Tales of an Anciet Empire

The 80s was a wonderful period for of those of you who grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons, as sword & sorcery fantasy films were frequently being made and released. Most have been, of course, relegated to "cult film" status these days, but it is truly a shame that the genre as a whole all but disappeared for the past 20 years. That is...until Peter Jackson proved that interest in fantasy films has lain dormant, ready to be awakened.

Now, "fantasy epics" are being greenlit by many studios. Among these, a small little film is being made in the spirit that existed back in fantasy films' heyday. The title, Tales of an Ancient Empire, should be familiar to any of you who know of one of the classic films of 80s fantasy, The Sword and the Sorcerer, a brisk, high adventure film that was unapologetic about its masculinity & chauvinism; the fantastic three-bladed sword wielded by the hero, Talon (played by Lee Horsley), featured in the title was an immediate allure for the genre's fans. The film ended promising further adventures of Talon in an upcoming film called Tales of an Ancient Empire. Then the fantasy bubble burst.

Flash forward to today as The Sword and the Sorcerer's original director, Albert Pyun, is busy in post-production on the long promised sequel. Naturally, the previous film's hero, Talon, is now too old to continue the adventures, so a new, young band of warriors lead by Kevin Sorbo of TVs "Hercules" series, will take the reigns as Talon's children. Albert Pyun has recently been releasing clips of the unfinished film on his Vimeo site, letting fans in to the process, revealing rough cuts of scenes. It is a brilliant bit of marketing, giving fans snippets to wet their appetites in addition to serving as a promotional tool to attract new fans unfamiliar with the original film. Beyond this, however, the clips reveal the important role editing plays in filmmaking. By viewing the scenes Pyun has made available, one can get a sense of how performances can be shaped, mood manipulated, and potential script inconsistencies or problems fixed or circumvented. They also reveal how music, sound, and other crafts related to the process complete the experience.

The first scene released is a simple conversation scene between the two leads, Sorbo, and Melissa Ordway. As the very first glimpse at footage from the film, the scene confidently quells personal worries that the film would lose something in the "mists of time" as sensibilities have certainly changed in the last 20 years. This feels like a sword and sorcery film and more importantly, it still feels like The Sword and the Sorcerer. I think it is safe to say that had Pyun not directed this sequel, I think the sensation would be quite different.



You can view 3 other clips (and I assume more are to follow) at Pyun's Vimeo site by clicking here. I look forward to seeing the difference between these rough cuts and their final iteration in the released film. With a rumored sequel to another 80s cult favorite, Hawk the Slayer, going in to production, fantasy adventures might just be making a comeback. Fingers crossed...

G.I. Joe

This will be one of the rare occasions when a post will be focused not on the film and its story, but on the the production of a film; in this case production design specifically. It is quite obvious what the intention of the filmmakers (i.e. producers/studio) when one views the trailer for this latest live-action adaptation of a popular property from the 80s. Any attempt at arguing for a much more substantial narrative is essentially a waste of time and energy. The film is designed to maximize opening day ticket sales by exploiting nostalgic memories of a much loved cartoon in people (men particularly) who are now in their 30s and 40s. The lure of blockbuster box-office returns based off a borrowed property is too tempting and as commented on earlier the viewing audience is far too easily "entertained" to demand originality and/or depth in a film of this nature.

What proves to be truly disappointing is the absolute lackluster production design that was approved by the director and all involved. Hollywood is prone to trends and ever since Tim Burton's Batman, black, leather-clad superheroes seem to be the only way Hollywood is able to visualize comic book characters. This was only reinforced more with the success of the Bryan Singer's X-men films in which a much more colorful palette in the comics was muted down to color accented black suits in the film versions. Despite early fan protests, the film adaptations of the costumes were so successful onscreen that they actually influenced the comic book versions post release of the films.
So, it stands to logic that the live-action version of the 80s "G.I. Joe" cartoon would also follow the same route. Take a look at the international poster for the film above. There is a substantial difference here that needs to be pointed out. Superheroes wear costumes as a method of disguise, an alter-ego with which they carry out their activities while living out another life as normal citizens. The members of G.I. Joe are military personnel. They do not wear costumes. Their outfits are a function of their occupation and the specializations within that occupation; they are also a reflection of the branch of the military to which they belong be it Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines. The concept of the original cartoon was an elite unit made of up soldiers from these branches, contributing to a much more effective fighting force that pooled their collective skills.

Compared to this package design for the DVD of the cartoon series, the failings of the film production design are quite obvious. Though G.I. Joe is a unified team, each member retains their individual identities and trademarks based on the military branch to which they belong as well as the specific skill set they bring to the team. One can not get any sense of this when looking at the film poster; in fact, it's even hard to tell who are the villains and who are the heroes. Obviously, the outfits of the cartoon characters would have to be adapted to film, but it seems so elementary that drawing on real military garment and uniforms from around the world and through various eras would produce much better results than completely black outfits that have no variation whatsoever among the individual characters.
I am sure the production team will have all manner of explanations as to why they took the design route seen in the film. Whatever those justifications may be, this short video produced by a figure manufacturer proves that A) It is possible to reproduce the look of the cartoon in live action; B) even without revealing any faces, anyone familiar with the cartoon can identify the characters just by their trademark costumes and C) the production design of the film was not even close in capturing the spirit of the original source. It's a telling sign when the deep pockets of Hollywood can be outdone by figure manufacturer with its heart in the right place. But I guess that's the point, isn't it?

How to have a flaming skull

Haven't found time to see Ghost Rider, but check out this article at CG Society on the FX.

Extrapolation, Squared

I've always taken an interest in the creation and execution of visual effects. It pretty much started the day I came back from seeing Star Wars, and never stopped. Additionally I've found myself in "the industry" so along with genuine curiosity comes a professional necessity to keep on top of things. Talking about the future of virtual actors below I was caught up with thoughts of where cinema has taken things. Be it the digital double usage that started in Jurassic Park to the crazy-azz digital character insertion in the Star Wars Prequels. Each somewhat culminating with the most emotive of its ilk with Gollum in LOTR, and his digital successor King Kong. This is some amazing stuff.


So while I keep my nose to the silicon grindstone, nothing really prepared me for the level of work that was done on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. You'll recall I really liked it. I knew there was a lot of digital work going on, but it's the extent of which that really floors me. No prosthetic make up for Bill Nighy as Davey Jones, or his entire crew? That's all digital folks, and the methods employed are something I knew was possible, but the sheer scale of production just sets me aback. And then I smile, because I can only think of what's next.

Check out this site dedicated to the digital characters in Dead Man's Chest: "The Show," hosted by Industrial Light and Magic.
Also read this article at CG Talk, Shades of Davy Jones.

As with all technology, or any example of perceived power, the responsibility lies with its creators. It's not hard to think of the bad that may come from a rampant, unchecked, bubbling spigot of digital and virtual creations. But oh how nice it is to think of the good.

Of Kong and Men

If you haven't been following the development of King Kong, but have a passing interest in such things, you may want to check out the latest set report. This one focuses on "digital doubles" and it's a doozy. Aside from contemplating statements from Peter Jackson like "quite an advancement on the work we did for Lord of the Rings," it's hard not to watch in awe as you see first hand the state of digital technology today. Part of me is filled with excitement and giddyness, the other part can't help having the hell scared out of it.