQUIN!) The stars were all back, the special effects were impressive, but something was subtly, horribly off, and in a comedy, that counts for everything. What was funny in the original was painful in the sequel.
Having some new blood involved this time around — besides Judd Apatow, the name Seth Rogan has been bandied about — could be a good thing. After all, it’s been 19 years since that sad sequel hit theaters and two dozen since the original. I like the idea of it being a genuine sequel, rather than a remake, with Bill Murray and company making small appearances. But comedy is a delivate thing, and big-budget, highly anticipated comedies are even more delicate. Nothing kills laughs like a whole lot of money and high expectations.
And now, for your viewing pleasure, the original music video for Ray Parker Jr.’s GHOSTBUSTERS theme. How many mid-80s celebs can you identify?
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