Counting down the days until Tron: Legacy hits theatres on December 17? That’s less than a month away people! Well I’ve got a treat for you. Embedded above is a video that will take you on the set of the upcoming sci-fi flick. In the 15 minute behind the scenes look you can expect to witness the following:
Behind the scenes footage from the End of Line club
Daft Punk in costume walking onto set
Michael Sheen getting ready to film his scenes in the End of Line club
Joseph Kosinski directing the actors
Jeff Bridges wearing the special helmet to record his scenes as Clu
Tons of footage of the practical sets and the actors getting ready to film
Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde performing a scene and getting ready for some stunts
Jeff Bridges house in the Tron universe and what it was like behind the scenes
Cast goofing around behind the scenes
Filming on location in Vancouver
Behind the scenes footage from Flynn’s Arcade
Guess I should have mentioned this earlier, but beware of spoilers. So go ahead, mash play, and let the soothing sounds of Daft Punk provide a rocking backdrop to some fantastic BTS action.
Pogo, an Australian electronic music producer, was commissioned by Disney to remix a bunch of their classic movies. He is best known for his work recording small sounds from a single film or scene and sequencing them to form a new piece of music. His latest creation “Wishery” combines vocal syllables, musical chords, and sound effects recorded from the 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The video quickly became a viral sensation and started exposing people the rest of Pogo’s fantastic work. For about a year Pogo was contractually obligated to keep his remixed video offline, but now that the Disney gag order has been lifted, you will find over a dozen of them at his YouTube channel. Some of my favorites include sounds from Up, Toy Story, Harry Potter, and Alice; these are embedded after the break. Pogo’s got a Pirates Of The Caribbean remix waiting in the wings; he calls it his best mix yet.
That’s right, people. Winnie the Pooh and company are making their way back to the silver screen for the first time in over 35 years. Disney brought back original animator Burny Mattinson (who will serve as senior story artist) to capture the classic essence that made everything so perfect about the original incarnation of Pooh and all the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood. The film is co-directed by Stephen Anderson (Meet the Robinsons) and Don Hall (The Princess and the Frog). Craig Ferguson, Tom Kenny, and Bud Luckey lend their voices to the 2D animated film. Zooey Deschanel is set to sing the new version of the “Winnie the Pooh” theme song. You want a synopsis? You got it:
Walt Disney Animation Studios returns to the Hundred Acre Wood with “Winnie the Pooh,” the first big-screen Pooh adventure from Disney animation in more than 35 years. With the charm, wit and whimsy of the original featurettes, this all-new movie reunites audiences with the philosophical “bear of very little brain” and friends Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Kanga, Roo—and last, but certainly not least, Eeyore, who has lost his tail.
Inspired by five stories from A.A. Milne’s books in Disney’s classic, hand-drawn art style, the film reunites audiences with the [honey]-loving, philosophical bear and friends Eeyore, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet and Owl in a wild quest to save [their friend] Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit. It turns out to be a very busy day for a bear who simply set out to find some hunny.
If the first trailer sitting above does not make you immediately tingle all over and feel so warm and fuzzy inside, there’s something clearly wrong with you. Because Disney made the right decision of holding onto the original 2D animation (instead of opting for today’s 3D in-your-face pseudo-standard), this movie will undoubtedly hit all the right notes and shoot a wave of nostalgia goodness across our minds. I highly anticipate the return of Pooh-bear; do you?
Winnie the Pooh hits theatres July 15, 2011. Check out some beautifully crafted stills in the gallery below.
Comic book fans and movie-goers, mark down your calendars. Iron Man 3 will hit theatres May 3, 2013. Let the countdown begin, right?
In related news, Disney, Paramount Pictures, and Marvel Studios announced in a joint press release that Disney will handle the worldwide marketing and distribution rights for The Avengers and Iron Man 3. Under the new deal, Disney will pay Paramount $115 million for the transfer of the distribution rights to the two upcoming Marvel movies. Paramount will remain the worldwide distributor of Thor and Captain America, and the first two Iron Man films.
Brad Grey, Chairman & CEO of Paramount Pictures: “Five years ago, when Paramount and Marvel made our initial deal, both our businesses were in very different places,” said Brad Grey, Chairman & CEO of Paramount Pictures. “We are grateful for the partnership we have had with the terrific Marvel team over these years and proud of the work we have done together. Today, this new agreement is the right deal for Paramount, for Marvel and for Disney. We look forward to working together on Thor and Captain America, and we wish Disney and Marvel the utmost success, in what we know will be a very productive and wide-ranging partnership.”
Reminder: Thor releases May 6, 2011, followed by a July 22, 2011 Captain America theatrical release. The Avengers is due out in 2012.
Tron: Legacy doesn’t hit theatres until December 17, but that certainly doesn’t mean Disney can’t push all things Tron down our throats until that time. Starting today Disney will initiate an official 10-week countdown to the film’s release by showcasing various Tron events. On “Tron Tuesdays” we will be privy to exclusive new video and film content, including behind-the-scenes exclusives, trailers and artwork; they will release across various mediums including television and the Internet. Also highlighted is “Tron Night: An IMAX 3D Experience”; on October 28 at select theaters a whole 20-plus-minute sneak peek of the movie will be screened for fans. Tickets for the event will be free and on a first-come, first-serve basis. Update: Order them today right here! If you happen to be vacationing at Disney California Adventure Park a nighttime street party called “ElecTRONica” featuring visuals and music from the movie will run every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through April. And lastly, new Tron merchandise will arrive in stores this month and don’t forget about the Tron: Evolution video game releasing December 7.
In this Disney Channel sneak peek at Tron: Legacy you will find a just a hint of new footage lurking between scenes you’ve already seen in other teasers and trailers. Jump after the break for a smokin’ hot surprise.
The latest issue of Empire contains five new stills from the new Tron: Legacy flick (a movie I am anticipating like no other). Check ’em out in the gallery below. December 17 cannot come soon enough.
Tron is back, people. Coming soon to a theatre and video game console near you are all new experiences from the famed Tron universe. Tron: Evolution bridges the gap between the original Tron movie (1982) and the upcoming Tron: Legacy flick set to hit theatres later this year on December 17. In the game you play as a system monitor who investigates “mysterious goings-on” that’s happening in the digital Tron universe. The controls are best described by comparing them to Mirror’s Edge gameplay. You are a parkour champion and you move through the levels by completing wall jumps, among other high-flying, fast and fluid techniques. These are known as “mobility moves”. In combination with “combat moves” you will successfully defeat incoming enemies and move on through the game. Combat moves include typical melee fight style with punching and kicking, but you can also climb a wall and pounce your enemies from above. You wield a disc that can be thrown at top speeds towards enemies to knock them out. And if you have a few seconds to spare you can charge up your attacks and this results in a more powerful and effective combat move. In the demo above you can see all the different types of combo moves you can perform (there’s disc-disc-melee, jump-jump-disc, disc-jump-melee, and so on). Another neat gameplay features involves how you pick up health. Through the various environments there are glowing white lines that run along the walls. You can jump and vault along these lines to increase your health and energy meters. This encourages you to use mobility moves and always be aware of your surroundings.
And this wouldn’t be a Tron game without the use of Light Cycles. In the demo I hopped onto a Light Cycle and was being hunted down by enemies on their respective Cycles. These Cycles beat out the ones played in the original Tron arcade game; thanks to a full physics model the vehicles don’t just turn at 90 degree angles. Controls to accelerate and brake are simple. You can also throw your discs to hit enemies off their rides as you speed past them. This part of them demo was quite fun. As you’re trying to escape from your enemies the world is falling apart and collapsing around you. It’s you vs. the enemies vs. the environment. The only fault I have with the Cycles is that they’re not fast enough. If the devs bump up the speed this part of the game will be a whole lot more exhilarating.
A couple other odds and ends: Whatever you earn in the game can be used when you switch over to multiplayer, and vise-versa. When I asked about PlayStation Move support I was told “there’s still some issues to be resolved in that department.” We all know the movie will release in 3D, but what about that game? The dev I spoke to said “it would be fantastic if we could get the game in 3D” and he seemed a whole more positive about 3D support than Move capability. So we shall wait and see…
Overall Tron: Evolution is panning out to be one of the better game to movie to game adaptations I’ve seen in some time. The visuals are slick, the gameplay is fluid, and story should excite Tron fans to no end. Look for its release to coincide with the movie later this year.
A while back I reported on a new Wii title called Epic Mickey. After playing the expansive demo at E3 I am so happy to report back that Epic Mickey is everything I hoped it would be. In fact, it was my favorite game of the show! The visuals, the controls, the characters, and the environments all blend together to make an exciting Disney experience with our good pal Mickey Mouse at the helm.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what type of game Epic Mickey really is. It takes cues from platformers, role-playing games, and third-person shooters, even. It meshes 2D and 3D gaming to produce stunning color and black/white visuals that stem from classic Disney history. The first part of the demo took us to Wasteland, a place where old, washed up, and forgotten Disney characters hang out. Characters like the pirates Smee from Peter Pan and Scurvy Pat are there to give you tasks to perform. In a beautiful cut scene that features 2D paper animation, Smee is crying because all of the pirates are being turned into robot monsters. It is up to Mickey to save the pirates from their demise. At the Wasteland I was instructed by Tiki Sam (he looks sort of like Goofy) to find three masks that are hidden throughout the area. There is a lot of trading and bartering that goes on between all these different characters; one decision leads to another and this all eventually lands Mickey in the appropriate situation to help stop the machine from destroying the pirates. Your decisions to either help or ignore the characters around you will affect the outcome of the game.
The game is split into three different areas: quests, transitions, and actions. Wasteland is a quest area; it’s a place where interact with other characters to complete certain tasks. Transition areas take place in-between quest and action areas and they usually contain special items and collectibles that will help Mickey elsewhere in the game. The transition area I jumped into was a movie reel and it transported me to a 2.5D sidescroller based on Mickey’s first appearance in 1928’s Steamboat Willy black-and-white cartoon. There are about 40 of these sidescrolling adventures in the game; they are all based on classic Disney cartoons. Playing through Steamboat Willy was a ton of fun. I am really looking forward to discovering all the other transition areas in the game. There’s nothing like classic Disney lore.
At the end of the Steamboat Willy level I jumped into another movie reel that brought me to a new area in the game called Skull Island. This is an action area where Mickey will run into enemies to defeat and conquer and it’s the place where I’ll find a way to stop the machine from turning the pirates into robots. My first mission is to find three anchors to save Smee’s ship from sinking into the ocean. There’s no better time to talk about controls then right now. In the game Mickey wields a magic paintbrush. Paint is used to create objects in the environment. If you stumble upon an area and you’re stuck, more than likely a spray of paint will reveal a bridge that connects the gap to crossover. Paint thinner is used to destroy objects around you. It can also be a helpful tool to find hidden objects that reside inside rocks or trees. Throughout the game there are clues guised under dark silhouette shapes; if you keep your eyes open for these subtle hints you can use your brush to uncover what’s there. When it comes to enemy interaction you have one of two options. You can use paint thinner to erase them or paint to strategically turn them into friendlies who will fight for you. Mickey can also collect objects called “sketches”. In the demo I picked up a TV sketch; at one point during the Skull Island sequence the TV sketch was used to distract an enemy. Mickey literally places a TV in front of an enemy and while he was distracted by a scene from the original Steamboat Willy cartoon I picked up a missing anchor piece. Humorous, fun, and effective.
At its core, Epic Mickey is a true-to-form roleplaying game where your decisions will effect the way other in-game characters perceive you. If you use paint thinner to erase elements from the environment around you more than you use paint to create, characters will take notice. In this case, they will be less friendly and willing to help you solve missions. In fact, a little green sprite named Terp follows you around and lets you know what type of “play style” you’re currently engaged in (too much thinner or paint or a mix of both). And since your decisions alter the game, you can literally play through it numerous way and every time will play out differently. With intuitive controls, an engaging story with fun and challenging missions, and spectacular visuals, expect Epic Mickey to take over your living room when it release this holiday season exclusivel for Wii. The game truly is a sight to behold. And and if you’re a fan of Walt Disney creations you will certainly not be disappointed.
Disney’s casting call for the next movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise seeks: “beautiful female fit models. Must be 5ft7in-5ft8in, size 4 or 6, no bigger or smaller. Age 18-25. Must have a lean dancer body. Must have real breasts. Do not submit if you have implants.” They go on to warn that there’ll be a “show and tell” day filled with all kinds of test to make sure candidate’s breats are real all around. How fun!
A former casting agent reminices the days of yesteryear: “In the last movie, there were enhanced breasts to give that 18th-century whorish look, and men were pretty well padded too, and no one worried. But times are changing, and the audience can spot false breasts.” Ha! So true.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will find Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) chest deep in a whole new adventure without his trusty sidekicks Orlando Bloom. Penelope Cruz replaces Keira Knightley as Sparrow’s love interest, Ian McShane is set to play Blackbeard, and it’s rumored that Geoffrey Rush will reprise his role as Barbossa. It’s set to hit theatres May 20, 2011.
I was one of the first to catch a glipse of Tron: Legacy at last year’s Disney panel at Comic Con. Since then we’ve been given the first teaser trailer and poster. And now there’s this: a brand new trailer that leaked out late last night with never-before-seen footage. Want to download it in HD for keeps? Click here. The dialogue, the score (by Daft Punk, FYI), and the amazing visual effects make for a really awesome trailer that people can’t stop talking about, especially in the Twittersphere. To quote a friend of mine, this may prove to be the best Disney film ever made. GAHH! (Did you catch the stunning Olivia Wilde at 1:31? Good.)
