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Showing posts with label cgi movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cgi movies. Show all posts

Friday, June 3, 2016

TMNT: Out of the Shadows Now in Wide Release




It's finally here! After being released earlier in the week in other countries, and will some theaters holding screenings last night, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is now in wide release across the United States.

Have fun out there! And be sure to tag Ninja Pizza (@ninjapizza) on Facebook and Twitter with your reactions to the film! I'll be sharing and retweeting them throughout the weekend.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Bebop & Rocksteady Confirmed for "Ninja Turtles" Sequel, New Director in Talks



While at a recent convention in Brazil, "Ninja Turtles" producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form confirmed to Omlete that Bebop and Rocksteady will be joining the cast of characters for the sequel, expected for release June 3, 2016. They also say they are hoping to fit Casey Jones into the story.

Variety is also reporting that Earth to Echo director David Green is in final talks to replace Jonathan Liebsman, who is currently busy filming "Shannara."

This year's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film hits DVD and Blu-Ray next Tuesday, December 16.

Monday, August 11, 2014

TMNT Reaches #1 with $65M Weekend; Sequel Announced for 2016



It was a weekend full of Turtle Power as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dominated the box office, dropping Guardians of the Galaxy to the #2 spot.

With a strong $4.6 million on Thursday night, Turtles ended the weekend with $65 million, beating early estimates of $40-$45 million.

To no one's surprise, Paramount announced early Sunday morning that the August hit would officially get a sequel, currently scheduled for a June 3, 2016, release. While no director or cast members are yet confirmed, Michael Bay will once again be on board as a Producer, and Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec will also be back as writers.

Monday, April 14, 2014

New "Ninja Turtles" TV Spot Gives First Look at Splinter




IGN has released an exclusive look at a new TV spot for the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. While this 30-second spot shows mostly the same footage we saw in the trailer released a couple weeks ago, there are some new shots, including a very brief glimpse at Splinter.


This new spot is also narrated by Splinter, who is telling the Turtles about the importance of family. A couple weeks ago it was announced that Tony Shalhoub had been cast as the voice of Splinter. Also announced was Johnny Knoxville as the voice of Leonardo.


In this second screen grab, it appears that Splinter, who is wielding a sword, is about to face off against Shredder.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

TMNT 2007 Score by Klaus Badelt



One of the most asked questions I get over on YouTube, which I've always left unanswered, is where one can download the score from TMNT (2007) by Klaus Badelt. You may have noticed that I've uploaded some of the tracks there.

The unfortunate truth about the tracks is that they were leaked to the Internet a couple years ago when Badelt released a limited promo CD of the score. So, copies of it aren't exactly legal.

However, because I do get so many requests, I've decided to share all of the tracks (some of which I wasn't able to put on YouTube). My stipulations for doing this are that the MP3s are only 128kps, and if at anytime Warner Brothers or Mr. Badelt request that the tracks be removed, they will be.

Track list:
  1. Love Being a Turtle
  2. Story of TMNT
  3. Winter's End
  4. I-Beam Fight
  5. Stars Align
  6. Nightwatcher
  7. Leo Returns
  8. Final Monster
  9. Stone Generals
  10. Raph Quits
  11. Fighting the Stones
Download the album here.

I've also included a bonus track taken from the TMNT soundtrack that was released. There were two score tracks included on that album, and when Warner Brothers had the album streaming on the movie website, one of those tracks was longer (by a couple minutes!) than what was on the CD. So, if you want, you can take that MP3 and replace the one from the album.

Ideally this score would see a proper CD release. To show your support for such a release, click the "Like" button at the top! And if you happen to have one of the tangible promo CDs, I would be very interested in buying it from you. ^_^

Monday, April 27, 2009

Looking Back at TMNT 2007 to look forward to TMNT 2011



Earlier today I spent some time considering all the different variables that are preventing me from jumping for joy over the new TMNT movie project. The list got quite long and long-winded, so I'm going to try to tackle the bigger ideas in a series of posts.

To start, I've pulled out a series of interviews published before the release of TMNT 2007 from my personal archives. The point of bringing these out is to illustrate how similar the attitude and direction was for TMNT 2007 compared to what (granted, very) little has been said so far of the new project. And in some cases, how the exact opposite of the ideas sold to us for the 2007 movie are now being moved forward.

You can download a PDF of these interviews here.

Before I go any further, I'd just like to make it clear that I really, truly love TMNT. Kevin Munroe gets the characters and I would have no problem were they ever entrusted to him again. I think he did a fantastic job working within all the limitations he was given. TMNT wasn't a bad movie, but it seemed to scratch the surface on what could have been a reallyreally great and more-successful movie.

But anywho, moving forward...


Comics used as the source
One of the big talking points for TMNT 2007 was that it was going back to the comic books for inpiration. Now, almost as if that's been completely forgotten, the new movie is going back to the comic books once again. And in TMNT 2007, where both the Turtles' origin and Shredder were left out of the picture because, "Been there, done that," now the new movie will be not just be revisiting both those points, but will seemingly be built upon them as a foundation.

How this can work
The TMNT, particularly in the last 10 years, have struggled emensely to escape the first 11 issues of the comic book. It seems that each adaptation isn't good enough so then we have to do it all again... it's become tiresome and boring. The comic books should be used as inspiration, but straight adaptation should be kept to a bare minimum. Change things up while maintaining all the elements that have kept fans around through thick and thin (A LOT of thin) for 25 years.


Live action vs. CGI
There were two key reasons for the 2007 movie to be done in CGI. The first, and apparently biggest factor, was cost. A live action film was predicted to cost at least three times as much as a CGI film. The second reason was to avoid the limitations presented by having guys in rubber suits do ninja moves. Makes sense, but now we have this new movie apparently ready to once again put live action guys in rubber suits.

How this can work
So long as all parties involved are willing to spend the money needed to make the rubber suits and CGI combine seamlessly to look believable and not cheesy, this could work out fantastically. But they have to be willing to spend the money. Up 'til now, the most expensive TMNT movie was 2007's at around $35 million. Before that was 1993's TMNT 3, at around $26 million (and we all know how that turned out).


The Batman Begins analogy
Batman Begins has become the ultimate point of comparison when it comes to reinventing an old franchise into something new, exciting, and extremely successful. Rightfully so? Perhaps, although I think it's become overused to the point of cliché. To what extent does the comparison exist with the TMNT? Well, not only was this instantly discussed when news of the new movie broke last week, but - wait for it - it was discussed with the 2007 movie as well.

Click the pic below to compare words from Animation Magazine in April 2007 to an MTV interview with Peter Laird released just today.


What is the point of all this? Well, just because all the creative minds have their hearts and intentions in the right place doesn't mean the project is going to come out and be embraced as they anticipated it would be. By the sounds of it, TMNT 2007 started out in the very much the same place that TMNT 2011 seems to be now.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

New Live Action Ninja Turtles Movie Announced!



Variety is reporting tonight the announcement of a new live action TMNT film to be produced with a target release date of sometime in 2011. Details on the project are few at this point, but the film will apparently focus on the characters' origins.

You can read the full release here.

Thanks to Will Tupper for the heads-up!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

"TMNT" in Argentina



Nacho sent in a bunch of pics showing some of the goodies theaters had when TMNT was released last year.

A special promotion at the cinemas in Venezuela: pop corn tub, drink cup and stickers decorated with the TMNT.

With this "combo" people received a ticket to win TMNT action figures.

     

   

   

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Peter Laird Comments on TMNT Movie Rumors



MTV today posted an interview with TMNT co-creator Peter Laird to set the record straight on the current status of a potential new TMNT movie. You can read the interview in its entirety here.

There really isn't any new information revealed. Everything is the same as it was before people went and freaked out over comments made by Kevin Eastman. However, I would like to make note of these comments:


MTV: Which elements of the original live-action film do you think could benefit from another treatment?
PL: I don’t think the first film needs to be remade, if that’s what you mean. But I would love to see a “Director’s Cut” or special edition of that movie, with some things that were cut out put back in. And although I think it HIGHLY unlikely, I would love to see the first film given a “digital touch-up,” if you will. By that I mean it would be very cool to go through it very carefully and digitally tweak all of the mistakes and goofs — for example, scenes where you can see an actor’s face inside a Turtle’s open mouth, wires hanging off the shell of a Turtle, and so forth.
Here’s one that always bugged me: As Leonardo is exiting April’s apartment, one of his sword hilts rubs against the wall… and it BENDS like rubber (which, in fact, it was, being a “stunt sword”). And taking it a step further, it would be fantastic to utilize digital technology to go back in and tweak and enhance the expressions on the animatronic faces of the Turtles, which in some scenes just don’t work too well.
Concerning his desire to give the 1990 film a "digital touch-up": For the love of pizza, Peter Laird will you just freaking stop trying to fix things that aren't broken. You've already ripped the heart and soul out of the original TMNT 1 comic book, leave the damn movie alone.

The problem with this idiotic statement isn't even the likelihood that it would actually happen, because Peter Laird thankfully doesn't have any power to make it happen, but now we're going to have to deal with stupid people discussing this possibility for the rest of eternity. Please find something better to do with your time people and forget this statement ever happened.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Why the TMNT Fail at the Internets



It probably wouldn't take too much effort to find a person still convinced that Johnny Woo was, at one point in time, signed and secured to make a TMNT movie. About five years ago I tried to convince a friend of mine that there was absolutely no truth to this, but I don't think he ever fully believed me. Someone asked Kevin Munroe, director of 2007's TMNT movie, the same question at San Diego Comic-Con in 2006. Really, it's the damnedest rumor that just refuses to die. He essentially said it'd be a neat thing to do, but there was nothing more to it than that. No different from me saying that it'd be neat to race Michael Phelps on a big wheel.

But this prevailing rumor also punctuates a key problem with TMNT fandom. Try as some of us may, there is no definitive "Go To" site for a person with a casual interest in TMNT to go to and quickly catch up on the latest news. Those of us who follow it closely know that Steve Murphy's word via The 5th Turtle is good as gold, but from an outsider's perspective, it's just a simple Blogger blog using a default template (same as this site). There is no TheForce.Net or TheOneRing.Net or The-Leaky-Cauldron.Org equivalent.

But sites that report on everything related to movies need to be at the top of the rumor mill, so if there's going to be a new TMNT film, they can't miss out on reporting it. It usually happens like this: Murphy or some other source drops a tidbit of information, discussion on said information partakes at TheTechnodrome.com, some lame lurker emails a dozen movie sites with the "tip," and these sites post the information as if it's some big scoop that they have personally discovered. Oooh, impressive.

Over the past several months there have been several hints dropped about the on-going talks for the next TMNT movie from both Steve Murphy and TMNT co-creator Peter Laird. Did any of these statements reach sites like IGN.com? No. But a few days ago discussion starts on The Technodrome regarding a comment TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman made on the HeavyMetal.com message boards regarding the possibilities being discussed for the next movie (which is pretty much in line with everything he stated here, and which is also all in line with what has been hinted at by Steve Murphy and Peter Laird). Now some morons are spreading the comments, to the point where Perez Hilton (you're kidding me, right?) is reporting it as FACT that a new TMNT movie is coming and THIS IS HOW IT IS.

FOR THE RECORD:
  1. Movie discussions are still in progress and nothing has been finalized.
  2. A live action movie is being discussed as a possibility but, again, nothing has been finalized. According to Murphy, live action is apparently NOT being discussed, so there you go.
  3. When something has been finalized, the information will be released officially by Mirage Studios and their partners, not a message board, no matter who is making the comment.
Oh, and all of you non-TMNT sites: Please stop pretending you know anything about Ninja Turtles, because you don't and it just makes you suck more. If you really want to do something useful, try to convince your readers to convince Warner Brothers to release a Special Edition of the original 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie on DVD. Thank you.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Scratch That: No Movie News Yet



Yesterday it was reported that Playmates was confirming a new CGI/live action movie to be released in 2010. Today that news was quashed by Steve Murphy of Mirage.

Oh Playmates, have you really sunk that low to put lies on your Web site?


The new official statement on a future movie is:
Following the success of the TMNT theatrical release in 2007, Mirage Licensing is in negotiation with several companies about a new TMNT movie for release in 2010.

Fingers and toes shall remain crossed at good news in the near future!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Unofficial Official TMNT Sequel News



It seems that fans tOkKa's and Putrescent's eyes have served them well and they have spotted some updates to Playmates' Web site.

There are some toy updates and a little bit of info on Back to the Sewer if you want to go looking, but the big news comes in the form of two paragraphs that reveal plans for a CGI/live action movie to be released in 2010 (see graphic).

As fantastic news as this is (although not completely surprising, as it has been somewhat hinted at), I find myself full of caution as I try to be optimistic. Imagi's continued involvement is what concerns me most.

The reason a full-CGI sequel agreement never happened between Imagi and Mirage was, seemingly, differences in opinion on where to take the story. Deciding to do a CGI/live action hybrid movie doesn't mean you don't have to worry about telling a good story. And as much as I absolutely love the look of the 2007 movie, I don't know how well those Turtles will blend with live action. I'm afraid this effort is going to come off looking like Garfield, when it really needs to look like Transformers.

I suppose only time will tell, so I will keep my fingers crossed that everyone involved in this project is truly interested in making a good movie and not just in selling another batch of action figures and other licensed crap. Hopefully we'll get some more concrete info on the project in the near future.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Come Work For Imagi



TMNT fan Ninjatron found links to job fair information for Imagi, the animation company that brought last year's TMNT movie to life.

You can check out more images and information (in Chinese) at Felix Ip's blog (here and here). Felix worked on TMNT as a producer.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Australia Merchandise Sightings



     

emerald_7 shares with us some photos of items she's recently found on store shelves in Australia. Pictured above is the front and back of a TMNT Advent Calendar (although she reports that the chocolate on the inside isn't so good). And below is a series of personal hygene products: Bubble bath, shampoo + conditioner, and bar soap.

     

Thursday, December 6, 2007

TMNT Nominated For Annie Award



TMNT has been nominated for an Annie Award in the category of Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

  • Don Hall – ‘Meet The Robinsons’ – Walt Disney Feature Animation
  • Denise Koyama – “Surf’s Up” – Sony Pictures Animation
  • Ted Mathot – “Ratatouille” – Pixar Animation Studios
  • Sean Song – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” – IMAGI Animation Studios
  • Nassos Vakalis – “Bee Movie” – DreamWorks Animation
Good luck to Sean and the entire Imagi crew!

Thanks to Andrew for the heads-up.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

ASIFA-Hollywood Members Screening of TMNT Dec. 1



Warner Bros. Pictures, Imagi Animation Studios and ASIFA-Hollywood
Invite Members and a Guest To a Special Screening of

TMNT

Saturday, December 1st, 2007
1 p.m.
AMC Burbank 16
125 East Palm Avenue
Burbank, California

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

See your email for RSVP instructions. If you did not recieve the email announcement, contact membership@asifa-hollywood.org to have your email address added to the list. Most ASIFA-Hollywood communications go out via email. It is vital that you keep your address on our list up to date.

This invitation is for ASIFA-Hollywood members only and space is limited. Reservations are taken on a first come, first serve basis.

Thanks to Kristy for the info!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

TMNT Nominated For SpikeTV's Scream Award



TMNT has been nominated for SpikeTV's Scream award in the category of "Best Comic-To-Screen Adaptation."

You can vote here. It looks like you can vote as many times as you want!

Thanks to raphaelprime for the link.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

TMNT on DVD This Tuesday



TMNT comes to DVD this Tuesday, August 7. Here's a rundown of special deals at some major retailers.

Target

  • Exclusive 2-disc Deluxe Edition DVD for $22.99.
  • Regular Edition DVD for $16.99.
Circuit City

  • DVD for $16.99 + free action figure (the free action figure looks to be one of the mini figures that were available at Toys R Us earlier this year).
WalMart
  • I thought I had read WalMart would have the movie packaged with the PC game for $19.99, but now I can't find confirmation on this.
BestBuy
  • DVD for $16.99, no special bonus.
Based on this information, it would seem that Target is the place to go for the "Deluxe Edition."

Don't forget that Season 5 of the original cartoon and Volume 2 of Fast Forward are also available on the same day. There are reports that some stores have already put these on the shelf, so you might get lucky and find them early if you look.

Monday, July 9, 2007

TMNT: The Collected Movie Books Bookplate



Here's a look at the Panel to Panel exclusive bookplate that is tipped into their copies of TMNT: The Collected Movie Books.

If you're not aware, Panel to Panel has offered an exclusive bookplate for each Collected book that Mirage has published in the last year and they will continue to do so with new books that are released.

Each bookplate features brand new art (with the exception of the one shown here, which is obviously style guide art from the new movie) and is hand signed by at least the artist and sometimes one or more additional people. They make for very unique additions to your TMNT comic book collection.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

TMNT: The Collected Movie Books



Now available for order at PanelToPanel.net:
AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT PANEL TO PANEL.NET! AN EXCLUSIVE IMAGE, CREATED BY KEVIN MUNROE'S CG CREW, WILL BE SIGNED BY PETER LAIRD AND TIPPED INTO EACH AND EVERY COPY OF TMNT: THE COLLECTED MOVIE BOOKS (FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY)!

Click here to purchase.